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

[mamba]

Whereas to me, the logical reading is "local to where you are." Otherwise it would read something like "local to your home area."

then why include it at all, do the rules envision you could have a teleconference?

Any noble you seek an audience with is local to where you are, that is not worth even mentioning.

The only local that makes sense to me is local to where you are from, across all backgrounds, otherwise just do not include the word at all…
Treating it as ‘local to your origin’ also neatly resolves all the nonsensical scenarios we discussed for 200+ pages

It also treats 'local' the same way other backgrounds use essentially a hometown, e.g. Smuggler

"You are acquainted with a network of smugglers who are willing to help you out of tight situations. While in a particular town, city, or other similarly sized community (DM’s discretion), you and your companions can stay for free in safe houses. Safe houses provide a poor lifestyle. While staying at a safe house, you can choose to keep your presence (and that of your companions) a secret"

that is very much the Criminal with 'local' clarified...

 

[FitzTheRuke]

in my experience, meekness AND firmness are both bad, bc they're both downstream of "have sufficient real-life Charisma".

I honestly think that I have sufficient real-life charisma. What I don't have is "communicate solely by text" charisma. I'm not sure that very many people do.

 

[Oofta]

Whereas to me, the logical reading is "local to where you are." Otherwise it would read something like "local to your home area."

In other words, if you're in Waterdeep, you're not going to be able to secure a meeting with the Lord of Neverwinter. Just like if you're in Waterdeep, you know Jonny Three-Toes, a messenger who lives in Waterdeep; you're not going to run into your old friend Bomvh, a messenger who lives in Neverwinter.

But the word local means nothing if it's local to where you are. Wherever you go, there you are. There's no reason for the qualifier. At the same time you can't see someone unless you're there.

 

[Faolyn]

then why include it at all, do the rules envision you could have a teleconference?

Because you're not teleconferencing. You're in the area. You know people local to that area.

Although this would cover using magic for long-distance communication, which would be teleconferencing.

The only local that makes sense to me is local to where you are from, across all backgrounds, otherwise just do not include the word at all…
Treating it as ‘local to your origin’ also neatly resolves all the nonsensical scenarios we discussed for 200+ pages

And yet it's not written that way, in large part because it would make half the background useless 95% of the time. Why would they even include that feature if it's going to be so completely useless?

Compare to the acolyte background, also from the PHB, which specifically says that only your home temple will provide you direct assistance (although other temples of your faith will heal you). To me, that indicates that they very well would have written "your home city" if they had meant the feature to only work in your home city.

 

[mamba]

Because you're not teleconferencing. You're in the area. You know people local to that area.

then we are back to why include 'local' at all...

And yet it's not written that way, in large part because it would make half the background useless 95% of the time. Why would they even include that feature if it's going to be so completely useless?

it is written that way, you just interpret it differently

They write it that way because the background can initially help you a little, but in the end you making a name for yourself will be more important than whatever the background offers.

If they meant 'everywhere', then why limit e.g. the Smuggler but not the Criminal when both are pretty similar... no, local is your hometown not 'anywhere you find yourself'

Compare to the acolyte background, also from the PHB, which specifically says that only your home temple will provide you direct assistance (although other temples of your faith will heal you). To me, that indicates that they very well would have written "your home city" if they had meant the feature to only work in your home city.

sure, and notice how there are more benefits in the hometown, just not none elsewhere? Why reduce them at all if the Criminal supposedly has no reduction, and again, why even mention 'local' in the first place then

If anything, I'd make it explicit for Folk Hero and possibly others too...

 

[Lanefan]

But like, even in an adventure I plan to run, where the PC's fight enemies in a mine, once they defeat all the leaders, I fully plan on saying "and you clear out the mines" after that, even though there would be monsters left, because narratively speaking, the juice of fighting those battles out wouldn't be worth the squeeze!

Some might say "but the experience points!" but they're getting those and what little treasure they have anyways, I'm simply cutting past what I feel would be a foregone conclusion.

The bolded is where I get off the train: what you think might be a foregone conclusion may very well turn out not to be when played out, for two reasons:

1 - the dice might decide to even the odds somewhat and make seemingly-trivial foes not so trivial at all when they roll aces and the players roll like crap
2 - the players might decide to approach things completely differently than you expect, e.g. instead of slaughtering all the now-leaderless miners, they might instead hire them.

You're not giving either of these things - or a bunch of other possibilities - a chance to happen.

 

[Konrad13]

I just can't with 5e anymore, revision or no, so for the first time ever I will not be picking up the "new edition/revision". Once the older editions are in the CC I plan on doing what I can to complete my collections of those but otherwise I am passing on new D&D material.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

Because you're not teleconferencing. You're in the area. You know people local to that area.

Although this would cover using magic for long-distance communication, which would be teleconferencing.


And yet it's not written that way, in large part because it would make half the background useless 95% of the time. Why would they even include that feature if it's going to be so completely useless?

Compare to the acolyte background, also from the PHB, which specifically says that only your home temple will provide you direct assistance (although other temples of your faith will heal you). To me, that indicates that they very well would have written "your home city" if they had meant the feature to only work in your home city.

Hmm... I think the whole "local" wording in the Backgrounds is a case where WotC was not consistent in applying natural language. But, I do feel there is logical context to the varied usages.

For instance, I believe you @Faolyn are correct when it comes to the Noble. The "local noble" in the last sentence of the feature relates to wherever the PC might be. I mean, this is not an over-powered feature. The PC is securing an audience with a noble (if one is present) in the current adventuring location, assuming it makes sense in the fiction (i.e. a noble is not necessarily going to be found in the depths of a dungeon or in the middle of the woods - they are more likely to be found in a settlement). And just because the Noble background allows for this, it doesn't mean the PC will come away with a new ally or even get what they want, necessarily. They just gain access to talk with them.

When it comes to the Criminal, when they say the PC knows the "local" messengers, I don't believe that it makes any logical sense that the Feature is referring to "local" messengers everywhere in the world, wherever the PC happens to be. I believe those are the "local" messengers from the PC's and criminal contact's home village/city/region, though. Now, the Criminal background feature indicates that the PC can get a message to their criminal contact via these "local" messengers. Well, when the PC is far away from there their village/city/region (yes, even in Barovia) there's another step they need to take... finding a way to get the message first to the "local messengers" back home. It can take some work but it doesn't have to be an impossibility. And, again, not over-powered as there is no guarantee on timeline of delivery or even level usefulness of said delivered message.

 

[James Gasik]

The bolded is where I get off the train: what you think might be a foregone conclusion may very well turn out not to be when played out, for two reasons:

1 - the dice might decide to even the odds somewhat and make seemingly-trivial foes not so trivial at all when they roll aces and the players roll like crap
2 - the players might decide to approach things completely differently than you expect, e.g. instead of slaughtering all the now-leaderless miners, they might instead hire them.

You're not giving either of these things - or a bunch of other possibilities - a chance to happen.

First, having proven they could defeat the bosses, there's no reason to even risk letting the players die to the minions, IMO.

Second, the miners are the ones they are there to free, it's the guards that they would fight- ogres and drow. Not the kind of people I would really want the PC's to hire, even if they could, lol.

 

[Lanefan]

Whereas to me, the logical reading is "local to where you are." Otherwise it would read something like "local to your home area."

In the context of pre-adventuring backgrounds, I can't see any other way to read "local" than "local to where you spent your pre-adventuring life".