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<blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 6861272" data-attributes="member: 996">The DM just handles it.&nbsp; A player will say that his character moves to flank or ask if he can get into flanking.&nbsp; The DM says yay or nay.&nbsp; Just like whether he can reach a given enemy, what range a given enemy is at, &amp;c.&nbsp; The game may or may not give the DM useful tools to help him make those determinations, but, ultimately you can do that kind of thing without any tools at all...And SoDs, of course.&nbsp; In 5e, fast combats can make slipping in any sort of contribution a challenge when you're in with other optimized characters, but at least SoDs don't make damage moot - most formerly SoD spells now have a hp threshold, so pounding an enemy down to that threshold is useful.&nbsp; But, outside of combats where you outnumber the enemy and focus fire, DPR becomes less significant, AEs and control matter more in larger combats, and, of course, 5e is back to spell slots being useable for either combat or non-combat applications, just with greater flexibility than in 3e.The expectation that 4e tended to promote in that context was that each combat was significant, presented tactical as well as resource challenges, that every character contributed, and that the party would do better with better teamwork over and above (but almost certainly including) the old 'focus fire.'&nbsp;&nbsp; (Similarly, out of combat, the expectation was everyone participated).&nbsp; 5e aims for some of that with Bounded Accuracy, particularly the out of combat participation - everyone might as well make every check, since anyone could roll well, and bonuses will rarely eclipse the die roll entirely.&nbsp; The emphasis on fast combat, though, often makes it harder to deliver on those expectations - there isn't time for tactics to develop nor need for everyone to pitch in, rather the hope is that each PC gets his share of spotlight moments in and out of combat.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Tony Vargas, post: 6861272, member: 996"] The DM just handles it. A player will say that his character moves to flank or ask if he can get into flanking. The DM says yay or nay. Just like whether he can reach a given enemy, what range a given enemy is at, &c. The game may or may not give the DM useful tools to help him make those determinations, but, ultimately you can do that kind of thing without any tools at all... And SoDs, of course. In 5e, fast combats can make slipping in any sort of contribution a challenge when you're in with other optimized characters, but at least SoDs don't make damage moot - most formerly SoD spells now have a hp threshold, so pounding an enemy down to that threshold is useful. But, outside of combats where you outnumber the enemy and focus fire, DPR becomes less significant, AEs and control matter more in larger combats, and, of course, 5e is back to spell slots being useable for either combat or non-combat applications, just with greater flexibility than in 3e. The expectation that 4e tended to promote in that context was that each combat was significant, presented tactical as well as resource challenges, that every character contributed, and that the party would do better with better teamwork over and above (but almost certainly including) the old 'focus fire.' (Similarly, out of combat, the expectation was everyone participated). 5e aims for some of that with Bounded Accuracy, particularly the out of combat participation - everyone might as well make every check, since anyone could roll well, and bonuses will rarely eclipse the die roll entirely. The emphasis on fast combat, though, often makes it harder to deliver on those expectations - there isn't time for tactics to develop nor need for everyone to pitch in, rather the hope is that each PC gets his share of spotlight moments in and out of combat. [/QUOTE]

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