D&D 4E Dropping 4e class writeups into 5e

[Kynn]

It occurs to me that most 4e powers and class abilities are written in a way that they could be used fairly math-agnostically.

E.g., nothing in the writeup of an Encounter or Daily power defines what the attack roll should be, just something like:

Attack: Intelligence vs. Reflex
Hit: 2d6 + Intelligence modifier psychic damage and you push the target two squares.

Nothing there tells you that "an Intelligence attack roll is half your level plus your Intelligence modifier plus your implement bonus," for example.

So, it's entirely possible -- probable, I can't say, cuz I don't know the 5e mechanics, but possible -- to have 4e powers plug in rather seamlessly into a D&D Next game without requiring major rewriting from 4e, because they don't have the math hardcoded into them.

All you might have to know in this case is what kind of "Intelligence modifier" bonus you get (say, it's +3 for your 18 Int, or maybe it's just +0) and you'd need to know that "Reflex means the target makes an opposed Dexterity roll," and you'd be good to go using such a power.

Some things may require additional translation, such as the action economy or the use of interrupts, but there's really no reason you couldn't use most powers as-is, especially at lower levels. Is there?

 

[Halivar]

If there are still static defenses, I would say I agree. I don't know what context I saw, however, but I believe saves are back in 5E. Could just be me extruding something from play-test comments. I am hopeful, however, because your idea has a ton of merit.

 

[mkill]

Since most 4E classes have a very similar format and progression, it should be pretty easy to convert classes and powers. You can pretty much create a dummy class with the 4E AEDU progression and a conversion table for things like damage. 4E is built on a pretty limited list of concepts, and I'm sure we'll see most of them in 5E. We'll know more in a few weeks, but right now I'd say this won't be a big deal.