What is the essence of D&D

[Arnwolf666]

Arguably, archery (ranged options, in general) ended up 'too good' in 5e, because 5e tried so hard to simplify & speed up combat. Bring back old-school handling of cover & concealment, firing into melee, ranged attacking/casting in melee, ranged weapons made-for-STR, etc... and you'd have less issue with ranged options being too good - and, more complex rules & slower combat...

...and, well, casting, being mostly at range, not being 'too good,' which is at odds with the Essence of D&D. ;P

Really go back to 2E firing into melee rules. It’s a wonderful thing.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Really go back to 2E firing into melee rules. It’s a wonderful thing.

I recall 1e & 3e rules for that with some clarity. Was 2e different from both of those?

 

[Oofta]

Really go back to 2E firing into melee rules. It’s a wonderful thing.

For those of us who don't have a 2E book handy, and don't remember a version of the game we haven't played this century?

Because all I remember was allies providing cover and a house rule that if you missed by the cover amount you then rolled to see if you hit your ally instead.

 

[Arnwolf666]

I recall 1e & 3e rules for that with some clarity. Was 2e different from both of those?

Oh. I believe 1E and 2E were the same. But I am not sure at the moment. I liked it because it was foolish to try to use any ranged weapon against an enemy engaged with an ally.

Once our group tied up a thief and hanged him upside down at camp overnight for shooting the fighter with an arrow. Now my group knew each other very well, and it was a playful thing among the party members that knew each other.

 

[Arnwolf666]

For those of us who don't have a 2E book handy, and don't remember a version of the game we haven't played this century?

Because all I remember was allies providing cover and a house rule that if you missed by the cover amount you then rolled to see if you hit your ally instead.

Not on a miss

Anytime you fired into melee you had an equal
Chance to hit whoever was in melee. If you had 6
People in melee you determine randomly who the arrow may hit before the attack role was even made.

Page 99 2E PHB

 

[Tony Vargas]

Not on a miss

Anytime you fired into melee you had an equal
Chance to hit whoever was in melee. If you had 6
People in melee you determine randomly who the arrow may hit before the attack role was even made.

Page 99 2E PHB

Yep, sounds like the 1e version.

I wonder if it came over from Chaimail? Decidedly wargamey in feel, IMHO.

Because all I remember was allies providing cover and a house rule that if you missed by the cover amount you then rolled to see if you hit your ally instead.

Sounds closer to 3e. (May have been introduced in 2e C&T? - seems like a lotta 3e's tactical/grid-dependence sins were.)

 

[Campbell]

I like allies providing cover. I'm not a big fan of hitting your allies. In practice it provided too strong of a disincentive. The cover was enough.

 

[Oofta]

I like allies providing cover. I'm not a big fan of hitting your allies. In practice it provided too strong of a disincentive. The cover was enough.

Sharpshooter contributes to the supremacy of dex and archery. No cover and shoot somebody 3 football fields away and significantly more damage* for the win!

*depending on a lot of factors ... it seems to dramatically increase damage at mid-to-high levels unless enemy ACs are cranked up.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

Druidzilla was the one I think I accidentally started making .... definitely melee. I would have expected a Cleric one to be rangy?

Nah. Divine Metamagic + Persistent Spell + divine power and/or holy might turns you into an all-day melee monster.

 

[Arnwolf666]

Yep, sounds like the 1e version.

I wonder if it came over from Chaimail? Decidedly wargamey in feel, IMHO.

There were adjustments for size. But I think that is the main reason I still like 1E/2E better. It changed the combat dynamic more and I preferred melee.

I am in no way demeaning people that like the way later editions do it. I just enjoyed the risk for firing into melee. The tension that I don’t have a clear shot. They are moving around so much that I may hit my friend instead.

Many DM’s house ruled that they only rolled on a miss. I even house ruled that if they were 2 size categories larger that you didn’t need to check, just aim high. Some creatures were little the broad side of a barn.