Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
What are the Roles now?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 6503708" data-attributes="member: 2067"><p>Player's Option/2.5e stuff was pretty controversial too. As was 4.5e/Essentials.</p><p></p><p>Heck, 2e itself -- despite being arguably the least dramatic edition change -- was hell of controversial. </p><p></p><p>Best thing to do would seem to be to <em>ennable new things</em> wherever possible. </p><p></p><p>If 4e's "roles" were options you could layer on top of the game (similar to the discussion of "roles" in late 3e that presaged their arrival in 4e), rather than foundational to class design for every player, they probably would've been more warmly received.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>In 5e, that's not a big problem -- pick up some healing potions and you'll be fine. Sure, you won't be topping everyone off to max HP, but you'll stop people from going down by spending your action to heal them. </p><p></p><p>Prior to 4e, and in 5e, the idea that "healer" is an identifiable and necessary character trait would be foreign to a number of groups. </p><p></p><p>In 2e, when the cleric and the druid were put in the same camp, that camp wasn't "healer." It was "I get spells from powerful things that I worship." Remember that specialty priests -- including priests that were <em>barred from casting healing spells</em> were also in that camp. That camp wasn't defined by having access to healing magic, it was defined by how these characters got magical power in the fiction.</p><p></p><p>Similarly, rangers, paladins, and fighters were put in the same camp, and that camp wasn't "defender," it was "I am good at fighting things with weapons." Rangers could be downright <em>fragile</em> there. </p><p></p><p>Wizards and specialist mages were put in the same camp, and that camp wasn't "shut down the enemy," it was "I learn spells from ancient tomes." Evokers and elementalists were part of that group, too. </p><p></p><p>Bards and thieves were put in the same camp, and that camp wasn't "deal big damage," it was "I have non-combat skills with a % chance of success." </p><p></p><p>Those are some pretty significant differences between how 4e conceived of roles, and how 2e conceived of class groups.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="I'm A Banana, post: 6503708, member: 2067"] Player's Option/2.5e stuff was pretty controversial too. As was 4.5e/Essentials. Heck, 2e itself -- despite being arguably the least dramatic edition change -- was hell of controversial. Best thing to do would seem to be to [I]ennable new things[/I] wherever possible. If 4e's "roles" were options you could layer on top of the game (similar to the discussion of "roles" in late 3e that presaged their arrival in 4e), rather than foundational to class design for every player, they probably would've been more warmly received. In 5e, that's not a big problem -- pick up some healing potions and you'll be fine. Sure, you won't be topping everyone off to max HP, but you'll stop people from going down by spending your action to heal them. Prior to 4e, and in 5e, the idea that "healer" is an identifiable and necessary character trait would be foreign to a number of groups. In 2e, when the cleric and the druid were put in the same camp, that camp wasn't "healer." It was "I get spells from powerful things that I worship." Remember that specialty priests -- including priests that were [I]barred from casting healing spells[/I] were also in that camp. That camp wasn't defined by having access to healing magic, it was defined by how these characters got magical power in the fiction. Similarly, rangers, paladins, and fighters were put in the same camp, and that camp wasn't "defender," it was "I am good at fighting things with weapons." Rangers could be downright [I]fragile[/I] there. Wizards and specialist mages were put in the same camp, and that camp wasn't "shut down the enemy," it was "I learn spells from ancient tomes." Evokers and elementalists were part of that group, too. Bards and thieves were put in the same camp, and that camp wasn't "deal big damage," it was "I have non-combat skills with a % chance of success." Those are some pretty significant differences between how 4e conceived of roles, and how 2e conceived of class groups. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
What are the Roles now?
Top