Xanathar’s Guide: how much is mechanical balance, flavor and the ever-nebulous “fun”?

Hi Mike, always glad to see these kinds of events!

My question is about Xanathar’s guide, and its subclasses. I find the design process very intriguing, and for some subclasses it’s very easy to follow your intent all the way through Unearthed Arcana to their final incarnation, while for some others it’s trickier.

Looking at War Magic as an example, between UA and final print, its level 6 feature “Power Surge” was changed from a decent boost to AoE spell damage to a barely noticable single-target damage buff. Now, War Magic is strong defensively so a nerf to its offensive power may not be such a big deal, but I’m still really curious how the iterative process behind something like that works – how much is mechanical balance, how much is flavor, and how much is the ever-nebulous “fun”?

mikemearls23 points19 days ago
At that stage, mostly balance. We rely on the feedback surveys to point out issues with the class, and overwhelmingly people vote based on how balanced something looks on the page or feels in play. We do rely on math to figure out details, but feel and perception play a bigger role because this is a coop game.Comment from discussion AMA: Mike Mearls, D&D Creative Director.

If you could change one thing about 5e, what would it be and why?

Comment If you could change one thing about 5e, what would it be and why?

mikemearls66 points20 days ago
I’d remove bonus actions, rebuilding specific abilities to capture what they are trying to do. For instance, healing word could let heal someone and include a melee or ranged attack as part of the spell.

Bonus actions add complexity that doesn’t need to be there. I like keeping things streamlined when I can. from discussion AMA: Mike Mearls, D&D Creative Director.

Do you feel that WotC should be doing more to adapt the game around advances in technology?

Comment Do you feel that Wizards of the Coast should be doing more to adapt the game around advances in technology, online D&D games, smartphones, etc.? Or is D&D best situated around a table, with pencils and paper, and expanding the game past that is something third parties and players should handle on their own?

mikemearls9 points20 days ago
It’s a balance, but we are definitely at a stage right now with D&D where we are much better at focusing on stories and tabletop mechanics than trying to build stuff ourselves. from discussion AMA: Mike Mearls, D&D Creative Director.

As a DM, what do you believe are your strengths and weakness?

Hey Mike, thanks for doing this and hope you are having a good morning.

As a DM, what do you believe are your strengths and weakness? Also, what advice would you give to someone who is trying to run a game for the first time or trying to get better at it?

mikemearls126 points19 days ago
Strengths – Creative evocative locations and NPCs

Weakness – Building cohesive mysteries/reveals

For a new DM – start small, give your players the room to play by creating problems without thinking of the solution. Include at least one or two dilemmas that violence can’t solve wellComment from discussion AMA: Mike Mearls, D&D Creative Director.