I begin to worry...

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I read that. I'm happy they did away with it.



By design a video game is too narrow to allow for much of a story element. I've played a Everquest and World of Warcraft as well as Neverwinter Nights and Baldur's Gate. They all lacked what DnD gave me. That was because the world by virtue of being a video game was too rigid. You could not think outside the box and decide to do actions contrary to the rules of the video game world.

DnD has never felt that way. The rule set has always been fast and loose, more like guidelines. A DM could usually figure out a rule to apply to just about any situation. I hope the fluidity of the rules is maintained in the new edition. I also hope they were able to maintain the fluidity of the magic and combat system.

I think no mechanic "stolen" from a video game can change that, unless the mechanic would aim to totally remove the DM from the game.
The rigidness of video games is all about computers (or computer software) being not smart enough to replace a DM. The mechanics are not really related to that.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

Bull Rush is not weak unless you are always fighting on a wide open field or a plain featureless dungeon floor. Cliffs, firepits, lava, pits, etc etc are all terrain features that make Bull Rush an excellent option.

You don't even need that. This week, the bruiser in my game saved the life of the ranger by bull-rushing an opponent out of the way so that the ranger could withdraw on her turn without taking two attacks of opportunity, which almost certainly would have killed her.