D&D (2024) Not loving weapon mastery with beginners

[Charlaquin]

The best I can think of is to include notes on the player's character sheet, as many have said.

For example: Greatsword (Attack +8, Hit: 2d6+5 slashing; Miss: 5 slashing).

I mean, yeah, why wouldn’t you do that? Most character sheets have a space for notes on each line of the “attacks and Cantrips” section for exactly this reason (including the your very well-done edit of the official 2024 sheet!)

 

[Guest 7037866]

And for some, they struggle learning games of any kind.

Sure, but that isn't who I am talking about. Certain rules and mechanics stick, while others don't for some reason...

My point is simple, the more you add, the more complex the game becomes, the more people will have difficulty learning it (to one degree or another, sometimes not at all... )

I mean, yeah, why wouldn’t you do that? Most character sheets have a space for notes on each line of the “attacks and Cantrips” section for exactly this reason (including the your very well-done edit of the official 2024 sheet!)

I have a feeling that is why they added it...

(And thanks! If I had more time, I would redesign more of the sheet... like adding more room for "Notes" in such cases to include other notes... for instance a longbow would have notes not just for Slow, but also for range and ammo.)

 

[ECMO3]

Easy solution: two separate lines in the “attacks” section of the character sheet.

Shortsword (main hand) +5, 1d6+3 piercing
Shortsword (off-hand) +5, 1d6 piercing

They already have that, but it has hardly been easy in play, also keep in mind neither 2024 or 2014 have the concept of off-hand.

 

[Charlaquin]

They already have that, but it has hardly been easy in play,

Weird, that’s not one I’ve seen new players struggle with.

also keep in mind neither 2024 or 2014 have the concept of off-hand.

Sure, but if using that as a shorthand helps a new player grasp how it works, who cares if it’s technically correct? If you understand the rules well enough to understand that “off-hand” isn’t really a thing in the rules, you probably don’t need a shortcut like this.

 

[Zardnaar]

Bonus actions can be a sticking point for some players, but the much tougher one to learn in my experience is usually reactions. The number of times I’ve heard “when can I use a reaction?” answered, “if you have a spell or feature that can use a reaction, it will say when you can use it,” for them to then ask next time it’s their turn when they can cast Shield…

Yeah I can see that. Pole arm master/riposte come to mind.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I feel like the poorly explained bonus action system shouldn't be used to suggest new players can't learn options.

It's like saying no one can use a key because someone sold a lock with gum stuck in it.

 

[theCourier]

Kind of wondering if the 'eight players' thing might be playing a part. That's not a lot of opportunity to work directly with a given player who is having issues.

I was very surprised to see no one had mentioned this, lol. That's a huge amount of participants to have in any one side of a D&D combat encounter.

 

[GMMichael]

I mean, I’ve had plenty of players like that as well, but… Those characters already struggle with the rules no matter what, so I don’t feel like including or not including weapon masteries is going to make a dramatic difference for them.

And for some, they struggle learning games of any kind.

As the echo points out, some people just learn slower, and some people don't take to the style of learning presented by a given gaming group. What's important is to recognize this and keep things simple for those players until they catch up. D&D doesn't much promote this, because there's not a more simple tier to use - it's all-or-nothing. For the player who isn't keeping up, either you have other players doing your work for you, or you fall behind. Since the new edition added more rules, more options, more more more, it's not getting any easier.

But for some people it is the mechanics that are the problem.

It's possible that jargon gets in the way, too. If you're new to a game, do you want to figure out what a "mechanic" is (hint: it's not the gal working on your carburetor), or do you want to just learn the rules?

Look at the rule for the Influence Action. It references seven other rules and has its own table. "DM," "DC," and "check," make appearances as terms that don't need to be looked up (hopefully), and then "Beast" and "Monstrosity" get thrown into the table for good measure. The whole rule is about how NPCs react (comply, non-comply, make a check) which should be up to the DM, anyway.

I'm not surprised that beginners are having problems with this game.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I was very surprised to see no one had mentioned this, lol. That's a huge amount of participants to have in any one side of a D&D combat encounter.

Because the thrust is to say that a single step away from oversimplification will crack the tiny minds of new players who cannot operate Rage.

 

[TiQuinn]

My point is simple, the more you add, the more complex the game becomes, the more people will have difficulty learning it (to one degree or another, sometimes not at all... )

To an extent.