D&D (2024) Do you plan to adopt D&D5.5One2024Redux?

[Faolyn]

It's in Oriental Adventures. The 2e Priest Spell Compendium says it's uncommon for Clerics and Druids, which requires them to research the ability to cast it.
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So in D&Dlandia, I think we can take it as granted that people don't associate heartbeat and breathing with life. Which makes sense, considering plants, oozes, undead, constructs, and who knows what else. I'm kind of surprised to see "trance" on that list, unless they're actually talking about an astral projection-style "trance" and not a hypnotic or meditative trance (as this was probably way before elf trances--were they introduced in the Complete Book of Elves, or was that strictly a 3e-onwards thing?).

 

[Faolyn]

so you agree that the sailor would not know any ship on the south sea when he ever only worked on the inland sea?

Wouldn't it be more logical to say that the sailor wouldn't have worked on any ship in the south sea?

He could still know about the ships. Some of those ships might be (in)famous, with tales told throughout the land of them and their stalwart crew. Depending on the level of technology or utility magic, books or broadsheet articles may have been written about them. Or his current captain, another crewmate, the barkeep (or barfly) at his favorite tavern, or even one of his relatives may have worked on them and have told stories about them.

 

[Faolyn]

and yet you insist on the Criminal feature working in Ravenloft, which given the feature description is much more unlikely to work than the Sailor feature is on the South Sea…

The Dark Powers mess with Ravenloft's reality all the time. The PC gets some information from a shadowy figure (whom they never see again), telling them to communicate with their contact via a certain dead drop location. The PC gets replies and maybe even necessary equipment... and also requests and orders which, if followed, will take the PC down the path of evil. If the PC tries to meet with their contact face-to-face, it never happens; their contact refuses to meet that way... or it does happen, and their contact is actually a monstrous being of some sort.

 

[Oofta]

Wouldn't it be more logical to say that the sailor wouldn't have worked on any ship in the south sea?

He could still know about the ships. Some of those ships might be (in)famous, with tales told throughout the land of them and their stalwart crew. Depending on the level of technology or utility magic, books or broadsheet articles may have been written about them. Or his current captain, another crewmate, the barkeep (or barfly) at his favorite tavern, or even one of his relatives may have worked on them and have told stories about them.

Why would they know? I know China exists, but other than a smattering of facts I know very little about the country. Meanwhile we live in a world where information is more readily available than ever before in human history.

People seem to be vastly overestimating how much people know outside their sphere of influence and day to day existence.

 

[Corinnguard]

Why would they know?

This is something the GM and the player need to talk to each other about in session zero as it is a part of the character's backstory. It might also be something the GM can use for a subplot.

 

[Oofta]

This is something the GM and the player need to talk to each other about in session zero as it is a part of the character's backstory. It might also be something the GM can use for a subplot.

My campaign regularly sends people to places none of us expected. So there's pre-established lore and cases where something might be true, which is when the dice come out.

But I agree, backgrounds and how they work should be discussed in a session 0.

 

[Faolyn]

Why would they know? I know China exists, but other than a smattering of facts I know very little about the country. Meanwhile we live in a world where information is more readily available than ever before in human history.

People seem to be vastly overestimating how much people know outside their sphere of influence and day to day existence.

So because you don't know something, nobody can know something?

Or more to the point, why wouldn't a sailor know something about sailing ships, especially in a world where it's entirely possible that information is transmitted magically? I don't know what your day-to-day job is, but I would imagine that if it had a lot to do with something Chinese, you'd probably know a lot more about China.

 

[Stormonu]

On Detect Life -
The 5E Banshee has the ability to Detect Life

Detect Life. The banshee can magically sense the presence of creatures up to 5 miles away that aren’t undead or constructs. She knows the general direction they’re in but not their exact locations.

On the Vistanti -
Even back as far as I6 - Ravenloft, they have the ability to move between domains that far surpasses that of the other denizens of Ravenloft. The opening to that adventure has a Vistanti give the PCs the opening letter at nameless inn (though it seems to indicate that the PCs have already entered an area that at least has been temporarily pulled into Ravenloft). This ability has been re-iterated in various printings of the Ravenloft campaign set, though with some later restrictions. In other adventures and supplements they are often depicted as couriers who are willing to transport people, messages or items from domain to domain.

Would this latter work for the Criminal background? Perhaps? If the contact is in another domain, most likely it would. Otherwise, it would probably take one of the Dark Powers involvement - either momentarily pulling the contact into connection with Ravenloft somehow (with a good chance of keeping them in Ravenloft) or (more likely in my opinion) crafting a false response to be returned to motivate the character towards tempting them to a dark act.

 

[Oofta]

So because you don't know something, nobody can know something?

Or more to the point, why wouldn't a sailor know something about sailing ships, especially in a world where it's entirely possible that information is transmitted magically? I don't know what your day-to-day job is, but I would imagine that if it had a lot to do with something Chinese, you'd probably know a lot more about China.

If someone had used the equivalent of a Viking longboat, how much do they know about a Chinese junk or a brig? How about a schooner? Do they understand how the multiple sails work when they are used to 1 square sail?

That's just types of boats. You were claiming they would know specific named ships and crew. I don't see how that is in any way a given outside of their sphere of influence and connections.

 

[Deset Gled]

If someone had used the equivalent of a Viking longboat, how much do they know about a Chinese junk or a brig? How about a schooner? Do they understand how the multiple sails work when they are used to 1 square sail?

That's just types of boats. You were claiming they would know specific named ships and crew. I don't see how that is in any way a given outside of their sphere of influence and connections.

In 3.Xe, my solution would have been to give the sailor a +2 synergy bonus to the Knowledge check. But in 5.Xe, incremental bonuses and named modifiers have been reduced to advantage/disadvantage and DM rulings, so...

File this one under "Reasons I miss crunchiness".