D&D 5E Arguing for Advantage

[Norton]

I agree with running things this way but just picking something out here. Not sure if you meant this but it actual is in the rules that locks can just be picked. The DM can just decide that the character succeeds.

When I DM any character with proficiency in thieves tools automatically picks any mundane lock unless there is something dramatic that can occur like triggering a trap.

I would probably do the same if I didn't find that most often my players want the challenge. If they seem to like rolling, we roll. If failures are bogging down the pace, I'll find a subtle way to make things simpler without removing their chance to succeed at something. If they look bored, the doors are already ajar when they get to hem.

 

[Fauchard1520]

I don't want to stray too far off topic, but I'm actually considering banning aarakocra from my PC race options.... They also like to portray their characters less like exotic winged creatures and more like humans with jet packs.

This mess is tough. I mean there you are, running your no-nonsense game of gritty fantasy. Your players are miserable peasants and it’s amazing. They’ve got to choose between a hot meal and sleeping in an inn. Their horse is busted. Their weapons are scavenged pitchforks. Everyone is diseased, covered in naughty word, and can only dream of that distant day when they’re able to afford pants. In short, they might die from an encounter with a freaking cat, and everything is as it should be.

But then it happens. At long last, they’ve killed enough dire rats to hit third level. The wizard gets his invisibility spell, and now everything changes. The players can go wherever they want. They can sneak into the bandit king’s tent, the princess’s chambers, or the vaults of Ye Olde Banke. Soon their pockets are bulging with filthy lucre, and their swords are glowing with the blue light of a +1 enhancement bonus. A new way of playing the game has fallen at their feet.

Invisibility is, in my opinion, the first of three abilities that change the way the game is played. The third is of course teleportation points for guessing what the second one is.

Flight is one of those abilities that your players have to have. At some point in a fantasy game, they WILL encounter harpies or winged demons or exceptionally mean canaries, and on that day they’re going to want a carpet/cape/cauldron/etc. of flying. After all, there’s nothing worse than straining your neck as you look skyward, watching as your buddies hog all the glory.

And so, because your players all can fly, you’re left sitting there as a GM with a pile of tear soaked campaign notes crumpled up on the table in front of you. All of a sudden you can’t put a mountain in their way, a pit trap, or a daring leap across a chasm. You can’t even give them ground-bound enemies sans projectile weapons. And as you're finding with this bird-man, scouting open-air locations becomes a real point. All of those game elements have gone away because the game space has acquired a third dimension. That’s what I mean when I say that flight changes the way the game is played. It’s a fundamental shift in adventure design and player capability. Aarakocra simply means that you have to deal with it a little earlier.

 

[Norton]

That’s what I mean when I say that flight changes the way the game is played. It’s a fundamental shift in adventure design and player capability. Aarakocra simply means that you have to deal with it a little earlier.

True, but with one not-too-tiny difference: flight for grounded races costs something. That's easier to manage.

Aarakocra fly whenever they want and for as long as they want unless you put something over or around them. When played within reason, it adds a heroic element that can be fun. It does, however, tend to bring out the power-gamer hiding inside, in my experience. Especially if you just treat them like any other race that isn't covered in feathers and talks funny. I don't say you have to play them like that, but those that summarily ignore the quirky characteristics and role play challenges may be telling you without telling you that they want to break your game.

 

[mrpopstar]

@Norton Hey, I'm a Norton!

 

[Norton]

@Norton Hey, I'm a Norton!

And I fancy myself a fledgling pop star!

 

[mrpopstar]

And I fancy myself a fledgling pop star!