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Does the "Friends" cantrip need a fix?
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<blockquote data-quote="redrick" data-source="post: 6614912" data-attributes="member: 6777696"><p>But sometimes the Help action is not an attractive option. If a character is "helping" you, that character can't be doing something else useful, and that character has to be in a position that they <em>could</em> help you. The "help" action only works when it is actually feasible for two people to perform an action together. Sometimes, a second person would hinder things. Maybe a disguise is involved. Now both characters need to be disguised. Maybe you are distracting a guard so other characters can get into position to attack. Now you have one less character in combat position, because <em>two</em> characters are distracting the guard. Maybe the target understands a language that only the caster speaks.</p><p></p><p>You don't <em>need</em> the Friends cantrip. A lot of character concepts don't even make sense with the Friends cantrip, but for a character who wants to play a bit of a swindler, or fast talker, or whatever, it is totally a reasonable trick to have up your sleeve. If it is part of your character concept, you will use it. The limitations on the cantrip require more creativity from the player, which, I think, makes things more fun.</p><p></p><p>I should also add that, in our game, we maintain a loose understanding of initiative out of combat as well as in combat. We go around the table, and every player describes what they are doing at a given time. One of the benefits of this is that it makes the cost of things like guidance or "aid another" more clear, because that action basically takes up your turn around the table. Sometimes, there's only one thing happening, and it makes sense for all characters to be focused on that action, but, other times, players will want their character to be doing something else while the sorcerer is chatting up the guard, or merchant, or what have you.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="redrick, post: 6614912, member: 6777696"] But sometimes the Help action is not an attractive option. If a character is "helping" you, that character can't be doing something else useful, and that character has to be in a position that they [I]could[/I] help you. The "help" action only works when it is actually feasible for two people to perform an action together. Sometimes, a second person would hinder things. Maybe a disguise is involved. Now both characters need to be disguised. Maybe you are distracting a guard so other characters can get into position to attack. Now you have one less character in combat position, because [I]two[/I] characters are distracting the guard. Maybe the target understands a language that only the caster speaks. You don't [I]need[/I] the Friends cantrip. A lot of character concepts don't even make sense with the Friends cantrip, but for a character who wants to play a bit of a swindler, or fast talker, or whatever, it is totally a reasonable trick to have up your sleeve. If it is part of your character concept, you will use it. The limitations on the cantrip require more creativity from the player, which, I think, makes things more fun. I should also add that, in our game, we maintain a loose understanding of initiative out of combat as well as in combat. We go around the table, and every player describes what they are doing at a given time. One of the benefits of this is that it makes the cost of things like guidance or "aid another" more clear, because that action basically takes up your turn around the table. Sometimes, there's only one thing happening, and it makes sense for all characters to be focused on that action, but, other times, players will want their character to be doing something else while the sorcerer is chatting up the guard, or merchant, or what have you. [/QUOTE]
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Does the "Friends" cantrip need a fix?
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