Return to Question

When I first was teaching D&D 5e to my group, one of my friends kept getting confused every time I asked for a saving throw. They kept insisting they hadn't written down those stats yet. I realized that he was expecting special saving throw names that were modified by the 6 abilities, because I did not specify clearly enough the new changes to saving throws. I want to avoid this problem the next time I explain the game to people, without boring them to death by going over every single detail, especially for terms they already know.

Which terms in the rules tend to confuse people because they get it mixed up with something from a previous edition? What seemingly-similar terms will trip up players with expectations based on other editions?

I'm not asking about concepts, but game terms*. The situation is as follows, I am explaining/teaching the rules to people who played previous versions of D&D (2nd, 3rd or 4th) but whom have not read the rules at all. It's important when going over the rules, to be able to notice and catch which terms might cause confusion if not further explained.

5th edition uses something like Vancian magic but it isn't, and it will be using 'challenge rating' to mean something different than in 3rd edition. However since they are not used in the basic rules, and Vancian magic is not a term, they would not fit answers to my question.

However, something like Saving throws, Critical hits, or condition/state of Stable (if it was different), would be good examples.

Experience based answers are preferred.

*Game terms are key words or phrases that appear in bold in the manual. They are words which have meaning to the rules themselves, and not only the normal meaning of the word in english.

When I previously taught D&D 5e to my group, I had a few players who were confused about specific terms.

Which terms in the rules tend to confuse people because they get it mixed up with something from a previous edition? What seemingly-similar terms will trip up players with expectations based on other editions?

I'm not asking about concepts, but game terms*. The situation is as follows, I am explaining/teaching the rules to people who played previous versions of D&D (2nd, 3rd or 4th) but whom have not read the rules at all. It's important when going over the rules, to be able to notice and catch which terms might cause confusion if not further explained.

5th edition uses something like Vancian magic but it isn't, and it will be using 'challenge rating' to mean something different than in 3rd edition. However since they are not used in the basic rules, and Vancian magic is not a term, they would not fit answers to my question.

However, something like Saving throws, Critical hits, or condition/state of Stable (if it was different), would be good examples.

Experience based answers are preferred.

*Game terms are key words or phrases that appear in bold in the manual. They are words which have meaning to the rules themselves, and not only the normal meaning of the word in english.

Which terms in the rules tend to confuse people because they get it mixed up with something from a previous edition? What seemingly-similar terms will trip up players with expectations based on other editions?

I'm not asking about concepts, but game terms*. The situation is as follows, I am explaining/teaching the rules to people who played previous versions of D&D (2nd, 3rd or 4th) but whom have not read the rules at all. It's important when going over the rules, to be able to notice and catch which terms might cause confusion if not further explained.

5th edition uses something like Vancian magic but it isn't, and it will be using 'challenge rating' to mean something different than in 3rd edition. However since they are not used in the basic rules, and Vancian magic is not a term, they would not fit answers to my question.

However, something like Critical hits, or condition/state of Stable (if it was different), would be good examples.

Experience based answers are preferred.

*Game terms are key words or phrases that appear in bold in the manual. They are words which have meaning to the rules themselves, and not only the normal meaning of the word in english.

When I first was teaching D&D 5e to my group, one of my friends kept getting confused every time I asked for a saving throw. They kept insisting they hadn't written down those stats yet. I realized that he was expecting special saving throw names that were modified by the 6 abilities, because I did not specify clearly enough the new changes to saving throws. I want to avoid this problem the next time I explain the game to people, without boring them to death by going over every single detail, especially for terms they already know.

Which terms in the rules tend to confuse people because they get it mixed up with something from a previous edition? What seemingly-similar terms will trip up players with expectations based on other editions?

I'm not asking about concepts, but game terms*. The situation is as follows, I am explaining/teaching the rules to people who played previous versions of D&D (2nd, 3rd or 4th) but whom have not read the rules at all. It's important when going over the rules, to be able to notice and catch which terms might cause confusion if not further explained.

5th edition uses something like Vancian magic but it isn't, and it will be using 'challenge rating' to mean something different than in 3rd edition. However since they are not used in the basic rules, and Vancian magic is not a term, they would not fit answers to my question.

However, something like Saving throws, Critical hits, or condition/state of Stable (if it was different), would be good examples.

Experience based answers are preferred.

*Game terms are key words or phrases that appear in bold in the manual. They are words which have meaning to the rules themselves, and not only the normal meaning of the word in english.

5th edition uses something like Vancian magic but it isn't, and it will be using 'challenge rating' to mean something different than in 3rd edition. Which terms in the rules tend to confuse people because they get it mixed up with something from a previous edition? What seemingly-similar terms will trip up players with expectations based on other editions?

I'm not asking about concepts, but game terms*. The situation is as follows, I am explaining/teaching the rules to people who played previous versions of D&D (2nd, 3rd or 4th) but whom have not read the rules at all. It's important when going over the rules, to be able to notice and catch which terms might cause confusion if not further explained.

Experience based answers are preferred.

*Game terms are key words or phrases that appear in bold in the manual. They are words which have meaning to the rules themselves, and not only the normal meaning of the word in english.

Which terms in the rules tend to confuse people because they get it mixed up with something from a previous edition? What seemingly-similar terms will trip up players with expectations based on other editions?

I'm not asking about concepts, but game terms*. The situation is as follows, I am explaining/teaching the rules to people who played previous versions of D&D (2nd, 3rd or 4th) but whom have not read the rules at all. It's important when going over the rules, to be able to notice and catch which terms might cause confusion if not further explained.

5th edition uses something like Vancian magic but it isn't, and it will be using 'challenge rating' to mean something different than in 3rd edition. However since they are not used in the basic rules, and Vancian magic is not a term, they would not fit answers to my question.

However, something like Critical hits, or condition/state of Stable (if it was different), would be good examples.

Experience based answers are preferred.

*Game terms are key words or phrases that appear in bold in the manual. They are words which have meaning to the rules themselves, and not only the normal meaning of the word in english.