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<blockquote data-quote="Mannahnin" data-source="post: 8189797" data-attributes="member: 7026594">TBF, 5E does have casters make attack rolls for ranged spells (though not area effect ones).&nbsp; And as noted 4E has them roll for every spell.Like Paul mentioned, games which make casters check for every spell to see if it works typically don't limit them with spell slots or memorization restrictions.&nbsp; I've been running 5 Torches Deep for most of the last year, and in that game casters know a limited number of spells, but can keep casting them as long as they keep passing checks.&nbsp; But once they fail they lose access for the day.&nbsp; As Psi pointed out, spells in D&amp;D also allow saves, so if we require caster checks AND allow saves, we get two points of failure and make spells terribly unreliable.&nbsp; 5E design takes this into account, making spells almost all require EITHER an attack roll OR a save.&nbsp; Spells which require both generally have particularly potent effects, or the save is against some additional bonus nasty effect.&nbsp; My new wizard in RotFM has Ray of Sickness for one of his 1st level spells.&nbsp; I have to hit, and then the enemy gets a save to reduce the damage to half and to avoid the Poisoned condition.&nbsp; But Poisoned is quite nasty, so I'm happy to take the gamble on the spell.One thing I started toying with in the last 5E game I was running was having casters for offensive area effect spells roll a targeting check to see if it lands exactly where they want or not (perhaps a bit long or short).&nbsp; This creates more excitement with Fireballs, for example, and makes them act a bit less like laser-guided munitions which can be dropped into a melee and run no risk of hitting friendlies.&nbsp; Initial results had some promise, but you've got to be restrained with this sort of thing.One interesting effect of the less-reliable magic in 5TD is that I have a higher than usual proportion of non-caster classes (Fighters and Thieves) than I would normally expect to see.&nbsp; Which is pretty neat in terms of genre emulation, giving a more Swords &amp; Sorcery feel.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mannahnin, post: 8189797, member: 7026594"] TBF, 5E does have casters make attack rolls for ranged spells (though not area effect ones). And as noted 4E has them roll for every spell. Like Paul mentioned, games which make casters check for every spell to see if it works typically don't limit them with spell slots or memorization restrictions. I've been running 5 Torches Deep for most of the last year, and in that game casters know a limited number of spells, but can keep casting them as long as they keep passing checks. But once they fail they lose access for the day. As Psi pointed out, spells in D&D also allow saves, so if we require caster checks AND allow saves, we get two points of failure and make spells terribly unreliable. 5E design takes this into account, making spells almost all require EITHER an attack roll OR a save. Spells which require both generally have particularly potent effects, or the save is against some additional bonus nasty effect. My new wizard in RotFM has Ray of Sickness for one of his 1st level spells. I have to hit, and then the enemy gets a save to reduce the damage to half and to avoid the Poisoned condition. But Poisoned is quite nasty, so I'm happy to take the gamble on the spell. One thing I started toying with in the last 5E game I was running was having casters for offensive area effect spells roll a targeting check to see if it lands exactly where they want or not (perhaps a bit long or short). This creates more excitement with Fireballs, for example, and makes them act a bit less like laser-guided munitions which can be dropped into a melee and run no risk of hitting friendlies. Initial results had some promise, but you've got to be restrained with this sort of thing. One interesting effect of the less-reliable magic in 5TD is that I have a higher than usual proportion of non-caster classes (Fighters and Thieves) than I would normally expect to see. Which is pretty neat in terms of genre emulation, giving a more Swords & Sorcery feel. [/QUOTE]

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