D&D (2024) Rules that annoy you

[Shardstone]

Restricting leveled spells on a turn. The game is much more fun when pcs and enemies combo spells on their turn.

 

[cbwjm]

Oh, I forgot that the rules let you make a DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check to stop a creature dying without even needing a healer's kit. What the heck are you doing then?! Shouting at them to not die?

"Stay with me, STAY WITH MEEEEEE!"

 

[FrogReaver]

Oh, I forgot that the rules let you make a DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check to stop a creature dying without even needing a healer's kit. What the heck are you doing then?! Shouting at them to not die?

You kick your ally back to life!

 

[pukunui]

Magic missile, for example, does force damage and if I can see the target through the window, then why can’t the missile break the window? Why wouldn’t scorching ray melt it? Witch bolt?

Magic missiles can only deal damage to creatures, so it makes sense that their magic would just dissipate when it strikes an inanimate object like a pane of glass. Scorching rays can be used on any target, so I suppose you could say that one of the rays strikes the window, and you could use the object hit points to determine if the window is broken or not. If it is, then the other rays could go through the gap to strike at your intended target.

Even the description of area effect spells are fairly vague around how to treat objects unless they’re flammable though easier to make rulings on. I just find the game to treat the environment a little bit too unrealistic.

I agree here. Items being worn or carried are always immune to all damage, which is just ridiculous when you think about it. Like, I can see how one could avoid having their clothes catch on fire when caught in the instantaneous explosion caused by the fireball spell, but if you've been physically engulfed by a fire elemental? Everything should be on fire then! Same with falling in lava.

In my games, PCs who end up "on fire" (whether from being engulfed by a fire elemental or falling in lava or whatever) will look like Anakin on Mustafar afterwards. I also rule that spells like cure wounds don't instantaneously regrow any burnt-off hair.

 

[Seramus]

Restricting leveled spells on a turn. The game is much more fun when pcs and enemies combo spells on their turn.

Weeps in Fighter.

 

[R_J_K75]

Healing potions instantly restoring HP.

Given the digestive track a few minutes to work.

What's even dumber is when a character drops and another player says I'll give them a healing potion. I'm not a doctor but I don't think its physically possible to swallow and drink while unconscious. I seem to recall a Sage Advice entry in Dragon Magazine where someone asked that question and Skip Williams, I believe it was, said that a character has to be conscious and able to drink to benefit from a healing potion.

 

[TiQuinn]

Magic missiles can only deal damage to creatures, so it makes sense that their magic would just dissipate when it strikes an inanimate object like a pane of glass. Scorching rays can be used on any target, so I suppose you could say that one of the rays strikes the window, and you could use the object hit points to determine if the window is broken or not. If it is, then the other rays could go through the gap to strike at your intended target.


I agree here. Items being worn or carried are always immune to all damage, which is just ridiculous when you think about it. Like, I can see how one could avoid having their clothes catch on fire when caught in the instantaneous explosion caused by the fireball spell, but if you've been physically engulfed by a fire elemental? Everything should be on fire then! Same with falling in lava.

In my games, PCs who end up "on fire" (whether from being engulfed by a fire elemental or falling in lava or whatever) will look like Anakin on Mustafar afterwards. I also rule that spells like cure wounds don't instantaneously regrow any burnt-off hair.

That’s it in a nutshell - the rules for spells affecting the environment are really scant.

 

[pukunui]

That’s it in a nutshell - the rules for spells affecting the environment are really scant.

I think the rules for affecting the natural / built / not-being-worn-or-carried environment are fine. It's when things are being worn or carried that realism gets chucked out the window.

 

[DMinTraining]

Hmm, I suppose one that stands out to me would be the mechanics behind long jumping in 5e.

According to the rules as written in the PHB, a player can jump a distance equal to their strength score if they use 10 feet of movement to give themselves a bit of a run up. If you play on a grid, you'll often end up with long jumps that don't adhere to the 5 feet squares. Ditto if the character does a standing jump and can only go a distance equal to half their strength score.

Does the DM handwave things and place them on the closest adjoining grid (as I do) or place them at a position between grids? Your mileage will likely vary. Admittedly, this is probably less of an issue if your table doesn't bother with gridded maps.

You get into other weird edge cases when you introduce things like Boots of Striding and Springing, seeing as how they allow the character to jump three times their normal long jump distance. If the long jump exceeds the character's movement speed (even while using the Dash action) does the character immediately fall to the ground once they hit that limit? Do they hover awkwardly in the air and finish the rest of their jump at the start of the next turn? Unclear, and the answer likely will depend on the table.

 

[RangerWickett]

Yeah, people tend to die really fast in movies, so they die fast in D&D too. Plus, I think not having people die quickly in the game would make it so no one would bother to go and revive their friends until after the combat is over. That might make sense from a realism standpoint, but it isn't fun for the people who are twiddling their thumbs. Having to make a death save every round adds to the tension and tends to make your fellow players strive to get you back in the fight (or at least stop you from dying) more quickly.

Rocky gets knocked down. He's at 0 HP. His trainer yells at him, using Healing Word. Rocky gets up and keeps fighting.

Call it a knockout save or something. At 0 HP, you're incapacitated but conscious, and you're struggling to rally the energy to get back into the fight. If you fail three knockout saves, you pass out.

Actually killing someone should require that you've suffered, like, the bleeding condition from taking a crit or from being coup'ed.