D&D 5E Common mistakes I keep making

[Ancalagon]

You can imagine it however you like, naturally, but a fireball spell isn't an explosion. It wouldn't do anything to a wall (other than set it on fire). It has no force. It's just a spontaneously generating burst of flame, not a compressed explosion.

That's the way I see it too - a burst of scalding flame, not a proper "bomb".

 

[John R Davis]

Absolutely. It should be something basic like a coin flip...11+/d20 and they survive. Or any dice you have. Evens, odds. High, low. Whatever. Don’t even need hit points. 4E minions with one hit kills. If you think you have too many zombies, double ’em. Then double ’em again.

Yup.
Just make it a death save!

 

[R_J_K75]

I hear you. For me, I feel like I'm wasting my time and brain power if I'm using anything more complicated than opposed 2d6 rolls and freestyling the rest.

I really just dont care anymore, lets make it up as we go along.

 

[R_J_K75]

You can imagine it however you like, naturally, but a fireball spell isn't an explosion. It wouldn't do anything to a wall (other than set it on fire). It has no force. It's just a spontaneously generating burst of flame, not a compressed explosion.

Well OK then. My example is "Shot Down In Flames" pun intended. Think I'll listen to that song.

 

[jgsugden]

Unless a spell specifically says it doesn’t require line of sight then it does. It’s detailed in the magic chapter. A Clear Path to the Target, PHB p204.

Right - but how do you know whether a spell specifically states it without looking it up? And do we want to look it up every time? That was the problem I was facing ... I didn't want to disrupt the gameplay by looking up whether the spell required sight, but I was misremembering ... so I started to make a list of spells that didn't require it, then realized I also needed to track the ones that did if I wanted to avoid looking them up.

 

[Guest 7034872]

Here's my biggest problem, and from knowing myself I figured it would be: I keep forgetting to shut up and let the players do the talking. A referee ain't a quarterback, and that's important.

 

[overgeeked]

Right - but how do you know whether a spell specifically states it without looking it up? And do we want to look it up every time? That was the problem I was facing ... I didn't want to disrupt the gameplay by looking up whether the spell required sight, but I was misremembering ... so I started to make a list of spells that didn't require it, then realized I also needed to track the ones that did if I wanted to avoid looking them up.

The players should be responsible for knowing how their spells work. If they're not in your game, they should be. If they don't know, skip them until they can find it and move on to the next player. When it comes to NPC and monsters...the NPCs and monsters don't have to follow the same rules as the player characters. You're the DM. Make it up. Simply decide and keep the game moving. For ease of use, default to one or the other. They're NPCs and monsters. Either they're generally cooler than PCs (default to no need for line of sight) or they're generally less cool than the PCs (default to always need line of sight). Done. As these are not powers and spells available to the PCs, you don't have to worry about balancing them against the PCs' powers and spells.

 

[cbwjm]

Remembering my battleplan! With every encounter I have a generalized plan creatures will take. Most creatures only need a vague plan, usually involving when to flee, but some need more. Leadership creatures usually need a 2-3 round layout. Casters potentially require up to 5 rounds, depending on how powerful they are. The problem is that occasionally I'll forget something in the heat of battle that skews it for the players, sometimes drastically so (forgetting about Counterspell can end an encounter).

I do this all the time. Once I forgot that a boss was legendary because I was using a laptop to look at their stats and hadn't scrolled down far enough. Really changed the battle.

 

[Kannik]

After DMing 1E through 5E I honestly forget which edition we're playing sometimes.

So glad I'm not the only one.

I'm usually pretty good with class abilities and the core rule concepts, but when it comes to magic items, monsters, and sometimes spells the multitude of editions bouncing around in my head can make it quite confusing and amusing. "... but check that, I might be quoting an earlier edition," is disclaimer I've learned to constantly use.

(Though one thing I seem to never learn is the current name for particular skills! )

 

[not-so-newguy]

Here's my biggest problem, and from knowing myself I figured it would be: I keep forgetting to shut up and let the players do the talking. A referee ain't a quarterback, and that's important.

Whenever the players are scheming, I have to remind myself to STFU. Sometimes I fail.