FormerlyHemlock
Hero
I kind of feel like magic in 5e is pretty much exactly the same as earlier editions with the exception of 4e.
Interesting. I feel quite differently. Between reduced spell slots, no scaling-by-level, the Concentration economy, and general decreases in spell effectiveness (e.g. Charm Person, Dominate Person, Magic Jar, even Teleport), I feel that 5E magic resembles GURPS or Shadowrun magic as closely as it does AD&D magic. For the most part, 5E magic is small potatoes. There are enough spells that violate this paradigm to keep magic-users interesting at high levels (Simulacrum, Planar Binding, Create Undead) but the scope is definitely narrower and more tactical.
I assume this is by design and in fact it makes perfect sense given the new multiclassing rules (well, new since AD&D), because they want a Fighter 10/Wizard 10 to be roughly equivalent to a Wizard 20, so you have to linearize power curves as much as possible.