D&D 5E Sometimes? The most memorable battles come down to 1 roll.

[abirdcall]

Well, I was gonna make a response with how the DM ruled that since wild magic results are out of the PC's control (by the very nature on how they work), the polymorph didn't require concentration and thus the sorcerer just couldn't end it at will. Especially since the table implies that with "you turn into a sheep for the duration", not "until you stop concentrating. Or about how if we tried to force a potion of healing down the barbarian's throat with Trespin standing over her, it would at the very least open us up to advantage for Trespin to kill both of us.

But then I realized, "Wow. In a thread about how one die roll can make memorable battles, it took all of 1 reply for someone to say, "you're doing it wrong.""

Yay internet.

Well, fwiw I would say that you can't just end the polymorph by not concentrating either.

You definitely get your spell off though. Did the sorcerer already use their Tides of Chaos? It is a very powerful ability, one I would use frequently but esp. in this case to get advantage on the saving throw against the polymorph.

Attacks of opportunity in 5e are limited to moving out of an opponent's reach. If the DM is going to give an opponent advantage on attacks because of one of my actions, I would expect them to warn me that my action is creating a circumstance that leaves me open like that.

I think people commenting on the rules at hand and how it was played is to be expected. I'm glad there was a lot of tension and high challenge. Would your DM have enforced a TPK if you lost?

I do when I run games, I find it makes the close victories really memorable.

 

[JackOfAllTirades]

I dropped my party members thrice in lost mines of phandlever because of my "fireball dice".

There is, in fact, no such thing as "friendly fire." Did they live?

And if so, what was your reward for being such a stalwart ally?

 

[PnPgamer]

There is, in fact, no such thing as "friendly fire." Did they live?

And if so, what was your reward for being such a stalwart ally?

They did, they just dropped. They grumbled at me afterwards. There was nothing left of the enemy wizard, his tent or his loot, though.

 

[TwoSix]

Well, I was gonna make a response with how the DM ruled that since wild magic results are out of the PC's control (by the very nature on how they work), the polymorph didn't require concentration and thus the sorcerer just couldn't end it at will. Especially since the table implies that with "you turn into a sheep for the duration", not "until you stop concentrating. Or about how if we tried to force a potion of healing down the barbarian's throat with Trespin standing over her, it would at the very least open us up to advantage for Trespin to kill both of us.

But then I realized, "Wow. In a thread about how one die roll can make memorable battles, it took all of 1 reply for someone to say, "you're doing it wrong.""

Yay internet.

If you're going to make a post showing lots of rules examples, people are going to examine those rules examples. An unexamined story may not be as memorable as you think it is.

 

[Sacrosanct]

If you're going to make a post showing lots of rules examples, people are going to examine those rules examples. An unexamined story may not be as memorable as you think it is.

No, I'm pretty sure regardless how many people do or do not examine my story has zero impact on how memorable it is to me or my group.

Also, if people are going to examine those rules, I'd think they'd at least be right on them, and if there is ambiguity or open to interpretation, just don't bring it up since they had nothing to do with the point of the thread.

Is it really too much to ask when creating a thread with the topic I did that people respond to the actual topic, and not immediately go into "you did it wrong" mode when it has nothing to do with the point? It was literally the very first reply.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Also, if people are going to examine those rules, I'd think they'd at least be right on them, and if there is ambiguity or open to interpretation, just don't bring it up since they had nothing to do with the point of the thread.

[video=youtube;3D5tkAUNFa4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D5tkAUNFa4[/video]

Is it really too much to ask when creating a thread with the topic I did that people respond to the actual topic, and not immediately go into "you did it wrong" mode when it has nothing to do with the point? It was literally the very first reply.

I was responding to your story. Any divergence of that response from what you hoped to receive can be taken up with Barthes.

 

[TwoSix]

Is it really too much to ask when creating a thread with the topic I did that people respond to the actual topic, and not immediately go into "you did it wrong" mode when it has nothing to do with the point? It was literally the very first reply.

But what was the actual point? The first post was just an anecdote. Without the rules discussion, what was there to talk about?

 

[Sacrosanct]

Well Kamakazi, your maturity continues to impress me.


that was sarcasm by the way.

But what was the actual point? The first post was just an anecdote. Without the rules discussion, what was there to talk about?

The point is pretty obvious. I mean, it's in the title. Sometimes, some of the most memorable battles can be created because they came down to a single die roll. Most normal people, rather than immediately go into badwrong fun mode, would use it as a springboard to share their similar experiences. Which they did.

 

[TwoSix]

that was sarcasm by the way.

It's not internet sarcasm unless there's at least a gif linked.

The point is pretty obvious. I mean, it's in the title. Sometimes, some of the most memorable battles can be created because they came down to a single die roll. Most normal people, rather than immediately go into badwrong fun mode, would use it as a springboard to share their similar experiences. Which they did.

Sure, but your first post didn't invite further anecdotes. It was just there.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Well Kamakazi, your maturity continues to impress me.

"When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." - CS Lewis

use it as a springboard to share their similar experiences

Most of my experiences of things coming down to one roll are when things have gone wrong in multiple ways. It's a fun kind of Cohen-brothers moment when a perfect storm of bad planning, bad luck, bad tactics, bad strategy, and unfortunate surprises have congealed to such a point that we depend on being lucky on die rolls to be our salvation. They're fun in the moment for their tension, and for me, they're more fun in their aftermath while I figure out what went wrong and why and how to prevent it, because I am hugely amused by looking at mistakes and coming up with solutions. It stops me from taking myself and my make-believe elf game all that seriously (some days you're the windshield, some days you're the bug), and gives my problem-solving mind a thing to work on for a while.

Which is why I point out the things that went wrong - it's part of the fun for me. As a player of a wild sorc and someone who makes attentive use of healing potions, it's also a topic I'm pretty personally invested in!

Note that I'm not passing judgement on the mistakes - the words "you're doing it wrong" or "this is bad/wrong/not good" aren't constructive here. Folks had fun, which is great. But when I see a train wreck, I like to figure out how to avoid that in the future, rather than just go "Wooo! That's exciting!" and call it a day. I can't leave well enough alone. That'd be boring.