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7 months ago ::
Nov 02, 2012 - 5:50PM
#11
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Date Joined:
May 25, 2012
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Yeah, the whole system of arcane initiate and cantrips was much better in 081312. It would be better to just revert to that for the next packet.
And of the new stuff, Arcane Magic Specialist's later game focus on metamagic makes it all but useless to anyone who isn't a wizard, compared to the earlier variant that was great if you wanted to play a non-wizard who dabbled in magic.
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7 months ago ::
Nov 02, 2012 - 10:13PM
#12
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Date Joined:
May 24, 2012
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I think the feats and new cantrip rules are fine. Then again, I prefer a lower level of magic in my games. If everyone if wielding arcane power all the time, it becomes pretty banal to me. But, that is a personal taste thing I think. Spell casters have been in the past a bit too overpowered. Being able to at will magic missle all the time was just broken in my book. I understand that it did minimal damage but it never misses and is the perfect interrupt on other spell casters and anyone could take it.
The lowering of the number of at will spells is a good thing in my book. It makes magic more special as spell casters need to decide what they are going to spend their limited resources on for the day. The Word of Power classification seems a bit strange and makes the cleric REALLY good for one battle but then they are down to being a fighter.
The addition of the ritual version of divinition spells is a good touch. It allows a wizard to use his brain slots for necessary combat and reaction spells and he can still use his utility spells by expending some gold pieces for a ritual kit. It is a nice mechanic. The magic definitely needs further work but I believe they are getting closer to a workable solution and have a couple of options now for modular magic.
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7 months ago ::
Nov 03, 2012 - 9:00AM
#13
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Date Joined:
Nov 17, 2003
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I'm finding the specialties to be extra complexity that I don't need, and so, would consider the modular nature and simply play without them. My biggest problem is that Find Familiar is shunted into the specialties. That playing the game without specialties would not have such an iconic wizard ability seems, well, seems like it should be available somewhere else. Maybe house rule in a Find Familiar spell.
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7 months ago ::
Nov 03, 2012 - 9:09AM
#14
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Date Joined:
May 24, 2012
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That would be my suggestion or put the ability into the Wizard class directly ala 3.x no need to make it a spell...Third level, the wizard class gives find familiar ability.
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7 months ago ::
Nov 03, 2012 - 11:39AM
#15
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yeah specialties and feats are the biggest dissapointment in the new packet
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7 months ago ::
Nov 03, 2012 - 2:25PM
#16
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Date Joined:
Jul 29, 2010
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The old specialities allowed nice cross type abilities and flavour and gave options. This seems to be just the class is more in two bits. you could even have two or so that fit a class ie. (necromancer & magic user)
Arcane and Divine both seem pretty bad at level one. the fighters only choice seems to be survivor if they are combat focused.
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7 months ago ::
Nov 03, 2012 - 6:59PM
#17
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Date Joined:
Jun 22, 2012
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alright, given that it was obviously intended for the spellcasters to be casting 0 levels at will anyway, i houseruled that all 0 levels are always at will.
the arcane/divine first level feats i have also changed to be picking any three, but whichever is the first one you cast per extended rest, you can only cast that, but do it at will...
im also contemplating int mod in prepared cantrips instead of a set number. given that it represents spells "memorized so well that they come naturally"
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7 months ago ::
Nov 03, 2012 - 8:47PM
#18
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Date Joined:
Aug 12, 2006
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You also have to remember that Feats aren't specifically tied to the specialties anymore. In fact the playtest wizard starts with the Familiar. You only have to qualify for the feat's Prerequisites to gain that feat. So you could take Toughness at first level for example so long as you have an 11 Con. The specialties are just there to divide the feats into their specific categories.
Here is the Rule "At your DM’s discretion, you can ignore the provided specialties altogether. If you do so, simply choose a feat each time your character gains one, regardless of specialty. Your character must meet the feat's prerequisite as normal."
It is DM discretion, but based on the new Wizard it's going to be WotC default assumption.
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7 months ago ::
Nov 03, 2012 - 9:41PM
#19
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Date Joined:
Jun 18, 2012
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alright, given that it was obviously intended for the spellcasters to be casting 0 levels at will anyway, i houseruled that all 0 levels are always at will.
This is not the case, otherwise they would not have made that change. While making all level 0s at will might not have a large impact on combat or balance, it does change the idea behind meaningful choices. In the mind of an optimizer, any choice that can be used less seems like a bad one, but in the mind of others, a decision to pick up ray of frost over an at will spell might just be a handy utility for an emergency slow their Illusionist would not otherwise have. The point of a playtest is not to make assumptions as to how a power was intended to be used, but to use it as it is written to give the designers honest feed back. If you feel that level 0 spells should all be at will, you need to have relevant data that explains why this is.
In my playtest group, there were no complaints about the change. They recognized the change had occured, accepted it, and went about their merry way. This might be because of the narrative associated with the mage character in the party, or they might not really care so much about the rules and just want to have fun playing with friends.
I think the big thing from previous editions that D&DN is trying to bring back are those meaningful choices. Granted, one may argue what those would have been in previous editions, but you'd be a fool to argue that you did not have lots of choices. 4e removed a lot of those, with its you get feats that add a "+1 per tier" sort of effects, essentially making feats purely mechanical, therefore not very meaningful or narrative inspiring, and with its you only get X number of powers. A few classes did manage to break that mold in 4e, but on the whole, 4e was too constrained.
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7 months ago ::
Nov 04, 2012 - 11:39AM
#20
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Date Joined:
Jun 15, 2012
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Broadly speaking, I think we took a step backward with specialties.
A few guidelines for using the internet:
1. Mentally add "In my opinion" to the end of basically anything someone else says. Of course it's their opinion, they don't need to let you know. You're pretty smart.
2. Assume everyone means everything in the best manner they could mean it. Save yourself some stress and give people the benefit of the doubt. We'll all be happier if we type less emoticons.
3. Don't try to read people's minds. Sometimes people mean exactly what they say. You probably don't know them any better than they know themselves.
4. Let grammar slide. If you understood what they meant, you're good. It's better for your health.
5. Breath. It's just a dumb game.
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