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1500 questions
34
votes
2 answers

How do I calculate if a spell hits and how much damage it does?

I'm not entirely sure I understand what the PHB is telling me about spell attacks. Say I'm a wizard who's casting Fire Bolt (I could also be a Cleric casting Inflict Wounds or what-have-you), the spell itself doesn't say anything about making an…
user18101
34
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3 answers

How can Investigation be used passively? (as with the Observant feat)

I understand how Insight and Perception can be used passively: for the DM to determine if an enemy Deception or Stealth attempt is successful without alerting the players that someone is deceiving or sneaking. But the Observant feat in the…
Josh Clark
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9 answers

Can I use Minor Illusion to create a wall, hide behind it, and attack with advantage?

Minor Illusion allows the creation of a 5-foot illusory object: can I hide behind this object (wall/crate/anything) and gain advantage vs. creatures who can't see past the illusion? If so, given that examining the illusion requires an action, am I…
Khashir
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7 answers

Is Thunderwave centered on the caster?

This came up in game tonight. Thunderwave is a spell with Range: Self (15-foot cube). The description reads: A wave of thunderous force sweeps out from you. Each creature in a 15-foot cube originating from you... Players Handbook, 282-283 Does…
GamerJosh
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6 answers

Is it possible to interrupt spellcasting?

As this blog post suggests, there seems to be a hole in the D&D Basic rules. Maybe. The rules for readying an action state: When the trigger occurs, you can either take your reaction right after the trigger finishes or ignore the trigger. This…
DuckTapeAl
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34
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3 answers

What is the disadvantage of casting Raise Dead and then Restoration twice instead of casting True Resurrection?

We (my group and I) figured out, that in Pathfinder you can use True Resurrection for a price of 25,000 gp but Raise Dead works for 5,000 gp and you can remove the negative levels with Restoration (two times) for 1,000 gp. So the party can resurrect…
Mnementh
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34
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9 answers

Combat rules for large battles

In the later chapters of a future campaign I'm thinking of having a section where the players take charge of parts of an army and fight a larger battle. I don't want to hand-wave the strategy, I want success or failure to be in the hands of the…
Marcus Downing
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34
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9 answers

How do I escape the Quicksand Box?

I have a very significant problem whenever I try GMing any given game; I try to provide a world with a lot of wiggle room for the characters as well as factions/NPCs they interact with. Oftentimes my campaigns are single session affairs with the…
user5834
34
votes
7 answers

Using a Time-Skip as a Plot Device

In the game that I'm currently running, the PCs have traveled to the Realm of the Fae to gather information on their (im)mortal enemy, a Lich. When they emerge from the Fae Realm, I was planning on them having age a year for each day they were…
Discord
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19 answers

How do I add a recurring fantasy villain without frustrating the players?

I am currently running a campaign which is still in its early stages, and I plan to introduce a recurring villain. However, if the villain is always the main "big bad" behind every session and he gets away, it might be frustrating to the players. So…
Extrakun
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34
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5 answers

How to increase difficulty in Dungeon World

I've been GMing for a couple of sessions now and I'm still struggling at making encounters or situations more difficult. I will describe dangerous situations and encounters in fiction but the mechanics make it too easy for my players to succeed. For…
user4000
34
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8 answers

Am I designing my campaign setting to be too specific?

I'm a first time DM (3.5e), and, being a passionate writer, I decided to create the entire campaign and campaign setting myself. It's been good fun, and I have about 12 pages of (elaborated upon) ideas for it. However, I'm starting to worry that I'm…
Maulrus
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4 answers

Why did D&D Paladins originally have a requirement to be Lawful Good?

In every edition of D&D before 4e, Paladins are required to be Lawful Good. If they stray from that, they are completely stripped of their powers. This means that evil deities can't grant powers to paladins or if they do, they go into a new class…
Thunderforge
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4 answers

Spoilt for choice: helping traditional-system players adapt to narrative-control games

My group teethed on D&D 3.5 and loved 4e, but now we're eager to take advantage of FATE's more narrative- and character-driven philosophies. However, on our first (DFRPG) game last night, my players frequently seemed spoilt for choice: faced with…
BESW
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What is the most amount of election fraud I can commit using necromancy?

I have deemed the ignorant masses of several nearby regions to be unfit to rule themselves. Unfortunately, they've established a democracy to determine leadership of their region and continuously refuse to elect myself to rule over every aspect of…
Pyrotechnical
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