Tomb of Annihilation Is Here - What Do You Think?

Today's the day - WotC's latest Dungeons & Dragons adventure, Tomb of Annihilation, is out! Head on down to your friendly (or unfriendly) local (or not so local) gaming (or comic) store and pick up your copy. Alternatively, if you use a virtual table top, it's available for Fantasy Grounds and Roll20.

 

[SkidAce]

And the barbarian stopping blades with his abs and the monk with the power of will is totally not breaking any immersion at all. But the equally superhuman (try parrying a giant or a dragon, everybody in D&D is superhuman) fighter or paladin trotting through a dessert or jungle in his armor is.

Come on, you know the trope is the monk is DODGING, and the barbarian is sucking up the minor wounds through STAMINA, and DISREGARD.

I agree that penalizing armor wearers needs to be adjudicated carefully. But that's a benefit of those two classes, not wearing armor. So in a way, by not penalizing in the jungle, you are taking away an ability of theirs.

But its just a game, no worries.

EDIT: Not meant as an attack or sarcasm, realized it could be taken that way...

 

[Jester David]

Come on, you know the trope is the monk is DODGING, and the barbarian is sucking up the minor wounds through STAMINA, and DISREGARD.

That and the trope of barbarians in loincloths. Which never worked very well in D&D because their AC when doing so was butt, so you had barbarians in Hide or studded leather or breastplates.
Adding Con to AC works very nicely to make that trope work.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Um, regarding the padded armor thing, this is moot too you know? I think a lot of these arguments would not be necessary if at least one person looked at what the rules said first. Those exhaustion rules in the DMG apply to medium and heavy armor, and heavy clothing. I think padded armor certainly qualifies as heavy clothing.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Only if the DM describes the monk and barbarian's higher AC as supernaturally tough skin and not a preternatural ability to dodge.

If that's what breaks your immersion, then change those rules.

The game sets a baseline and it's up to groups to customise for their desired realism. Tweak healing. Hit points. AC. Whatever. The game gives the base rules and some modifications to get the DM started (like the metal armour in hot weather rule in the PHB), and leaves them to make the game their own.

Yep. The game explicitly gives rules as to how a barbarian and monk break rules of realism in the topic of AC. How you decided to describe that is up to you. Like I've said, the game expects people will be using the basic laws of realism unless there is a specific rule that overrides it.

 

[Mirtek]

*sorry double post*

 

[Mirtek]

But that's a benefit of those two classes, not wearing armor. So in a way, by not penalizing in the jungle, you are taking away an ability of theirs.

And the benefit of a fighter is heavy armor proficiency. And by just adding penalties the game normally doesn't have you are taking away an ability of theirs. So if you don't want to take anyone's ability away, all just get the vanilla rules treatment.

Yep. The game explicitly gives rules as to how a barbarian and monk break rules of realism in the topic of AC. How you decided to describe that is up to you. Like I've said, the game expects people will be using the basic laws of realism unless there is a specific rule that overrides it.

And the game explicitly hives rules as how characters wearing heavy armor are affected by the environment. That's a specific rule overriding the basic laws of realism.

Monks/Barbarians are so awesome that they can fight naked, realism be damned. Fighters are so awesome that they just shrug off heat (as long as the drink enough, and given their con saves probably even if they don't), reaslism be damned.

Both backed by explicit rules passages. But one is seem as OK, the second as an abomination that needs to be changed.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Liches are affected: The curse prevents their souls from reaching their phylacteries.

I would expect the Harper’s knowledge to spread quickly. If there was confusion about the source of the curse, the response at large would be different, but the adventure makes no suggestion of that.

Thx!
TomB

Were does it say that Liches are affected. I must have missed that.

Also why would the Harper's Knowlege spread quickly. They tend to be fairly secretive. And there is confusion most people don't even know the Curse is a thing. Your Employer in the Adventure learned that apparently the source is in Chult which is why she sends you.

 

[EthanSental]

Bring over endure elements spell from previous editions so armor worn isn't an issue but only dehydration from the heat and humidity.

 

[Azzy]

Now you're only trying to make issue so complicated you can conclude it's best to do nothing.

Huh, I didn't realize that using a bit of sense to select which armors would be extra disadvantageous in a jungle setting is terribly complicated. Or that doing so is so complicated that an average DM (that's already making a houserule to make the game "more realistic") would find it's best to do nothing instead.

 

[GameOgre]

I do not mind DM's altering the rules to make the world work for them.

I do mind the DM's altering the rules to make the world work for them and screwing me over as a player.

Don't want me in heavy armor in the middle of a jungle? Fine, i'm ok with that. Then give me something else to use that gives me the same AC. Maybe some hardened plant or bark or just magic left over from some lost civilization.

Now if its the start of a game and you want to try out those rules that's fine,just get the players to buy in and don't be surprised when nobody plays a Heavy armor user.

It's amazing to me that this one DM I know who doesn't like Rogue Sneak Attacks and so house ruled them away is always complaining nobody plays rogues.

I will say that in 5E it's not that big a deal. If you told me before the game started about the heavy armor rule and I still wanted to play a fighter I would just play a dex fighter. Done finished.