Do You Want Multiple Actions Per Turn or Not?

[ren1999]

I disagree. If a Wizard prepares before the battle, he could maintain his magical shield and the elemental force around his dagger and use it in melee combat as he is attacked. As long as the damage from that elemental force is about the same as the damage of a fighter's weapon then the Wizard won't be too powerful.

A wizard should also be able to throw a fire ball at near point blank range if he is experienced in battle.

 

[keterys]

In 1e if someone was in melee with you you couldn't cast, period; and if someone at range happened to hit you with something during your casting time you automatically lost the spell as well.

Hmm, it's been a number of years, but I only remember losing spells for being hit, not for simply being next to people.

Of course, I also don't remember it being that hard to avoid melee.

Even when I did solo adventures from time to time, I mostly just needed to make sure I had some sort of brute (hired, summoned, charmed, or whatever) in front of me.

But, again, lot of years ago. The memories, they fade.

Yet people complain to the ends of the internet that casters have become too dominating. I refuse to believe I'm the only person who can see the blindingly-obvious connection.

3e is the edition where casters dominated. Wasn't the case in 4e. And even in 1e / 2e, casters dominated, it was just easier to shut them down.

I still remember doing fights where we'd see a group of say level 9 fighter equivalents and 2 level 3 wizards... and oh god, kill the caster as fast as possible. Who cares about the melee folks, let them get their attacks in, gotta stop the Stinking Clouds (or whatever).

Somehow I don't see the no-level-bonus surviving until final release...

It's a guiding principle of the new design. I'd expect almost nothing to survive until final release... but I think you're wrong on this one

 

[Hrothgar Rannúlfr]

Also, I hope the non-scaling by level bonuses (mentioned above) survive, too.

As to the topic, at hand...


No attacks of opportunity. No off-turn actions other than possibly something like feather fall...

I would prefer a single action (with possibly a swift action) on each character or creature's turn. Move or cast a spell. Not both. Move or make an attack.

I would, however, allow melee characters to move half their usual distance and make a full attack. I'd also count threatened squares as difficult terrain (so movement through threatened squares would be slower or cost more squares of movement).

Spells would usually require until just before the character or creature's next action to come into effect (with some spells possibly taking even longer to come into effect). If hit in the meantime, some sort of save to avoid losing the spell would probably be OK, if it weren't assumed that the spell was automatically lost if damage was taken.