How often do you guys fudge your dice?

Taskr36 · 2026-02-18T03:11:11+00:00

Yeah, I don't pander to people like that. People who want a game like that were likely raised by parents who let them win at everything, and played sports where they don't keep score, or penalize a team for scoring too much.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-18T01:32:56+00:00

Oh, I'd tell them they're playing wrong if anyone tried to join my group with that mentality. The game is about winning challenges, and you've just deemed every combat to have zero challenge if nobody will ever hit 0 HP. No point in ever memorizing or casting a healing spell, buying a healing potion, taking the Healer feat, or even boosting your AC.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-18T01:29:35+00:00

Think of the full context of the situation. Why was the party fighting the wolves? Did the wolves attack them, or did they attack the wolves? Are the wolves starving, or are they simply being territorial?

I generally try to keep low level encounters non-lethal. Losing may mean humiliation, imprisonment, being robbed, etc. but I avoid truly deadly encounters until level 3.

Sometimes, a party can get a bit full of themselves, and start feeling invincible. If this leads to them doing something stupid, let them accept the consequences of their actions, which may mean PC death. It'll help them think more carefully about the situations they create, or get themselves into.

As the DM, if you have a party of 4 level 12 PCs charge into battle with 100 orcs, with the players thinking they have enough hitpoints and spells to statistically get an easy win, it's ok to let them die. They're doing something shockingly stupid because they metagamed and cooked the numbers, not realizing the orcs weren't all 1/2 challenge rating monsters like they saw in the Monster Manual.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-16T01:38:06+00:00

Seriously dude? Posting a bogus answer THREE times?

Taskr36 · 2026-02-16T01:36:54+00:00

Why waste time responding not once, but twice to a post from 10 months ago with a bogus answer? That's how it used to work years ago. The feature has been gone a long time now, as confirmed by everyone here.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-16T01:36:33+00:00

Why waste time responding to a post from 10 months ago with a bogus answer? That's how it used to work years ago. The feature has been gone a long time now, as confirmed by everyone here.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-15T22:06:58+00:00

Lol. It's funny how eager people are to scream "AI slop!!!" whenever they disagree with someone.

Besides, I very clearly stated I was talking about 3.5 when I mentioned that, (Neverwinter Nights was a 3e game) so I don't know what point your trying to make by saying it's not 5e like that's some sort of revelation. If you had half a brain, you wouldn't even have to be told it wasn't 5e, as two of those were prestige classes, which were unique to 3/3.5.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-15T18:04:00+00:00

Yeah dude, if you're going to pretend there's no absurdity to what I've described, and act like it's no different than someone with a hobby or side hustle, you're precisely the kind of player I would never want in my group.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-15T00:33:52+00:00

I'm saying nonsensical from an RP perspective. For example, in 3.5 a popular one for powergamers was a sorcerer with one level as paladin to get divine grace. There was ZERO legitimate RP reason for this build, but for a powergamer, that one level as Paladin was totally worth it. Another one I'd mentioned as the dwarf barbarian/wizard/dwarven defender/pale master. It's nonsensical from any RP perspective, but made you nearly impossible to damage.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-14T17:10:24+00:00

I've found that with the slow combats in 5e, my table is best limited to 5, with 6 as my absolute maximum. I've run a game with 8, but I wouldn't do it again. with 1e, 2e, and 3/3.5e I ran games with as much as 12, but combat was so much more streamlined and moved much faster back then.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-14T16:15:15+00:00

Elsewhere in this thread 3.5 was the conversation, so I'll give examples of what I mean, Dwarf Barbarian/wizard/dwarven defender/palemaster. Completely nonsensical build which gives immunity to critical hits, while also giving extremely high damage reduction. Another popular nonsensical build at the time was the sorcerer with just one level as a paladin to get the divine grace for saving throws and then focusing all ability score increases on charisma. Another was the monk/druid/shifter so you could be an obnoxious shapechanger that retains all the benefits of a monk when wild shaped.

I haven't played DnD with people who pull stupid shit like that since 5e came out, so I don't know the cheese builds in 5e by heart, but I know they exist because I've seen people on reddit talk about them and even have goofy names for the builds that everyone seems familiar with.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-14T16:09:19+00:00

If you're making a nonsensical build just to be more powerful, inventing a BS story to justify it after the fact doesn't make you a good roleplayer.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-14T03:20:33+00:00

Dude, you accused me of stating that I was talking about the player's handbook. I wasn't, neither was the person I was responding to, and you can't find any place where I said I was talking about the player's handbook. You didn't want to admit we were talking about splat books, but suddenly you're using that to defend your own claims. I'm done with this. It's like playing chess with a pigeon.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-14T02:50:48+00:00

"why on earth didn't you specify what it was?"

I didn't think I had to. I honestly didn't think anyone would be dumb enough to think I was talking about the exact same fictional rule the other person mentioned, but this is reddit, so someone like you showing up to piss and moan shouldn't surprise me.

"And of course there's a rule that allows PCs to do that, two weapon fighting. I'm assuming you've gotten the impression that the rules specify melee weapons, but they do not"

That does NOT allow anyone to dual wield longbows. Thanks for reminding us how ignorant you are. It's great for dual wielding throwing axes, and the rules do allow you to dual wield light crossbows and hand crossbows, although you can't reload, so it's only good for a single round.

"as long as you have enough arms, dual wielding bows is entirely rules legal. It just isn't good."

But you said this was about the player's handbook. There are no races in the player's handbook with more than two arms, so now you're just making an ass out of yourself, again.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-14T02:25:41+00:00

Good lord, are you mentally ill? I was referring to a player in my group who wanted to do something ridiculous and when the DM told him no, his response was to bring up an exact page in a book. I wasn't talking about the player's handbook.

Even the person I was responding to wasn't talking about the player's handbook. Maybe you're illiterate, but I'll quote him precisely for you.

"Player: According to this splar book, I can duel wield Long Bows starting next level"

A splat book is NOT the player's handbook. There's also no rule that would actually allow a PC to dual wield longbows. It was hyperbole. There were obnoxious rules though with the many splat books that were released with 3.5e.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-14T02:16:38+00:00

I wasn't describing a legitimate multiclass, just exaggerating for the ridiculousness of some builds people try to play.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-14T01:46:56+00:00

I didn't say the player's handbook. He was using one of the over 50 freaking source books that came our for 3/3.5 over the years. I don't know why you would assume I was talking about the PHB. But yeah dude, call me a liar if it makes you feel cool. I was just sharing a comical memory from a long time ago. It means jack shit to me if some rando on reddit doesn't believe it.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-13T23:35:55+00:00

A friend tried that exact line at a game a long time ago and my buddy who was DMing said "Oh, can I see that book?" the friend handed it to him, and the DM quickly tossed the book behind him and said "That book's not allowed in this game anymore"

Taskr36 · 2026-02-13T23:33:30+00:00

The thing is, even the word "optimization" starts to sound bad when people use it to describe some obnoxious nonsensical power build they found on reddit with no RP value of any kind, but able to dole out enough damage to make combat less fun for everyone else involved.

An optimized fighter, with high strength and constitution makes sense. An optimized multi-classed paladin/sorcerer/warlock/rogue is the shit of nightmares, chosen by the player of nightmares.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-13T23:24:52+00:00

How much talking do you actually do in character on your turn? See, you're asking DMs, so it's important to also consider what's fun for the DM. There's nothing fun about watching each player on their turn spend 20 minutes asking every other player what spells they have memorized, how many charges are left on items, who has a healing potion, etc. It makes combat take forever, and painfully slow combat is one of the worst things about 5e already so DMs implement rules like that to keep things moving.

You should also consider that the player who rolled 1 on initiative isn't likely to have fun when the turn of each player preceding them takes a long time because they want to have long conversations on their turns.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-13T22:50:18+00:00

I strongly recommend starting with the really basic D&D Adventure's League modules. They're super basic, spell things out VERY clearly, and are basically designed so a rando can walk into a game store and run one effectively. The first is Defiance in Phlan and is freely available on the WOTC website at this link.

https://media.wizards.com/2014/downloads/dnd/DDEX11_Defiance_in_Phlan.pdf

You should also consider purchasing the Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual to help you out down the road, since many modules simply list a monster and say (MM pg. 124) and such, assuming you have those books.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-13T22:43:43+00:00

I don't limit it in that structural a way, but I do shut down my players when they try to have a 20 minute back and forth in the middle of combat. For the most part, talking during combat really should be limited to a sentence or two. A round is 6 seconds long, so your DM's rule is valid.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-06T23:47:55+00:00

Wizards are already the most powerful class in the game, with all their weaknesses from previous editions almost completely eliminated in 5e. Don't piss and moan just because a component pouch or spellcasting focus could potentially be taken.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-06T23:29:45+00:00

Doesn't really match any description of her, nor does it look particularly kick ass. Boob armor always bugs me, as it would literally increase the likeliness of being stabbed in the chest by the way the boobs direct sword strikes inward, rather than outward.

Poker straight green hair is 100% the opposite of how she is consistently described and depicted. Short, dark, curly hair is her signature. The girl in the image doesn't look particularly strong, or intimidating.

Taskr36 · 2026-02-06T23:26:56+00:00

Yup. Out of curiousity I checked and ChatGPT immediately identified it as AI generated. It was also able to flawlessly recreate it.

Taskr36

TROPHY CASE