There's definitely a place for "we're done with that now, here's a spell so you can stop thinking about it and focus on new stuff" abilities that create tiers of adventure.
But, of course, 5E isn't built for tiered adventures.
But, of course, 5E isn't built for tiered adventures.
https://twitter.com/DJFail1987/status/1362839046045782017
The DMG talks about different "tiers" of adventure in which "their ability to change the world around them grows," but this is all window-dressing.
In terms of structure and mechanics, the tiers are basically defined entirely by which Monster Manual stat blocks you're fighting.
In terms of structure and mechanics, the tiers are basically defined entirely by which Monster Manual stat blocks you're fighting.
Local Heroes "navigate dangerous terrain and explore haunted crypts where they fight orcs..."
Heroes of the Realm "venture into fearsome wilds and ancient ruins where they confront savage giants..."
Heroes of the Realm "venture into fearsome wilds and ancient ruins where they confront savage giants..."
Masters of the Realm "explore uncharted regions and delve into long-forgotten dungeons where they confront terrible masterminds of the lowers planes..."
Masters of the World "traverse otherworldly realms and explore demiplanes and other extraplanar locales where they fight savage balor demons..."
Those are all the same thing: Explore dungeon. Fight monsters. Get reward.
Those are all the same thing: Explore dungeon. Fight monsters. Get reward.
To be fair, Masters of the Realm are supposed to "found guilds, temples, or martial orders." But whereas in the oldest editions running these orgs was a different type of adventure, in 5E they are presented as bigger rewards granted for going on the location-crawl adventures.
Beyond the fact that the DMG literally says that, the other telltale is that there are no mechanics for running organizations and no guidelines given for creating org-running adventures.
It's explicitly and intrinsically window-dressing: The stakes of the dungeon adventure are now "save the kingdom" and the rewards are "the king gives you a fortress." Just like they were previously "save the village" and "cool magic sword."
And that's fine: Nothing inherently wrong with a game focusing on just one type of adventure. Nor is 5E the first version of D&D to do this.
But if that's your goal, it's a mistake to keep all these "skip the adventure" abilities in the game. And another mistake to keep cranking down the level at which they're available until every 1st level group should be assumed to have them.
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