D&D 5E When RAW goes too far

[S'mon]

I should also state that I hate coddling my players because I hate being coddled myself. When a DM says "you got a nat20 on the medicine check to stabilize so you get 1 hp," even if it helps, I have a bitter taste for the rest of the fight because that'snot how I was supposed to play. I tell the DM, but they think it's better to avoid tpk's which it isn't. It soon feels like there isn't any real danger or challenge.

You object to the rule (RAW) that a nat 20 on the Death Save at start of turn gives the character 1 hp, and they can then act normally? Or are you talking about something else?

 

[Horwath]

Some people urgently need more to do. You could indeed fire two loaded hand crossbows in one round. but their being one handed weapons has to do with firing them, not loading them. a longbow is in two hands to fire but does not have the load property that requires loading after firing. If you ignore the load property and can reload it without an action RAW you would still need a bolt. Meaning in your hand. If a player demonstrated to me getting bolt out of a quiver with no hands and loading it, I'd allow it (and be very impressed with his circus skills, but in more seriousness, this kind of player should run his own game so that he can allow what he wants.

Magazine loaded crossbow.

 

[Lanefan]

Magazine loaded crossbow.

I read this and I think of a crossbow that uses back issues of Good Housekeeping or Time or Sports Illustrated as its (rather ineffective) ammunition...

 

[Horwath]

I read this and I think of a crossbow that uses back issues of Good Housekeeping or Time or Sports Illustrated as its (rather ineffective) ammunition...

ask in prisons if it's ineffective, they make quite good shanks out of paper.

 

[Lylandra]

That said, I don't let the rules stop players from doing whatever they want, I just have them do it within the aspects of the rules. For instance, someone wanted to carve javelins from frog bones overnight. There wasn't a specific rule for turning bones to weapons, but there was basic crafting rules. I told him he'd need a tool (whatever he could justify) and could make up to 10 javelins from the bones. He was slightly upset because "why do I need anything but a knife to sharpen bone?"

Well, two reasons: Nobody here at the table truly knows how one would go about turning frog bones into weapons and I didn't want the game to devolve into collecting dozens of bones of their enemy for free. I think people should work for those out of cuff things too, so they earn it not beg me and I throw it to them.

I, for one, am astonished at the feat of turning something as tiny as a frog bone into a weapon. Let alone 10.

 

[jmartkdr2]

You object to the rule (RAW) that a nat 20 on the Death Save at start of turn gives the character 1 hp, and they can then act normally? Or are you talking about something else?

They were talking about a medicine check, not a death save.

 

[Oofta]

They were talking about a medicine check, not a death save.

Which is the confusion. A medicine check stabilizes a creature, never gives them a single HP unless you have the Healer feat.

 

[Fenris-77]

I, for one, am astonished at the feat of turning something as tiny as a frog bone into a weapon. Let alone 10.

Really tiny adventurers?

 

[Oofta]

Assuming giant frogs for a moment (or Pixie PCs), who cares? If a javelin can be made out of a stick then they can be made from bone and it doesn't really matter.

Going into the javelin manufacturing business isn't going to break much if you follow the general rules on making items.

 

[Asisreo]

Assuming giant frogs for a moment (or Pixie PCs), who cares? If a javelin can be made out of a stick then they can be made from bone and it doesn't really matter.

Going into the javelin manufacturing business isn't going to break much if you follow the general rules on making items.

It was giant frogs. Honestly, the javelin things sounds like a bigger deal than it was. It was basically them wanting to make javelins from bones, I ask them to use a tool, they do, and they got the javelin anyways. I just want them to understand that I'm being consistent so they won't think that because they can make javelins without tools that they can make a longbow without tools because they think weapons are free. Does it break anything to let them do these things for free? probably just immersion and consistency. But without those, what even is a TTRPG besides a nonsensical OC fanfic roleplay?