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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DEFCON 1" data-source="post: 8662428" data-attributes="member: 7006">Like every other thing in the 5E game (and the 4E game, 3E game etc.)... whether any one bit is better or worse, is useful or isn't, is difficult to use or easy to use... it ALL comes down to how the DM and the players approach their game.  And as all tables approach the game differently, feel certain parts of the game are more important than others, feel certain rules are more important than others, feel certain styles of roleplay are more important than others... there will never be an agreement about what truly is or isn't good or necessary with any potential change.Something like Prestidigitation is one example.  Does that need to be in a "caster statblock"?- For some people they will say 'No, not at all'... because for them the caster spellblock is there purely to represent the "enemy combatant" the party will be engaging with, and thus any non-combat spells for an enemy that will only be lasting like 3 rounds before being killed are a waste of space.- For other people they will say "Yes, absolutely!", because they will see the character that has that "caster statblock" as an actual character to interact with on a personal level (granted, a 'non-player' character), so the expectation is that this character will absolutely see use outside of combat and thus we need to see all of what this character is capable of and can have at their disposal for any other type of encounter the PCs might have with them.- For still others, they will say "No, not at all..." like the first group, but for the same reason as the second group-- the DM knows this 'non-player' character has a body of abilities outside of strictly combat... but it's not necessary for it to be written down.  If the players happen to interact with this NPC spellcaster outside of a combat scenario, the DM can just decide in the moment what the character can do.  The statblock isn't a full protrait of everything the NPC knows and is capable of... it's merely a snapshot of some of the most likely things it can do for the DM's ease-of-use in the moment.  But the DM can change things at any time if it seems likely.  In the moment if the DM thinks "this spellcaster can wave their hand and light all the candle in the room"... the DM can just have the NPC do that, even if Prestidigitation wasn't down "officially" in the statblock as a spell for that caster.Now here's the thing (in relation to what I said in the original paragraph)... every one of these three options are going to have almost every person have a visceral reaction to probably one of them that will amount to "ARE YOU KIDDING?!?  NO, NO, NO!  THAT'S NOT HOW THE GAME IS TO BE PLAYED!!!"  For some people, what is written down is sacrosanct-- it is the display of the reality of the world.  For others, what is written down is just what will be necessary to use for game purposes-- the game needs certain things to be present to play the game effectively, and anything outside of game usefulness is just getting in the way.  And for others, the game world and the characters in it are so broad and far-reaching that it is impossible to quantify it all by just writing it down-- so the truth and the reality for what is happening at the table can come into being as it happens through the impulses and imaginations of the DM and players.  The truth isn't set until it shows up at the table in the game, and everything written down behind the screen are 'Schrodinger's DM Notes'-- both existing and not existing until the it shows up in game.And none of us are correct, and none of us are incorrect.  It's all down to what we personally want and need.  And at no point will WotC be able to feed all three groups equally... all they can do is decide what they think will be most useful to the most amount of people... leaning in the direction of inexperienced D&D players first (under the expectation than more experienced players can do things on their own if what WotC gives is not to their preferences.)</blockquote>

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