Powers dropping out...

[Ratinyourwalls]

Fine. I'll bite.

That provokes an opportunity attack.

 

[SlyDoubt]

The "powers" concept is probably not going to attract a lot of the folks who walked away from D&D during the late 3.XE and 4E era (and many who never even rejoined the D&D fold during 3.XE and 4E). That seems to be one of the main sticking points I've read about on the various message boards over the last four or five years. They might want to find a way to rework the whole concept particularly with the fighter class.

I'm not 100% sure you're being serious here.

If you are, yes I agree. I think the reason they would want to lean towards powers is they fit with the modular nature they're aiming for.

However I really want to see them reinforce the concept of ability scores and skills. I don't want things to be super ruled out and detailed as powers. We don't need a called shot power. Stuff like that. That should be addressed under improvisational actions in combat and there should be a lengthy explanatory section of the PHB and DMG with guidelines and explanations.

I think players and DMs need to feel they understand 5E at the very core so they feel free to make things work on the fly and able to, based on understanding the core of the game, guesstimate appropriately.

I hope they lay out a very simple system as guidelines for setting DCs and adjusting based on situational modifiers. Something every DM can remember after checking out for 5 minutes.

Sorry I got way off course but this to me is very related to powers and the general 'strictness' of 4E.

That provokes an opportunity attack.

depends on if it's his natural attack or not.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

This makes perfect sense. Doing magic or doing amazing feats with a sword are not like riding a bicycle. I can still pick up a trumpet and play a basic tune after thirty years since high school. I can still ride a bicycle after ten years without one. But I cannot read Latin well enough to do any serious research, unlike when I was studying mediaeval studies at university. I passed the PhD level Latin translation examination without any problems: but last year I was stumped when I was standing in a cathedral and tried to accurately translate the inscriptions. <hangs head in shame>

Not sure what I filled my head with since. Mostly roleplaying, Doctor Who, English pedagogy and historical trivia.

IOW, you multiclassed.

Really, though, if you had continued to be active in your use of Latin, you would not have forgotten the basics. That cathedral inscription would have been as intelligible as the grocery list you used last week.

Similarly, my father is an MD. While he is technically and legally qualified to do brain surgery, you wouldn't want him to- he hasn't studied that area in 40+ years. But he hasnt forgotten how to take vitals, give shots, and diagnose a host of ailments, even those outside of his medical subspecialty.

Ditto the Wizard. As an active student of magic, there is no reason for him to forget the fundamental stuff. There really is no reason for him to forget a spell that was his bread & butter for years, even though he may not be able o cast a higher level version of it.

 

[Number48]

This doesn't strike me as a problem at the table. Maybe it doesn't seem realistic, but then again your heroes never get lice or intestinal parasites. It fits within suspension-of-disbelief.

 

[Fanaelialae]

Ditto the Wizard. As an active student of magic, there is no reason for him to forget the fundamental stuff. There really is no reason for him to forget a spell that was his bread & butter for years, even though he may not be able o cast a higher level version of it.

What if it isn't that he forgets magic missile at, say, level 10 but rather that by that time the wizard has the option to convert all of his 1st level spell slots into higher level spell slots? So you can still cast magic missile, but now it's competing with acid arrow and the other 2nd level spells. On the plus side, if you do choose to memorize magic missile instead of acid arrow, you get an extra missile when you cast it.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Double post.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

If we're changing the system, I'd rather something along the line of the casters gaining more insight about their favorite spells due to their studies & experiences, thus learning ways to improve them. His mastery becomes more refined.

So instead of MM competing for space with acid arrow, the caster learns to make his MMs acidic...or fiery...or more numerous...or do more damage, etc.

 

[Stalker0]

As an active student of magic, there is no reason for him to forget the fundamental stuff.

As an active student of a force that is ripped from your mind countless times a day with its use, I would say anything is possible

 

[El Mahdi]

In the seminar today it was mentioned several times, that lower level powers drop out.

I don´t like that. Why should someone unlearn something. Upgrading powers, ok. Essentials actually did a good job here. Heroes of the feywild too. But having to replace powers is a difficult thing.

If there is no simillar option, that is more powerful or an option that allows to replicate a lower level one, you may wish you had not leveled up, as you may use your iconic move.

On a different note, I am sad to hear, that feats are needed to make wizard spells at wills... I am not sure if I like that... (feat tax)

The way I read it, I don't think this is going to be the only way to play high level. It sounded a lot like there would be regular high level play, and then an option to keep high level play simpler (limiting the plethora of options a player may have on their sheet) by trading in older skills/feats/powers for new high level powers.

I don't think this is supposed to be a limiting mechanic, but an optional one for simpler high level play.

 

[Ahnehnois]

The underlying idea here is something I think could work, if done right.

From a simulation standpoint, you average doctor doesn't remember most of what he learned in freshman bio (or even the first year of med school). People's skill sets aren't static, they evolve. An official form of respec-ing is fine.

From a balance and gameplay standpoint, the ridiculous number of spells high-level casters get has always been a problem (as was the proliferation of powers for everyone in 4e). If they can reduce the complexity of high-level characters while still giving them enough to make them them feel high-level, they'll make a lot of people happy.