D&D 5E What rule(s) is 5e missing?

[JEB]

Just had this thought in another thread. Monster knowledge/identification rules.

Tasha's did finally give us some bare-bones official "Monster Research" rules near the end of the book, in the context of parleying with monsters.

 

[James Gasik]

Tasha's did finally give us some bare-bones official "Monster Research" rules near the end of the book, in the context of parleying with monsters.

I guess I need to get a hold of the book to read it more closely. That's not something I'd heard was in there.

 

[JEB]

I guess I need to get a hold of the book to read it more closely. That's not something I'd heard was in there.

To be fair, it's basically just "make a check using X skill to determine information about a monster of type Y." But it's still something!

 

[James Gasik]

You do need to be careful with giving NPC's magic gear. I can attest to this as it's one of the things that finally made me give up on d20/PF. Trying to build good humanoid opponents and keeping the amount of treasure the party would claim from their dead corpses to a reasonable minimum.

You could, I suppose, do what Gary did, with the Drow, by giving them special equipment that was powerful, but basically useless to player characters for anything but short term boosts, but that sort of thing players find obnoxious.

Maybe the best thing to do is give them Boons that simulate magic items? I guess that has a similar issue.

The problem is, we don't really know how to balance magic items, because WotC didn't even try to figure that out themselves. So what would be appropriate at a given level is unknown.

Like I've said before, it's as if they said "uh, here's magic items. We're not going to tell you how/why/when to use them, but if you do, you're on your own, don't blame us!", even as they made it almost necessary to have some magic weapons available.

 

[Lucas Yew]

Sample DCs for common happenstances (chandelier swing, etc.).

It gets frustrating every time I have to translate some samples from the core rulebook of an another game (

Spoiler

PF2

)...

 

[Lanefan]

Late to the party and I've only read the first page, but some rules 5e doesn't have but could use from my perspective:

--- better and-or more robust training rules
--- rules for 'decaying' skills, levels, and abilities - e.g. if someone was a 12th-level Fighter 8 years ago but then retired and hasn't picked up a sword since, how does that lack of practice affect their game mechanics (and this ain't just a 5e problem, it's been a problem since 1974)
--- magic item pricing, and at least some guidance on item crafting costs-times-processes even if it's not something PCs are intended to do
--- a 5e Battlesystem equivalent for mass combats
--- stronghold/temple/lab/guild/monastery rules and guidelines for higher-level characters; also construction costs-times-guides for same
--- rules and guidelines around hirelings, porters, henches, associate adventurers, and non-adventuring experts
--- perhaps a templating system a la 3e, where a linked batch of features (e.g. Vampire) can easily be overlaid on to any creature (I'm not sure if this already exists or not, but it always seemed like a good idea)
--- a quickie system for randomly determining proficiency at very basic life skills most people will have likely had exposure to just as a part of growing up in the setting (e.g. swimming, riding, boating)

 

[clearstream]

Flip to a random page in BECMI. Probably that.

I flipped to page 25 of the Expert Set

Variable Weapon Damage
Weapon Type
Torch d4
Dagger d4
Sling stone d4
Club d4
Javelin (short throwing spear) d4
Staff d4
Arrow d6
Hand Axe d6
Lance d6
Mace d6
Quarrel* (Crossbow Bolt) d6
Short Sword d6
Spear d6
War Hammer d6
Battle Axe* d8
Sword d8
Pole Arm* d10
Two-handed Sword * d10

*Two-handed weapon

Unarmed Combat
Characters who engage in combat without a weapon (for whatever reason) will do 1-2 points of damage plus any strength adjustments for a successful attack. All normal rules regarding combat apply to unarmed combat.

Other Attack Forms
OIL. Oil (which is carried in small bottles called flasks) may be thrown as a missile weapon. It may also be spread on the floor of a dungeon and then lit. Burning oil will do 1-8 (Id8) points of damage to any creature in the flames (or who attempts to cross a pool of burning oil). Flaming oil will not harm a monster which normally uses a fire weapon (such as a red dragon). Fire will damage some undead monsters. These include mummies, skeletons, zombies, ghouls, and wights (though wights will only take V2 damage). A flask of oil contains enough oil to make a pool 3' in diameter. A pool of burning oil will burn out in 1 turn. Oil which strikes a creature will drip off it, burning the creature for only 2 rounds. The oil must be set afire for it to cause any damage; otherwise, it will only be slippery. The chance of oil catching fire depends on the situation, and is left for the DM to figure out. Touching the oil with a flaming torch should almost certainly cause the oil to light. Other methods may have less chance of success.

HOLY WATER. Holy Water must be kept in small, specially-prepared glass bottles (known as vials) for it to remain holy. For Holy Water to cause damage, it must be thrown (as a missile weapon) and successfully hit the target. The effect of a vial of Holy Water on an undead creature is the same as that of a flask of burning oil: 1-8 points of damage for two rounds.

LANCE COMBAT. The lance is a special long spear that is best used by a fighter mounted on horseback. If the terrain is clear and fairly level, any opponent more than 20 yards away can be charged. If the charging creature hits, damage is doubled. Otherwise the lance is treated as a spear.

MASS LAND COMBAT. Although large-scale battles are beyond the scope of these rules, miniatures rules such as SWORDS & SPELLS can be used.

NAVAL COMBAT. Naval combat between small water craft usually starts with missile fire and magic. When the boats are close enough, the enemy craft is grappled and boarded (further details on naval combat can be found on p. X64). [X64 has 2 pages covering Waterbourne Adventures, Ships, Encounters at Sea, and Combat at Sea]

AERIAL COMBAT. In aerial combat, the creature highest in the air usually has an advantage. (The DM may want to keep track of the altitude of each creature on paper.) Usually speed and altitude in relation to one's opponents will be most important. In addition, casting spells or firing missiles in aerial combat will require a character to have a stable means of support. A fly spell, a magic carpet, and the like will provide a stable means of support. A mount that flies by flapping its wings is definitely not stable!
Surprise. Certain flying creatures with surprise may make a "swoop" attack on a lower opponent. This attack, if successful, causes double damage.
Spell casting. A character must have a stable support to cast spells. Most magic items do not require a stable support to use.
Missile fire. Missiles fired by a character from an unstable support have a -4 penalty to hit. Missile fire is otherwise normal.
Bombing. Bombing (usually with rocks) must be done from an altitude of 300' (100 yards) or less. The basic "to hit" number needed is 16 or better. The bomb size depends on the size of the creature. For example, a creature that can carry a man-sized creature may instead carry enough rocks to cause 2-12 (2d6) points of damage to all creatures that they strike in a 10' x 10' area.
The DM should feel free to add to these guidelines as needed; for example, rules for climbing, diving, turns, crashing, and so on can be added.

 

[clearstream]

Yes, the main thing is that D&D 4e and 5e handle skills differently so in the latter it couldn't be something a player can "push" to make as it was in D&D 4e. That would fundamentally change how one would design a skill challenge in D&D 5e, but there could at least be some kind of resolution framework there and someone could do the math on how many successes before how many failures were appropriate given bounded accuracy and whatnot.

Suppose you had a choice between SCs and more nuanced results (the now fairly typical success, success with setback, failure with consequences)... which would you prioritise?

I know they're not a dichotomy, I just wondered which might have the higher priority to solve first?

 

[Hriston]

I just want to point out that this is a game where a 20 Charisma final tier character with a +6 proficiency mod has a 40% chance to fail that roll. Most characters have a lot worse chances.

A simple "hey let's work together unless we have good reasons not to" shouldn't be an extremely hard check, and I can certainly imagine players, after trying it a few times and not rolling 15 or better on the die to realize it's just not worth the effort.

DC 20 is not “extremely hard”. It’s just Hard. A Very hard DC is 25.

 

[glass]

Indiscriminately murder or debilitate anyone without your alignment tag (includes 'good' people just sandblasting neutral commoners out of existence and striking the rest blind)

What is this in reference to?

You are descending into a hole in the earth filled with weird and deadly monsters, for the purpose of pulling shiny baubles out of the ground. What would you expect?

My character is descending to into a hole in the earth. I am sitting at a table with my friends (literally or virtually), performing an activity in my leisure time that I do not want to be frustrating.

_
glass.