Rarely used rules

[Eternalknight]

This is just out of interest: What rules do you find you hardly ever use and why?

My group hardly ever trips, grapples, bull rushes, etc. Not 100% why on this one, but it hardly ever happens.

 

[EricNoah]

Same here on the grapples, etc. We're just not very familiar with how they work, and anytime we have to stop to open a book someone inevitablly decides that it's probably just not worth it.

 

[Uller]

Same here on the grapples, etc. We're just not very familiar with how they work, and anytime we have to stop to open a book someone inevitablly decides that it's probably just not worth it.

At lower levels, you don't use them too much, but as you get higher in level, monsters with Improved Grab, Snatch, Constrict, etc. become more common...that makes the players more familliar with the rules so then they start using them.

For my group...encumberance. I've always just felt that as long as PCs were carrying "reasonable" amounts of stuff, I just wouldn't worry about it. That works well so it rarely comes up.

 

[Rashak Mani]

Grapple isnt used much due to complexity and the silly notion that a super dex monk has to use STR with grapple...

Encumburance I would say we dont use much...

 

[The Forsaken One]

Encumbrance.. start using it and you'll have a idea how bad it really is.. especially for low str people and fighters in fullplate.. heavy armor and weapons and shields REALLY start to add up.... especially when you have a sane situation in which you have to carry your tons of treasure back to town.... if that includes some armros and weapons.. that might take several trips unless you have some magic that can help with that.

 

[Crothian]

I'd say grapple is the least used. We use encumbrance and we all like it. Weak characters have a disadvantage, nothing wrong with that.

 

[bensei]

encumberance. I've always just felt that as long as PCs were carrying "reasonable" amounts of stuff, I just wouldn't worry about it. That works well so it rarely comes up.

Which makes spellcasters a little more powerful, esp. at low levels, where they do not have magic items to help them carry around more stuff. Having Str 10 (or even less) really limits you in what to have with you and what not, when not having a donkey or something else. My character could really use a disguise kit, but 8 lb.(!) more is not possible to carry around.

 

[TiQuinn]

We've actually used grappling quite a bit, particularly because so many monsters have Improved Grab and Constrict, but also because we've come across occassions where someone had to subdue the party's 19 in Strength, 7 in Wisdom Half-Orc Fighter after he'd been Dominated.

Bull Rush just hasn't been a factor at all. I think one time, someone tried it on a bridge encounter with orcs, and it didn't work. At that point, another player pointed out that it would've been far better if he had just swung at the orc with his sword, and since then, Bull Rush has been unused and unwelcome.

 

[Tewligan]

Ugh. The first time we used grapple in the campaign I ran, it took forever - maybe there were lead chips on the pizza we ate earlier, because we could not figure the rules out. Anyway, the whole thing took at least half an hour, my fey'ri villain was beaten senseless and then killed under an enormous PC dogpile, I had a raging headache after the combat was over, and I remain pretty sure that we still didn't do it right. Grappling, phooey!

Also, I have never seen anything counterspelled in the campaign I play in, nor in the one I ran.

 

[Tsyr]

Which makes spellcasters a little more powerful, esp. at low levels, where they do not have magic items to help them carry around more stuff. Having Str 10 (or even less) really limits you in what to have with you and what not, when not having a donkey or something else. My character could really use a disguise kit, but 8 lb.(!) more is not possible to carry around.

Personaly, I don't think the minor amount of "power" it grants to a spellcaster at low levels really matters that much. I've always went with "reasonable load" too.