Timeline for Difference between Animal Handling Skill and Animal Friendship Spell?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
10 events
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| Nov 9, 2016 at 21:30 | comment | added | Percival | @r256 That is left up to DM fiat though. You can make the most ironclad, logically sound argument in history for why you should be able to do something, and the DM can politely listen and then, once you're finished, say 'No'. Now, while it is true that the DM can also do this for things explicitly spelled out in the rules, for a RAW answer I like to be able to trace it back to the book. Saying 'I would allow X and so should your DM' isn't really a factual answer, and doesn't really answer the question. Saying 'The book allows X' is a factual answer and does answer the question. | |
| Nov 9, 2016 at 21:22 | comment | added | r256 | The SRD's examples of skill uses are just examples. If the player can make a good case that a particular skill is applicable, and the DM accepts it, the skill is applicable. | |
| Nov 9, 2016 at 15:33 | comment | added | Percival | @nitsua60 good points. I modified my answer a bit to explain that I was trying to explain RAW only. | |
| Nov 9, 2016 at 15:32 | history | edited | Percival | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Nov 9, 2016 at 15:31 | comment | added | Percival | @TylerDood My answer is more of a 'this is what the book tells you you can do'. In 5e especially, DM fiat reigns supreme, and often you'll find the published adventures overriding the published rules to make a cool story. The issue is that you can't tell what a specific DM is going to rule in a given situation, so I try to avoid giving answers that depend on a DM interpretation. You can be almost 100% confident that a DM will accept the answer I gave because the rules explicitly back it up. They may also let you do additional things with it, but my answer should be the bare minimum. | |
| Nov 9, 2016 at 15:31 | comment | added | nitsua60 | That's fair--I just thought "you can only try to intuit" sounded a little stronger than my reading of the PHB/DMG. I do think there's room between "only what the book enumerates" and "DM does whatever they want" for "here are some laid out in the books, and here's what a DM might be looking at to allow more or less." | |
| Nov 9, 2016 at 15:27 | comment | added | Percival | @nitsua60 I try to formulate my RAW answers by the book. Otherwise the answer to every question invariably becomes 'DM fiat, just make it up.' You're 100% correct that the DM can rule animal handling however they want, and you're also 100% correct that the DMG tells the DMs to just do whatever without much guidance. However, players can't count on a specific DM's interpretation when they RP their character. What they can count on are concrete examples laid out in the book. To me, relying on DM fiant in a rules question will just end in someone getting told 'No' and being let down. | |
| Nov 9, 2016 at 1:30 | vote | accept | Tyler Dood | ||
| Nov 8, 2016 at 21:11 | comment | added | Tyler Dood | Thank you! This clears pretty much everything. The only thing that is contradicting to me is that in the Lost Mines of Phandelver, there is a section where players can use Animal Handling to calm an animal. "A character who tries-to calm the animals can attempt a DC 15 Wisdom (Animal Handling) check. On a success, the wolves allow the character to move throughout the room." Is that purely situational? | |
| Nov 8, 2016 at 20:36 | history | answered | Percival | CC BY-SA 3.0 |