Playing D&D 5e in the Majestic Wilderlands

My blog posts have been less frequent, as I have had to focus on real life stuff. My gaming has been a bit inconsistent as well, although I am playing a human fighter, Aevin Steelhand, in +Rob Conley's (Bat in the Attic) Majestic Wilderlands setting. In our current campaign, we are using D&D 5e. I have also been playing Ben Monday, a history teacher turned supernatural sleuth, in +Tim Shorts' (Gothridge Manor) Wednesday night game, using The Esoterrorists as our rule set.

+Douglas Cole (Gaming Ballistic) has an excellent blog post, Majestic Wilderlands--Do You Hear People Sing?, summarizing our last session. Rob has some interesting posts about his use of feudalism in his setting. As a player, you have to know your station and who you are talking to. It is one my favorite aspects of playing in Rob's setting. Here are links to Rob's posts:

• Of Overlords, Kings, and Barons, Building a Feudal Setting Part I
• Of Overlords, Kings, and Barons, Building a Feudal Setting Part II
• Of Overlords, Kings, and Barons, Building a Feudal Setting Part III
• Of Overlords, Kings, and Barons, Building a Feudal Setting Part IV

Aeven Steelhand, My D&D 5e Fighter

Our Monday Night Gaming Group has been playing D&D 5e, with +Rob Conley (Bat in the Attic) running us through the Lost Mine of Phandelver, which he placed in his Majestic Wilderlands campaign setting.

I used the free D&D Basic Rules and went with a simple human fighter, Aeven Steelhand. When my Player's Handbook arrived, I opted to make him a Champion when he hit third level. This meant that Aeven had no spells and not much for specialized skills. He is the toughest frontline fighter in the group, but I found him lacking grit and punch compared to his peers who benefited from spells and special features. This was particularly noticeable when he went down quickly in battles with goblins and zombies. It should be said that our DM was rolling 20s in Roll20 (as if he had hacked the system).

I expected to be limited in my options, but I didn't expect to be so vulnerable.The fighter can wear heavier armor, but doesn't typically have the means to buy when starting out. While it was nice to get the improved critical as a Champion, I found that it didn't noticeably impact play. When playing AD&D 1e years ago and Castles & Crusades a few years back, we gave fighters a d12 for hit points. With Castles & Crusades, this hit point enhancement worked well as we were not using the barbarian class.

None of this changes my overall positive opinion of D&D 5e. I am looking forward to running my first session next Monday night.