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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Li Shenron" data-source="post: 6359002" data-attributes="member: 1465">Having followed the entire playtesting process, and all the L&L articles and previews, it's a bit hard to decide where I should consider "this is where my knowledge of the PHB started..."Compared to the playtest, there are many more disappointments than pleasant surprises.I can certainly count the artwork to be a positive surprise.Can I count the full-spellcasting Bard and the traits/ideals/flaw/bonds as positive surprises? At least those were announced quite a lot later than the last playtest packet.Some nice unexpected (to me) inclusions such as the Hermit background, Monk of Shadows, and Great Old One Warlock, also came so late that they effectively count as "PHB surprises".Pretty much every other change since the last playtest packet is either neutral or a disappointment to me.Especially disappointing the exclusion of material that seemed perfectly fine in the last packet (or in previous one). Why did we have to lose the Bounty Hunter and Guide backgrounds? Why they never tried to bring back all the nifty Rogue subclasses?The final version of 5e D&D still rocks big time, but it also gave me a huge feeling that half of the bravery of innovative mechanics and grand ideas was washed away by reality checks, and became missed opportunities, such as: - they announced the grand idea that there were no saving throws in 5e, just 6 equally good ability checks! a few playtest packets later, and here comes the old level-based saves progression, then lack of spells with Str/Int/Cha save, and finally let's go back to practically 3e saves- they presented a cool and powerful system for round-based (i.e. at-will) maneuvers that would make the Fighter finally both highly tactical (if you want) and the actual best in combat; then it was washed down to encounter-based, and guess what we got to compensate? good-old multiple attacks- we started off with Clerics having weapons & armors proficiencies totally dependent on the chosen religion, finally we can have some variety and even Clerics in robes! Two years later, we're nearly back to 3e, only Heavy Weapon Prof is actually variable.These final decisions are not bad. But they give me the feeling of missed opportunities.</blockquote>

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