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[5E] To Vance or not to Vance - That is the Question
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<blockquote data-quote="Mercurius" data-source="post: 5769418" data-attributes="member: 59082"><p>Hopefully everyone reading this knows what I’m talking about, the question being: Should 5E include Vancian “fire-and-forget” magic or something else? Let’s take this inquiry as an example of a key question to 5E design, a question that I would posit the answer to isn’t and can’t be a direct “yes” or “no.” The answer is (or should be) <em>if you want. </em>Or, if you’d prefer, <em>yes <strong>and</strong> no.</em></p><p> </p><p> Think of it this way. With half a dozen or more official versions of D&D out there, not to mention dozens of retro-clones, close cousins and evil step children, the only way WotC can hope to “heal” the fractured D&D community is to create One Edition to Rule Them All, or at least one edition to please as many people as possible. And the only way to do <em>that </em>is to create a game that is simple enough at its core with modular options that can be customized to suit a specific game group, campaign, and even individual characters (although the trick then will be to nourish a community feeling, a “unity in diversity”).</p><p> </p><p> So back to the initial question: To Vance or not to Vance. The answer is, well, <em>yes, but only if you want to</em>. Want to play a wizard with Vancian magic? Sure. But what if another PC in the same group doesn’t like Vancian magic and wants a powers structure or free-form casting or something akin to Ars Magica’s technique/form structure? Well, why not? A modular design would allow for different sub-systems, different approaches. This extends to character development as well. Want a straightforward and traditional character that levels up and all you have to do is adjust the numbers and write down a new power of some kind? Sure, that’s easily do-able. Or would you prefer a classless character in which you can pick-and-choose what you can do as you develop? That’s possible as well.</p><p> </p><p> This won’t be easy, but it is possible. And, I would say, it is not the inevitable next stage in D&D game design, but something that <em>must </em> happen. Otherwise 5E will just be another small group of designers’ chosen version of D&D. From what Mike Mearls has said, though, I think they’re going for more. Let’s support them and help them make the best version of D&D yet.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mercurius, post: 5769418, member: 59082"] Hopefully everyone reading this knows what I’m talking about, the question being: Should 5E include Vancian “fire-and-forget” magic or something else? Let’s take this inquiry as an example of a key question to 5E design, a question that I would posit the answer to isn’t and can’t be a direct “yes” or “no.” The answer is (or should be) [I]if you want. [/I]Or, if you’d prefer, [I]yes [B]and[/B] no.[/I] Think of it this way. With half a dozen or more official versions of D&D out there, not to mention dozens of retro-clones, close cousins and evil step children, the only way WotC can hope to “heal” the fractured D&D community is to create One Edition to Rule Them All, or at least one edition to please as many people as possible. And the only way to do [I]that [/I]is to create a game that is simple enough at its core with modular options that can be customized to suit a specific game group, campaign, and even individual characters (although the trick then will be to nourish a community feeling, a “unity in diversity”). So back to the initial question: To Vance or not to Vance. The answer is, well, [I]yes, but only if you want to[/I]. Want to play a wizard with Vancian magic? Sure. But what if another PC in the same group doesn’t like Vancian magic and wants a powers structure or free-form casting or something akin to Ars Magica’s technique/form structure? Well, why not? A modular design would allow for different sub-systems, different approaches. This extends to character development as well. Want a straightforward and traditional character that levels up and all you have to do is adjust the numbers and write down a new power of some kind? Sure, that’s easily do-able. Or would you prefer a classless character in which you can pick-and-choose what you can do as you develop? That’s possible as well. This won’t be easy, but it is possible. And, I would say, it is not the inevitable next stage in D&D game design, but something that [I]must [/I] happen. Otherwise 5E will just be another small group of designers’ chosen version of D&D. From what Mike Mearls has said, though, I think they’re going for more. Let’s support them and help them make the best version of D&D yet. [/QUOTE]
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[5E] To Vance or not to Vance - That is the Question
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