No idea. None of this is related to any prior edition. This is all about 5e and what 5e says. People incorrectly trying to connect it to prior editions is most, if not all of the problem, depending on the person.
It's not meaningless.
First, house rules are unique/semi-unique rules at specific tables. The rules I'm referring to are the default rules for the game. The default rules apply to every table unless specifically changed by the DM. House rules specifically do not unless adopted by the DM...
For my part I do believe that it is an appropriate consequence, but I would never do it suddenly. If a warlock were straying badly, there would first be dreams and omens. If those didn't work(from the patron's perspective), then every once in a while the power would fail in a round of combat...
I think the old concerns from 1e and 2e are coloring viewpoints here and causing misperceptions to occur. We aren't saying that we are evaluating play, finding it lacking, and then administering a punishment. What we are doing is the basic play loop.
The DM describes the environment(the...
I liked it. It started reaaaaallly slow, but picked up after 5 or so episodes and then never looked back.
I'm really liking it as well. I'm only in season 3, though. So much to watch, so little time to see it all.
No it's not. There is literally no difference in the fiction between an NPC and a PC, so treating them differently makes no sense. If it's bad for one to be treated like they are all the same by the thousands, it's also wrong for the other.
That doesn't really explain it. If thousands of people advancing in exactly the same manner is an issue, NPC or PC doesn't change that. It's not a problem that is specific to either category.
"Divine magic, as the name suggests, is the power of the gods, flowing from them into the world. Clerics are conduits for that power, manifesting it as miraculous effect. The gods don't grant this power to everyone who seeks it, but only to those chosen to fulfill a high calling."
You really...
Yet for some reason it's not an issue for the thousands of PCs that receive the same training and same growth in abilities in exactly the same order. Why are NPCs different?
I think that's more because those books don't use NPCs that join the party as an equal. The 5e DMG suggested PC class levels for NPCs who were going to be party members.
I'm of the opinion that what's good for the goose, is good for the gander. If NPCs can do it, PCs should be able to do it as well. If PCs can do it, NPCs should be able to do it as well.
To really engage with what you are describing, you'd need a classless system, and D&D isn't that kind of...