D&D 5E Helping melee combat to be more competitive to ranged.

[Yunru]

I find the most troublesome players are the non-aggressive ones, to go on a tangent.

Not because of the players, but because of the time difference between a social and a combat encounter. Suddenly that time needs to be filled.

 

[pemerton]

Have you considered that 5e, and more specifically DMing may not be the right fit for you? There is no rewriting of the rules that is going to make plopping down a brainless sack of hit points in the middle of a vast white room challenging. If fact, i can't think of any RPG out there that doing that would work.

This is pretty condescending.

And there are RPGs where big bruiser creatures play fine as big bruisers when "plopped own" in the middle of a room. I know, because I've played them!

It's one thing for the DM to rule that the Balor wasn't detected because the PCs didn't have detection measures in place; it's another thing for the DM to just fiat the Balor into existence in melee range because his battlegrid is only 30 squares wide and he likes melee combat.

I use a variety of fiat devices to ensure that most encounters in my 4e game happen at a respectable range (respesctable from the point of view of melee, that is - ie not too far away).

Mostly this is terrain-based. In our last epic-tier session one of the players did complain about my activating the hundred-handed one at close range without any sort of warning, and was probably in the right to do so - I had intended to give some sort of description as they approached the area, but my neither my notes nor my memory were up to the task. The player good-naturedly sucked it up.

 

[pemerton]

Does anyone play the game or they just try to beat it?

Why would you assume these are diffrent things? Have you come across modules like Tomb of Horrors, White Plume Mountain or Keep on the Borderlands?

Not the only way to play the game, of course, but one with a pretty well-established pedigree.

 

[pemerton]

The bottom line is if you try to screw around with the DM he should just pound you right back. If you abused it I would just have traps everywhere so you fail concentration checks or just search for them so long that you burn half your ki just casting that spell. There is also no reason the DM shouldn't send a Shadow Monk hit squad right after, one for each PC.

The idea is to fun, for everyone.

The second quoted paragraph seems to be in some tension with the first!

 

[smbakeresq]

The second quoted paragraph seems to be in some tension with the first!

Not at all. If a player or group is going to power game you, you power game him back. That's why for players who you play with all the time you let some things slide if they don't get rule right or maybe they forget a concentration check or something. Or the player who plays his PC in character according to his abilities gets constant inspiration for doing so. Children who play should get DMed differently.

I can tell many of you don't DM. You don't get how much time you put in away from the table to get ready; at least 1-2 hours for each hour at table just so things run smooth for your players. They have one character to play, you might have 30 in one session. It's your story told through interaction with the players, but you also have to be referee.

If someone is just trying to troll, some players goals are to just ruin things for others, pound them.

Put it this way, how many of you have had a player say "wait, according to the rules My PC can do this but that's not right so I am going to play it this way which is worse for me." That's the players that get it that it's a team game, and the DM is part of the team also, he is putting forth his time and effort also.


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[Yunru]

I usual put around 0 hours prep work into the sessions I DM; my sessions are all on-the-cuff and more dynamic and natural for it.

 

[smbakeresq]

Why would you assume these are diffrent things? Have you come across modules like Tomb of Horrors, White Plume Mountain or Keep on the Borderlands?

Not the only way to play the game, of course, but one with a pretty well-established pedigree.

I own and played the original versions of those modules within 2-3 months of when they were published. I can tell you right now if the players on forums likes these played the Tomb of Horrors in it's original form more would complain it's unfair and against the rules. Few would give up the magic ring to get crushed to open the one door, and none would place their PC hand in the one to get it chopped off to open another door. Most would quit when the first save or die would come up.

Try Rappen Athuk, the Dungeon of Graves. I think it's a free PDF now. I am contemplating updating it to 5e, but I think it also probably went to far as every player had to prepare to lose their PC's.


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[smbakeresq]

I find the most troublesome players are the non-aggressive ones, to go on a tangent.

Not because of the players, but because of the time difference between a social and a combat encounter. Suddenly that time needs to be filled.

This 100 times over. The player who brings food and drinks also gets the first magic item.


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[smbakeresq]

Are you a moderator? Or just the self-appointed fun police? Inquiring minds want to know.

Are you a moderator? Your initial post seems like you want to be, apply for the job. You stated you were the fun police and came in with that attitude.




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[smbakeresq]

I agree with some of those observations but don't consider them problems per se. There are things you can do to change them if you like (e.g. more interesting demons). I've also talked about what to do if you want to just accept 5E as written.

The solution you propose creates huge problems which can drive players away from the table, but it obviously works for you and your players so meh, keep doing what works for you. The same is true for CapnZapp and everyone else on this thread.

It's better than driving the DM from the table, then there is no game. That's how games and groups die off.

It creates no problems for players who are aware and will get the hint, the others are just problem players you may not need anyway.

In over 35 years I have never seen a DM controlled game group end. I have seen players ruin groups all the time. It doesn't happen as you much as you get older, it's easier to say you are acting like an ass and ruining for the rest of us, stop.


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