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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AaronOfBarbaria" data-source="post: 6906484" data-attributes="member: 6701872">I don't think that categorizing advice to remember that there are general rules already in place that anyone/anything can utilize to expand their options in combat as "the DM can fix it" is fair or accurate.There is no functional difference between a zombie that can grapple a character because it has a grab action listed in its stat block and a zombie that can grapple a character because the game includes grappling rules that are not gated away behind a requirement that you have the appropriate feature, and those rules are also not so remedial in function as to be not worth using without some feature that enhances them.There is no "re-write" involved in this advice for you to feel puts your cash expenditure into question.And I know I'm not alone in having experienced a kind of reverse problem when playing 4th edition: With so many options codified and delivered via various powers and traits, it felt unfair to improvise outside of those options in ways that resembled other codified options not taken (specific example: a player of a fighter feeling like they shouldn't be able to improvise smashing their shield into someone to push them because they had the option of taking Tide of Iron to do just that and chose something else instead), and for me personally as a DM it felt like I was spending so much time reviewing what action options and traits were in a stat block while choosing what the monster would do that I felt taking the time to think of something outside of those options to improvise wasn't fair to the players (who are just sitting there waiting for me to move the action forward) so the practical effect was exactly what some are now describing of 5th edition's short-list stat blocks; Monsters never did anything but the few tricks in their stat block, and felt boring as a result.By the sharing of which I mean mostly to say: there is no such thing as a perfect solution for the entire playerbase - so it's okay that 5th edition design aims to please a significant portion, while being so easy to alter and resilient to alterations that those not satisfied can, if they are willing, adjust to suit their differing preference.</blockquote>

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