D&D 5E Might&Magic: the linear fighter and the exponential wizard

[CapnZapp]

In practice, almost no one runs 6-8 encounters per adventuring day, which boost the relative power of full casters.

See this survey by Colville https://twitter.com/mattcolville/status/896458473688268801
Critical Role S1 had 1.6 encounters per adventuring day I think.

And no official modules run that many encounters from what I know. Designers also said 6-8 medium/hard encounters is a theoretical threshold that party can run, not their expectations of what dms would run.

Of course.

 

[CapnZapp]

If you follow the standard 6-8 encounters per day with 1-2 short rests, fighters hold up just fine. Yes, wizards will cast Meteor Storm once per day which is an amazing spell in the right circumstance. Meanwhile the fighter is a cuisinart of spinning blade death.

We never reach 6-8 encounters per day. Fighters (Paladins, Barbarians..) are still very popular.

 

[LapBandit]

Level 13 is the demarcation point IMHO. If you're campaign ends before then, you're in good shape. From that level and beyond full casters are capable of changing reality or speaking to gods and the fighter withers on the vine.

I say this having played in and DMed campaigns to 20th level and multiple to 15th.

EDIT: Paladins stay relevant though.

 

[Ancalagon]

Level 13 is the demarcation point IMHO. If you're campaign ends before then, you're in good shape. From that level and beyond full casters are capable of changing reality or speaking to gods and the fighter withers on the vine.

I say this having played in and DMed campaigns to 20th level and multiple to 15th.

EDIT: Paladins stay relevant though.

That is an improvement over 3.x...

 

[Seramus]

I really enjoyed World of Xeen. It has a good balance for might and magic. Mandate of Heaven was really unbalanced towards magic, and things did not get better in Blood & Honor, or Day of the Destroyer. The recent Might & Magic X did bring back the balance though.

 

[Tony Vargas]

That is an improvement over 3.x...

Never underestimate the power of lowered expectations.

 

[Garthanos]

In practice, almost no one runs 6-8 encounters per adventuring day, which boost the relative power of full casters.

See this survey by Colville https://twitter.com/mattcolville/status/896458473688268801
Critical Role S1 had 1.6 encounters per adventuring day I think.

And no official modules run that many encounters from what I know. Designers also said 6-8 medium/hard encounters is a theoretical threshold that party can run, not their expectations of what dms would run.

Exactly and also why 4e supports broader game scenarios while remaining balanced

 

[jaelis]

Its “quadratic,” not “exponential.”

This post brought to you by the Society of Nitpicking Mathematicians.

 

[Ancalagon]

Never underestimate the power of lowered expectations.

It's been a problem for many editions. An improvement is better than nothing...

 

[Ancalagon]

It really depends on your terms. In earlier (non 4E) editions, casters got more spells as they leveled, and their lower level spells got more powerful, allow them to remain useful(thus gaining twice the benefits per level). Now casters generally stop using lower level spell slots for combat, since they generally don't even keep up with cantrips.

But this frees those low level slots for utility. There always has been a tension between "do I use this spell slot to blast, or to solve problems". Now with decent attack cantrips, the caster can get a *lot* of utility out of her magic. Not to mention the utility cantrips themselves!

The whole "tier" system of classes btw, has never been about who can kick most butt, but about versatility. There are three scenarios (deal with a dragon troubling an area, help a city defend itself from an incoming invasion, contact a leader of an underground rebellion in a tyrannical kingdom and win their trust) and you see how effective each class is in those scenarios. Versatility is what gets you to tier 1.

As for versatility, Clerics, Druids, Wizards, and Paladins will always be more versatile than non-casters, because they have the ability to change spells per day. The other casters... not so much. They're basically locked in abilities, just like non-caster class abilities. They may have more options for character building, but not much more versatility during play.

This is a good point - it can be quite challenging to "build" a versatile spell list if you only have a few known spells...

I'll also comment that the Paladin being in your list, combined with its quite significant combat prowess... no wonder it's perhaps the best class of 5e...