D&D 5E Effect Importance by Tier

[FrogReaver]

Combat Tags
• Damage v Heal
• Debuff v Buff
• Detection/Perception/Visibility v Nondetection/Stealth/Obscurement
• Mobility v Control/Restraint/Wall
• Summon v Banish

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[Haldrik]

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Each category likewise comes with an opposite category. So there are at least 10 categories, so far.

Summoning an ally in combat, is opposed by Banishing it, via Dispel Magic or so on.

 

[MarkB]

Since this is about combat, i think we can lump those into the damage/defense/etc categories. That really is what they are being used for in combat I think?

I guess the other part of my question was, how do you account for an effect that can fall into multiple categories? Bless provides buffs to both attack and defense, for instance, and Polymorph can achieve a variety of effects - attack and/or defense/healing when applied to yourself or an ally, or control when used against an enemy.

On that note, how do you treat temporary hit points effect-wise, whether applied directly or through the additional hit-point pool provided by wildshape / polymorph? Are they healing, or would you consider them a form of ablative armour and call them defense?

 

[Haldrik]

I guess the other part of my question was, how do you account for an effect that can fall into multiple categories? Bless provides buffs to both attack and defense, for instance, and Polymorph can achieve a variety of effects - attack and/or defense/healing when applied to yourself or an ally, or control when used against an enemy.

On that note, how do you treat temporary hit points effect-wise, whether applied directly or through the additional hit-point pool provided by wildshape / polymorph? Are they healing, or would you consider them a form of ablative armour and call them defense?

Temp hit points are a form of Healing.

Polymorph seems lumpable with Summon.

Bless is a buff. But it probably is worthwhile to differentiate Attack Buff, Defense Buff, and Ability Skill Buff. Bless gets the first two tags.

 

[Cadence]

Not to derail (too much), but I kind of wish we used a different word here instead of Tier. Tier would be the one I'd pick for spell "levels".

And, back on topic. Thanks for starting this thread - I'd never thought about it before.

 

[Haldrik]

Not to derail (too much), but I kind of wish we used a different word here instead of Tier. Tier would be the one I'd pick for spell "levels".

And, back on topic. Thanks for starting this thread - I'd never thought about it before.

I am getting in the habit of referring to "slot".

So Wish is a "slot 9" spell.

Sometimes, I refer to "spell slot level" to clarify the meaning of "slot".

 

[FrogReaver]

Great Questions.

I guess the other part of my question was, how do you account for an effect that can fall into multiple categories? Bless provides buffs to both attack and defense, for instance, and Polymorph can achieve a variety of effects - attack and/or defense/healing when applied to yourself or an ally, or control when used against an enemy.

I would be using this hierarchy chart to evaluate characters/parties combat capabilities in whole and not specific abilities. So I'm fine with bless adding to both offense and defense for a character. I'm fine with Polymorph doing the same. Etc.

On that note, how do you treat temporary hit points effect-wise, whether applied directly or through the additional hit-point pool provided by wildshape / polymorph? Are they healing, or would you consider them a form of ablative armour and call them defense?

temp hp - the good sources of temp hp are typically applied before combat. For me those would fall into the defense category. One of the biggest and most important benefits of healing is to restore characters to consciousness that hit 0 hp. temp hp / wildshape / polymorph cannot do that. I would lean more toward those being defensive abilities than healing because of that.

It is a fine line though.