So, the other day I was playing an AL game, and I found myself stumped when a Genasi of a watery persuasion managed to talk down an earth elemental. This is ludicrous! A water Genasi can't talk Terran base... Oh, wait. They can talk to almost any elemental. I am the guy who says there isn't a central language for elementals.
While I'm at it; a short rest does not last 8 hours, nor does a long rest last a week. There isn't a rule that prevents SorLocks making new Warlock slots. Also, Brass dragons have a fire breath weapon, not thunder.
Now, to preserve my dignity, does anyone else make these kinds of rules, the kind that you play with so often that you don't quite remember that they're house rules?
The short and long rest is an optional rule in XGtE I think. The AL dungeon master shouldn't be using it. You should talk with them out of character and get the confusion out of the way. AL has a set of rules that players and GM's have to follow or you aren't really playing AL.
Sorry for the confusion, but the AL DM wasn't using these rules. These are rules I thought were official because me and my friends use them in almost every game we play. I was just wondering if anyone else used a rule that wasn't in an official rule set so often they get confused when it isn't actually written in a WOTC supplement. Hope that clears things up.
Yeah, I don't play AL much anymore, so I kind of forgot about the whole official rules, I just thought I'd ask to see if anybody else ever hasthose rules they play with so much that they forget they don't crop up in the PHB/DMG.
I don’t have much experience overall, but I have a little AL experience and a little home game experience. I spend time in an AL hub on Discord, so I’m around people who live and breathe those official rules. And my wife DMs our home game with our kids, so those rules are pretty loose. But I do like the Gritty Realism rules for healing and rest. I think it’d be fun to play in that setting. I think when I start DMing, the first things I'll house rule will be Two Weapon fighting(I don’t think Shield Master should be required to use your shield offensively. I would just say that benefit of Shield Master upgrades the damage dice for swinging your shield as an off hand improvised weapon.), and proneness. I feel like knocking someone prone should have more consequence than just costing them half their movement. How often do people separate after knocking each other prone? Seems like no one has incentive to move full distance on getting up anyway; you’ll just provoke an opportunity attack if you go anywhere.
I also intend to play with the lingering injuries variant. Or homebrew my own consequence options, at least. Currently crit fails don’t matter in our home game (because small kids) But I want to be able to say “Nat 1 swinging your greataxe? OK, so you threw your left shoulder out of socket. Disadvantage on any more 2 handed attacks until you heal at least 1HP. Right arm’s fine, though if you want to use your sword next round.” Or “nat 1 to swing your hammer? He held up his shield and your hammer bounced back into your face, knocking out a tooth. You can fit it back in place when you heal next and it’ll reattach. Till then, you subtract the amount of your proficiency bonus from any CHA skill checks.” I’ll be homebrewing consequences left and right.
That's exactly what I was curious about! I actually didn't realise that a feat was needed to attack with a shield, so that's another one for me too. I really do get the prone thing, I'd never thought of it before, but now that you mention it, it does seem a little less potent than it maybe should.
I play with the crit fails. A few of my favourites include a bard rolling a one on a perform check when playing for a lord: "Your lute suffers from a snapped string, it snaps in such a way that the string hits your belt buckle. Roll dex to see if you catch your pants in time." A few other times resulted in everything from hirneated barbarians to broken blades. Suffering from, or through, these consequences can be as fun as cooking them up.
So, the other day I was playing an AL game, and I found myself stumped when a Genasi of a watery persuasion managed to talk down an earth elemental. This is ludicrous! A water Genasi can't talk Terran base... Oh, wait. They can talk to almost any elemental. I am the guy who says there isn't a central language for elementals.
While I'm at it; a short rest does not last 8 hours, nor does a long rest last a week. There isn't a rule that prevents SorLocks making new Warlock slots. Also, Brass dragons have a fire breath weapon, not thunder.
Now, to preserve my dignity, does anyone else make these kinds of rules, the kind that you play with so often that you don't quite remember that they're house rules?
I hope you guys answer.
The short and long rest is an optional rule in XGtE I think. The AL dungeon master shouldn't be using it. You should talk with them out of character and get the confusion out of the way. AL has a set of rules that players and GM's have to follow or you aren't really playing AL.
Sorry for the confusion, but the AL DM wasn't using these rules. These are rules I thought were official because me and my friends use them in almost every game we play. I was just wondering if anyone else used a rule that wasn't in an official rule set so often they get confused when it isn't actually written in a WOTC supplement. Hope that clears things up.
So are you saying you use normally the Gritty Realism variant rules for rest and healing in the DMG, and the AL DM not using them threw you off?
Yeah, I don't play AL much anymore, so I kind of forgot about the whole official rules, I just thought I'd ask to see if anybody else ever hasthose rules they play with so much that they forget they don't crop up in the PHB/DMG.
I don’t have much experience overall, but I have a little AL experience and a little home game experience. I spend time in an AL hub on Discord, so I’m around people who live and breathe those official rules. And my wife DMs our home game with our kids, so those rules are pretty loose. But I do like the Gritty Realism rules for healing and rest. I think it’d be fun to play in that setting. I think when I start DMing, the first things I'll house rule will be Two Weapon fighting(I don’t think Shield Master should be required to use your shield offensively. I would just say that benefit of Shield Master upgrades the damage dice for swinging your shield as an off hand improvised weapon.), and proneness. I feel like knocking someone prone should have more consequence than just costing them half their movement. How often do people separate after knocking each other prone? Seems like no one has incentive to move full distance on getting up anyway; you’ll just provoke an opportunity attack if you go anywhere.
I also intend to play with the lingering injuries variant. Or homebrew my own consequence options, at least. Currently crit fails don’t matter in our home game (because small kids) But I want to be able to say “Nat 1 swinging your greataxe? OK, so you threw your left shoulder out of socket. Disadvantage on any more 2 handed attacks until you heal at least 1HP. Right arm’s fine, though if you want to use your sword next round.” Or “nat 1 to swing your hammer? He held up his shield and your hammer bounced back into your face, knocking out a tooth. You can fit it back in place when you heal next and it’ll reattach. Till then, you subtract the amount of your proficiency bonus from any CHA skill checks.” I’ll be homebrewing consequences left and right.
That's exactly what I was curious about! I actually didn't realise that a feat was needed to attack with a shield, so that's another one for me too. I really do get the prone thing, I'd never thought of it before, but now that you mention it, it does seem a little less potent than it maybe should.
I play with the crit fails. A few of my favourites include a bard rolling a one on a perform check when playing for a lord: "Your lute suffers from a snapped string, it snaps in such a way that the string hits your belt buckle. Roll dex to see if you catch your pants in time." A few other times resulted in everything from hirneated barbarians to broken blades. Suffering from, or through, these consequences can be as fun as cooking them up.
Yes. You get it.