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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 6848781" data-attributes="member: 996">Oh, no, I didn't mean easier on the player, but less risk and fewer restrictions on the caster.  In old-school D&D, casting in melee was very risky, if your spell was interrupted it was spoiled and you lost memory of it.  Very difficult, very risky.  It's only gotten easier since.  In 3e your spell provoked (unless you made a concentration check) and ranged attackers could ready to interrupt you, but even if you were hit, you got a concentration check to cast the spell anyway, even if you failed and the spell didn't go off, it remained prepared and you could try to use it again, later.  In 4e, spells were no different than any other ranged or area attack, they provoked, and Immediate Interrupt could, well, interrupt them, but they still went off even if you were hit, so a caster using a ranged spell was no worse off in melee than an archer.  You wouldn't think casters could have it any easier than that, but in 5e, spells don't provoke, even in melee, there's no interrupts, only Reactions, and you can cast a spell in melee at no penalty, which is even easier than using a ranged weapon in melee (which is at disadvantage).  So, yeah, that's an example of a straight-line development over time to contrast the examples of pendulum-swings.  Both true. D&D is played in a lot of slightly different ways simply because so many people play it, and there is a segment of it's fan base that violently rejects anything more than that.  When D&D innovates, or even adopts too many innovations, or opens up significantly different ways to play, there can be a backlash.  It's resistant to innovation, that way.Just like the roll v role debate in the 90s, yes.  D&D is the easy target - whatever's wrong with the hobby must be D&D's fault.  But, though it's not a good attitude, neither is it entirely wrong.   D&D is the first/biggest RPG, and the only one with mainstream name recognition.  It's the face of the hobby to new players, it's the 500 lb gorilla of the industry, it doesn't need to innovate and even faces backlash when it does, so, yes, it's 'holding back' innovation - or 'keeping the hobby on an even keel,' depending on how you want to spin it.</blockquote>

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