Ah whatever. Your arguments are invalid and inaccurate, and that's a statement of fact. I know you are but what am I.
Come on. Cut it out.
Look. Like it or not. My opinion: The game would be better, feel more like D&D, which was what Swen stated was the goal, if they implemented more D&D 5e.
I've already stated specific examples of things I'm referring to:
Monster stats and abilities more closely aligned with actual 5e stats and abilities so monsters act like they should according to established lore.
More class distinctions based on 5e so that classes are more appropriately defined and special, as opposed to items ruling the entire game and making classes virtually pointless.
More 5e rules actually followed because when you don't follow them you quickly deteriorate the entire game mechanics that were built in a balanced fashion, like Rogue Expertise making Rogues better at certain things than other classes, thus making them valuable, and only clerics being able to use revive scrolls and such (other classes as well, but just making a point), and on and on and on and on like I've said for the last 16 pages.
This isn't about me not getting what I want. The whole point of the football analogy was that the names of the games are the same. Football. But the rules are vastly different. As a result, if you play one version of football, you get something TOTALLY different from the other version. It's still called football. It just doesn't feel like the other type of football at all.
You guys are so adverse to D&D 5e rules. I've said on more than a thousand occasions, all I'm asking for is that they give us D&D players the OPTION to play actual D&D 5e rules with proper stats, etc. Give all of you the OPTION to still play the game however you want with all your DOS-like rules and gimicks with classes all jacked up and so forth, but at least give us who like D&D the ability to play the game that we were told we were going to be playing; D&D 5e. Some D&D players don't like all the rules. That's fine. Like Fantasy Grounds, give us options to tweak the rules.
Basically, I came to play some American Football. You came to play European Football. Fine. Give me an oblong ball and let me and my friends play American Football over here while you and your friends play European Football over there. Blending the two is not going to work. In the end, one side or both is going to be unhappy, and it's going to be bad for the game.
I love this game's story and premise and characters and so forth. What I don't like is the rules they are using. It's D&D-ish if you stretch yourself real hard, but it isn't really D&D.
So, I'm asking for them to create the OPTION to allow players to have the rules set to their preference. Things like this:
High Ground = +2 by default to AC and Attack. Option to make it Advantage. Option to turn it off. (Notice, this provides players the ability to decide whether they like a homebrew for high ground at all. I kinda like it, even though it's not RAW 5e. So might turn it on.)
Cover = No benefit by default. Option to make it +2 to AC. Option to provide Advantage. (Again, notice, by default, cover should have no benefit based on 5e. So currently, it is RAW 5e. However, I might like a homebrew for it because I think it makes sense. Still, what I'm asking for is that they at least give us the OPTION to choose to play full blown RAW 5e if that's what we really want.)
Long Rest = Unlimited by default. Option to make it Restricted. Can only Long Rest at certain Rest Areas like Emerald Grove. (You might say this isn't a RAW 5e rule. However, no DM would allow players to just randomly long rest whenever they want wherever they want without some sort of consequence or restriction at all. "Say, Mr. DM. We just killed a goblin leader. Hmmm. But we're pretty banged up. Can we Long Rest right now inside their goblin base?" "No! Are you insane?" says the DM. "There're goblins all around you, and they're super pissed. Get out and then I'll maybe let you find a safe place to rest.")
Drink Potion = Bonus Action by default. Option to make it Action like the 5e rules state. This makes the Rogue's Fast Hands special ability meaningful and more beneficial. Otherwise, why really take Fast Hands... oh... well... unless you homebrew like they currently have. So, the ask is to give us the option to set Drink Potion to Action so that Fast Hands doesn't need a homebrew but can be used mostly as it should. Also, drinking potions as a a Bonus Action makes clerics even less valuable to the party, because anyone can still attack AND heal themselves with the plethora of potions in the game without any real consequences.
Shove = Bonus action by default. Option to make it an Action like the 5e rules state. Why? Because I can literally shove someone off a cliff and kill them and then run up to another enemy and attack them with my sword and kill them; effectively killing two enemies in one round. Oh, and btw, the enemies can do that to you too BEFORE you can even act. This very seemingly small thing completely throws off combat, making it more volatile especially as you gain higher levels. 3 out of 4 times when I start the Githyanki Patrol fight, they are attacking twice AND still doing things like shoving my characters around; 3 actions, basically, in one round, and since they are standardly fast, that means they are usually having at least one or two go first, seriously beating the snot out of my characters even before I get a chance to go once. Cutting down on these kinds of homebrews limits both players and enemies more, thus stabilizing combat better and balancing it out better. But, again, I'm only asking for the option so I can play a more stable, realistic combat without enemies making two or three attacks per turn (shove also being an attack whether you call it an attack or not).
Scrolls = Unrestricted by default. Option to make them restricted by class per 5e rules. Again, this adds value to the different types of casters. Clerics being the only ones who are able to use healing scrolls, especially revives, makes them SO much more valuable to the party. If you even have a cleric sitting at camp and you didn't bring them with, but you know you can go get them and bring them to a dead companion to rez them, that cleric is still a very valuable member of the party to have around. If anyone can rez, clerics are less valuable.
Attunement of Items = Unrestricted by default. Option to make it so that you have to attune per standard 5e rules in order to use certain items effectively. This prevents characters from just combing through their inventory and selecting any old item whenever they might need it to use in a particular fight. You have to be more strategic about which items you attune your characters to so that you aren't just willy-nilly grabbing the flaming sword to use against an enemy who is weak to fire and then in the next couple of rounds pulling out your ice sword and using it because you're now fighting an ice vulnerable monster. You might have to strategically spread your items out around your party, making sure at least someone has an item that is of fire and someone has an item of ice and so on and so forth so that you are working as a team instead of just solo-ing everything in the game because you can switch to just the right item whenever you need it. (Again, though, just asking for the option.)
Jump = Crazy Larian jumping 30 feet distances over people's heads by default. Option to make it so that my characters jump actual normal distances per 5e rules so they aren't jumping over people's heads like super heroes, and their distances align with movement speed, not allowing to add additional distance beyond normal movement speed.
Shoving distance = Able to shove someone 300+ feet down a pit in certain areas by default. Option to only allow characters to shove characters 5 feet, like in the 5e rules. Also, ability to shove prone, or both combined. Why? Because ridiculously unrealistic shove distances make the game more volatile. I was literally tossed 300 or more feet by a drow in the Underdark and still somehow my character survived with 1 HP. I was a good 10-15 feet from the edge, but the drow still shoved me off the edge and I continued to soar further away and down to a lower level. That character was SO far from the battle, she never got back into it by the time it was over, all because of the ridiculous shove distances. You all might like that, but I'd like some realistic 5 feet distances please (monsters and characters with greater strength naturally receiving some additional distance since it makes sense that they are stronger and could therefore throw someone further.)
Item special abilities = Allowing players to use special abilities like cleave and lacerate based on weapon choice by default. Option to turn these off because they make the fighter's special maneuvers no longer as special and unique, since now every class can equip certain items and gain special combat maneuvers.
Shall I go on? Over and over again, Larian has stretch or changed the rules. The game barely even seems like D&D because of it.
Seriously. I could go on if you want. I could give you more and more and more rules that are either broken or stretched or changed to exhibit just how much NOT like D&D 5e this game is.
Medicine checks are not there for stabilizing fallen companions. I'd like the option to add this please because by making it so anyone can, Medicine is far less of a valuable skill. Why even bother having it for just those few random dialogue options you get?
Stealth and Perception are broken. Sight cones make it so that Stealth isn't even a thing, AND BY THE NINE HELLS, why can't Astarion or any of my rogue characters maintain Stealth ever when they do accidentally waltz into a sight cone? EVER. I know the enemy gets advantage and all when in line of sight, but I can't think of a time it has ever happened that my rogue or Astarion were able to succeed in a Stealth check when they accidentally stepped into a sight cone. Oh! Wait! Expertise might help with that.
Intellect Devourers have no resistance, no Body Thief or Devour Intellect.
Phase Spiders spit poison and don't Ethereal Jaunt, they have Super Misty Step instead.
The hag's abilities are supremely more powerful than any standard hag. Now, granted, she's a boss. So homebrew is okay, but dang! Why not make the encounter with the hag be that she has some banderhobbs or redcaps to help her and make her slightly less powerful, like a normal hag might be... with maybe a few little surprises as opposed to some arcane bad-butt who can create 3 or more versions of herself that aren't illusions but actual versions of herself that can cast spells as well and blast all of you to pieces each round because they can, like the homebrew phase spiders, teleport across hundreds of feet far enough away from you that you can't get to them before they pummel you to death.
Wood Woads don't act like wood woads and don't have their abilities and stats, and neither do mud mephits.
Imps don't have sting and resistances and the ability to turn invisible.
Oh... right. No one asked me to go on. I should stop now because I can STILL go on and on about how different this game is from D&D 5e.
So, again, I ask... are we really playing a game based on D&D 5e? Hmmm. I guess in the sense that it is called D&D 5e with D&D 5e monster names and appearances and characters are called clerics and rogues and fighters and druids, but the point is that there are so many differences that we are not really playing D&D 5e. Are we?
