Bounded Accuracy

Perhaps my favorite feature of 5e is the concept of "bounded accuracy," which will replace the "tyranny of accuracy" from 4e. If you played enough 4e, I'm sure you discovered that the monster attacks and defenses scaled very aggressively. PCs struggled to keep pace with their monstrous foes, especially at higher levels. We were all slaves to the +1 bonus...that is, +1 to hit. I need to make that distinction because the game presented players with false choices; sitting beside the feats that granted a +1 to hit (Expertise feats) were feats that granted a +1 to damage (Focus feats). A less experienced player might be tempted by the +1 to damage, but that would be a mistake. From a mathematical standpoint, the +1 to hit is considerably better. (You can't inflict any damage if you don't hit, right?) Expertise in your chosen weapon or implement was a feat that you had to take. It was a feat tax. And as many of you know, I'm not a big fan of taxes!

Bounded accuracy fixes this problem by introducing flat math. In 5e, a character's attack rolls and defenses will not automatically increase with level. Only hit points and and damage output can be expected to increase at regular intervals, and obviously PCs will gain other goodies (class features, spells, etc.) as they advance in level.

So what does this mean in terms of game play? In 4e, your first-level party would square off against, say, five level 1 kobolds. Later on, your tenth-level party would face...five level 10 kobolds. Now that monsters don't scale, kobolds can still menace a low-level party but are no threat to higher-level characters unless they return in greater numbers. (Wait, isn't that what Obi-wan said about the Sand People in Star Wars?) In 5e, your first-level party may still face five kobolds, but your tenth-level party may be facing 50 or more.

For the full scoop on bounded accuracy, check out this article by Rodney Thompson.