Hawk Diesel
Adventurer
So I understand the importance of concentration as a limiting factor to the power of spellcasting. It prevents the abuse and laying of spells that you could achieve in 5e. But there are certain spells that, while concentration makes sense, it also doesn't. This especially is noticeable in some of the new spells in XGtE. Take for example, Shadow Blade. This spell outright assumes you are going to be using it in melee. Spellcasters are generally squishy enough wading into combat and making themselves targets. Now it makes sense to make this require taking your concentration slot. However, if you cast this and go into melee, it is nearly guaranteed that you will be attacked. And since you are using your concentration slot, outside of mage armor, multiclassing for armor proficiency, or magic items, you are not gonna have a great AC. So you have a high chance of getting hit. How useful is a spell to use in melee if it can be dispelled after a bad concentration check?
An even better example is Primordial Ward. This spell outright assumes you are going to take damage, and thus benefiting from this spell means that you will need to make concentration checks. How useful is a spell like this if it will potentially max out at a fraction of its spell duration?
So I'd like to propose a new mechanic. Light Concentration, and Heavy Concentration. You will still only be able to use a single concentration spell at a time, regardless if it is classified as Light Concentration or Heavy Concentration. This prevents spell layering and those potentially game breaking combos of spells. The difference would be that Light Concentration spells cannot be disrupted by taking damage. These are the spells designed for being in melee range or the ones that require you to take damage in order to actually benefit from them. This allows a character to not have to worry that they will be nerfed by a bad roll. But it still allows those other spells to be disrupted.
What do people think? Alternatively, does concentration even come up or get remembered often enough to make creating a new mechanic even worthwhile?
An even better example is Primordial Ward. This spell outright assumes you are going to take damage, and thus benefiting from this spell means that you will need to make concentration checks. How useful is a spell like this if it will potentially max out at a fraction of its spell duration?
So I'd like to propose a new mechanic. Light Concentration, and Heavy Concentration. You will still only be able to use a single concentration spell at a time, regardless if it is classified as Light Concentration or Heavy Concentration. This prevents spell layering and those potentially game breaking combos of spells. The difference would be that Light Concentration spells cannot be disrupted by taking damage. These are the spells designed for being in melee range or the ones that require you to take damage in order to actually benefit from them. This allows a character to not have to worry that they will be nerfed by a bad roll. But it still allows those other spells to be disrupted.
What do people think? Alternatively, does concentration even come up or get remembered often enough to make creating a new mechanic even worthwhile?