D&D 5E Telekinesis Is A Bad Spell, For The Game

[NaturalZero]

Zero.

It bores me and it isn't what I'm going to a fantasy game for.

My beef is that the gap between zero to hero is just too big for too long in 5e for my taste. The first few levels just feel like filler. To me, 4e had it right by just giving you your class features right out of the gate. My battlemind is marking enemies, mindspiking, and pushing multiple dudes with telekinesis... at level 1.

 

[Vaalingrade]

My beef is that the gap between zero to hero is just too big for too long in 5e for my taste. The first few levels just feel like filler. To me, 4e had it right by just giving you your class features right out of the gate. My battlemind is marking enemies, mindspiking, and pushing multiple dudes with telekinesis... at level 1.

In theory, you're only supposed to be in Level 1 for like a session and in level 2 for like two more.

Buuut, a lot of people no longer use XP and those that do rarely use the very stupid combat schedule. Plus, only certain classes are forced to wait until level 3 to be a thing.

They should just make 0 levels for people who like it and for beginners and no dock the rest of us two levels permanently from the books we paid for.

 

[cranberry]

Yes, it occasionally bothers me too, but not enough to want to do anything about it. I'm afraid I don't have any alternative ideas.

I just wish WotC wasn't so conservative with their design in general. While I still like 5e, I would love an "unleashed" version where they crank things up to 11 and just let the PCs do all the cool things instead of limiting them so hard.

That would be a lot of fun as long as they crank the monsters up to 12 in the process.

 

[pukunui]

That would be a lot of fun as long as they crank the monsters up to 12 in the process.

Absolutely! 5e’s monster design is pretty conservative too.

 

[JohnSnow]

I don’t mind the zero-to-hero stuff, and I don’t mind that some stuff is “level gated”.

What I’m starting to mind is the daily/encounter limit stuff … like how a druid can only wildshape twice per rest and an arcane archer can only use their arcane shot twice per rest and all that.

I’d love for PCs to have a recharge mechanic like the monsters have. Last time I ran 4e, I let PCs recarche spent encounter powers on a 5 or 6 and spent dailies on a 6. Worked a treat and didn’t really overpower anything. But admittedly it was simpler to do that with 4e.

I actually think Wildshape would be fine as "X without a short rest" (2024 Revision currently starts at 2x and goes to 4x by 9th-level) if they limited the degree to which you shift back to your normal form. So shifting from animal to animal is just an action you can take, but resuming humanoid form costs you.

As illustrated in the new D&D movie, shifting from animal shape to animal shape is pretty bad-ass. Although maybe that should be the definitive Circle of the Moon feature.

 

[Maxperson]

Which of those works like mage hand but for bigger stuff as you spend higher spell slots?

Easier, oftentimes, to just port from another game, or add a new thing.

Or convert. You could convert Greater Mage Hand from 3e, turning the weight increase per caster level into upcasting.

 

[Staffan]

Zero.

It bores me and it isn't what I'm going to a fantasy game for.

Agreed.

I've been saying for a while that the competence level I look for in a PC is that of the Leverage crew.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Or convert. You could convert Greater Mage Hand from 3e, turning the weight increase per caster level into upcasting.

Greater Mage Hand lol of course 3e has that. Thanks!

 

[Steampunkette]

innocent whistle

 

[Swarmkeeper]

They should just make 0 levels for people who like it and for beginners and no dock the rest of us two levels permanently from the books we paid for.

Just have your group start at Level 3?