D&D 5E What needs to be fixed in 5E?

[Dannyalcatraz]

Of course, some of those cool items do add simple mechanical bonuses in addition to the cool things they do.

 

[keterys]

Okay, memory didn't serve on the elven cloak. I coulda sworn it was just like "You have a 90% Hide in Shadows chance in <circumstances>" or something.

Edit: Looking it up... eh, it's got 9 entry percentages, many of them fairly similar (50, 50, 90, 95, 90, 95, 98, 99, 100), giving percentages of invisibility, without much guidance on what that actually means, and the invisibility didn't work if violently or hastily moving... so I can see why I might have blanked it from my mind.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Regeneration Z in nowadays terms - fairly bland and crunchy.

In fairness, it's tough to do a regeneration magic item that ISN'T crunchy.

 

[Ryujin]

Okay, memory didn't serve on the elven cloak. I coulda sworn it was just like "You have a 90% Hide in Shadows chance in <circumstances>" or something.

Edit: Looking it up... eh, it's got 9 entry percentages, many of them fairly similar (50, 50, 90, 95, 90, 95, 98, 99, 100), giving percentages of invisibility, without much guidance on what that actually means, and the invisibility didn't work if violently or hastily moving... so I can see why I might have blanked it from my mind.

Invisibility was pretty well laid out, as a term, and you had to be high level or have god-like intelligence to see through it, without magic.

 

[keterys]

Invisibility was pretty well laid out, as a term, and you had to be high level or have god-like intelligence to see through it, without magic.

Sorta right...

It don't see it laid out what being 90% invisible means. I mean, that's 10% visible, which is fairly visible

Further, there's no mechanic behind the movement portion of things.

Invisibility also doesn't prevent you making noise, leaving footprints, etc. For example, the place where the invisibility is most effective (heavy growth forest) is the one in which your position might be fairly obvious due to movement of twigs, leaves, etc.

At any rate it's a reasonable conclusion that someone wearing one of these cloaks who wanted to move towards someone and fire an arrow at them would be completely visible (violence and movement, together , no matter the circumstance, but that's not the expectation of those who used it I suspect.

Anyhow, it is interesting, I just dislike the chart of barely different %s and a couple other minor notes, so I can "get" why my mind would have ejected it

Would a 4E item like the following count as interesting...
Property: In a natural environment, you may make a Stealth check even if you only have partial concealment or partial cover.
Power (Encounter): Move Action. You turn invisible until the start of your next turn and then move your speed with forest walk. If you end that movement in forest walkable difficult terrain, you gain a +10 bonus to the stealth check to become hidden.

 

[Ryujin]

Sorta right...

It don't see it laid out what being 90% invisible means. I mean, that's 10% visible, which is fairly visible

Further, there's no mechanic behind the movement portion of things.

Invisibility also doesn't prevent you making noise, leaving footprints, etc. For example, the place where the invisibility is most effective (heavy growth forest) is the one in which your position might be fairly obvious due to movement of twigs, leaves, etc.

At any rate it's a reasonable conclusion that someone wearing one of these cloaks who wanted to move towards someone and fire an arrow at them would be completely visible (violence and movement, together , no matter the circumstance, but that's not the expectation of those who used it I suspect.

Anyhow, it is interesting, I just dislike the chart of barely different %s and a couple other minor notes, so I can "get" why my mind would have ejected it

Would a 4E item like the following count as interesting...
Property: In a natural environment, you may make a Stealth check even if you only have partial concealment or partial cover.
Power (Encounter): Move Action. You turn invisible until the start of your next turn and then move your speed with forest walk. If you end that movement in forest walkable difficult terrain, you gain a +10 bonus to the stealth check to become hidden.

Actually right, since 1e didn't work the way that you're describing. It was a straight percentage chance, based on a set of conditions, of obtaining invisibility. The issue of sound was covered by a full set; both cloak AND boots.

As to the 'violent movement' issue, everyone I know considered that to be no running, jumping, etc..

 

[keterys]

Maybe the 1e printing has better rules than the 2e version I was looking at, which doesn't mention anything about when you check for invisibility or how long it lasts or what the % means, other than that you're "nearly invisible". Nor has examples of what hasty or violent movement might be (which make the wearer easily seen in any environment), if combat doesn't count as hasty or violent.

I don't own a 1e dmg, I'll shamefully admit.

That said, part of my reason in replying to this was actually that in my search to find the rules for it online I actually stumbled across arguments about how it works!

Really, items back then just varied a lot from table to table, though. And also had a lot more specificity - charts and such. Ahh, cube of force, and your table of spells. Oh no, someone's coming with Lightning Ball - gah!

Nostalgia also supplies some of the shine. I mean, glancing at Daern's Instant Fortress I remember tales of folks squished by them, and it was funny. I'm not sure I'd want that now, but it was definitely funny then.

 

[Ryujin]

You have no idea how many Magic Users got toasted by their own fireballs, back in the day, because players had no idea how big 33,000 cubic feet was.

 

[keterys]

Hah, it happened to me _once_. Then I learned

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

You have no idea how many Magic Users got toasted by their own fireballs, back in the day, because players had no idea how big 33,000 cubic feet was.

Hah, it happened to me _once_. Then I learned

I never did...so I always chose Lightning Bolt.








Which, in case you forgot, could bounce.