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How To Not Help a GM

I am an experienced D&D 5E GM. I have played it since it came out and I have GMed over 100 session with more than 40 different players in 5E. I know 5E pretty well. Still, like with all systems, there are problems. I decided to ask the community for some possible solutions for an ongoing problem I have with warlock players.

Most of the warlocks in my 5e games often just use eldritch blast over and over in combat. Any suggestions for breaking the cycle an d getting them out of this rut? I'd really like too encourage the use of other options. We are at levels where flying is likely.

It didn't take long for the nerf hammer to come out in the comments, so I tried to stem the flow and look for solutions that players might actually like.

A key part of the solution needs to involve expanding options, not nerfing eldritch blast or simply designing an encounter to nerf it. If your only approach to avoid redundant battle actions is taking away their best option, there is likely to be player resistance.

For example, for archery PCs, I added a whole new set of ammunition that gave them some magical options at reasonable prices. One of these was blinkback ammunition that, on a hit, teleports the target to a square adjacent to the attacker, encouraging teamwork.

Unfortunately it did not take long for me to regret asking the question. The response were overwhelmingly not useful, and I found myself having reexplain and defend my position over and over again. It was mentally exhausting and quickly put me in a bad mood.

Also unfortunately some of the responding folks apparently thought I was female (My pinkdicegm handle has turned into an unintended gender experiment.) and decided to mansplain me to the point that I had to block them. Another twitter commentor was kind enough to clobber them with a clue-by-four about how rude they were being.

The non-useful comments fell into a number of categories. Many folks stopped by to disagree with my premise (not useful). Some decided that I must just be ignorant of how the warlock class works and decided to explain how it worked to me again. Some folks told me I had bad players that weren't playing it right. Many said that it was perfectly fine for a character to just repeat the same action over and over again in combat with no variation like a fighter using a sword. (I am glad I don't play in those types of games.) Some folks ignored information in my original post and subsequent tweets. I saw the classic explanation by one commentor to another commentor what I meant (It is generally bad form to speak for other people.).  Many folks that commented told me how they or their players played the warlock, which as a GM searching for a solution, didn't help. Others suggested multiclassing as a solution (Am I supposed to force players to multiclass from Warlock?)  In the end I got 4 responses that agreed with my assessment, but that had no advice. All in all I got 18 useful comments.

Here is my rough breakdown of the results:
  • Insisted it isn't a problem / there is no fix / that's how they work                                15
  • Explained how warlocks work / that they need short rests                                       15
  • Told me it was a player problem / ask player                                                               5
  • Suggested nerfing/banning/using immune enemies                                               12
  • Told me it was just like another class using a weapon                                               6
  • Noted that I was getting no useful feedback / being mansplained                               1
  • Ignored that flying was a factor                                                                               1
  • Explained to another commentor what I meant                                                       1
  • Told me how they play a warlock  how their players play a warlock                       11
  • Suggest multiclassing as a GM solution                                                                        4
  • Players who attacked my example solution (blinkback arrows)                                   2
  • Agreed with my assessment but had no advice                                                             4
  • Useful suggestion                                                                                                       18
Of the 18 good comments I received, I believe only 2 or 3 were things other folks had actually used in their games.  Tested solutions certainly are more helpful, but even solutions made up on the fly can be very helpful.  

With less than 20% useful comments, I thought I might share a few tips on how to give good advice when someone asks for help:

  • Read carefully what kind of help they are looking for. Read to see if they have responded to other answers / questions with additional information so you aren't repeating other conversations.
  • If you aren't sure of the experience or understanding of the person asking for help, ask them a question about what they have tried already. Don't assume they are ignorant / inexperienced.
  • If you don't have a useful answer to the question they are asking, don't leave a comment.
  • If you see bad behavior (not just bad advice) call people out on it. Bad behavior left unchallenged in our community will spread.



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