I haven't the time to watch now, I've got dinner cooking and I'm gaming tonight. As long as things that should be spells still are spells we're good. So even if they have moved some spells to action blocks, as long as they are acknowledged as spells and have spell levels assigned for effects like globe of invulnerability or counterspell, then it sounds like a great product.
However, if they have not repented and redesigned from the changes they made in Witchlight and made many actually spells as non-spell action blocks then there's grave concerns. I worry that given how long ahead they need to send these to print that they would not have had time realize the need for, much less implement those changes, creating a deeply flawed product.
If that's the case it's a showstopper on my purchase of the book.
It's a bit of a mix of both. Monsters like the Blue Abishai, have a
Lightning Strike action that is specifically listed by the book as a
Ranged Spell Attack.
But a number,
mostly, of the Actions that require a
Recharge dice roll from the DM are not listed as either as a
Melee Spell Attack or as a
Ranged Spell Attack. Yet they seem to be something of a Spell-Like attack. So, a Spellcaster wouldn't be able to use a Counter Spell against an Alhoon's
Mind Blast because well, that's something a Mind Flayer is capable of doing with its mind. Likewise, the Drow Matron's
Divine Flame isn't listed as being "magic."
Although things get even more confusing because both the Alhoon and Gauth spell like Actions,(*Mind Blast and Eye Ray in the description and not typing, lists it as Magical: So then how does Counter Spell work against those? Unless you have it contest against the DC required to save against the listed abilities.
