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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 6659510" data-attributes="member: 22779">That would be true if you also hadn't refused my request.  Anybody could attempt it at any time, and they'd get the same answer - no.  Look, it works like this:If I attempt to simply murder the opponent, I don't have to do any negotiation.  I don't have to tell you how I attack or anything of the sort.  I state, "I attack" roll my dice and i'm done.  Zero negotiation.If I attempt to impose a fairly minor status effect (a -2 AC isn't exactly earth shaking) I need to do the following:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Make the initial proposal.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Detail how my proposal is actually going to work, which needs:</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">a fairly detailed knowledge of how armour works and</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">the ability to communicate that knowledge to you in such a way that you still think it's plausible.</li> </ul>At any point in time you can veto the idea.  I not only had to have an idea, but I had to sell it to you on how it works.  I've never worn armour, I've never swung a sword.  I have no freaking clue how I could damage someone's armor in order to impose a -2 AC status effect.  I honestly don't know.  But, it seems like something that might work, so, I'll pitch the idea.  Which got shot down in flames.So, instead, i'll stick to just dealing damage, which requires no negotiation.  Funny how I can impose DEATH on an NPC without a single line of negotiation, but, impose a -2AC?  Holy crap, that means I'm trying to break the game!!!  It wasn't "Well, ok, but, you'll do half damage" or "Well ok, but no damage" or "You can try with a penalty".  It was none of those things.  It was a flat out refusal.  So, no, freeform does not lead to more freedom.  It runs slap dash into the DM who is going to set up hoops and roadblocks and examine every single suggestion for the possible whiff of "trying to pull a fast one".  Teach someone how to make an airplane and you get a thousand different airplanes, all of which can fly.  Hand someone a sheet of paper and tell them to make an airplane and you get a single kind of airplane every time.And, this rolls back around to the issue that some people have with fighters.  Casters can deal damage and inflict status effects all the time because magic.  A 1st level wizard casts shocking grasp, deals damage and prevents opportunity attacks.  Casts Ray of Frost and drops 10 feet out of the target's speed for a round.  But, if a fighter tries to do the exact same thing, he won't be allowed.  The DM slaps on a -4 attack penalty, and/or makes it an effect only - you can knock someone prone, but, you can't damage them while doing so.  You can push someone back, but, you can't hurt them while doing so.  So on and so forth.That, right there, is the issue that some people have with fighters.  Fighters do one thing and one thing only - deal direct damage.  They're very good at dealing direct damage, but, at the end of the day, that's all a 5e fighter can do.  A cleric can Bless three people and up their saving throws, but a fighter can only impose disadvantage on a single attack, and he has to declare before the attack is even rolled, meaning that it's wasted many times, because the first attack misses anyway.  The reason that people have issues with the fighter is that fighters have gone back to being very, very limited classes.  If you liked the 4e fighter, a 5e fighter is a big let down.</blockquote>

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