D&D 5E Your Favorite 5e Houserule

[auburn2]

Yep, agree. And for my table and my players, the best way to handle it that I've found is to start mentally adjusting the DCs when they start spamming the cantrip. They still get to cast the spell and get that all-important bonus, and I have a way of pushing-back on it that they can't argue with.

I don't really want to deal with house-ruling it or banning it. It's not worth the arguments and sore feelings.

This is not a good way to solve this IMO. To start with the cleric is still going to say it before every skill check, so it does not even solve the "parrot" problem. You still have the main problem you are concerned with, just without the benefit for the party that it is supposed to come with. Further if they keep missing checks with guidance active you can bet they are going to shout for it even louder going forward.

IMO if it upsets you either meet this head on and ban it outright (and allow another cantrip choice) or stop rolling and just give every player a flat +3 to every out of combat skill check (limited to once per round and not on anything that happens spontaneously).

Guidance is a powerful cantrip, arguably the most powerful. But you have to play a cleric or use a feat to get it and you are giving up a lot to do either of those things.

 

[S'mon]

So you'd walk if you caught wind of the DM adjusting monsters mid fight? In 37 years of playing D&D I don't think there's a single DM I've played with who hasn't done that.

If done routinely it's highly obnoxious behaviour that makes me tend to lose interest in the game - though if the game isn't 'about' fighting & combat is a minor element, there may be compensating factors (such as friendship!) that will have me stick around.
AFAICR I've only changed monster stats in a fight once, it was a 4e game and I realised I'd screwed up a specific monster conversion & given them too many hp. Normally as the fight goes on I tell my players stuff like the monster AC & to-hit bonus, when it's at half hp etc, so they can make good decisions such as whether to run away, whether to use scarce powers/spells, etc. Floating monster stats would be anathema to that approach.

 

[S'mon]

I always run guidance so that if the player is shouting out guidance then it is too late to use it. If they instead get to a chasm that they need to cross and an acrobatics check is needed to cross a thin platform, then guidance is a great addition. If I call for a perception check or someone says that they try to recall a piece of information with History, then there isn't the time to cast guidance to help with it.

Yes, best approach is to require Guidance be cast BEFORE the GM calls for the roll, with rare retcons if the PC can clearly step back from the brink.

 

[Don Durito]

I never adjust monster stats. Even hit points. If the fight is taking too long and getting boring then that's usually a sign the monster should just run away.

And if the PCs can't handle the monsters they shouldn't have fought them.

 

[overgeeked]

If done routinely it's highly obnoxious behaviour that makes me tend to lose interest in the game - though if the game isn't 'about' fighting & combat is a minor element, there may be compensating factors (such as friendship!) that will have me stick around.
AFAICR I've only changed monster stats in a fight once, it was a 4e game and I realised I'd screwed up a specific monster conversion & given them too many hp. Normally as the fight goes on I tell my players stuff like the monster AC & to-hit bonus, when it's at half hp etc, so they can make good decisions such as whether to run away, whether to use scarce powers/spells, etc. Floating monster stats would be anathema to that approach.

Yeah. I tend to overshoot as well. I like ablative armor and saves for that reason. If I find I've overtuned, I let a few hits destroy armor or noticeably weaken the big bad guys (reduce saves). But then I also use morale and generally give NPCs reasons for being somewhere and goals for encounters. So if their goal is lost, they leave, surrender, etc. No point in dying for no reason. Some paid goon isn't going to go down fighting over a few gold pieces.

 

[auburn2]

If done routinely it's highly obnoxious behaviour that makes me tend to lose interest in the game - though if the game isn't 'about' fighting & combat is a minor element, there may be compensating factors (such as friendship!) that will have me stick around.
AFAICR I've only changed monster stats in a fight once, it was a 4e game and I realised I'd screwed up a specific monster conversion & given them too many hp. Normally as the fight goes on I tell my players stuff like the monster AC & to-hit bonus, when it's at half hp etc, so they can make good decisions such as whether to run away, whether to use scarce powers/spells, etc. Floating monster stats would be anathema to that approach.

I reward players for being good and punish them for being stupid. I don't change monsters.

I put together a big boss fight with an archdruid once, built out a lego building to do it in and it was supposed to be epic. They housed her in one round.

On the other hand I had some 1E 13th level PCs that got TPKd in what was supposed to be a minor fight with a hardful of orcs. They were stupid, really stupid and that combined with some really bad rolls (dwarf rolled a natural 1 on a save where he needed a 2) and they died.