D&D 3E/3.5 The New Playtest: Why return the failed 3e mechanics?

[Magil]

You're missing something. The expertise dice used for damage resistance means that the fighter is the toughest thing going. And across a day far and away exceeds the healing the cleric can provide.

I'm still not quite convinced that parry will work out that great in play, or in fact be of greater use than healing, but it is something. The monsters don't have a huge incentive to attack the fighter anymore, and if the fighter uses their expertise dice for deadly strike they can't use it for parry.

I'm foreseeing a return to consumable-based healing, due to the healer speciality's ability to make potions that are guaranteed to restore the maximum possible amount of hit points, and the apparent high quality of offensive cleric spells. Though that is of course dependent on how much gold the DM gives you, but there aren't magic item marts anymore by RAW, so... that gold's gotta go somewhere. Maybe I'm assuming a bit too much, though. I could see it working.

 

[tlantl]

... dependent on how much gold the DM gives you, but there aren't magic item marts anymore by RAW, so... that gold's gotta go somewhere. Maybe I'm assuming a bit too much, though. I could see it working.

Just because there aren't likely to be magic mart style item distribution there is most likely going to be a market for magic. Players are going to want to purchase things and giving them the option is a good way to drain coin.

Another good way to drain coin is to impose taxes, require training upon level up which costs money and there's always spell research. Hell a suit of high quality armor is three times as expensive in the play test than it was in the 3.5 player's handbook.

It also seems that the recommended treasure values are a whole lot lower than they have been in three editions of D&D