Questions tagged [saving-throw]
A set of defensive traits based on a characters own ability to avoid the brunt of damage, resist control, and endure through some force.
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What is the distribution of monster save proficiencies?
I'm curious which saves are the best to target (as a player). As in, if I have a spell that forces the enemy to make a dex save and another spell that forces a con save, which am I better off using? ...
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How to charm-like effects that do not affect charm immune creatures interact with Fey Ancestry? [duplicate]
In Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes (pg. 189), the Duergar Mind Master has the following Mind Mastery action:
Mind Mastery. The duergar targets one creature it can see within 60 feet. The target must ...
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Is this houserule preventing effects from dropping creatures to below 1 HP if they make their save exploitable or broken?
I'm playing with the idea of adding a new house-rule to my sandbox-style game.
The rule is as follows:
If you succeed on a saving throw against an effect, that effect cannot make you drop below 1 ...
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0answers
132 views
Is Power Word Kill's save DC from the Orcus' lair a typo? [duplicate]
In Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, Orcus' lair has an action which is to target an enemy with a power word kill that has a saving throw DC of 23.
Presumably, this is a typo, because power word kill has ...
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1answer
195 views
If you can't see it coming, how do you get a dex save? [duplicate]
So, I was thinking simply fog cloud.. to obscure vision then fireball.
Input?
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2answers
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Can a PC regularly impose disadvantage on enemies' saves? If so, how?
There are many ways to get advantage/disadvantage on attacks: the Dodge and Help actions are specifically designed for this in combat, and 10 of the 14 conditions in Appendix A have at least one ...
5
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1answer
469 views
How does Compelled Duel work with the saving throws?
The level 1 spell, Compelled Duel:
Compel a creature you can see to duel you. Unless they succeed on a Wisdom saving throw, the target is only able to attack someone other than you with ...
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3answers
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Repeated poisonous effects and conditions
I was reading through the "Poisons" section of the DMG chapter 8, and had the following questions:
If for instance a character is hit by a creature repeated times with the same poison (for example a ...
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1answer
129 views
Is it beneficial to trade a skill for better saving throws for a spell-less Ranger? [closed]
I'm working on a new character, which will be a spell-less ranger. In this case, I'm multiclassing a Rogue / Ranger, with a preference for melee (over ranged).
For the sake of this question, assume ...
9
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1answer
423 views
If you have dis/advantage on a roll, do you have dis/advantage on a reroll?
This might be a duplicate but I can't find it.
To be clear this has nothing to do with Halfling Luck trait. Or similar abilities that allow the reroll of a die that rolls a natural 1. (I was ...
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3answers
910 views
What happens when a PC drops to 0 HP outside of combat?
All similar questions I've found are concerned with what happens if combat ends while there is an unconscious PC, but I can't find any rules regarding what happens if someone drops to 0 HP while the ...
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Can a Rutterkin's Bite poison a Paladin?
The Rutterkin (from Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, pg. 136) has the following attack:
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: + 4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 12 (3d6 + 2) piercing damage. If the ...
5
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3answers
231 views
If I can impose an effect on the enemy on a hit, can I use a Battle Master maneuver after the target has made the save against the other effect?
Can I use Battle Master maneuvers to force a second save after I have seen the target succeed on the first one?
Situation 1
My Moon Druid has 3 levels of Battle Master fighter, and he can use Trip ...
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2answers
106 views
Maximize/force confirm Reflex save
I'm looking for a way for my Rogue-like character to maximize or at best have the ability to auto-confirm at least one Reflex save per day. He's level 15 at the moment (it's a multiclass character) ...
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1answer
915 views
Does the Divine Soul sorcerer's Favored by the Gods bonus work with death saving throws?
The Divine Soul sorcerer (Xanathar's Guide to Everything, p. 50) gets the Favored by the Gods feature at 1st level:
Starting at 1st level, divine power guards your destiny. If you fail a saving ...
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4answers
372 views
If a creature is forced to make a Dex save but has nowhere to go to avoid the effect, can they still make the save?
So I came across a question I had as a DM the other day:
If there is a creature or creatures subject to an spell or effect requiring a Dex saving throw, but they are in a position where avoiding the ...
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5answers
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What's the benefit for Saving Throws of rerolling vs. advantage?
Relevant: Does Indomitable let you reroll Saving Throws with Advantage?
There's a line that comes up a lot in class abilities that seems out of place, and I don't know what the difference is between ...
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1answer
105 views
How many dice are rolled on a successful saving throw? [duplicate]
For example, fireball does 8d6 damage, and half as much on a successful dex save. Does half as much mean you take half as much as the total amount on the 8d6s, or do you only roll 4d6 instead? This is ...
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1answer
288 views
Which dexterity save spells are made easier to resist because of “half cover” bonus to dexterity saves [closed]
I was rereading the Player’s Handbook section on partial cover and I came to this statement:
A target with half cover has a +2 bonus to AC and Dexterity saving throws.
If the PC/NPC has half cover ...
5
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2answers
249 views
How impactful would it be if I were to make saving throws “round up”, unlike other stats?
In an attempt to have players deal with more difficult decisions, I have been considering the idea of making it so that saving throw bonuses don't actually rely on your modifier, but instead use your ...
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0answers
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How does Damage Resistance and Successful Save interact? [duplicate]
In my campaign, I have a Barbarian with Primal Path of Bear totem. Bear totem gives damage resistance when raging.
During battle the barbarian is targeted by a breathe weapon. And makes his save for ...
10
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1answer
690 views
Does damage from an ally break Dominate Person?
Dominate Person states the following:
Each time the target takes damage, it makes a new Wisdom saving
throw against the spell. If the saving throw succeeds, the spell
ends.
As written, this ...
6
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1answer
674 views
Is there ever a case where a creature gets a saving throw against the “Sleep” spell?
The sleep spell (PHB 276) states:
This spell sends creatures into a magical slumber. Roll 5d8; the total is how many hit points of creatures this spell can affect.
This and other similar spells ...
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0answers
289 views
Using the Lucky feat, can you choose to roll the dice, but not use a point? [duplicate]
The Lucky feature states:
"...You have 3 luck points. Whenever you make an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw, you can spend one luck point to roll an additional d20. You can choose ...
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2answers
863 views
When a roll is rerolled, how does it interact with other roll-manipulation features (like the Lucky feat)?
A 14th level Monk has a Diamond Soul.
Whenever you make a saving throw and fail, you can spend 1 ki point to reroll it and take the second result.
A 9th level Fighter has Indomitable.
You can ...
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2answers
76 views
How does the Indomitable Soul feat interacts with the Pride domain?
The Indomitable Soul feat (PHB II, p. 80) grants the following benefit:
Benefit: Whenever you make a Will save against a mind-affecting
or fear ability, you can roll 2d20 and use the higher of ...
10
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2answers
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Does Magic Missile cause multiple rolls to break an Aboleth's Charm?
Jeremy Crawford previously noted that Magic Missile causes a separate concentration roll by a spell caster for each hit. (Of note, this is different than Mike Mearl's answer which viewed a Magic ...
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1answer
825 views
What is the highest spell save DC an AL legal character can have?
Out of curiosity, I’ve been calculating what is the highest spell save DC that a character can have, assuming perfect conditions.
My calculations have so far yielded the following result:
Base of 8
...
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0answers
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Do attacks that deal damage multiple times count as multiple damage events for death saving throws? [duplicate]
Note: I don't play D&D, but reading some of the Hot Network Questions about saving throws (particularly Does Evasion allow half damage even when unconscious?) has made me curious.
According to ...
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5answers
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Does Evasion allow half damage even when unconscious?
Evasion is a class feature gained by Rogues and Monks at level 7:
At 7th level, your instinctive agility lets you dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a blue dragon’s lightning ...
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0answers
170 views
How does Healing Spirit interact with death saving throws? [duplicate]
A character is at 0 HP with two failed death saving throws and is lying unconscious on the ground, sharing the same area with the effect of the Healing Spirit spell.
What happens at the beginning of ...
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2answers
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Do characters know if someone else, who they can see, has failed a saving throw?
Do characters know if someone else, who they can see, has failed a saving throw?
In particular, let's consider the following cases:
a caster has cast a spell, that requires a saving throw, and that ...
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2answers
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Benign Transposition on an unwilling creature
One of the Arcane Traditions of a wizard is the School of Conjuration, which grants unique spell-like abilities.
Benign Transposition (PHB p.116)
Starting at 6th level, you can use your action ...
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2answers
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How do you determine the DC of a Strength Save?
As example I'm using Pushing Attack from the Battle Master Martial archetypes of the Fighter. How do you determine the Strength Save DC that the enemy has to roll against?
Since normally it would be ...
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2answers
206 views
Why do passive skills start at 10 instead of 8, like spell save DCs? [closed]
Passive skills are calculated as 10 + Ability Modifier + Proficiency, while spell save DCs are calculated as 8 + Ability Modifier + Proficiency. The opposed roll to both is 1d20 + Ability Modifier + ...
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0answers
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Does being forced to make a Saving Throw count as a “Hit” for the purpose of Assassinate? [duplicate]
Let's say we have a multiclass Rogue (Assassin) + Sorcerer named Adam. Adam manages to attack a Surprised Target, and chooses to cast Fireball instead of making a Ranged Attack.
Assassinate is worded ...
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2answers
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Should rolling a 1 on a spell saving throw double that spell's damage?
This is more of a balance question. In my table we've agreed that rolling a 20 or a 1 should be special no matter the circumstance. Spells that require attack rolls are special on crits, but, per If ...
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3answers
527 views
How can I modify attacks on creatures making Death Saves to have less Coup de Grace?
Context
I'm DMing a Tomb of Annihilation-based campaign and we're using Meat Grinder Mode (DC for Death saves is 15).
In the answer to this question, the probabilities of survival are discussed.
...
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0answers
135 views
Why did the designers refactor Fortitude, Reflex, and Will saves into six different saves in 5e? [duplicate]
In Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition, there were Fortitude, Reflex, and Will saving throws, each tied to a particular ability: CON, DEX, and WIS respectively. (Prior to this edition, saving throws ...
5
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1answer
206 views
While under a spell effect that's suspended, can you still make saving throws?
Per this Q&A, creatures under the effects of spells or abilities that give them the frightened condition have that condition suspended while in a Paladin's Aura of Courage.
But if the spell/...
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1answer
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Does a failed Stabilize action count as a failed death saving throw?
More fully, does a failed Medicine (Wisdom) check while taking the Stabilize action on an unconscious creature count as a failed death saving throw for the unconscious creature?
I've searched all ...
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3answers
164 views
Will save method for ambushes
Players run a kingdom... Tiny kingdom. Pimple on the axe of their huge empire enemy. Only hope of victory is guerrilla warfare and forest ambushes.
An effective ambush doesnt result in a fight. It ...
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3answers
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Does the ranger's companion get to make death saving throws?
I play the role of a cleric in a game that also has a ranger.
This ranger happens to have a wolf as a companion. It happened a couple of time that the wolf fell to 0 hp and was declare dead by the DM.
...
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5answers
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Are all d20 rolls either attacks, saves or ability checks?
In D&D 5e, there are attack rolls (rolls to hit something's AC, usually with a weapon), saving throws (rolls to avoid something) and ability checks (including skill checks).
Do all rolls of ...
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1answer
501 views
Does Aura of Protection add to my spell save DC?
I’m playing a paladin of conquest and am often casting spells or effects that require enemies to make a saving throw against my spell save dc. Can I add my aura of protection bonus to the spell save ...
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2answers
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Can the target of Confusion make saves?
Can a character under the effects of a confusion spell make saving throws? I.e. if I'm confused can I dodge a fireball?
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1answer
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How to max out Will saves under level 4 [closed]
Standard Paizo books.
20 point buy.
150 starting gold.
How can one max out will saves at specifically level 1, but overall under level 4?
Classes, archetypes, feats, races, traits, and whatnot. If ...
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1answer
3k views
Can a dragon retroactively use its legendary resistance?
Let's say an ancient dragon, for some reason, fails a saving throw with legendary resistances left, but decides to save its legendary resistance and take the negative effect instead. Then, a round or ...
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2answers
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Using Dodge & Reaction Rolls
New DM here. Hosted a game this weekend for my kids who have never played (I have never DM and haven;t played for 20 +). I am trying to figure out Dodge and saving throws.
Dodge - Only used as an ...
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3answers
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Do reflex saves for half damage also halve potential bonus damage?
I am playing a homebrewed "Flame Disciple" class in heavily modified version of D&D 3.5, which has an ability that adds a certain amount of extra damage to attacks made with fire.
The spell-like-...
