Not that I expect it to reappear, but what's unwieldy about resurrection survival?
It is an unnecessary sub-system that adds nothing to the game that couldn't be accomplished with some kind of CON check. This, I think, was the main innovation with d20/3E - it cut out a lot of necessary systems by focusing more on the core mechanic.
Not to derail the thread, but it seems that 4E took this too far with the power system by making all characters run by the same system, which ended up homogenizing it. It I get the 5E design goals right, they're keeping the core mechanic, simplifying the basic ("required") game around it, and thereby leaving room for greater differentiation with sub-systems so that, for instance, different types of spellcasters can use different systems of magic without the whole thing becoming unwieldy.
I dunno about that....
"We hope to create a system that allows players to use much of their existing content, regardless of the edition." -
Mike Mearls.
It's not for nothing that the first open playtest was Caves of Chaos.
To play Asmodeus' Advocate for a moment, the operate word there is "much." Using "much" of the existing content of previous editions could simply be about the fluff, although that would seem a tad disingenuous. I'm thinking, thought, that what it means is that they hope to allow easy conversion of material from other editions into 5E, even to the point that one could, for instance, run a Pathfinder Adventure Path with 5E without a ton of preliminary prep time.
Perhaps 5E should be called the Rosetta Stone Edition?
It's informative, I think, that the OP is a dig at OSR gamers (plus some psionic-y sounding thing). See, that the idea of an inclusive 5E has drummed up so much interest among people that have otherwise abandoned the current, official version of D&D is really, really important. I gather from the seminar transcripts that the design team knows this, even if there's this really dismissive, combative segment of the fan base.
Relax, Reynard. I'm not digging at OSR gamers as a group; what I'm digging at is the attitude that 5E is somehow going to re-create any specific edition, and it isn't just pre-WotC D&D I'm talking about. And I'm not really "digging" at it as much as saying that it is erroneous and even a tad misguided.
I'm just saying that 5E inclusiveness shouldn't be taken as literally as
some people are taking it to be, that M&M have been really clear about using the phrase
in the style of. My guess is that there is going to be a segment of folks, hopefully a minority, that are disappointed by the fact that 5E isn't a retro-clone of their edition of choice.
By the way, I'm currently in the process of abandoning--or at least shelving for a time--the current, official version of D&D in favor of Pathfinder, at least until 5E comes out.