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It's NOT available to "everyone," not the least bit reliably. For it to be something that could actually be relied on, you need a decent WIS, an investment if you're not a WIS based character, the proper skill, and, realistically, expertise in the skill to have it not be too random. That's...

This is 100% on the DM. Failure to detect a lie means the character is convinced they are being told the truth. If there is no consequence there, that is the fault of the scenario.

This is actually a good reason to start with (a limited list of) Pre-gens, at least initially. You don't want new players slaving over character creation and then losing the character quickly. Best to have a bit of a buffer at first!

This is why, whenever this comes up, I always advocate people need to stop looking to "real life" and look to fiction and myth. That's MUCH more appropriate to D&D, imo. Many disagree!

Agreed. And FYI @Jaiken, Lost mines is deceptively deadly. I've probably had more PC deaths in the first few sessions of Lost Mines (various run-throughs) than in all other 5e adventures AND my homegame put together. And the later parts have some doozies too, especially for inexperienced players.

Long thread, and there might be more on this but: Yes IRL most humans are terrible at detecting lies. BUT: in FICTION there are many examples of people who are REALLY good at it and D&D is NOT real life. I would much rather have some people be actually skilled at this than, yet again, rely on...

100% agree with @LordEntrails. If these people are new then that's just choice overload. If some are experienced, they should have no problem sticking to available options. I would have 6-8 pre-gen relatively basic characters available - sticking with the core classes. You're starting with...

In D&D? In D&D magic is both extremely structured and extremely consistent. Practitioner does X and Y happens - every time.

In a world where magic works, magic is simply a part of science. Science is the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation, experimentation, and the testing of theories against the evidence obtained. If magic works, it would be studied...

Yeah, this seems more a respect issue than a mechanics issue. If a DM is actually disrespecting the players (and the other way around as well) that is an out of game issue and needs to be addressed as such.

On the plus side, nobody questions it when the Mob of Ninjas hang back and make funky hand motions while the mob members attack one at a time. Goes both ways!

Just add ninjas - nobody questions it when you add ninjas. This seems to work for fantasy and modern settings.

^Great way to sum up the issue! A 1 being an auto-miss, that's fine, sometimes attacks miss. A 1 being a critical fumble that can lead to drastically bad results? That just penalizes the classes that rely on attacks as their schtick. Casters can easily avoid having to make attack rolls if they...

He already corrected he meant d10s. Then all you need is crossbow expert and off you go (with 2014 and variant human, you can get that and still maximize INT, which for the battlesmith is all you need). So by 5th level you're doing 1d10+4(x2) and your pet is doing 1d8+3 with your bonus action...

I have a 5e spelljammer game going! Ran the initial adventure because the group wanted the nostalgia and everyone liked it enough to keep right on going after the adventure concluded. Maybe, it's because we're all of the age to remember when spelljammer was initially a thing and wanted the...

If I think about "reality" at all before or during a game, it's in the context of mythic reality. How would things be in a Greek, Norse, or otherwise relevant myth, not "our" reality.

There are way too many DMs who look for reasons to say no. Newbie and veteran alike.

It was just one example. There are many, many ways for the ability to "not make sense." Especially if the DM doesn't care for it to.

I, on the other hand, would also allow the PC to be good at recognizing messenger networks and methods. For example, Is the town far from the PCs usual area but there is a messenger pigeon network in the town? The PC could find it to send a message. Minor but useful.

Strangers in a strange land is an extraordinarily commonly used scenario. From the responses I'm seeing, that alone would make the ability "not make sense" to quite a few of the posters. Same goes for the Noble background, strange land - no chance of it working. I don't find it that limiting.