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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Campbell" data-source="post: 7799783" data-attributes="member: 16586">For my own tastes I Fifth Edition largely took all the wrong parts of Fourth Edition and did not take many of the elements that I consider integral to what made playing Fourth Edition such a great experience for me. These include:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Tight and transparent math that makes it easy to design challenges, design monsters, and make house rules in a way that makes it easy to see their impact.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Martial classes that could be played skillfully to the point where it has a strong impact on the outcome of any given encounter. Like you can play a Wizard poorly or more skillfully I want the same to be true of a Fighter.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Monsters with unique abilities you must contend with that make every fight feel different and tense.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Synergies between different characters that players must utilize to be effective both in and out of combat.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">More broadly skilled characters that can be effective in a number of different arenas. Unfortunately in Fourth Edition this broke down over time.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A sense that magic is just as uncertain as using martial skill.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Compelling lore that was focused on placing Player Characters into the center of the action. The idea that player characters were directly embedded into the setting's conflicts.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ritual magic as something anyone can do.</li> </ul>What they ended up keeping included elements that I grew to not be particularly fond of during the lifetime of Fourth Edition. I know other Fourth Edition fans will probably not agree with me:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Abstract short and long rest. I am particularly not fond of regaining all your hit points over a long rest.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The lack of meaningful long term status conditions like poisons, diseases, and curses.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Martial abilities with arbitrary resource management without any direct correspondence to the fiction. Stuff like superiority dice, rages per day, bardic inspiration, second wind, and action surge.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Hit Dice/ Healing Surges. Particularly when healing does not use them up they do not really feel like extra reserves.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ability Score substitution effects like using Dexterity for attack and damage on finesse weapons or the Hexblade's Charisma to Attack and Damage. Also stuff like the Barbarian's Constitution to AC that lets them run around naked.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Monsters that lack meaningful resistances, weaknesses, and immunities.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Monsters with incredibly bloated hit points when compared to PCs</li> </ul></blockquote>

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