Is Everything a Power Now?

[FadedC]

Rogues and fighters are going to get area attacks that don't consume resources (no molitov cocktail on your character sheet, no flash powder) on a per encounter basis. There isn't any flavor that corresponds to that except magic. Everything else is explicitly magic. Hense, every class casts spells now.

A melee area effect that doesn't consume resources.....you mean like some kind of whirlwind attack? Good thing we didn't have any of that in 3e.

 

[ForbidenMaster]

As I understand it, anything with the 'close' descriptor doesn't provoke an oppurtunity attack.

As for the rest, yes, every class is a spell caster now. They might have a 'martial power source' for thier spells, but they are still spells.

Rogues and fighters are going to get area attacks that don't consume resources (no molitov cocktail on your character sheet, no flash powder) on a per encounter basis. There isn't any flavor that corresponds to that except magic. Everything else is explicitly magic. Hense, every class casts spells now.

We've pretty much seen this coming ever since Mearls was revealed as being one of the main designers. The Mearls approach to balancing spellcasters with non-spellcasters is to do away with non=spellcasters.

Problem solved, right?

I really think that we need to stop saying stuff like that. Its just confusing. Was Whirlwind Attack in 3.x a spell? Its about as ridiculous as what we have seen from the martial characters, so why isnt it a spell too? Seriously, can we please just stick to "attack" for describing exploits?

/rant

 

[Agamon]

As for the rest, yes, every class is a spell caster now. They might have a 'martial power source' for thier spells, but they are still spells.

Swinging your weapon in a more effective manner is a spell? If you're talking "in game", no the spell and the exploit are not the same, not even close.

But yeah, I guess in context of the rules, both are powers and are activated the same way, mechanically speaking.

Edit: Ninja'd!

 

[ThirdWizard]

We've pretty much seen this coming ever since Mearls was revealed as being one of the main designers. The Mearls approach to balancing spellcasters with non-spellcasters is to do away with non=spellcasters.

Did Mearls kick your dog or something?

 

[WhatGravitas]

Did Mearls kick your dog or something?

Probably. Mearls is chaotic evil, after all. I mean he had the first player kill in 4E, has a quote "like Gary Gygax on steroids", and put in the black dragon for DDXP.

Cheers, LT.

 

[Sashi]

The thing with modelling everyone's attacks and skills with powers is ... it works. Who cares if the format of your fighter's attacks is similar to spells? Your character sure doesn't. It gives an easy format for letting the fighter do extra damage with some attacks, add effects to his attacks, and so on and so forth. I sure don't care if everyone has powers - I prefer that to casters referring to a chapter called "spells" with abilities in one format, and others referring to a chapter called "feats" with abilities in a different format if they can all be done in one format in one place. I likes it.

And more than that, why does the chapter called "Feats" have to have a top-tier ability of "make a single attack against every enemy adjacent to you" and the chapter called "Spells" max out at "rework reality as you see fit"?

The solution to balancing Fighters with Wizards is to give them relatively equal power levels? Say it isn't so!

 

[ProfessorCirno]

It's not just blurred, spells ARE powers. They're layered on top of each other. And wizards and fightan mans now have the EXACT same mechanics.

 

[Celebrim]

A melee area effect that doesn't consume resources.....you mean like some kind of whirlwind attack?

No, I'm talking about things like 'close blast 3' with a ranged weapon.

With something like a 'close burst 1' I can at least imagine it being better at swinging the weapon.

But after some point, its stops being 'swinging your weapon better'. Beyond that point it doesn't matter whether you call it 'chi powers' or 'magic', its all the same thing.

 

[SDOgre]

I guess at some point when you put everything in the same generic yellow can it loses some of the appeal is all. I get the game reasons.

I think this has contributed to the more "computer game" feel to the game as well. It's less interested in the feel it's going to portray than the game utility.

The feel of a game is important to me I guess. It's one of the reasons I never really liked most of 2nd edition. 1st, basic D&D, and 3rd edition for me.

Saying this, I understand I'm talking about quickstart rules.

 

[Henry]

It's not just blurred, spells ARE powers. They're layered on top of each other. And wizards and fightan mans now have the EXACT same mechanics.

...Which may not be a bad thing, if you're going to let wizards use magic all day long. Back in the days when wizards could cast somewhere between 1 and 3 spells a day that cleared a room (sleep or color spray, for example), then the fighter having nothing more than a consistent low-damage attack worked out in the end. Wizards were glass cannons with very limited ammo, and they left the fighters to carry the heavy load when they finished their 15 minutes of fame.

As wizards became more and more powerful, more buff spells, more attack spells, more utility spells, then martial types like fighters and thieves became progressively useless. Hell, you could see it by AD&D, at levels over 7 or so, and definitely in 3e, as wizards became invincible. In our group, as soon as we started allowing B.o.9.s., fighters became dumped, and I finally understood why.