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5E Survivor - 5th Edition Survives! [+]
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<blockquote data-quote="FireLance" data-source="post: 8434614" data-attributes="member: 3424"><p>I think the criticism that there are many similar powers is fair, and I hope you don't mind that I take a bit of time to unpack them. I think this was caused by a number of factors. </p><p></p><p>First, within a class, there were sometimes powers that were just higher-level versions of the same power that simply dealt more damage, but had different names. If WotC was in a rush to publish 4E, it might have been done as a way to pad out a class's list of higher-level powers. I know the idea of keeping the same power name but having a better effect at higher levels was floating around in 4E - At-will attack powers had this from the very beginning, and the Essentials fighters' Power Strike encounter power had it too. The same concept got implemented in 5E as the "At Higher Levels" section in some spells. </p><p></p><p>Second, between classes, some powers are quite similar. So three different classes might have three different ways to frighten an opponent, push an opponent away, grant an ally a saving throw, heal an ally, etc. I think this is largely due to the fact that there are only a limited number of special effects in the game, and if there is a reasonable way to add it to a class's list of powers, it will eventually get done. I think this also happens in 5e, but it's disguised a bit better by having packets of shared effects called spells and splitting out the rest into class and subclass abilities. </p><p></p><p>Third, between roles, some powers are very similar, and that's intentional. Every Leader was designed to have some way to heal/restore hit points in a fight, every Striker was designed to have some ability to deal extra damage, every Defender was designed to have some ability to mark opponents. To me, this is simply transparently giving you the tools to perform the role you signed up for. However, I do agree that this is only a positive if you like the idea of signing up for a role in the first place.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="FireLance, post: 8434614, member: 3424"] I think the criticism that there are many similar powers is fair, and I hope you don't mind that I take a bit of time to unpack them. I think this was caused by a number of factors. First, within a class, there were sometimes powers that were just higher-level versions of the same power that simply dealt more damage, but had different names. If WotC was in a rush to publish 4E, it might have been done as a way to pad out a class's list of higher-level powers. I know the idea of keeping the same power name but having a better effect at higher levels was floating around in 4E - At-will attack powers had this from the very beginning, and the Essentials fighters' Power Strike encounter power had it too. The same concept got implemented in 5E as the "At Higher Levels" section in some spells. Second, between classes, some powers are quite similar. So three different classes might have three different ways to frighten an opponent, push an opponent away, grant an ally a saving throw, heal an ally, etc. I think this is largely due to the fact that there are only a limited number of special effects in the game, and if there is a reasonable way to add it to a class's list of powers, it will eventually get done. I think this also happens in 5e, but it's disguised a bit better by having packets of shared effects called spells and splitting out the rest into class and subclass abilities. Third, between roles, some powers are very similar, and that's intentional. Every Leader was designed to have some way to heal/restore hit points in a fight, every Striker was designed to have some ability to deal extra damage, every Defender was designed to have some ability to mark opponents. To me, this is simply transparently giving you the tools to perform the role you signed up for. However, I do agree that this is only a positive if you like the idea of signing up for a role in the first place. [/QUOTE]
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