D&D 5E Is Dying really hard?

[5ekyu]

I think the default assumption is that at least some magical healing is fairly normal. Healing potions are too expensive for most people, but they are common and listed as easily purchased equipment.

In any case, even in modern warfare special forces are taught to triple tap with two to the chest and one to the head.

Also, while the pcs arexexcrptionsl, often do are their adversaries.

 

[5ekyu]

These two statements seem contradictory to me. "Healing is fairly normal, but too expensive for most people." - that means it's not normal for most people. For most people healing potions are like an emergency room - yes it exists, but not something everyone has easily available. PC's are the rich guys with the premium health insurance (i.e. a cleric who doesn't charge for healing).


In most of the published adventures and hardcovers - the monsters and bad guys don't have healing spells and potions in their stat block. A few do, but most do not.

Under the assumption that they are not fighting PC Adventurer's 100% of the time, but rather mostly fighting other creatures of similar ability - they usually wouldn't have to deal with opponents who can easily heal during a fight.



And most of the creatures you fight are not "modern warfare special forces".

PC's are an exception, assuming everyone else has the same options and abilities leads to a skewed view of the world.

For home campaigns, adjust this to whatever makes sense for you (I certainly do). I'm just saying that this seems to be the default assumption in the rules and published adventures.

In "most " settings "most" of the people, creatures and entities are not going to be every in an encounter with the PCs.

When people start talking common or any other sort probability one ought to try and establish the subset ones is drawing from.

If one is talking about matters relevant to pcs in an rpg and their cspabilities, "common" might be well advised to assume the default subset is "people, creatures, entities and challenges likely to significantly interact, interfere, oppose or aid the pcs."

Otherwise, "most creatures" are less than an inch long.

 

[5ekyu]

How many people in the US or world have been robbed in their homes? How many people in the world have locks or other barriers even tho they have not been robbed.

 

[Dausuul]

How many people in the US or world have been robbed in their homes? How many people in the world have locks or other barriers even tho they have not been robbed.

If you were being carjacked, would you jump out of the car and run to lock the door on your home? Or would you concentrate on fending off the carjacker, and worry about your home after the immediate threat was dealt with?

Sure, slit throats after combat. Always good to make sure of fallen foes. But during combat, you're insane to go after fallen foes instead of the guy who is in your face trying to kill you, on the very slight chance that the fallen foe might get up again.

 

[5ekyu]

If you were being carjacked, would you jump out of the car and run to lock the door on your home? Or would you concentrate on fending off the carjacker, and worry about your home after the immediate threat was dealt with?

Sure, slit throats after combat. Always good to make sure of fallen foes. But during combat, you're insane to go after fallen foes instead of the guy who is in your face trying to kill you, on the very slight chance that the fallen foe might get up again.

Bad analogy. Very bad.

The threat in a dnd combat of a downed foe rising is a direct one to me now... Not a threat to my horse back in the stables.

However, in ttuth, most of my savvy foes who think about such things *use* the downed foe as a resource.

Pcs throwing AoE? Stand over the PC for who that's an automatic death save and maybe they change their tune.

Or

Use it as a bargaining chip.

Or... You get the picture.

Even if you just watch them heal it to marginal then drop it with a casual strike, reseting their need to help...

Dead pc angers them. Downed and dying PC tasks them.

Does not work so well with villains who dont care about their minions.

 

[Dausuul]

Bad analogy. Very bad.

You were the one who chose "people lock their homes even though burglary is rare" as the analogy. Don't like it, pick a different one.

The threat in a dnd combat of a downed foe rising is a direct one to me now...

It is a direct threat if that is a thing that often happens. If it's an extreme rarity, then you are choosing to protect yourself against that extremely rare event, at the cost of not protecting yourself against a threat that is 100% in your face trying to kill you.

 

[5ekyu]

It is a direct threat if that is a thing that often happens. If it's an extreme rarity, then you are choosing to protect yourself against that extremely rare event, at the cost of not protecting yourself against a threat that is 100% in your face trying to kill you.

If the *foe* sees it as a threat in the circumstance that will direct its choices. How often it has or has not happened to others is likely not on his mind during the moment.

But, in the abstract, are there a shortage of threads that mention how often whack-a-mole happens and folks wanting to add post-death save penalties to make it not so udown and up?

Has that whole thing vanished from DnD 53 games so that now downed PCs getting healed and back up is an "extreme rarity?"

Wow, i missed that whole transition.

 

[Uller]

Has that whole thing vanished from DnD 53 games so that now downed PCs getting healed and back up is an "extreme rarity?"

Wow, i missed that whole transition.

The experiences of monsters in the game are probably very different from the PCs and really different from the players who play those PCs.

If monsters are defending against whackamole adventurers by finishing off downed PCs rather than attackin a healthy target then that means the DM is making the assumption that the monster is aware that dying PCs are still a threat. He should have a good reason for that assumption.

Sometimes that is valid...a rival adventuring party...a group of monsters with a healbot caster of some sort, etc. Other times it makes little sense...a goblin tribe that has fought nothing but commoners and rival monsters in raids and occasional soldiers probably wouldnt understand at first that an adventuring party requires different tactics.

 

[Dausuul]

If the *foe* sees it as a threat in the circumstance that will direct its choices. How often it has or has not happened to others is likely not on his mind during the moment.

But, in the abstract, are there a shortage of threads that mention how often whack-a-mole happens and folks wanting to add post-death save penalties to make it not so udown and up?

Has that whole thing vanished from DnD 53 games so that now downed PCs getting healed and back up is an "extreme rarity?"

If PCs are extremely rare, then anything they do is an extreme rarity, even if they do it every day.

Do your PCs slit throats in preference to finishing off still-active foes? If they don't regard this as an issue worth bothering with, then why would the monsters behave any differently?

 

[5ekyu]

The experiences of monsters in the game are probably very different from the PCs and really different from the players who play those PCs.

If monsters are defending against whackamole adventurers by finishing off downed PCs rather than attackin a healthy target then that means the DM is making the assumption that the monster is aware that dying PCs are still a threat. He should have a good reason for that assumption.

Sometimes that is valid...a rival adventuring party...a group of monsters with a healbot caster of some sort, etc. Other times it makes little sense...a goblin tribe that has fought nothing but commoners and rival monsters in raids and occasional soldiers probably wouldnt understand at first that an adventuring party requires different tactics.

absolutely. its perfectly appropriate for the gm to rule certain creatures do not have the experience to make this choice or that.

In the case of the goblins, its so totally on point that they themselves would have experience with healing and such in the magical sense... in some settings. After all, its not like they have gods all their own who might show them these things.

goblins worshipping divines... whats next?
pshaw.