Not every crapass two-bit no-name giant basement rat needs to be able to deal eleventeen gorillion damage on a random unpredictable happenstance. "Minion", "Mook", "Mob", and other such critters DO NOT NEED to gain recharge abilities, and they DO NOT NEED to crit. Variable rolls on damage dice ALREADY accomplishes the randomness-and-uncertainty objective "random crits" are supposed to serve. DMs who enjoy randomly killing their players can still quintuple their damage rolls on a nat 20 like they always have; the rest of the game can be BETTER than random nonsense damage SuperSpikes.
Geh. Just bothers me immensely when people trot out that tired argument about how "everything" needs a Recharge ability. It's dumb and I hate it.
One thing that needs to be clear is that a magic attack is always going to be more powerful than a weapon attack. For example, an area spell, like a fireball, or Sickening Radiance, or whatever, is impossible to match up with weapon attacks.
It's funny you mention sickening radiance because that's one of the few effects in the game that directly weaponize exhaustion. And it's still dealing damage (radiant damage at that, one of the least resisted damage types in the game) in an area of effect on top of that.
How is a martial supposed to impose exhaustion of all things?
At least fireball can be replicated by stuff like bombs or other mundane explosives.
That's what I mean. A weapon attack will never go hand in hand with a magic attack. Trying to balance on that side is a very bad idea.
And yes, I chose sickening radiance precisely because it seems to me paradigmatic as a spell that cannot be replicated by a weapon attack in any way. Plus it's one of my favorite offensive spells, especially for a warlock. But that is another topic.
If that's the concensus on what we need, then the whole divide is easy to fix. Everyone can get the same effect from a Disguise Kit as the Disguise Self spell. Everyone can do 8d6 fire damage at level 5 in a 20' radius. This guy does it with magic hand gestures, that one does it by setting a bomb trap, and that one does it by teleporting all over the place with a flaming sword. But it takes a toll on your magic brain limit, or the traps are hard to build, or doing crazy sword tricks are exhausting. So they all can each only do it twice a day. We can get rid of classes altogether because they're all the same thing.
Not every crapass two-bit no-name giant basement rat needs to be able to deal eleventeen gorillion damage on a random unpredictable happenstance. "Minion", "Mook", "Mob", and other such critters DO NOT NEED to gain recharge abilities, and they DO NOT NEED to crit. Variable rolls on damage dice ALREADY accomplishes the randomness-and-uncertainty objective "random crits" are supposed to serve. DMs who enjoy randomly killing their players can still quintuple their damage rolls on a nat 20 like they always have; the rest of the game can be BETTER than random nonsense damage SuperSpikes.
Geh. Just bothers me immensely when people trot out that tired argument about how "everything" needs a Recharge ability. It's dumb and I hate it.
Sorry if it hit a nerve. Not every recharge ability needs to be a gazillion damage, it could be low damage with a rider like movement penalty etc. And you’re right not all monsters need these, but I would be fine if more had them if they got rid of crits. But that’s just me. I just like the idea of more monsters having unique powers than just bonk.
And somewhere on these forums I also suggested an ability in the stat block of certain monsters and boss types that would give them the ability to crit. Plenty of ways it can go if they do want to take away crits from monsters.
If that's the concensus on what we need, then the whole divide is easy to fix. Everyone can get the same effect from a Disguise Kit as the Disguise Self spell. Everyone can do 8d6 fire damage at level 5 in a 20' radius. This guy does it with magic hand gestures, that one does it by setting a bomb trap, and that one does it by teleporting all over the place with a flaming sword. But it takes a toll on your magic brain limit, or the traps are hard to build, or doing crazy sword tricks are exhausting. So they all can each only do it twice a day. We can get rid of classes altogether because they're all the same thing.
i think you just invented 4E :D
Hahaha, that's what I'm afraid of! :D
The reality is, while there were flaws with the implementation of 4e, there's a reason they did things the way they did. The idea of separating game mechanic (what you can do) from special effect (how you do it) is not new.
If that's the concensus on what we need, then the whole divide is easy to fix. Everyone can get the same effect from a Disguise Kit as the Disguise Self spell. Everyone can do 8d6 fire damage at level 5 in a 20' radius. This guy does it with magic hand gestures, that one does it by setting a bomb trap, and that one does it by teleporting all over the place with a flaming sword. But it takes a toll on your magic brain limit, or the traps are hard to build, or doing crazy sword tricks are exhausting. So they all can each only do it twice a day. We can get rid of classes altogether because they're all the same thing.
i think you just invented 4E :D
Hahaha, that's what I'm afraid of! :D
The reality is, while there were flaws with the implementation of 4e, there's a reason they did things the way they did. The idea of separating game mechanic (what you can do) from special effect (how you do it) is not new.
I have never played 4e. It's the only edition I missed. From what I have read about it, there were some actual good ideas there. But overall it was clear that people didn't like that direction. They wanted something that still resembled DnD. And class distinctions, for better or worse, are a part of that. They have to feel different, not just in flavor, but mechanics too. And unfortunately, the casters have taken everything anyone can do and done it better. So until they lose some of that mastery, nothing else is going to compare.
You have mastered the supernatural powers within yourself, enabling you to perform epic feats and insane combos in combat. Choose one of the flavours below, you gain certain spells depending on that flavour at certain levels. You can cast each of these spells once at their lowest level, and regain the ability to cast them when you finish a short or long rest. You casting ability for these spells in Strength and you must use a martial weapon with which you are proficient as your spellcasting focus. When you cast one or use one of these spells that has a casting time of one action it counts as taking the "Attack Action" for you. These spells do not require concentration for you and can be cast during a Barbarian's Rage.
Blade Master
Character Level
Spell
Flavour
1st
Shield
You sweep and flick your sword around you with such speed that it deflects and parries weapons and projectiles aimed at you.
5th
Gust of Wind
You spin your sword at impossibly high speeds and like a fan the blade generates a powerful wind that blasts away creatures in the direction you choose.
9th
Lightning Bolt
You raise your sword like a lightning rod and a bolt of lightning strikes down, you swing the blade down and send the bolt racing towards your enemies.
13th
Dimension Door
You sweep your sword forward and cut a hole in the very fabric of reality and you and a friend leap through appearing in another location.
17th
Steel Wind Strike
You run and jump towards a crowd of enemies striking at each one of them once with your blade.
This is a good example. I want to recognize the work that Agilemind put into converting these spells to new flavor. It's nicely done. This is basically what it sounds like people are talking about. Is this all that people think martials need? 5 spells they can cast with an attack once per Short Rest? I'm genuinely curious. Is this enough to make up the difference? If so, that's pretty easy to update, compare to other options.
One thing that needs to be clear is that a magic attack is always going to be more powerful than a weapon attack. For example, an area spell, like a fireball, or Sickening Radiance, or whatever, is impossible to match up with weapon attacks.
It's funny you mention sickening radiance because that's one of the few effects in the game that directly weaponize exhaustion. And it's still dealing damage (radiant damage at that, one of the least resisted damage types in the game) in an area of effect on top of that.
How is a martial supposed to impose exhaustion of all things?
At least fireball can be replicated by stuff like bombs or other mundane explosives.
That's what I mean. A weapon attack will never go hand in hand with a magic attack. Trying to balance on that side is a very bad idea.
And yes, I chose sickening radiance precisely because it seems to me paradigmatic as a spell that cannot be replicated by a weapon attack in any way. Plus it's one of my favorite offensive spells, especially for a warlock. But that is another topic.
I mean, it can be, but it will require making D&D go full-on sci-fi, which is a problem many people have.
I say that because sickening radiance, at least in my interpretation of its effect, is very clearly radiation sickness/poisoning.
Didn't we already replicate in a way with poison? It isn't farfetched to consider the possibility of certain poisons being able to inflict exhaustion and unlike the exhaustion from Sickening Radiance, you can't remove it with Dispel Magic or by breaking an enemy's concentration. A martial can coat their weapon in poison and that poison can inflict exhaustion. Sure it is not a perfect 1:1 replication, but does it have to be? A way exists for martials to weaponize exhaustion.
Let me give an example from 4th edition, with terminology changed to match fifth edition; it was a combination I saw... moderately often (requires 9th level).
Fighter runs forward.
As a bonus action, activate rain of steel. This is a stance (similar to concentration, but doesn't break with damage). This causes any creature that starts its turn adjacent to you to take your weapon damage (with no ability score modifier, other bonuses applly). Note that opportunity attacks in 4e were not limited by reaction. This ability can be used 1x/day and lasts for 1 minute.
As an action, use come and get it. This forces every enemy you can see within 15' to make a Wisdom save (against Strength save DC). On a failure, that creature is pulled up to 10' towards you (if possible), and if it winds up within 5' of you, it takes your weapon damage (with no ability score modifier). This ability can be used 1x/short rest.
Use action surge
As an action, use thicket of blades. This allows you to attack every enemy you can see within 5', and on a hit, it takes three times your weapon damage (magic applies once), plus your strength modifier, and is slowed until it can make a save to recover. This ability can be used 1x/day.
If you're using a +1 longsword with a 20 strength and dueling fighting style, that would be in effect 5d8+14 (31) damage in a 15' radius; with a greatsword and great weapon style it would be 10d6(reroll 1,2)+8(50).
I feel like people get too hung up on the idea of superhuman = supernatural. Many, many fictional characters perform blatantly impossible feats of strength and speed with no supernatural explanation at all. In fact I'd argue that the vast majority of action heroes are superhuman without any supernatural attributes at all. How strong a person can get with pure training and hard work is entirely setting dependent. It can range from a relatively grounded setting like John Wick where his main supernatural quality is being able to move after crippling injuries and minor surgery to a show like Samurai Jack where Jack can jump over small buildings and carry several ton boulders on his back with the only magical aspect of his character being his sword.
You can't balance a completely normal person with a sword against a reality warper in robes. You CAN balance someone like Thorkell from Vinland Saga against a wizard though, depending on the circumstance.
I feel like people get too hung up on the idea of superhuman = supernatural. Many, many fictional characters perform blatantly impossible feats of strength and speed with no supernatural explanation at all. In fact I'd argue that the vast majority of action heroes are superhuman without any supernatural attributes at all. How strong a person can get with pure training and hard work is entirely setting dependent. It can range from a relatively grounded setting like John Wick where his main supernatural quality is being able to move after crippling injuries and minor surgery to a show like Samurai Jack where Jack can jump over small buildings and carry several ton boulders on his back with the only magical aspect of his character being his sword.
You can't balance a completely normal person with a sword against a reality warper in robes. You CAN balance someone like Thorkell from Vinland Saga against a wizard though, depending on the circumstance.
That's a great way to put it! Sherlock Holmes, John Wick, and Zatoichi all display talents that feel superhuman to a degree, but they aren't supernatural. I think that's a great way to define the difference.
Unfortunately for our options to change things, the game mechanics clearly define human limits with things like weight lifting limits and jump distances. Even Expertise in skills hits a ceiling that magic flies over with cantrips. The gap is really big.
That leaves us having to get more creative with features to represent things without feeling like magic. Second Wind is a good example of pushing past the pain with a unique, if somewhat unimpressive talent. Boosting it at higher levels would be great though.
Here are just two thoughts I had about some of the topics that popped up earlier in this thread:
In my opinion at least, I think the Warriors should be somewhere grounded by reality. Sure, they should be able to have some cool features and abilities that they can use, but having them all jump 300 feet in the air and call down a bolt of lightening really feels like it would be stepping on casters' toes. Not only that, but Wizards and other mystical Mages (not Warriors) are the ones using magic in many of the types of tales that D&D is trying to emulate. In some campaigns, part of the fun is that not every character is able to ignore the laws of physics, science, and reality. Some D&D games limit access to magic, because it is too reality breaking for the world they want to play in. So all in all, a lot of people like and play games where Warriors can't just jump 300 feet into the air and make a perfect landing on the back of an angry dragon. In other words, Warriors should be able to do a bit of reality breaking, sure, but a game where Warriors are effectively gods and have no connection to or knowledge of realism shouldn't be forced on everyone who doesn't want it.
Warriors are and should not be an exact replica of casters in everything but name. Letting martials do the exact same things as Mages wouldn't make them feel cooler or like they had more options, it would just end up getting boring and redundant because almost every single class in the game has those classes anyway and it will just mean that you get the same features over and over in the game. Instead, Warriors should have more unique mechanics that help differentiate them from casters. Warriors should have their own systems because they are their own class group, and copy and pasting a Wizards mechanics into their character sheet is not the way to make them cooler.
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I think there are still a lot of ways to balance martials and casters, while keeping the sword types in the realm of action movie level 'grounded.' Not as many as I would like if casters can't be nerfed, and with some of the mechanical limitations in place. But there are still ways.
I had started writing a long post with examples but honestly I've lost so much drive to actually keep trying to improve the game at the moment. I hope that they fix all the crap with the OGL and I can feel motivated again. Or I can at least direct that energy to another game. But I'm just tired of it all right now.
I still like all of you a great deal, and the conversations we have here. So if we presume that a supernatural warrior is the only answer, what are some ideas to make that happen? Can it be done without making them feel like they are all just new flavors of spells? How much new stuff would it take?
I think there are still a lot of ways to balance martials and casters, while keeping the sword types in the realm of action movie level 'grounded.'
There's the metagame option where the martial characters basically gain the power of convenient coincidence, but it's hard to write up in a game system.
Here are just two thoughts I had about some of the topics that popped up earlier in this thread:
In my opinion at least, I think the Warriors should be somewhere grounded by reality.
And this is why we can't have martial/caster balance: too many people are unwilling to allow them the tools needed.
I think the "grounded by reality" should be in the base class only. Let them have all the damage needed to be on the same level as casters (caster damage might have to be brought down a bit). Give them some utility that doesn't require "it's magic" to explain it. The Crusher, Piercer, Slasher feats have some utility built in that don't require magic. Personally, I think it might be interesting if those feats were removed and became base warrior abilities. Then give the subclasses free range on any concept you want. Psi Knight, Rune Knight, Echo Knight all have magic-like abilities and that's great. They should be expanded upon. The base class warrior, hopefully, will have options depending on the weapons they use. Or something along those lines that JC mentions in the videos. I could see a base feature of the warrior group, or at least the fighter, a "power attack" like 5E GWM with the -5 +10 option or some other mechanic to boost warriors damage.
Utility can be added to martials, but I don't think they need to be "everything you can do, I can do better" in the face of the casters. And I think casters need to be reigned back, as far as utility goes, so they don't just have a spell for everything. But unless you take a sledgehammer to casters and their spells, they will always have more utility than a martial, and I'm fine with that.
I think the "grounded by reality" should be in the base class only.
I actually agree with this statement. Putting in some Warrior subclasses that allow them to break away from realism gives certain types of players more options and enjoyment. If the unrealistic elements are more optional however, it gives the Dungeon Master that opportunity to ban them without disallowing whole classes.
And this is why we can't have martial/caster balance: too many people are unwilling to allow them the tools needed.
This really isn't true. There are plenty of other ways to help fix the disparity without making all the Warriors crazy reality breakers. Increasing damage or armor class, providing more options outside of combat, or adding more optional reality breaking features at high levels are all viable solutions. The more of these options that you implement elements of, the smaller and smaller the disparity will be.
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I think the "grounded by reality" should be in the base class only. Let them have all the damage needed to be on the same level as casters (caster damage might have to be brought down a bit). Give them some utility that doesn't require "it's magic" to explain it. The Crusher, Piercer, Slasher feats have some utility built in that don't require magic. Personally, I think it might be interesting if those feats were removed and became base warrior abilities. Then give the subclasses free range on any concept you want. Psi Knight, Rune Knight, Echo Knight all have magic-like abilities and that's great. They should be expanded upon. The base class warrior, hopefully, will have options depending on the weapons they use. Or something along those lines that JC mentions in the videos. I could see a base feature of the warrior group, or at least the fighter, a "power attack" like 5E GWM with the -5 +10 option or some other mechanic to boost warriors damage.
Utility can be added to martials, but I don't think they need to be "everything you can do, I can do better" in the face of the casters. And I think casters need to be reigned back, as far as utility goes, so they don't just have a spell for everything. But unless you take a sledgehammer to casters and their spells, they will always have more utility than a martial, and I'm fine with that.
But you have to pick a subclass. If only base class is grounded, but all subclasses are magical, then all fighters will be magical. Not a good plan.
Like I said, there's a whole field of psychological warfare with acts of will, intimidation, and inspiration to work with without breaking verisimilitude. There's things like Action Surge that let you make eight attacks in 6 seconds, which is still realistic. Combine it with samurai's Fighting Spirit and Strength Before Death features and you'll see how much a martial can do in terms of combat that is absolutely devastating without being magical. Regarding utility, the only way to tip the scales is designing side effects to spells that would make spellcasters pay the price of twisting reality (such as target of charm person spell realizing it's been charmed), while martials will get to do things naturally with no repercussions.
In the 1DND documents so far, I've noticed subtle small changes that favor Martials over casters. Small changes add up, especially for Martials.
Replenishing all Hit Dice on a long rest instead of half of them. Martials have larger Hit Dice and are more likely to get hit.
Inspiration is given out on 1's of D20 tests. Martials roll more D20's due to Extra Attack. Casters are more likely to use spells that use Save DCs. Thus Martials are more likely to get Inspiration.
I'm thinking there will be future small changes that don't feel like much, but the cumulative effect will be balancing.
Concentration CON save DCs could be changed from 10 to 15.
The "standard" adventuring day (6 encounters, 2 short rests) that no one uses will better get changed.
Encounter building guidelines are likely to change.
Optional rules may be created that recharge fewer spell slots on a night's rest, similar to "gritty realism" rules where a night's rest only counts as a short rest.
A character can only be grounded by the reality they exist in. If you live in world were a guy is throwing fireballs and another is turning into animals I would argue it’s pretty grounded that martials could do more than the rule set currently allows them to do.
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Not every crapass two-bit no-name giant basement rat needs to be able to deal eleventeen gorillion damage on a random unpredictable happenstance. "Minion", "Mook", "Mob", and other such critters DO NOT NEED to gain recharge abilities, and they DO NOT NEED to crit. Variable rolls on damage dice ALREADY accomplishes the randomness-and-uncertainty objective "random crits" are supposed to serve. DMs who enjoy randomly killing their players can still quintuple their damage rolls on a nat 20 like they always have; the rest of the game can be BETTER than random nonsense damage SuperSpikes.
Geh. Just bothers me immensely when people trot out that tired argument about how "everything" needs a Recharge ability. It's dumb and I hate it.
Please do not contact or message me.
That's what I mean. A weapon attack will never go hand in hand with a magic attack. Trying to balance on that side is a very bad idea.
And yes, I chose sickening radiance precisely because it seems to me paradigmatic as a spell that cannot be replicated by a weapon attack in any way. Plus it's one of my favorite offensive spells, especially for a warlock. But that is another topic.
Hahaha, that's what I'm afraid of! :D
Sorry if it hit a nerve. Not every recharge ability needs to be a gazillion damage, it could be low damage with a rider like movement penalty etc. And you’re right not all monsters need these, but I would be fine if more had them if they got rid of crits. But that’s just me. I just like the idea of more monsters having unique powers than just bonk.
And somewhere on these forums I also suggested an ability in the stat block of certain monsters and boss types that would give them the ability to crit. Plenty of ways it can go if they do want to take away crits from monsters.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
The reality is, while there were flaws with the implementation of 4e, there's a reason they did things the way they did. The idea of separating game mechanic (what you can do) from special effect (how you do it) is not new.
I have never played 4e. It's the only edition I missed. From what I have read about it, there were some actual good ideas there. But overall it was clear that people didn't like that direction. They wanted something that still resembled DnD. And class distinctions, for better or worse, are a part of that. They have to feel different, not just in flavor, but mechanics too. And unfortunately, the casters have taken everything anyone can do and done it better. So until they lose some of that mastery, nothing else is going to compare.
This is a good example. I want to recognize the work that Agilemind put into converting these spells to new flavor. It's nicely done. This is basically what it sounds like people are talking about. Is this all that people think martials need? 5 spells they can cast with an attack once per Short Rest? I'm genuinely curious. Is this enough to make up the difference? If so, that's pretty easy to update, compare to other options.
Didn't we already replicate in a way with poison? It isn't farfetched to consider the possibility of certain poisons being able to inflict exhaustion and unlike the exhaustion from Sickening Radiance, you can't remove it with Dispel Magic or by breaking an enemy's concentration. A martial can coat their weapon in poison and that poison can inflict exhaustion. Sure it is not a perfect 1:1 replication, but does it have to be? A way exists for martials to weaponize exhaustion.
Let me give an example from 4th edition, with terminology changed to match fifth edition; it was a combination I saw... moderately often (requires 9th level).
If you're using a +1 longsword with a 20 strength and dueling fighting style, that would be in effect 5d8+14 (31) damage in a 15' radius; with a greatsword and great weapon style it would be 10d6(reroll 1,2)+8(50).
I feel like people get too hung up on the idea of superhuman = supernatural. Many, many fictional characters perform blatantly impossible feats of strength and speed with no supernatural explanation at all. In fact I'd argue that the vast majority of action heroes are superhuman without any supernatural attributes at all. How strong a person can get with pure training and hard work is entirely setting dependent. It can range from a relatively grounded setting like John Wick where his main supernatural quality is being able to move after crippling injuries and minor surgery to a show like Samurai Jack where Jack can jump over small buildings and carry several ton boulders on his back with the only magical aspect of his character being his sword.
You can't balance a completely normal person with a sword against a reality warper in robes. You CAN balance someone like Thorkell from Vinland Saga against a wizard though, depending on the circumstance.
That's a great way to put it! Sherlock Holmes, John Wick, and Zatoichi all display talents that feel superhuman to a degree, but they aren't supernatural. I think that's a great way to define the difference.
Unfortunately for our options to change things, the game mechanics clearly define human limits with things like weight lifting limits and jump distances. Even Expertise in skills hits a ceiling that magic flies over with cantrips. The gap is really big.
That leaves us having to get more creative with features to represent things without feeling like magic. Second Wind is a good example of pushing past the pain with a unique, if somewhat unimpressive talent. Boosting it at higher levels would be great though.
Here are just two thoughts I had about some of the topics that popped up earlier in this thread:
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explain
HERE.And this is why we can't have martial/caster balance: too many people are unwilling to allow them the tools needed.
I think there are still a lot of ways to balance martials and casters, while keeping the sword types in the realm of action movie level 'grounded.' Not as many as I would like if casters can't be nerfed, and with some of the mechanical limitations in place. But there are still ways.
I had started writing a long post with examples but honestly I've lost so much drive to actually keep trying to improve the game at the moment. I hope that they fix all the crap with the OGL and I can feel motivated again. Or I can at least direct that energy to another game. But I'm just tired of it all right now.
I still like all of you a great deal, and the conversations we have here. So if we presume that a supernatural warrior is the only answer, what are some ideas to make that happen? Can it be done without making them feel like they are all just new flavors of spells? How much new stuff would it take?
There's the metagame option where the martial characters basically gain the power of convenient coincidence, but it's hard to write up in a game system.
I think the "grounded by reality" should be in the base class only. Let them have all the damage needed to be on the same level as casters (caster damage might have to be brought down a bit). Give them some utility that doesn't require "it's magic" to explain it. The Crusher, Piercer, Slasher feats have some utility built in that don't require magic. Personally, I think it might be interesting if those feats were removed and became base warrior abilities. Then give the subclasses free range on any concept you want. Psi Knight, Rune Knight, Echo Knight all have magic-like abilities and that's great. They should be expanded upon. The base class warrior, hopefully, will have options depending on the weapons they use. Or something along those lines that JC mentions in the videos. I could see a base feature of the warrior group, or at least the fighter, a "power attack" like 5E GWM with the -5 +10 option or some other mechanic to boost warriors damage.
Utility can be added to martials, but I don't think they need to be "everything you can do, I can do better" in the face of the casters. And I think casters need to be reigned back, as far as utility goes, so they don't just have a spell for everything. But unless you take a sledgehammer to casters and their spells, they will always have more utility than a martial, and I'm fine with that.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
I actually agree with this statement. Putting in some Warrior subclasses that allow them to break away from realism gives certain types of players more options and enjoyment. If the unrealistic elements are more optional however, it gives the Dungeon Master that opportunity to ban them without disallowing whole classes.
This really isn't true. There are plenty of other ways to help fix the disparity without making all the Warriors crazy reality breakers. Increasing damage or armor class, providing more options outside of combat, or adding more optional reality breaking features at high levels are all viable solutions. The more of these options that you implement elements of, the smaller and smaller the disparity will be.
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explain
HERE.But you have to pick a subclass. If only base class is grounded, but all subclasses are magical, then all fighters will be magical. Not a good plan.
Like I said, there's a whole field of psychological warfare with acts of will, intimidation, and inspiration to work with without breaking verisimilitude. There's things like Action Surge that let you make eight attacks in 6 seconds, which is still realistic. Combine it with samurai's Fighting Spirit and Strength Before Death features and you'll see how much a martial can do in terms of combat that is absolutely devastating without being magical. Regarding utility, the only way to tip the scales is designing side effects to spells that would make spellcasters pay the price of twisting reality (such as target of charm person spell realizing it's been charmed), while martials will get to do things naturally with no repercussions.
In the 1DND documents so far, I've noticed subtle small changes that favor Martials over casters. Small changes add up, especially for Martials.
I'm thinking there will be future small changes that don't feel like much, but the cumulative effect will be balancing.
willbetter get changed.A character can only be grounded by the reality they exist in. If you live in world were a guy is throwing fireballs and another is turning into animals I would argue it’s pretty grounded that martials could do more than the rule set currently allows them to do.