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

[Horwath]

Magic weapon vs. Elemental weapon

since Elemental weapon is 3rd level spell, Magic weapon should be upcasted to 3rd level to compare:

Magic Weapon,
duration 1hr, same as Elemental weapon

Casts: Bonus action, Elemental weapon is Action

Concentration, None. Elemental weapon has Concentration limitation

effects:

+2 attack, +2 damage
vs.
+1 attack, +1d4 damage

marginally more damage for using up your Concentration slot, and still cannot be used as 2nd level spell for emergency if you need magic weapon.
Action vs Bonus action is just added to insult.

 

[KYRON45]

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…

For what it's worth I'm both a player and a DM and I've never read the PHB either.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

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?

Correct. The new invalid target rule should cover that.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Magic weapon vs. Elemental weapon

since Elemental weapon is 3rd level spell, Magic weapon should be upcasted to 3rd level to compare:

Magic Weapon,
duration 1hr, same as Elemental weapon

Casts: Bonus action, Elemental weapon is Action

Concentration, None. Elemental weapon has Concentration limitation

effects:

+2 attack, +2 damage
vs.
+1 attack, +1d4 damage

marginally more damage for using up your Concentration slot, and still cannot be used as 2nd level spell for emergency if you need magic weapon.
Action vs Bonus action is just added to insult.

There is no case where you need an emergency magic weapon anymore. Elemental damage is more powerful.

 

[Horwath]

There is no case where you need an emergency magic weapon anymore. Elemental damage is more powerful.

You can still use older monsters and custom that are still immune/resistant to nonmagical damage.

honestly, I like that more than the new, turn everything into force damage and bypass it.

 

[Reynard]

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.

This mostly.

I trust my players. If we run into a WTF moment, we read the ability/spell/feat and figure it out.

Being surprised and thwarted by players is also fun. I also don't tend to build encounters with the PCs in mind -- I build them with the fiction in mind. There's nothing wrong with crafting your game specifically for your players and their characters, but it's not my style. The world exists as it does regardless of what characters the players bring to it.

This is, of course, a broad statement. Of course sometimes the course of play and choices the PCs made lead to "crafted" situations, but those are exceptions for me.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

You can still use older monsters and custom that are still immune/resistant to nonmagical damage.

You should not value spells by that metric though.

honestly, I like that more than the new, turn everything into force damage and bypass it.

I think they should have kept it in some places. I liked it on monsters that should be immune to non heroic characters.

But I would have loved a different rule: legendary creatures are immune to damage from creatures of CR less than 1.

 

[Horwath]

You should not value spells by that metric though.

still non-con vs con is a big difference, especially when difference in effects are marginal.

I think they should have kept it in some places. I liked it on monsters that should be immune to non heroic characters.

agree

But I would have loved a different rule: legendary creatures are immune to damage from creatures of CR less than 1.

not really, gear/magic should be available even to low level creatures if you decide to provide them.

1st level paladin can use Holy avenger, but, low HP might reduce the utility of that weapon in battle.

 

[CreamCloud0]

I was reading through the 2024 PHB, just trying to familiarize myself with stuff, when i came across Poison in the equipment chapter. is it me, or is poison way overpriced for its effect when compared to, say, alchemist fire? it does 1d4 damage one time. There is no Poisoned condition or other additional effect. Granted, there is no save, and it can be applied with a bonus action, but it still seems overpriced. The two 150gp poisons in the DMG are much more effective.

A) What do you think about the pricing and mechanics of poison in the PHB. B) What other weird things have you discovered in the PHB?

the fact that there only seems to be one single kind of poison available to adventurers feels a bit ridiculous to me? especially given all the monsters that can inflict various effects.

 

[Reynard]

the fact that there only seems to be one single kind of poison available to adventurers feels a bit ridiculous to me? especially given all the monsters that can inflict various effects.

There are lots of kinds of poison (with prices) in the DMG, resulting in a bit of mixed signals.