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General Tabletop Discussion
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E)
Why is non-magical flying so limited for PCs?
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<blockquote data-quote="lichmaster" data-source="post: 9300943" data-attributes="member: 6683330"><p>Many things were nerfed or simplified from previous editions to make the game easier to run (especially for newer DMs but for veterans too).</p><p></p><p>Flight is one obvious choice, also because it made most exploration challenges and random encounters pointless or trivial. It's a very important aspect of campaign, adventure and setting design too, as travelling (both long and short distance) is one of the most fundamental aspects of life.</p><p></p><p>From a constructive POV this means that there's quite the opportunity for creative and talented designers to come up with exploration challenges for groups of flying PCs.</p><p></p><p>Combat encounters don't really need any creative effort, just people to remember that thrown/ranged weapons are a thing, and that melee only enemies are probably going to take cover and run away when clearly outmatched or outmaneuvered. </p><p></p><p>[Side note: another thing I realized (currently re-reading 2e material) is that enemy morale is not mentioned or considered anymore, since 3rd edition. By reading the core rules of newer editions one has the impression that combat has to last 3 rounds because all opponents die within that timeframe. This has a slew of consequences, from how much damage per round is expected on both sides, to how healing works, etc, including the fact that most combats are to the death. Running for one's life should be always a main concern for pretty much all sentient beings. LU does give some better indications regarding this but I'm not sure it's emphasized enough]</p><p></p><p>Another aspect that has been severely nerfed and I'm still not sure I'm happy with is magic, concentration spells in particular. One can now only maintain concentration one one spell at a time, so making awesome spell combos is a no go. Sure this can trivialize some aspects of the game, but it's also the bread and butter of high fantasy settings.</p><p>I remember in 2e's Forgotten Realms there was a group of patrols (around Evermeet IIRC) that was made of mid level elven fighter/mages. They did cast invisibility and flight at the beginning of the day and could go around for hours patrolling undetected from most enemies. Man I miss this kind of crazy stuff in today's designs!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="lichmaster, post: 9300943, member: 6683330"] Many things were nerfed or simplified from previous editions to make the game easier to run (especially for newer DMs but for veterans too). Flight is one obvious choice, also because it made most exploration challenges and random encounters pointless or trivial. It's a very important aspect of campaign, adventure and setting design too, as travelling (both long and short distance) is one of the most fundamental aspects of life. From a constructive POV this means that there's quite the opportunity for creative and talented designers to come up with exploration challenges for groups of flying PCs. Combat encounters don't really need any creative effort, just people to remember that thrown/ranged weapons are a thing, and that melee only enemies are probably going to take cover and run away when clearly outmatched or outmaneuvered. [Side note: another thing I realized (currently re-reading 2e material) is that enemy morale is not mentioned or considered anymore, since 3rd edition. By reading the core rules of newer editions one has the impression that combat has to last 3 rounds because all opponents die within that timeframe. This has a slew of consequences, from how much damage per round is expected on both sides, to how healing works, etc, including the fact that most combats are to the death. Running for one's life should be always a main concern for pretty much all sentient beings. LU does give some better indications regarding this but I'm not sure it's emphasized enough] Another aspect that has been severely nerfed and I'm still not sure I'm happy with is magic, concentration spells in particular. One can now only maintain concentration one one spell at a time, so making awesome spell combos is a no go. Sure this can trivialize some aspects of the game, but it's also the bread and butter of high fantasy settings. I remember in 2e's Forgotten Realms there was a group of patrols (around Evermeet IIRC) that was made of mid level elven fighter/mages. They did cast invisibility and flight at the beginning of the day and could go around for hours patrolling undetected from most enemies. Man I miss this kind of crazy stuff in today's designs! [/QUOTE]
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General Tabletop Discussion
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E)
Why is non-magical flying so limited for PCs?
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