Editing Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition (section)

==4e's Legacy==
5e plays, looks and feels a hell of a lot more like 3rd edition than 4th, but make no mistake, a lot of stuff carries over from 4th edition, for good or ill.

Character [[alignment]] has no mechanical effect; basically character mindset/flavor only. No more "[[Barbarian]]s must be Chaotic, [[Bard]]s must be Chaotic, [[Druid]]s must be Neutral, [[Paladin]]s must be "[[Lawful Stupid]]". Paladin flavor definitely leans towards the Good alignments, but focus is given on following their archetype's Oath rather than a specific alignment. DM is still given permission to drop a mechanical penalty on a player who is purposely breaking/ignoring their oath, but at least is given the option to switch over to the [[Blackguard]]-ish "Oathbreaker Paladin" archetype instead of forcing the player to become a different class instead.

PC racial traits are more like 4E than other editions. There are no ability score penalties, level adjustments, or favored classes.

[[Dragonborn]] and [[Tiefling]]s remain core races, appearing in the PHB1 race lineup alongside the iconic human/dwarf/elf/halfling/gnome/half-elf/half-orc setup. Both races retain aspects of their 4e lore as well, tieflings moreso than dragonborn -- dragonborn, in fact, have been made somewhat closer to the half-dragons/draconic template of older editions in that they need to choose which of the iconic chromatic/metallic dragons they resemble. However, races outside the standard Dwarf/Elf/Halfling/Human are now considered uncommon where small town and villages treat them with suspicion.

[[Eladrin]] returns as a playable race, here an [[Elf]] sub-race introduced in the DMG.

[[Warlock]] remains a core class and [[Bard]] is a full-fledged caster. [[Fighter]] and [[Monk]] don't completely suck.

Second Wind lives on as a class feature for Fighters. Bits and pieces of Defender Marking also turn up (such as Protection fighting style and Sentinel feat). Action Points live on in the Fighter as well, in the form of Action Surge, which lets a Fighter make a second action on their turn, but needs a short rest before getting this extra action back.

Speaking of short rest, many class-related feature-powers are designated as needing either "a short rest or a long rest", or "a long rest" to recharge after being used. This is essentially a fancier/less universal version of 4E's encounter power & daily power set-up (although 3.5 did have some abilities that were "once per encounter", like [[Barbarian]] Rage, and "once per day" has been around forever). 5E also has at-will attack cantrips for casters, so AEDU's influence definitely shows.

On the other hand, the definition of "Short Rest" has changed a bit. In 4e, a short rest was a 5-minute breather, and it was generally assumed that you'd get a short rest after every encounter. In 5e, a short rest is more like a 1-hour lunch break, so you won't get them as often.

"Recharge 5-6" was retained for not-quite at-will abilities (like dragon breath) instead of 3E's "wait 1d4 rounds" mechanic.

The use of hit dice to regain hit points during a short rest is based on 4th edition's healing surges. The death/dying mechanic, in which you need three "saving throw" successes or failures at 0 HP to either live or die still remains.

The skill list is almost identical to 4E, and proficiency is a yes/no binary rather than skill points, though this was first introduced back in Star Wars Saga Edition (aka D&D 3.75).

Psychic damage type is still here. Poison is also a damage type in this edition, but since Poison damage was a 2e thing that 3e chucked out for some absurd reason, it doesn't really count.

Lightning and Thunder damage retain their 4E names (instead of Electric and Sonic). Likewise, Necrotic and Radiant energy survived the edition change, though they are tied to the old "Positive Energy Plane" and "Negative Energy Plane", which are here imagined as secondary planes beyond even the Outer Planes.

Feywild, Shadowfell and Elemental Chaos have all survived the transition.

Nine spell levels return from previous editions, but as in 4E, spell effects don't scale with caster level, other than the aforementioned attack cantrips. Instead, lower-level spells can be cast in higher-level slots for more potent returns, like targeting additional enemies or dealing more damage.

Cleric's Channel Divinity and the 'ritual' mechanic for spells were also introduced in 4th edition.

The idea of superpowerful "Epic Boons" being awarded for hitting level 20+ appears in the DMG as a homage to 4e and its Epic Destinies.

All ability scores are used for saving throws (although not the same way as 4E).

The [[Swordmage]]'s iconic cantrips appeared as available to wizards, sorcerers and warlocks in the ''Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide'', along with a Wizard archetype that roughly fits their M.O.