Tips and tricks for people new to d&d

[Ragnar]

I see some complain about the d&d system and mostly its out of ignorance. Tabletop RPG is normally a little more advanced than todays computer games which is dumbed down so people dont have to think. 5th edition d&d is the easiest d&d system, but can still be hard for some, so here are some tips and tricks that will help some people whining on the forums:

random whiner lähetti viestin:

 I just miss with all my attacks!

The attacks in d&d is mainly effected by 3 things: Your attribute with the weapon or spell, proficiency and if you have advantage or disadvantage.

 Attribute:
Double check you have 16 or more in the attribute that is used by the weapon/spell (mainly strength for melee weapons, dexterity for ranged weapons and your main spellcasting attribute for spells).

 Proficiency:
Hover over the weapon and see that there is nothing saying you dont have proficiency in the weapon.

 Advantage/disadvantage
In the bottom left when holding the mouse curser over your enemy you can see if you have advantage or disadvantage. With advantage you roll twice and take the best roll, and with disadvantage you roll twice and take the worst roll. So this is very important.

If you are melee the easiest way to get advantage is hitting someone in the back. Just run around them. Make sure you move so your dont provoke attack of opportunity from them (small red arrow pointing away from them).

If you are ranged the easiest way to get advantage is elevation or hiding. Just find a high spot and shot from there. Or if the mob is already high up, get someone to push them down. For hiding just go out of their sight cone and hide (click shift to see their sight).

Special mention: Prone status gives advantage to anyone attacking the prone target with melee attacks, but disadvantage with ranged attacks.

 Other effects:
Bless spell is very useful as it gives +1d4 on the attack roll. Magical weapons with enhancement bonus. Acid reduces your enemies ac by 2.

With +3 from attribute, +2 proficiency, +1 from enhancement you have +6 to hit. Monsters armor class varies from about 8 to 18 so far. But let say against ac 12, you need to roll 6+ on a 1d20 to hit. That is 75% chance to hit. With advantage you will only miss 1 in 16 hits. Against AC 17 which is quite high you will hit 50% of the time. With advantage you will miss 1 in 4 attacks.

random crybaby lähetti viestin:

 The monsters just saves against all my spells :(

Spells that can be resisted by saving throws is resisted by specific attributes. So have spells that targets different attributes and use them against the right mobs or in the right situation. Dont cast a spell that is resisted by strength on a big dumb ogre. Cast something that targets dexterity, intelligence, wisdom or charisma. If you are not sure the attributes of a mob, just right click it and examine. It feels like cheating, but it makes it very easy to pick the right spell for the job.

So if your spell save DC is 13, the ogre will save on a 9+ roll or 60% of the time if you target strength. If you target his intelligence he will save on a 16+ or 25% of the time.

Also some conditions make them automatic fail their saving throw. So here you can think combinations :)

random n00b lähetti viestin:

 My spellcaster only have 3 spells per day :( what a crap character

Spellcasters require a little more thought to play than the rest of the other characters, but the rewards are very good when done right. In 5e they have cantrips that can be spammed every turn, but the other spells can really turn the tide of a fight or make you do incredible stuff. Cast invisibility on a character and walk around the entire map. Pick the pockets of your enemies and take their elemental arrows and potions and the fight will be much easier. Cast magic missile on the boss that just cast blur and can hardly be hit by your other characters anymore (blur gives all attackers disadvantage). That is 3+ concentration saves straight away and will surely make him loose blur and let your other characters hit again. Use fog/darkness to create an area where your ranged can safely pop in and out of to not be targeted. Use grease on a chokepoint and see your enemies fall prone. Buff your characters with shield of faith and boost their ac to the level that they can almost not be hit. Use bless to make it much easier for your characters to hit. Just read each spell and use your imagination. Some spells might not seam very useful at first glance, but most of them have their usefulness.

random beginner lähetti viestin:

 I only have 1 action :( Feels like my character cant do anything

You actually have 4 action types. Normal action, bonus action, move and reaction. If you are just using your action, then you might feel it is a bit lackluster.

 Bonus actions is called bonus for a reason. They are extra and not so easy to get in the tabletop system, but Larian has made this a bit easier as you can push, drink potion, hide etc with bonus action. Having a plan about what each character should be doing with their bonus action is important to maximize action economy. You will be getting more uses later when more spells, feats and abilities are added.

 For the move action i would suggest moving every round. For melee run to to the enemies back to get advantage. For the ranged, run out of the enemies sight range and use hide to avoid being attacked, get to elevation or break enemy line of sight.

 Reactions are a bit hearder to get. Everyone have attack of opportunity, but right now you have for example light clerics warding flare, battlemaster fighters riposte, several spells etc. Again more feats, spells and abilities will be added.

 There are also some effects that gives extra actions. Haste (spell or potion) gives +1 action. Thief Rogues can get + 1 bonus action. Fighters can get +1 action once per short rest. You will also attack twice per attack action at level 5 for some classes.

[CAN U IMAGINE 16 TIMES THE DRM?]

You think Divinity kids are going to read that, good luck xd.

[Ragnar]

Well some hopefully. Or Larian employees so they dont feel tempted to do changes to please the whiners that dont take the time to learn :)

[Jonkenden]

Advantage is also given with one friendly attacking the same enemy, attacks from hiding and some status effects.

Sleep on enemies is lowkey brutal since attacks on sleeping foes is 100% hit and always criticals if possible. Same with paralysed.

Firebolt creates fire below enemies that happens regardless if you hit or not, so it`s almost guaranteed damage. Magic missile never misses enemies but it can hit terrain if you don`t check aim.

You can have one spell that requires concentration active on one character, try using another and you will autocancel the first spell. Concentration spells can be disrupted by hurting the caster, Bane and Bless are common concentration spells you might want to disrupt on enemy casters

Adding. Low light conditions gives disadvantage to hit for races without special vision, light enemies on fire to remove it or just use some form of light source

[apocryphalbob]

Although I knew a lot of that info already it is still a very useful reminder and a good chunk of tips all in one place.
My best tip is use the sleep spells a lot and don't forget to double check your concentration spells.
Nice post OP

[Teruke]

damn that's a quite a bit wall of text for sum tips
i just wanna push button and dmg go brrr

[Jonkenden]

Bump for visibility