I'll be on the road for the next couple of days. Posting will be sporadic until Monday, but I'll be watching for BlackFinch to reply.
Impression on 5e so far -- I like what they've done with it. I still need to see how all of the mechanics come together in-game, but it looks like it should be pretty smooth. The one thing I don't like is adding my Dex bonus to damage.
Years of playing Weapon Finesse has trained me that it trades damage for stealth. That was just how it worked. Tying it to damage now feels like a cop-out to all of us old-school Finesse fighters who wished it worked that way.
PB represents getting better at the skills of your chosen role. More experience translates to better accuracy and an Attack bonus. Makes sense. Dex represents physical coordination. Better coordination translates to better accuracy and an Attack plus Damage bonus? That's just a hard taboo. It does organize Str/Con vs Dex/Con builds though, so I'll take it.
@SMARTAgentKC - would you be interested in running a low stakes, street-level campaign? I have a storyline running in my head that culminates in Yopine's Conclave going to war against a branch of the Moloch charter of the Hangerback Thieves Guild. Plus ideas for a Harengon Inquisitive Rogue who goes full Sherlock Holmes. And I'm about to start on an illusionist build...
Maybe 5e made good character creation a little too streamlined? That's just dangerous.