D&D General When do you overrule RAW?

[Zubatcarteira]

That's not how either hit points or hits work, though. The storm giant "hitting" doesn't actually hit the fighter unless the fighter is somewhere close to 0 hit points and will be knocked out or killed by the hit. What actually happens is that it's a glancing blow or complete miss that causes the fighter some skill or luck hit point loss.

It's the armor that is causing the miss, when it can't realistically do much to stop the blow, if anything it'd just hinder you by making it harder to dodge (and there are moments where you just can't dodge at all, if you're paralyzed or stunned, for example).

Maybe big attacks like that should be a dex save, or use touch AC, who knows.

And I think said DM would also question how realistic spending luck and skill to survive is. Maybe it should be an insta-kill . . .

 

[AnotherGuy]

It's the armor that is causing the miss, when it can't realistically do much to stop the blow, if anything it'd just hinder you by making it harder to dodge (and there are moments where you just can't dodge at all, if you're paralyzed or stunned, for example).

Maybe big attacks like that should be a dex save, or use touch AC, who knows.

And I think said DM would also question how realistic spending luck and skill to survive is. Maybe it should be an insta-kill . . .

As much as the WEF would like us to open up a can of worms, this can of worms should remain closed.

 

[CreamCloud0]

Sure. In the above case you are in fact actually hitting the caster significantly harder. The Sentinal feat is on par with a cantrip. It allows you to stop a creature cold for 1 round if you hit, usable potentially every round. A second level spell is much stronger and is a limited resource.

I said in a post above that I would render 1st-3rd level spells impotent against Godzilla. There's no way you can say that I'm aiming at martials if I deny Sentinal.

but does a martial really have any option at their disposal that would qualify as equal to 'a fourth level spell or above' in power that you would allow to affect 'godzilla'?

given that the caster almost definitely will when they encounter it it means they will have viable options to use, if most if not all the martial's special capabilities that aren't just 'more of the same' (action surge, second wind, GWM/SS) count as cantrips or equal to other low level spells it would mean they have no options to use, i think that's a bigger nerf to martials personally

forcing a resource management class who are balanced on using their limited resouces to...use some of their higher grade options to be effective, doesn't seem like a giant nerf in comparison to forcing a stamina based[?] class to not have access to any of their control options.

 

[AnotherGuy]

forcing a resource management class who are balanced on using their limited resources to...use some of their higher grade options to be effective, doesn't seem like a giant nerf in comparison to forcing a stamina based[?] class to not have access to any of their control options.

Yeah, one needs to determine how martials (particularly the tables that prefer the mundane type) take on such beasts.
Some ideas off the top of my head

• Perhaps misses (by the beast) cause forced movement, player selects where they "dodged" to on the grid (5ft away). Proficiency in acrobatics or athletics gains one an additional 5ft distance;
• If the PC moves 15 feet or more in the round on their turn, they can add their Athletics Proficiency Bonus to the damage of one successful attack;
• Martials can do half damage with each successful attack to "climb" the beast with small blades (shortswords, daggers) or axes (hand axes), elevating themselves their jumping distance initially (run or standing) and 5 feet for every additional "climb" stint via additional attacks.

...etc

 

[EzekielRaiden]

As little as possible. I can almost always give something an explanation. I cannot, in general, do effective, good game-design on the fly whenever and wherever needed.

It's part of why I expect a lot of testing in TTRPG rules. I would much rather enjoy running a game than spend half my time redesigning a game I already paid for.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

I think all this talk of "realism" in the game is really about "consistency" and not really about being "realistic" in comparison to our real-world (although many characteristics will likely overlap). The DM needs to present a consistent game world where players aren't left guessing if their abilities will work at any given time. And, when something doesn't work as expected, there needs to be a strong reason within the game world that is both discoverable and communicated. In the case of Sentinel not working against a particular creature, that needs to be explicitly telegraphed ahead of time, IMO. And, if not, then the DM needs to lean into being a human who is capable of making mistakes, give the player the information their PC would/could/should have known, and let the player decide what to have their PC do instead. That's not to say that an occasional "combat puzzle" isn't okay - but it should come front-loaded with clues rather than some kind of trial and error experiment where the player has no way of knowing what will or won't work, leaving it basically up to chance or guesswork. Granted, they may have missed most/all the clues but at least the clues will make some sense in retrospect.

Now, at our table, Sentinel would work vs a kaiju. There are plenty of in-fiction reasons we can come up with, many described upthread, why it can be so. And it won't ruin my pre-determined DM story (namely b/c I've learned to let go of that concept many years ago and just let the story tell itself through the contributions of all at the table); nor will it ruin verisimilitude since we have all bought in that this is a fantasy world with magic and powers that don't map directly to IRL. That's just how we play. At other tables, of course, that mileage may vary.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Um, with Godzilla?! Your 3 foot piece of steel isn't going to scratch his skin, let alone break an ankle or cut a tendon. What you describe could possibly work with a giant, but not with a creature that is 355 feet tall.

Never mind the fact that it's impossible to break an ankle or cut a tendon in 5e anyway, as both of those conditions affect a creature for longer than a day.

 

[Reynard]

Having watched the scene , I can say that it was a perfectly valid call and the players were in agreement as soon as he said it. Besides, it didn't totally negate the reaction. She still did the damage.

That said, "Are you being patronizing?" was legit. I hope their hotel room had a comfy couch...

 

[Maxperson]

It's the armor that is causing the miss, when it can't realistically do much to stop the blow, if anything it'd just hinder you by making it harder to dodge (and there are moments where you just can't dodge at all, if you're paralyzed or stunned, for example).

Maybe big attacks like that should be a dex save, or use touch AC, who knows.

And I think said DM would also question how realistic spending luck and skill to survive is. Maybe it should be an insta-kill . . .

AC and hit points are all abstract in D&D. That's just how it is by RAW. You are of course free to play it differently in your home game, but arguments to the contrary in discussions about how the game works are inherently flawed.

You are also not "spending" anything. You have hit points. Things do damage. How the "damage" removes "hit points" is up to the description, but when a physical hit would just kill the PC, but wouldn't do enough hit point damage to kill the PC, the DM needs to describe it in such a way that the PC survives and just takes the hit point damage of the attack. Whether that's the PC getting lucky, skillfully but barely dodging or whatever is up to the DM, not the player.

 

[Maxperson]

Never mind the fact that it's impossible to break an ankle or cut a tendon in 5e anyway, as both of those conditions affect a creature for longer than a day.

Yep. Those can't be used for the Sentinal feat because that feat only lasts 6 seconds. Any description has to be of something that also lasts about 6 seconds.