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<blockquote data-quote="Bacon Bits" data-source="post: 6650011" data-attributes="member: 6777737">I'm not so sure I agree.&nbsp; When the AC of creatures that are listed as challenge 15 and up have the same AC as those below 5, there's clearly something going on.&nbsp; A Veteran at Challenge 3 has an AC of 17.&nbsp; Nothing short of the oldest dragons has an AC over 20 that I can tell, and a level 9 PC hits that 50% of the time.&nbsp; I mean, part of the reason that Sharpshooter and Great Weapon Master are kind of absurd at high level is because when you have a +11 to hit, the -5 penalty is often not enough to make the damage bonus a gamble when you're fighting stuff with AC 15; it's more of a self-evident choice.&nbsp; Scan through Rise of Tiamat sometime and look at the ACs in there.&nbsp; That's what really had me saying, &quot;hmmm&quot; about those feats.&nbsp; Scaling isn't really done on the d20 anymore.&nbsp; Your proficiency bonus is almost entirely you getting ahead of the curve.Saving throws still scale with monster level (aka, challenge) somewhat, and certainly hit points and damage do, but of course damage increases with level for PCs as well (better spells and extra attacks) and spells of higher level are more potent in other ways, so they scale in a slightly orthogonal way (they do more damage or have more potent effects, but overall have the same hit rate).I'd also argue that there's a significant difference between putting magic items on a schedule so that you stay on pace on the treadmill, and magic items getting you ahead of the treadmill.And I think there's a significant difference in encounter design, too.&nbsp; In 4e, you're expected to fight creatures within 1-3 CR of your level.&nbsp; In 5e, you're expected to be able to hit anything in the game from level 1.&nbsp; You'll get overwhelmed by the damage and the hp of high challenge enemies, but they won't be bulletproof to you like they have been in previous editions.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Bacon Bits, post: 6650011, member: 6777737"] I'm not so sure I agree. When the AC of creatures that are listed as challenge 15 and up have the same AC as those below 5, there's clearly something going on. A Veteran at Challenge 3 has an AC of 17. Nothing short of the oldest dragons has an AC over 20 that I can tell, and a level 9 PC hits that 50% of the time. I mean, part of the reason that Sharpshooter and Great Weapon Master are kind of absurd at high level is because when you have a +11 to hit, the -5 penalty is often not enough to make the damage bonus a gamble when you're fighting stuff with AC 15; it's more of a self-evident choice. Scan through Rise of Tiamat sometime and look at the ACs in there. That's what really had me saying, "hmmm" about those feats. Scaling isn't really done on the d20 anymore. Your proficiency bonus is almost entirely you getting ahead of the curve. Saving throws still scale with monster level (aka, challenge) somewhat, and certainly hit points and damage do, but of course damage increases with level for PCs as well (better spells and extra attacks) and spells of higher level are more potent in other ways, so they scale in a slightly orthogonal way (they do more damage or have more potent effects, but overall have the same hit rate). I'd also argue that there's a significant difference between putting magic items on a schedule so that you stay on pace on the treadmill, and magic items getting you ahead of the treadmill. And I think there's a significant difference in encounter design, too. In 4e, you're expected to fight creatures within 1-3 CR of your level. In 5e, you're expected to be able to hit anything in the game from level 1. You'll get overwhelmed by the damage and the hp of high challenge enemies, but they won't be bulletproof to you like they have been in previous editions. [/QUOTE]

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