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<blockquote data-quote="ZombieRoboNinja" data-source="post: 5937294" data-attributes="member: 54843">One of the most striking departures from 4e in this D&amp;DN playtest is the disappearance of encounter abilities. It seems that while fighters and rogues will gain a few daily abilities and powers, and spellcasters gain at-will cantrips (both good ideas IMO), the concept of per-encounter abilities seems gone from the mix. Judging from the &quot;Shield&quot; spell (which is ten minutes in duration rather than 1 encounter), even the concept of an encounter may be gone from this edition.How does this strike you? As I see it, there are two big issues here. First, some classes (spellcasters) will once again be somewhat more front-loaded than others (martial characters). While the at-will cantrips and daily fighter/rogue daily abilities mitigate this so it isn't as bad as 3e, it was considered a major hurdle in those editions, and I wonder if this won't be a step back from 4e in that respect.Second, even setting aside the fact that classes will be balanced differently in the number and importance of their daily vs. at-will abilities, per-encounter abilities seemed like a cool (if potentially finicky) innovation for all classes. When they were an important part of the party's resources, it was possible to design an encounter that would strain the party without making them near-useless until they got a long rest.My own feeling is that stepping back from the regimented power lineup of 4e is a good thing for class flavor. But not having played a ton of 4e, I'm interested to hear what those who have (especially DMs) think about the difference in gameplay between a session with per-encounter powers and one without them.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="ZombieRoboNinja, post: 5937294, member: 54843"] One of the most striking departures from 4e in this D&DN playtest is the disappearance of encounter abilities. It seems that while fighters and rogues will gain a few daily abilities and powers, and spellcasters gain at-will cantrips (both good ideas IMO), the concept of per-encounter abilities seems gone from the mix. Judging from the "Shield" spell (which is ten minutes in duration rather than 1 encounter), even the concept of an encounter may be gone from this edition. How does this strike you? As I see it, there are two big issues here. First, some classes (spellcasters) will once again be somewhat more front-loaded than others (martial characters). While the at-will cantrips and daily fighter/rogue daily abilities mitigate this so it isn't as bad as 3e, it was considered a major hurdle in those editions, and I wonder if this won't be a step back from 4e in that respect. Second, even setting aside the fact that classes will be balanced differently in the number and importance of their daily vs. at-will abilities, per-encounter abilities seemed like a cool (if potentially finicky) innovation for all classes. When they were an important part of the party's resources, it was possible to design an encounter that would strain the party without making them near-useless until they got a long rest. My own feeling is that stepping back from the regimented power lineup of 4e is a good thing for class flavor. But not having played a ton of 4e, I'm interested to hear what those who have (especially DMs) think about the difference in gameplay between a session with per-encounter powers and one without them. [/QUOTE]

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