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*Dungeons & Dragons
I'm just sayin', the concentration mechanic makes it WAY easier to balance spells
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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 6386528" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>No, that takes a bit longer, as you have a series of rolls and possibly notations (spells or ammo expended, features or powers used up, hit point loss, etc) as opposed to "make a Con save, DC... 22." *Roll* "Made it!"</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Perhaps I was unclear. The difference is that in 5e, you have one roll to check. In 3e, a targeted dispel will check against each effect in play on the target, so let's say bull's strength, cat's grace and haste. Three checks vs. one. Then, you have to go through and track the cascade of effects- "oh, my cat's grace is gone, that means my AC and Reflex drop by 2... " It's not too bad at 5th level, but by 12th or 15th it's getting quite lengthy. </p><p></p><p>Vs., in 5e, "roll to dispel my one concentration buff in effect! Oh, well, I guess you no longer have disadvantage on your attacks against me."</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Appropriateness of the comparison aside, you sound as though you may not have actually played in any high, or especially epic, 3e games. Trust me, an hour is NOT out of the question, especially when you add in an epic career's worth of magic items being destroyed, too. It is neither an overblown time estimate nor mere theorycrafting; I ran 3e from 1st to high-30's in levels, and saw this happen not once, but MANY times, often with the pcs as the ones throwing the (first) disjunction, at higher levels.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Let's look at what kind of stuff a high level pc (say 15th) in 5e might have on them that requires recalculation in antimagic: Perhaps one or two effects from non-concentration things, perhaps one concentration effect, perhaps 3 or 4 magic items. Assuming a generous campaign, maybe 6 magic items.</p><p></p><p>Compare to what a 15th level pc in 3e is likely to have in terms of spells and magic items: at least one magic weapon, magic armor, an item that boosts the pc's primary stat, something for flight, something for free action, something to counter death effects, a way to fly or teleport- so far we're still in "obligatory stuff you must have if you want to be able to meet high-level challenges in 3e"- probably something for a resistance bonus to saves, if you're the right class, you almost certainly have a few wands that do healing, etc, etc.</p><p></p><p>High-level 3e parties buff up like crazy. There's a reason that the "scry-buff-teleport" tactic became so obligatory at high levels; it was, generally, the best tactical option available. And a high-level buffed party would be sporting so many spell effects, not to mention the "magic item Christmas tree", that... well, let's just say that I don't think there is any comparison to 5e when you talk about the complexity of dealing with debuffing via dispels.</p><p></p><p>And that's a good thing. That was, in fact, one of the goals of 5e- to make tracking stuff easier. I applaud them for it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 6386528, member: 1210"] No, that takes a bit longer, as you have a series of rolls and possibly notations (spells or ammo expended, features or powers used up, hit point loss, etc) as opposed to "make a Con save, DC... 22." *Roll* "Made it!" Perhaps I was unclear. The difference is that in 5e, you have one roll to check. In 3e, a targeted dispel will check against each effect in play on the target, so let's say bull's strength, cat's grace and haste. Three checks vs. one. Then, you have to go through and track the cascade of effects- "oh, my cat's grace is gone, that means my AC and Reflex drop by 2... " It's not too bad at 5th level, but by 12th or 15th it's getting quite lengthy. Vs., in 5e, "roll to dispel my one concentration buff in effect! Oh, well, I guess you no longer have disadvantage on your attacks against me." Appropriateness of the comparison aside, you sound as though you may not have actually played in any high, or especially epic, 3e games. Trust me, an hour is NOT out of the question, especially when you add in an epic career's worth of magic items being destroyed, too. It is neither an overblown time estimate nor mere theorycrafting; I ran 3e from 1st to high-30's in levels, and saw this happen not once, but MANY times, often with the pcs as the ones throwing the (first) disjunction, at higher levels. Let's look at what kind of stuff a high level pc (say 15th) in 5e might have on them that requires recalculation in antimagic: Perhaps one or two effects from non-concentration things, perhaps one concentration effect, perhaps 3 or 4 magic items. Assuming a generous campaign, maybe 6 magic items. Compare to what a 15th level pc in 3e is likely to have in terms of spells and magic items: at least one magic weapon, magic armor, an item that boosts the pc's primary stat, something for flight, something for free action, something to counter death effects, a way to fly or teleport- so far we're still in "obligatory stuff you must have if you want to be able to meet high-level challenges in 3e"- probably something for a resistance bonus to saves, if you're the right class, you almost certainly have a few wands that do healing, etc, etc. High-level 3e parties buff up like crazy. There's a reason that the "scry-buff-teleport" tactic became so obligatory at high levels; it was, generally, the best tactical option available. And a high-level buffed party would be sporting so many spell effects, not to mention the "magic item Christmas tree", that... well, let's just say that I don't think there is any comparison to 5e when you talk about the complexity of dealing with debuffing via dispels. And that's a good thing. That was, in fact, one of the goals of 5e- to make tracking stuff easier. I applaud them for it. [/QUOTE]
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I'm just sayin', the concentration mechanic makes it WAY easier to balance spells
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