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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JLXC" data-source="post: 940912" data-attributes="member: 2663">Yeah I'm a D&D nut sometimes, happy to have had the last question on the 3.5 chat which ended like 2 minutes ago.  Here it is.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------wizo_negathael presents the speaker with question #232 from jlxc2:    It seems many people are worried that the hour long "buff" spells, such as Bull's Strength, will be too weak at one minute per level.  Can you give us any feedback on that?wotc_andy says, "I think they were way too overused at 1 hr/level, to the point where they crowded out not only other 2nd-level spells, but also the stat-boosting items."wotc_andy says, "When we see no-brainers like that, we tend to target them, because a lack of interesting choices is bad for the game."wotc_ed says, "We've been finding in our playtests that a lot of casters initially stopped using those spells, but then they started working their way in. It became the hallmark of a climactic encounter that the ..."wotc_andy says, "As a DM, I was tired of the players taking a half-hour before every dungeon to argue over who got what stat-boosters..."wotc_andy says, "...and with 3 more of them being added, the problem was only going to get worse."wotc_andy says, "If people want long-term stat boosting, we want them to shell out gp to buy the items rather than arm-twisting the sorcerer or cleric into using up all his spells."wotc_ed says, "spellcaster will buff as many party members as could benefit and then the game really rocked for that one encounter. It made the climactic encounter feel that much more special, since people got a boost then and not for the entire scenario ..."wotc_andy says, "And if high-level characters stop relying on these spells, that's FINE--they're only 2nd level, after all."wotc_ed says, "Oh, one more thing about that. It also took care of the other thing we found in playtesting; everyone walks into the room buffed, the not-an-idiot-enemy-spellcaster would then throw dispel magic. Nearly all the buffs went away. Now the DM doesn't feel his actions proscribed anymore, either. ga from Ed"wotc_andy says, "Good final question--it points to a significant issue that comes up again and again in design: Is this new element so good that it..."wotc_andy says, "...becomes the best one in its category, crowding all others out? If so, it's probably too good. (Same issue for haste--it made Quicken Spell uninteresting.) ga"</blockquote>

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