D&D 5E On fairies and flying

[Laurefindel]

These are all tactics enemies can and do use. Anyone too dumb to come up with ways of countering them isn't worth fighting.

Well, that’s exactly one of the main criticisms of flying PC; it makes a bunch of encounters not worth fighting.

 

[Bolares]

I don't see the big problem with flight. The benefits in low level are outwheigthed by the risks of fall damage when you hit 0 HP IMO

 

[Laurefindel]

PCs are the heroes of the story. They're supposed to do cool things that separate them from the crowds. Flight is one of those things for some PCs. Celebrate, don't hate. Use the flight to help the player, and PC, feel cool and special.

I'm a bit torn about that; flight makes one feel cool and special, but overcoming an obstacle that would have been trivialized with flight makes one feel competent and heroic.

Cool can kill the extraordinary, so in the case of flight, the DM has to make enough of that cool flight achieve extraordinary performances. It's not that hard, but it's an extra layer of planing and consideration.

 

[the Jester]

These are all tactics enemies can and do use. Anyone too dumb to come up with ways of countering them isn't worth fighting.

Only enemies that can fly. And there are lots of monsters that are simply incapable of being a challenge against flyers. Flight as an always-available pc option is terrible if you ever want to use e.g. dinosaurs, wolves, leucrotta, trolls sans ranged weapons, etc, in a way that's meaningful. Or a canyon as an obstacle. Or limited lines of sight because of obstructions. Or...

It's not about coming up with ways to counter flight; it's about all the types of challenges that flight simple invalidates. That's fine if that's the game you want to play, but not all of us do.

 

[the Jester]

Environmental obstacles have always been trivial in 5e. Jump, Spider Climb, Wildshape, Misty Step are all readily available at low level. The average adventurer can jump 10 feet completely unaided!

Other than a 10' jump, none of those are at will, always on, all the time.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

And you compare jumping 10 feet with permaflight ?

They are equally good for trivialising 10 foot pits.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Well, that’s exactly one of the main criticisms of flying PC; it makes a bunch of encounters not worth fighting.

Then don't encounter them. "You fly over the angry goats" is a better use of player time than trivially hacking them to pieces.

 

[Dausuul]

In my experience, flight breaks down into three tiers:

1. The party has no flight capacity at all.
2. The party is mostly ground-bound, but some portion of it can fly.
3. The entire party can fly.

Each tier dramatically expands the PCs' capabilities, which in turn closes off a bunch of options for the DM in adventure design. Going to tier 2 opens up room for aerial scouting, sending a flyer to tie a rope or retrieve an object, and "air support" in combat. Going to tier 3 allows the party to soar merrily over all manner of obstacles and threats, and demolish melee enemies at no risk to themselves.

BUT: The find familiar spell means tier 2 is already available from the start. It doesn't actually make much difference whether the flying thing is a PC. An owl or hawk familiar allows the party to reap most of the benefits of tier 2 right there. When you hit third level, warlocks get Pact of the Chain, beast master rangers can call flying companions, and so forth.

If it weren't so easy for a low-level party to push into tier 2 already, I would object strongly to "flight at level 1" races. However, that ship has sailed. Aarakocra and fairies are just another way to get to the same place as a wizard with an owl or a beast master with an eagle.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

And there are lots of monsters that are simply incapable of being a challenge against flyers.

Poor dumb animals. You playing Deerhunter?

 

[billd91]

It's not about coming up with ways to counter flight; it's about all the types of challenges that flight simple invalidates. That's fine if that's the game you want to play, but not all of us do.

The simple solution to that is - don't allow flying PC races. At all.
Most of the effort that WotC designers go into to limit it by duration or other weird limitations just ends up being a waste of time. DMs who find flight 'much ado about nothing' don't need those limitations, and those who don't want flyers should just exclude them.