The Rules I Always Get Wrong or Can Never Remember

I want to take a minute and go over the rules I have a really hard time with.
Thanks so much to WorldAnvil for sponsoring this video! Visit www.worldanvil.com/supergeekmike and use the promo code SUPERGEEK to get 40% off any annual membership!
www.worldanvil.com/supergeekmike
CW: Brief discussion of suffocation and drowning, a very vague CR spoiler
Chapters:
00:00 - The Latest News!
00:50 - We Don’t All Know All the Rules
02:03 - Disclaimer
04:05 - Loading Weapons
05:04 - Waterborne Vehicles
05:41 - Hirelings
07:15 - Multiclassing and Spellcasting
07:53 - Group Checks
08:21 - Jump Rules
10:47 - A Word From Our Sponsor
12:51 - Suffocation
13:55 - Squeezing Into a Small Space
14:20 - Knocking a Creature Out
14:55 - Mounted Combat
16:29 - So, Why These Rules?
18:44 - Outro
Canon in D Major Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
PATREON: / supergeekmike
DISCORD: / discord
NEWSLETTER: www.supergeekmike.com/newsletter
____________________________________
WEBSITE/BLOG: www.supergeekmike.com/
WISHLIST: www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls...
Address for Packages:
Mike Christensen
100 W. High St., #1326
Moorpark, CA 93021
- PLEASE don't address things to "SupergeekMike"; I need to show I.D. when I pick up packages, and that isn't the name on my driver's license
Address for Letters:
Mike Christensen
P.O. Box 1326
Moorpark, CA 93020
TWITTER: / supergeekmike
INSTAGRAM: / supergeekmike
TIKTOK: / supergeekmike
TWITCH: / supergeekmike
____________________________________
More Links, including my One Funny link: www.supergeekmike.com/links

[@Trintron46]

"Guess I wasn't meant to have the haircut." I felt that deep in my soul.

[@HantaleMedia]

P: "This gap is 10 feet wide?" DM: "Yup" P: "I have a strength score of 16." DM: "Yup." P: "So by the jumping rules I can jump up to 16 feet automatically?" DM: "Makes sense to me." P: "I jump over the gap in the floor." DM: "Make an acrobatics check to jump and not fall in-" 😮‍💨

[@studentofsmith]

I can never seem to remember the rules for jumping no matter how many times I look them up.

[@B2wasTaken]

Seriously, having to the roll to jump is the dumbest shit Ive ever seen in my life

[@johnathanrhoades7751]

I finally know this one!! I still forget high jump rules…

[@shieldgenerator7]

i just make my own rules for jumping bc i dont like the standard rules

[@jorge669]

Can't wait to relearn random specifics like this in One D&D

[@SupergeekMike]

Ah the joys of a new release of rules!

[@MorningDusk7734]

It's things like these that are why I strongly advocate for creating your own DM screen layouts. The default is nice and all, but I've definitely put things on my screen like my custom pantheon that would never be on a generic screen, and I've taken things like the conditions panel off because I have the Hit Point Press cards and would rather use those. And creating your own layouts means you can change things up as you realize "hey, I haven't used the audible distance rules the whole campaign, but I've looked up the healing potion prices 5 times, let's swap those out".

[@Stephen-Fox]

While I don't use a screen (I play mostly VoIP and PbP - even occasionally text chat games - not even video calls) whenever I'm prepping for a non-solo game, particularly a new to me system, one of the things I'll do is write myself a cheatsheet in notepad. I don't know if it helps reference things, but writing the rules out probably helps me remember. What I put in it depends on the system (and for more complicated ones, will always include what I think I need to make calls on the fly without needing to look things up - Back when I ran GURPS way back I copied out the handy dandy +10 to -10 quick modifier table in terms of what that means for driving onto it) But I find it useful to have a sheet I can refer to outside of the PDF or book, even the quick reference stuff in the PDF.

[@darkness_visible7227]

Interesting note on the non-lethal attacks. They do have to be melee BUT they don't have to be mundane. So while most spells cannot be made non-lethal, something like Shocking Grasp can :)

[@SupergeekMike]

Oooh cool

[@LuckDragonLair]

@@SupergeekMike Yeah I'd probably describe it as ending the spell moments early when you see them going unconscious. :)

[@OccidentalAvian]

One thing to note about water vehicles, is that their speeds are actually different in the Player's Handbook versus their rules in Ghosts of Saltmarsh. GoS boats are actually around twice as fast (and incidentally, more accurate to real life). For example, a PHB "Sailing ship" is 2 mph, while a GoS "Sailing ship" is 5 mph.

[@SupergeekMike]

Oh that’s funny! I wonder if they realized, now that the speeds would matter, that they were just too slow to be interesting. Or maybe some folks online said “Hey this makes no sense,” that’s also possible.

[@manueltorresart2345]

I come here just for the adds, D&D and other TTRPG are secondary at this point. Regarding rules, if I've seen Matthew Mercer checking several time some rules on live shows, I can do that too and don't feel ashamed.

[@SupergeekMike]

Thank you!!

[@LyonHart1313]

Another option is to make an immediate ruling and look it up later and clarify with the group. I do this when there is something dramatic or pivotal going on and don’t want to disrupt the moment.

[@manueltorresart2345]

@@LyonHart1313 I've done that yes. Specially with some core rules that I'm not sure where to look for and trying to find it in the entire book will take some time.

[@petesalzl1]

I found "from TV's the Internet" to be a funny joke. Well done

[@SupergeekMike]

Thank you!

[@jonash3406]

For the Knock-out rule I legit forgot it was a a thing, in my campaigns I homebrewed it that using bludgeoning damage will allow you to knock a creature out (cause I figured if you use a quarterstaff you have more control over that than, say, using a Greataxe.)

[@SupergeekMike]

That makes sense!

[@BiggestGal]

I didn't even know Mirror Image duplicates had an AC. The way I thought the spell worked was if you're hit, you roll a d20 to determine if your clone was hit instead of you, and that was it.

[@TheAciddragon069]

same

[@SupergeekMike]

Same! But apparently there’s a whole other aspect lol

[@dancovich]

It makes sense that if the attacker misses then there's no point in making one image disappear, as the attacker won't know he hit an image

[@agsilverradio2225]

I thoguht it was the same, but in the reverse order.

[@UnkillableMrStake]

Love the choice on Canon for the ad lol

[@SupergeekMike]

Thanks!

[@dancovich]

Jumping in real life is such a complex activity (vertically? horizontally? diagonally? With running start?) that most of the time I do a quick judgement if the jump is even possible for any member of that species and then do an athletics check with a DC based on how hard I judge the jump to be.

[@Suihart_]

I feel like the jump rules are harder to remember because they're not consistent with each other. A long jump is determined by your strength SCORE, while a high jump depends on your strength MODIFIER (and you add a seemingly arbitrary +3 to it). The distance for both varies depending on any movement beforehand, which becomes more difficult to calculate in combat when there are so many factors that can change your speed (like dash, haste, or difficult terrain). And these are on top of any athletics/acrobatics checks your DM might ask you to do. They make sense when you really think about how it works in real life, but it doesn't get any less confusing to remember.

[@SupergeekMike]

That arbitrary +3 is a huge part of the problem! Why is it there? Why isn’t it, like, proficiency bonus or something? It’s nonsense.

[@johnathanrhoades7751]

The arbitrary 3 is because that’s about how many feet high an average person can jump with a running start. So a +0 in a stat (the average modifier) would leave you with a 3’ high jump.

[@gnomesaiyan1680]

The one rule that eluded me for so long was that when you get an ASI and raise your CON, if the CON bonus goes up by +1, your HP maximum goes up retroactively. So that +1 from the ASI at say, level 8, means your HP maximum goes up by 8, in addition to the HP you got at level up.

[@Irrevenant_]

The jump rules are one of the things I keep on my screen, along with all the miscellaneous rules or other things I can't be bothered to memorize for reasons unknown to me.

[@SupergeekMike]

For real tho, I need to do that too

[@pedrogarcia8706]

My interpreatation of the rule that horizontal jumping movement costs movement is that if you're jumping a 20 foot chasm, and your str is 20, but you only have 10 feet of movement left, you can make them jump, but you will end your turn in the air, and start your next turn in the air mid jump.

[@TASSnoop]

I'm very aware of the rules on knocking creatures out because our party likes to knock out enemies to gather information at a more advantageous time. And as a ranger of that party I am even more aware of the fact that I can't knock out a creature with my ranged attacks. I have definitely upset my party a little bit before by killing someone with a ranged attack who we wanted to interrogate after battle.

[@Dalenthas]

Gotta remember the mounted combat rules the next time the gnome wizard wants to ride the Goliath paladin.

[@syvajarvi2289]

I’m a prolific multi classer. Those rules I have locked down tight that’s why I like it. Tasha’s ranger mixed with most other classes are a mean combination. Ranger Bards make for great urban bounty hunters.

[@HantaleMedia]

A more serious comment though: I think a lot of these were somewhat predictable! Nicher rules that are only really used by specific types of characters/plots (crossbow users, melee characters that want to not kill, multiclassers that pick different spellcasting classes), or less common in-world interactions. It's an interesting testament to How many people learn D&D by skimming the rules they need and then being told the rest by others. Which I've discovered is quite large. I suppose an important question is: when you don't know a rule, do you make a note for yourself and look it up later? Or do you just ask the other players, and go with whoever sounds right? Or just make up a ruling and go with that for the rest of the game? Different styles of DMing!

[@marywockenfuss-thecraftypl6461]

Thank you so much for this video. Those are some rules I may need to be familiar with in the future as I DM my family's games. I love how you were talking through your thoughts on what you read - that helped me understand the rules a little better too.

[@SupergeekMike]

I’m glad!

[@bristowski]

This is a good channel. I like Mike.

[@SupergeekMike]

😁

[@yargolocus4853]

you might enjoy Blades in the Dark system. it's way more narratively focused, with systems where they are needed, and literally just following "what makes sense in fiction" otherwise.

[@jemal999]

'some people might even decide to keep playing 5th edition' Here I am, still playing 3.5 & 1st edition Pathfinder.... And I know players who still love 1st edition. Sometimes you just find that edition that agrees with you, and stick with it.

[@Juniper_Rose]

I thought the Group Check one was just...a Critical Role homebrew. I thought they were just averaged out, too!

[@SupergeekMike]

I wonder if part of the reason I assumed it was homebrew is because we watched Matt try to decide how he wanted to handle group checks over the course of the show…

[@leahwilton785]

My version of this is light & vision. We basically played without considering light in my first games, and generally people think dark vision is more powerful than it is. RAW, dark vision makes your vision one step stronger (darkness acts as dim light, dim light as bright light). You cannot make visual perception checks in darkness (you can't see), and you have disadvantage on perception checks in dim light. Trying to apply this as a dm

[@FedericoVetencourt]

After almost the same amount of time playing as you last Saturday a player from an in-store event taught me that any character can trip or disarm an enemy and not just Battle Masters XD we are humans and everyday you learn something new

[@arcticbanana66]

The most common mistake I see both DMs and players make is applying Critical Success and Failure to Ability Checks, Skill Checks, and Saving Throws. Rolling a Natural 20 or Natural 1 _only_ applies to Attack Rolls and Death Saving Throws, nothing else. The rules are on PHB pages 194 ("Rolling 1 or 20") and 197 ("Death Saving Throws"), and DMG page 242 ("Critical Success or Failure"). Furthermore, rolling a Natural 1 on an Attack Roll means the attack automatically misses... and _nothing else._ "Critical Fumbles" are a house rule introduced by Dragon Magazine during 2nd Edition, and it's stuck around ever since. Critical Fumbles have _never_ been a core rule of D&D, only appearing in the 3rd and 4th Edition DMGs very briefly mentioned as a possible optional rule, and being specifically called out in 4E's chapter about making House Rules as an example of a bad rule, or at least a rule you need to be _very careful_ about using.

[@SupergeekMike]

I think it’s fine if DMs decide to add some of these details/options, but you’re right, it’s good to make sure they know that that’s not how the rules are written. That way, the DMs have a choice between approaches for critical successes and fails.

[@arcticbanana66]

@@SupergeekMike Exactly. Page 242 in the DMG even gives a couple suggestions if DMs want to let Natural 1s and 20s to affect Ability and Skill Checks.

[@ljmiller96]

I chose the name "The Hunger" for my current campaign because "The Last Stand Against the Grell Invasion" gave up too much of the plot at the beginning. Grell eat everything and everyone, for fun not for nutritional reasons, and the boss grell behind this campaign has ambitions to reach the Galactus class of eaters. Either name works. The Hunger is a little scarier and more mysterious.

[@microhomebrew]

I struggle to remember the rules for falling off of mounts, because they're weirdly different... but that's it I think. I know all the rules you mentioned quite well

[@Stephen-Fox]

That sponsor read - Please don't put ideas in my head. I thrive in short stories, often bordering on or even in the flash fiction category (sub 1k words). Even the novella I accidentally wrote for a weekly series of shorts (I was expecting a ~10k word prose installment, which would still qualify as a short story albeit on the longer side by my standards. I wound up with a ~20k word novella instead.) was bad enough to edit. Editing a novel sounds like torture.

[@puffmogie]

12:16 the evils of the unorganized campaign notes have taken a toll on his body.

[@peterk7931]

I like the lighting improvement.

[@SupergeekMike]

Thank you!

[@RottenRogerDM]

Try playing and dming different editions and thinking 1E spell vs 5E spell. Or asking for a death save.

[@cintiaedel3517]

The shelves are looking good!

[@SupergeekMike]

Thank you!

[@telarr9164]

TV's "The Internet" is my second favorite program.

[@SupergeekMike]

😁

[@SupergeekMike]

If your D&D campaign was turned into a novel, what would it be called? Thanks so much to WorldAnvil for sponsoring this video! Visit www.worldanvil.com/supergeekmike and use the promo code SUPERGEEK to get 40% off any annual membership! www.worldanvil.com/supergeekmike

[@Lurklen]

I'm in, and run, a number of campaigns, so there's a few choice titles. "9 Mistakes at World's End" "Death-Machine: A Tale of the Tomb" "The Many Thefts of the Black Canary"

[@SupergeekMike]

@@Lurklen Those sound excellent!

[@user-fe2ne7qx9z]

"A Group of Shadowrunners Find New and Exciting Ways to Violate the Geneva Convention!"

[@Lurklen]

@@SupergeekMike Thanks! They have all been a pretty good time. 9 Mistakes is your typical "not the heroes anyone would have chosen, but they're the ones we have" scenario in a game of 9 players. We've had a long delayed finale that's coming up in a few weeks, as DM I am both excited and trepidatious, ending a campaign that's been going for somewhere like 7 years is stressful lol. Death-Machine, is a Tomb of Annihilation campaign, with some additions I made to the adventure because I both can't seem to resist making more work for myself, and I run a big table so they need a little more juice to find most pre-written adventures challenging. Well it worked, we've had eight deaths at the table (9 if you count a petrification that was later undone), no one can be revived in this campaign, and they all happened before the party reached the Tomb. We'll be finishing that one in the next couple months after about three and a half years (co-vid really slowed both of these down...sigh). The Black Canary is a game I came up with for brief periods during lock down we could play, but people couldn't really make the other games. It's the name of a ship of travelling troubadours and actors, who can convert this ship into a theatre (a thing I read about happening in Venice during the renaissance, no idea how true it was, but it sounded cool!) and stage plays around the world. However, among the Talent and Crew are a select number who moonlight as a crew of thieves and adventurers for hire, who will acquire rare objects (even those which are currently possessed by those who perhaps should better invest in security), kidnap, safeguard, and for a very high price assassinate targets from a very select list of international clients. So everyone has both a performing/stage crew job and an adventuring party role, and I run it as a series of one shots where they get sent on certain jobs. It's pretty fun and loose. I run three other games, but I couldn't think of good titles lol.

[@syvajarvi2289]

One campaign I run would be called “So there is this Gold Dragon….” The another one I run that is wrapping up “You said what to the Death God?” Both are loosely tied together, “So there is this Gold Dragon….” Are the same players who are in the other one, but “So there” is a lower level campaign where the characters are gathering spell and crafting components for magicians, artisans, and artificers in the same world as “You said what?” is set in. The players enjoy “so there” more than the other one I think because the lower level campaign is quirky and roll play heavy.

[@arobbo28]

Oooh I didn't know the multiclassing rule for spells!

[@SupergeekMike]

Glad I wasn’t the only one!

[@ani_anonymuncle]

Boy you were really railroaded into not getting that haircut

[@SupergeekMike]

No kidding!

[@sigmal47]

Great video :)

[@SupergeekMike]

Thanks!

[@Dalenthas]

Those jumping rules are freaking wild. I don't know anyone that can long jump ten feet even with a running start. Does that mean everyone I know has below average Strength?

[@leonelegender]

I could jump 8 ft as a untrained high schooler. Actual athletes like DND chars could cover that easy. Also have in mind that the record in our world is around 25ft. It's not impossible.

[@Lordmewtwo151]

I know you wouldn't know those people, but I'm guessing you've never watched long jump at professional track and field events? To be fair, neither have I, but it makes sense that they can long jump at least ten feet with a running start.

[@sagesaria]

Hey Mike, any chance you have a page number or which book it's in if not PHB re: multiclass casting? I play a ranger-bard and an experienced player INSISTS that I can only cast up to max class level's spells and not player level's total slots (though he says I can use them to cast at a higher level)

[@syvajarvi2289]

Ranger Bard is one of my favorite dual class combos. It is in the players hand book. You can upcast any spell you have on your list into any slot as long as it can be up cast. Look in chapter 6 customization options. You can only cast the spells that you would know at the level you are at in each class. Your spell slots available are explained there as well as a table to figure it all out. So If I take a two level dip in ranger then I would only have first level ranger spells even though I might be an 8th level bard. So I take hail of thorns as an example, because it’s a killer spell, it is level 1. I can up cast the spell to my highest spell slot but even though I might be lvl 10 over all, I know only a small number of ranger spells because I no longer am learning from that tree. The only class that has a limitation on max spell slot used is Paladin with divine smite. That is locked in at a lvl 5 max.

[@sagesaria]

@@syvajarvi2289 Ah, that makes sense. And at least not too much more complicated since they're both assigned spell classes vs. prepared like clerics or druids. And I'm glad someone likes the combo :) admittedly it was a completely spontaneous decision in-game for roleplaying reasons. And partially inspired by the fact that the character is a young child, so the idea of casting vicious mockery by calling someone a poopyhead was too tempting XD

[@syvajarvi2289]

@@sagesaria most of my rangers are explorers, so bard fits pretty well, as an Indiana Jones type character he can fight as well as tell stories. As part of their background that is how they earn coin as a day job. The fact that they have half proficiency in most everything after a certain point turns them into a solid utility character, a tad bit squishy at times but over all pretty good.

[@TheAciddragon069]

i made my own DM screen with 4 panels, on my side of the screen i printed out 4 sheets of rules, conditions, spell effects ect that come up a lot or i have a hard time remembering, that way i have them easily accessible without having to dig through books or DND Beyond

[@SupergeekMike]

I keep meaning to do that too, so I’m jealous!

[@TheAciddragon069]

@@SupergeekMike to be fair i meant to do it for like 4 years before i actually sat down and did it

[@SupergeekMike]

@@TheAciddragon069 Oh that does make me feel better :)

[@johnobrien7562]

the loading property of crossbows is one I learned early - and watching real people with crossbows makes me feel that the crossbow expert feat- particularly with a heavy crossbow, but even a light crossbow - makes no sense whatsoever. but it's also a rule that Mr. Mercer has been known to flub (or he gives all his NPCs the aforementioned feat).

[@leonelegender]

When you get the crossbow feat you actually just bought a crossbow cranker.

[@agsilverradio2225]

5:40 Reguarding rations and hirelings, don't hirelings need to eat too?

[@RottenRogerDM]

Hirelings are self propelled rations when things get tight.

[@telboy007]

If the current campaign I'm running was a novel it would be called Fireballs Anonymous

[@SupergeekMike]

Always cast fireball!

[@alanthomasgramont]

Its weird how crossbows are the one rule they moved from previous editions. Most all the other combat rules they overly simplified for 5e. Like compare grappling from 3.5, or multiple attack negatives, two hand fighting, tripping and standing (which used to get OAs), etc. All of those rules went away. Not sure why they gimped crossbows.

[@SophiaAphrodite]

Because 3E was absurdly rule mongered, making it nearly unplayable. Crossbow reloading is common sense.

[@owlplaysgames3910]

"I can never remember the jump rules." I can’t remember how grappling works, no matter how many times (multiple sessions in a row over two games I’m running with nearly the same players) it comes up. I just can’t.

[@SupergeekMike]

I feel your pain!

[@tideoftime]

In Re: jumping. You mangled that while you were exampling it, lol... ;) Standing jump (STR 20) would be 10 feet, not 20 -- that's likely where you're getting confused in that... lol

[@SupergeekMike]

WHY THOUGH UGH THESE RULES MAKE NO SENSE

[@andyenglish4303]

@@SupergeekMike It doesn't make sense that you can jump farther if you get a moving start?

[@tideoftime]

@@SupergeekMike ??? -- what part makes no sense? From a standing position, your jump distance is shorter (half-STR); if you get at least a 10ft running start, you get full STR distance. Similar proportions for height, where applicable, which is ballpark correct to what is demonstrated by athletes, parkour enthusiasts, et al, IRL.

[@SupergeekMike]

@@tideoftime I thought that's exactly what I said in the video, if I said something different then that means I still don't understand these rules, which is frustrating given the subject matter of the video.

[@SupergeekMike]

@@andyenglish4303 When I make a video about learning the rules and somebody says "You still said them wrong" I'm gonna be a little frustrated about these rules.

[@danielbeshers1689]

#FlawlessSegue

[@andyenglish4303]

Just once I'd like to see a flawless Segway.

[@Howler452]

I struggle to remember the mounted combat rules because they're just so...bland. If players want to have a cool mount or have their mount partake in combat, let them have cool options to do so.

[@SupergeekMike]

Fair enough!

[@alexanderchippel]

The jump rules are just annoying. And why does your jump get calculated but your speed doesn't? You're telling me that a guy with 20 Strength can jump 200% further than a guy with 10 Strength but they both have the same walking speed?

[@DiscussToUnderstand]

"But they only took cash" is it 1995 where you live?

[@SupergeekMike]

Right?

[@RottenRogerDM]

More than likely they don't want to deal with taking the discount if they run the card.

[@IQAfan]

Sticking with 5e. Thanks for making this for the people who will be after 2024.

[@SupergeekMike]

Glad it can help!

[@futurelink1359]

I leave this comment as tribute to the Algorithm Gods. May they spread this video far and wide. Amen

[@SupergeekMike]

Thank you! So say we all.

[@jamcdonald120]

0:50 it is a flawless segway, because I dont actually CARE about your new setup or whatever, so I just skipped to the actual video start.

[@TheRealKLT]

Games shouldn't be this complicated.

[@dustinsterling3248]

First, but nobody cares

[@danielbeshers1689]

I don't care about the first, but I care about you. Hope you're having a good day!

[@dustinsterling3248]

@@danielbeshers1689 thanks man, and yea my day is going good, I'm off work today and getting ready to go out and grab food with a friend 👍

[@williamross6477]

Honestly, your comment was kind of nostalgic for me! Takes me way back to when getting first comment was like a badge of honor. Always wanted to get one myself, but never did, so congrats! You deserve it! 🙂

[@Pumpky_the_kobold]

jumping upward in dnd makes no sens. i get you're an exceptional being, but... even the best athlete won't jump 6 feet in the air. So I use athletic checks, but if something is floating, you can't wall jump or anything? unreachable.

[@SupergeekMike]

That’s fair!

[@albinoviper2876]

So yeah you cant kill ppl or steal their fucking shit also you cant just piss where you want either, oh your talking D&D, didnt know that since there was no indication to what fucking rules you are talking abt. Now i will have to go and start, well hope you dont live stream!

[@morphinpink]

He literally says it's about dnd in the beginning of the video and shows the player's handbook???? are you OK lol

[@Lena-fc9ce]

also this is a dnd channel? where mike talks about dnd??