Role-playing Games Stack Exchange
Role-playing Games Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
68
votes
17 answers

I dislike how players accurately place fireballs. Is there an alternative?

I'm running 5e on a grid with minis. The one thing that I hate is when sorcerers or wizards cast a fireball that perfectly hits enemies in the AOE. The player counts the squares on the grid to determine exactly where the fireball can hit and he…
user28536
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13 answers

How should I handle players wanting to aim their attacks at specific body parts?

My players have been asking to improvise specific combat actions, mostly the archer wanting to aim at specific body parts. I haven't been able to find anything in the DMG or the PHB on the subject so I was wondering how I should deal with this. How…
ArtaSoral
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Does Power Word Kill kill druids in wild-shape?

Power Word Kill is a 9th level spell that "compel[s] a creature to die" as long as it has less than 100 hit points. If this is cast on a druid in wild-shape form with less than 100 HP, does the druid die or does he only revert to his normal state?…
Premier Bromanov
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Is it necessary to purchase all the D&D 5th edition books to have access to all player character options?

So basic background: I am an experienced 3.5 player moving to 5th. I rarely use pre-made adventures and like to homebrew campaign settings based on as many published rules as possible. While it is clear as to what the Core books are for, the Wizards…
Tom Wilkinson
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18 answers

How do I challenge my PCs who fight every battle like Mongol horse archers?

In my last few game sessions, my players have begun adopting a strategy which is working wonders in the campaign we are playing. In this Planescape campaign, we are on the Outlands, which has a lot of open terrain in place of enclosed dungeons. As a…
Tanthos
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Does D&D 5e have a rule for character knowledge about monsters?

In the 3rd and 4th editions of D&D, there were explicit rules for determining if a character knew anything about a monster before them. In 3rd edition, for example, use of the Knowledge skill with a general DC of 10 + the monster's HD allowed for…
Bleep
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5 answers

Are melee combatants limited to standing around saying "I attack"?

Recently I heard a friend saying that melee combatants had fewer options than 4e or 3.x: Ranged combat was somewhat interesting in that you could deal with cover, aiming, and so forth. Fighters had no options other than "I attack". Rogues ended…
Thunderforge
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13 answers

As a GM, how can I stop killing my games?

Probably the worst issue I have as a Game Master is that I think of a game, I write a campaign plot for it -- End, Beginning and Middle, get hyped, hype my players, and after 2 months I get bored with it and want the story to end so I can start…
Aldath Le'Carde
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How can I effectively drop clues of corruption in my campaigns?

In many games I GM, corruption plays a big role. Either in my fantasy games with a church with a firm hand on the king or dystopian future like Shadowrun. Almost every time in my games, corruption is obvious and you can easily spot it. Mostly…
user4000
68
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6 answers

What do you do in Dungeon World when someone wants to perform an action they don't have a move for?

So in Dungeon World, everything breaks down to 'moves'. What about situations where a move is not available, but a check of some sort is called for, such as in the case of a non-fighter who wants to kick down the door? What mechanism do you use to…
GWLlosa
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6 answers

Can Ogre clerics use Purify Food and Drink on humanoid characters?

Can Ogre clerics use Purify Food and Drink on humanoid characters to cure them as humanoid creatures are regarded as food in Ogre culture? Similarly, can Ogre clerics use Create Food and Water to summon a halfling teammate?
xznozomi
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6 answers

If I run a game of Paranoia, will knowing the rules lead to a worse experience if/when I participate as a player in the future?

I received the boxed starter set of Paranoia for Christmas, and find myself in the classic dilemma of tabletop players everywhere: do I want to run this game, or try to find someone else to run it, so I can actually play for once? In Dungeons and…
Cooper
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13 answers

How can I impose consequences when PCs commit severe crimes?

For context, this is my first adventure as a DM. The PCs are level 2. About 40 minutes into the first session, while investigating the rumours about a ghost ship, the group meets with Aleyd Burrows, a skilled veteran, Captain of the Guard and a very…
Honore Shadeshield
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13 answers

How do I encourage Drow players to not make Drizzt clones?

Every once in a while, I have a player wants to create a Drow character. The problem is, virtually every one of them winds up looking suspiciously like Drizzt Do'Urden: they are some variation of Good alignment and usually a melee fighter (or even…
Thunderforge
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11 answers

Is there a way to ask in game (i.e. in a non-meta way) what a character's class is?

Is there a way to ask in game (i.e. in a non-meta way) what a character's class is? There have been a few times when my character is meeting an NPC (allied combatant) or another PC and it's bugging me that I can't think of a non-meta way to ask what…
Dan K
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