D&D 5E Mechanics you don't want to see, ever

[Lanefan]

You can play how you like, but understand that your table is in the minority, most gamers prefer a different style where players are responsible for playing their characters in a way that keeps the party together.

Even the most co-operative of parties would split apart if the situation told them to:

You're the sneak, we're clanky metalheads, so you scout ahead while we wait here. <DM pulls player of scout PC aside to play out the scouting without others knowledge or interference>

We need to keep watch on the guildhouse but also check the library archives for ownership records; so you two hit the library while we stand watch here. <DM plays through one group first, then the other>

And so on.

I see your underlying point, however, is that players are expected to play their PCs as meta-trustworthy in the eyes of the other PCs. I don't buy into this at all, as I quite like the trope of the spy or turncoat or thief; or of parties whose PCs are operating with different (and sometimes opposing) goals in mind.

 

[5atbu]

Percentile Strength.
% skills for Thiefs
THAC0
Different xp tables by race or class
Race as class
Descending AC
XP for gold
Forced use of XP based levelling
Alignment Police
Mandatory Greyhawk
Level drain
Enforced worship of Gygax by the human sacrifice of the oldest player each session.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[JiffyPopTart]

There gets to be a breaking point where discussion of "Why is your character even in our party?" comes to the table one time more than it should. When my game gets to that point I tell the player of the character with issues fitting in "Either you figure out a way to make your character fit, or they are going to become an NPC and you are going to have to create a new one."

As has been said...the social contract of sitting at my game says that you will find a way for your character to fit in with the rest of the party. For some reason this is harder for some players than others, but there is an unspoken line that is tread even when playing the "tortured loner with a horrible past and all kinds of secret deals the party doesn't know about".

In my last campaign this shady rogue got to stick around because the Paladin found him politically useful when aggressive diplomacy at smitepoint wasn't going to get the job done. Even though some of the other party members had reservations, just having that tie to the paladin explained why he was always invited back on the next quest.

Because the shady character was getting money and power on the side letting the BBEG know everything the party was doing it made the road the characters traveled harder than it needed to be.

I always hated that character name deleted to preserve the fun betrayed the party in Baldur's Gate 2, they were one of my favorites up until that point. It did make for a memorable story moment when they did, though.

 

[Garthanos]

bathroom break schedules for characters

 

[Bacon Bits]

So without further ado, things i don't want to see:

• Appearance changes. As mentioned above.
• Bonus Distances less than 5 ft. Oh you, un-Remarkable Athlete. I know not everyone play using grids and minis, but come on. Don't waste printing space with insignificant stuff that won't make a difference 99% of the time.
• Alignment change. No real mechanics other than certain magic item having requirements, which i think is arbitrary.
• Crappy ribbon abilities with high level requirement. Monk & Druid's Timeless Body. Do you want to commit to a single class just to be rewarded with abilities you will never use?

There's so much from F.A.T.A.L. that could be included....

But I would include things like:

• Critical hit and critical fumble tables that include permanent maiming.
• Actually tracking encumbrance to a detailed level.
• XP or level drain.
• Rust monsters, disenchanters, weapon sundering, etc. except in very, very rare circumstances where the DM has erred.
• "Optional" abilities so overwhelmingly beneficial compared to the alternatives that it's unreasonable not to take them. Just make them how the game normally works.
• Abilities that look good until you do the math and you find out they don't actually do anything at all (I'm looking at you, Brutal Critical).
• Save or die, though I think "save every round to recover and end the effect" is possibly too much in the other direction. Hold person's power level between 1e/2e and 5e is shockingly large.
• Unkillable monsters, except as campaign focuses. Trick or metagame monsters like Nilbogs, too.

This might be a controversial one, but class abilities that give the players narrative control of the world. I think such mechanics work very well in other games, but I don’t think they’re a good fit for 5e. I think those kinds of mechanics can work in certain contexts - for example I’ve run a prison escape scene where the players could interrupt the action to add a detail to the scene by describing a flashback where they set the added detail up in advance. But I think such things need to be used sparingly and with very specific intent to work within the flow of play in 5e, so attaching such narrative mechanics to class or subclass abilities would be too disruptive in my opinion.

I don't think that's really that controversial. There are lots of TTRPGs that do give the players control over the narrative of the game or that allow the players to introduce elements into the narrative. But those games are all designed to allow for that. D&D has never been one of them -- the closest they got the was "Yes, and..." style of DMing -- so the game isn't really designed around that kind of thing. If you want to play that way, you'd be further along to switch to a game that has that type of system already built in to it.

 

[Arnwolf666]

Percentile Strength.
% skills for Thiefs
THAC0
Different xp tables by race or class
Race as class
Descending AC
XP for gold
Forced use of XP based levelling
Alignment Police
Mandatory Greyhawk
Level drain
Enforced worship of Gygax by the human sacrifice of the oldest player each session.

Ah man. That’s my wish list for 6E

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

Even the most co-operative of parties would split apart if the situation told them to:

You're the sneak, we're clanky metalheads, so you scout ahead while we wait here. <DM pulls player of scout PC aside to play out the scouting without others knowledge or interference>

We need to keep watch on the guildhouse but also check the library archives for ownership records; so you two hit the library while we stand watch here. <DM plays through one group first, then the other>

And so on.

My group played like that when we were teens, but these days our game time is too valuable to waste on splitting the party.

Remember, it's always the players that decide what the characters do. Even if it would make in character sense to split the party, real people don't do the sensible thing all the time.

 

[cbwjm]

I feel like if you don't want your character's appearance to change then don't pick a specific subclass which might cause your appearance to change.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Even the most co-operative of parties would split apart if the situation told them to:

You're the sneak, we're clanky metalheads, so you scout ahead while we wait here. <DM pulls player of scout PC aside to play out the scouting without others knowledge or interference>

We need to keep watch on the guildhouse but also check the library archives for ownership records; so you two hit the library while we stand watch here. <DM plays through one group first, then the other>

And so on.

I see your underlying point, however, is that players are expected to play their PCs as meta-trustworthy in the eyes of the other PCs. I don't buy into this at all, as I quite like the trope of the spy or turncoat or thief; or of parties whose PCs are operating with different (and sometimes opposing) goals in mind.

obviously you play with what works for you and your group, and if they have no issues, that’s what it’s important. Me however, I do believe there is a meta-trustworthiness in the eyes of other PCs. It’s a social game, after all, and I’ve always viewed it as a teamwork game.Almost always, when a player tricks or lies or betrays another player, even if in character, it’s disruptive and other players don’t have fun. They are worried about being lied to by monsters and every NPC; if they have to worry about other members of their party, it’s too much. Sort of like a sports team. If you can’t trust your teammate, then there are issues.