D&D 5E What is balance to you, and why do you care (or don't)?

[James Gasik]

And Rogues, who can also use long swords.

 

[billd91]

I started in 2e... I admit 3e broke 2e in half (and 4e more then fixed it and made it best... see thread about how I was always playing 4e) but 5e went more back to 3e... you know the broken one.

On 4e, we are going to have to agree to disagree (4e's cure for D&D's issues being worse than the disease, as far as I'm concerned).

 

[Micah Sweet]

and I am going to fill enworld with my problems (and the surveys) until they realize they are wrong

Good luck.

 

[Micah Sweet]

and I am going to fill enworld with my problems (and the surveys) until they realize they are wrong

Have you considered getting a 4th ed group together? I believe you said that was your favorite edition. You could recruit here. Seems like there's a lot of folks on the site who might be interested.

 

[Maxperson]

or if you give items, and the party splits them evenly so they all have them...

again you get a +1 sword, what gives the fighter a claim over the hexblade?

now if you put a wand of hex or a scroll of haste those would go to the caster... cause the fighter can't use them, but what makes the sword go to the fighter over the melee caster?

Why would the wand or scroll not go to the non-spellcasting rogue who can use magical devices? If we're playing the "why" and "if" game, there's also no guarantee that the caster gets the spell items.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I have never played 1e more then a throw away game (and even then 15ish years ago)

and again that is what 22, 25 year old rules? try again

I have faith that I am doing okay by new blood standards. I started to see more newbies playing warlocks then fighters before Covid. I think I am on the right side of asking for change with this

For one thing, I said the answer you seek has been in plain sight for decades. Not caring about a solution because its old is your problem, not mine.

I really do wish you luck on your quest, but I just don't see any hope of getting WotC to do what you want. Moreover, I don't see why homebrew or third party (both far more realistic options) are somehow not good enough. WotC's people are in no way inherently better game designers because they own an IP.

 

[James Gasik]

Why would the wand or scroll not go to the non-spellcasting rogue who can use magical devices? If we're playing the "why" and "if" game, there's also no guarantee that the caster gets the spell items.

It depends on who is more likely to use it. A Thief/Rogue can use scrolls and wands (depending on the edition), but is that something they are likely to do above other things?

Casters cast spells as their raison d'etre, after all. In early D&D, given their fragility in melee combat and how hard it was to backstab things, definitely, give that Thief a wand!

In 3e, it depends on what the exact spell is, and how likely they are to make that UMD check.

In 5e, getting their 1/turn Sneak Attack can almost be guaranteed, so the choice of item would have be fantastically good in their hands as opposed to anyone else (but I won't discount cool spell combos, like, ok, you use the Scroll of Sleet Swarm, and the Druid will cast Moonbeam, and then...).

 

[Maxperson]

except EVEN THEN clerics and fighter mages and wizards with the right kit could all use them

Sure, but if you advance to 3e, Fighters could invest in Use Magic Device if they wanted and use those scrolls and wands. It was cross class, unless of course they used one of their hundred feats on adding skills to their list. And in 5e, why wouldn't the Fighter just be able to use the wand? It's an item that bypasses the casting of a spell and just confers the effects like a potion. All you need to know is the command word. Unlike a spell scroll, no casting is involved.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Why would the wand or scroll not go to the non-spellcasting rogue who can use magical devices? If we're playing the "why" and "if" game, there's also no guarantee that the caster gets the spell items.

becuse rogues lost that 10-15 years ago

 

[Maxperson]

It depends on who is more likely to use it. A Thief/Rogue can use scrolls and wands (depending on the edition), but is that something they are likely to do above other things?

If we're taking that into consideration, the Fighter is going to get the most use out of the magic sword. He gets more attacks and swinging weapons is pretty much his only thing. So the sword would go to the Fighter over the Cleric or Hexblade, both of which use things other than weapons.