D&D 5E Playtested dat 5e at Gencon.

[JRRNeiklot]

It's supposed to! That's a feature, not a bug - the wizard gets to stay a wizard rather than turn into a (crappy) fighter.

If magic is an infinite resource, it becomes decidedly UNmagical. It's a bug.

 

[D'karr]

If magic is an infinite resource, it becomes decidedly UNmagical. It's a bug.

If magic is completely reliable all the time it becomes decidedly UNmagical, almost like technology with a different name. Magic in D&D has always been quite UNmagical.

 

[Morrus]

If magic is an infinite resource, it becomes decidedly UNmagical.

That may be your definition of magic, but it ain't mine!

 

[Klaus]

If magic is completely reliable all the time it becomes decidedly UNmagical, almost like technology with a different name. Magic in D&D has always been quite UNmagical.

How so? Magic in D&D has been very reliable, following a specific ruleset that is downright scientific.

For those wanting magic as a limited resource, it's easy as pie to either a) rule out cantrips, or b) make each cantrip available once per rest.

 

[TwoSix]

This will probably never happen, but I wish they would rewrite the pew pew cantrips so they were expended on a 1 roll on a d6, but did considerably better damage than they do currently.

The OSR game "Beyond the Wall" does something similar with cantrips. They're at will, but you have to make an Intelligence or Wisdom check to successfully cast them. If you fail, you burn out your magic for the rest of the day or you suffer some kind of backlash, as decided by the DM.

 

[D'karr]

How so? Magic in D&D has been very reliable, following a specific ruleset that is downright scientific.

Exactly my point. IMO, "scientific" is extremely removed from "magical". Unless magic is simply science with a different name.

 

[Klaus]

Exactly my point. IMO, "scientific" is extremely removed from "magical". Unless magic is simply science with a different name.

Gotcha. I misread the passage I quoted from you.

I look forward to seeing the variant spellcasting systems that Mearls said would be in the DMG (like spell points, etc).

 

[Blackwarder]

Personaly I dislike cantrips like ray of frost, I'd rather have elemental cantrips like conjuring a shard of ice of an handful of flames or lighting, things like that, I'd much rather have them be more open ended and simple.

Having cantrips be this unformed magic appeal to me.

Warder

 

[Salamandyr]

I prefer that cantrips be bolts of pure magic a la Doctor Strange. That's why I'm kind of upset Magic Missile got turned back into a 1st level spell again, because somebody on the design team thinks "it's not magic missile if doesn't auto hit".

 

[Blackwarder]

I prefer that cantrips be bolts of pure magic a la Doctor Strange. That's why I'm kind of upset Magic Missile got turned back into a 1st level spell again, because somebody on the design team thinks "it's not magic missile if doesn't auto hit".

Sorry mate, I was one of those who used all caps in the survey against MM being a cantrip, historicaly (iirc) magic missile was the go to spell against spellcasters since you lost your spell if you were hit, D&D has been using cyclic initiative for more than a decade now but D&DNEXT lend itself to the old roll-for-initiative every round really well, so having an at will that always hit was problematic.

Edit: BTW, I completely agree with you, pure energy/untampered elemental forces etc is my preferred option for cantrips, once you start tucking things like always hitting or slowing down the target, things like that, you move from the realm of cantrips to basic spells.

In that way a Magic missile is the same bolt of energy you can creat at will only this one got a built in homing device.

Warder