(This space reserved for FAQ.)
Please all you awesome D&D fans, fill up this thread with what you think will be frequently asked questions, along with the answers if you have them.
Q: When will we see guidlines on creating monsters?
Answers don't need to be time committed or totally comitted! For example "not until the DMG" is a valid answer 
(But I hope we get some guidelines before then 
)
surf13 wrote:
mellored wrote:
Q: what requirements must be fulfilled to hide and use stealth skill? Is lightly obscured enough or do you need total concealment? Or is it something else?
thanks.
Nicodaudel wrote:
I'm pretty sure the rules for creating monsters will be reserved for the DMG. I doubt they will be put into the free Basic rules.
moes1980 wrote:
There are no details on what specific DMing material will be added, whether in August or later, so until someone in R&D says something more concrete, the answer is "We don't know." I would be surprised if the Monster Manual didn't have something nodding in that direction (monster creation), though the heavy lifting is likely to fall to the DMG. That said, both MM and DMG material will be added to the Basic Rules PDF at least once (August) before the DMG releases in November, so anything's possible at this point.
I believe Mike has said, at some point, that the content they will be adding in August will be monsters and DM stuff like magic items, wilderness exploration rules, and the like. No mention of the more advanced mechanics, like alternate healing methods or monster creation or anything like that. Yes, it's technically possible that some of that stuff will end up in Basic but it's highly unlikely.
I should have been clearer in my last post . . . We don't know which monsters or magic items, how much or which wilderness rules, etc. Beyond August, we don't even know how many updates will/won't occur. Whether it's unlikely to see X or Y is a different matter, and given how much they included in the v0.1 rollout, we may see little more than bits and pieces beyond August's big update.
If this is in an inappropriate spot, I really do apologize. Unless I'm reading it wrong, I think I see that there are 6 twig blights in Thundertree, yet the reward is 50 xp for them, which counts for 2 twig blights. I'm hoping to run this for folks and want to make sure I give folks the correct amount of experience. Should I make the total exp 150? Or just have the party encounter 2 twig blights?
Ginasteri wrote:
Q: I'm a little confused by the differences between Intelligence(Investigation) and Wisdom(Perception). As far as I can tell, you use Perception for "noticing" things and Investigation for "finding" things. Does that mean that you need to be actively searching for clues about something to find it with Investigation, but only casually paying attention to your general surroundings just to happen to come accross it with Perception? What advantages does Investigation have over Perception? Better accuracy or something? What's a good rule-of-thumb to help someone know which one to use?
Sorry if this sounds silly. I never used EXP in my home games before just leveled them up when I felt like it as I really only ran 4e and I felt no exp for fights and such encuraged them to RP and not worry about missing combats. Now I am running RAW and especially need to be accurate since we plan on joining the adventuers league and such. How is EXP awarded/Split to party members?
For example I have 4 players who are playing the starter set and they completed just up to entering the cave. As of this point I have only awarded the 75EXP each that the book said they get after ariving at the cave. Do the monsters actually give EXP too? Can someone help me out
DocSun wrote:
Very Much so Aldente. Thank you. I only read the first part as I didnt think we would get that far in a single sitting and I am usually pretty busy.
Hi Fralex
As I read it, Investigation is for finding information rather than something physical. So Perception might find a crack in the all, but Investigation would help you understand what the crack in the wall means. As in the Ruelbook investigation can also be used for research, using a library or similar.
So yes, Inverstigation is a very active process of examination, testing, linking things together. The player would need to tell you exactly what it is they are investigating wheras a Perception check is all about your eyes, ears and alertness.
Again to simplify; Perception is seeing/noticing, Investigation is understanding/learning.
Fralex wrote:
I was curious if they had posted anything regarding how to reward experience in 5E?
Rakier7 wrote:
What book will discuss magic equipment? IE, the types of gear that will/should exist?
And what one will define the XP award system?
DrDragonlance wrote:
I believe the Basic D&D .pdf will get a bare bones version of the MM and DMG in the August 8th update. I expect to see basic recommendations on XP and magic items in there. Then we should get more info in the actual core book releases. Hopefully some more advice in the first Tyranny of Dragons adventure as well, which releases alongside the PHB.
[edit]
You can always go off monster XP values, and for role play or plot related XP awards just decide on how fast or slow you want the PCs to progress and award appropriately. You could always reference the XP award guidelines from prior editions for this as well, while we wait.
How do you ask for skill checks? The book calls them, e.g. "Wisdom (Perception)" but I can't figure out a natural way of saying that aloud, since both wisdom and perception are nouns.
"Give me a wisdom perception check, please"
"Give me a wise perception check, please"
"Give me a perception check with wisdom, please"
"Give me a wisdom-based perception check, please"
"Give me a wisdom—" open air quotes with my fingers, "—perception—" close air quotes with my fingers, "—check, please"
All of those sound awkward.
"Give me a perception check, please"
Ambiguous but elegant. How do you do it?
RCanine wrote:
I do the same as Aaron.
"Roll perception."
"Perception check."
"Strength check."
"Roll strength."
"Roll a wisdom save."
And formerly:
"What is your passive perception again?"
Don't do this! Write that one down, along with their AC next to their marching order. Smooths play and keeps the secrets on your side.
Example:
"Merric PP17 AC15
Kham PP11 AC20
Laethos PP13 AC17
Gwen PP14 AC18"
Then I update the perc value as they level, and their AC as they buy new equipment or equip/unequip their shield in combat. I can tell them directly whether monsters hit or not.
A question of monsters….
A pre-question comment. I’ve been GMing since the very first incarnation of D&D where we used Chainmail for combat. In my private games I routinely adjust creature/monster/NPC stats to meet the needs of the adventure so I have no issue with doing that when needed. But…. And here is the ‘But’, I have committed to running RPG’s at my FLGS, one of which is D&D 5th. In addition to the canned stuff via Adventurer League play I want to run a series of “1st level learn to play” one shots as well as some higher level side sessions to give variety for players that may have already played the published material or have had them spoiled and would like to play a game with the mystery intact.
I have the three hardcopy products (Box set, PHB and Hoard) as well as three of the PDF official adventure offerings. Comparing across the bestiaries, I have found that none of the books use the same stats. Oh, there are some that match up, but on average I have found that if they are mentioned in three items, there are three different versions. I do admit that the Box set and the limited number in the PHB tend to agree.
I may change things for an individual adventure/encounter, but I want to maintain a solid baseline of creature stats, especially since these will be store games and players will tend to expect sessions to reflect ‘official’ rules.
So, will there be a downloadable consolidated compendium of final official errata’d stats for creatures in the early products , or will we basically have to shelve things until the end of next month?
Q: Where can I find player-made adventures for free, online?
A: We can't really answer this as we have our own adventure modules to sell, though we still highly encourage you to get your pen & paper out to start brainstorming an adventure of your own ;)
But many DMs keep blogs of their adventures and some players even players film their sessions. Why not take examples from their games and incorporate them into your own, original adventure?
Q: What it the current recommended method of generating treasure for an Adventure?
@Marduk: Enworld has a couple: http://www.enworld.org/forum/rpgdownloads.php?categoryid=38
da3mon_01 wrote:
da3mon_01 wrote:
Q.If there is no spell craft check how do i determine if players no what spell is being cast?
megaman78 wrote:
Well... after years of not playing my friends and I are back, and I'm the DM. I just got the first adventure and 'm trying to decipher the monster stats.
For example...
Hit: 5 (1d6+2) piercing damage
okay i get the dice roll, but what is the 5? A modifier added, multiplied, subtracted? I looked for an example in the player's guide...nothing. For new (or out-of-touch) players like myself, why isn't there a break down on how to read the monster stats?
Any help is appreciated. Thanks...
AaronOfBarbaria wrote:
blackmagikgamer wrote:
I am trying to make a pantheon of gods for my campaign. They list some gods with a domain of death and then say that info will be in the DMG. Is there any info on the Death Domain out there so I don't have to wait till november for it?
WolfgangD
Lord_Kyrion wrote:
Q. What do you suggest for a group contists of only 2 players? How should I balance the encounters?
See below. Is this rule reflected in the new rules package? If so, where?
Attacking without Proficiency. If you make anattack roll using a weapon with which you lack proficiency, you make the attack roll with disadvantage.
The source of the above is the Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle prevew.
BerkanDaleborn wrote:
Curses
Is there any means for a character to detect a cursed object or loacation? How about determining whether an action can potentially trigger a curse?
yazgang wrote:
Hello,
I have two young boys (10 and 13) who were into D and D for some time about a year ago but their interest faded. Now they are back into it big time again. We picked up the starter kit and are playing through The Lost Mines. I'm DMing and I'm confused with what I learned from v4 and the differences in v5. Is there somewhere where it clearly defines when an attacker has 'advantage' or disadvantage in combat? I understand if an attacker is unseen or surprises the foe, but without flanking how do two attackers get an advantage on a creature? Can the ranged ally shoot into hand to hand combat? Different topic, but DM specific... How many short rests can a party take in a day?
Thanks in advance,
Dad to DandDboys
WolfgangDroven wrote:
Gruff_Ironfist wrote:
DandDBoys wrote:
About short rests, given that characters can still make something non-tiring during those, lunch/diner break usually are short breaks.
TomPlisss wrote:
All right here is a question other then testing it out. Is there a quick way to figure out if a character (made up to fight the party) is a challenge level 4?
Q# I have 5 pc and want to design 5 npc to fight each of them one on one, do i make the npc the same lv as my pc and what experience point do i award for winning the fight. normal cr is for a party of 4. so if i make a 5th lv npc and it gets killed what is his cr.
nightwalker450 wrote:
AaronOfBarbaria wrote:
Athinar1 wrote:
Question about heavy obscurement:
According to the RAW as I understand it, heavy obscurement effectively blinds any creature within its area. So if Mort the Magician drops a Fog Cloud on a group of kobolds, then the kobolds are blinded which means if they throw rocks at Mort they do so at a disadvantage, while Mort's companion Fred the Fighter can attack them with advantage (because they can't see). Can this possibly be correct?
A related weirdness if that apparently, when two creatures fight inside a darkness spell/effect, they both attack without advantage/disadvantage because advantage from being unseen by your opponent cancels out disadvantage from not being able to see your opponent... which means that a ranged archer without Darkvision can hit enemies with darkvision 60' just fine from max range (600' away) but has trouble when firing from within 60'. To me, being able to make trick shots in complete darkness without a penalty is just bizarre. Can this possibly be correct, and if not what am I missing?
wmdw45 wrote:
So the net effect of heavy obscurement, unless one side or the other can see through it, is nothing? No advantage/disadvantage to either side when firing into the fog cloud?
Not sure if this is the correct spot for a post like this, but begging mod mercy if placed in the wrong forum 
I am BRAND new to D&D as a tabletop game. I have played many of the video game versions as well as many video games with a D&D'esque style to them, but never the book and paper route (I had the game for Intellivision as a child, if anyone else here is old and can relate 
)
Anyway, my dilemma is that I need HELP! I need to quickly become a decent DM so that I don't spoil it for my family.
I, and my boys, have a draw to this type of video game. Although I do allow video games, I do try to steer my boys towards other interests. As a profession I am a teacher, and as such I love when my boys partake of good writing expanding their vocabulary and their minds. With all this in mind, I decided to go ahead and pick up the D&D Starter Set.
To say I wasn't let down would be a HUGE understatement! My sons could not wait to TEAR into the game! As I sat and tried to absorb all the rules and responsibilities of DM, my boys ate through homework and every chore my wife could throw at them! Their excitement was so boundless that my wife decided to join in as well.
Homework finished, dinner inhaled, chores completed, and showers taken, the family sat down to learn about this new adventure we were about to undertake. I am far from prepared; as I am sure you all can glean from a couple hours trying to digest the rulebook. I walk my youngest through specifics from the character card that he chose, and am amazed as he assumed the character's social inability without being told.
We begin on our path to Phandalin and after working what magic I could, a few embellishments and a couple hours later we were breaking for bedtime. We're at the mouth of the Cragmaw Cave and we are all ecstatic. My boys are devouring the adventure, and my wife and I relish in the story, creativity, adventure, and family time that results.
Is there some type of crash course/cliff notes/DM for dummies that I can hit up so I can fake it til I make it? So far, I have only been using d20 and making it up as I go, but I'd like to expand and play more according to the way we should be. I don't want to ruin it for them, but I also know there's no way I could cram it all in before tomorrow night when we are due to reconvene.
Aresfury wrote:
Aresfury wrote:
AaronOfBarbaria wrote:
Aresfury wrote:
So, magic items. What does Uncommon, Rare, etc, actually mean. is Uncommon one per level, rare one per 3 levels?? Which ones are good to give to lower-level characters. When should they start finding magic items? Some sort of guidelines before the DMG comes out would be nice, at least a definition in the DM basic rules or something.
Azegoroth wrote:
While AoB's answers are all very correct... they may not be what you are looking for.
It sounds like you are playing the modules that came with the set... those already have magic items included which the players will find. Magic tends to be kind of rare by default, and I would recommend you stick with that at first. It is much easier to give out more, then to discover they have too much and try and take it back.
That said, Aaron is correct, if you guys all have fun with a ton of magic items, there is nothing 'wrong' with that. (The problem is it makes it hard on the DM to create good encounters)
Yes! Reading everything beforehand is a big help; if you get a chance, read the entire adventure... it will give you a feel for where things are going. Your players know you are new (just like them) so flipping is to be expected.... they will be doing it too. Go ahead and write up (or highlight) some important info, like monster stats, before the gaming session.
You played last night, and will play again tonight. Perhaps take a night off tomorrow and give yourself that time to read and prepare for future adventures.
But for your own sake... realize you have been doing an *excellent* job so far. The only important criteria is that all involved are having fun, so far...so good.
Q#65 How does disengage/movement/opportunity/attack work together?
When I DM I have a player who has played 4e/PF games and thinks he should be able to move a 5 foot space(we play on a grid) without provoking opportunity. I understand the disengage action as the players whole action. We compromised with letting him use his whole move action to disengage a creature and then his attack move. Now he wants to take it a step further and treat every turn as two actions, one of which could be a movement. I'm not totally against the idea because I still don't let them do multiple attacks unless their class allows it. Should it be
Disengage -> bonus action if they have one -> movement
or could it be
Disengage -> attack - > bonus action
or something else?
A #65
I think you guys are having issues with terminology.
In your turn, you can Move and "Do Something" There is a list of "Somethings", none of which actually entail movement. So your turn consists of Move + Something:
So, Move and....
Attack (swing/ shoot once.... plus Extra Attack)
Dash (lets your Move be twice as far as normal)
Disengage (lets your Move ignore AoO)
etc
You may also get a Bonus action, but only if specifically allowed, and it will tell you what you can do.
There is no 5' step. Disengage doesn't actually let you Move anywhere. There is no 'attack move'.....
NOTE: Most folks play that Dash *does* include movement, technically it doesn't, but it makes no game difference either way.
Also remember that you can dance around your opponent all you want, you only provoke if you move out of their threatened range.
This is a big change from 4e. There is NO "shift" or 5-ft step in 5e.
Now, if you are in melee, you must use an action to disengage. Some classes (like rogue) have the abilitiy to use disengage as a bonus action (see the 2nd level feature "cunning action" under rogue).
Your 5e pal might complain, but explain to him how you can now break up a move (ie: move 3, attack, move 3). It's a different game.
Neptune0923 wrote:
WotC_Trevor wrote:
So now we hold sacred tomes Players handbook 5e, and Monster Manual 5e in our hairy little hands. They are precious to us. But Precious is confused: I want to cast "Conjure Minor Elementals" (PH pg226), it tells me the spell will summon elementals with a CR of b/t 1/4 and 2. Cool. And that the "DM has the creatures statistics". Where might those statistics be? The MM entry on Elementals has CR5 behemoths, not pocket sized elementals. Any ideas where I can find stats for scaled down Elementals for summoning, I mean, Conjuring? Or do I need to scale them down myself? Thanks!
Aristomachus wrote:
When is the damn Forgotten Realms campaign setting gonna be release?
Q: Will we ever see Monster Summoning Spells for wizards?
Q: Will wizards ever be able to summon fiends or angels (and thus use some of the binding spells they get)?
Q: Will we ever see a database of monsters that I can use to cut and paste stat-blocks into my own documents (like I do for pathfinder?)
Color spray: is the spell duration in the PHB correct? Only 1 round? Seems awfully short, Sleep lasts a minute and it's a 1st level spell ...
Q: I'm running the Dark Pyramid Expedition later this week. The section that explains that Maze speaks about numbered areas but MAP 1 doesn't show where these areas are. Can someone help me out? Does someone have a better map or an explanation on how to run the Maze?
Q: I'm running the Dark Pyramid Expedition later this week. The section that explains that Maze speaks about numbered areas but MAP 1 doesn't show where these areas are. Can someone help me out? Does someone have a better map or an explanation on how to run the Maze?
Q: When incorporating a NPC into the party that does not have a PC class (Like the ones in the Monster Manual Appendix B, for example) how do I determine things such as PC level equivalent (for encounter building) and level advancement (such as when advancement occurs and what improvements should likely be made)?
xFenixXRisingx wrote:
I am completely new to D&D, but quite experienced with tabletop RPGs. My questions are exclusively about traditions and methods unique to the D&D.
1. What part of the info on the monster should the players know? I think that just telling them that "the "name of the monster" is wounded" at 50% hp, "heavily wounded" at 25% etc. is fine, but what about the boss fights? Like Tiamat, who is immune to spells lower than lvl 6? Watch the helpless party throw 1st to 5th lvl spells at the deadly machine of destruction, every turn of battle against which can end in nightmarish visions for the rest of your life?
2. Does it only seem to me that the WotC create adventures for mostly good/neutral PCs? What about evil guys? I mean a chaotic evil tiefling warlock, who is mostly interested in sacrificing people to Asmodeus can barely have any interest in saving the world. Or saving Phlan. Or saving anybody. What player hooks do you use in D&D for evil characters to stay in the party? How do you lure them into quests?
3. Gold sinks. Where should players spend their immense, insane, incredible amounts of gold? I am reading Hoard of the Dragon Queen, and it seems that gold starts raining from the sky at some point in the adventure.
Thank you and sorry for my bad English.
Norayr wrote:
That was very helpful. I tip my hat to you, sir.
Having finished running HOTDQ the pc's will leave lots of coin behind
1: 4e specificly told you if a monster was above or below 1/2. as well as knowlage checks to know stuff about monsters. so it might be a DC 20 int (religion) to know about tiamat's spell immunity. there's not rules in 5e for that so it's upto the DM.
2: yes, most are for good people. the problem with evil parties is they can turn on eachother. WotC also doesn't want to be blamed for telling kids to burn down orphanages.
3: what would you spend a million dollars on?
Is there a post/guide anywhere about the magic item tables. When and witch tables to roll on?
Hello all, and thank you for any information you may give. I am a BRAND new DM, and have little experience playing, not for several years (about 30) but my grandkids are getting interested in D&D, so I (unwittingly) agreed to play as DM. If this seems long, wait til I get to the other questions (lol)
But first, I am creating their characters to begin with, so I have a better understanding of what all goes in and with the character.
Most confusing right now is spells and casting.
Cantrips - not having materials, how many cantrips can a cleric or wizard have in mind at the start of a battle? example: both acid splash and firebolt do not require any materials, so can they have both ready to cast (one on one round, they other on the next round?) or can they only have one ready for each round of attack?
Thats enough for now. Have tons of questions, and need to figure out how to word them so they make sense.
again, thank you all for any info you may have.
DagosMoor wrote:
Thank you. I will do that.
sorry about this noobish question but i have to ask what happens if a vampire bites a werewolf or visa versa does it just do its regular dice roll or does it insta kill?
Paorthunax wrote:
alright thanks, only reason i ask is im a dm and i made a campain where you choose a side in one part vampire or werewolf, and one more question how would they do damage to each other if they're immune to nonmagical attacks?
I see. I think I would change the rule to be "natural attacks from vampires and werewolves count as magic weapons against other vampires and werewolves" in your campaign, as it seems tacky to require vampires and werewolves to carry a bunch of silver or magic weapons just to hurt their enemies (although you could give them vulnerable to silver weapons so it would be worth it to have them, but a werewolf with no silver wouldn't be "I can't do anything to the vampire").
Can we get a "sticky" thread for DM's to post their home-made map graphics on?
Or maybe even a whole directory for maps. You could have seperate threads for world-maps, city maps, dungeon maps and battlemats.
I think there is a lot of good stuff scattered through these boards, and it would be great to find it all in one place!
Hello guys, i hope you can help me out here. I have a team with 5 lvl 1 PCs, and gave them a set with 5 Arrows of Slaying, which adds 6d10 damage each, (found with some kobolds
) so they can take on a Spirit Naga (CR 8, 3900 XP)... I wanted to award XP, but not the full amount... should i give them just enough to lvl up? Any ideas?
And about the fight, I use a DM screen, so i can "help them" if need arises.
Xapolim wrote:
DM_Craig wrote:
Xapolim wrote: