D&D (2024) Rules that annoy you

[Maxperson]

Even aside the simulationist concerns, I really do not like bonus action potions. The game is already very easy and the characters have a ton of hit points. So being able to effectively buy as much extra HP than you want, that can be deployed at negligible action economy cost is not something I want.

The only reason I am okay with it as a bonus action is that I almost never see potions used in combat, because they are almost always a waste of a turn.

 

[Maxperson]

I've been doing gritty rests, (eight hours for short, week for long) and it has worked really well.

That's what I did.

 

[cbwjm]

I feel like 5e could benefit from 4e’s beefier surges, given a common criticism is that martials expend their reserve of HP far too quickly, and you wouldn’t have the attrition issue if you kept 5e’s style of only being able to use them during rests.

I would have loved it if in 5e, PCs started with similar hit points to 4e and they kept healing surges instead of hit dice, it was one of the better mechanics from 4e and I was a little disappointed that they dropped it.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

I would have loved it if in 5e, PCs started with similar hit points to 4e and they kept healing surges instead of hit dice, it was one of the better mechanics from 4e and I was a little disappointed that they dropped it.

Yeah... I was not surprised they dropped them, because cannot make things too scary! Here's things back to 3e, just the way everyone likes it.

While, my belief in the DnD world would be a lot easier to maintain if you started with, say, 20-30hp and added a few hp on level up, rather than start with a few but multiply that every single level.

 

[James Gasik]

Annoying rule: that everyone everywhere speaks Common.

I had this interesting moment a few years back with a new player. He came in very proud of his Bard and he kept making comments about how OP his character was. They encounter some Gnolls, and on round one, he uses Command on one of them.

Used to 3e rules, I flipped open to check the spell and found that yes, just like in 3e, the spell requires the target to understand you (I've told this story before- I even gave his character a Wis check to realize the player's mistake, but he failed).

So when the spell failed, the player freaked out. "What do you mean they don't understand me? They speak Common, don't they?".

I slid the stat block over to him where it clearly stated "Languages: Gnoll".

The player had a bad attitude the rest of the session, refusing to cast spells because apparently I'm a bad word DM, lol, who hates magic users.

 

[James Gasik]

I wouldn’t mind everyone speaking common if it were intentionally treated as a developed worldwide language, it’s spoken everywhere but it’s everyone’s second language, and it’s inelegant to communicate in.

Well, except for Humans, apparently, who can't be bothered to develop their own language.

 

[James Gasik]

The only reason I am okay with it as a bonus action is that I almost never see potions used in combat, because they are almost always a waste of a turn.

It doesn't help that WotC seems bound and determined to give everyone a good use of their bonus action other than drink a potion.

 

[cbwjm]

Speaking of bonus actions; if someone wants to do two things that take a bonus action do others allow them to do one of them with their action?

 

[James Gasik]

Speaking of bonus actions; if someone wants to do two things that take a bonus action do others allow them to do one of them with their action?

I'm on the fence on this one; it doesn't make sense that the game doesn't allow for this, and when my players have asked, I want to just rule "ok, sure", but the only thing that stops me is that there might be something that this breaks somehow.

I don't know what, and when I asked, nobody could think of anything. It's one of the things I miss about how WotC used to be, when they were more transparent about why they make rules the way they do. Now, you see a weird rule and you have no idea why it is the way it is, and what other rules are being propped up by it.

Take the "bonus action spell" rule. It's weird and mystifying and makes no real sense...until you look at the Sorcerer's metamagic and go "ohhh, I see, they're afraid of characters flinging double Fireballs"...

Until you see someone demonstrate Action Surge Fireball, lol.*

*in fairness, 2024 has both stated the intent of not being able to double level spell and not letting Action Surge duplicate a Magic Action, though laughably, it didn't take long before someone found another loophole, lol.

 

[cbwjm]

I'm on the fence on this one; it doesn't make sense that the game doesn't allow for this, and when my players have asked, I want to just rule "ok, sure", but the only thing that stops me is that there might be something that this breaks somehow.

I don't know what, and when I asked, nobody could think of anything. It's one of the things I miss about how WotC used to be, when they were more transparent about why they make rules the way they do. Now, you see a weird rule and you have no idea why it is the way it is, and what other rules are being propped up by it.

Take the "bonus action spell" rule. It's weird and mystifying and makes no real sense...until you look at the Sorcerer's metamagic and go "ohhh, I see, they're afraid of characters flinging double Fireballs"...

Until you see someone demonstrate Action Surge Fireball, lol.*

*in fairness, 2024 has both stated the intent of not being able to double level spell and not letting Action Surge duplicate a Magic Action, though laughably, it didn't take long before someone found another loophole, lol.

With bonus action spells, I trialled allowing it to be free for all, cast 2 fireballs if you want to just to see how it went. In the end I reduced it down to two spells with a total spell level equal to your highest spell slot. Once a sorcerer gets to level 11, double fireballs are back on the menu. Didn't get much of a chance to trial that though. I think I preferred the 3e metamagic rules more than 5e. 5e is more flexible, but I like the idea that you could push more power into a spell with metamagic but it required a higher level spell slot to use.