* Different XP for different classes.
Needs to stay dead.
* Favored class. Iconic class / race combinations will be rewarded by good support, they shoul NOT receive XP bonuses on top
I'm in total agreement.
* Detect Alignment spell
I think these spells can be
fixed with a dial. The short version of the middle road is that Detect Evil doesn't detect evil creatures, but detects creatures (of any alignment) currently engaged in doing evil.
* Challenge rating.
I found it to be more useful than no tool at all. Busy DMs need something to get them in the right ballpark quickly. CR shouldn't be raised, though, it should be reincarnated. Its reincarnation as monster level in 4e was, I thought, adequate.
* Level adjustment for races -
In 3.5 I didn't find this to be more useful than no tool at all. The idea of playing monsters isn't going away, though.
* Feat-only Fighter.
We don't know how character advancement in 5e works. At some level all customization is selecting discrete bits from a list, so the distinction between a list of fighter feats and options made available in talent trees or themes is pretty tenuous.
* Entire categories of monsters with the same damage resistance - led to the infamous fighter golf bag
Yeah, I'd tone it down. Special weapons should be a value-added proposition rather than a necessity in all but the rarest cases.
* Save-or-die spells - should be the absolute exception.
The shipped game needs to include both this sacred cow and a grill. That means modularization. I would prefer a method which allows a spell to be written once and easily reduced from a 4e-like crescendo of death to a prompt death. I've had an
idea about this, and there are plenty others.
* Half-races:
Never bothered me in the least.
* Sneak attack resistance on way too many monsters
Yep, anything that nullifies the core ability of a class should be rare. I hate immunity far more than resistance, however.
* Self-buffing wizards, clerics and druids - good old CODzilla
I view limitless buffing as the problem, and self-buffing CODzilla as just one big symptom. I'd build concentration into pretty much every ongoing buff, and make sure no buff is ever sufficient to replace another class. There is room for more powerful buffs with rituals as long as they have a cost that never makes it a no-brainer.
* The Toughness feat. Mentioned by Monte himself to be a deliberate trap crap choice. Don't ever pull something like that again.
Absolutely. There will be enough accidental traps, no reason to build them in. My word, making a version of Toughness usable over the whole game is trivial!
I will add:
* The game assumes you have magic items.
Kill it dead. It hurts the math, it really hurts the potential wonder of magic items, and it practically impales certain types of settings. The game needs to work with whatever magic items the party actually has.
* The main function of magic items is to give higher numbers.
Sometimes magic is about the numbers, but mostly its about possibility. I think there is a place for the +1, +2, and +3 weapon, which is fortunate since they are all but inevitable. The first is heroic, the second paragon, and the third epic. And they do nothing else. That +3 might look pretty tempting...until you see exactly what the Holy Avenger can do without any pluses at all.
* Making the uniform distribution weep bitter tears.
The d20 can only handle so much variance. Specialization is best handled by providing options, not a treadmill of increasing disparity in attacks or defenses. Rerolls and other mechanics that don't change the possible range of check results should be preferred. Blanket pluses should be left to only major game elements. So I don't mind if the fighter class gets a +2 to all weapon attacks class feature as long as it stays at +2 the whole game relative to everyone else. As above, I can see a place for the epic +3 sword. But that is as far as I think it should go.
* The game's economy usually doesn't work.
3e got out-of-hand, but 4e was just ridiculous. At the very least they trivialized possessions that were once important far too rapidly. There are too many causes and effects for even a single thread. The assumption of magic items and gaining of wealth in the first place is a big one. The assumptions about how that wealth will be spent is another. A strong game economy has a tough mandate, no doubt: reflect the value of items to the players (as a game), to the PCs, and to the setting.
