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Message: <blockquote data-quote="zoroaster100" data-source="post: 3749419" data-attributes="member: 8538">Mustrum, I completely agree with your assessment and I desperately hope the 4e designers read and pay close attention to your post.  Sean K. Reynolds blogged a while back about very similar issues, which he addressed as eliminating absolute effects in the game.  I believe he included in the list the spell Knock, which suddenly makes Open Lock skill ranks redundant (he suggested that instead should allow the caster to make an unkilled Open Lock roll with a +15 bonus (if I remember correctly), so even a rogue/wizard can benefit from both his ranks and the benefit of the spell).  He also included other effects that completely protect against a whole category of effects.I would include in this list the following:Death ward - Death effects and negative energey effects should be toned down accross the board, but there should not be a spell that totally and completely blocks them with no way to overcome this protection except to dispel it.  Instead it should grant a bonus to saves.Freedom of Movement - One effect completely makes grappling, paralyzation, and other forms of battlefield control useless.  This should be toned down to a bonus to saves.True Seeing - Again, one effect wipes out invisibility, illusion, shapechanging disguise, etc., ruining many forms of interesting adventures that involve figuring out such tricks.  Instead, it should grant a strong bonus to Spot, and high Spot resolves should allow someone to discern something is wrong.Mind Blank - Another effect that wipes out a whole category of effects, making whole types of characters and monsters useless if they rely on mind effects.  Instead it should grant a strong bonus to saves.If saves are changing in 4e to some kind of "defense" like AC, then instead of a save bonus these effects would grant a defense bonus.I also agree that the fly spell should be epic level.  At lower levels the ability to fly should just be a swift fly for one round or else more mechanical like growing wings but then you can't cast spells, or transform into a bird, etc.  And mass flight should be unavailable, at least until epic levels.  That way you don't have the whole party flying around unless each character invests in obtaining the ability on their own, such as the fighter getting a flying mount, the druid using shape change, the wizard using a spell for short term flight, etc., and even then only for a limited time per day in most cases.  This avoids making entire types of monsters useless.</blockquote>

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