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    D&D 5E (2014) Proficiency vs. Ability vs. Expertise

    Ok, so going full pedantic are we? Yes, the rule is actually "The DM calls for an ability check when a character or monster attempts an action (other than an attack) that has a chance of failure. When the outcome is uncertain, the dice determine the results". However, if there isn't a...
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    D&D 5E (2014) Exhaustion how often / unfair?

    In OotA, there isn't an immediate doomsday clock. However, resting will draw encounters that can interrupt the rest and be far worse than just suffering with it. Kind of hard to hire retainers in OotA. ;)
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    D&D 5E (2014) Exhaustion how often / unfair?

    This is the mechanic I use. A character that drops to 0 gains a level of exhaustion, but they can remove it with a short rest.
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    D&D 5E (2014) What spell have you never seen cast?

    Illusory Script (I supposed in the right circumstance it could be useful). Ray of Sickness (too weak for most players to bother with). Animal Messenger. Beast Sense. Contagion. Off the top of my head.
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    D&D 5E (2014) Proficiency vs. Ability vs. Expertise

    But how often are DC 5 checks used anyway? A check is only supposed to be made if there is a meaningful consequence for failure. If the DM is assigning a DC 5 for a check he should really be asking why he is bothering in the first place. And as been pointed out, the lower bound would be raise...
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    D&D 5E (2014) Proficiency vs. Ability vs. Expertise

    Next time I am DM I will implement this, at least for opposed checks. For straight up target DCs, it will probably work as well, just have to make sure they aren't too crazy. :)
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    D&D 5E (2014) Counterspell what do people think?

    So in your experience which isn't a general experience. It has nothing to do with my assumptions. You can just as easily as I look at how common casters that have the possibility of casting counterspell is compared to the number of classes that cannot in general play. It would be rare at most...
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    D&D 5E (2014) Proficiency vs. Ability vs. Expertise

    IMHO, the problem with the skill system is that it use a single die instead of two dice added together. It naturally means that someone that isn't very proficient still has a good chance of beating someone that is exceedingly proficient. I observed it again in the game I played last night...
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    D&D 5E (2014) Counterspell what do people think?

    I was pointing out the opposite corner case and my assumption was that the enemy didn't have Counterspell available. It is not that the logic is mortally flawed, it is that counterspell is somehow a great spell that needs to encumbered with more restrictions on it than already exist. As I...
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    D&D 5E (2014) Counterspell what do people think?

    So this is sort of a false premise in my mind. 84 points of damage (in your example) doesn't mean anything if no-one goes down. The 3rd level spell slot when used offensively will prevent a lot more damage than that. Say you are facing 6 mages each going to cast a fireball. You can only stop...
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    D&D 5E (2014) Death and 0 Max HP

    I made no mention of economics per se. My point is that different locales will naturally have different raries and it varies based on campaign. Again in Curse of Strahd you will never find 300 gp worth of diamond as written. Revivify is unlikely to ever be case in CoS as written. A generous...
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    D&D 5E (2014) Counterspell what do people think?

    So? My wizard, who isn't going to be in the same AoE for fireball as the fighter, is instead going to use their spell to kill the enemy wizard instead of wasting my 3rd level slot to take damage when I have a whole lot less HP than the fighter. You see this whole discussion is such a marginal...
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    D&D 5E (2014) Death and 0 Max HP

    Isn't that what I just exactly said?
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    D&D 5E (2014) Counterspell what do people think?

    It would be simpler to just ban the spell, because again no one will bother with this. It is better to just let the fighters take the damage.
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    D&D 5E (2014) Death and 0 Max HP

    The price isn't the only limiting factor -- finding 300 gp of diamonds can also be a challenge. In a CoS campaign they are virtually non-existent. In a city like Waterdeep, one can probably find that many diamonds on a regular basis, but in smaller towns finding any diamonds could be a...
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    D&D 5E (2014) Counterspell what do people think?

    [Or just give your villain casters Spell Sniper]
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    D&D 5E (2014) Counterspell what do people think?

    Counterspell is much more useful in this edition than in 3.x/Pathfinder in which nobody bothered as the requirements were usually too high to meet. That said, what you could do is just increase the DC required to counter for each counter after the first. So in the example: BG1 cast 4th level...
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    D&D 5E (2014) Disintegrations

    So the thing with Ravenloft if the character isn't willing to be brought back by a Dark Power, then they are probably out of luck. About the only real option is the ghost doing possessions since the body is destroyed. Since it is the Amber Temple, you could drop in a Sword/Ring of Wishes which...
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    D&D 5E (2014) Is This Odd?

    A player reading the MM would be considered bad form if they did it at the table in every group I have played with. And not because of meta-knowledge. I have played with people that literally had every monster in the manual memorized. We also considered it bad form to open the PHB during...
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    D&D General Should Baldur's Gate 3 be turnbased or Real Time With Pause?

    What you are looking for it the ability to create good AI behavior. It is amazing that AI behavior is still no better than it was 20 years ago. At least in PoE they tried to make the AI more useful than 20 years ago.
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