It is worth mentioning that this is UA stuff and commentary need not be all or nothing. It is fair game to criticize parts without needing it all to stay 5e.
In other news, it now takes an action to remember things?????
STUDY [ACTION] When you take the Study Action, you make an Intelligence Check to study your memory, a book, a creature, a clue, an object, or another source of knowledge and call to mind an important piece of information about it. The Areas of Knowledge table suggests which Skills are applicable when you take this Action, depending on the area of knowledge the Intelligence Check is about
No thinking in combat? (With the Keen Mind feat, you can think using a bonus action. Yay you?)
Yes, dredging something up from your memory, or carefully looking over the statue for a clue how to solve the puzzle before the room fills with sand, takes as long as swinging a sword or casting a spell
I don't see the issue
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
The biggest problem/question I have is with the name. Experts? When they're the jack of all trade classes? They're not the best in melee, not the best in magic, not the best in healing nor have they the closest connection to nature, etc... If anything they're dilletantes.
Only bard is a jack of all trades class (literally), and even then they still get expertise. Rogues and bards, through their Expertise feature, got to be the best at a bunch of things. Rangers, who really should have been able to be the best at sneaking and tracking and stuff, now get to be the best too.
Do your games just never use skills or something?
We use a lot of skill checks, only nobody has played a ranger or a rogue in the last three years. Rogues are useless at the moment, as you don't need them to open locks or disarm traps. Other classes can do the same thing and have more versatility, like a Bard, or even a Wizard. Rangers, well I was the only DM running an outdoor campaign and nobody bothered to take one. Most of the time, we use skill checks that are class locked. So a Barb has 0 chance in passing an Arcana check in most of the cases. Rogues, even with expertise, will still have a higher DC than a Wizard to recognize a spell. This makes skill checks more logical and less: Oh yes, we have a skill monkey with us, who without any spelcasting is still better in arcana checks than the casters.
So Rogues are useless because you use homebrew rules to make them that way
Yes, dredging something up from your memory, or carefully looking over the statue for a clue how to solve the puzzle before the room fills with sand, takes as long as swinging a sword or casting a spell
I don't see the issue
Most people simply know what they know, simply remember things. Carefully looking over the statue maybe, but simply remembering things?
Plus with extra attack and other means, one can swing that sword more often, but it takes a feat to be able to ... think faster? There are things that take more than an action worth of thought. One does not write an entire full length play in six seconds. However that is treated as a creative thing. Investigating a room similarly likely takes more than a few rounds. Ditto properly searching.
Pretty much this. Out of combat searching a room is more than a action and in almost all cases the time it takes on the action scale is irrelevant as you are not in rounds. Sure in some death trap scenario where you have 3 rounds to live it matters but even then only in the case where the solution also takes a action, if its pull this lever, push this block then its a object interact so whether it took you a action or a bonus action to search is irrelevant, unless you can still also search as an action so you get two attempts a round but that is such an absurdly narrow circumstance its not even worth considering. The only time this will matter is in combat, and in combat you are comparing it to the other combat actions and its now put in the never freaking do category. With the feat sure, but man that sucks spend a feat so rarely you will use a weak action.
Having a codified answer so when a person asks I want to use X skill to figure out if enemy Y has a weakness, you have an answer I support that. But the answer should be one that would get players to use it. If its not then players wont, and damn do int skills need some love in this game. I'd put thinking in the object interact stage you can do it as part of an action at its default or at worst a bonus action with the feat making it a object interact.
As written, it takes an action to remember the heraldry of anyone you happen to be fighting.
As written, it takes an action to make an Intelligence check to remember the heraldry of anyone you happen to be fighting. If it's something you'd know without a check, it doesn't take time.
Most people simply know what they know, simply remember things.
You've clearly never done pub trivia before
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
But has anyone noticed how it's now WAY harder to force a flying creature to the ground? Prone, Grapple, anything that reduced flyspeed to 0 now has no effect on a flying creature, the only options are incapacitating them or restraining them which basically means any flying creature with legendary resistances is never getting forced to the ground.
Wait, where did you come to this conclusion? Grappling and knocking prone still reduce one's fly speed to 0, which means you don't have a fly speed anymore and you fall/stop flying. The Hover property is the only thing that explicitly says you stay in the air while incapacitated or restrained, which makes sense since you're not flapping limbs or anything to generate lift.
The "Speed of 0" section specifically states that having a zeroed speed also zeroes your special speeds, and the Prone condition specifically states that when you're prone your "..****y movement option is to crawl..." unless you stand up.
Sounds like nothing's really changed.
Having a fly speed of 0 is not the same as not having a fly speed, and "only movement option is the crawl" does not say you no longer have a climb/burrow/fly speed it just says if you choose to move you must crawl. A prone flying creature still has a fly speed thus would not fall. Note that under "Hover" it specifically specifies that you do not fall if Restrained or Incapacitated, thus if Grapple / Prone would cause a flying creature without Hover to fall they would also cause a flying creature with Hover to fall which obviously doesn't make sense, thus the obvious implication is that Grapple / Prone does not cause flying creature with or without Hover to fall.
Unless there's something that explicitly says you still fly while Prone or Grappled without Hover, I'd never even consider ruling it that way. 0 of any speed means you can't do that thing anymore. If you're walking and you get grappled, you can no longer be considered walking. Standing, sure, but not walking. Standing doesn't require movement or appreciable effort. If you're flapping your wings to stay aloft and something has a hold of you enough to completely restrict any form of movement, unless you're staying aloft by some specific magical means, it follows quite reasonably that you cannot be considered flying since you can't stand or crawl on air like you can stand on ground or float in liquid. If you could, you'd be Hovering. Furthermore, Prone can very reasonably be interpreted as a flying creature having been knocked out of proper flight posture/orientation, causing them to tumble to the ground until they right themselves.
As a rule, specific beats general anyway, and the wording of Prone specifically says you can't move unless you crawl, which cannot be done in the air. DMs who rule flyers as that much harder to ground are likely the antagonistic/unimaginative type or have a hard-on for the Earthbind spell.
Well, being able to cast guidance on someone once per long rest instead of virtually continuously is a considerable nerf. If the idea is that guidance is now stronger because you don't have to waste guidance on rolls that would have been made anyway, that ignores the fact that the resource being "wasted" was essentially free.
Well, being able to cast guidance on someone once per long rest instead of virtually continuously is a considerable nerf. If the idea is that guidance is now stronger because you don't have to waste guidance on rolls that would have been made anyway, that ignores the fact that the resource being "wasted" was essentially free.
For what it's worth, I notice a lot of people tend not to pick up on the fact that the Guidance roll doesn't have to apply to the next check you make, nor do you have to roll during that check. You roll the die first then can choose to apply it to any eligible roll in the next minute...while concentration is held.
Never seen anyone else play it that way, but it's 100% RAW and people's eyes pop when I see them realize this.
Yes, dredging something up from your memory, or carefully looking over the statue for a clue how to solve the puzzle before the room fills with sand, takes as long as swinging a sword or casting a spell
I don't see the issue
Most people simply know what they know, simply remember things. Carefully looking over the statue maybe, but simply remembering things?
Plus with extra attack and other means, one can swing that sword more often, but it takes a feat to be able to ... think faster? There are things that take more than an action worth of thought. One does not write an entire full length play in six seconds. However that is treated as a creative thing. Investigating a room similarly likely takes more than a few rounds. Ditto properly searching.
So you remember everything and call it up in the same time regardless if it was 10 minutes ago or 10 years? Even if it is the most obscure fact? Remember too it is up to the DM if it is something you would roll or not.If you were paying attention to the heraldry then they probably should let you remember it without a roll. To remember that symbol on the wall was one you saw scrawled in the book a month ago would take an action.
People remember but some things take longer to recall than others and sometimes you totally forget things as people forget things too. Unless you remember the name of that kid you didn't really talk to in Kindergarten.
What is missing from all of this is some idea of what Wizards is trying to accomplish. It is hard to judge and comment on whether a change is good unless we know what it is trying to accomplish. So far, it just leads to wild speculation about why some change is made with no ability to comment intelligently over whether the change actually accomplishes this end.
Nerfing classes in early game could be because there is a perception that early game adventures are insufficiently challenging. Alternatively, it could be that these particular classes are being nerfed to respond to some perceived imbalance with other classes. Alternatively, the changes could be completely misguided and not accomplish anything that Wizards is intentionally trying to do. Without a statement of goals, it is impossible to judge the proposed changes against what they are trying to achieve.
This lack of stated goals also leads to speculation over changes that have not yet been proposed (e.g. We think paladins will be nerfed like rogues to put them on the same power curve). Such speculation is fun, but is not based on anything other than perceived intent. In this particular example, it is also not consistent with the current proposal that puts rangers on a decidedly different power curve than bards or rogues.
In terms of the Thief's use of higher level scrolls, it seems skill in Arcana and okay intelligence would be quite useful to them now. After they get the ability, they soon get reliable talent, and then would automatically succeed on the check for mid-level spells. Heck, if they take expertise in it, they can automatically succeed in using high level spells. Arcana certainly can be a thematic skill for a burglar of magic items, although they would have to pick it up from their background.
As an old fart, I also kind of like the idea that it's more similar to the old Thief's ability to use scrolls back in AD&D.
Yes, dredging something up from your memory, or carefully looking over the statue for a clue how to solve the puzzle before the room fills with sand, takes as long as swinging a sword or casting a spell
I don't see the issue
Most people simply know what they know, simply remember things. Carefully looking over the statue maybe, but simply remembering things?
Plus with extra attack and other means, one can swing that sword more often, but it takes a feat to be able to ... think faster? There are things that take more than an action worth of thought. One does not write an entire full length play in six seconds. However that is treated as a creative thing. Investigating a room similarly likely takes more than a few rounds. Ditto properly searching.
So you remember everything and call it up in the same time regardless if it was 10 minutes ago or 10 years? Even if it is the most obscure fact? Remember too it is up to the DM if it is something you would roll or not.If you were paying attention to the heraldry then they probably should let you remember it without a roll. To remember that symbol on the wall was one you saw scrawled in the book a month ago would take an action.
People remember but some things take longer to recall than others and sometimes you totally forget things as people forget things too. Unless you remember the name of that kid you didn't really talk to in Kindergarten.
Yes in reality you can come up with examples where it takes time, 99% of your recall is instantaneous though as you just know it without thinking about it. Even if the %s were such that people usually had to stop doing everything almost every time they wanted to remember something the question would remain is this a good rule. And it flat out isn't. If actions aren't balanced they minds as well not be in the rules as no one will use them. You are basically pushing for a rule where no one will ever use it because its such a bad action to take.
Yes, dredging something up from your memory, or carefully looking over the statue for a clue how to solve the puzzle before the room fills with sand, takes as long as swinging a sword or casting a spell
I don't see the issue
Most people simply know what they know, simply remember things. Carefully looking over the statue maybe, but simply remembering things?
Plus with extra attack and other means, one can swing that sword more often, but it takes a feat to be able to ... think faster? There are things that take more than an action worth of thought. One does not write an entire full length play in six seconds. However that is treated as a creative thing. Investigating a room similarly likely takes more than a few rounds. Ditto properly searching.
So you remember everything and call it up in the same time regardless if it was 10 minutes ago or 10 years? Even if it is the most obscure fact? Remember too it is up to the DM if it is something you would roll or not.If you were paying attention to the heraldry then they probably should let you remember it without a roll. To remember that symbol on the wall was one you saw scrawled in the book a month ago would take an action.
People remember but some things take longer to recall than others and sometimes you totally forget things as people forget things too. Unless you remember the name of that kid you didn't really talk to in Kindergarten.
Yes in reality you can come up with examples where it takes time, 99% of your recall is instantaneous though as you just know it without thinking about it. Even if the %s were such that people usually had to stop doing everything almost every time they wanted to remember something the question would remain is this a good rule. And it flat out isn't. If actions aren't balanced they minds as well not be in the rules as no one will use them. You are basically pushing for a rule where no one will ever use it because its such a bad action to take.
I am sure you have done a investigation into memory. This rule is what people already do. Unless you are saying that during a fight while the barbarian is swinging their axe they would just remember the holy symbol the enemy is wearing is of a certain religion. Now sometimes the study action will not be in combat. Then it is all the times you are having the person roll the appropriate knowledge check and is not taking six seconds. It is just giving a name to it. It does not mean it will take six seconds all the time. It is just an action. There is also nothing to say that study isn't a bonus action
If I gave you items to juggle and then while you were focused on that asked you historical questions you would not fail? This is what the study action is about. Not basic knowledge.
Your 99% is hyperbolic. Otherwise people would not shut off the radio while they are lost while driving. It is often while focusing on something people will ask for quiet. Why when people are focuses on something at work and someone asks them a question they will often ask to give them a second. Why when someone ask me at work if I remember the details of a query from last year I say no because there has been a thousand queries between that (not hyperbolic). Now if I stop what I am doing and think about and do some research I can dig it up. Six seconds is not that long to recall a bit of memory that is not basic knowledge.
Rogue definitely has some issues to work through. With the other classes getting expertise sooner the rogue is losing some specialness there. The loss of Tasha's Steady Aim is pretty big, but the gain on light weapons is good. Subtle strikes is ok, but it isn't giving you sneak attack at any time when you wouldn't already have it and it comes on line very late.
As for thief. Loss of use an object is just a huge loss of fun AND power. Search as a bonus action is cool, you can search someone for something hidden so you pick pocket and then pick pocket it. Finally, Thief's reflexes is a MASSIVE nerf from the current thief ability. Now I do think it needed to be toned down because of how early you get it. This said it does seem like it would be really fun, IF it wasn't a limited number of times per day AND you gave thief back its ability to use objects as a bonus action.
In truth the rogue is SO CLOSE to being good. A limited way to gain sneak attack a limited number of times when you wouldn't otherwise have it is all the base class REALLY needs. For thief again it is SO CLOSE..... just 1 ability back and the removal of a limitation and it is good. Remember that this document also has the new Magic action which states when casting a spell or using a magic item you take the magic action. This already cleans up the language enough that I feel it SHOULDN'T be confusing as to whether you can use a scroll with the use an object action and let thieves have that.
The biggest problem/question I have is with the name. Experts? When they're the jack of all trade classes? They're not the best in melee, not the best in magic, not the best in healing nor have they the closest connection to nature, etc... If anything they're dilletantes.
Only bard is a jack of all trades class (literally), and even then they still get expertise. Rogues and bards, through their Expertise feature, got to be the best at a bunch of things. Rangers, who really should have been able to be the best at sneaking and tracking and stuff, now get to be the best too.
Do your games just never use skills or something?
We use a lot of skill checks, only nobody has played a ranger or a rogue in the last three years. Rogues are useless at the moment, as you don't need them to open locks or disarm traps. Other classes can do the same thing and have more versatility, like a Bard, or even a Wizard. Rangers, well I was the only DM running an outdoor campaign and nobody bothered to take one. Most of the time, we use skill checks that are class locked. So a Barb has 0 chance in passing an Arcana check in most of the cases. Rogues, even with expertise, will still have a higher DC than a Wizard to recognize a spell. This makes skill checks more logical and less: Oh yes, we have a skill monkey with us, who without any spelcasting is still better in arcana checks than the casters.
So Rogues are useless because you use homebrew rules to make them that way
Basically, yes? But that's more the way skills and tools are handled in 5e that made us start to act this way.
Yes, dredging something up from your memory, or carefully looking over the statue for a clue how to solve the puzzle before the room fills with sand, takes as long as swinging a sword or casting a spell
I don't see the issue
Most people simply know what they know, simply remember things. Carefully looking over the statue maybe, but simply remembering things?
Plus with extra attack and other means, one can swing that sword more often, but it takes a feat to be able to ... think faster? There are things that take more than an action worth of thought. One does not write an entire full length play in six seconds. However that is treated as a creative thing. Investigating a room similarly likely takes more than a few rounds. Ditto properly searching.
So you remember everything and call it up in the same time regardless if it was 10 minutes ago or 10 years? Even if it is the most obscure fact? Remember too it is up to the DM if it is something you would roll or not.If you were paying attention to the heraldry then they probably should let you remember it without a roll. To remember that symbol on the wall was one you saw scrawled in the book a month ago would take an action.
People remember but some things take longer to recall than others and sometimes you totally forget things as people forget things too. Unless you remember the name of that kid you didn't really talk to in Kindergarten.
Yes in reality you can come up with examples where it takes time, 99% of your recall is instantaneous though as you just know it without thinking about it. Even if the %s were such that people usually had to stop doing everything almost every time they wanted to remember something the question would remain is this a good rule. And it flat out isn't. If actions aren't balanced they minds as well not be in the rules as no one will use them. You are basically pushing for a rule where no one will ever use it because its such a bad action to take.
I am sure you have done a investigation into memory. This rule is what people already do. Unless you are saying that during a fight while the barbarian is swinging their axe they would just remember the holy symbol the enemy is wearing is of a certain religion. Now sometimes the study action will not be in combat. Then it is all the times you are having the person roll the appropriate knowledge check and is not taking six seconds. It is just giving a name to it. It does not mean it will take six seconds all the time. It is just an action. There is also nothing to say that study isn't a bonus action
If I gave you items to juggle and then while you were focused on that asked you historical questions you would not fail? This is what the study action is about. Not basic knowledge.
Your 99% is hyperbolic. Otherwise people would not shut off the radio while they are lost while driving. It is often while focusing on something people will ask for quiet. Why when people are focuses on something at work and someone asks them a question they will often ask to give them a second. Why when someone ask me at work if I remember the details of a query from last year I say no because there has been a thousand queries between that (not hyperbolic). Now if I stop what I am doing and think about and do some research I can dig it up. Six seconds is not that long to recall a bit of memory that is not basic knowledge.
My 99% is not hyberbolic as 99% of the time the question or task wont be difficult enough that it takes more than a second to think up even while distracted. Sure if someone asks about a case a year ago I wont remember but I never put any effort into remembering it I see 100s of clients a month. But if someone asks would this household be eligible for benefits I can answer instantly without breaking stride even while currently working on a case, because I actually was trained in that skill set, just like how your character is trained in arcana or whatever.
And even if I couldn't while juggling or whatever because juggling is so distracting, I'm not a big damn hero who can tackle dragons out of the sky. Lets build the characters to be legendary heroes but lets make sure they do mental actions under pressure like a middle aged out of shape office worker. All of which is irrelevant to my main point. Whether or not you can argue a logical reason why it should take an action in reality does not matter, its a shit rule because no one will take the action. Does it logically take effort and time to jump more so than just movement, yes. Turning jump into a action is still a crap rule as it just stops people from jumping in combat.
If I gave you items to juggle and then while you were focused on that asked you historical questions you would not fail? This is what the study action is about. Not basic knowledge.
Sorry, missed this in the immediate prior response, but likely ok because it warrants separate treatment. There are plenty of examples of jugglers singing or carrying out intellectual conversations while they juggle. On what basis do you figure the juggler would automatically fail?
People like me would likely fail but its because I can't juggle as I am not a juggler. But yes, a trained juggler would do fine.
Making things like Jumping and 'Remembering stuff' an Action is a bad idea, unless WotC just goes all the way and embraces an aspect of Pathfinder 2e.
Step 1: Make Moving an Action too.
Step 2: Give everybody three Actions per turn.
Then you can move, jump and attack on your turn, or move, remember something useful about the enemy, and then cast a spell. Or if you don't need to move, you can remember something useful, cast a spell, and use an item. Etc. I think this would solve a lot of the monotony of DnD 5e combat, where you have one Action to do one thing, and if that thing didn't work, sucks to be you.
Making things like Jumping and 'Remembering stuff' an Action is a bad idea, unless WotC just goes all the way and embraces an aspect of Pathfinder 2e.
Step 1: Make Moving an Action too.
Step 2: Give everybody three Actions per turn.
Then you can move, jump and attack on your turn, or move, remember something useful about the enemy, and then cast a spell. Or if you don't need to move, you can remember something useful, cast a spell, and use an item. Etc. I think this would solve a lot of the monotony of DnD 5e combat, where you have one Action to do one thing, and if that thing didn't work, sucks to be you.
The likelihood that they try that is incredibly low. I mean, they'd need to completely remodel combat and the game to give you three actions per a turn, and I don't think anyone would want that. And yeah, remembering stuff should not take your whole action. Max, it should take a bonus action. But I think it being a free action makes more sense. With this rule, if your players ask, "I'm supposed to run ahead and steal the treasure, but I'm not as smart as my character, so I've forgotten the directions, can you please remind me DM?" The DM is supposed to tell the player to make a check and spend their whole action. Yeah, this rule really doesn't make much of any sense.
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Yes, dredging something up from your memory, or carefully looking over the statue for a clue how to solve the puzzle before the room fills with sand, takes as long as swinging a sword or casting a spell
I don't see the issue
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
So Rogues are useless because you use homebrew rules to make them that way
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
Pretty much this. Out of combat searching a room is more than a action and in almost all cases the time it takes on the action scale is irrelevant as you are not in rounds. Sure in some death trap scenario where you have 3 rounds to live it matters but even then only in the case where the solution also takes a action, if its pull this lever, push this block then its a object interact so whether it took you a action or a bonus action to search is irrelevant, unless you can still also search as an action so you get two attempts a round but that is such an absurdly narrow circumstance its not even worth considering. The only time this will matter is in combat, and in combat you are comparing it to the other combat actions and its now put in the never freaking do category. With the feat sure, but man that sucks spend a feat so rarely you will use a weak action.
Having a codified answer so when a person asks I want to use X skill to figure out if enemy Y has a weakness, you have an answer I support that. But the answer should be one that would get players to use it. If its not then players wont, and damn do int skills need some love in this game. I'd put thinking in the object interact stage you can do it as part of an action at its default or at worst a bonus action with the feat making it a object interact.
As written, it takes an action to make an Intelligence check to remember the heraldry of anyone you happen to be fighting. If it's something you'd know without a check, it doesn't take time.
You've clearly never done pub trivia before
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
They aren't synonyms, no. There's a lot of variation in how accessible knowledge is.
Unless there's something that explicitly says you still fly while Prone or Grappled without Hover, I'd never even consider ruling it that way. 0 of any speed means you can't do that thing anymore. If you're walking and you get grappled, you can no longer be considered walking. Standing, sure, but not walking. Standing doesn't require movement or appreciable effort. If you're flapping your wings to stay aloft and something has a hold of you enough to completely restrict any form of movement, unless you're staying aloft by some specific magical means, it follows quite reasonably that you cannot be considered flying since you can't stand or crawl on air like you can stand on ground or float in liquid. If you could, you'd be Hovering. Furthermore, Prone can very reasonably be interpreted as a flying creature having been knocked out of proper flight posture/orientation, causing them to tumble to the ground until they right themselves.
As a rule, specific beats general anyway, and the wording of Prone specifically says you can't move unless you crawl, which cannot be done in the air. DMs who rule flyers as that much harder to ground are likely the antagonistic/unimaginative type or have a hard-on for the Earthbind spell.
Well, being able to cast guidance on someone once per long rest instead of virtually continuously is a considerable nerf. If the idea is that guidance is now stronger because you don't have to waste guidance on rolls that would have been made anyway, that ignores the fact that the resource being "wasted" was essentially free.
For what it's worth, I notice a lot of people tend not to pick up on the fact that the Guidance roll doesn't have to apply to the next check you make, nor do you have to roll during that check. You roll the die first then can choose to apply it to any eligible roll in the next minute...while concentration is held.
Never seen anyone else play it that way, but it's 100% RAW and people's eyes pop when I see them realize this.
So you remember everything and call it up in the same time regardless if it was 10 minutes ago or 10 years? Even if it is the most obscure fact?
Remember too it is up to the DM if it is something you would roll or not.If you were paying attention to the heraldry then they probably should let you remember it without a roll.
To remember that symbol on the wall was one you saw scrawled in the book a month ago would take an action.
People remember but some things take longer to recall than others and sometimes you totally forget things as people forget things too. Unless you remember the name of that kid you didn't really talk to in Kindergarten.
What is missing from all of this is some idea of what Wizards is trying to accomplish. It is hard to judge and comment on whether a change is good unless we know what it is trying to accomplish. So far, it just leads to wild speculation about why some change is made with no ability to comment intelligently over whether the change actually accomplishes this end.
Nerfing classes in early game could be because there is a perception that early game adventures are insufficiently challenging. Alternatively, it could be that these particular classes are being nerfed to respond to some perceived imbalance with other classes. Alternatively, the changes could be completely misguided and not accomplish anything that Wizards is intentionally trying to do. Without a statement of goals, it is impossible to judge the proposed changes against what they are trying to achieve.
This lack of stated goals also leads to speculation over changes that have not yet been proposed (e.g. We think paladins will be nerfed like rogues to put them on the same power curve). Such speculation is fun, but is not based on anything other than perceived intent. In this particular example, it is also not consistent with the current proposal that puts rangers on a decidedly different power curve than bards or rogues.
In terms of the Thief's use of higher level scrolls, it seems skill in Arcana and okay intelligence would be quite useful to them now. After they get the ability, they soon get reliable talent, and then would automatically succeed on the check for mid-level spells. Heck, if they take expertise in it, they can automatically succeed in using high level spells. Arcana certainly can be a thematic skill for a burglar of magic items, although they would have to pick it up from their background.
As an old fart, I also kind of like the idea that it's more similar to the old Thief's ability to use scrolls back in AD&D.
Yes in reality you can come up with examples where it takes time, 99% of your recall is instantaneous though as you just know it without thinking about it. Even if the %s were such that people usually had to stop doing everything almost every time they wanted to remember something the question would remain is this a good rule. And it flat out isn't. If actions aren't balanced they minds as well not be in the rules as no one will use them. You are basically pushing for a rule where no one will ever use it because its such a bad action to take.
I am sure you have done a investigation into memory.
This rule is what people already do. Unless you are saying that during a fight while the barbarian is swinging their axe they would just remember the holy symbol the enemy is wearing is of a certain religion. Now sometimes the study action will not be in combat. Then it is all the times you are having the person roll the appropriate knowledge check and is not taking six seconds. It is just giving a name to it. It does not mean it will take six seconds all the time. It is just an action. There is also nothing to say that study isn't a bonus action
If I gave you items to juggle and then while you were focused on that asked you historical questions you would not fail?
This is what the study action is about. Not basic knowledge.
Your 99% is hyperbolic. Otherwise people would not shut off the radio while they are lost while driving. It is often while focusing on something people will ask for quiet. Why when people are focuses on something at work and someone asks them a question they will often ask to give them a second. Why when someone ask me at work if I remember the details of a query from last year I say no because there has been a thousand queries between that (not hyperbolic). Now if I stop what I am doing and think about and do some research I can dig it up.
Six seconds is not that long to recall a bit of memory that is not basic knowledge.
Rogue definitely has some issues to work through. With the other classes getting expertise sooner the rogue is losing some specialness there. The loss of Tasha's Steady Aim is pretty big, but the gain on light weapons is good. Subtle strikes is ok, but it isn't giving you sneak attack at any time when you wouldn't already have it and it comes on line very late.
As for thief. Loss of use an object is just a huge loss of fun AND power. Search as a bonus action is cool, you can search someone for something hidden so you pick pocket and then pick pocket it. Finally, Thief's reflexes is a MASSIVE nerf from the current thief ability. Now I do think it needed to be toned down because of how early you get it. This said it does seem like it would be really fun, IF it wasn't a limited number of times per day AND you gave thief back its ability to use objects as a bonus action.
In truth the rogue is SO CLOSE to being good. A limited way to gain sneak attack a limited number of times when you wouldn't otherwise have it is all the base class REALLY needs. For thief again it is SO CLOSE..... just 1 ability back and the removal of a limitation and it is good. Remember that this document also has the new Magic action which states when casting a spell or using a magic item you take the magic action. This already cleans up the language enough that I feel it SHOULDN'T be confusing as to whether you can use a scroll with the use an object action and let thieves have that.
Basically, yes? But that's more the way skills and tools are handled in 5e that made us start to act this way.
My 99% is not hyberbolic as 99% of the time the question or task wont be difficult enough that it takes more than a second to think up even while distracted. Sure if someone asks about a case a year ago I wont remember but I never put any effort into remembering it I see 100s of clients a month. But if someone asks would this household be eligible for benefits I can answer instantly without breaking stride even while currently working on a case, because I actually was trained in that skill set, just like how your character is trained in arcana or whatever.
And even if I couldn't while juggling or whatever because juggling is so distracting, I'm not a big damn hero who can tackle dragons out of the sky. Lets build the characters to be legendary heroes but lets make sure they do mental actions under pressure like a middle aged out of shape office worker. All of which is irrelevant to my main point. Whether or not you can argue a logical reason why it should take an action in reality does not matter, its a shit rule because no one will take the action. Does it logically take effort and time to jump more so than just movement, yes. Turning jump into a action is still a crap rule as it just stops people from jumping in combat.
People like me would likely fail but its because I can't juggle as I am not a juggler. But yes, a trained juggler would do fine.
Making things like Jumping and 'Remembering stuff' an Action is a bad idea, unless WotC just goes all the way and embraces an aspect of Pathfinder 2e.
Step 1: Make Moving an Action too.
Step 2: Give everybody three Actions per turn.
Then you can move, jump and attack on your turn, or move, remember something useful about the enemy, and then cast a spell. Or if you don't need to move, you can remember something useful, cast a spell, and use an item. Etc. I think this would solve a lot of the monotony of DnD 5e combat, where you have one Action to do one thing, and if that thing didn't work, sucks to be you.
The likelihood that they try that is incredibly low. I mean, they'd need to completely remodel combat and the game to give you three actions per a turn, and I don't think anyone would want that. And yeah, remembering stuff should not take your whole action. Max, it should take a bonus action. But I think it being a free action makes more sense. With this rule, if your players ask, "I'm supposed to run ahead and steal the treasure, but I'm not as smart as my character, so I've forgotten the directions, can you please remind me DM?" The DM is supposed to tell the player to make a check and spend their whole action. Yeah, this rule really doesn't make much of any sense.
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