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D&D General Refresher Course D&D Edition Numbers. AKA Modern D&D Is a Self Inflicted Problem.
- Thread starter Zardnaar
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All D&D designers have struggled with optimizing the math of the game. Look at Gygax who went from the simplistic 1d6 = 1HD/1 weapon hit of OD&D to adding Strength to damage, to variable weapon damage, to exceptional Strength bonuses, to specialization, to the munchkin-excesses of Unearthed Arcana over the course of 10 years or so.
It's true the classic fireball of 1e is comparatively more powerful than that of 5e, but that is by design. Older wizards had fewer spell slots and the fireball was seen as the 1/day nuke that could effectively one-shot anything from a band of goblins to a gang of ogres to a rampaging wyvern (if the dice were with you). In 1e, it scaled to 20d6, which was enough to take out just about anything without fire or magic resistance (hence everything high level tended to have one or both). 2e sought to rein in the absurdity a bit by capping it at 10d6. The forgotten flip-side is the wand of fireballs, which could allow a caster to spit out up to 100 5d6 fireballs to trivialize horde encounters. At least fighter-types could get in on the fun occasionally with their 1 attack/level vs. 1HD or less opponents.
5e is an entirely different beast. The designers have purposely tried to rein in the caster nuke play in favor of everyone contributing incrementally each round until the threat is eliminated. The idea is to make everything more stable and predictable. Unfortunately, it can have the unintended effect of actually making everything more stable and predictable (duller).
I, for one, can't really relate to 5e's math. An ogre with 60hp? An orc with 15?!? Insanity! Ogres have 4+1 HD (4d8+1hp) and orcs have 1HD (1d8hp).
On the flip side, 5e generally has improved spellcasting rules. I'm a big fan of locking spell-scaling unless upcasting is involved.
On the other flip side(s), 5e's designers still haven't worked out how to do monster saving throws, resistances and defenses. I think that's mostly a conceptual problem more than a mechanical or a mathematical one.
It's true the classic fireball of 1e is comparatively more powerful than that of 5e, but that is by design. Older wizards had fewer spell slots and the fireball was seen as the 1/day nuke that could effectively one-shot anything from a band of goblins to a gang of ogres to a rampaging wyvern (if the dice were with you). In 1e, it scaled to 20d6, which was enough to take out just about anything without fire or magic resistance (hence everything high level tended to have one or both). 2e sought to rein in the absurdity a bit by capping it at 10d6. The forgotten flip-side is the wand of fireballs, which could allow a caster to spit out up to 100 5d6 fireballs to trivialize horde encounters. At least fighter-types could get in on the fun occasionally with their 1 attack/level vs. 1HD or less opponents.
5e is an entirely different beast. The designers have purposely tried to rein in the caster nuke play in favor of everyone contributing incrementally each round until the threat is eliminated. The idea is to make everything more stable and predictable. Unfortunately, it can have the unintended effect of actually making everything more stable and predictable (duller).
I, for one, can't really relate to 5e's math. An ogre with 60hp? An orc with 15?!? Insanity! Ogres have 4+1 HD (4d8+1hp) and orcs have 1HD (1d8hp).
On the flip side, 5e generally has improved spellcasting rules. I'm a big fan of locking spell-scaling unless upcasting is involved.
On the other flip side(s), 5e's designers still haven't worked out how to do monster saving throws, resistances and defenses. I think that's mostly a conceptual problem more than a mechanical or a mathematical one.
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