D&D 5E New Spellcasting Blocks for Monsters --- Why?!

[Parmandur]

The length of combat isn't supposed to be approximately three rounds because that is solely for calculating offensive CR.

Well, they have found that almost all combats are over within 2 Rounds in actual play. Hence the increased steamlining of stat blocks to serve actual play needs.

 

[Maxperson]

You would be surprised at how much difference the labels make, especially with Maths. And symbols?! I have taught students who think 5=5 is 10.

What percentage of the total had that trouble? I'm going to guess that it was very low compared to the number that understood that it was 5.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

What percentage of the total had that trouble? I'm going to guess that it was very low compared to the number that understood that it was 5.

You design lessons around the students who are having trouble. They need the most help.

 

[Maxperson]

You design lessons around the students who are having trouble. They need the most help.

But you don't design games that way. And perhaps that lesson design is why education standards have dropped so much over the last few decades.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

But you don't design games that way.

Sure you do, if you want to maximise your number of players.

 

[Maxperson]

Sure you do, if you want to maximise your number of players.

Making the game worse for a lot more players is how you maximize numbers?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Making the game worse for a lot more players is how you maximize numbers?

Making the game accessible is how you maximise numbers.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Which is exactly solving the issue is it not? You still have a fair number of spell options (which can easily be swapped out) and a creature that is considerably easier to run. That's a plus isn't it?

That's assuming there was an issue in the first place. Obviously some see it as such, and others don't. There's no consensus.

 

[Parmandur]

I appreciate that you feel that way, but I don't think your preferences are universal. Nor do I think it is necessarily a positive development to continuously reduce complexity for "ease of use." I think it continues the "MCUification" of the game. Granted, my preferences aren't any more "important" than yours, so the real trends will be driven by some combination of market research, fan feedback, and designer preference.

Streamlining might be a more neutral way of phrasing that.

And ooo, ooo ,ooo, can we MCUify the game even more???? That sounds great. Marvel influences go all the way back to '74 in the game, after all.

 

[Maxperson]

Making the game accessible is how you maximise numbers.

Got it. Making it easier on an extreme minority of people who can't understand the difference between an ability and a spell, but irritating a much larger majority is how you maximize the number of players playing the game.