D&D General D&D Evolutions You Like and Dislike [+]

[Reynard]

The number only went to 18 before 3E, and the Gauntlets brought it to 18 with a few boni.

That's a feature of what I am talking about here, not a bug.

I don't think that is true. i remember the ability score charts going up to 25.

 

[Alzrius]

The number only went to 18 before 3E, and the Gauntlets brought it to 18 with a few boni.

That's a feature of what I am talking about here, not a bug.

AD&D 2E was very clear that ability scores went up to 25, which was their absolute maximum, and the tables in the PHB reflected that.

 

[Remathilis]

I'm still a little bitter about making the monk one of the care character classes. Maybe with enough time I'll get over it.

Unfortunately, that's because Mr Gygax put them in the AD&D PHB and aside from an attempt to remove them in 2e (which resulted in three different attempts to restore them) they've been grandfathered in.

 

[Remathilis]

I don't think that is true. i remember the ability score charts going up to 25.

Correct. The 2e PHB had them all go to 25, and I don't remember if 1e had it in the PHB or UA.

 

[Willie the Duck]

So what changes to core D&Disms (classes, mechanics, settings, meta-game, etc) that have occurred over time do you like?

• I like that there are now dwarven wizards, (playable) elven clerics, and non-human paladins.
• I like that being an elf is no longer a huge list of benefits counterbalanced by class limitations, plus not being able to advance to levels the group might not see.
• I like that there is an attempt to make thieves (well, rogues) approximately similar in power/utility/enjoyment to play as fighters or wizards, instead of the balance being something like 'well, next time you'll get to play the fighter' or 'your other character is a wizard.'
• I like that there is an attempt to make all the classes have similar power/utility/enjoyment to play at most levels, instead of some starting off great but declining and others starting off rather limited but reaching unequalled heights at really high (again, which a given group might never reach) levels.
• I like that they have tried to make there not be a small subset of weapons (mostly lances, longbows, and either 1- or 2-handed swords) that are strictly best (both directly and in frequency of magic item drops) and it not clear why anyone would choose to use anything else.
• I like that bludgeoning weapons are no longer also-ran items that clerics get to use (and thus be second-tier combatants).
• I like that it was recognized that the cleric had become something of a hit point battery for the rest of the party, and that that wasn't all that fun to play (but someone 'had to,' just like someone 'had to' play the thief). Admittedly the fixes have ranged all over the map (from build-a-bear specialty priests to CoDzilla to 5e cleric-less overnight full heals).
• I like that it has been recognized that everyone is not going to have come from the same background with the same fictional inspirations for wanting to be involved in a fantasy game as E. Gary Gygax did in the 1970s. That ranges from having no specific affinity for mechanics that mirror the tales of Jack Vance to wanting to play a warrior that does not resemble a medieval (or renaissance-but-without-gunpowder) European knight to wanting to play as a woman without a bunch of excessive limits to your power fantasy to wanting to play as non-human species not included in the works of Tolkien.
• I generally like the movement away from constraining extreme power with extreme unlikeliness, extreme inconvenience, lifetime limits (that don't matter in one-offs), or 1% chances of killing your character (permanently) instead of the intended effect. No-save cursed magic items where having a very specific spell prepared (maybe by someone else) when you first handle them is the only way not to permanently die fall into this category.

 

[Alzrius]

I don't think that is true. i remember the ability score charts going up to 25.

Fun fact, Set 5: Immortals (1986) let characters who had become immortals (i.e. gods) have increase their ability scores up to a maximum of 100:

Wrath of the Immortals (1992) kept that rule, albeit with some tweaking about how the bonuses were applied (the full rules for which are too long to reproduce below):

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I like(d) the move to having all character classes use a similar resource recovery schedule in 4E, and disliked losing that in 5E, it solved so many problems in balance and pacing I used to experience in 3E, and it enabled a relatively flexible way to run my campaigns.

I like Warls, e.g. Warlords and Warlocks. They both fit a thematic niches I really enjoy. A character like Roy from OotS was made with 3E in mind, but in truth, the 3E Fighter couldn't really play a good inspiring or tactical leader mechanically. He was only got at hitting enemies with weapons, and maybe doing some of the few combat maneuvers with them, and it would become rather samey (you got Improved Trip, trip with your last iterative attack, no real choice her.). And the Warlock, as someone making a deal with supernatural beings to get access to magical power is just great.

I liked that they got rid of the really bad save or die effects and overall lessened their impact. I've lost too many characters to stupid save or die effects like the 3E Bodak, even with excellent saving throws...

 

[mamba]

I have seen a number of people be disappointing by being beaten by other players in things they have tried to be good at (eg, Wizard not succeeding an arcana check that the barbarian passes).

then don’t have the barbarian even be able to attempt the check unless they are trained in arcana.

It’s not like I have a chance at deciphering Chinese when I never bothered studying it either.

 

[SkidAce]

...
Dislike:
* ... the druid and bard lost... (scimitar for druid, rapiers for bard)

Is that a 2024 thing?

 

[Reynard]

then don’t have the barbarian even be able to attempt the check unless they are trained in arcana.

It’s not like I have a chance at deciphering Chinese when I never bothered studying it either.

This. I require proficiency all the time to make certain checks.