D&D General Let's Talk About How to "Fix" D&D

[Justice and Rule]

A intentional design point in 5e with bounded accuracy was that the primary knob for how long a creature lasts is HPs, no longer with defenses as part of the mix. However, what that means is that (a) solo creatures don't last long enough because they are also designed to be non-solo creatures vs. higher level PCs. Especially with classes that can nova or still do much of their damaeg with fewer hits (SA, paladin smite, etc.)

(Note: I don't think this is a bad idea. Bounded accuracy - which might be more accurately described as bounded targets - not only keeps things viable across longer level ranges, but also lowers what a +1 means - if you need a 11 or higher, a +1 will succeed 10% more often (50% to 55% -> 5% of 50% is 1/10th). If you need an 18, that +1 is means succeeding 50% more often. So maximizing every +1 is mroe important when you can be going against foes that need extremes to hit.

So in addition to the action economy they try to solve with legendary and lair options, they just don't have the staying power.

This is a difficult problem to resolve if the party is supposed to be able to meet these creatures later in multiples without mechanical changes.

Yeah, one thing I found is that with BBEGs, you want at least something else to take the heat off of them or act as a distraction because focused fire from a decently-prepared PC Party will absolutely overwhelm an individual endboss.

 

[Reynard]

Yeah, one thing I found is that with BBEGs, you want at least something else to take the heat off of them or act as a distraction because focused fire from a decently-prepared PC Party will absolutely overwhelm an individual endboss.

I don't think solo creature should just be "boss" monsters. There is an experiential difference between taking on a horde of creatures versus one big monster, and it is unrelated to how "important" the creatures are to the "story" -- whioch is part of the problem here, as well. That so man people say "boss monster" illustrates how embedded the plotted adventure has become in the game (as opposed to the open world sandbox).

Sometimes a rampaging colossal fire turtle is just a rampaging colossal fire turtle, not a "boss monster."

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I definitely think 5e (and pretty much every edition) struggles with big bad bosses being little more than bags of hit points. Legendary actions certainly help with this, but we still run into a problem that unless there are minions or other enemies (meaning the party has to split their attention and focus), it's an easier than intended battle.

So I'd expand the legendary actions, and give them all a way to impact the environment. Not just more attacks (cuz boring), but something that impacts the battlefield itself. Either creating things like rockslides, pitfalls, fissures, or things like fear, charming, etc--i.e. abilities that are more battlefield control rather than attrition of HP loss.

As much as he annoys me to near the point of nerd-rage, Matt Colville has a good video on running combat using what he calls leader actions or some such. Basically stuff that just happens on a timer, like at the end of the first round, the boss calls in more mooks ("Get In Here!"), or brings a couple dropped mooks back to life ("You Die When I Say You Die!"), etc.

I'd also expland heavily on what LAs can do, to include stuff like:

Commanding every ally of the boss within 100ft to move up to it's speed or make a single attack.

Call a combined strike on an area. Ie, arrows hail down on an area forcing dex saves vs xdy damage.

Cover fire. An area becomes difficult terrain unless you have 3/4 cover, and if you move more than half your speed while leaving cover, you take damage, save for half.

"Steady! On My Signal!". All allies within 100ft who can hear the boss act as though they had taken the ready action, with a specific action in mind. The Boss chooses when to activate the action, and all readied allies take the designated action.

Obviously these ideas are for turning a martial leader enemy into a legendary fight, but using the same basic structures we can extrapolate what a wizard with time to prepare might come up with. Just be careful that your PC wizards won't break the game if they reverse engineer what the BBEG did.

 

[Justice and Rule]

I don't think solo creature should just be "boss" monsters. There is an experiential difference between taking on a horde of creatures versus one big monster, and it is unrelated to how "important" the creatures are to the "story" -- whioch is part of the problem here, as well. That so man people say "boss monster" illustrates how embedded the plotted adventure has become in the game (as opposed to the open world sandbox).

Sometimes a rampaging colossal fire turtle is just a rampaging colossal fire turtle, not a "boss monster."

"Boss monster" is just me using casual parlance for a strong, individual monster, not making a critique on the story importance of a monster.

 

[SehanineMoonbow]

My issue has more to do with the treatment of lore, rather than any mechanics, and I don't have a "fix", so...

 

[fearsomepirate]

A intentional design point in 5e with bounded accuracy was that the primary knob for how long a creature lasts is HPs, no longer with defenses as part of the mix. However, what that means is that (a) solo creatures don't last long enough because they are also designed to be non-solo creatures vs. higher level PCs. Especially with classes that can nova or still do much of their damaeg with fewer hits (SA, paladin smite, etc.)

I don't think BA was a bad idea, it's just too bounded. I have no desire to go back to the days of epic-tier monsters having +48 to hit or whatever. The AC range is just a little too compressed.

 

[turnip_farmer]

Problem: Dungeon Master has trouble remembering to give Inspiration; but, when he does remember, the Players already have Inspiration because they haven't used it from last time. The Players don't use their Inspiration, because they get it so rarely and they want to save it for a pivotal roll later.

Solution: Action Points. Each Player gets a number of points at the start of each gaming session called Action Points that can be used to change the outcome of a die roll. Action Points can be used to 'add pips to the die' so to speak, and Players should use them during the current game session because they are non-transferable from session to session. At the beginning of each session each Player's Action Points refresh anew.

The advantage over Inspiration is that Action Points can be awarded to Players even if they already have points. This means Players can hoard points throughout a session, but because Action Points are non-transferable between sessions, they need to use them or they are wasted.

I start each Player with 3 points per hour, so a 2-hour session starts with 6 per player and a 4-hour session with 12. However, a Dungeon Master could start with more or less points, or none at all.

I have found Players use Action Points more often. This is perhaps because it is not an all-or-nothing deal. You can use 2 or 3 points and still have some for later. Furthermore, since Players use them more often I am reminded of them and tend award them more often.

Finally, Action Points need not replace Inspiration; the two can be used in tandem.

Possible inspiration from another fun game: Old School Hack's Awesome Points. These are distributed by players to other players, from a pool provided by the GM. The GM replenishes the pool in order to 'cheat' (for example, the players kill the evil villain, but you want to use him later on, so he utters a magical incantation and vanishes from view just before the sword pierces his heart. Handful of awesome points added to the pot).

Spending Awesome Points is required to level up, so players don't hoard them.

 

[turnip_farmer]

My issue has more to do with the treatment of lore, rather than any mechanics, and I don't have a "fix", so...

That problem was resolved already by 1974. Make up your own.

 

[Asisreo]

I always get mixed signals from these threads. It makes sense since opinions and desires differ but its always funny watching people try to please everyone at the same time looking for a perfect solution.

So, monsters supposedly have too much HP as they increase in CR, but also their AC remains the same. This causes problems. Does it?

A monster's defenses are firstly more than their HP and AC. They have better ST, LR, Resistances, Immunities, and features that boost their defensive capabilities. While AC is usually the same from CR 5-25, you can't say that a combatant has just as easy as a time to inflict damage and effects on them.

Solo Monsters are not a problem when the DM runs them all according to the PC's plan: Focus the attacks on our fighter while the paladin and rogue do massive damage and the wizard and cleric focuses on debuffs and control spells.

STOP THAT! I'm sick of fights being anticlimatic because the DM is too afraid to start with the cleric and wizard going down and taking important PC's.

It doesn't matter how long or how many features/actions you add to the enemy. If you let them walk into the party's optimal gameplan, they'll wreck your encounter anyways.

 

[Reynard]

I want to talk a little about XP, how to award it to encourage certain play styles and behaviors, and what potentially unintended consequences those choices might have.

I will say straight away that I do not like, use or believe in milestone leveling. It is the players' job to go get XP, not the DM's job to give it out. Milestone leveling is arbitrary and by definition tied to a style of play I do not enjoy. After all, you can't have milestones without a path.

All that said, rewarding XP primarily for defeating foes encourages a style of play that i don't think is particularly desirable or fun. Rather, i want an XP system that encourages exploration and clever solutions to problems. The go to answer here is usually "XP for treasure" but that too comes with its own troubles. Specifically, in 5e in particular, money is essentially useless and I am opposed to 3.x style magic item shops and crafting.

What to do?