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Why Has D&D, and 5e in Particular, Gone Down the Road of Ubiquitous Magic?
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<blockquote data-quote="famousringo" data-source="post: 6829059" data-attributes="member: 6792445"><p>I was thinking about this the other day, and I'm not sure 5th Ed is quite as magical as it's made out to be, relative to its predecessors. Let's look at it class by class.</p><p></p><p>Barbarian: Not much magic here. Totem gets a couple rituals and some powers that might be considered mystical.</p><p></p><p>Bard: Originally a crazy multiclass with a bunch of Druid in it, always at least a half caster, now a full caster. Well, that's an upgrade.</p><p></p><p>Cleric: Full caster as always, and I'm not sure going from 7 spell levels to 9 makes much difference, given this class used to get about twice as many spell slots. Yikes. Arguably, the cleric actually has less magic than previous editions.</p><p></p><p>Druid: Same as above.</p><p></p><p>Fighter: Not a lot of magic. One subclass is a 1/3 caster. Given that Rangers and Paladins are the original fighter subclasses that were 1/3 casters, and that Eldritch Knight is trying to evoke the fighter/mages of yore, I don't think this quite qualifies as adding magic.</p><p></p><p>Monk: Okay, two of these subclasses can cast effects that look a lot like spells, but that's more for the mechanical convenience than an expansion of magic, IMO. This class has always had access to mystic powers (death attacks, impossible immunities, magic punches), and I think the goal of shadow and element monks is to expend that mysticism in new directions, not really add more of it.</p><p></p><p>Paladin: Goes from 1/3 caster to 1/2 caster, and perhaps more importantly, the magic shows up a lot earlier than it used to, being balanced across the class rather than back-loaded. But as usual, there's more magic to the paladin than just spells, with lay on hands, detection and other powers.</p><p></p><p>Ranger: Same as paladin, except with less non-spell magic.</p><p></p><p>Rogue: Same as fighter.</p><p></p><p>Sorcerer: Well, when this guy showed up, he had more casts per day than wizard and some more flexibility in what he cast while the wizard had access to more spells. These days, everybody's flexible and the sorcerer has just as many casts as a wizard. Arguably less magic.</p><p></p><p>Wizard: Again used to enjoy a lot more spell slots. Arcane recovery makes up for a pitiful few of them.</p><p></p><p>Warlock: This guy's pretty new, so let's take it easy on him.</p><p></p><p>So far, not seeing a bunch of new magic. The 1/2 and 1/3 casters of yore got more magic, but the full casters got less. Sorcerer and Warlock are new full casters, but Barbarian is here as a new martial class.</p><p></p><p>Let's look at a few other factors.</p><p></p><p>Multiclassing: These days, if you add a level of wizard, you get one wizard level worth of magic, no more and no less. But it didn't use to be that way. It used to be that you could be a mage/cleric (plus thief or fighter), and enjoy spellcasting prowess in both classes only one step behind the pure classes, at least until you hit the wall of XP around level 10 that few campaigns went beyond, anyway. So, less magic in the multiclassing now.</p><p></p><p>Cantrips: Here's a big one in favour of your "potterverse" gripe. They a powerful and they are spammable, but the half casters don't get them. More magic.</p><p></p><p>Concentration: On the other hand, a fighter/mage/cleric can't preload Prayer, Fly, Improved Invisibility, Haste, conjure a Wall of Force to seperate the BBEG from his horde, then start tearing up with his longsword. Less magic.</p><p></p><p>Levels: Honestly, I think this is the big one. Advancement in the old editions was slow, hitting a brick wall around 10. My sorcerer feels like he wakes up with new spells every morning. More levels, more magic.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="famousringo, post: 6829059, member: 6792445"] I was thinking about this the other day, and I'm not sure 5th Ed is quite as magical as it's made out to be, relative to its predecessors. Let's look at it class by class. Barbarian: Not much magic here. Totem gets a couple rituals and some powers that might be considered mystical. Bard: Originally a crazy multiclass with a bunch of Druid in it, always at least a half caster, now a full caster. Well, that's an upgrade. Cleric: Full caster as always, and I'm not sure going from 7 spell levels to 9 makes much difference, given this class used to get about twice as many spell slots. Yikes. Arguably, the cleric actually has less magic than previous editions. Druid: Same as above. Fighter: Not a lot of magic. One subclass is a 1/3 caster. Given that Rangers and Paladins are the original fighter subclasses that were 1/3 casters, and that Eldritch Knight is trying to evoke the fighter/mages of yore, I don't think this quite qualifies as adding magic. Monk: Okay, two of these subclasses can cast effects that look a lot like spells, but that's more for the mechanical convenience than an expansion of magic, IMO. This class has always had access to mystic powers (death attacks, impossible immunities, magic punches), and I think the goal of shadow and element monks is to expend that mysticism in new directions, not really add more of it. Paladin: Goes from 1/3 caster to 1/2 caster, and perhaps more importantly, the magic shows up a lot earlier than it used to, being balanced across the class rather than back-loaded. But as usual, there's more magic to the paladin than just spells, with lay on hands, detection and other powers. Ranger: Same as paladin, except with less non-spell magic. Rogue: Same as fighter. Sorcerer: Well, when this guy showed up, he had more casts per day than wizard and some more flexibility in what he cast while the wizard had access to more spells. These days, everybody's flexible and the sorcerer has just as many casts as a wizard. Arguably less magic. Wizard: Again used to enjoy a lot more spell slots. Arcane recovery makes up for a pitiful few of them. Warlock: This guy's pretty new, so let's take it easy on him. So far, not seeing a bunch of new magic. The 1/2 and 1/3 casters of yore got more magic, but the full casters got less. Sorcerer and Warlock are new full casters, but Barbarian is here as a new martial class. Let's look at a few other factors. Multiclassing: These days, if you add a level of wizard, you get one wizard level worth of magic, no more and no less. But it didn't use to be that way. It used to be that you could be a mage/cleric (plus thief or fighter), and enjoy spellcasting prowess in both classes only one step behind the pure classes, at least until you hit the wall of XP around level 10 that few campaigns went beyond, anyway. So, less magic in the multiclassing now. Cantrips: Here's a big one in favour of your "potterverse" gripe. They a powerful and they are spammable, but the half casters don't get them. More magic. Concentration: On the other hand, a fighter/mage/cleric can't preload Prayer, Fly, Improved Invisibility, Haste, conjure a Wall of Force to seperate the BBEG from his horde, then start tearing up with his longsword. Less magic. Levels: Honestly, I think this is the big one. Advancement in the old editions was slow, hitting a brick wall around 10. My sorcerer feels like he wakes up with new spells every morning. More levels, more magic. [/QUOTE]
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