Gammadoodler
Hero
Perhaps I'm mistaken, but it seems the central complaint is more about the organization and presentation of the abilities than whether they are labeled as "spells"I'm from the other school of thought, which is that all features and abilities are pretty much all the same and the only differences are who can use them, the methods for acquiring them, the number of times they can be used before needing the number reset, the type of action needed to use it, and how they are organized.
Spells are just class features that you get a lot of options to choose from and have a set pattern of numbers of times they can be used and when they refresh. How is that different than say something like Channel Divinity? Isn't CD merely just a Spell Slot chart of one slot per long rest (or eventually short rest) with a Spell List of two spells? Or like the three Hunter Ranger's 'Hunter's Prey' abilities at 3rd level which are essentially just three at-will attack cantrips who effects occur on whatever the timing of the ability says, that you choose to "Know" one of, and they can't be countered by Counterspell or Dispel Magic.
Mechanics are mechanics. Just piles of game rules. It really only ends up how we assign their functionality in the narrative of the game that makes them SEEM like they are different things. The Cure Wounds spell, or a "poultice" ability a Ranger might get? Could very well have the exact same mechanics and it's only because we narratively assign one the description of "Magic Spell" and the other "Herbs used to create a salve" that makes them different. And this is why it doesn't bother me when something is "made a Spell"... because I have no issue refluffing the narrative of a mechanic. If a feature has been made into a "Spell" by the book and I want it instead to read as a class feature? Then I just do it.
I mean, that's how I've had Warlord-type characters in my games for a while now... by just using Clerics with specific spells and refluffing them as no longer divine or magical and instead the Spells are just martial class features. Rules are changed, added, and removed from the game all the time, so why get hung up on them? After all... that game rule you think is unmalleable? The next book WotC makes could easily change it. So if WotC's going to not hold to these rules hard and fast... why should you? Make the rules and mechanics into how you want them to be to help your story.
Specifically the concern seems to be the section of content that presents the abilities you can get may often be geographically distant from the section of content that explains the substance of those abilities.
In 5e, this happens most often with spells since there is a spells section of the book which is separated from the rest of character creation. Depending on how they choose to go with OneDND, this could also happen with feats.
Currently I'm playing PF2e, which has significantly more of this (spells, ancestry feats, skill feats, general feats, nested conditions, etc.). If I were solely reliant upon a book, especially hardcopy, it would be maddening.
As it is, I play online and have access to digital tools that make things pretty easy to manage. So I guess it irks me a bit in concept but has little impact in practice?