D&D 5E What are your biggest immersion breakers, rules wise?

[Oofta]

Can you feel the tingling as the atmosphere changes around you and point B moves into place... it seems like good story to me.

I was going to say the same thing. Either it's a spell that happens to do electrical (lightning) damage or people are reacting to the "charge up" of the spell. Many people who have been struck by lightning report feeling something odd moments before the lightning strikes.

In any case, we know it's not real lightning that follows the normal laws of nature because it doesn't need to have a ground.

 

[Bohandas]

I’m with you on musket and arrow, but the idea of dodging lightning doesn’t work because that’s not how electricity works. An electrical charge builds up between two points (such as the wizard’s wand and your chest), and a spark occurs when the two charges meet. I’m oversimplifying a bit, but the point is, lightning doesn’t just shoot out from a point of origin like musket balls or arrows do, it arcs between two points of origin. Honestly, I think lightning damage effects should be Con saves instead of Dex, but I can accept that lightning damage effects in D&D are just magical projectiles rather than actual arcs of electricity.

It could be guided by first launching a bit of plasma to guide it. IIRC this is why real lightning travels in a line instead of just dissipating spherically from the point of origin; a bit of air becomes heated/ionized into plasma, which makes it more conductive, more charge floods into that area ionizing the next bit of air until finally a nice channel is formed that the charge can move through relatively freely.

If you provided some initial plasma and set it moving in the desired direction then hypothetically you could guide the bolt.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Wait, this whole lighting bolt discussion seems to be ignoring the most salient facet.

There is no target. A creature isn’t being made into “point B”, a spot in space is. Then, everything that is too close to the line between points A and B gets shocked, regardless of what they do, because they’re conductive and close to an inefficient channel of electricity.

The immersion breaker here is the fact that making the save doesn’t involve moving further away from the effect.

 

[Charlaquin]

Wait, this whole lighting bolt discussion seems to be ignoring the most salient facet.

There is no target. A creature isn’t being made into “point B”, a spot in space is. Then, everything that is too close to the line between points A and B gets shocked, regardless of what they do, because they’re conductive and close to an inefficient channel of electricity.

The immersion breaker here is the fact that making the save doesn’t involve moving further away from the effect.

Fair point. But I think my point still stands that there are basically two solutions to this issue (or I guess three, if you’re willing to consider allowing the character to move on a successful save). You can change lightning attacks to Con saves instead of Dex saves, or you can do what it seems like the all folks who responded to my comment do and decide that in your setting, lightning spells don’t function like real-life lightning, but are instead magical projectiles (e.g. Zeus’ bolts.)

 

[Garthanos]

The immersion breaker here is the fact that making the save doesn’t involve moving further away from the effect.

I have been rewriting both fireball and lightning to be more controller effects and adding movement on the save is one of the features. Yes Arcane Power II

Though insufficient progress to be certain on that

 

[Bohandas]

The immersion breaker here is the fact that making the save doesn’t involve moving further away from the effect.

This. Definitely.

(related: Duck and Cover)

Edit:
And, of course, the fact that Greyhawk's god of rogues (Olidammara) is also the tutelary deity of carapaced animals lends credence to the theory that evasion and uncanny dodge consist of ducking and covering

 

[Garthanos]

Fair point. But I think my point still stands that there are basically two solutions to this issue (or I guess three, if you’re willing to consider allowing the character to move on a successful save). You can change lightning attacks to Con saves instead of Dex saves, or you can do what it seems like the all folks who responded to my comment do and decide that in your setting, lightning spells don’t function like real-life lightning, but are instead magical projectiles (e.g. Zeus’ bolts.)

zeus bolts indeed. LOL hits my funny bone

 

[Lanefan]

Rebounding lightning bolts (a la 1e) don't make any sense in reality but I love 'em anyway, so that what they'll always do in my games.

 

[Garthanos]

Rebounding lightning bolts (a la 1e) don't make any sense in reality but I love 'em anyway, so that what they'll always do in my games.

Fireballs could be short sheeted too theoretically at least, last second throws shield and fireball explodes early when the acorn hits shield.

I kind of like lighting that can be grounded. Sees wizards hands start to crackle with lightning as he revs up in some eldritch chanting and gestures... hero last second throws spear hitting ground a short distance away and lightning follows bolt into ground instead of the hero.

 

[Lanefan]

Fireballs could be short sheeted too theoretically at least, last second throws shield and fireball explodes early when the acorn hits shield.

Given that in all editions of the game fireball has involved a small physical object being thrown from caster to detonation point, this makes perfect sense. Same thing happens if caster blows the aim (yes they should have to roll to aim these sort of spells, and do in my game).

I kind of like lighting that can be grounded. Sees wizards hands start to crackle with lightning as he revs up in some eldritch chanting and gestures... hero last second throws spear hitting ground a short distance away and lightning follows bolt into ground instead of the hero.

This, however, is just boring.

Besides, if you're going to throw the spear that far why not chuck it just a little further and put it through the caster's gut - interrupt the spell, maybe get a wild surge out of it. Far more fun!

That said, a magic spear whose enchantment was to do just this - absorb or ground lightning - would be a cool item.