Dnd 2024 -- is the maximum number of prepared spells for a class affected by feats or subclass? I don't think so, but the PHB wording is confusing and I am looking for clarity.
The number you can choose for yourself? No. Your total number prepared can; various subclass features, feats, and a few class features give you additional prepared spells that don't count against your total from class level(s).
So if I understand -- the base class property "Maximum Prepared Spells" is overridden by its subclasses when there are "additional prepared Spells". And this is true for 2024 as well as 2014. Is that right? I used AI to get an answer and read that in 2024 rules, max prepared spells was unaffected by subclassing. Which made sense given how object oriented programming works when a subclass inherits a base class. But AI is just wrong, right?
So if I understand -- the base class property "Maximum Prepared Spells" is overridden by its subclasses when there are "additional prepared Spells". And this is true for 2024 as well as 2014. Is that right? I used AI to get an answer and read that in 2024 rules, max prepared spells was unaffected by subclassing. Which made sense given how object oriented programming works when a subclass inherits a base class. But AI is just wrong, right?
No that is not correct, and you should not use AI to get answers, it tends to hallucinate.
Your subclass does not change the number of maximum prepared spells; 'prepared spells' typically refers to spells you choose. Your subclass (or a feat or another feature) may give you additional specific spells which considered are always prepared, but you can't switch those out for different spells, you're stuck with them.
The relevant rule can be found in the spellcasting feature of your class in the prepared spells of level 1+ section. You can find the exception for class features gaining you always prepared spells that stabbey is talking about in the last paragraph.
The max prepared spell value is the number you get to pick from in whatever manner is assigned for your class- fixed with one trade out at level up, prep from class list daily, prep from spellbook daily, etc. Any spell you are able to cast with slots is "prepared", and features that grant additional ones all say they don't count towards your max prepared count.
So if I understand -- the base class property "Maximum Prepared Spells" is overridden by its subclasses when there are "additional prepared Spells". And this is true for 2024 as well as 2014. Is that right? I used AI to get an answer and read that in 2024 rules, max prepared spells was unaffected by subclassing. Which made sense given how object oriented programming works when a subclass inherits a base class. But AI is just wrong, right?
To summarize and add on to the other answers.
If you get the Spellcasting feature, you will get it from your Class (Artificer, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Sorcerer, Warlock*, or Wizard) or you will get it from your subclass (so far only Arcane Trickster and Eldritch Knight Fighter). Warlocks don't get Spellcasting, per se, but Pact Magic mostly follows the same rules.
If you get Spellcasting/Pact Magic from your Class, your Class will tell you your Prepared Spells limit. If your Subclass gives you your Spellcasting feature, your Subclass will tell your Prepared Spells limit; this is the only time your Subclass affects your Prepared Spells limit; in this case, it is giving you one were you didn't have one.
For example, if you look at a Life Domain Cleric. Starting at level 3, the Cleric always has Aid, Bless, Cure Wounds, and Lesser Restoration prepared. If you look back at the Prepared Spells of Level 1+ section of the Cleric's Spellcasting feature, the last Paragraph says "If another Cleric feature gives you spells that you always have prepared, those spells don't count against the number of spells you can prepare with this feature".
So if I understand -- the base class property "Maximum Prepared Spells" is overridden by its subclasses when there are "additional prepared Spells".
The confusion comes from thinking of something like this as a "class property" or as something that is inherent in or is provided by a class, per se. There are certain "Core Class Traits" where this sort of thinking can be applied, but this isn't one of them. Instead, things like this are actually provided by rules that are defined within a Class Feature.
If you see this as a column heading within a Table of Class Features for a Class . . . that isn't really a Feature in and of itself -- the Table is providing a summary of the rules that are provided by the Class Features for that Class. For the detailed rules that are referenced by the Table, you have to read the descriptions for the Class Features themselves. Using the Cleric as an example:
As a Cleric, you gain the following class features when you reach the specified Cleric levels. These features are listed in the Cleric Features table.
When you gain a Class Feature, you essentially "unlock" or "gain access to" the rules that are provided by that Class Feature. Having access to these specific rules allows a character to do things that they otherwise might not be able to do if using only the general rules for the game.
In this case, as mentioned earlier in the thread, the Cleric's Class Feature called "Spellcasting", which is acquired at Cleric Level 1, provides the rules which define how many spells can be prepared by using that feature, and that information is what is being summarized in the Table of Class Features.
So again, it's not the class itself that determines this limit, it's the particular Class Feature that is used which determines this. Thinking about it like this makes it easier to see that any additional Features that might become accessible later on through your Subclass (or a Feat) would not alter what is written in your Spellcasting Class Feature. However, it might be possible that you might eventually gain some other feature that improves or provides an alternative to the rules that you were previously using when you used your Spellcasting Class Feature. At that point you would typically have a choice where you could "use" your Spellcasting Class Feature and all of the rules that go along with that, or you can "use" your more recently acquired Feature that might provide some different rules about how things would work for your character. It's not so much a question of a Subclass "changing" or "overriding" a Class -- it has more to do with the fact that you might eventually have more Features and associated rules available for you to use when appropriate.
Thanks you guys for the guidance. My way of looking at it was flawed. I thought that if I had a base class of "Bicycle" that subclassing it with new features like "Horn" would not alter the fact that it is still a bicycle. Subclassing it to gain a third wheel would make it a Tricycle -- a completely different class, no longer a bicycle, and hence the "Max Wheels" property would be different because it is a different class. Would it be incorrect to think of a subclass as being a distinctly different class? Maybe subclasses are not really subclasses per se, but different classes entirely. Could a subclass have a subclass? Thanks for your thoughts on this.
Thanks you guys for the guidance. My way of looking at it was flawed. I thought that if I had a base class of "Bicycle" that subclassing it with new features like "Horn" would not alter the fact that it is still a bicycle. Subclassing it to gain a third wheel would make it a Tricycle -- a completely different class, no longer a bicycle, and hence the "Max Wheels" property would be different because it is a different class. Would it be incorrect to think of a subclass as being a distinctly different class? Maybe subclasses are not really subclasses per se, but different classes entirely. Could a subclass have a subclass? Thanks for your thoughts on this.
I think you're drawing the wrong conclusion here. Subclasses are not classes and they don't make a class into a different class. Subclasses do not have subclasses of their own. In your example, subclasses would be things like "racing bike" or "mountain bike". They're still bikes.
Each class that has a Spellcasting feature has a number of spells you can prepare using that feature. It does not affect anything else. Other features that provide spells that are "always prepared" are separate things that don't count toward that number. There is no overall "max spells prepared" limit that encompasses all spells you might acquire from every possible source.
Thanks you guys for the guidance. My way of looking at it was flawed. I thought that if I had a base class of "Bicycle" that subclassing it with new features like "Horn" would not alter the fact that it is still a bicycle. Subclassing it to gain a third wheel would make it a Tricycle -- a completely different class, no longer a bicycle, and hence the "Max Wheels" property would be different because it is a different class. Would it be incorrect to think of a subclass as being a distinctly different class? Maybe subclasses are not really subclasses per se, but different classes entirely. Could a subclass have a subclass? Thanks for your thoughts on this.
Don't think of subclasses in terms of object-oriented programming.
Classes in D&D have a list of abilities that they get at each level. All a "subclass" is is a choice of a package of some of these features. If you're a fighter, you get Action surge at 2, feat choices at 4, 6, etc, extra attack at 5, etc. At level 3, you choose your subclass package, and that determines which class features you get at levels 3,7, 10, 15, and 18.
Thanks you guys for the guidance. My way of looking at it was flawed. I thought that if I had a base class of "Bicycle" that subclassing it with new features like "Horn" would not alter the fact that it is still a bicycle. Subclassing it to gain a third wheel would make it a Tricycle -- a completely different class, no longer a bicycle, and hence the "Max Wheels" property would be different because it is a different class. Would it be incorrect to think of a subclass as being a distinctly different class? Maybe subclasses are not really subclasses per se, but different classes entirely. Could a subclass have a subclass? Thanks for your thoughts on this.
Sometimes, a subclass heavily overhaul the class. Most times, it adds elements that tweak the play style. A Celestial Warlock still plays like a Warlock but they can fill the healer role in a party as well. College of Dance Bards are still Bards, but are more likely to go without armor and brawl than a normal Bard.
If a Subclass opens up new resources (ie, spells) for your character, you probably won't have enough of those resources or enough supporting resources to completely change your focus. Currently, I am building an Arcane Trickster Rogue. I can take Firebolt or Burning Hands, but I won't have the Intelligence to make them reliable without sacrificing another stat, like Dexterity and the Rogue sneak attack won't work with the spells so I am best focusing on spells that provide utility or set up advantage for my attacks without involving a save or attack roll.
Thanks to everyone for your learned advise. To summarize, classes are in no way related to classes as defined in the framework of object-oriented programming. DnD classes have bolt-on extensions known as "subclasses" which a character may/must adopt under specific circumstances at levels 3 and above. Rather than thinking of subclasses as inheriting properties of its base class, subclasses extend and alter instances of a character, not the character's class. A cleric is still a cleric even tho a given instance of a cleric may have additional prepared spells and thus exceed the limits of the cleric base class -- as in the case of its maximum number of prepared spells. Base class limitations do not apply to instances of a class that have adopted a feature package (aka subclass). An instance of a class can only have one subclass and a subclass cannot itself be a super class for another bolt-on subclass.
Thanks to everyone for your learned advise. To summarize, classes are in no way related to classes as defined in the framework of object-oriented programming. DnD classes have bolt-on extensions known as "subclasses" which a character may/must adopt under specific circumstances at levels 3 and above. Rather than thinking of subclasses as inheriting properties of its base class, subclasses extend and alter instances of a character, not the character's class. A cleric is still a cleric even tho a given instance of a cleric may have additional prepared spells and thus exceed the limits of the cleric base class -- as in the case of its maximum number of prepared spells. Base class limitations do not apply to instances of a class that have adopted a feature package (aka subclass). An instance of a class can only have one subclass and a subclass cannot itself be a super class for another bolt-on subclass.
Is this a bot? This post reads like "AI" tried to write it.
No, I am not a bot, but likely "on the spectrum" along with many of those that play TTRPGs.
I'm just trying to be a good DM with deep understanding -- able to present a rigorous framework for gameplay that is well considered and inline with the rules of the game. My two brain cells are always in dialog -- comparing, contrasting and hopefully resolving into a pool of useful knowledge that is as accurate as I can achieve.
Thanks to everyone for your learned advise. To summarize, classes are in no way related to classes as defined in the framework of object-oriented programming. DnD classes have bolt-on extensions known as "subclasses" which a character may/must adopt under specific circumstances at levels 3 and above. Rather than thinking of subclasses as inheriting properties of its base class, subclasses extend and alter instances of a character, not the character's class. A cleric is still a cleric even tho a given instance of a cleric may have additional prepared spells and thus exceed the limits of the cleric base class -- as in the case of its maximum number of prepared spells. Base class limitations do not apply to instances of a class that have adopted a feature package (aka subclass). An instance of a class can only have one subclass and a subclass cannot itself be a super class for another bolt-on subclass.
I'm really wondering if you are taking the responses and feeding them to a chatbot to get a reply.
1) There is no correlation between D&D classes and object oriented classes. D&D is a flexible role playing game not a computer language. There is also no correlation between D&D class archetypes or subclasses and object oriented programming.
2) The answer to your original question AND the meaning of the "prepared spells" column is clearly spelled out in the rules. From the cleric section on spellcasting:
"The number of spells on your list increases as you gain Cleric levels, as shown in the Prepared Spells column of the Cleric Features table. Whenever that number increases, choose additional spells from the Cleric spell list until the number of spells on your list matches the number on the table. The chosen spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For example, if you’re a level 3 Cleric, your list of prepared spells can include six spells of levels 1 and 2 in any combination.
If another Cleric feature gives you spells that you always have prepared, those spells don’t count against the number of spells you can prepare with this feature, but those spells otherwise count as Cleric spells for you."
This makes it extremely clear that the number of prepared spells listed in the table applies to all clerics at every level BUT that some cleric features may give the character additional spells which are always prepared that may also be considered cleric spells but do not count against the limit of prepared spells.
Trying to imagine class archetypes or subclasses as some sort of derived class isn't how the game is designed.
... and just in case there was honest confusion in the original post ...
Each class has a set of features. Features gained at higher levels may modify/replace/change features gained at lower levels. ONE of these features that is chosen at level 3 (in the 2024 rules) is the subclass which is typically a set of four additional features gained at level 3 and then at various later levels which may vary by class. Subclass or archetype is simply another feature choice, albeit one that tends to define important features of the character.
As an example - before level 3 - characters are fighters, wizards, rogues, clerics and so on which have specific abilities and features defined by their class. At level 3, the player chooses a subclass/archetype which will include a set of features that will be acquired as the character levels up and will apply a certain flavor to the class. Twilight cleric, light cleric, death cleric, grave cleric, knowledge cleric etc ... are all cleric class characters with slightly different feature sets.
Lol, Claims not to be a bot but uses the double space and double dash that is indicative of AI writing in the claim.
First of all, speculating that people are actually AI is unproductive.
Secondly, no formatting choice is actually indicative. Those things are in the AI lexicon because people do them.
Thirdly, it's possible that English is not their first language, and you are seeing machine-translation artifacts, or just quirks due to the way they learned. (And the weirdness about viewing the term class in programming terms makes a lot of sense for a non-English native who may not really have encountered the word in other contexts.)
The initial question was perfectly normal. What harm is there in assuming sincerity?
Lol, Claims not to be a bot but uses the double space and double dash that is indicative of AI writing in the claim.
First of all, speculating that people are actually AI is unproductive.
Secondly, no formatting choice is actually indicative. Those things are in the AI lexicon because people do them.
Thirdly, it's possible that English is not their first language, and you are seeing machine-translation artifacts, or just quirks due to the way they learned. (And the weirdness about viewing the term class in programming terms makes a lot of sense for a non-English native who may not really have encountered the word in other contexts.)
The initial question was perfectly normal. What harm is there in assuming sincerity?
If you paid attention to the responses, including my original response, sincerity was assumed. I'm pointing out that their responses follow AI writing and syntax patterns because that isn't allowed on the forums. If I'm wrong I'm sorry but these replies reek of AI.
Some people genuinely use punctuation marks -- they existed before AI. Some of us have had this stuff drilled into our writing styles ages ago.
If you are concerned about AI, run it through AI scan tools before accusing anyone. They are less accurate with short amounts of text. I ran posts from you and Ex825er through two free ones and yours came up as more likely to be AI (4% versus 0%) in one and equal (1% versus 1%) in another. If you find a post that is likely AI generated, report it with the supporting evidence. Posting accusations of rules violations is -- you guessed it -- a rules violation. <Insert Simpson That's a Paddlin Meme> See section 1 - Respect. I have gotten nicked for this once even though I reviewed the rules before making my post; I focused on a different aspect of the rules when I was checking if I violated them -- oops. Hopefully, this doesn't violate them again.
As a Software Engineer, I completely get Ex825er's analogies and how those analogies help them make sense of a new system or a new edition of a system I like (usually Shadowrun). I sometimes combine learning a new rules system with coding a character generator for grins. I have two in progress right now.
David42 and others have given some excellent summaries and Ex825er has not posted follow up questions so there might not be a point to continuing the discussion.
Dnd 2024 -- is the maximum number of prepared spells for a class affected by feats or subclass? I don't think so, but the PHB wording is confusing and I am looking for clarity.
The number you can choose for yourself? No. Your total number prepared can; various subclass features, feats, and a few class features give you additional prepared spells that don't count against your total from class level(s).
So if I understand -- the base class property "Maximum Prepared Spells" is overridden by its subclasses when there are "additional prepared Spells". And this is true for 2024 as well as 2014. Is that right? I used AI to get an answer and read that in 2024 rules, max prepared spells was unaffected by subclassing. Which made sense given how object oriented programming works when a subclass inherits a base class. But AI is just wrong, right?
No that is not correct, and you should not use AI to get answers, it tends to hallucinate.
Your subclass does not change the number of maximum prepared spells; 'prepared spells' typically refers to spells you choose. Your subclass (or a feat or another feature) may give you additional specific spells which considered are always prepared, but you can't switch those out for different spells, you're stuck with them.
The relevant rule can be found in the spellcasting feature of your class in the prepared spells of level 1+ section. You can find the exception for class features gaining you always prepared spells that stabbey is talking about in the last paragraph.
The max prepared spell value is the number you get to pick from in whatever manner is assigned for your class- fixed with one trade out at level up, prep from class list daily, prep from spellbook daily, etc. Any spell you are able to cast with slots is "prepared", and features that grant additional ones all say they don't count towards your max prepared count.
To summarize and add on to the other answers.
If you get the Spellcasting feature, you will get it from your Class (Artificer, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Sorcerer, Warlock*, or Wizard) or you will get it from your subclass (so far only Arcane Trickster and Eldritch Knight Fighter). Warlocks don't get Spellcasting, per se, but Pact Magic mostly follows the same rules.
If you get Spellcasting/Pact Magic from your Class, your Class will tell you your Prepared Spells limit. If your Subclass gives you your Spellcasting feature, your Subclass will tell your Prepared Spells limit; this is the only time your Subclass affects your Prepared Spells limit; in this case, it is giving you one were you didn't have one.
For example, if you look at a Life Domain Cleric. Starting at level 3, the Cleric always has Aid, Bless, Cure Wounds, and Lesser Restoration prepared. If you look back at the Prepared Spells of Level 1+ section of the Cleric's Spellcasting feature, the last Paragraph says "If another Cleric feature gives you spells that you always have prepared, those spells don't count against the number of spells you can prepare with this feature".
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Just to mention that another way of gaining "always prepared spells" is through species traits. E.g. Elven Lineage or Gnomish Lineage.
EDIT: for clarity.
The confusion comes from thinking of something like this as a "class property" or as something that is inherent in or is provided by a class, per se. There are certain "Core Class Traits" where this sort of thinking can be applied, but this isn't one of them. Instead, things like this are actually provided by rules that are defined within a Class Feature.
If you see this as a column heading within a Table of Class Features for a Class . . . that isn't really a Feature in and of itself -- the Table is providing a summary of the rules that are provided by the Class Features for that Class. For the detailed rules that are referenced by the Table, you have to read the descriptions for the Class Features themselves. Using the Cleric as an example:
When you gain a Class Feature, you essentially "unlock" or "gain access to" the rules that are provided by that Class Feature. Having access to these specific rules allows a character to do things that they otherwise might not be able to do if using only the general rules for the game.
In this case, as mentioned earlier in the thread, the Cleric's Class Feature called "Spellcasting", which is acquired at Cleric Level 1, provides the rules which define how many spells can be prepared by using that feature, and that information is what is being summarized in the Table of Class Features.
So again, it's not the class itself that determines this limit, it's the particular Class Feature that is used which determines this. Thinking about it like this makes it easier to see that any additional Features that might become accessible later on through your Subclass (or a Feat) would not alter what is written in your Spellcasting Class Feature. However, it might be possible that you might eventually gain some other feature that improves or provides an alternative to the rules that you were previously using when you used your Spellcasting Class Feature. At that point you would typically have a choice where you could "use" your Spellcasting Class Feature and all of the rules that go along with that, or you can "use" your more recently acquired Feature that might provide some different rules about how things would work for your character. It's not so much a question of a Subclass "changing" or "overriding" a Class -- it has more to do with the fact that you might eventually have more Features and associated rules available for you to use when appropriate.
Thanks you guys for the guidance. My way of looking at it was flawed. I thought that if I had a base class of "Bicycle" that subclassing it with new features like "Horn" would not alter the fact that it is still a bicycle. Subclassing it to gain a third wheel would make it a Tricycle -- a completely different class, no longer a bicycle, and hence the "Max Wheels" property would be different because it is a different class. Would it be incorrect to think of a subclass as being a distinctly different class? Maybe subclasses are not really subclasses per se, but different classes entirely. Could a subclass have a subclass? Thanks for your thoughts on this.
I think you're drawing the wrong conclusion here. Subclasses are not classes and they don't make a class into a different class. Subclasses do not have subclasses of their own. In your example, subclasses would be things like "racing bike" or "mountain bike". They're still bikes.
Each class that has a Spellcasting feature has a number of spells you can prepare using that feature. It does not affect anything else. Other features that provide spells that are "always prepared" are separate things that don't count toward that number. There is no overall "max spells prepared" limit that encompasses all spells you might acquire from every possible source.
pronouns: he/she/they
Don't think of subclasses in terms of object-oriented programming.
Classes in D&D have a list of abilities that they get at each level. All a "subclass" is is a choice of a package of some of these features. If you're a fighter, you get Action surge at 2, feat choices at 4, 6, etc, extra attack at 5, etc. At level 3, you choose your subclass package, and that determines which class features you get at levels 3,7, 10, 15, and 18.
Sometimes, a subclass heavily overhaul the class. Most times, it adds elements that tweak the play style. A Celestial Warlock still plays like a Warlock but they can fill the healer role in a party as well. College of Dance Bards are still Bards, but are more likely to go without armor and brawl than a normal Bard.
If a Subclass opens up new resources (ie, spells) for your character, you probably won't have enough of those resources or enough supporting resources to completely change your focus. Currently, I am building an Arcane Trickster Rogue. I can take Firebolt or Burning Hands, but I won't have the Intelligence to make them reliable without sacrificing another stat, like Dexterity and the Rogue sneak attack won't work with the spells so I am best focusing on spells that provide utility or set up advantage for my attacks without involving a save or attack roll.
How to add Tooltips.
Thanks to everyone for your learned advise. To summarize, classes are in no way related to classes as defined in the framework of object-oriented programming. DnD classes have bolt-on extensions known as "subclasses" which a character may/must adopt under specific circumstances at levels 3 and above. Rather than thinking of subclasses as inheriting properties of its base class, subclasses extend and alter instances of a character, not the character's class. A cleric is still a cleric even tho a given instance of a cleric may have additional prepared spells and thus exceed the limits of the cleric base class -- as in the case of its maximum number of prepared spells. Base class limitations do not apply to instances of a class that have adopted a feature package (aka subclass). An instance of a class can only have one subclass and a subclass cannot itself be a super class for another bolt-on subclass.
In all honesty, I think it'll be a lot easier to understand this stuff if you abandon the programming metaphors entirely.
pronouns: he/she/they
Is this a bot? This post reads like "AI" tried to write it.
No, I am not a bot, but likely "on the spectrum" along with many of those that play TTRPGs.
I'm just trying to be a good DM with deep understanding -- able to present a rigorous framework for gameplay that is well considered and inline with the rules of the game. My two brain cells are always in dialog -- comparing, contrasting and hopefully resolving into a pool of useful knowledge that is as accurate as I can achieve.
And I thank you for helping me in my quest.
I'm really wondering if you are taking the responses and feeding them to a chatbot to get a reply.
1) There is no correlation between D&D classes and object oriented classes. D&D is a flexible role playing game not a computer language. There is also no correlation between D&D class archetypes or subclasses and object oriented programming.
2) The answer to your original question AND the meaning of the "prepared spells" column is clearly spelled out in the rules. From the cleric section on spellcasting:
"The number of spells on your list increases as you gain Cleric levels, as shown in the Prepared Spells column of the Cleric Features table. Whenever that number increases, choose additional spells from the Cleric spell list until the number of spells on your list matches the number on the table. The chosen spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For example, if you’re a level 3 Cleric, your list of prepared spells can include six spells of levels 1 and 2 in any combination.
If another Cleric feature gives you spells that you always have prepared, those spells don’t count against the number of spells you can prepare with this feature, but those spells otherwise count as Cleric spells for you."
This makes it extremely clear that the number of prepared spells listed in the table applies to all clerics at every level BUT that some cleric features may give the character additional spells which are always prepared that may also be considered cleric spells but do not count against the limit of prepared spells.
Trying to imagine class archetypes or subclasses as some sort of derived class isn't how the game is designed.
... and just in case there was honest confusion in the original post ...
Each class has a set of features. Features gained at higher levels may modify/replace/change features gained at lower levels. ONE of these features that is chosen at level 3 (in the 2024 rules) is the subclass which is typically a set of four additional features gained at level 3 and then at various later levels which may vary by class. Subclass or archetype is simply another feature choice, albeit one that tends to define important features of the character.
As an example - before level 3 - characters are fighters, wizards, rogues, clerics and so on which have specific abilities and features defined by their class. At level 3, the player chooses a subclass/archetype which will include a set of features that will be acquired as the character levels up and will apply a certain flavor to the class. Twilight cleric, light cleric, death cleric, grave cleric, knowledge cleric etc ... are all cleric class characters with slightly different feature sets.
First of all, speculating that people are actually AI is unproductive.
Secondly, no formatting choice is actually indicative. Those things are in the AI lexicon because people do them.
Thirdly, it's possible that English is not their first language, and you are seeing machine-translation artifacts, or just quirks due to the way they learned. (And the weirdness about viewing the term class in programming terms makes a lot of sense for a non-English native who may not really have encountered the word in other contexts.)
The initial question was perfectly normal. What harm is there in assuming sincerity?
Some people genuinely use punctuation marks -- they existed before AI. Some of us have had this stuff drilled into our writing styles ages ago.
If you are concerned about AI, run it through AI scan tools before accusing anyone. They are less accurate with short amounts of text. I ran posts from you and Ex825er through two free ones and yours came up as more likely to be AI (4% versus 0%) in one and equal (1% versus 1%) in another. If you find a post that is likely AI generated, report it with the supporting evidence. Posting accusations of rules violations is -- you guessed it -- a rules violation. <Insert Simpson That's a Paddlin Meme> See section 1 - Respect. I have gotten nicked for this once even though I reviewed the rules before making my post; I focused on a different aspect of the rules when I was checking if I violated them -- oops. Hopefully, this doesn't violate them again.
As a Software Engineer, I completely get Ex825er's analogies and how those analogies help them make sense of a new system or a new edition of a system I like (usually Shadowrun). I sometimes combine learning a new rules system with coding a character generator for grins. I have two in progress right now.
David42 and others have given some excellent summaries and Ex825er has not posted follow up questions so there might not be a point to continuing the discussion.
Have a nice 24 hour cycle.
How to add Tooltips.