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General Tabletop Discussion
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E)
Why is non-magical flying so limited for PCs?
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<blockquote data-quote="Steampunkette" data-source="post: 9304245" data-attributes="member: 6796468"><p>I mean...</p><p></p><p>I can apply some broadly limiting rules that don't apply to every situation so that flight is useful while it has drawbacks to things like Stealth Checks and Carrying Capacity to rein in some of the weirdness and keep it strong without being overpowered...</p><p></p><p>OR I can come up with a reason to constantly "No, you don't get to fly" or "Yes you can fly, but it doesn't help you at all because all the enemies are archers" every time someone wants to use their heritage flight by your stated positions in this thread.</p><p></p><p>... like the three rules I posted could be applied to your "Roleplay Heavy Game" and be -less- limiting than the stuff you keep throwing out. But you outright state that flight doesn't even really come up in such games so why even worry about it being a heavily ruled thing in other people's games? Much less your own, where it just doesn't happen at all?</p><p></p><p>I'm gonna go ahead and throw out a thing for everyone to chew on that is incredibly broadly applicable:</p><p></p><p>Target your players STRENGTHS not their weaknesses.</p><p></p><p>You've got a guy who is built to be the tankiest boi on the battlefield? Give him that. Make battlefields with lots of enemies to swing at your tankity tank to help validate them. Make sure there's plenty left over for when Ms. Fireball the wizard drops her AoE on a squad or two, though, so both players get to feel powerful.</p><p></p><p>And then make doing those things a choice that has consequences.</p><p></p><p>Yes, the fighter can try and tank everyone in the room, but if he doesn't get to the portal, too, bad things happen, and he's got to choose between the thing he loves (Big swarms of bad guys uselessly plinking against his impenetrable armor) and the task at hand. Or, more appropriately, using his cool tankiness to GET to the portal and protect it by shifting the battlefield focus onto him.</p><p></p><p>Make Ms. Fireball have a choice between the big flashy AoE you know she loves to do and giving support that could mean life or death through spells that -don't- do a ton of damage, like a wall of stone spell to keep the baddies 'herded' around Tankboi.</p><p></p><p>Do the same thing with your flying characters. They WANT to fly. So let them fly. It's why they made flying characters in the first place.</p><p></p><p>But make it a -choice-. </p><p></p><p>Yes, they can fly up to the BBEG to sneak attack while Tankboi and Ms. Fireballs are dealing with the army. But they -can't- just carry the bard up to the BBEG's platform to give themselves advantage/flanking/sneak attack long term. And they won't be able to "Sneakfly" because of the disadvantage.</p><p></p><p>So maybe they use their flight to play harrier instead of trying to go toe to toe with the BBEG while the rest of the party is occupied. Maybe they slip in to help the bard by sneak attacking the guards on the bridge to help them get up the stairs. Maybe they try to push the BBEG off the platform as a small creature bullrushing a medium sized creature. Maybe they try to steal some important item instead of getting into a stabfest...</p><p></p><p>Let them fly with a few broad limitations to flight and put them into situations where choice matters, and flight isn't a specific factor, just a method of getting from A to B.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Steampunkette, post: 9304245, member: 6796468"] I mean... I can apply some broadly limiting rules that don't apply to every situation so that flight is useful while it has drawbacks to things like Stealth Checks and Carrying Capacity to rein in some of the weirdness and keep it strong without being overpowered... OR I can come up with a reason to constantly "No, you don't get to fly" or "Yes you can fly, but it doesn't help you at all because all the enemies are archers" every time someone wants to use their heritage flight by your stated positions in this thread. ... like the three rules I posted could be applied to your "Roleplay Heavy Game" and be -less- limiting than the stuff you keep throwing out. But you outright state that flight doesn't even really come up in such games so why even worry about it being a heavily ruled thing in other people's games? Much less your own, where it just doesn't happen at all? I'm gonna go ahead and throw out a thing for everyone to chew on that is incredibly broadly applicable: Target your players STRENGTHS not their weaknesses. You've got a guy who is built to be the tankiest boi on the battlefield? Give him that. Make battlefields with lots of enemies to swing at your tankity tank to help validate them. Make sure there's plenty left over for when Ms. Fireball the wizard drops her AoE on a squad or two, though, so both players get to feel powerful. And then make doing those things a choice that has consequences. Yes, the fighter can try and tank everyone in the room, but if he doesn't get to the portal, too, bad things happen, and he's got to choose between the thing he loves (Big swarms of bad guys uselessly plinking against his impenetrable armor) and the task at hand. Or, more appropriately, using his cool tankiness to GET to the portal and protect it by shifting the battlefield focus onto him. Make Ms. Fireball have a choice between the big flashy AoE you know she loves to do and giving support that could mean life or death through spells that -don't- do a ton of damage, like a wall of stone spell to keep the baddies 'herded' around Tankboi. Do the same thing with your flying characters. They WANT to fly. So let them fly. It's why they made flying characters in the first place. But make it a -choice-. Yes, they can fly up to the BBEG to sneak attack while Tankboi and Ms. Fireballs are dealing with the army. But they -can't- just carry the bard up to the BBEG's platform to give themselves advantage/flanking/sneak attack long term. And they won't be able to "Sneakfly" because of the disadvantage. So maybe they use their flight to play harrier instead of trying to go toe to toe with the BBEG while the rest of the party is occupied. Maybe they slip in to help the bard by sneak attacking the guards on the bridge to help them get up the stairs. Maybe they try to push the BBEG off the platform as a small creature bullrushing a medium sized creature. Maybe they try to steal some important item instead of getting into a stabfest... Let them fly with a few broad limitations to flight and put them into situations where choice matters, and flight isn't a specific factor, just a method of getting from A to B. [/QUOTE]
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Why is non-magical flying so limited for PCs?
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