As far as the old 1st edition text though, we all started from that idea. But the fact of the matter was that crits fell heavily on player characters more than the monsters. First, PC's usually were on the receiving end of more attacks, so they received more crits. Second, as I mentioned before, most of the crit systems tended to introduce lingering injuries. Those things actually affected the PC's, but the fights always started with fresh monsters. So while it comes from a logical place, it's functionally not accurate. Besides, is anyone playing the game to play the story of the monsters?
Good post, but I'm not sure I completely agree with this last idea.
I mean, yes, sure, the game follows the PCs. But at the end of every encounter, the monsters are generally dead (i.e., quite notably affected), and the PCs have gained XP for the effort and taken their stuff. It's not a zero-sum equation, there's an exchange going on. Longer-term consequences are the price of longer-term rewards.
That said, the only lingering injury rule I've ever used at my table is one in lieu of death. Anything more punishing impinges on the gameplay loop, as Gygax notes.
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J Great Wyrm Moonstone Dungeon Master
The time of the ORC has come. No OGL without irrevocability; no OGL with 'authorized version' language. #openDND
Practice, practice, practice • Respect the rules; don't memorize them • Be merciless, not cruel • Don't let the dice run the game for you
As an action, you can splash the contents of this vial onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw the vial up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. In either case, make a ranged attack against a creature or object, treating the acid as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target takes 2d6 acid damage.
According to Crawford, that attack is the result of the Use an Object action. His reasoning is the first three words: "as an action." The Sage Advice Compendium is clear that the healer's kit can be used with Fast Hands, and it uses the same language as acid (vial) and alchemist's fire (flask). See, this is precisely the kind of confusion they want to avoid. A little clarification can go a long way without hindering anyone's fun. And if the DM wants to change it, that's their prerogative.
I have a hard time believing many people were confused by that. That being said I do like keyword based rules, so they could put use an object next to healer kit, attack next to acid and fire. And then when the DM is asked about things not in the rules its easier to make a judgement call. About this in particular I suspect the number of people confused was tiny. Like sure maybe he got a decent number of questions about of millions of gamers. Because our of millions even a tiny % is still a decent number. But I suspect well well under 1% of players/dms were confused by that. But the general concept of key words makes the rules far clearer overall and makes future judgement calls easier to pull off.
Honestly, our gaming group is made up of 7 players. 5 of them regularly DM for the group. 6 of us have been playing D&D for 30-40+ years each. We all love the idea of DM's not critting. We have never, ever....ever...had an encounter improved by a crit from a monster. The crits in 5e are an aberration in the history of the game, and they are genuinely game-breaking. We have all had fights derailed by a mob getting a crit that we didn't want.
As a DM, you have an amazing amount of control over how difficult you want an encounter to be. Having dice luck turn that encounter into something far more dangerous never makes for a better story, or for something more fun for the players. And we have all had experiences where we rolled crits and ignored them because they were going to change the fight in an un-fun way.
Monster critical hits in 5e aren't an aberration (they've existed in every edition since 3e), they aren't even terribly powerful. In 3rd edition an orc could realistically instantly kill a fifth level PC from full hit points; in 5th edition it's really not a realistic risk past level 1.
For the rest of your points, I generally find games are improved by unexpected things happening, but that's a style issue.
They were in 2e as well though they were an optional rule, later in the edition they even had tables with special effects as opposed to basic double damage. 1e and BECMI did not.
With CharacterOrigins, ExpertClasses, and Cleric UA now released, I am curious to know what others feel so far about the proposed changes.
What is the best thing you've seen?
What is the worst?
the proposed changes in the first two UA were hardly seismic. ardlings are a little off the wall but the nail that sticks up gets the hammer. half-elves and half-orcs aren't going away so much as sharing their exception. level 1 feats are so reasonable they're almost standard and monster crits will work themselves out.
as for the last UA, it would have been egregiously boring if not for the crazy goliath ancestries. i've gone from eagerly discussing daily to not even bothering to give feedback.
if the fourth UA is similarly safe, slow, and undemanding as life domain clerics and adjusting barkskin (without removing concentration) then i'm not sure i care what future UA have in store. wake me when they've changed the final name to 5.001E but not before it's on discount, thanks.
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unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
tell them you don't like features disappeared quietly in the night: providefeedback!
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Good post, but I'm not sure I completely agree with this last idea.
I mean, yes, sure, the game follows the PCs. But at the end of every encounter, the monsters are generally dead (i.e., quite notably affected), and the PCs have gained XP for the effort and taken their stuff. It's not a zero-sum equation, there's an exchange going on. Longer-term consequences are the price of longer-term rewards.
That said, the only lingering injury rule I've ever used at my table is one in lieu of death. Anything more punishing impinges on the gameplay loop, as Gygax notes.
J
Great Wyrm Moonstone Dungeon Master
The time of the ORC has come. No OGL without irrevocability; no OGL with 'authorized version' language. #openDND
Practice, practice, practice • Respect the rules; don't memorize them • Be merciless, not cruel • Don't let the dice run the game for you
I have a hard time believing many people were confused by that. That being said I do like keyword based rules, so they could put use an object next to healer kit, attack next to acid and fire. And then when the DM is asked about things not in the rules its easier to make a judgement call. About this in particular I suspect the number of people confused was tiny. Like sure maybe he got a decent number of questions about of millions of gamers. Because our of millions even a tiny % is still a decent number. But I suspect well well under 1% of players/dms were confused by that. But the general concept of key words makes the rules far clearer overall and makes future judgement calls easier to pull off.
They were in 2e as well though they were an optional rule, later in the edition they even had tables with special effects as opposed to basic double damage. 1e and BECMI did not.
Rogue... They are one of the worst. Bards also need help.
the proposed changes in the first two UA were hardly seismic. ardlings are a little off the wall but the nail that sticks up gets the hammer. half-elves and half-orcs aren't going away so much as sharing their exception. level 1 feats are so reasonable they're almost standard and monster crits will work themselves out.
as for the last UA, it would have been egregiously boring if not for the crazy goliath ancestries. i've gone from eagerly discussing daily to not even bothering to give feedback.
if the fourth UA is similarly safe, slow, and undemanding as life domain clerics and adjusting barkskin (without removing concentration) then i'm not sure i care what future UA have in store. wake me when they've changed the final name to 5.001E but not before it's on discount, thanks.
unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
tell them you don't like features disappeared quietly in the night: provide feedback!