Shooting into melee combat

When shooting a ranged attack into melee combat, the target gets +4 to their AC due to the difficulty of shooting through the mess of foes.

If the attack misses, then the attack will instead hit somebody who has less AC than the attack roll.

Example:

Fighter is battling a demon. The demon has an AC of 20. The Fighter has an AC of 17.

The party Ranger tries to help and shoots into the melee, targeting the demon. The demon normally has 20 AC, but for the purposes of this attack, has 24 AC. This is because the Ranger needs to take extra care to hit the right target.

The Ranger rolls their attack and gets a 21. 21 is too low to beat 24, so the attack misses the demon. However, because 21 is higher than the Fighter's AC of 17, it hits the Fighter instead.

If it's lower than the Fighter's AC as well, then the attack misses and hits nobody.

LMOP: Same Page Tool

For my offline Phandalin game, this is a tool to clear up assumptions and get everybody on the same page about what kind of game we're expected to play. The point is to create a clear ideal for playstyle, not try to mash together 50 different competing styles.

The selected answer is in red.

1) Do you play to win?

a) Yes, you totally play to win! The win conditions are…
b) Good play isn’t a win/lose kind of thing

2) Player characters are:

a) expected to work together; conflicts between them are mostly for show
b) expected to work together; major conflicts might erupt but you’ll patch them up given some time
c) expected to work together; major conflicts might erupt and never see reconciliationd) pursuing their own agendas – they might work together, they might work against each other
d) pursuing their own agendas – they might work together, they might work against each other
e) expected to work against each other, alliances are temporary at beste) expected to work against each other, alliances are temporary at best

3) The GM’s role is:

a) The GM preps a set of events – linear or branching; players run their characters through these events. The GM gives hints to provide direction.
b) The GM preps a map with NPCs and/or monsters. The players have their characters travel anywhere they can reach on the map, according to their own goals.
c) The GM has no plan – the GM simply plays the NPCs and has them act or react based on their motivations
d) There’s no GM. Everyone works together to make the story through freeform.
e) There’s no GM. The rules and the system coordinate it all.

4) The players’ roles are…

a) …to follow the GM’s lead to fit the story
b) …to set goals for their characters, and pursue them proactively
c) …to fling their characters into tough situations and make hard, sometimes, unwise choices

5) Doing the smartest thing for your character’s survival…

a) …is what a good player does.
b) …sometimes isn’t as important as other choices
c) …isn’t even a concern or focus for this game.

6) The GM’s role to the rules is…

a) …follow them, come what may. (including following house rules)
b) …ignore them when they conflict with what would be good for the story
c) …ignore them when they conflict with what “should” happen, based either on realism, the setting, or the genre

7) After many sessions of play, during one session, a player decides to have her character side with an enemy. This is…

a) …something that shouldn’t even happen. This is someone being a jerk.
b) …where the character becomes an NPC, right away or fairly soon.c) …something the player and the GM should have set up ahead of time.
d) …only going to last until the other player characters find out and do something about it.
e) …a meaningful moment, powerful and an example of excellent play.

8) A fistfight breaks out in a bar! The details of where everything is – tables, chairs, where everyone is standing is something that…

a) …is important and will be displayed on a map or grid, perhaps using miniature figures.
b) …is something the GM will describe and you should ask questions to get more information.
c) …you can decide on the spot using specific game rules (rolling dice, spending points, whatever)
d) …isn’t really that important other than it makes for an interesting scene- pretty much anyone can come up with details.

9) In order to really have fun with this game, the rulebook is something that

a) …everyone playing needs to have read and understood before play, because the rules and setting are both very important.
b) …everyone should know the rules very well.
c) …everyone should know the setting very well.
d) …everyone at least should know the basics of the rules.
e) …everyone at least should know the genre the game pulls from
f) …Only one person needs to really know the rules

10) This game runs best when the players take time to create characters that are…

a) …built to face challenges using the mechanics and stats.
b) …written with extensive backstories or histories
c) …given strong motivations and an immediate problem or crisis
d) …tied into the other characters as (allies) (enemies) (as either)
e) …written with some knowledge, research or reading up on the game setting, real history or an actual culture

Inspiration

I've decided to experiment with using Inspiration in our current Lost Mines of Phandelver 5th edition D&D campaign. To that end, here is how I'm going to apply it in the actual game.

Using Inspiration gives you Advantage on an attack roll, saving throw, or skill check. (When you have Advantage, you roll two d20s instead of one, and keep the higher number. Likewise, Disadvantage means rolling two d20s and keeping the lower one.)

First of all, everybody will start each game with exactly one Inspiration. You can only have one Inspiration at a time, so it behooves you to use it. But you can only use it during certain times.

Taking an Inspired Action

You can use your Inspiration when you're doing something that ties into your character's personal characteristics (ideals, personality trait, bonds, flaws).

1. You can use it to give yourself Advantage.

As an example, let's suppose you have the Personality Trait, "My greataxe is a family heirloom, and it’s by far my most precious possession," and during a battle it gets knocked away, teetering on the edge of the cliff. If you put yourself in danger to try and save it, you could use Inspiration.

2. You can also use it to give Advantage to SOMEONE ELSE with their own actions.

Suppose that your Personality Trait is "I see people as marks for a con and have difficulty feeling true empathy for them," and you decide to help a fellow conman size up a potential victim. You could use your Inspiration to give them Advantage on their attempt to trick their target.

3. Lastly, you can use it to give Disadvantage to SOMEONE ELSE.

For example, if your ideal is "I must protect my friends," and you decide to help take the brunt of an assault, you could use your Inspiration to help them fend off the attack and give the enemy Disadvantage on their attack roll.

The important part is it has to connect directly to your personal characteristics somehow, and that you're actually in a position to be able to do something. You can't just toss in an Inspiration to help someone if you're not even in the same room, or help defend them from someone if you're not actually able to do so, etc.

Earning Inspiration

Once you've burned up your Inspiration, you can earn a new Inspiration point by volunteering to impose Disadvantage on your roll based on one of your personal characteristics, OR by making a decision that creates a significant setback. Either one has to be related to personal characteristics.

1. Imposing Disadvantage based on a personal characteristic

Suppose you have a Flaw, "I'm easily tempted by shiny objects," and you're asked to roll Perception in a room studded with glittering gems and treasure when you're searching for a trap. You could volunteer to impose Disadvantage on the roll because your character is too distracted by the gems to notice the obvious traps laying about.

2. Making a decision that creates a significant setback

You can also earn Inspiration back when making a decision that creates a setback. Suppose you've taken an oath to never lie, and an enemy asks you an incriminating question. You answer honestly, giving him critical information or a significant advantage.

Character Development

People change and grow over time. As your character experiences challenge and loss, triumph and adversity, they might believe in new ideals or shed previous ones. Sometimes the DM will invite you to wipe out an old characteristic and replace it with a new one that reflects the current character. For instance, if you had an Ideal, "The Church is always right," and your character goes through a harrowing experience that could cause him to lose faith, you might strike out that Ideal and replace it with something new.

This is still a work in progress, but it should give you an idea of how it works.