As a DM when players use Hunter Lore I feel like the challenge of fighting the monster is lost due to the player learning the targets immunities, resistances and vulnerabilities. Does anybody else feel this way. Is there a way to negate this? I just don't want to be revealing all this information every time there's an encounter.
That's just for the "Hunter" subclass, isn't it, and even then only on targets they use Hunter's Mark on? You can always just ban the subclass or just ban that subclass feature. That will probably feel bad if the player has already chosen it, though. You could think of some other compensation.
But if you want to know if that feature is overpowered, then I would say "no." Some DM's even give that information out for free when one of those is hit by a player, as it's not unreasonable to notice when an creature reacts a lot or a little when taking damage.
It's tied to Hunter's Mark so it's just one enemy at a time. I'd say that the character knowing that info so that the party can then use it is a lot more fun for the party than it is an issue for the DM.
But if you want to know if that feature is overpowered, then I would say "no." Some DM's even give that information out for free when one of those is hit by a player, as it's not unreasonable to notice when an creature reacts a lot or a little when taking damage.
Yea and having some sort of "lore" check (usually Nature or Arcana) to know something about certain types of creatures is fairly common too. Having it actually be a defined class feature isn't common in 5E but IMO it is an improvement.
As a DM when players use Hunter Lore I feel like the challenge of fighting the monster is lost due to the player learning the targets immunities, resistances and vulnerabilities. Does anybody else feel this way. Is there a way to negate this? I just don't want to be revealing all this information every time there's an encounter.
I'm not sure why you would feel that the challenge is lost. The party still has to defeat the creature and if the knowledge encourages them to change tactics then it makes the players feel like their character's are doing useful things. It also makes the combat more interesting rather than less in some ways because it is more strategic. If many creatures have such features then it becomes useful for some characters to carry a range of weapons doing different damage types or spell casters to have a few different spell damage types available.
Finally, as another person mentioned, if the characters aren't being as effective in their attacks as they'd normally expect then I think the DM should be giving them that information directly. If a character's sword isn't as effective as usual, the characters have trained enough to notice anyway - so whether the DM tells them or a character uses a feature to get the information is irrelevant.
*whisper* Anyone who's played the game more than twice knows the resistances already...
Since that's the case, this might be a place for an out-of-character conversation? Slayer conclave is awesome, and I like it because the hunter's lore solves a meta-game issue. What are your players doing with the information that you don't like?
What hunter’s lore represents is really the PC’s knowledge in world. It represents the accumulated knowledge of the hunter ranger about that type of creature in that world. As a student or professional you know a great deal about selected topics that a part of the world you interact with regularly. Knowledge that I, a student or professional in a different area don’t have ( or at least may not have). This is info that you shouldn’t be hiding from that PC. What I, as a DM, might do is limit how much the PC can tell the party each round - say 1 fact or warning about it each round (6 seconds). So, if it’s a troll: R1: it regenerates, R2 use fire/acid if you can, R3 keep burning the body even if it’s down, etc. you might make copies of the stat blocks of major or special monsters then hand them to the hunter when he says he/she is using hunters lore with the reminder that you can only say one thing about it aloud each round.
Thanks everyone. After reading your comments i realized i had been revealing that information during battle on creatures. i understand the concept of knowledge gained as campaigns progress so that wasn't an issue.
As a DM when players use Hunter Lore I feel like the challenge of fighting the monster is lost due to the player learning the targets immunities, resistances and vulnerabilities. Does anybody else feel this way. Is there a way to negate this? I just don't want to be revealing all this information every time there's an encounter.
Better than your players meta-gaming to begin with. At least here they have an “in game” reason to know it.
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As a DM when players use Hunter Lore I feel like the challenge of fighting the monster is lost due to the player learning the targets immunities, resistances and vulnerabilities. Does anybody else feel this way. Is there a way to negate this? I just don't want to be revealing all this information every time there's an encounter.
That's just for the "Hunter" subclass, isn't it, and even then only on targets they use Hunter's Mark on? You can always just ban the subclass or just ban that subclass feature. That will probably feel bad if the player has already chosen it, though. You could think of some other compensation.
But if you want to know if that feature is overpowered, then I would say "no." Some DM's even give that information out for free when one of those is hit by a player, as it's not unreasonable to notice when an creature reacts a lot or a little when taking damage.
It's tied to Hunter's Mark so it's just one enemy at a time. I'd say that the character knowing that info so that the party can then use it is a lot more fun for the party than it is an issue for the DM.
Yea and having some sort of "lore" check (usually Nature or Arcana) to know something about certain types of creatures is fairly common too. Having it actually be a defined class feature isn't common in 5E but IMO it is an improvement.
I'm not sure why you would feel that the challenge is lost. The party still has to defeat the creature and if the knowledge encourages them to change tactics then it makes the players feel like their character's are doing useful things. It also makes the combat more interesting rather than less in some ways because it is more strategic. If many creatures have such features then it becomes useful for some characters to carry a range of weapons doing different damage types or spell casters to have a few different spell damage types available.
Finally, as another person mentioned, if the characters aren't being as effective in their attacks as they'd normally expect then I think the DM should be giving them that information directly. If a character's sword isn't as effective as usual, the characters have trained enough to notice anyway - so whether the DM tells them or a character uses a feature to get the information is irrelevant.
*whisper* Anyone who's played the game more than twice knows the resistances already...
Since that's the case, this might be a place for an out-of-character conversation? Slayer conclave is awesome, and I like it because the hunter's lore solves a meta-game issue. What are your players doing with the information that you don't like?
What hunter’s lore represents is really the PC’s knowledge in world. It represents the accumulated knowledge of the hunter ranger about that type of creature in that world. As a student or professional you know a great deal about selected topics that a part of the world you interact with regularly. Knowledge that I, a student or professional in a different area don’t have ( or at least may not have). This is info that you shouldn’t be hiding from that PC. What I, as a DM, might do is limit how much the PC can tell the party each round - say 1 fact or warning about it each round (6 seconds). So, if it’s a troll: R1: it regenerates, R2 use fire/acid if you can, R3 keep burning the body even if it’s down, etc. you might make copies of the stat blocks of major or special monsters then hand them to the hunter when he says he/she is using hunters lore with the reminder that you can only say one thing about it aloud each round.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Thanks everyone. After reading your comments i realized i had been revealing that information during battle on creatures. i understand the concept of knowledge gained as campaigns progress so that wasn't an issue.
Until next question, enjoy your games.
Better than your players meta-gaming to begin with. At least here they have an “in game” reason to know it.
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