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1500 questions
36
votes
7 answers
How to deal with differing interests as a DM?
A few years ago, I ran a short-lived 4e campaign with a bunch of players who all had a different idea of what aspect of the game was the most fun to them.
2 players, close friends, wanted to treat this like a typical video game RPG, where more of…
Jmurray92
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36
votes
3 answers
Interactions between unarmed strikes, negative strength and an unconscious target
Consider this improbable yet possible scenario (which nonetheless came up at our table last night):
A PC is unconscious and currently making Death Saving Throws. A weak (8 Strength) and hostile NPC tries to punch the PC to kill it for good.
Attack…
Alex Millette
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36
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7 answers
How can I handle this character's overpowered Perception?
I'm starting a new campaign with a few friends. They're all pretty new so we rolled level one characters and it's been going okay, with one minor problem: one character has a +9 to perception and it's ruining many of my traps/secret doors/surprise…
zz20s
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36
votes
4 answers
What happens if a creature is killed between its attack and damage rolls
Came across a scenario that’s a little odd:
A creature hits a character with an attack.
The character has an ability that deals damage when he is hit.
Based on other rulings the damage from the character to the creature happens before the creature…
Zephirum
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36
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1 answer
Why did Ed Greenwood and R.A. Salvatore dislike the Spellplague arc?
The Forgotten Realms campaign setting includes an world-changing event called the Spellplague, which provided lore reasons for many of the mechanical changes introduced by Dungeons & Dragons 4e. For instance, the Spellplague caused wands with spell…
Thunderforge
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36
votes
2 answers
Is there an official rule that the minimum damage can't be negative?
A slightly humorous thought occurred to me (a recovering rules lawyer) after reading this question and answers.
"None of the answers actually specify that 0 is the minimum damage."
Logically it wouldn't make sense for an attack to apply negative…
Michael Gorman
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36
votes
4 answers
What do Devils eat, and how do they get it?
When a monster in the Monster Manual doesn't need food, drink, sleep, or air, it's specified by a [X] Nature. For example, a zombie has an Undead Nature:
Undead Nature. A zombie doesn't require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Devils (and many other…
Icyfire
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36
votes
9 answers
Can a DM tell a player if/when they act or roleplay in a manner that isn't their alignment?
I'm a very new DM, and I've played three games in total with a new group each spanning about thirty minutes (Role playing games aren't appreciated where I live) . One of my characters is a Chaotic neutral but he plays as a Lawful Good character. Is…
Chris Williams
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36
votes
3 answers
How can I make combat less static in D&D 5e?
I am GMing the 5e starter set with a group with experienced players from Pathfinder, and during the last dungeon (Wave echo cave), they expressed their dissatisfaction with the combat system of the 5e.
We then had a discussion on what was the…
Naoskev
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36
votes
6 answers
How are Githyanki effective against Mind Flayers?
The description of the Gith, particularly the Githyanki portrays them as deadly, implacable enemies of Mind Flayers, so much so that they took down the unbelievably vast and powerful ancient Illithid empire, and all but exterminated the…
keithcurtis
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35
votes
2 answers
Am I hit when I have immunity?
My character is immune to a specific type of damage, and an opponent attacks him with that type of damage. I know my character will not be getting any damage from that attack.
My opponent successfully lands his attack (his controller succeeded his…
Olivier Grégoire
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35
votes
3 answers
What's the Head of Vecna and why is it important?
I'm vaguely familiar with the RPG anecdote the Head of Vecna. Is there more to this tale? Why is this story important to RPG culture?
Note: In Comments on this question (now deleted but available on Meta as part of this question), I mentioned the…
Hey I Can Chan
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35
votes
10 answers
True Resurrection ruins plot hooks
The existence of the spell True Resurrection is playing havoc with my plot hooks. A king's daughter (his heir) was a high level adventurer who got TPKed while fighting an excessively powerful monster. The king loves his daughter and is willing to…
BobTheAverage
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35
votes
3 answers
What happens when you cast the Fireball spell underwater?
What happens when you cast the fireball spell underwater? And does the water remain?
Assume a perfectly spherical pool with a 20 foot radius and hole at the top for you to cast the fireball into the pool with. There is a goblin in the center of the…
Lino Frank Ciaralli
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35
votes
6 answers
Would introducing a healing wand break the game?
I've been perusing the magic items for D&D 5e in the DMG, and I've only found two non-consumable items that restore hitpoints: Staff of Healing, and Rod of Resurection both of which are Rare or better. I was surprised that there were no healing…
C. Ross
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