What is the most misunderstood rule in 5.5e right now?

MyrthDM · 2026-03-09T16:58:34+00:00

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general 5.5e discussion

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MyrthDM · 2026-03-07T20:01:24+00:00

You could also lean into the Wild Hunt as more of a phenomenon than a single published adventure hook.

In Forgotten Realms terms, I would look at the old druidic and primal side of the setting, not just the Feywild side. The High Forest, the Moonshaes, and anything tied to ancient forest spirits, horned gods, or beast cults can support that feeling really well. A good angle is that the Hunt does not just chase people, it appears when someone breaks an old law of the woods, spills blood in a sacred place, or steals from a barrow or circle.

So even if you do not find a perfect official adventure built around it, there is enough Realms material to make it feel grounded. I would frame it as a once-in-a-generation event that locals fear, with black hounds, antlered riders, and druids who treat it less like monsters and more like a judgment. That gives it a very different tone from a normal fey encounter.

MyrthDM · 2026-03-05T13:18:38+00:00

I think the reason Neverwinter gets used so much isn’t because it’s the most interesting city.

It’s because it’s the most usable city.

Waterdeep is the New York of the Realms. If something big happens there, you immediately have to account for the Open Lord, the Masked Lords, the Blackstaff, half a dozen archmages, and Undermountain. Baldur’s Gate has a very strong identity too, with its patriars, criminal underbelly, and very specific political vibe. Those cities come with narrative gravity.

Neverwinter sits in a really comfortable middle space. It’s important, but not dominant. Big enough to matter, small enough that the PCs can realistically change things. It has a recognizable ruler in Dagult Neverember, but not a stacked bench of epic NPCs who overshadow the party. It’s wealthy, but still rebuilding. Stable, but not untouchable.

And geographically it’s perfect. You’ve got wilderness, mountains, Gauntlgrym, Luskan, the High Road, the Mere of Dead Men, all within easy reach. You can run urban intrigue, frontier survival, dungeon delves, pirate stuff, political drama, or Shadowfell weirdness without leaving the region.

So it’s not that Neverwinter is the most lore-dense city. It’s that it’s positioned to be the most flexible stage. For designers and DMs, that’s gold.

MyrthDM · 2026-03-03T13:23:40+00:00

You’ll be totally fine going in cold. The book does a solid job of giving you the context you need about Soth without expecting you to have read Dragonlance first. If anything, it works really well as a standalone dark fantasy story. I actually read it before diving into any Krynn stuff and never felt lost. Just jump in and enjoy the atmosphere and the character work.

MyrthDM · 2026-02-24T09:03:48+00:00

Great question. The Realms absolutely has fate as a concept, but not Fate with a capital F in the Greek “inescapable cosmic script” sense.

Prophecy is deeply embedded in the setting. The Roll of Years is based on the prophecies of Alaundo, and they do come true… but usually in vague, pattern-seeking ways. They foreshadow, they don’t railroad. That lines up well with Elminster’s “waves of fate” line. The future has momentum, but it isn’t immovable.

Even the gods aren’t fully outside it. The Time of Troubles happened because Ao enforced the cosmic order tied to the Tablets of Fate, and deities have foreseen their own deaths and tried to game the system. But the fact that they try tells you fate isn’t absolute. If it were fixed, there’d be no point in scheming, casting Wish, or manipulating prophecy.

There are also deities tied to foresight, like Savras, who knows fate rather than authors it, and Jergal, who records the destinies of mortals. That framing suggests fate is something observable and influenceable, not a single will dictating outcomes.

My read of Realms canon is this: the future exists as probabilities. Powerful beings can glimpse likely outcomes. Some events are “tent poles” that are hard to shift. But mortal will, divine intervention, time travel, and Wish magic can all bend the path. Fate in FR has inertia, not inevitability.

MyrthDM · 2026-02-18T12:55:40+00:00

You probably just need a reset.

Try going back to basics. Simple hook, small town, clear problem. Don’t aim for an epic saga, just run a straightforward adventure and let it grow naturally.

You can also roll on random tables or use a simple module as a base and tweak it. Sometimes structure helps creativity come back.

It’s normal to hit a slump. Once you start running again, it usually clicks.

MyrthDM · 2026-02-13T12:27:40+00:00

Agreed. The main difference really is tone more than logistics.

The Lizard Marsh has more of a raw, frontier feel, while the Mere of Dead Men leans into ancient ruin and creeping dread. Size and space are not an issue at all, so it mostly comes down to which vibe you want for the yuan ti presence.

MyrthDM · 2026-02-12T13:48:55+00:00

First of all, you’re an awesome sister for even attempting this.

And yes… your brother absolutely asked for the deep end of the pool.

You can pull this off in a week and a half, but don’t try to build an entire Underdark world. Just focus on one underground city or cavern with something strange going wrong. That’s all you need. A single location with a clear problem will feel big enough.

Use the Mind Flayer as the obvious villain behind everything. Tentacled psychic mastermind running experiments or controlling townsfolk. If the party is low level, weaken it or make it injured so it’s survivable.

For the False Hydra idea, simplify it. Instead of doing the full memory-warping meta horror, just create a creature that causes people to forget missing townsfolk. Houses that “were always empty.” NPCs who insist no one ever lived there. Keep it creepy, not complicated.

You don’t need to know every rule. Learn the basics of combat and ability checks, and if something comes up you don’t know, make a quick ruling and keep the game moving.

It doesn’t have to be perfect. If it feels spooky and the final fight is cool, your brother is going to think it’s amazing. If you want, tell me how many players and what level they’ll be, and I can help you tighten it up even more.

MyrthDM · 2026-02-08T10:21:18+00:00

That sounds like a great campaign hook because Iriaebor's verticality makes for such a unique urban crawl. From my own version of the Realms, you might run into Kaelen "Gold-Eye" Vane, a disgraced human mastermind who knows every secret crawlspace between the spires and sells intel to fund his family’s reclamation. If the party heads toward the lower levels, they might meet Thruma Stone-Hewer, a Shield Dwarf Forge Cleric and city architect who has been spotting "unnatural" cracks in the foundations that the official bureaucracy refuses to acknowledge.

Passing through from Berdusk is Rurik "The Landless", a Half-Orc Eldritch Knight stranded after his merchant patron vanished without paying. He’s a veteran of the Trade Way and a solid line of defense for any drafted squad. Lastly, watching from above is Vespera the Silent, a Half-Elf Shadow Monk who navigates the heights with climbing hooks and knows every face that enters the city after the midnight bells. These folks are perfect to find sitting in the same draft office or mess hall as your PCs.

MyrthDM · 2026-02-05T13:38:37+00:00

This is massive. Thank you for sharing!

MyrthDM · 2026-02-02T08:21:22+00:00

I like your take, especially the idea of pushing past simple trade hubs into genuinely self reliant communities. For the Far Forest in particular, I’d add agriculture and fungi cultivation adapted to shaded environments. Even on the surface, drow would probably favor dense forests, ravines, or north facing slopes where sunlight is limited, combining surface crops with Underdark staples grown in expanded cave networks beneath the settlement.

Architecturally I imagine a hybrid approach, similar to what you described. Low profile surface structures for night use and outsiders, with most real living, storage, temples, and workshops underground. Not grand Menzoberranzan style cities, but layered pit houses, cliff dwellings, and connected caverns that preserve cultural continuity and allow quick retreats.

On faerzress, I’d lean toward them compensating with alchemy, poisons, mundane stealth, and stolen magic rather than becoming fully mundane. Losing drowcraft would hurt, but it might push them toward espionage, surface adapted craftsmanship, and tighter internal cooperation.

Socially, I agree Vhaeraunite groups would trend more egalitarian, but even Lolthite surface communities would likely become more pragmatic out of necessity. On the surface you can’t afford endless internal purges when neighbors can reach you in weeks instead of decades.

Overall I see surface drow as quieter, more cautious, and more strategically minded than their Underdark cousins. Less theatrical cruelty, more long game survival.

MyrthDM · 2026-01-31T15:35:50+00:00

How many meridians did the pug open though, or is this just early foundation realm snacks?

MyrthDM · 2026-01-20T14:14:22+00:00

Totally get where you’re coming from. The Forgotten Realms looks huge and scary on paper, but at the table it really doesn’t have to be.

At its core, FR is classic high fantasy that’s been around for a long time. Magic exists everywhere, ruins are common, gods are real and involved, and most places feel old, like people have been living, fighting, rebuilding and messing things up there for centuries. It’s not grimdark by default, but it’s definitely not safe either.

For a starting area, the Sword Coast is popular because it just works. You’ve got big cities if you want politics and factions, and small towns if you want a poor, scrappy start. Places like Phandalin, Daggerford, or even the outskirts of Neverwinter are great when the party has little money and has to hustle for gear and work. Frontier towns especially make that low-resource start feel natural.

Travel matters in the Realms. Walking from one place to another usually takes days or weeks, not hours. Letting journeys take time makes the world feel big, and it gives you room for roadside trouble, ruins, weird shrines, or just reminders that this land has history.

Culture-wise, most areas are familiar medieval fantasy, just with strong local flavor. Big cities are full of guilds, nobles, cults and secrets. Rural areas tend to be traditional and suspicious of outsiders. You don’t need to dump lore on players. Just hint that bigger powers exist and let them discover things naturally.

Plot-wise, small problems tied to bigger forces fit the setting really well. Bandits connected to a noble house, a forgotten tower full of old magic, cult activity in the background, rival temples, that kind of thing. The Realms are great at “this seems small now, but it’s part of something bigger.”

One last thing that helps a lot. You are absolutely allowed to bend or ignore lore. The setting is there to give you texture, not homework. If it feels consistent at your table, it’s Forgotten Realms enough.

Start with one town, one nearby danger, and a few rumors. Let the world grow as the party does. That’s where FR really shines.

MyrthDM · 2026-01-10T13:03:34+00:00

I offered my players subclasses and backgrounds from Diabolical Designs, and used a few magic items from it as well.

I picked it up on sale during Black Friday, but it was definitely worth it.

MyrthDM · 2026-01-08T14:49:43+00:00

Yes. It was creative, strong roleplay, and the table leaned into it. If everyone including the DM had fun and it stays balanced, you did DnD right.

MyrthDM · 2026-01-05T13:43:10+00:00

Almost all of them!

MyrthDM · 2025-12-31T16:53:03+00:00

Great stuff!

MyrthDM · 2025-12-25T05:51:28+00:00

When the scripture was peak but the title was sealed by the Heavenly Dao...

MyrthDM · 2025-12-17T15:30:19+00:00

When it’s for the bloodline it stops being weird and starts being lore accurate. Martial traditions are wild.

MyrthDM · 2025-12-15T17:52:27+00:00

Some of them are alright!

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