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Message: <blockquote data-quote="James Gasik" data-source="post: 9677674" data-attributes="member: 6877472">Our last D&D session went like this (I wasn't the DM).  We had found ourself mired in Shadow Fey (Kobold Press's Midgard setting) politics and were kind of at an impasse, as none of us were A) Shadow Fey or B) Charisma-based characters.  Only some quick thinking and my recently watching The Apothecary Diaries had gotten us any headway.One of the big baddies, the so-called Demon Lord of Roaches, decided to try and recruit us.  We met him at his clandestine meeting spot, and, at the behest of another faction, tried to merk him.  He was very powerful, but lacked any minions.  He opened up with a Legendary Action insect plague and had an off-turn teleport.  I upcast dispel magic on the plague and the instant he used up all his Legendary Resistances to avoid the Monk's Stunning Fist, I landed a hold monster on him thanks to my Wand of Binding.  The end.Our reward was an audience with the Fey Prince, who challenged us to test our might to see if we were even worthy of his aid.  He, his pet Shadow Hound, and his sister, the "Witch of Grey Mourning" (or something equally pretentious) faced off against our party (reduced to three thanks to a missing player).The Monk won initiative and, thanks to their ridiculous movement speed (Mobility Feat) crossed the battlefield to the Witch and Stunned her.  I dropped my new level 5 spell on the Black Prince and his mutt- synaptic static.  The DM was obviously annoyed at the Int saves (none of which he ever made) and thanks to the -1d6 on all attack rolls, didn't land a single hit.  He was even more annoyed when I revealed that SS doesn't require concentration when I then hit all three of the enemies with slow.  We got hit with an 8d10 frost breath from the hound and one attack from the Prince (his Multiattack ruined by slow) and that was it.  The hound never recharged, their reactions were turned off, and the Witch only got one spell off- misty step, thanks to slow's 50% chance for a spell to be delayed til the next turn clause (and then getting polymorphed before her next turn came up).While it was a great win for us against enemies who had a good chance of murdering us, the fact that our victory was more due to failed saving throws in both combats than our tactics (the Cleric didn't do anything but spirit guardians + healing himself, and the Monk kept putting himself in the exact spot I wanted to drop area spells on since he went before me in the initiative order, and we had no way to strategize without tipping off our foes).  And if the DM had had a bit more luck with his die rolls, it would have been a whole different session!Ultimately, I have two conclusions.  1- I won't be playing any more Wizards after this campaign.  And 2- the saving throw mechanic needs to be taken out back and put out of it's misery.  I really don't think encounters should hinge on a single die roll the way they often due with spells.I'd have preferred more things like 5e's sleep, which requires foes to be at a certain hit point threshold to land, which synergizes with the party's damage.  But instead, lol, 2024 went in the opposite direction, making sleep a saving throw based effect (probably because it didn't interact with Magic Resistance or Legendary Saves at all- you were either immune to the spell or it could just end a fight quickly).And I've been on the other side of this thing!  How often do you have to pray for your monsters to save against a Monk's Stunning Fist or for the Cleric to fail his concentration on spirit guardians in order to actually have a proper encounter?  I want to root for my players instead of the opposite, but too often, them getting lucky just leads to "well, we can go through the motions, but this fight is basically over".Spellcasting enemies somehow are even more of a joke than they were in past editions- even though they often have spellcasting ability equal to their CR +2, they might get one spell off before they get burst down by hit point damage, which makes most of their kit pretty much moot.  And that's even assuming your players aren't willing to engage in a counterspell war (I don't even know the spell, just because I was in an AL game where three party members had it)!</blockquote>

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