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D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder / Re: Spells that you would typically ban from a campaign?
« on: October 27, 2015, 05:53:10 AM »
I don't like banning things, nor do I like DMs who like banning things. Most of the stuff I'd ban are for story reasons, and other than that just say no to abusive tricks without actually banning the components. Gentlemen's Agreements are the best way to deal with these things IMO.
As both DM and player I dislike Wish/Miracle, high level Divinations, and long-range teleports when used to disrupt or bypass parts of the story, but I'm fine with those magics existing in the game world. Encountering a genie or getting a item with a few Wishes should be a plot point instead of a player tool, where there is a specific thing that needs to be wished for, and maybe when it's all over you get a wish or two left over for a future resurrection or an airship or whatever. Same with divination: it's the DM's job to make the information he wants PCs to have available, and it's his prerogative to keep information from them. That information may come in the form of an encounter with a blind oracle and a crystal ball, but I frown on players using it themselves to gain extra information. Some DMs hate divinations, some DMs are exceeding clever with them so they're nearly useless at best and actively harmful or misleading at worst, and some DMs don't know how to deal with them and will end up giving away too much. As a player I usually take the approach that if the DM wants us to use divination he'll throw an oracle or scrying pool at us.
By the time long-range teleporting becomes possible most parties have reliable long-term flight, so it's functionally the same to handwave the journey and say that nothing interesting happened on the way, but the DM has the option to disrupt the journey if he wants. Portals and items that teleport you to a specific place are plot points. Short-range teleportation is a cool tactical move.
As both DM and player I dislike Wish/Miracle, high level Divinations, and long-range teleports when used to disrupt or bypass parts of the story, but I'm fine with those magics existing in the game world. Encountering a genie or getting a item with a few Wishes should be a plot point instead of a player tool, where there is a specific thing that needs to be wished for, and maybe when it's all over you get a wish or two left over for a future resurrection or an airship or whatever. Same with divination: it's the DM's job to make the information he wants PCs to have available, and it's his prerogative to keep information from them. That information may come in the form of an encounter with a blind oracle and a crystal ball, but I frown on players using it themselves to gain extra information. Some DMs hate divinations, some DMs are exceeding clever with them so they're nearly useless at best and actively harmful or misleading at worst, and some DMs don't know how to deal with them and will end up giving away too much. As a player I usually take the approach that if the DM wants us to use divination he'll throw an oracle or scrying pool at us.
By the time long-range teleporting becomes possible most parties have reliable long-term flight, so it's functionally the same to handwave the journey and say that nothing interesting happened on the way, but the DM has the option to disrupt the journey if he wants. Portals and items that teleport you to a specific place are plot points. Short-range teleportation is a cool tactical move.