D&D 5E Mike Mearls Happy Fun Hour, Nov 27 2018

[dave2008]

Dwarf with a bear is a classic ranger concept, ....

LOL! I don't think I have ever heard of that before! When did this become a "classic" concept.

 

[Parmandur]

LOL! I don't think I have ever heard of that before! When did this become a "classic" concept.

Since about 2004. In addition to the World of Warcraft, I believe the Pathfinder iconic Ranger is a Dwarf, maybe with a bear?

 

[dave2008]

Since about 2004. In addition to the World of Warcraft, I believe the Pathfinder iconic Ranger is a Dwarf, maybe with a bear?

Neither WoW nor Pathfinder can be considered "classic" IMHO.

 

[Parmandur]

Yes.

If that doesn't work for someone, literally any race with a wolf is the classic ranger pet.


They literally can just provide alternate class features for a subclass just as easily as for a class. This argument is nonsensical and objectively false.
either Mearls is wasting time entirely, or alternate class features are a possibility.

Further, they can literally accomplish the same benefits of this proposal by adding spells to the class spell list that boost a pet. Word it so that they will also work for familiars, and maybe summoned pets, but not for NPC companions, and go.

But giving the pet hit dice instead of xtimes ranger level HP is a simple change, as is making it have a turn and no multi-attack, and that is all that is needed to bring the subclass in line with other ranger subclasses, and can allow the same effective benefit of the proposed build-a-beast if combined with spells that boost the stats of a controlled beast.

Replacing subclass features will only allow for features of a similar power level, so it would be right back where it started as far as power satisfaction is concerned.

In the first episode, Mearls initially wanted to ignore the Beastmaster in regards to the variant features (he said something along the lines of "with this, I see the Beastmaster kind of going away"), but chat convinced him to account for the Beastmaster interacting with the build-a-beast.

Testing out the new summon rules in a variety of ways seems to be the main point of the exercise, though.

 

[Parmandur]

Neither WoW nor Pathfinder can be considered "classic" IMHO.

Both are old enough to be retro at this point. WoW came out when I was a teenager, and Pathfinder is older than walking talking reasoning people I know.

 

[Henry]

It can surprise someone to know that World of Warcraft is almost 15 years old, and that Everquest came out 20 years ago - neither feels "classic" or "retro" to me, but then we've also seen THREE separate Spider-Man franchises within that same time period, reminding me how damned old I am...

 

[dave2008]

Both are old enough to be retro at this point. WoW came out when I was a teenager, and Pathfinder is older than walking talking reasoning people I know.

I must be to old then. I can't think of anything less than 20 years old as truly retro. Also, whether something is classic or not is not simple based on age. Clearly illustrated by the term "instant classic" There needs to something iconic about it to be "classic" and I just don't think a dwarf w/ a bear fits that mold. Of course, I have never played WoW, so maybe it is just me. I have played a ranger, but never one with an animal pet. To me Aragorn is the "classic" ranger.

Doesn't really matter, I just thought the statement was funny.

 

[Satyrn]

It can surprise someone to know that World of Warcraft is almost 15 years old, and that Everquest came out 20 years ago - neither feels "classic" or "retro" to me, but then we've also seen THREE separate Spider-Man franchises within that same time period, reminding me how damned old I am...

Just imagine how old that makes Tobey Maguire feel!

 

[Parmandur]

I must be to old then. I can't think of anything less than 20 years old as truly retro. Also, whether something is classic or not is not simple based on age. Clearly illustrated by the term "instant classic" There needs to something iconic about it to be "classic" and I just don't think a dwarf w/ a bear fits that mold. Of course, I have never played WoW, so maybe it is just me. I have played a ranger, but never one with an animal pet. To me Aragorn is the "classic" ranger.

Doesn't really matter, I just thought the statement was funny.

Which is fair. The Dwarf Hunter, which comes with a bear and a rifle, is like the second or third most popular character to play in WoW.

It honestly seems a lot of the frustration with the Beastmaster is that it is not fit to the purpose of being the WoW Hunter Class. But that's not what it is designed to do.

 

[Azzy]

I still think it would be fine if the Trident did 1d8 damage when one handed. For one thing, it's a martial weapon, not a simple one.

Agreed.