D&D (2024) What is With Poison?, and Other PHB Conundrums.

[GMMichael]

is it me, or is poison way overpriced for its effect when compared to, say, alchemist fire? it does 1d4 damage one time.

1d4 damage? It's pretty hard to put a price on the ability to snap someone with a rubber band and be miles away from the scene of the crime.

Unless that price is $49.99 on Amazon. Then it's a bit much.

 

[Reynard]

Between this thread and the other one @DarkCrisis just started, I’m starting to wonder if the meme about no one reading the DMG also applies to the PHB…

I'm a forever DM and generally don't consider it my job to know the players' characters' abilities.

 

[Shadowdweller00]

I'm a forever DM and generally don't consider it my job to know the players' characters' abilities.

Everyone has their own particular tastes and playstyles and all, but...

I'd still highly recommend that you start considering it your job. It's impossible to balance challenges and encounters for your players if you don't know what they're capable of.

 

[GMMichael]

I'd still highly recommend that you start considering it your job. It's impossible to balance challenges and encounters for your players if you don't know what they're capable of.

Fair, but have you seen the number of subclasses? Yech.

 

[Weiley31]

I'm a forever DM and generally don't consider it my job to know the players' characters' abilities.

DM: Alright Nerlin, what is your action this turn?

Nerlin The "Alleged" Wizard: I cast Black Hole.

DM:

 

[EzekielRaiden]

How terrible is Crown of Madness?

Crown of Madness. Level 2 Enchantment (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard)
Casting Time: Action.
Range: 120 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
One creature that you can see within range must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or have the Charmed condition for the duration. The creature succeeds automatically if it isn’t Humanoid. A spectral crown appears on the Charmed target's head, and it must use its action before moving on each of its turns to make a melee attack against a creature other than itself that you mentally choose. The target can act normally on its turn if you choose no creature or if no creature is within its reach. The target repeats the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the spell on itself on a success. On your later turns, you must take the Magic action to maintain control of the target, or the spell ends.

... And why doesn't it just say "One Humanoid that you can see..." like Hold Person does, if non-humanoids are immune?

Because if it had that, you couldn't even target a non-humanoid, and thus the spell couldn't be wasted.

Yes, this is intentional. They want you to be able to just completely blow a spell like that. Perhaps an attempt at "balancing" the power of magic by making it a crapshoot whether it achieves anything at all? If so I'd be very annoyed, but not even slightly surprised.

 

[Shadowdweller00]

Fair, but have you seen the number of subclasses? Yech.

You CAN, of course, focus on familiarizing yourself with the specific options your players chose rather than memorizing every SINGLE possibility, naturally...

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Remember when you could reasonably trust that your players wouldn't have game-breaking abilities from first-party material? Pepperidge Farm remembers...

 

[James Gasik]

Because if it had that, you couldn't even target a non-humanoid, and thus the spell couldn't be wasted.

Yes, this is intentional. They want you to be able to just completely blow a spell like that. Perhaps an attempt at "balancing" the power of magic by making it a crapshoot whether it achieves anything at all? If so I'd be very annoyed, but not even slightly surprised.

You can run into this with lots of spells. I had a Bard player lose his mind when he tried to use Command on a Gnoll and I asked him "hey, can you speak Gnoll?".

 

[Distracted DM]

Everyone has their own particular tastes and playstyles and all, but...

I'd still highly recommend that you start considering it your job. It's impossible to balance challenges and encounters for your players if you don't know what they're capable of.

It's very much a playstyle thing. I like being surprised to learn what the PCs are capable of- over time ofc I'll learn what they can do and adapt, but I definitely don't know all the player options until I have to help a player understand something ... Or if a PC is doing something and I think "now that doesn't seem right, how does that work?" and ask them to read it, or I'll check it out after the session. But I also know which players that'll tend to come up with :')

Ofc not knowing every player option has bitten me in the past when something like Tasha's comes up and a 2nd level spell trivializes 2 purple worms "oh that's very cool" is one thing, "oh what the hell that's so busted" is another.