Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 9439479" data-attributes="member: 22779">To each his own I guess.&nbsp; To me, this is the absolute number one thing I hate about DMing D&amp;D. And I don't think I'm quite as alone here as all that.&nbsp; Because, as a player or as a DM, I've noticed that those &quot;open ended&quot; spells are either top of DM's banned lists, or are just not taken by players.&nbsp; I mean, sure, illusions are great on paper.&nbsp; But, how many illusion spells (and I mean straight up creating image spells, not simply stuff like invisibility or hypnotic patern) have you seen cast in, say, the last ten sessions you played or ran?&nbsp; Me?&nbsp; None.&nbsp; The players never use them because they're just too random.&nbsp; Who knows how they're going to be adjudicated? Is it going to be done with the intent of the game?&nbsp; Or is it going to be nothing but Monkey Paws all the way down.&nbsp; It's the reason I see players come to my table who will spend two hours trying to word a wish because they automatically assume that the DM will try to weasel out of it.&nbsp; Last night's session was a perfect example.&nbsp; The party enters a temple of Vecna and there's an ongoing ritual going on.&nbsp; Lots of chanting and whatnot.&nbsp; Party Psi-fighter uses his flying power to fly into the room, which triggers the ongoing Mass Suggestion effect for anyone entering. Me:&nbsp; Ok, you failed your save.&nbsp; The suggestion is to sit down and start praying.Player:&nbsp; Ok, well, I'm in mid air, so, I stop and sit down in mid air.&nbsp; When my turn is up, I fall and take damage, so, I get another saving throw.Me:&nbsp; Facepalm.It's exactly that sort of crap that I detest.&nbsp; Cheesemonkey weaseling out of effects because I didn't write a freaking ten page contract in order to give the exact wording of the Suggestion.&nbsp; And I guarantee that if I did it the other way - if the party had cast the Suggestion and I did that, they'd be the first ones to cry foul.&nbsp; It just sucks any and all enjoyment out of the game for me.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 9439479, member: 22779"] To each his own I guess. To me, this is the absolute number one thing I hate about DMing D&D. And I don't think I'm quite as alone here as all that. Because, as a player or as a DM, I've noticed that those "open ended" spells are either top of DM's banned lists, or are just not taken by players. I mean, sure, illusions are great on paper. But, how many illusion spells (and I mean straight up creating image spells, not simply stuff like invisibility or hypnotic patern) have you seen cast in, say, the last ten sessions you played or ran? Me? None. The players never use them because they're just too random. Who knows how they're going to be adjudicated? Is it going to be done with the intent of the game? Or is it going to be nothing but Monkey Paws all the way down. It's the reason I see players come to my table who will spend two hours trying to word a wish because they automatically assume that the DM will try to weasel out of it. Last night's session was a perfect example. The party enters a temple of Vecna and there's an ongoing ritual going on. Lots of chanting and whatnot. Party Psi-fighter uses his flying power to fly into the room, which triggers the ongoing Mass Suggestion effect for anyone entering. Me: Ok, you failed your save. The suggestion is to sit down and start praying. Player: Ok, well, I'm in mid air, so, I stop and sit down in mid air. When my turn is up, I fall and take damage, so, I get another saving throw. Me: Facepalm. It's exactly that sort of crap that I detest. Cheesemonkey weaseling out of effects because I didn't write a freaking ten page contract in order to give the exact wording of the Suggestion. And I guarantee that if I did it the other way - if the party had cast the Suggestion and I did that, they'd be the first ones to cry foul. It just sucks any and all enjoyment out of the game for me. [/QUOTE]

Verification