Originally Posted by Stabbey
Originally Posted by Eugerome
I think the persistent effects are fine.


You are objectively wrong. They are not.

My 1d10 cantrip actually deals 1d6 direct, plus 1d4 from the instantly created fire surface, plus 1d4 burning, plus an additional 1d4 - without any saving throw - on the creature's turn when they try to move out of the fire surface, for a range of 4 to 18. And if there is more than one creature in the radius of the fire surface created, they take damage from the surface as well. Oh, and when you miss, you still deal 1d4 surface damage.

Meanwhile those characters using physical weapons are dealing 1d6 or 1d8. It's completely unbalanced.


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They are less prominent in DnD 5e because they require a lot of bookkeeping, something you don't have to do in a video game.


They ARE less prominent in 5e because they're tricky. But you fail to follow that train of thought to the station: they're not prominent in 5e and so the rules are based around surfaces not being prominent.


I will concede that it may be unbalanced, but that does not mean they aren't also fine. Environmental effects make combat much more interesting. 5e as it stands is a very dull system when adapted 1:1 to a computer game, in terms of tactical combat, it lacks a lot of depth compared to earlier editions, or even compared to custom rulesets invented by some games. Furthermore, this is not a competitive game, its a party based game, which is played against AI, whether 1 class is "objectively better" than another is not nearly as important as in a PVP game and in my opinion, should not be a driving factor in whether or not something is included.

Adding surfaces to the game adds some depth which is lacking in the 5th edition ruleset and their existence can be balanced by having both the enemy and the party take advantage of them, provided the AI knows how to properly manage them. Furthermore, even if they are present, you would still likely want a fighter in the group, even if it is just to soak damage up front.