D&D 5E Those of you who have actually PLAYED 5e...

[DMZ2112]

Concentration is the last rule that I'm really struggling to master, and it's going to be worse at 6th level than at lower levels. Make sure your spellcasters understand it, as it's not the most intuitive rule in the game. I'm actually less concerned that they will abuse it than I am that they will assume they have broken their concentration when they actually have not. Concentration is pretty robust in D&D5.

 

[GX.Sigma]

My advice: Don't worry about rules. If you've taken a passing glance at the book or the character sheets, you know enough to run a game. Everything works pretty much like you expect it to. If in doubt, roll for it. If the roll is good enough, then "sure, it works." If you come up against a rules question, answer it quick and move on (look it up after the game if you really care). Make sure the players respect the DM's judgment more than the printed rules.

Actually, there is one rulesy thing you need to remember: Keep in mind the players' personality traits (ideals, flaws, and bonds). For example, you might run situations differently if you know a character has a weakness for gambling. Encourage your players to remind you of stuff like that, so you can reward them with Inspiration.

 

[Wolfskin]

If you're not using a grid -such as I- describe the scene as best as you can so everybody is on the same page.

During my first session, players were somewhat lost in the combat and kept asking questions about distance and positioning; after I improved my descriptions and detailed exactly how the characters and monsters are positioned before combat, the players became more proactive and we had a blast.

Also, when queried about distances (such as in "Can I shoot the goblin who's escaping?" or "If I Dash on my turn, can I use my reaction to defend Joe against the Bugbear before it attacks?") try to answer "yes" and "yes, but" as long as it makes sense, since it's often much better than a straight out "no, it's too far" unless it's indeed too far (this may sound redundant, but IMO without a grid it's better to err on side of action).

Actually, there is one rulesy thing you need to remember: Keep in mind the players' personality traits (ideals, flaws, and bonds). For example, you might run situations differently if you know a character has a weakness for gambling. Encourage your players to remind you of stuff like that, so you can reward them with Inspiration.

Good call!

 

[sgtscott658]

True but the Rogue still gets his sneak attacks in.

Scott

There are some erroneous assumptions you might make based on prior editions. You should note:

There are no flanking rules.
There are no flatfooted rules beyond the existence of the surprise round.
Ability score advancements are now dependent on class level.

 

[AverageCitizen]

You only get one bonus action, one reaction, and can only use one concentration spell at a time.

Look at the rules for attacks of opportunity, they are much simpler and less frequent.

I second this. Pathfinder brains will constantly be asking "does this provoke an aoo?" And the answer is no, unless you are leaving an enemy's threatened area.

 

[Schmoe]

without a grid it's better to err on side of action

I just had to say that I love this saying. Nice!

 

[jrowland]

I use Theater of the Mind with a group that learned D&D in 4th edition. What I do is toss down a card (I use location cards from whfrp3, but note cards, sticky post-its etc work also) and place mini's on it to represent "engaged", ie in in combat/adjacent/etc. Mini's around (just off of) the card represent "close" range, I have another card (actually a mousepad) that represents "Medium" range, and for "long" range mini's around (just off of) the "medium" range card.

Engaged: if you outnumber foe 2:1 or greater, you get advantage (ie flanking) - same for monsters
Close: about 30 feet. I don't sweat 5 or 10 feet. Basically a move action away.
Medium: about 30-60 feet. A full move away.
Long: 60+ feet.

Yeah, that doesn't jive well with ranged attacks, but my players get it. When it comes to spells/ranged attacks, if I say "you are at medium range" they know they are 30-60 feet away for movement or attacks. If a weapon has a range of say 50, then we just assume they are "under 50" for the weapon attack..quibbling over 10' of movement is not really worth it.

The rogue likes to stay at "close" range for essentially spring attacks, the wizard stays at medium since most spells can range 30-60 feet no problem.

I often have multiple engagement cards, so the fighter can be engaged with 3 kobolds over here, and the barbarian might be engaged with the Wyrmpriest and drake over there, eg.

it works.

Other advice: short rest is ONE HOUR! so if you're not dishing out too much damage, don't sweat it. Unlike 3e/4e, this edition is more like 1e/2e: death from a thousand cuts...its about wearing them down, not dishing it out. I am still re-learning to let the PCs rip through enemies and live with enemies doing paltry damage, wearing the party down. There are plenty of situations where one hit hurts a LOT, so it is good let the pew pew be minimal so as to make the big smash stand out. I think (just a guess based on my experience of doing the same) a lot of the TPK reports are more the DM going all out as you often did in 4E and in in 3E (to a lesser extent of course).

 

[GX.Sigma]

If you're not using a grid -such as I- describe the scene as best as you can so everybody is on the same page.

During my first session, players were somewhat lost in the combat and kept asking questions about distance and positioning; after I improved my descriptions and detailed exactly how the characters and monsters are positioned before combat, the players became more proactive and we had a blast.

Also, when queried about distances (such as in "Can I shoot the goblin who's escaping?" or "If I Dash on my turn, can I use my reaction to defend Joe against the Bugbear before it attacks?") try to answer "yes" and "yes, but" as long as it makes sense, since it's often much better than a straight out "no, it's too far" unless it's indeed too far (this may sound redundant, but IMO without a grid it's better to err on side of action).

Yep. As you* run more TotM, you'll develop little mental tricks to keep track of it, and verbal tricks to describe it. Little recaps help a lot. I like to say things like "So the zombies are engaging the Fighter and the Ranger, the skeletons are up on the balcony shooting arrows at the Wizard, and Strahd is battling the Paladin." Breaking it into little groups helps answer lots of questions.

Usually, the only things the players want to know are:

• Who is in melee range of me? (default answer: everyone that I said was engaged with you)
  • Is X close enough that I can move and hit him? (default answer: yes, but you get opportunity attacks from all the monsters engaging you)
• Do I have a line of sight to X? (default answer: yes, but if you want a clear shot, you have to move to a more vulnerable position and probably take opportunity attacks)
• How many Xs can I hit with spell Y? (default answer: I ask myself if there's a reason why it would hit more or fewer monsters than the player was expecting, and come up with a number based on that).

If it gets more complicated than that, it's time for a visual aid.

I've found that players generally like having minis on the board. If you have minis on the table, even if you only describe stuff in terms of ToTM, the players will naturally use them as a tool to keep track of stuff. They'll draw maps and put minis down and say "Like that?"

(*not meaning literally you, of course.)

 

[Gundark]

1st level characters are squishy. Waaaaaay more so that 4e or PF.

 

[ccooke]

Specific to 5e:

• Remember that there is a difference between taking the Attack action and making an attack. The Attack action allows you to make one or more weapon attacks (depending on the Extra Attack feature) and may tie in to the use of Bonus actions.
• Get a good feel for the new Grapple and Shove rules. They've changed a lot, and at level 6, you'll probably have PCs with multiple attacks in your group. They thankfully have identical mechanics (sacrifice one of your weapon attacks when you take the Attack action to contest your Strength[Athletics] against the target's Strength[Athletics] or Dexterity[Acrobatics]. Given that you can shove someone Prone, I can see a huge amount of use of it.
• If any of your players came from 4e, remind them that cantrips and spells are not weapon attacks. I had an interesting misunderstanding about that last night with one player.
• Moving isn't part of the action economy; you don't have "a Move". You can just move up to your Speed, split however you like.
• Something you can do once per turn is different than something you can do once per round. This is a subtle distinction that not everyone catches - but it means (for instance) that a Rogue can Sneak Attack during their turn and also during someone else's turn, when making an opportunity attack
• The rules explicitly support using skills with any attribute you think is relevant to the situation, if you want to
• If one player takes an action to set something up, obtain a better position, support someone else, distract someone or anything equivalent, that can be automatically translated into the Help or Hinder actions. Which means that one action spent is equivalent to one application of Advantage or Disadvantage.
• Therefore if a player does something tactically clever that requires an action and an attribute check to succeed, the reward of success should be at least somewhat more than a single Advantage (or Disadvantage) roll applied against a single target. Allowing someone else an attack of opportunity (with advantage), applying the Advantage or Disadvantage to two targets or allowing the player to make a single weapon attack might be reasonable (and not too generous) rewards.
• If you're converting from 3e or 4e, there will probably be a lot more magic items. When converting my games, I've done the following:
  • Any magic items that are the "expected" power level I've stripped the +X magic from
  • Magic items that are beyond the "expected" power level become +1 items
  • Major plot items/artifacts/etc become +1/+3 with attunement. Well, they would if I'd ever used any.
  • I ran through the random traits from the playtest to add some detail to all the items, selecting properies that matched the player and/or item
  • Magic items in shops and markets become utility items - they don't have +X bonuses, but they all have at least one trait from the playtest (plus a few utility effects I've added - earrings that let you use the Message cantrip once per short rest, for instance)

That's as much as I have brain for right now.