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<blockquote data-quote="kigmatzomat" data-source="post: 9613284" data-attributes="member: 9254">Oh, they absolutely could in earlier editions.BUT....they wouldn't.&nbsp; The opportunity cost of &quot;wasted&quot; spells was brutal, almost paralyzing. 1e casters had way more leveled spells than 5e characters and they were, relatively speaking, far more powerful because hit point inflation didn't exist yet.&nbsp; E.g. upcast a fireball to 9th level almost can't kill a troll in 5e, while they could reliably do so in 1e after 10th level. Single spells could kill fully grown dragons in one hit, though it required some luck.&nbsp; Its just not possible in 5e.Imagine a goblin army coming at a town protected by a 20th level wizard.&nbsp; A 5e caster could throw 8 fireballs, 3 delayed blasts, and 1 Meteor Swarm. They could do it again the next day after breakfast.&nbsp; Until then, crossbows or a cantrip if the goblins get within 120ft.A 20th level 1e caster could prepare &amp; fire off 19 fireballs, 6 delayed blast fireballs, and 2 Meteor swarms. Then they needed a rest and 2-3 days to recharge. But then they also threw more than twice as many spells that were more lethal than their 5e equivalents. If they focused on just enough to replicate the 5e combat spell array of 11 fireballs and 1 meteor swarm, , it is 390min of prep, or 6.5hrs.&nbsp; So instead of running dry shortly after breakfast, they ran dry shortly before supper.&nbsp; For some reason that feels worse on many levels.I think relieving the caster paralysis was a good thing for the game and I also think weakening the spells effectiveness was also good for balance.&nbsp; I wish they had weakened the spells directly rather than upping monster hp because that also weakened martial attacks.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="kigmatzomat, post: 9613284, member: 9254"] Oh, they absolutely [I]could[/I] in earlier editions. BUT....they wouldn't. The opportunity cost of "wasted" spells was brutal, almost paralyzing. 1e casters had way more leveled spells than 5e characters and they were, relatively speaking, far more powerful because hit point inflation didn't exist yet. E.g. upcast a fireball to 9th level almost can't kill a troll in 5e, while they could reliably do so in 1e after 10th level. Single spells could kill fully grown dragons in one hit, though it required some luck. Its just not possible in 5e. Imagine a goblin army coming at a town protected by a 20th level wizard. A 5e caster could throw 8 fireballs, 3 delayed blasts, and 1 Meteor Swarm. They could do it again the next day after breakfast. Until then, crossbows or a cantrip if the goblins get within 120ft. A 20th level 1e caster could prepare & fire off [B]19[/B] fireballs, [B]6[/B] delayed blast fireballs, and [B]2[/B] Meteor swarms. Then they needed a rest and 2-3 days to recharge. But then they also threw more than twice as many spells that were more lethal than their 5e equivalents. If they focused on just enough to replicate the 5e combat spell array of 11 fireballs and 1 meteor swarm, , it is 390min of prep, or 6.5hrs. So instead of running dry shortly after breakfast, they ran dry shortly before supper. For some reason that feels worse on many levels. I think relieving the caster paralysis was a good thing for the game and I also think weakening the spells effectiveness was also good for balance. I wish they had weakened the spells directly rather than upping monster hp because that also weakened martial attacks. [/QUOTE]

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