Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 6816819" data-attributes="member: 42582">Quite. But the response to that conversation-opener isn't (typically) going to be "It's all about how you play the character at the table." In 5e, as in 4e, 3E and AD&D, there are PC build options to point to. In AD&D, for instance, you'd point to the description of the cleric on the PHB pp 18 and 20:Clerics principally function as supportive . . . A study of the spells usable by clerics . . . will convey the main purpose of the cleric. That is, the cleric serves to fortify, protect, and revitalize.In 5e, you wouldn't point towards the assassin, would you? Or the champion fighter? There are other builds that it would make more sense to point towards.What have combat roles got to do with anything? I didn't mention them.Your last sentence could equally be true of 4e, 3E or later, option-heavy 2nd ed AD&D. But "designing your character" and "picking options" seem to me like just other ways of talking about "what happens in the character builder". That is to say, those phrases seem to me to be talking about mechanical design and about mechanical options.Playing one's character at the table is important, sure - but it's as important in AD&D as in 3E as in 4e as in 5e. I've played at AD&D tables where players don't play their characters - this happens most often with inexperienced or incompetent players of spell users, who aren't able to make decisions about when to use their spells. I've heard stories of it happening in 4e - eg players who don't understand how to use their PCs' powers, and so only declare basic attacks and simple skill checks - but fortunately I've never had the misfortune to play 4e with such players.</blockquote>

Verification