Question from someone, who never played a Pen&Paper RPG. How do you handel obscure things as a DM? Do you make up the rules on the spot, or is there a database of obscure decisions, or is the rulebook exhausting enough to include this kind of stuff?
Step 1 : ask a player if they have any ideas Step 2 : do a google search for about 30 seconds to see if you can find something easily Step 3 : Rule with your guts, take a note of it to check between session, and MOST IMPORTANT STEP say this : I’m going to rule this like that for now and I’ll check in between sessions for a correct ruling. Do not use this here today as a final conclusion in a later session please.
100% this. The most important thing in my opinion is to to make a good-faith effort to get an accurate ruling (steps 1 & 2) but barring that just make a quick ruling that won’t slow the game down and move on with the fight. Keeping the game moving along is an important role of the DM, and no player enjoys sitting there while two other people debate the minutiae of a potential ruling. It’s happened to me a few times where I’ve started a session with the players saying “Last session X happened, but it turns out Y should have happened. X will still stand as happenex, but in the future it will be handled as Y.”
As a DM, ordinarily there are no rules for using fellow PCs as improvised weapons or for attacking incorporeal creatures with magic items other than weapons. However, there are a few things to consider with this approach:
- If a player is reduced to doing this, they likely do not have any other magic items at hand that would make suitable improvised weapons (An aside - how do you have a party member with magic armor and another with no magic weapons or implements that might be used as weapons? Maybe follow this combat up with a discreet review of the PCs magical equipment and equalize if there’s a large discrepancy)
- it’s funny as hell
Based on these two facts, assuming 5e rules, I’d let it work as a two-handed weapon attack, but the attack is made with disadvantage because the plated halfling with magic armor was not properly balanced for combat, and if it connects, it deals 1d4+STR mod damage to the ghost, and half of that to the halfling.
YOU MEAN YOU GAVE A MAGICAL PLATE TO THE HALFLING BEFIRE GIVING A DECENT WEAPON TO YOUR BARB ???
What is hilarious is that a normal plate is like 1500 gold. This should be enough for at least 2 magical base weapons
