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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ruin Explorer" data-source="post: 9427676" data-attributes="member: 18">Yeah I feel like a lot of D&D's primarily non-combat spells were developed very much as "cheat codes" in many cases (Remove X, Passwall, Goodberry, etc. etc.). Like, with the Remove X spells, DMs wanted to inflict conditions and curses on parties, which is absolutely a thing from fantasy fiction and mythology, but I think over time there was a bit of a lack of imagination/failure of imagination as to how to undo these effects - where in mythology/fiction they almost always require specific solutions, not generic spells/blessings.All through D&D there's been a very inconsistent and often-broken thread of more interesting solutions - for example, in 4E, the blood of a medusa can cure petrification in medusa victims. But inexplicably 5E drops that. That's in no way an improvement or more interesting design, it's just dropped for no reason, and we're forced to use ultra-generic and annoying-to-get Greater Restoration.I think 4E had to think about this a bit harder, because it had a wild proliferation of classes, and you couldn't rely on certain spells or abilities being available (except role-based ones, which this would not be), and I think it's a real pity 5E wimped out so hard here. There are tons of cases where there should be a narrative cure, but instead we're just forced to use Cleric spells (which in most cases are also available to other Full Caster classes, but basically they're Cleric spells, and you're absolutely turbo-screwed if you don't have the right Full Caster on hand, god forbid you have a party that doesn't include a Cleric or Druid).This is one of the things about D&D I would consider "purely lame". It's actively uncool. Because it means no interesting or narratively-cool solutions, nor complex solutions, and parties forced to have access to certain things to just "not die", and if you do have the right spell, fixing the problem is just totally trivial and meaningless and forgettable. That the only narrative about saving Throknar from the Doom-Curse is just "Oh yeah we did a Long Rest and then cast Remove Curse on him", rather than anything remotely interesting.</blockquote>

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