What is the essence of D&D

[Guest 6801328]

Well, it cuts both ways, really. There's nothing wrong with having simple options available, if they're at least viable (which has not always been the case), there's nothing wrong with more choice-rich options, if unless they're just plain broken (which often has been the case), and the presence of both in no way prevents those interested in only one from choosing that one.

Yet, /only/ the fighter got a simple option in 5e*. And, his choice-rich non-caster option makes, what? an additional 6 meaningful choices?

I don't understand what any of this has to do with not wanting other people to play the simple option.

The whole simple-fighter fetish seems like it's just part and parcel of the same 'Primacy of Magic' Essence-of-D&D. A simple fighter won't rival casters in versatility, so even if he gets some big numbers, doesn't threaten the Primacy of Magic. It's certainly very compatible with it, whatever motivations some of its proponents may harbor.

It's the Man trying to keep you down, Tony.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

In real life even a teenage gorilla would flatten any human easily.

The RL population trends of humans vs. gorillas would tend to evince otherwise.

 

[Campbell]

The RL population trends of humans vs. gorillas would tend to evince otherwise.

If they tried it with swords instead of guns it might be a different story.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

I believe historically most gorillas would have been killed by spears. Or maybe arrows.

 

[Oofta]

All fighters in all editions do things that are physically impossible to do. They fight things with a little piece of metal that no human being could possibly fight.

In real life even a teenage gorilla would flatten any human easily.

People have been hunting and killing creatures far larger and stronger than them since cro-magnans were hunting mastadons with sticks.

What they've never had is an aura of damage or the ability to pull any number of creatures (even unintelligent ones) adjacent and then smack them all.

Which were a couple of the low level powers.

But I'm tired of talking about a dead edition.

 

[Campbell]

If it helps I am largely uninterested in the specifics of any edition. I just prefer a fiction that I find to be coherent. If a fighter regularly faces off against trolls, giants, dragons, and demons I want it to seem reasonable that doing all that could be a Tuesday for him. I cannot see that being the case for someone with the Athleticism of even most real world professional athletes. So it makes sense to me that he must be more capable than they are.

Generally when I want a more down to earth sort of fiction I reach for RuneQuest.

For the record I am not really a fan of the stuff that had no explanation of what was going on in the fiction in Fourth Edition anymore. I feel the same way about Action Surge and Second Wind now.

 

[Maxperson]

Yeh once a day at level one a weird dart throwing wizard could do naughty word tons of damage though 3 darts wasn't it lol.... OR if you are the big gun even out of ammo it's really much easier to get the party to at least try for them 5 minute work days its in their best interest.

Um, I don't know what game you played, but it wasn't the 1e I know. 1st level wizards didn't hit very often and if they managed to get lucky and hit with a dart, that 1d3(1d2 vs large) didn't go very far. As for the 5 minute work day, wandering monsters were very common in those editions AND cast-rest-cast-rest wasted a lot of game time resting. It was much more fun for most of the group(not the wizard) to push on.

 

[Maxperson]

Sounds like a jerk DM to me

Sounds like a bad player to me. The first thing you do is pop off 9 charges so that you have room to absorb incoming spells. Had that player done that, the lightning bolt would simply have added 3 charges to the "wand."

 

[Campbell]

Dart shenanigans were largely a 2nd Edition fighter thing. It was mostly that darts had an insane rate of fire and you still got your strength and weapon specialization bonuses. Who cares if it's a d4 when you are adding 5+ damage to each one?

 

[Zardnaar]

Dart shenanigans were largely a 2nd Edition fighter thing. It was mostly that darts had an insane rate of fire and you still got your strength and weapon specialization bonuses. Who cares if it's a d4 when you are adding 5+ damage to each one?

And throwing 7 per round. With Gauntlets of Ogre power.