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1500 questions
38
votes
4 answers

How do I get my players' LARP characters to not be a bunch of murderous cretins?

Just as many typical RPGs teach us that violence can solve most problems and that a (truly) dead enemy poses no problems, LARPers around my area (Moscow, Russia) are typically very quick to kill characters of other players, showing very little…
38
votes
1 answer

Can a Goodberry not be administered to an unconscious creature?

Potion of Healing (DMG, page 187): You regain hit points when you drink this potion. Potions (DMG, page 139): Drinking or administering a potion to another character requires an action. As answered here, it is possible to administer a potion to…
hohenheim
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38
votes
4 answers

Can I increase an ability score above 30?

Can I increase an ability score over 30 with an item such as a Manual of Bodily Health? [After reading] this book... your Constitution score increases by 2, as does your maximum for that score.
David Coffron
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38
votes
2 answers

What is the origin and meaning of D&D Beyond's spell school symbols?

Browsing the D&D Beyond spell list it is clear that each spell has an associated symbol related to the spell's school: $$\require{HTML} \newcommand{\schsym}[2][]{ \style{ display: inline-block; background: url(#2) no-repeat center; #1 …
Sdjz
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38
votes
2 answers

How to resolve surprise and "instant actioning" initiating combat

DMed for the first time yesterday and one of the things I feel I need to sort out, among other comments, improvements, and similar, is how combat itself is actually initiated. The main example I want to use involves instant actioning attempting to…
Folau
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38
votes
2 answers

Where and when did "the GM is always right" get codified first?

In a recent answer about GM-ming in D&D, I had to resort to a certain "universal" rule I'm familiar with: “the GM is always right”. Upon this doppelgreener correctly pointed out that it is not universal about all games but a/the core of the D&D…
Trish
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38
votes
6 answers

Can a druid use Wild Shape to take the form of a specific, individual beast?

The rules for the 5E druid's Wild Shape ability simply say: you can use your action to magically assume the shape of a beast that you have seen before This previous question asks if you can go beyond the exact form of a beast you've seen (like, if…
mattdm
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38
votes
1 answer

What is the reason to only give casters a single high level slot up to the upper levels?

Looking at the spellcasting progression, casters only get a single 8th and a single 9th level slot, from when the spell level becomes available up to the 20th level(1). A similar situation happens to all spell levels starting at 6th: a second 6th…
Mindwin Remember Monica
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38
votes
14 answers

What kinds of rules promote good team cohesion?

It seems like a lot of roleplaying games quite freely allow players to play antisocial characters who can't really be part of the team. I've been part of groups (in D&D) with both a noble defender of the law, and a brutal tyrant whose goal is to…
Joe
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38
votes
8 answers

How are spells made permanent in 5e?

As we all know, the golden-age era of spellcasters having access to spells like Permanency is now over with the arrival of 5E. I am now DM'ing a top-tier campaign, and several of my PCs are casters who have requested a way of making several spells…
QuantumDM
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38
votes
6 answers

How do I emphasize role-playing during combat?

Right now, the group that I GM for is very, very tactical-combat focused. To some extent, we may as well be playing a dungeon crawl board game for all the role-play we manage. Now, in and of itself that's not bad, and I enjoy progressing the story…
Simon Withers
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38
votes
3 answers

Can I say something to an ally when it's not my turn and we are both in combat?

For instance I want to suggest a spell or a generic action to an ally because my PC has a better view of the battlefield. Can I do that or I must wait my turn?
Markus Bendinho
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38
votes
7 answers

Pre-modern farming: What percent of the population is in agriculture?

I'm running a premodern setting where the characters will be involved in local administration. Assuming no magic, how many farmers does it take to support one non-farmer? Any statistics/estimates are welcome, from neolithic to renaissance (but…
Joe
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38
votes
2 answers

Must I declare the target of all magic missile projectiles at once?

My sorcerer casts magic missile. He has 3 projectiles he can target up to 3 creatures. Must I declare the target of all missiles at once then resolve damage / shield / immunities, or can I shoot one, roll damage, shoot another (at the same target or…
Mindwin Remember Monica
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38
votes
3 answers

Can a monster with no melee attack make an Opportunity Attack?

Specifically, in D&D 5e is the Flameskull allowed to take opportunity attacks against enemies that move away from it? It has spells and one at-will spell attack (Fire Ray), but no melee abilities in the stat block.
Segfault
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