Okay, so I’m a fairly new DM (and new to DnD) but I have a question about going Prone.
So, I have a player that goes prone a lot. At the end of every turn, she goes prone but at the beginning of her next turn, she gets up to attack (she doesn’t really move a bunch because she has a number of ranged spells) and then at the end, goes prone. Can you get up from being prone and then go prone voluntarily in the same turn? If so, should I try and find a way to limit this a little? It makes it rather hard to hit her during combat and she ends up sweeping whatever I place in front of her.
As long as a character has at least half their movement left, they can stand from prone.
I don’t think you need to do houserule anything to limit this. Just remember that attacks made from within 5 feet have advantage against characters who are prone. Attack her in melee, and this strategy will become a very poor one for her.
Also if an enemy Grapples you while prone then you can't get up, as being grappled reduces your speed to 0, and you need at least some movement to stand up.
In terms of how effective going prone a lot actually is, disadvantage is roughly equivalent to -5 on attack rolls against the prone target (at range) so really this is just a worse alternative to finding yourself some three-quarters cover to pop out from, as 3/4 cover gives you +5 to AC and Dexterity saves, whereas prone is effectively -5 for enemies to hit you (so kind of the same) but only at range, or +5 to hit you in melee so more of a risk.
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The enemies can also start throwing around area effects with a duration. Going prone and having a Hunger of Hadar dropped on you makes life a lot more fun.
True about the melee attacks and advantage. I'd let it slide for some, as it IS a pretty solid defensive tactic for remaining at distance. I would also have enemies at times, get to the character and unload a few advantage attacks to make the point it's not a perfect tactic and does come with inherent risk. Not to be punishing or anything, but to show that some enemies will realize the tactic and take advantage of it's drawback. A rogue, hiding and sneaking to within range suddenly gets advantage attacks, thus Sneak Attack bonus....OUCH. So long as the attack makes sense (animals may not be smart enough to clue in to this counterstrategy) and it fits with the narrative, I would exploit the weakness from time to time, just as the benefits are being exploited.
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If the prone PC is somewhere they can not be reached by melee characters and they are going prone and rising every turn I would also consider whether intellignet enemies would rady an attack for when they stand up. Would probably only happen if they are the biggest threat but t is something to consider.
Your player's tactics are very bad. You just have to spawn enemies behind his back, or that can teleport to his side, or just don't mind taking an opportunuty attack to get to him. Surround him with many weak enemies, but they will hit him with advantage for being prone. Or limit its movement in some way (with grapple, or with some spell).
In either case do something to make him feel vulnerable so he doesn't think he can exploit that rule as he pleases. Let him feel that if he falls to the ground, he will be more vulnerable than standing up. That will be good for the game because if he feels like he's going to be safe just by going down, he won't stop doing it. And, in the long run, the game will become repetitive and boring.
Going prone helps against ranged attacks but sucks against melee. Most of the time the enemy tries to make you go prone, rather than doing it voluntarily.
I see no problem if someone wants to do it voluntarily. That said occasionally I would have someone try to take advantage of them going prone and charge up and attack.
You can on the same turn drop prone and stand up as only the latter costs movement. This is intentionally designed this way so it's a bad tactic unless attackers are far enought, which is then good indeed.
Keep in mind that if circumstances cause a roll to have both advantage and disadvantage, you are considered to have neither of them, and you roll one d20. This can limit it in some way.
I see this along the same lines as dropping your weapon and picking it up every turn in order to juggle your action economy. It works mechanically, but it has some risks, and I discourage it as DM because I feel like it breaks the verisimilitude of the adventure. And being prone won't help you against saving throw spells, even at a distance.
It isn't a bad tactic per se but a situational one, that should not be adopted all the time. If the enemies have no way to get into melee it is a good way to reduce the chances of getting hit, but there should be few situations where this happens more than a round or two and if it does intelligent enemies will on seeing the tactic will not fire until the PC stands up to take their own shot.
It sounds as if this PC is doing it far too often and should regularly find enemies running up to them to take advantage of their vulnerability to melee attacks.
It isn't a bad tactic per se but a situational one, that should not be adopted all the time. If the enemies have no way to get into melee it is a good way to reduce the chances of getting hit, but there should be few situations where this happens more than a round or two and if it does intelligent enemies will on seeing the tactic will not fire until the PC stands up to take their own shot.
It sounds as if this PC is doing it far too often and should regularly find enemies running up to them to take advantage of their vulnerability to melee attacks.
You're right. But the tactic is bad because the OP comments that the player always does it. Situationally, if you have no way to get cover or other defense, it can be a good way to defend against ranged attacks. But doing it all the time is a very poor tactic. You're really putting yourself at a disadvantage, and the DM should try to play in a way that makes the player feel like it. And there's a lot of talk about clever enemies, but in the real world, if a pack of wolves (for example) is attacking and one of the prey drops to the ground, they're going to go for it because it's the most vulnerable. It's pure hunter instinct, not intelligence.
In general, being prone is a negative condition. Situationally it can be beneficial. But if a player does it all the time, you will have to adapt your tactics so that he feels that it is a negative condition. And it's very easy for you to do that.
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Okay, so I’m a fairly new DM (and new to DnD) but I have a question about going Prone.
So, I have a player that goes prone a lot. At the end of every turn, she goes prone but at the beginning of her next turn, she gets up to attack (she doesn’t really move a bunch because she has a number of ranged spells) and then at the end, goes prone. Can you get up from being prone and then go prone voluntarily in the same turn?
If so, should I try and find a way to limit this a little? It makes it rather hard to hit her during combat and she ends up sweeping whatever I place in front of her.
As long as a character has at least half their movement left, they can stand from prone.
I don’t think you need to do houserule anything to limit this. Just remember that attacks made from within 5 feet have advantage against characters who are prone. Attack her in melee, and this strategy will become a very poor one for her.
Okay, thanks! I’ll definitely do that in the next combat we have.
Also if an enemy Grapples you while prone then you can't get up, as being grappled reduces your speed to 0, and you need at least some movement to stand up.
In terms of how effective going prone a lot actually is, disadvantage is roughly equivalent to -5 on attack rolls against the prone target (at range) so really this is just a worse alternative to finding yourself some three-quarters cover to pop out from, as 3/4 cover gives you +5 to AC and Dexterity saves, whereas prone is effectively -5 for enemies to hit you (so kind of the same) but only at range, or +5 to hit you in melee so more of a risk.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
The enemies can also start throwing around area effects with a duration. Going prone and having a Hunger of Hadar dropped on you makes life a lot more fun.
True about the melee attacks and advantage. I'd let it slide for some, as it IS a pretty solid defensive tactic for remaining at distance. I would also have enemies at times, get to the character and unload a few advantage attacks to make the point it's not a perfect tactic and does come with inherent risk. Not to be punishing or anything, but to show that some enemies will realize the tactic and take advantage of it's drawback. A rogue, hiding and sneaking to within range suddenly gets advantage attacks, thus Sneak Attack bonus....OUCH. So long as the attack makes sense (animals may not be smart enough to clue in to this counterstrategy) and it fits with the narrative, I would exploit the weakness from time to time, just as the benefits are being exploited.
Talk to your Players. Talk to your DM. If more people used this advice, there would be 24.74% fewer threads on Tactics, Rules and DM discussions.
If the prone PC is somewhere they can not be reached by melee characters and they are going prone and rising every turn I would also consider whether intellignet enemies would rady an attack for when they stand up. Would probably only happen if they are the biggest threat but t is something to consider.
Your player's tactics are very bad. You just have to spawn enemies behind his back, or that can teleport to his side, or just don't mind taking an opportunuty attack to get to him. Surround him with many weak enemies, but they will hit him with advantage for being prone. Or limit its movement in some way (with grapple, or with some spell).
In either case do something to make him feel vulnerable so he doesn't think he can exploit that rule as he pleases. Let him feel that if he falls to the ground, he will be more vulnerable than standing up. That will be good for the game because if he feels like he's going to be safe just by going down, he won't stop doing it. And, in the long run, the game will become repetitive and boring.
Going prone helps against ranged attacks but sucks against melee. Most of the time the enemy tries to make you go prone, rather than doing it voluntarily.
I see no problem if someone wants to do it voluntarily. That said occasionally I would have someone try to take advantage of them going prone and charge up and attack.
You can on the same turn drop prone and stand up as only the latter costs movement. This is intentionally designed this way so it's a bad tactic unless attackers are far enought, which is then good indeed.
Keep in mind that if circumstances cause a roll to have both advantage and disadvantage, you are considered to have neither of them, and you roll one d20. This can limit it in some way.
I see this along the same lines as dropping your weapon and picking it up every turn in order to juggle your action economy. It works mechanically, but it has some risks, and I discourage it as DM because I feel like it breaks the verisimilitude of the adventure. And being prone won't help you against saving throw spells, even at a distance.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
I see a difference with weapon drop and pick though in that dropping prone is a known tactic and the juggling is not done to avoid spending an action.
It isn't a bad tactic per se but a situational one, that should not be adopted all the time. If the enemies have no way to get into melee it is a good way to reduce the chances of getting hit, but there should be few situations where this happens more than a round or two and if it does intelligent enemies will on seeing the tactic will not fire until the PC stands up to take their own shot.
It sounds as if this PC is doing it far too often and should regularly find enemies running up to them to take advantage of their vulnerability to melee attacks.
Also this tactic reduces your mobility considerably.
It reminds me more of defense/offense positioning such as total cover that a creature will move in and out of only to attack without limitation.
Readying to attack once it can optimally be targeted seem then like a solution to counter such tactic.
You're right. But the tactic is bad because the OP comments that the player always does it. Situationally, if you have no way to get cover or other defense, it can be a good way to defend against ranged attacks. But doing it all the time is a very poor tactic. You're really putting yourself at a disadvantage, and the DM should try to play in a way that makes the player feel like it. And there's a lot of talk about clever enemies, but in the real world, if a pack of wolves (for example) is attacking and one of the prey drops to the ground, they're going to go for it because it's the most vulnerable. It's pure hunter instinct, not intelligence.
In general, being prone is a negative condition. Situationally it can be beneficial. But if a player does it all the time, you will have to adapt your tactics so that he feels that it is a negative condition. And it's very easy for you to do that.