3rd level spells are a paradigm shift. In one gamer's opinion, you don't hit another shift of that magnitude again until you get 9th level spells.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) April 21, 2020
So true. I feel like scrying and long-range teleportation magic are notable game-changers along the way, too. Those strike me as more of a macro change. 3rd level with the sudden jump in, for example, area damage spells affects things on an encounter-to-encounter basis.
As an example, encounter design is incredibly different pre versus post fireball/spirit guardians.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) April 21, 2020
Travel encounters disappeared, and I began writing the campaign around setpiece locations. The party recruited allies for a big battle that would have taken months of travel before, and they could always return to base in the blink of an eye.
I loved every minute of it!
2/2— Justice Arman 📜 Candlekeep 🏰📚 (@justice_arman) April 21, 2020
Totally. That whole 13~16th is a bit of a blur. Our party got really good at escaping with Word of Recall until the bad guy painted his house with gorgon's blood 🤣
— Justice Arman 📜 Candlekeep 🏰📚 (@justice_arman) April 21, 2020