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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mercurius" data-source="post: 6000456" data-attributes="member: 59082">I'm sure someone will answer better than I, but for me it is options and variety and the tactical nature of movement, which is largely due to powers and the battle grid. The problem with 4E in general, though, is that all of its strengths are the other side of its weaknesses. For example, the options in 4E combat largely come from having powers, and from the monsters having a ton of options but no useless ones; the other side of this is the potential for the grind, and of course the condition-heavy powers that RangerWickett mentions that are game breakers. And of course the downside of the battle grid is for attention to be fused to the table and thus lose the spark of imagination.5E needs to learn both what to do and what not to do from 4E: options are good, the slog and grind are not. Tactical combat and the battlemap is good, but having to use it for every encounter is not. However, another way to look at this is to examine the narrative sequence of combat then figure out what sort of rules best accommodate it. In my opinion a good combat usually follows this sequence:1) Combat starts, PCs are scared and think they're all going to die (in some variation or degree; they could be cocky and then quickly realize the fight won't be a walk in the park).2) Combat goes back and forth and no one is sure how it will turn out.3) PCs, through heroic effort and/or a critical hit or three, take the upper hand.4) PCs enjoy a period of "piling on" and then winning the combat.The problem with 4E is that <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=4" target="_blank">#4</a>  is often (usually, even) waaaaaay too long. IMO it should be maybe a round and that's it, to give everyone a parting shot, but sometimes it takes rounds (and an hour or more) to finish a combat even when the result is known. This has been addressed  by increasing monster damage and decreasing monster HP - I've often addressed it by DM Fiat, just reducing monster HP or giving a PC a killing blow even when they don't really kill the creature (for example, if a 400 HP monster is reduced to 70 HP and then a PC gets a crit and does 60 HP of damage, I end the combat, whether by saying the monster dies - is decapitated or somesuch dramatic effect - or have it fall and be dying, and the PCs can coup de grace it, or have mercy on it and feed it sweetmeats or whatever they want). Anyhow, I'm guessing  the proper HP balance will be built into 5E, or at least they are just scaling everything  back to begin with. It is also sometimes addressed by monsters having a special power, or allies joining the fray, but even then there is always a point when the result is known and it becomes routine to just finish the beastie off. Again, a short period of this is enjoyable - but it really should just be a round (IMO).</blockquote>

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