Optional New House Rule I Borrowed

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by swaghauler

You're limiting your options not using DISADVANTAGE. It is the ideal mechanic for a temporary penalty due to player positioning or behavior. It would be useful for inflicting penalties on the "bad guys" too.

Maybe, but I feel like players punish themselves within the rules by taking foolhardy, reckless actions. If a player charges a machine gun nest across 100m of open field, logical consequences will very likely follow. Rolling Disadvantage against the PCs in additional to circumstantial factors is practically a guarantee of disastrous results. I'd never thought about using it for OPFOR, though.

Originally Posted by swaghauler

I like the INSPIRATION mechanic BUT two of my players come from the "gritty realism" camp and might not approve. The other two come from the "in video games every hero is invincible after the third encounter" camp. I must walk a fine line between the two camps.

I get it. As a GM, you've got to be judicious, and set reasonable limits.

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[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by Raellus

Maybe, but I feel like players punish themselves within the rules by taking foolhardy, reckless actions. If a player charges a machine gun nest across 100m of open field, logical consequences will very likely follow. Rolling Disadvantage against the PCs in additional to circumstantial factors is practically a guarantee of disastrous results. I'd never thought about using it for OPFOR, though.



I get it. As a GM, you've got to be judicious, and set reasonable limits.

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I have a "min-maxer" (our European members would call him a "munchkin") I have to keep a tight reign on. To give you an idea of how bad it is, He played a BUGBEAR Barbarian/Bard multiclassed character in D&D5e. He literally "dissects" a rulebook looking for "exploits" to increase his chances of dominating the game.

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by swaghauler

I have a "min-maxer" (our European members would call him a "munchkin") I have to keep a tight reign on. To give you an idea of how bad it is, He played a BUGBEAR Barbarian/Bard multiclassed character in D&D5e. He literally "dissects" a rulebook looking for "exploits" to increase his chances of dominating the game.

Yeah, got one of them here two. Delves deep into the books to find the absolute "best" mix of class/race/skills.
Have another who tends to fudge rolls if you're not closely watching each and every one. Not sure which of them is worse....

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

Yeah, got one of them here two. Delves deep into the books to find the absolute "best" mix of class/race/skills.
Have another who tends to fudge rolls if you're not closely watching each and every one. Not sure which of them is worse....

That's a tough one there. The rolls guy would HATE my games. I use the roll as a sort of "narrative tool" during play. I have my players roll the To Hit die, the Location die, and the Damage dice all at the same time. This allows me to instantly see...

- Was there a hit?
- Where was the target hit?
- How badly was the target hit?

I can then "narrate" the hit to the players very quickly and precisely and keep the action flowing. I tend towards a more "cinematic" style these days (to keep my younger player's interest) and being "descriptive" really pays off.

I have even thought (HARD) about adding in Special Effects like those found in Legend/Mythras that will allow the Characters to gain such Effects if they roll either 5 or 10 UNDER the needed score (with lesser Effects at 5 and the better effects at 10) on the Task roll.