D&D (2024) What have you seen new players confused by/mistakes they make?

[Gorck]

Anyhow, I still find myself using terms from 3E and 4E while DMing 5E to the bewilderment of my players who've only played 5E.

I watch a bunch of live streams and I often hear the DMs still asking for Fortitude, Reflex, and Willpower saves. I've done it a few times with my group and it completely confuses them because they've never played anything other than 5e so they have know idea what I'm talking about.

 

[ART!]

I watch a bunch of live streams and I often hear the DMs still asking for Fortitude, Reflex, and Willpower saves. I've done it a few times with my group and it completely confuses them because they've never played anything other than 5e so they have know idea what I'm talking about.

On the one hand, the six Ability-based saves creates more design space than the old three saves, but the confusion between Ability checks and Ability saves is a real concern. Would it be worth it to just make them the same thing?

 

[tetrasodium]

On the one hand, the six Ability-based saves creates more design space than the old three saves, but the confusion between Ability checks and Ability saves is a real concern. Would it be worth it to just make them the same thing?

It really doesn't. Having six saves instead of three just provides a pointlessly splintered arms race. We know it's pointless because 3 option rock paper scissors is well known & played worldwide while things like rock paper scissors lizard spock & similar mostly only go to 5 & are relatively obscure unplayed memes.

5e itself presents a second shot to the knee in that idea of a wider design space by barely using it in favor of just slapping magic/legendary resist on a ton of monsters. That's quite different from things like 3.x when you had fort/reflex/will & a ton of monsters having a good/bad save in their statblock that players could plausibly guess or skillcheck to know.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I watch a bunch of live streams and I often hear the DMs still asking for Fortitude, Reflex, and Willpower saves. I've done it a few times with my group and it completely confuses them because they've never played anything other than 5e so they have know idea what I'm talking about.

On the one hand, the six Ability-based saves creates more design space than the old three saves, but the confusion between Ability checks and Ability saves is a real concern. Would it be worth it to just make them the same thing?

yeah that is something I see too. I used to run and play at 2 stores (I am afraid only 1 is still open) but I ahve heard even new DMs mess up the idea of saves

 

[R_J_K75]

I watch a bunch of live streams and I often hear the DMs still asking for Fortitude, Reflex, and Willpower saves. I've done it a few times with my group and it completely confuses them because they've never played anything other than 5e so they have know idea what I'm talking about.

This is the most frustrating thing to me with edition changes. I feel it's unnecessary in most cases. I understand it was somewhat necessary in 3E when they introduced new game mechanics but even then, I think they could have kept some terminology from AD&D and carry them over to 3E. A good example is non-weapon proficiencies were changed to skills, which IMO didn't need to happen. I think sometimes they make these types of changes to tell the fanbase "look this really is a new edition". They can change how a rule works, is applied and resolved all they want but if they re-use the same terminology from previous editions, it makes the learning curve easier for older players. I've seen some new terminology in the playtest packets, (at least I didn't recognize them), which concerns me a little.

On the one hand, the six Ability-based saves creates more design space than the old three saves, but the confusion between Ability checks and Ability saves is a real concern. Would it be worth it to just make them the same thing?

My opinion is anything they can do to streamline the rules will make the game better. I might even prefer if the core rules were very basic, with optional rules included in 3 cores at the time of release.

EDIT: The game definitely needs to evolve over time, which it has, and is so Im willing to take the good with bad changes or I always have the option to just ignore the 1D&D if I dont like it.

 

[Branduil]

What does the "class" in these terms even mean? Just call Difficulty Class 'Difficulty" and be done with it.

Or target number

 

[ART!]

I was just struck by how weird it is that Armor Class and Character Class both use "class" but in very different ways.

 

[glass]

I was just struck by how weird it is that Armor Class and Character Class both use "class" but in very different ways.

Now that you mention it, it is kinda weird. Never noticed that before....

 

[ART!]

Now that you mention it, it is kinda weird. Never noticed that before....

The game could really do with some streamlining of it's terminology, but I get the concern that too much of that starts to make it not "feel like D&D". It's frustrating.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Today I encounterd a mistake I have forgotten about:

Spellcasting modifier: wisdom without proficiency bonus.

Spell attack modifier: wisdom with proficiency bonus added.

Same for attack bonus and damage bonus.

At some point I asked myself, if it would not be easier, if you just use the same bonus for hit and damage.