D&D 5E The core issue of the martial/caster gap is just the fundamental design of d20 fantasy casters.

[Micah Sweet]

TSR put more restrictions and limitations on the power of casters than WotC has. I'm not so sure it's the right solution, it's a solution that apparently couldn't stand the test of time.

I'm afraid it's just a matter of restrictions not being fun, or at least, not the right kind of fun. I found playing a magic-user back in the day an enjoyable challenge. You had the fun of casting just the right spell to really accomplish something cool - once in a while, when your had picked the right spells, and waited to use just the right one at just the right time... you also got a fair amount of frustration, that way. I'll bet you had similar experiences... I'd speculate that a lot of other once-long-ago players were entirely put off by that process.

Presumably a lot of newer players would have been too ... tho, again, it could just be a matter of what the community has become accustomed to over WotC's tenure.

Yeah, some people were and are put off by it, but it was the law of land (more or less) from the beginning of the game until another company bought the IP, so I'm not sure you can unequivocally say it didn't stand the test of time. Most of the OSR still follows this philosophy.

 

[Voadam]

There have been some trends the other way too.

Fireball 1d6 per caster level no max.

Fireball 1d6 per caster level max 20d6.

Fireball 1d6 per caster level max 10d6.

Fireball 8d6 + 1d6 per spell slot above 3rd level used, 14d6 max using 9th level slot.

I really like 5e concentration as a curb on 3e magic levels.

 

[Tony Vargas]

I really like 5e concentration as a curb on 3e magic levels.

Relative to 3e, the main thing 5e concentration does is save casters slots.

There have been some trends the other way too.

Specific spells have been nerfed or buffed and overall caster power has gone up, and, rarely, down. But restrictions, even inconveniences, have been consistently shed over the decades.

Fireball 1d6 per caster level no max.

Fireball 1d6 per caster level max 20d6.

Fireball 1d6 per caster level max 10d6.

--- Fireball 3d6 + damage mods

Fireball 8d6 + 1d6 per spell slot above 3rd level used, 14d6 max using 9th level slot.

 

[Voadam]

Yeah, some people were and are put off by it, but it was the law of land (more or less) from the beginning of the game until another company bought the IP, so I'm not sure you can unequivocally say it didn't stand the test of time. Most of the OSR still follows this philosophy.

Vancian guess what you will need preparation was the official rule of the land, but there were lots of Dragon articles on spell point variants to give more flexibility to caster spells, and 2e played around a bit with stuff like Spells and Magic and even classes like the Sha'ir.

2e initiative changes also made it much easier for a spellcaster to get off a spell in combat than it had been in 1e or B/X.

I can't really parse what the in combat restrictions on casting were in 0e.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Yeah, some people were and are put off by it, but it was the law of land (more or less) from the beginning of the game until another company bought the IP, so I'm not sure you can unequivocally say it didn't stand the test of time. Most of the OSR still follows this philosophy.

IMX it didn't even stand the test of the present moment - variants that removed restrictions on casting were commonplace. "Mana" (spell point) systems were all over, for instance.

 

[Micah Sweet]

IMX it didn't even stand the test of the present moment - variants that removed restrictions on casting were commonplace. "Mana" (spell point) systems were all over, for instance.

There are always variants for those who want them. When they change the rules and you can't do what you used to do anymore, that's when it matters.

 

[Tony Vargas]

There are always variants for those who want them. When they change the rules and you can't do what you used to do anymore, that's when it matters.

Well, then you just do variants.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Well, then you just do variants.

Provided you the wherewithal to design them yourself, or the patience to wait for someone else to do it, yes, absolutely. This is what I do right now.

 

[Tony Vargas]

I have to admit, I felt a lot more of a need to create/use variants back in the day...
... meh... I just felt more back then, period....

 

[Hussar]

Part of the warlord argument always seems to ignore that most of the mechanics for a warlord already exist.

You want to grant advantage to attacks vs a group of enemies multiple times per day without magic?

Kobolds have you covered. X times per day grant advantage to attacks against all enemies that can hear you. Not language dependent. Not magical. Bonus action too iirc. I might be wrong on that.

So how can it be fine for my kobold to do that but a warlord can’t?