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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(Psi)SeveredHead" data-source="post: 5461851" data-attributes="member: 1165">Between 2e and 3e came Alternity, which pre-tested (if you will) some of the changes, such as skills being more clearly defined and different ability scores actually making a difference.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> 3.x introduced Challenge Rating and a set (if poorly-defined) idea of "expend this many resource per encounter".</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> A unified toolset. No more five saving throws to keep track of over 20 levels. Memorizing rules became easier (at least before the flood of splat arrived).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Buffs became more important. In 3.x they got nerfed.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Clerics got spontaneous casting. (A huge deal; no more prepping healing spells.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Action types (eg standard, move, free...)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Attack of opportunity</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Spellcasting significantly changed. No more spell casting times. Avoiding losing concentration was easy (indeed, Concentration became a skill for this very reason) but the addition of readied actions still makes spellcasting risky. (It's just nobody likes to use it.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Spellcasters benefited from save DCs, meaning "save-or-suffer" spellcasters didn't suck anymore. Indeed, they probably ended up being overpowered.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Six second rounds</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Codified magic items. They became required and sort of boring too.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Added feats, which started out amazing. However, the class that made feats a big deal, the fighter, never got good feats.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Got rid of class/level restrictions. While I'm not a fan of dwarf wizards, I don't think level limits had any place in any DnD system.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Still kept a few clunkers, like turn undead, which actually became worse because it did not scale with "monster type" but just level.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Introduced the "Big Six" magic items.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Between more important ability scores and Con-boosting items, hit points increased. In addition, an effort was made to give 1st-level characters more hit points.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Unified XP progression.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Greater class differences. I never really saw the difference between a paladin and a fighter in 2e, except one had to have high Charisma, got +2 to saves and lay on hands but couldn't specialize. (3.x had Smite Evil, the paladin's unique class feature, and also gave you a reason to want a high Charisma.)</li> </ul>In 4e<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Healing became even less of a strain on healing PCs. You no longer had to give up actions to heal a wounded comrade (well, nothing more than a minor action).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Made a serious attempt to balance all classes. All classes are useful in combat (even classes that weren't before, like the bard or monk) and there's no more linear fighters/quadratic wizards.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Powers are so cool, especially fighter powers. (Fighter feats in 3.x should have had those.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Introduced healing surges, which finally makes measuring the number of encounters per day/resource loss easy. It also means you can't infini-heal if you have a Wand of Healing Words (which doesn't even exist in 4e).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> 1st-level characters are far more powerful than they've ever been (of course, so are 1st-level opponents). They get more hit points and no longer die in one hit. Wizards and other spellcasters get minor at-will spells.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Ability scores became slightly less important, and they can't be buffed.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Monster roles more defined and minions were created.</li> </ul></blockquote>

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