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  1. James Gasik

    D&D 5E (2024) The Undead Army Necromancer is not Designable

    While it may not be a great idea to create options that give one player infinite minions, that doesn't stop game designers from doing so. I mean, simulacrum exists, and there's no cap, sane or otherwise, for how many minions you could create, beyond how much money you have to work with at 13th...
  2. James Gasik

    D&D 5E (2014) Can you retry a failed skill check? How long?

    Locks, especially ones you'd expect in an era with less than modern technology aren't a barrier, they're a deterrent at best. If there's something you really want to protect, you'll hide it or place traps. And really, the real question here is: why would you want the PC's to fail to open a...
  3. James Gasik

    D&D 5E (2014) Can you retry a failed skill check? How long?

    Lol, it might! I try to make my combats more dynamic- for awhile I used Lair Actions a lot when they encountered enemies in, well, your Lair. But it turned out to be just one more thing for me to keep track of and I'd often forget about the Lair Action lol. Sunday there was a long battle with...
  4. James Gasik

    D&D 5E (2014) Can you retry a failed skill check? How long?

    No, because all the Rogue has to do is attack a creature adjacent to an ally and they can Sneak Attack. Or give themselves advantage with a bonus action for a ranged attack. The only time you'd have to try the Stealth thing is if you wanted to Sneak Attack a creature in melee and you were by...
  5. James Gasik

    D&D 5E (2014) Wall of Force and spells

    Well, except for this line in the spell description: Nothing can physically pass through the wall. You can argue that magic missiles aren't physical, but then we have to define exactly what force damage is (and how the shield spell deflects them). I shouldn't have used Wall of Force itself for...
  6. James Gasik

    D&D 5E (2024) The Undead Army Necromancer is not Designable

    Thinking about this, I think the problem is, not every class can become a minionmancer (or maybe they could, see below). The sheer action economy of having multiple bodies would quickly make some classes irrelevant in many situations. And it's not like this is a Necromancer only problem...
  7. James Gasik

    D&D 5E (2014) Can you retry a failed skill check? How long?

    Well, yeah. If there's no consequences, there shouldn't be a roll. A locked door doesn't really impose a barrier to a party of PC's. It might cost them a few rounds of time. It might make noise that attracts monsters. But saying "welp, you tried to open, so you can't try again" doesn't make...
  8. James Gasik

    D&D 5E (2014) Can you retry a failed skill check? How long?

    PC's move in your combats? In mine they just belly up to enemies and keep swinging until they die, lol. I have to actually force them to move, because they're terrified of opportunity attacks. I actually remember something that happened earlier this year. The Ranger player in my game had run...
  9. James Gasik

    D&D 5E (2024) The Undead Army Necromancer is not Designable

    All this talk about a blob of undead makes me think of Symphony of the Night. Granfaloon
  10. James Gasik

    D&D 5E (2014) Can you retry a failed skill check? How long?

    I'm not sure I understand why there's a difference. I mean, I get that you feel that there's a difference, and that you're not alone in thinking that. To my mind, trying to climb a cliff when there's a risk of falling isn't much different than attacking someone who can hit you back if you fail...
  11. James Gasik

    D&D 5E (2014) Can you retry a failed skill check? How long?

    It's interesting that in the game, attacking an enemy and missing, but being allowed to attack again, even though the circumstances (your offense skill and their defense skill) are unchanged is perfectly cromulent, but trying to force open a door makes some people go "well, you gave it your best...
  12. James Gasik

    ToV Tales of the Valiant, School Resistance question

    School Resistance, a Feat errata'd from the ashes of Source Resistance, has multiple bullet points, but I'm concerned with the first, which gives you advantage on saves against spells from one of the 8 schools of magic. My question is, what is the best school of magic to have advantage on...
  13. James Gasik

    D&D 5E (2014) Can you retry a failed skill check? How long?

    The thing with knowledge checks is that it's possible to forget something in the moment and recall it later when you're not really thinking about it- something that I'm sure happens to many of us all the time. Heck, as you get older, you may find yourself forgetting something that you shouldn't...
  14. James Gasik

    D&D General Optimistic Thoughts on Optimizing

    I call this the Druid problem, because of my experiences with 3.5 Druids. I watched as a new player looked over the classes and thought "Druids sound neat!" and she proceeded to make a high Charisma, Disney Princess type character. She fooled around a little with wild shape, but she really...
  15. James Gasik

    D&D General Optimistic Thoughts on Optimizing

    I've seen the opposite problem as well- the player that refuses to optimize. They have their character and backstory perfectly in mind, and it doesn't matter to them if they can't contribute in normal ways. They will continue to play their character, their way, to the bitter end. This can be...
  16. James Gasik

    D&D 5E (2014) Can you retry a failed skill check? How long?

    Well sure, I get that, but a lot of posts in this thread are made by people who want to make rulings based on "realism" (or verisimilitude, at the very least). But when you produce counterpoints like lockpicking videos on YouTube or real life examples of how "one and done" checks are kind of...
  17. James Gasik

    D&D 5E (2014) Can you retry a failed skill check? How long?

    Ok, but a part of my point is that the ability to perform a task as a bonus action should imply that it takes a very short amount of time to make the check, even outside of combat, right? So if, as in the original post (so long, long ago), the DM wants to say "ok, the check takes 1 minute, a...
  18. James Gasik

    D&D 5E (2014) Can you retry a failed skill check? How long?

    The problem I have with "one and one" is it doesn't make any sense. My front door warps a bit with the weather. This means sometimes I try to open it, and it sticks, forcing me to try a few times. Imagine if I lived in a "one and done" world! I'd be calling a locksmith every time I tried to...
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