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<blockquote data-quote="timbannock" data-source="post: 3822850" data-attributes="member: 17913">All IMHO of course, but here goes:Per encounter abilities make very little sense OTHER than as a completely metagame mechanic.&nbsp; How you explain that fluff-wise is beyond me.Per day abilities can make some sense (within the Vancian-style magic system, or the &quot;I need to pray for spells at such and such a time&quot;), but even that is pretty wishy-washy as far as explanations go.The flip-side -- everything's either &quot;at will&quot; or has a &quot;recharge&quot; time -- can either be way overpowered if done wrong, or involve lots of book-keeping (each ability's recharge time has to be tracked separately).&nbsp; But, the fluffy explanation is way easier.All of that said, I think balancing each class based on them all having 3 &quot;tiers&quot; of abilities -- at will, per encounter, and per day -- will make balance easier to achieve and measure (or, for the DMs who like to house rule, easier to manipulate, too!).&nbsp; I'm all for that type of a system.&nbsp; I just can't see how you'd explain that in the game world:&quot;I'm sorry, I can't Whirlwind Attack these Trolls.&nbsp; If we run away and then re-encounter them a few minutes later, though, I'll be able to.&quot;[Obviously, Whirlwind Attack may not be anything close to what's going into 4E, but really, insert anything maneuver wise that a Fighter can do and you still get the same result]Just to clarify: I like the direction 4E is going rules-wise, but it definitely feels like &quot;Here's an awesome, fast-playing, balanced tactical system...and uh, we'll worry about the whacky fluff inconsistencies afterward.&quot;&nbsp; What in the world is the in-character explanation for per encounter abilities for a Fighter or Rogue type character?Weird thought: maybe all classes have access to some kind of magic, kind of like Earthdawn's &quot;Adepts&quot;.&nbsp; That would be an easy way to explain it: hey, this maneuver requires &quot;kewl fighter magic&quot; and therefore recharges irregularly (i.e., per encounter).Hmmm, I'd already noticed some Earthdawn-isms that had crept into 3E...maybe we'll see more of that in 4E?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="timbannock, post: 3822850, member: 17913"] All IMHO of course, but here goes: Per encounter abilities make very little sense OTHER than as a completely metagame mechanic. How you explain that fluff-wise is beyond me. Per day abilities can make some sense (within the Vancian-style magic system, or the "I need to pray for spells at such and such a time"), but even that is pretty wishy-washy as far as explanations go. The flip-side -- everything's either "at will" or has a "recharge" time -- can either be way overpowered if done wrong, or involve lots of book-keeping (each ability's recharge time has to be tracked separately). But, the fluffy explanation is way easier. All of that said, I think balancing each class based on them all having 3 "tiers" of abilities -- at will, per encounter, and per day -- will make balance easier to achieve and measure (or, for the DMs who like to house rule, easier to manipulate, too!). I'm all for that type of a system. I just can't see how you'd explain that in the game world: "I'm sorry, I can't Whirlwind Attack these Trolls. If we run away and then re-encounter them a few minutes later, though, I'll be able to." [Obviously, Whirlwind Attack may not be anything close to what's going into 4E, but really, insert anything maneuver wise that a Fighter can do and you still get the same result] Just to clarify: I like the direction 4E is going rules-wise, but it definitely feels like "Here's an awesome, fast-playing, balanced tactical system...and uh, we'll worry about the whacky fluff inconsistencies afterward." What in the world is the in-character explanation for per encounter abilities for a Fighter or Rogue type character? Weird thought: maybe all classes have access to some kind of magic, kind of like Earthdawn's "Adepts". That would be an easy way to explain it: hey, this maneuver requires "kewl fighter magic" and therefore recharges irregularly (i.e., per encounter). Hmmm, I'd already noticed some Earthdawn-isms that had crept into 3E...maybe we'll see more of that in 4E? [/QUOTE]

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