D&D 5E Monk Evasion is limited to which certain area effects?

[robus]

For those thinking this is all obvious, I'm wondering if you've been DMing for a number of years? Much of this stuff is not obvious on first read to people new to the game. And there's a lot of stuff to read!

 

[marcelvdpol]

For those thinking this is all obvious, I'm wondering if you've been DMing for a number of years? Much of this stuff is not obvious on first read to people new to the game. And there's a lot of stuff to read!

Some things are definitely more vaguely described compared to other things. The way Evasion is described is not so clear at first glance and definitely needs to be decomposed for clarity. The conditions for which Evasion applies could have been stated more clearly, although if you read it over a few times it becomes more clear.

 

[CapnZapp]

Now that we've sorted out Shadow Step, what about Monk Evasion? This player was using "Evasion" to avoid things such as a bone boulder rolling towards him that needed a Dex saving throw to avoid.

I accepted it at the time but read up on it after and I'm not buying that it was an acceptable use. It seems to be limited to area effects:



Once again we're left with some room for interpretation. But given the examples provided it seems like this is only for use against attacks. But really could it be more vague? "certain area effects"? Why not delineate the type instead of giving a couple of examples?

Anyway, anyone care to offer clarification?

You can use Evasion "When you subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage"

There's nothing unclear about it. And no, there aren't any limitations on what kind of effects it applies to.

Not unless you rule otherwise as the DM, there isn't.

You really need to learn the difference between crunch and fluff, Robus. It would really help you save time and effort.

 

[abirdcall]

For those thinking this is all obvious, I'm wondering if you've been DMing for a number of years? Much of this stuff is not obvious on first read to people new to the game. And there's a lot of stuff to read!

It's impossible for me to be impartial at this point because I started with 2e. Comparatively 5e has much less to read and is crystal clear.

That doesn't mean it isn't a task. I find this interesting because I find most of the confusion in the rules comes from people assuming rules are there from previous editions.

How would you write them? I like that there is some flavour in the rules and that there is plain language followed by rules language. That gives theme and flavour and a context for rulings in strange situations.

5e is much less technical in general than previous editions of D&D. In both this case about Evasion and the Shadow Step your confusion lied in thinking that there was more complication and nuance to the rule than there really was. Those sorts of pedantic rules are more of a 2e thing. 3e rules are more about telling you exactly what you can do with the assumption that you are not allowed to do anything else.

 

[fjw70]

For those thinking this is all obvious, I'm wondering if you've been DMing for a number of years? Much of this stuff is not obvious on first read to people new to the game. And there's a lot of stuff to read!

I am sure that is part of it. But with a little practice you will get the hang of it. 4e clearly separated the flavor text from the rules. 5e puts them together.

 

[robus]

You really need to learn the difference between crunch and fluff, Robus. It would really help you save time and effort.

Given the large number of discussions about unclear rules we have here I'm not sure the difference is always as obvious as it would seem. But yes - I will try to extract the crunch and figure it out, and when I don't understand I'll continue to come back here for help in clarification

 

[robus]

How would you write them? I like that there is some flavour in the rules and that there is plain language followed by rules language. That gives theme and flavour and a context for rulings in strange situations.

To me - the word "certain" immediately curtailed the set of area effects to which this applied. If it was "many" or "most" I might have thought that it applied pretty generally. Then the fact that it gave (to my mind) two similar examples made me think that it was limited to "certain" types of area affects. The crunch that came after that built on the impression I'd been left with that the ability applied to those certain effects that the fluff had brought to mind. I've not yet become comfortable with separating the two it seems.

It's one of those times where the more you know, the more you realize how much more you have to learn

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[abirdcall]

To me - the word "certain" immediately curtailed the set of area effects to which this applied. If it was "many" or "most" I might have thought that it applied pretty generally. Then the fact that it gave (to my mind) two similar examples made me think that it was limited to "certain" types of area affects. The crunch that came after that built on the impression I'd been left with that the ability applied to those certain effects that the fluff had brought to mind. I've not yet become comfortable with separating the two it seems.

It's one of those times where the more you know, the more you realize how much more you have to learn

This is the trouble with writing rules for everyone. If they wrote 'many' or 'most' then some other people would be asking if they are playing the game incorrectly because most of the area effects in their game don't prompt Dexterity Saving Throws. To say 'many' or 'most' is to codify in the rules that the majority of area effects ought to be ones that allow a Dexterity Saving Throw for half damage.

I see the examples as non-exhaustive. As there are a ton of different sorts and they are page limited they need to keep it to only a couple. I also see them as being quite different. One is a spell and the other is a special ability of a monster. They could have added in a trap too, but then would that be confusing if you aren't familiar with traps?

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

So most Dex saving throws then?

Not caltrops, for example.