The 5e system is already pretty flexible - additional class flexibility isn't needed even with a 4-person-party restriction.
So my takeaway is that these threads are largely melodramatic then.
To be fair, yes there is a lot of melodrama and hyperbole. But the fact that the 5e system is flexible doesn't mean that classes should be made even more flexible. Certain classes still excel at certain things and should feel different to play. At some point the line is crossed where classes are more similar than they are different, which removes a core (or classic, if you take issue with "core") aspect of D&D.
The location of this line is an opinion. Bonus action hide/dash being given to everyone instead of rogues? Scrolls usable by everyone instead of the appropriate casters? Thrown potions + scroll usage + Help action making everyone an amazing healer? High ground advantage + shove encouraging every class to play a similar style (ranged attacks + shove)? I wouldn't say any one of the above is sufficient, but all?
And "classes should be distinct" is just one of many arguments for More D&D 5e Rules. E.g., there's also the Balance Argument: Quicken/Haste allowing you to cast a two fully leveled spell is really powerful, Shove OHKOs, changes to enemy HP and AC but not STs nerfs ST spells, surfaces causing auto-damage has cascading effects, the whac-a-mole system of healing downed characters, etc.
I'm of a mind that scribing scrolls should be limited to casting classes that can actually cast them. I'm also of a mind that, if I can get a background, or a skill, that allows casting it, it's fine. NWN and DDO both had UMD, Use Magic Device, that enabled one to use a lot of items that they would normally not be able to use, for example. I'm not overly fussed about Hide, in particular, because my rogues, or rouge-like characters will be better at it than someone that's just using the skill. In so far as I'm aware, characters could always attempt to be stealthy, that didn't mean they'd succeed, but they could always try.
But if the "homogenizing" of the classes is coming from actual 5e rules, instead of some "homebrew" thing, then it would seem that it's more "I want more 5e, but only the stuff I like" than "it's not 5e enough". With the caveat that I do, in fact, realize that scribing scrolls is currently broken.
Last edited by robertthebard; 01/12/2110:38 PM. Reason: clarity
