Lair Actions

[akaddk]

Anyone else notice the little addendum to the druid wild shape and polymorph spells?

So Lair Actions are going to be a thing, I'm guessing along similar lines as Legendary Actions. So not only do dragons get Legendary Actions, if you're fighting them in their lair, they'll have Lair Actions as well.

Oh man, I so can't wait to DM one :D

[HorridElemental]

Anyone else notice the little addendum to the druid wild shape and polymorph spells?

So Lair Actions are going to be a thing, I'm guessing along similar lines as Legendary Actions. So not only do dragons get Legendary Actions, if you're fighting them in their lair, they'll have Lair Actions as well.

Oh man, I so can't wait to DM one :D

Right?

Brings dragons into the realm of "stupid if you fight them on their turf, slightly less stupid to fight them on your turf".

I see a lot of accidental TPK... >:D

[akaddk]

A Legendary Creature’s Lair
A legendary creature might have a section describing its lair and the special effects it can create while there, either by act of will or simply by being present. Not all legendary creatures have lairs. This section only applies to legendary creatures that spend a great deal of time in their lairs and are most likely to be encountered there.

Lair Actions
If a legendary creature has lair actions, it can use them to harness the ambient magic in its lair. On initiative count 20 (losing all initiative ties), the creature can use one of its lair action options, or forgo using any of them that round.

Regional Effects
The mere presence of a legendary creature can have strange and wondrous effects on its environment, as noted in this section. Regional effects end abruptly or dissipate over time when the legendary creature dies.

Called it.

[Chambers]

What's your source on this?

Edit: Just found the DM Basic rules.

[Knaight]

Lair Actions do seem like a pretty excellent feature.

[Human Paragon 3]

The Red Dragon has some totally badass lair actions, but the Sphinx's lair actions are truly bananas, including time travel and mass plane shift with no save or attack roll.

Know what it reminds me of? The "Environment Turn" in Sentinels of the Multiverse.

[Dimers]

I've felt 'sure, whatever' about most of 5e ... pleased by the simple and useful advantage/disadvantage, but that feeling got watered down by the mechanic getting overused. And I'm sure Lair Actions won't be universally interesting or well-applied, either. But the heart of the mechanic is a really good idea, and it's one that can be explained with mundane as well as magic reasoning. There's tons of homebrew and campaign design potential in there. Meeting house of the Thieves' Guild, king's court, kobold sewer lair, wizard's tower, Grand Temple of Asmodeus, Sprite-King's glade, zerth's Limbo retreat -- this kind of setting just begs for special powers that don't happen other places.

This could also make boss fights easier to balance against a party. Even if the PCs can battle/sneak/talk/bribe their way past the lesser minions with little loss of resources, they're still in for a challenge.

[CyberThread]

Does it seem this will make the DM too busy ? This system was all about keeping things simple as far as what players do, but now the DM has a dozen options.

[Sartharina]

I'm concerned about the Sphinx plane-shift - namely, in that it's an auto "I Win" button - he can planeshift everyone to Disneyland, then go back home (Leaving them there) and get a bit of rest so he can do it again if they come back. I wouldn't have minded it if it was a "Let's fight somewhere else for a few rounds now, shall we?" button, with it auto-bringing the shifted guys back.


Does it seem this will make the DM too busy ? This system was all about keeping things simple as far as what players do, but now the DM has a dozen options.A dozen options for a single creature against four player characters.

[obryn]

Does it seem this will make the DM too busy ? This system was all about keeping things simple as far as what players do, but now the DM has a dozen options.
Nah, this is a cool thing, and easy to track with one monster assuming you don't need to screw around with spells.

Lair actions are a nice addition to the game. I utterly approve.

[akaddk]

I've felt 'sure, whatever' about most of 5e ... pleased by the simple and useful advantage/disadvantage, but that feeling got watered down by the mechanic getting overused.
I've seen this said a lot and yet in actual play, I don't see advantage that often. Even the rogue tends to rely more on hitting combatants engaged by an ally rather than hiding for advantage. And inspiration has been rare as well.

Where are people getting the idea that advantage is given out or gained all the time?

[HorridElemental]

I've seen this said a lot and yet in actual play, I don't see advantage that often. Even the rogue tends to rely more on hitting combatants engaged by an ally rather than hiding for advantage. And inspiration has been rare as well.

Where are people getting the idea that advantage is given out or gained all the time?

With a mildly nice DM inspiration should be easy to get.

Help/Aid action gives the roller advantage in and out of battle. Sure it takes one person's action to help but you can dish out advantage all day long.

Status effects cause ad/dis there are many ways to put a status effect on someone.

Plus, true strike is a cantrip. The wizard (or whomever) can cast that as a bonus action all day long.

Advantage is super super easy to get if you try, I like it that way. The system seems to be rewarding involvement.