D&D 5E Is the Help action broken?

Fanaelialae · Oct 30, 2016

Also keep in mind the 10 gp consumable component for Find Familiar. While it certainly isn't much at later levels, if you're incurring it after most/all encounters it's going to add up. For wizards, who often have to spend a lot of gp copying spells into their spellbooks and on other spell components, it isn't necessarily a great idea to be burning gold that way. Especially if it only grants you advantage once or twice an encounter before the familiar dies.

If the mage is casting FF as a ritual after combat, it should incur a check for random encounters (because the party just made a bunch of noise fighting, and is now staying put and making more noise for the next 10 minutes). If he casts it using as spell slot, he's going to run out of 1st level spell slots sooner or later (which are arguably better saved in case he needs Shield).

Belfast Biker · Jan 19, 2019

This is why invisible imp is so good as familiar - it's invisible, thus hard to hit, and when it is damaged, it'll have mage armor for 16AC cast upon it, 10hp (plus whatever I give it from my Aid spell), immunity to fire and poison, has resistance to normal damage, and advantage on saving throws against spell attacks.

5ekyu · Jan 19, 2019

Belfast Biker said:
This is why invisible imp is so good as familiar - it's invisible, thus hard to hit, and when it is damaged, it'll have mage armor for 16AC cast upon it, 10hp (plus whatever I give it from my Aid spell), immunity to fire and poison, has resistance to normal damage, and advantage on saving throws against spell attacks.

Only 2 years old... your thread necromancy is weak.

Krachek · Jan 19, 2019

The familiar combo is a product of the RAW lawyer Corp.
Since it is available to everyone via the magic initiate feat it is very popular.
It can be funny to describe how a owl or a rat disturb an iron golem,
Some players have a lot of imagination.
But if the combo disturb the gameplay, simply push it aside.
It is not an essential feature to balance the game.

Charlaquin · Jan 19, 2019

It’s aliiiiiiiiiive!

Dausuul · Jan 19, 2019

Reynard said:
I don't normally worry too much about rules. If the game is fun I tend to accept it, warts included. But in my regular campaign a player has exposed something I did not see before: the help action seems really over powered. The character is a wizard with a familiar. The familiar basically uses the Help action all the time, granting the wizard Advantage on most actions. In combat, the familiar grants one of the main combatants Advantage.

Help does not require a roll. There are no prerequisites for Helping on any given action. For the low low cost of a find familiar spell, the wizard is able to bypass the series of choices that make Advantage possible.

Thoughts?

While the Help action does not specifically say that the "Working Together" rules apply, I would rule that they do. You can only Help on a skill check if you yourself could perform the task, and if two people could reasonably cooperate.

As for attack rolls, a familiar in combat tends to die very quickly. One stray arrow or AoE blast and it's dead until you spend an hour* re-summoning.

ad_hoc said:
A ritual spell that provides advantage in combat until an opponent successfully attacks it is broken. It doesn't matter that it only takes one hit. That is still enough.

Advantage to one attack per round, from one person, until some mook swats the familiar's pathetic AC.

No, that is not broken.

[SIZE=-2]*Also 10 gp worth of components. It's not expensive, but you do have to make sure to buy them when you're in town, and if you run out, you're out. Players often overlook the need to keep a sufficient stock of material components for spells that require them.[/SIZE]

jgsugden · Jan 19, 2019

We really could use something that makes it clear that the thread is old before someone posts to it.

Not broken.

Charlaquin · Jan 19, 2019

Protip for folks who have trouble spotting necros: topics that are simple questions about rules interactions or developer intent are a red flag, as are threads you’ve never seen before popping up on the front page and already being several pages long when you first see them. Check the date of the op if you see either of these red flags.

cmad1977 · Jan 20, 2019

Blue · Jan 20, 2019

When done between creature of roughly equal combat strength, the Help action is slightly under powered compared to each attacking. It's only when you get a situation where a creature with vastly lower power does help, and either has equal survivability or it is given plot armor vs. it's vastly lower survivability.

When stated like that, it seems to suggest it's own resolution.

D&D 5E Is the Help action broken?

Fanaelialae

Legend

Belfast Biker

First Post

5ekyu

Hero

Krachek

Hero

Charlaquin

Goblin Queen (She/Her/Hers)

Dausuul

Legend

jgsugden

Legend

Charlaquin

Goblin Queen (She/Her/Hers)

cmad1977

Hero

Blue

Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal

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