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What are the Roles now?
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<blockquote data-quote="DEFCON 1" data-source="post: 6503120" data-attributes="member: 7006"><p>Seems to me... the real reason why defined roles played such a part in 4E's design was purely a matter of mechanical *balance* in the design of classes for combat. The roles gave the designers benchmarks to make sure that any particular class they made had something useful to do and usually unique to it's power source during combat. It was made rather clear to everyone that in 3E, the bard seemed to be underpowered at most tables compared to other classes in combat. The monk tended to be underpowered. The cleric and high-leveled wizards tended to be overpowered. So with the desire in 4E to shave down these imbalances, they came up with things via roles that they could make sure every class could do so that there wasn't these imbalances. Bards had features and powers that made them on par with clerics, especially in regards to healing. Warlocks got damage boosts so that they weren't a poor man's blaster wizard. The designers could say "This is what a class in X role should be capable of accomplishing", and then make sure their class design reflected that.</p><p></p><p>But now for 5E... they are proficient enough in the building of more balanced classes that they didn't need to proscribe things so heavily. They could see (both via the eye and via the math) what classes *should* be able to bring to the table because of all the experience they brought in from 4E, and could thus *merge* the stylistic formatting of much of 3E with the balance of 4E to create 5E. And thus the need for specific and defined "roles" was no longer necessary.</p><p></p><p>They learned from the use of proscribed roles in 4E what was required for proper class balancing, and could take those training wheels off in the design of 5E. And yet... the actual features that roles gave could still be included in the game for those that wanted them, they just didn't have to be assigned to any specific class. Everyone is now free to recreate what a role could do with any manner of class they want.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DEFCON 1, post: 6503120, member: 7006"] Seems to me... the real reason why defined roles played such a part in 4E's design was purely a matter of mechanical *balance* in the design of classes for combat. The roles gave the designers benchmarks to make sure that any particular class they made had something useful to do and usually unique to it's power source during combat. It was made rather clear to everyone that in 3E, the bard seemed to be underpowered at most tables compared to other classes in combat. The monk tended to be underpowered. The cleric and high-leveled wizards tended to be overpowered. So with the desire in 4E to shave down these imbalances, they came up with things via roles that they could make sure every class could do so that there wasn't these imbalances. Bards had features and powers that made them on par with clerics, especially in regards to healing. Warlocks got damage boosts so that they weren't a poor man's blaster wizard. The designers could say "This is what a class in X role should be capable of accomplishing", and then make sure their class design reflected that. But now for 5E... they are proficient enough in the building of more balanced classes that they didn't need to proscribe things so heavily. They could see (both via the eye and via the math) what classes *should* be able to bring to the table because of all the experience they brought in from 4E, and could thus *merge* the stylistic formatting of much of 3E with the balance of 4E to create 5E. And thus the need for specific and defined "roles" was no longer necessary. They learned from the use of proscribed roles in 4E what was required for proper class balancing, and could take those training wheels off in the design of 5E. And yet... the actual features that roles gave could still be included in the game for those that wanted them, they just didn't have to be assigned to any specific class. Everyone is now free to recreate what a role could do with any manner of class they want. [/QUOTE]
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