D&D General Things That Bug You

[fearsomepirate]

I agree with pretty much all of this. I would be fine with having Longbows and Shortbows have required Strength Scores to use them, as it takes quite a lot of muscle to get an arrow fly from a bow, especially if they're big. However, I wouldn't give Crossbows this requirement. I think it would help balance them out a bit more. Longbows/Shortbows have a longer range and are more quickly loaded than crossbows (unless you have Crossbow Expert or the Repeating Shot infusion), but they require more muscles and deal less damage.

Yeah, you shouldn't be able to use a Longbow effectively with STR 8. I don't think I generally care for the 3e ability mod system, but it's here to stay.

 

[Magister Ludorum]

Yeah, you shouldn't be able to use a Longbow effectively with STR 8. I don't think I generally care for the 3e ability mod system, but it's here to stay.

I would much prefer the old system. If it were made consistent, it would be +0 for 8-14, +1 for 15, +2 for 16, +3 for 17 and +4 for 18.

My kids love D&D but complain that it's too easy compared to BRP, which we also play frequently.

We use a lot of house rules. They weren't too keen on the adjusted ability modifiers, but we do limit ability scores to 18 without magical assistance and don't allow level based ASI. We use feats and modify those that give +1 to an ability score to do something else. We also use only three saving throws.

I wish D&D 3e hadn't introduced HP bloat, but that boat has sailed long ago.

 

[tetrasodium]

I would much prefer the old system. If it were made consistent, it would be +0 for 8-14, +1 for 15, +2 for 16, +3 for 17 and +4 for 18.

My kids love D&D but complain that it's too easy compared to BRP, which we also play frequently.

We use a lot of house rules. They weren't too keen on the adjusted ability modifiers, but we do limit ability scores to 18 without magical assistance and don't allow level based ASI. We use feats and modify those that give +1 to an ability score to do something else. We also use only three saving throws.

I wish D&D 3e hadn't introduced HP bloat, but that boat has sailed long ago.

I think that in 2e -1 kicked in at six and +1 at 15. The attrib bonuses qwrent standard and I'm afb right now so you could ne right about a different stay or version

 

[Magister Ludorum]

I think that in 2e -1 kicked in at six and +1 at 15. The attrib bonuses qwrent standard and I'm afb right now so you could ne right about a different stay or version

I was saying that they would read like I said above if they were standardized (made to look like the DEX adjustment to AC and CON adjustment to HP).

 

[MNblockhead]

Of course, then you need the dm to know what those skills are and how to incorporate them when a rogue is present but not when there isn't one, which makes dming that much harder, and also means that for some reason the barbarian can't learn how to climb.

This. The rules for passive checks is my vote for what bugs me. Offloading player character features on the DM, who already has enough balls to juggle, is an annoyance.

 

[MNblockhead]

As far as I know, I'm the only DM who even uses the travel paces and I don't even use those in every adventure or campaign!

Depends on the campaign of course. If the characters are under a geas or have some other deadline that must be met for success, how long it takes them to travel to one place or another matter very much and can be an enjoyable part of strategizing, with the right group of players. It is also a way to make getting and managing gold more important. If long-distance travel is part of the campaign how long it takes to get from A to B may not matter much in terms of mission success, but can have an impact on cost.

 

[MNblockhead]

Do you have any particular publications or product lines that demonstrate the sort of good organization you're talking about?

The recently released Cortex Prime comes to mind, but it is more of a system to build you own game. Monte Cook's publications do a much better job at organizing and cross-referencing material in their print materials IMHO.

 

[MNblockhead]

A lot of things that used to bug me, but don't any more, have to do with verisimilitude. I used to be a bit insufferable regarding travel pace, encumbrance, rations, etc. back in the 80s. I also kept playing around with home-brew rules to make combat more realistic and loved me some hit-location tables, etc.

Now, getting bogged down in verisimilitudinous minutiae bugs me.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Old school rogues (thieves, that is) were quite bad in a fight. Maybe on occasion they could backstab an enemy who wasn’t aware of them, but in open combat, they would run and hide, or they would die. But you were ok with that because wasn’t their job, it was the fighter’s job. The thief’s job was to open locked doors and chests, find and disarm traps, and sneak into the dragon’s treasure hoard and back out again with the most valuable stuff they could carry.

Keep in mind, this was back when you got experience for recovering treasure from the dungeon, not from killing monsters or completing quests. There was no expectation of balance as we understand it now. A balanced party was one where everyone had a different role to fill. The thief stole, the fighter fought, the cleric healed, and the magic user used magic.

sounds like it would get boring quickly if other options existed.

 

[Minigiant]

Old school rogues (thieves, that is) were quite bad in a fight. Maybe on occasion they could backstab an enemy who wasn’t aware of them, but in open combat, they would run and hide, or they would die. But you were ok with that because wasn’t their job, it was the fighter’s job. The thief’s job was to open locked doors and chests, find and disarm traps, and sneak into the dragon’s treasure hoard and back out again with the most valuable stuff they could carry.

Keep in mind, this was back when you got experience for recovering treasure from the dungeon, not from killing monsters or completing quests. There was no expectation of balance as we understand it now. A balanced party was one where everyone had a different role to fill. The thief stole, the fighter fought, the cleric healed, and the magic user used magic.

The reason why rogues and thieves (and clerics) became more martially proficient was the forced and protected roles. You get the LFG problems of MMOs at the table. And if you rolled in order for stats....

I agree with pretty much all of this. I would be fine with having Longbows and Shortbows have required Strength Scores to use them, as it takes quite a lot of muscle to get an arrow fly from a bow, especially if they're big. However, I wouldn't give Crossbows this requirement. I think it would help balance them out a bit more. Longbows/Shortbows have a longer range and are more quickly loaded than crossbows (unless you have Crossbow Expert or the Repeating Shot infusion), but they require more muscles and deal less damage.

I've always thought that Bows should be the ultimate ranged attacker but be very Dex and STR intensive. A bowman, a longbow fighter, archer elf, or long ranged ranger would be feared as their volley of high damage shots would take people out from afar. But you would need high Dex and Str to unlock it.

Crossbows and throwing weapons would be the easy mode of range attack available to those without both good Strength and Dexterity