Burning hands decays even more?

[Jack Colby]

Newsflash: New edition always means something is gained and something is lost. If it's any consolation, this edition devotes a page to how to houserule the game. Go ahead and import the 120 degrees, fingers placed just so fluff from earlier editions if you like.

 

[cdrcjsn]

I think some of you don´t understand whats the OP feels. I felt the same pain when 3.5 erased the fluff 3.0 took over from 2nd edition.

It has nothing to do with power of spells, but with versatility:

in ADnD or 3.0 you had a fan of fire in a semicircle. Need to hit a single monster? just turn your hands 90°

Standardization has its merits, but versatilty is lost in that progress.

Why use an area effect for a single target? Why not one of his at-wills?

The reason we had to look for versatility in every single 3e spell is because of the vancian system. One use and poof, they're gone for the day. Finding ways to use them means that you didn't waste space memorizing the wrong spells. I fell under that category in 3e, of trying to find multiple ways to use a single spell. I think I was the only person I knew that cast invisibility on doors just to see what's on the other side...

I like the 4e way of doing things where we don't need to conserve on spell resources. I especially like the explicit statement that we can come up with our own flavor text and fluff for describing the spells. We don't need a useless feat like Spell Thematics to make our magic missiles into technicolor butterflies or burning hands into a swarm of flaming butterflies.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Why use an area effect for a single target? Why not one of his at-wills?

The reason we had to look for versatility in every single 3e spell is because of the vancian system. One use and poof, they're gone for the day. Finding ways to use them means that you didn't waste space memorizing the wrong spells. I fell under that category in 3e, of trying to find multiple ways to use a single spell. I think I was the only person I knew that cast invisibility on doors just to see what's on the other side...

I like the 4e way of doing things where we don't need to conserve on spell resources. I especially like the explicit statement that we can come up with our own flavor text and fluff for describing the spells. We don't need a useless feat like Spell Thematics to make our magic missiles into technicolor butterflies or burning hands into a swarm of flaming butterflies.

yep, you are right somehow...

as i said, i was disappointed in 3.5! in 4e i am less so because of what you mentioned...

and to please me rulewise: it is technically is a semicircle/circle depending how you look at it, once again...

 

[WhatGravitas]

as i said, i was disappointed in 3.5! in 4e i am less so because of what you mentioned...

By the way, I thought Burning Hands in 3.5 was a very nifty low-level spell - BECAUSE of the cone. But you had to use it while flying 15-ft. over the ground!

But the description of the 4E burning hands is flavour-wise not interesting (as many things), mechanically nice. But flavour... well, I tend to re-flavour most things, so YMMV.

Cheers, LT.