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<blockquote data-quote="TheAlkaizer" data-source="post: 8179372" data-attributes="member: 7024893">So, this just jumped to my mind and I'm writing this on my laptop, in the subway.I suddenly remember the Arcane Spell Failure rules of 3E. Now, 3E is how I was introduced to D&amp;D, but it was a damn long time ago and my memories of it are not always reliable.So, I remember very clearly toying with this statistic and it being the element that limited spellcasters to wear thick armors. I also remember tense moments of a spell failing being a big deal in an encounter.However, I have absolutely no recollection if it was a fun mechanic or if it was just annoying. At first glance, it seems like an interesting choice; a trade-off. Being more protected but having a chance for your spells to fail. But I think the unfun part of it is the spell just failing. So, I thought maybe something a bit more progressive and less punitive could be interesting. Maybe even extend it to other areas in addition to armor penalty?What if instead of having a percentage chance for your spell to just outright fail, wearing a large armor reduced the DC or/and the attack bonus of your spells? You still have a trade-off, but it's something that's easier to understand the impact of, and it's not as punitive. You understand what you're giving away, where with something random you have no idea what will happen and when. And again, what if we extended this to other areas?Anyway, I'm curious to see what others recall of the Arcane Spell Failure mechanic, why it was dropped, what was good about it and if there would be design space for something similar in a 5E product.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="TheAlkaizer, post: 8179372, member: 7024893"] So, this just jumped to my mind and I'm writing this on my laptop, in the subway. I suddenly remember the Arcane Spell Failure rules of 3E. Now, 3E is how I was introduced to D&D, but it was a damn long time ago and my memories of it are not always reliable. So, I remember very clearly toying with this statistic and it being the element that limited spellcasters to wear thick armors. I also remember tense moments of a spell failing being a big deal in an encounter. However, I have absolutely no recollection if it was a fun mechanic or if it was just annoying. At first glance, it seems like an interesting choice; a trade-off. Being more protected but having a chance for your spells to fail. But I think the [I]unfun[/I] part of it is the spell just failing. So, I thought maybe something a bit more progressive and less punitive could be interesting. Maybe even extend it to other areas in addition to armor penalty? What if instead of having a percentage chance for your spell to just outright fail, wearing a large armor reduced the DC or/and the attack bonus of your spells? You still have a trade-off, but it's something that's easier to understand the impact of, and it's not as punitive. You understand what you're giving away, where with something random you have no idea what will happen and when. And again, what if we extended this to other areas? Anyway, I'm curious to see what others recall of the Arcane Spell Failure mechanic, why it was dropped, what was good about it and if there would be design space for something similar in a 5E product. [/QUOTE]

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