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10 Most Common Mistakes DMs and Players Make in 5e D&D

If you’re like me you’ve been playing D&D a long time and 5e is not your introduction to this wonderful game. And if you’re like me you haven’t read every single page of the PHB and DMG. You’re an experienced player, you know what’s what. You rely on your experience and looks stuff up when you need to (good luck finding it in the PHB index).

However, as I play with more and more new players I find that many of the rules I thought were the same in 5e as they were in previous editions are not exactly the same. Many are quite similar but because I hadn’t taken the time to look them up I was doing things incorrectly. That’s not to say these errors broke the game, but if I’m doing things in a way that is contrary to the actual Rules As Written (RAW) that may cause confusions and lead to arguments in real life. Better to get it right and share that knowledge with others who didn’t know.

So to help all those experienced players like me who haven’t read the rule books cover to cover, I’ve compiled a helpful list of common mistakes I’ve seen or done when running or playing 5e D&D. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it covers the most gross violations and misconceptions. And to assure you that everything I say in the article below is correct, I’m even going to site page references from the PHB as applicable.

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Friday Favourites Humour Player Resources

Friday Favourite: What Your Weapon Says About Your Character

On Friday we comb through our extensive archives to find an older article that we feel deserves another look. From March 21, 2012, Dungeon’s Master once again presents: What Your Weapon Says About Your Character.

“The clothes make the man.” It’s a pretty common expression. It quite literally means that you can draw a conclusion, and usually a fairly accurate conclusion, about a person’s personality just based on what they’re wearing. In D&D, the type of clothes (or armor) a person wears will usually indicate with great accuracy what class he is but it’s less likely to accurately indicate what kind of a man he is – for that you have to look at his weapon.

During character creation most players I’ve gamed with will equip their character before they determine his personality. I know that’s how I usually do it. But I’ve noticed over the years that the personality of a PC is very often directly related to the type of weapon he carries. It’s like the weapon imprints a specific personality type on the characters wielding them.

So I’ve put together a list of my observations. This is simply my first-hand account of how I see things. It’s not based on any scientific method or precise sampling, it’s just what I’ve seen over and over again in the many years that I’ve played D&D. I think that despite my rather loose methodology the results are surprisingly accurate.

If you think I’ve really missed the mark on any of these I encourage you to leave your feedback in the comments section below. I also welcome new additions to the list. After all, there are a lot of weapons in D&D and my list just scratches the surface.

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Friday Favourites Player Resources

Friday Favourite: Band of Brothers – Adventuring Parties of the Same Race

On Friday we comb through our extensive archives to find an older article that we feel deserves another look. From January 26, 2011, Dungeon’s Master once again presents: Band of Brothers – Adventuring Parties of the Same Race.

In the upcoming Lair Assault public play adventure series Wizards is introducing “Glory,” a new achievement system where players earn points for accomplishing different goals. However, not all Glory is earned for defeating the monsters. In order to encourage repeat play they’re awarding Glory for trying things you might not normally consider trying – one such scenario is playing a party where everyone is the same race.

Have you ever played in a party where everyone was the same race? Normally, when you’re creating a character you can choose from any race or class that interests you; the sky’s the limit. What this usually means is that the party ends up with five PCs each representing different races and classes, and that’s ok. In fact it’s practically expected. A party where everyone’s the same race is an anomaly in D&D. But after hearing that Wizards would reward players with special Glory for trying this unusual party make-up I started considering just what such a party might look like. The more I thought about it the more excited I got about where this might lead.

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Friday Favourites Player Resources

Friday Favourite: Prove Your D&D Superiority

On Friday we comb through our extensive archives to find an older article that we feel deserves another look. From December 14, 2010, Dungeon’s Master once again presents: Prove Your D&D Superiority.

When I play games, I play to win. I want to be the best and I want everyone else to know that I’m the best. For most table-top games there is a clearly defined way to identify the winner. In fact many games – including Monopoly, Scrabble and Chess – all have tournaments or championships to crown the best of the best.

When it comes to D&D it’s just not that easy. How do you prove to the guys at your table, and more importantly other gamers, that you are the best at D&D? I’ve given it a lot of thought and I’ve got suggestions for determining the best of the best once and for all.

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Friday Favourites Player Resources

Friday Favourite: What Does Your Character Look Like?

On Friday we comb through our extensive archives to find an older article that we feel deserves another look. From September 21, 2009, Dungeon’s Master once again presents: What Does Your Character Look Like?

Describe your character? It sounds like a simple question, but it’s more difficult than you think. I’m not asking you to tell me your class or level; I want to know what your character actually looks like.

Most characters are described by their race, class and equipment and that’s it. But if I tell you that my PC is a Half-elvin Paladin wearing plate armor that doesn’t really give you a good idea of what I looks like.

Imagine that our PCs have never met before but need to meet in a very public or crowded place. All you have is a vague description of me. What kind of details will make your job easier? Knowing that I wear plate armor is helpful if you’re looking for me on a battlefield, but what if you’re trying to find me at a social function? I’m not likely to be wearing armor at all. So what other details will you need?

Most character sheets have a place for race, sex, height, weight, hair colour, eye colour and skin colour. All excellent details that help define your PC. But how much thought goes into the rest of your PC’s description?

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D&D Encounters DM Resources Player Resources

D&D Encounters: Out of the Abyss (Episode 1.2)

out-of-the-abyss-coverDuring last week’s kick off session the PCs awoke in a Drow prison cell with no equipment, no armor, no weapons, and no spellbooks. Also in the cell with the PCs were 10 other NPC prisoners. Some were friendly and willing to talk and share info, while others were either unable to communicate because of language barriers or unwilling to speak because of their general disposition towards the PCs. What the heroes learned was that they were to be sold as slaves in the Drow city of Menzoberranzan.

While they waited for the caravan that would transport them to their doom, they realized they should try to escape. Finishing their lives as Drow slaves was not a palatable option for any of the PCs. So while on work detail in session 1 they plotted, schemed and gathered information to make their escape more successful. When we finished last week two prisoners (a PC and an NPC) had thrown caution to the wind and started a bloody rampage, attacking and killing Drow guards indiscriminately. Read on to see how that worked out for them.

This week at Face to Face Games in Toronto we ran five tables. Two were starting from the beginning as they spent last week finishing off Princes of the Apocalypse, while the other three tables continued right where they left off last week. There were 27 players all together, I had five at my table. Four of my players were with us last week, the fifth player started with another group but decided to join us after some real-life conflict at his table last week. My party consisted of the following members: Half-Orc Barbarian, Half-Orc Fighter, Elf Wizard, and two Human Rogues (one from the other table, the other a change of PCs from the person playing the Ranger last week).

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Actual Play Podcast - Episode 1, Session 2 (Face to Face Games) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Actual Play Podcast - Episode 1, Session 2 (Hairy T North) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Recounting Encounters - Rage of Demons Episode 2 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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D&D Encounters DM Resources Player Resources

D&D Encounters: Out of the Abyss (Episode 1.1)

out-of-the-abyss-coverWelcome to another exciting season of D&D Encounters. This is season 21 if you count from when the program originally launched, or season 3 since the launch of 5e. The new storyline is called Rage of Demons and this season’s adventure is called Out of the Abyss. The Encounters season has the characters wandering the Underdark as they struggle to learn what’s happening and why there are so many Demons wandering around. Along the way they meet numerous interesting NPCs and begin to understand that the Underdark is a dangerous and beautiful place. However, it will take all of their skills, wits, and magic to survive long enough to reach the safety of the surface world once again. Do you have what it takes? Visit your FLGS and find out.

We had a great turnout at Face to Face Games in Toronto. We ran four tables of six (24 players total), but will be expanding to five tables next week as we know more players will be participating this season. At Hairy T North we had five tables that could barley handle the 29 players who showed up. Everyone wants to play this season of D&D Encounters.

My table had the following PCs: Gnome Wizard (Folk Hero), Gnome Fighter (Sage), Half-Orc Barbarian (Folk Hero), Half-Orc Fighter (Outlander), Elf Ranger (Outlander), and Elf Wizard (Acolyte). We’ll see how the absence of any healing magic works out this season. I’m guessing badly.

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Actual Play Podcast - Episode 1, Session 1 (Face to Face Games) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Actual Play Podcast - Episode 1, Session 1 (Hairy T North) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Recounting Encounters - Rage of Demons Episode 1 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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D&D Encounters DM Resources Player Resources

Recounting Encounters Podcast – 3 New Episodes

dd-adventurers-league-logoOn September 9 we began the new season of D&D Encounters – Out  of the Abyss. As D&D Encounters returns to a regular weekly schedule and everyone gets back to playing more or less the same encounters each week we’ll get back to doing new Recounting Encounters episodes every week. Links to the weekly show will be included in the weekly recap articles (the week 1 recap will be posted shortly).

So what have we been doing over the past few months you may be asking? Over the summer some groups at our FLGS continued with Princes of the Apocalypse, and by the end most were at very different points in the adventure with none anywhere near the end. Other groups gave up on PotA once the material in the free DM PDF was completed. Tables at our FLGS who stopped decided instead to run D&D Expeditions to fill the time on Wednesday nights.

With everyone doing different things and playing different games we found it difficult to keep to a regular Recounting Encounters schedule with meaningful content. But we did manage to record a few new episodes. Today we’re sharing those podcasts. You can click the links below to listen or download each episode. These are also now available through iTunes.

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Recounting Encounters: August 6, 2015 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Recounting Encounters: August 20, 2015 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Recounting Encounters: September 3, 2015 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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Friday Favourites Player Resources

Friday Favourite: Back to School Tips for Gamers

On Friday we comb through our extensive archives to find an older article that we feel deserves another look. From September 3, 2013, Dungeon’s Master once again presents: Back to School Tips for Gamers.

Yes, I realize we ran this as a Friday Favourite this time last year, but I think this is a good article, and it’s timely, so we’re running it again. Enjoy. — Ameron

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Friday Favourites Player Resources

Friday Favourite: Skill Focus – Diplomacy / Persuasion

On Friday we comb through our extensive archives to find an older article that we feel deserves another look. From October 21, 2009, Dungeon’s Master once again presents: Skill Focus – Diplomacy.

After Perception, Diplomacy seems to be the skill used most often in my games. Any time your PC finds himself in a social situation you know that you’re going to end up making a Diplomacy check. But Diplomacy is more that just talking the talk. It’s usually about knowing what to say and how to say it. Your PC’s body language can also have as much of an impact as the words coming out of his mouth.

Most skills are versatile on their own, but since Diplomacy is generally opposed by Insight it’s probably a good idea to take training in both if your class allows it. Any time a PC is engaged in a back-and-forth dialogue they’ll probably end up using both skills, so taking training in both will greatly improve your chances of success.

Whenever a PC speaks the truth the appropriate skill is usually Diplomacy. As soon as they start leaving out details, deliberately withholding information or outright lying it starts to tread on the ground of Bluff. If you’re trained in Diplomacy but not in Bluff (we’re looking at you Paladins and Clerics) then it’s up to you to convince your DM that a Diplomacy check is still the right one given the circumstances. Letting the Rogue speak only when the party needs to tell a lie is going to be a pretty obvious “tell” that you’ve trying to mislead the king or swindle the merchant.

It’s important to remember that in many circumstances you’re only going to get one shot at a Diplomacy check, so you’d better be sure that you make the most of it. You wouldn’t want to ruin a diplomatic dinner because you drank the lemon scented water that you should have used to wash your fingers.

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