So I DM'd my first session today ( also first time playing DnD! ) and I ran into a situation that I wasn't prepared for.
Our Halfing Paladin rolled a 1 on an Acrobatics roll and ended up crushed between a trapped, panicked horse and a wall. When I totaled up crushing damage ( my first thought ) I realized it would insta-kill the character almost 3x over. Luckily, I had already said the Halfing was crushed between the side of the horse and the wall, so I blurted out they were now Suffocating, rolled a 1d4 for 'being crushed by a panicked horse, damage', that they were Prone and needed to make a Strength saving throw to escape on their next turn.
My players are also all newbies so nobody questioned it. Was there a rule I missed? Should I have done it differently?
Thank you! If something about my question isn't clear, please let me know and I'll rewrite/clarify.
You made the right call by improvising a ruling on the spot, especially if none of your players protested. Very few circumstances are important enough to warrant breaking the flow of the game by flipping through the rulebooks for 5 minutes trying to find an answer.
Things to keep in mind moving forward:
DMG chapter 8 has guidelines for improvising damage. For example, 1d10 is listed as appropriate damage for "hit by a falling bookcase", so you could use that for being crushed by a horse.
If 1d10 seems to high for your circumstances, another rule you could've used is the Unarmed Strike rules. Any creature can make an unarmed strike, so you could've had the horse deal 1 + STR damage.
Making a strength check as an action is usually more appropriate than a strength saving throw if the player's already been pinned/restrained. Saving throws are usually split-second reactions to avoid harm, while ability checks are usually things you choose to do. You'll see many spells and abilities like Ensnaring Strike or Entangle follow this paradigm. Athletics usually doesn't apply to feats of raw strength like lifting something heavy.
Player's Handbook chapter 8 has rules for suffocation. You didn't mention if you were using those particular rules or not so I figured I'd bring it up.
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So I DM'd my first session today ( also first time playing DnD! ) and I ran into a situation that I wasn't prepared for.
Our Halfing Paladin rolled a 1 on an Acrobatics roll and ended up crushed between a trapped, panicked horse and a wall. When I totaled up crushing damage ( my first thought ) I realized it would insta-kill the character almost 3x over. Luckily, I had already said the Halfing was crushed between the side of the horse and the wall, so I blurted out they were now Suffocating, rolled a 1d4 for 'being crushed by a panicked horse, damage', that they were Prone and needed to make a Strength saving throw to escape on their next turn.
My players are also all newbies so nobody questioned it. Was there a rule I missed? Should I have done it differently?
Thank you! If something about my question isn't clear, please let me know and I'll rewrite/clarify.
Yes, that is definitely something that I will remind everyone before our next session. I had no idea that Halfings had that kind of racial trait.
Thank you very much!
You made the right call by improvising a ruling on the spot, especially if none of your players protested. Very few circumstances are important enough to warrant breaking the flow of the game by flipping through the rulebooks for 5 minutes trying to find an answer.
Things to keep in mind moving forward:
The Forum Infestation (TM)