D&D 5E Player angry about enemies climbing rope with Rope Trick

[iserith]

I despise the way Tiny Hut is written. I had players using it as a temporary redoubt in battle, and sneer at me when I couldn't do anything about it. Then the one time I thought an encountered enemy could do something about it, they cried to the event organizer and came back to me with a Crawford tweet. I stopped running AL games after that.

Wild guess: You had a burrowing creature burst up from beneath it.

 

[overgeeked]

Yeah, even dashing, it should take a little less than two full rounds to reach the top of a 50 foot rope (which is what comes standard in most adventuring kits), so the character should have had plenty of time to see that the monsters were following him up the rope and maybe realize this was a bad idea though.

More importantly though, the “metagaming power move” thing is a red flag. It sounds like you didn’t like the player’s use of that tactic for some reason and instead of talking to them about it, decided to punish their character for it. That’s generally poor form. There’s nothing wrong with casting rope trick during combat, just like there’s nothing wrong with the monsters following you up the rope. Both are perfectly valid actions the characters involved might reasonably take. Yet both parties seem to have been upset, which speaks to a misalignment of expectations. You need to talk to this player openly and honestly about what happened so you can get back on the same page.

Just want to be clear. I’m not the OP.

 

[Charlaquin]

I despise the way Tiny Hut is written. I had players using it as a temporary redoubt in battle, and sneer at me when I couldn't do anything about it. Then the one time I thought an encountered enemy could do something about it, they cried to the event organizer and came back to me with a Crawford tweet. I stopped running AL games after that.

I mean… If a combat lasts for 10 whole rounds and the caster manages to avoid being attacked at all during that time, I’d just let them have it. That’s impressive!

 

[Mistwell]

Ok, Im missing something where does it say Orcs dont understand spells or how to climb a rope?

Nobody said or implied Orcs don't know how to climb a rope.

The question is, would they know this particular spell's effects and recognize it? Likely they at least need a DC check to recognize the spell. If they don't recognize the spell, then why would they think it's safe to enter an extra-dimensional space floating in mid-air and why would they know it was safe to occupy that space for an hour?

 

[overgeeked]

I despise the way Tiny Hut is written. I had players using it as a temporary redoubt in battle, and sneer at me when I couldn't do anything about it. Then the one time I thought an encountered enemy could do something about it, they cried to the event organizer and came back to me with a Crawford tweet. I stopped running AL games after that.

The game is written in a way that nothing is supposed to actually challenge the characters.

 

[Charlaquin]

Just want to be clear. I’m not the OP.

Sorry, I understood that, but I didn’t make it clear that I was referring to @ECMO3 when I said “you”.

 

[billd91]

There isn't really an aspect of this situation that I don't find bizarre. It might be worth going over what exactly is entailed in using rope trick and what that would imply if used in combat - getting people climbing up that rope with their normal climb speeds being a significant aspect that would have to be handled.

 

[James Gasik]

Wild guess: You had a burrowing creature burst up from beneath it.

Close, it was an encounter with incorporeal creatures. The problem isn't a caster hiding in his bubble for a combat though. The problem was the other characters are free to exit and return to it whenever they like for the duration. So anytime someone took a little damage, back into the bubble, get healed, come back out.

I don't usually mind creative tactics but that was a bridge too far for me.

Now as to the Rope Trick, absolutely, anyone can climb the rope. I'm not sure, however, how many people would be willing to climb a rope in a pitched battle (leaving them vulnerable to attack, I mean, how well can you defend yourself while climbing?) especially if you have no idea where it goes. I'd probably stop and stare upwards going "...a rope to nowhere....what the heck?"

I could certainly see attempting to cut the rope so no one else can follow the Ranger though. But that's just me, out of context, I don't know if the Orc's actions made sense at the time.

 

[Fenris-77]

I despise the way Tiny Hut is written. I had players using it as a temporary redoubt in battle, and sneer at me when I couldn't do anything about it. Then the one time I thought an encountered enemy could do something about it, they cried to the event organizer and came back to me with a Crawford tweet. I stopped running AL games after that.

There's lots you can to to sneery entitled players. Soak the whole room with greek fire and have your Kobolds sit down to enjoy a nice smoke and wait 'em out. I don't think I'd enjoy running AL stuff.

 

[Mistwell]

The game is written in a way that nothing is supposed to actually challenge the characters.

It's really not. But more importantly, have you found a way to play the game in a manner which challenges the characters?