Thread by @JesseHeinig

Recently designer @justice_arman wrote a bit about D&D effects that take players out of play - spells like 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 and 𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘦, which (if the dice don't favor you) just take you out of the game for some amount of time. (thread) #dnd

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Of course this has a long pedigree in D&D. Spells like this go back to the early editions. Not to mention that much of D&D's game mechanics are built on a "roll well or you just lost your turn" system - attack and miss? Failed your skill check? Often similar to doin' nuthin'.

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In early early early editions of D&D, characters had few options, meaning that taking your turn was fast. That meant that combat was quick. Swing, miss! Next! Swing, hit! Next! 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦 and you've used your one spell! Next!

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Modern D&D makes characters very distinctive with a range of abilities, powers, and spells to use, and specific rules for movement, taking actions, and maneuvering on the battlefield. So when you're in a fight, your turn might be kinda complicated.

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This means that losing your turn feels extra-bad because now you have to wait that much longer for everyone else to take their turns before getting back to you! And if you're out because of a spell or power, you just missed a bunch of fun in the game.

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Partly this design stems from the fact that many spells are "alternative wins" - instead of running the enemy out of hit points, you try to put them to sleep, paralyze them, poison them, halt their movement, penalize their rolls, make them unable to attack, and so on.

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Some DMs just don't use these spells and powers against players to avoid this problem. Alternatively, what would D&D look like if these abilities functioned differently?

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A few possibilities come to mind immediately. You might take a page from Savage Worlds and have one set of rules for PCs and important villains, and another set of rules for minor enemies. A 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 spell might be far more devastating to minions than to heroes.

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That's a lot of extra rules though!

Another possibility is to do something like the medusa rules in 5e. Failing your save hinders you, but isn't immediately an out-of-play condition unless you fail by a lot. Failing multiple saves is what really gets you.

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In addition to adding more rules to all of these spells, though, this means that you have to keep track of effects from turn to turn, as they might escalate and you need to know what stage you're in.

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It also means some spells lose their luster: 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 ain't that great if it can't actually paralyze your enemies until they've spent three rounds whacking you and failing saves.

A third possibility is to make it a tactical choice for the player.

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What if 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 allows you a save, and if you succeed you're unaffected, if you fail you're paralyzed, but if you choose not to make a save you are partially affected? You can take either an action or a move on your turn, but not both.

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Well, it's more rules and more to learn, but now it means that the player is making a choice about what level of risk they want, and if they don't want to leave it to luck, they take an effect that alters their tactics but still lets them participate.

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It does make 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 less powerful though, because people who don't want to be fully paralyzed can always choose to take the lesser effect. So it needs a little punching up - maybe it no longer requires concentration, or can affect up to 3 targets upon casting.

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The other side of this, the culture side, is that D&D combat can be pretty think-heavy and take time, so be a considerate player. Think about your turns ahead of time and pay attention to the game as it moves. Be ready so you don't make everyone wait.

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Losing a turn still sucks, but it sucks less if you get to your next turn faster! So help everyone out by paying attention to the game, taking your turn in a timely fashion as much as you can, and then solidly letting everyone know that you're done so the next person can go.

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In pro chess, players have to indicate when their turn is done. This simple act means no dithering, wondering if you're finished, other players waiting on you, etc. Helpful and easy to do!

Anyway, thanks @justice_arman for inspiring this thread!

~Fin~