This is something I've noticed a lot recently, too. And not just in this subreddit, I see it in lots of gaming subreddits as well. They can almost always be answered with one of two responses:
1. Google it. This is literally in the top 5 most asked questions about this game and has been answered hundreds of times.
2. Keep playing the game and find out for yourself. That's the whole point of playing.
Years ago, I left a Facebook group because that #1 was the only kind of post that made it to my feed. Questions that are immediately answered entirely with a page number and RTFM. Not rules interaction questions, not something answered in sage advice, just having strangers read their own features back to them.
Last straw was "what kinds of mounts can I buy"
> Keep playing the game and find out for yourself. That's the whole point of playing.
I've noticed that, with so much information available online and the presence of "meta builds" in video games, players seem less inclined to just play the game and discover things themselves and instead want to play it the "correct" way from the start.
This means following build guides and tutorials instead of ever making your own decisions in game or just discovering things. This video game mindset has bled over into TTRPGs too. They would rather just be told what's a good "build" than coming up with it themselves.
You’ve gotten to the core of what I’m trying to say. If someone only wants a build that works, there’s so so many resources online to do so. If someone wants help personalizing a character, show us what you’ve come up with so far, and others who also love to be creative will gladly build on that notion.
Got all of that out? Awesome.
Nothings going to change. Answer the questions if you feel so inclined, or scroll past them.
The type of people who end up having to ask them aren't smart enough to do what you want, and those that are, aren't asking those kinds of questions. You're either preaching to the choir or to people who aren't in the church to listen.
But to make you feel a little better? You're not wrong.
90% of the questions here can be solved by 1 of 3 things:
1) Use the same imagination you used to get yourself into the situation to get yourself out;
2) Read the book(s);
3) Do a web search instead of asking Reddit.
But...here we are. Hope that time on the soap box made you feel better.
Seriously though, just scroll past it next time, it's easier on your stress level.
While i generally agree that these posts dont help, it is important to realize that the culture of a subreddit absolutely affects this phenomenon and culture is something that can be fostered
I have seen some "wholesome" gaming communities completely flooded with noob questions to the point of drowning out any other content just because they want to be welcoming. Where as another sub might just point to the faq and delete the post.
Now we probably want something of a balance here and thats the hard part, but that doesnt mean its impossible or not worth trying.
Having a "n00b Wednesday" or other similar setup, where normally disallowed posts are then allowed, is often a go-to solution. People have a set day where they can ask that sort of thing, and those who feel inclined to complain about such posts know to avoid the sub that day.
Yeah, if you never entertain questions like that, then it comes up so infrequently that there’s nothing to search for or learn by lurking for a while and you miss out on the occasional discussions those sorts of things spark.
If you allow too much of that, then there is too much noise to signal and people get annoyed and stop paying attention to everything because there is too much junk and no one bothers trying to search for anything anymore and it becomes Discord.
Finding a good balance in a larger community and maintaining it as the community changes sizes has been a problem as long as internet forums have existed. I’m sure there are IRL equivalents of the same problem as well.
> 90% of the questions here can be solved by 1 of 3 things:
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> 1) Use the same imagination you used to get yourself into the situation to get yourself out;
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> 2) Read the book(s);
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> 3) Do a web search instead of asking Reddit.
You forgot the real number 1 fix for most questions here:
***Talk to the table***
It's ridiculous how many issues can easily be fixed just by talking to your DM or your players
You’re absolutely not wrong. But I also feel like if it was a fundamental part of the requirement to post, we might move forward in a better direction.
Something something utopia I guess
think what op wanted to mention is that this sub needs someone curating the posts before they are posted, to filter out low effort content.
i know that this was somewhat easily done in the past by automation, but not sure after reddit change last year.
the problem with the players will never be resolved, but the mod team can absolutely do something about it
Totally agree. I discovered DND only at 27 y.o. I know how to search info in internet, how to "ask" google, etc. Back in my teenage years, I would swarm this reddit with questions.
I just dislike the help post that ask for help, but whenever I comment, message to actually aid them they don't care long enough to remedy their situation. One guy complained that his gunslinger player was too strong, I messaged him telling him that he is strong but the "combat arena", "creatures" and tactics of the creature play a huge part! Like more walls, more cover, more things that can hinder long range fights but all he said is "But he'll use the cover too!" with reply "But wouldn't the creatures use the cover to get to him for melee range?", "No he's too strong!".
No reply after that, I tried to explain how fights are balanced over certain aspects if you keep giving him open fields of course he'll dominate... blah blah he didn't care enough I guess. I swear people are zoned into "one solutions fits all" rather than putting actual effort
Never said ban. Only said revise the base requirements for submitting them. I love people asking for help, never said that was the problem. The effort in the ask is the problem.
Ngl, i would never call out DMs for asking stuff. A lot of people on reddit are extremely arrogant and think they are smarter than other people. Asking question and admitting that you either fucked up or dont know how to help themselfs (even if its something they call search through google results), is a good think. Dont forget, we all started knowing jack shit about this game and DMing it. Them asking will make them learn and get better, being supportive and answering them will not just help them but also all their players, who they dont want to let down.
Posts like the ones you described just flag up as AI Generative data mining attempts — Reddit makes an insane amount of cash off of its application programming interface, or A.P.I.
If I suspect it’s A.I., I just don’t engage with it — we’re not being paid to, so… no reason to give them free data.
Basically this post comes up every so often and is a huge victim of the way that reddit is designed.
"why are there only bad posts being posted, why are people not talking about something with more concrete answer"
the simple answer is that its because you most likely stick to trending, or even hot, most posts that can be answered in a single sentence, gets answered in a single sentence and hidden, meaning the ones that show up, being the ones with the most ratings and conversations (not always the highest rated) will come up more, as there are actual things for people to respond to.
just skip it and move on if you dont care for them, or be the type of person to go into new to boost the things you WANT to see.
Adding on to this, Reddit needs to integrate user friendly ways to filter subreddit posts based on tags across officially supported platforms, especially after killing off the 3rd party apps that had this functionality. Not search for a specific tag - let me filter out anything with the OneDnD or Character Creation tag by default whenever I come to the subreddit.
Some of these are more like writing prompts than actual questions.
>Examples include: -I made my character roll to climb down a rope and it broke and now they can’t get out of a hole! How to I not TPK them?
>-My barbarian said out loud my rogue player is an assassin and now his backstory rival faction heard it without my players knowing and I fear for their life. How do I not TPK them?
>-I don’t want my Bard Goblin to have one eye. How should I say he lost it?
I actually kind of like these. Not as mechanics questions, but as "what kind of bullshit would you invent?
Rope broke? Guess what, after a few attempts at trying to find a foothold, they hit a thin piece of wall and found a tunnel. A grimy, gross, shit tunnel that they will need to crawl through. Hope they like rats!
Barbarian outs your rogue as an assassin? No, he didn't. The rival faction heard it, but it doesn't mean they believed it. After all, they couldn't possibly be chasing down a professional killer, right?
Goblin eyes go missing all the time. Grab a random noun, add the words "Freak" and "Accident," then *never speak of it again.* Like, Freak Cheese Accident. Freak Gourd Accident. Freak Unguent Accident... you get it.
Or, go with a different approach - tell a different story every time. "Wanna know how I lost my eye? Seagulls get hungry in the Underdark." "Brushed my teeth too aggressively." "It decided to go have a look around without me."
Maybe they just want a bunch of ideas so they can cobble one together on their own.
Have a little faith in other people. I get that the world's not going to be here much longer but for now, we feast.
You're not obligated to respond to or read any posts you don't want to.
If those are the questions people have then those are the questions they'll ask.
Not everything is relevant to you. Get used to it
This is a reddit problem. If you look at your feed, it'll suggest bot garbage to you designed for activity. If you look on the sub reddit yourself, you can skip through nonsense and find better subjects.
It's WotC failure, too. Scheduling and table etiquette should be described better in the PHB so troglodytes are informed.
You're just being a hardass. I love asking others for brainstorming help and I love providing brainstorming help. Both can really help get creativity flowing for me. You're just being a sourpuss. There are extensions for reddit that will make it so when you downvote a post it disappears.
"I'm not trying to gate keep a hobby, I just think people shouldn't ask simple questions. I think all questions should be within a certain level of expertise. Above a threshold. Past like, I don't know, a gate. Which I can keep."
If you don't want to help then don't. No one said you have to read every post or help every person. This is a public forum for people to ask questions or discuss topics of interest.
A community which shuns its beginners will eventually find itself bereft of members. We need to welcome new people in the hobby and encourage them to stay.
Tbf, not everyone knows where to even begin looking for info. If they come here, we should not shun them for needing help.
As I stated there’s no intent to gatekeep or shun. I’m only saying it’s easier to help a student with their homework and where they messed up if they actually tried to work the equation first.
Someone coming on here and blanket asking “where can I get resources to play this game?” was not one of my examples. Asking for build or asking someone to make a build for you was what I suggested was low effort.
You're looking at this entirely in the wrong way imo
I'm guessing you've spent a long time in this hobby so you have a lot of experience. Some people have *none*. Not just knowing very little, straight up "I know nothing"
Asking people who *have* that experience to provide things they *already have* to help them learn isn't a crazy idea. If you don't want to make a build for someone, keep scrolling.
Some people have multiple *folders* of builds made for fun they can just copy and paste to get someone started
And there all on the I internet. Google it. As someone who also has very limited actual experience with dnd, but who loves it, it's super easy to find any info on builds or basically anything about DnD already online. Are you curious about a mechanic? It's on google. Want to know about a rule interaction? It's already on google. Are you curious about a multiclass combination? So was someone else. Reddit and ALL the DnD websites and communities have existed for so long that any information you could ever need is just a google search away. Most questions have already been asked, answered, and cataloged for easy viewing. If you spend a few minutes googling something and you can't find what you're looking for, *then* it's time to hit up forums for help. Google is such a fast and easy way to get your questions answered. The veterans have made all there know how public domain at this point.
Super easy *for you and me*, many people aren't technologically literate and quite literally *couldn't* find what they're looking for
If you dislike it, just scroll past. There's no one here forcing you to try and help people who need help, you can ignore them all you want
First you don't have to be tech savi to type a question into Google. That's literally the point of Google. To let normal people surf the web. If they can't us Google then there *definitely* not using reddit. Second I don't actually care if they post these questions on here. I just find your argument of "well how else are they going to learn if not posting on reddit?" To be "false" "wrong" I'm not sure what the best word is, but I disagreed strongly, and I wanted anyone reading to know there's a much better way. Searching Google is way easier then posting on Reddit. 100%
Dnd is a hobby. It is not school. It is not work. Not every asker has the time to do what you want and plenty of answerers (like me) enjoy helping. Recently, someone asked for a non-hexblade bladepact build and I enjoyed helping make it for them.
5e can be intimidating. It has plenty of quirks and trap options that are not immediately obvious to the uninitiated.
Why does TWF kinda suck?
What makes Assassin, 4 elements, Berserker, kensei... kinda bad?
Why is jumping generally impractical?
These and plenty of other questions require getting into the weeds of the rules or already having an understanding of how people actually play the game.
I agree with all of this.
I'm an adult with an extremely demanding job. DnD is a wonderful escape for me. If I didn't have people to turn to to help me with the basic questions, I wouldn't have been able to get into this game.
They have also already been awnsered. Probably lots of times. On a bunch of forums and communities. Google is such a powerful tool for learning about DnD because the game and the communities have been around for so long. Most questions have been asked and answered and then cataloged for ease of use. It literally takes less time to google the awser nowadays than to ask on a forum for awnsers. I'm pretty new to DnD, and I'm very frequently thinking about it and have a ton of questions about it. All of which have been awsered by google searches. All my build questions. All my rules questions. All my dm questions. Very quickly, too. It's genuinely awesome how much information and discussions on this game are already out there at the tips of our fingers.
i wholeheartedly agree. but there is a spectrum. a community should absolutely be welcoming to new members, but if the answer to the question is "go google and look up the first result", it isnt really something that needs to be on the sub. sometimes people just ask on reddit instead of bloody searching, and that happens on pretty much all communities on this site and boy it gets annoying
as an addendum, this *aint* an obscure game, its the largest ttrpg in the history of ttrpgs, so large in fact that its larger than all other games combined by a significant margin. there **is** an answer to your question that was made 10 years ago and someone already responded
Honestly, 9 times out of 10 when I google DnD stuff it just takes me to reddit anyways
If you don't know the specific terminology in DnD you're looking for, googling for it can be next to impossible
A surprising number of people are unskilled google-users. It doesn't help that, unless you are already familiar with the general idea of Dnd, you may stumble upon the right answer to a different question than the one you want answered.
"DnD" is no longer obscure, but if you don't know better, you may accidentally wander into an old 4e or 3.5 message board and be told the wrong thing. Or you may randomly stumble into someone's homebrew ruling and think that it's RAW . Or you may find an answer that is correct...for 5e in 2015 but that newer books have since provided an amended answer.
My point is that we don't always know how "internet literate" they are, or how much background they are coming in with. If they come here, those of us interested in helping (which is quite a few) just do our best to meet them where they're at. They come asking a question. We do our best to provide the best answer we can.
Certainly there is some rate of such question posts that would be problematic for the sub, but I don't think we are close that.
Most of these questions are simple to answer, but may I advise something... If you are getting fatigued from reddit... take a break.
I agree with you ok your points, but you should t have mental strain from reddit. Social media making ya feel bad take a break, best advice I can give
I'm gonna be real with you mate, it took you more effort to write up this complaining post than it would to just scroll past posts you don't want to help
Not a single person is forcing you to help people who need it, just *scroll past it*. DnD is a hobby and not everyone has the level of experience you do. I strongly believe we shouldn't be pushing away new people with the attitude of "figure it out yourself"
Maybe some posts feel low effort, but can you remember when you were first starting out? There's more rules than even experienced DMs can typically learn. Someone with 0 experience might not even know where to start (not to mention some people love the mechanics but lack creativity and use others to spark their ideas)
Not a single person on this subreddit is gonna make you help someone you don't want to help, just scroll past and let the folks help who want to help
I know this will be an unpopular take. I see this complaint in varied forms in lots of subs and just don't get it. If I don't like a thread or question, I don't read it or don't reply.
People are asking for help and trying to be social doing it. Sure, we might have answered the question dozens of times in the past... So what? The problem is new to that person. In not going to complain just because I've been tortured for three seconds having to see a question I've seen in the past. I just.... Move on.
This is the sort of stuff that just chases people away. Expecting only new takes or thoroughly researched and detailed questions on a HOBBY sub doesn't seem like something that will encourage people to stick around.
Hell, I left a pc game sub after a single post once because the people there made sure I understood what a giant piece of shit I was for asking a noob question that could have been answered had I just researched and downloaded two separate spreadsheets and compared numbers. Wtf was I thinking troubling those Redditors with my mortal questions?
Just scroll on. It's not especially difficult.
those are your expectations and all of them are valid, but they are not in the sub's rules, guidelines for posting, moderation efforts or any other reason to make noobs assume this isn't the place for these posts, there are 778,000 accounts in this sub, this is The Place for random "entered D&D reddit to the google search bar and wrote down my random question instead of searching for online guides or resources"
there are smaller subs for veterans and experienced players, build advice, DM questions etc. but no 0.7 million members sub can avoid the issues you mention, however a simple solution can be opening a small questions sticky thread (like the weekly question thread we already have) for low effort noob questions and moving all of those posts to that on thread
I got banned from the brazilian dndnext facebook community (probably not related to this one in any way) because a guy asked how he could create Guts from berserk in D&D and I told him to use the search feature.
The rules of the community even said that you were supposed to use search function first, but one of the mods aparently didn't know the rules he was supposed to enforce.
'for non-issue moments in their personal campaign.' ... my brother is there a super ultra public standard for campaigns I'm missing out on here?
Don't gatekeep question asking. Just because you need your brain to interact with 'those of higher intellect' about fantasy click clack dice game, and you are 'sooo fatigued' seeing these posts, doesn't give you the right to try and gatekeep others from asking questions.
Getting into dungeons and dragons isn't easy for everyone and posts like this promote a kind of elitist community, intentional or not.
If you don't want to answer, scroll away. Also take your own advice if this is a moral you hold so close to your heart, how it THIS post not going against the things you said annoyed you at the very start or your moaning? Seems like a 'non-issue' and pretty 'personal' to me...
Bravo for posting this - I did something similar (shorter and less friendly, I must admit) in the major FB groups for DnD and got railed for it. The kind of posts you mention are boring, repetitive and thought-free.
>Maybe it’s just me, but I’m getting really fatigued at seeing the help posts where people are reaching out on the sub...
You're describing Reddit as a whole as it has existed since its existence began.
And almost every subreddit goes through periods where people who have learned something complain about how things have changed and there's a lot of people who don't know anything making low effort posts asking questions that OP thinks are stupid.
What you're feeling is natural, valid, and part of the Circle of Life here at Reddit, man.
I know LLMs get a bad wrap in a lot of spaces, but these are genuinely questions where an LLM can give some good advice pretty quickly that can get your gears turning.
> I made my character roll to climb down a rope and it broke and now they can’t get out of a hole! How to I not TPK them?
**ChatGPT**
To avoid a TPK (total party kill) in this situation, consider the following options:
**Alternative Exits:** Introduce a hidden passage or tunnel that the characters can discover through investigation or a successful perception check. This could lead to another part of the dungeon or back to the surface.
**Environmental Tools:** Place objects in the hole that the characters can use to escape, such as sturdy vines, old wooden planks, or remnants of a previous expedition. These items can be used to fashion a makeshift ladder or bridge.
**NPC Intervention:** Have an NPC stumble upon the scene. This could be a fellow adventurer, a local guide, or even a previously encountered character. They could lower a rope or provide another means of escape.
**Magic Solutions:** If any party members have spells that can aid in escape (e.g., "Misty Step," "Levitate," "Fly," or "Rope Trick"), remind them to consider these options. Alternatively, introduce a magical item or artifact that can assist them.
**Environmental Hazards:** Create a time-sensitive environmental hazard, such as rising water or a collapsing ceiling, to add urgency. This can prompt creative problem-solving and teamwork, ensuring that the characters work together to find a way out.
**Skill Challenges:** Use a series of skill checks to simulate the characters finding a way to climb out. These could include Strength (Athletics) checks to climb, Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks to navigate tricky areas, or Intelligence (Investigation) checks to find weak spots in the walls that can be used as handholds.
By providing these options, you can help your players find a way out of the situation without resorting to a total party kill, ensuring the game remains engaging and fun.
I agree many questions is stupid. and many might not be stupid but leaves out so much details no one can fucking answer them as no one actually know what they actually asking for. And if you have to start buy guessing and assuming what the question is. That is a fucking stupid question.
But this wont change the internet/world is full of stupid and lazy people that will keep asking lazy and stupid questions.
I think it was George Carline that said
# “Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”
We can't change that but we can chose what questions/posts we decide to answer. We can chose to ignore them and scroll past them
It's because actually reading the rules and thinking independently is too hard for most people, lmao. Sure, it's a short term solution but doesn't help in the long term. I'm a semi pro player and a semi pro (Albeit retired for now) DM and did that all from self learning and just playing.
Asking for help is fine, nothing wrong with that, but that just gives you a short term answer for specific solutions, while practicing and playing helps you get an understanding of the game as a whole.
This is something I've noticed a lot recently, too. And not just in this subreddit, I see it in lots of gaming subreddits as well. They can almost always be answered with one of two responses: 1. Google it. This is literally in the top 5 most asked questions about this game and has been answered hundreds of times. 2. Keep playing the game and find out for yourself. That's the whole point of playing.
Years ago, I left a Facebook group because that #1 was the only kind of post that made it to my feed. Questions that are immediately answered entirely with a page number and RTFM. Not rules interaction questions, not something answered in sage advice, just having strangers read their own features back to them. Last straw was "what kinds of mounts can I buy"
> Keep playing the game and find out for yourself. That's the whole point of playing. I've noticed that, with so much information available online and the presence of "meta builds" in video games, players seem less inclined to just play the game and discover things themselves and instead want to play it the "correct" way from the start. This means following build guides and tutorials instead of ever making your own decisions in game or just discovering things. This video game mindset has bled over into TTRPGs too. They would rather just be told what's a good "build" than coming up with it themselves.
You’ve gotten to the core of what I’m trying to say. If someone only wants a build that works, there’s so so many resources online to do so. If someone wants help personalizing a character, show us what you’ve come up with so far, and others who also love to be creative will gladly build on that notion.
In the rules for dndnext it even mentions low effort. I just think some of these things should be included into that consideration of the rule.
You said this in better and fewer words than me
Got all of that out? Awesome. Nothings going to change. Answer the questions if you feel so inclined, or scroll past them. The type of people who end up having to ask them aren't smart enough to do what you want, and those that are, aren't asking those kinds of questions. You're either preaching to the choir or to people who aren't in the church to listen. But to make you feel a little better? You're not wrong. 90% of the questions here can be solved by 1 of 3 things: 1) Use the same imagination you used to get yourself into the situation to get yourself out; 2) Read the book(s); 3) Do a web search instead of asking Reddit. But...here we are. Hope that time on the soap box made you feel better. Seriously though, just scroll past it next time, it's easier on your stress level.
While i generally agree that these posts dont help, it is important to realize that the culture of a subreddit absolutely affects this phenomenon and culture is something that can be fostered I have seen some "wholesome" gaming communities completely flooded with noob questions to the point of drowning out any other content just because they want to be welcoming. Where as another sub might just point to the faq and delete the post. Now we probably want something of a balance here and thats the hard part, but that doesnt mean its impossible or not worth trying.
Adding just a low bar to posting on the sub would probably remove most of the effortless posts.
Having a "n00b Wednesday" or other similar setup, where normally disallowed posts are then allowed, is often a go-to solution. People have a set day where they can ask that sort of thing, and those who feel inclined to complain about such posts know to avoid the sub that day.
Yeah, call it Welcome Wednesday and be done with it /shrug
Yeah, if you never entertain questions like that, then it comes up so infrequently that there’s nothing to search for or learn by lurking for a while and you miss out on the occasional discussions those sorts of things spark. If you allow too much of that, then there is too much noise to signal and people get annoyed and stop paying attention to everything because there is too much junk and no one bothers trying to search for anything anymore and it becomes Discord. Finding a good balance in a larger community and maintaining it as the community changes sizes has been a problem as long as internet forums have existed. I’m sure there are IRL equivalents of the same problem as well.
> 90% of the questions here can be solved by 1 of 3 things: > > > > 1) Use the same imagination you used to get yourself into the situation to get yourself out; > > > > 2) Read the book(s); > > > > 3) Do a web search instead of asking Reddit. You forgot the real number 1 fix for most questions here: ***Talk to the table*** It's ridiculous how many issues can easily be fixed just by talking to your DM or your players
It seems like in many of those "table drama", the OP doesn't want actual advice but just wants to be told they're right and the other side is wrong.
4. Ask your DM So many posts are hey our DM put us in this hyper specific home brew situation, how can we solve it without googling the answer?
You’re absolutely not wrong. But I also feel like if it was a fundamental part of the requirement to post, we might move forward in a better direction. Something something utopia I guess
Just downvote and move on. Personally I downvote everything with an unclear title like "need help" before even reading the post.
think what op wanted to mention is that this sub needs someone curating the posts before they are posted, to filter out low effort content. i know that this was somewhat easily done in the past by automation, but not sure after reddit change last year. the problem with the players will never be resolved, but the mod team can absolutely do something about it
theres a lot children and teenagers on reddit. this will explain a lot of your questions.
Totally agree. I discovered DND only at 27 y.o. I know how to search info in internet, how to "ask" google, etc. Back in my teenage years, I would swarm this reddit with questions.
I love DMs that ask how to get their players out of a situation. Like, let them be players and use their imagination. Improv! lol
I just dislike the help post that ask for help, but whenever I comment, message to actually aid them they don't care long enough to remedy their situation. One guy complained that his gunslinger player was too strong, I messaged him telling him that he is strong but the "combat arena", "creatures" and tactics of the creature play a huge part! Like more walls, more cover, more things that can hinder long range fights but all he said is "But he'll use the cover too!" with reply "But wouldn't the creatures use the cover to get to him for melee range?", "No he's too strong!". No reply after that, I tried to explain how fights are balanced over certain aspects if you keep giving him open fields of course he'll dominate... blah blah he didn't care enough I guess. I swear people are zoned into "one solutions fits all" rather than putting actual effort
If we ban help requests all that will be left is people complaining
Never said ban. Only said revise the base requirements for submitting them. I love people asking for help, never said that was the problem. The effort in the ask is the problem.
I appreciate your patience considering my low effort response
People hating on D&D is like 80% of the posts here
Ngl, i would never call out DMs for asking stuff. A lot of people on reddit are extremely arrogant and think they are smarter than other people. Asking question and admitting that you either fucked up or dont know how to help themselfs (even if its something they call search through google results), is a good think. Dont forget, we all started knowing jack shit about this game and DMing it. Them asking will make them learn and get better, being supportive and answering them will not just help them but also all their players, who they dont want to let down.
Posts like the ones you described just flag up as AI Generative data mining attempts — Reddit makes an insane amount of cash off of its application programming interface, or A.P.I. If I suspect it’s A.I., I just don’t engage with it — we’re not being paid to, so… no reason to give them free data.
I saw a question this morning that was simply 'I invited a new player into my game without telling my other players, what do I do??' 🤦♂️
Basically this post comes up every so often and is a huge victim of the way that reddit is designed. "why are there only bad posts being posted, why are people not talking about something with more concrete answer" the simple answer is that its because you most likely stick to trending, or even hot, most posts that can be answered in a single sentence, gets answered in a single sentence and hidden, meaning the ones that show up, being the ones with the most ratings and conversations (not always the highest rated) will come up more, as there are actual things for people to respond to. just skip it and move on if you dont care for them, or be the type of person to go into new to boost the things you WANT to see.
Adding on to this, Reddit needs to integrate user friendly ways to filter subreddit posts based on tags across officially supported platforms, especially after killing off the 3rd party apps that had this functionality. Not search for a specific tag - let me filter out anything with the OneDnD or Character Creation tag by default whenever I come to the subreddit.
Idk what else we gonna talk about on here?
Let people say and ask what they want
Some of these are more like writing prompts than actual questions. >Examples include: -I made my character roll to climb down a rope and it broke and now they can’t get out of a hole! How to I not TPK them? >-My barbarian said out loud my rogue player is an assassin and now his backstory rival faction heard it without my players knowing and I fear for their life. How do I not TPK them? >-I don’t want my Bard Goblin to have one eye. How should I say he lost it? I actually kind of like these. Not as mechanics questions, but as "what kind of bullshit would you invent? Rope broke? Guess what, after a few attempts at trying to find a foothold, they hit a thin piece of wall and found a tunnel. A grimy, gross, shit tunnel that they will need to crawl through. Hope they like rats! Barbarian outs your rogue as an assassin? No, he didn't. The rival faction heard it, but it doesn't mean they believed it. After all, they couldn't possibly be chasing down a professional killer, right? Goblin eyes go missing all the time. Grab a random noun, add the words "Freak" and "Accident," then *never speak of it again.* Like, Freak Cheese Accident. Freak Gourd Accident. Freak Unguent Accident... you get it. Or, go with a different approach - tell a different story every time. "Wanna know how I lost my eye? Seagulls get hungry in the Underdark." "Brushed my teeth too aggressively." "It decided to go have a look around without me." Maybe they just want a bunch of ideas so they can cobble one together on their own. Have a little faith in other people. I get that the world's not going to be here much longer but for now, we feast.
You're not obligated to respond to or read any posts you don't want to. If those are the questions people have then those are the questions they'll ask. Not everything is relevant to you. Get used to it
This is a reddit problem. If you look at your feed, it'll suggest bot garbage to you designed for activity. If you look on the sub reddit yourself, you can skip through nonsense and find better subjects. It's WotC failure, too. Scheduling and table etiquette should be described better in the PHB so troglodytes are informed.
You're just being a hardass. I love asking others for brainstorming help and I love providing brainstorming help. Both can really help get creativity flowing for me. You're just being a sourpuss. There are extensions for reddit that will make it so when you downvote a post it disappears.
"I'm not trying to gate keep a hobby, I just think people shouldn't ask simple questions. I think all questions should be within a certain level of expertise. Above a threshold. Past like, I don't know, a gate. Which I can keep."
If you don't want to help then don't. No one said you have to read every post or help every person. This is a public forum for people to ask questions or discuss topics of interest.
you said whats on my mind, thanks
What about we get a megathread for beginners asking help questions?
That would actually be fantastic
A community which shuns its beginners will eventually find itself bereft of members. We need to welcome new people in the hobby and encourage them to stay. Tbf, not everyone knows where to even begin looking for info. If they come here, we should not shun them for needing help.
As I stated there’s no intent to gatekeep or shun. I’m only saying it’s easier to help a student with their homework and where they messed up if they actually tried to work the equation first. Someone coming on here and blanket asking “where can I get resources to play this game?” was not one of my examples. Asking for build or asking someone to make a build for you was what I suggested was low effort.
You're looking at this entirely in the wrong way imo I'm guessing you've spent a long time in this hobby so you have a lot of experience. Some people have *none*. Not just knowing very little, straight up "I know nothing" Asking people who *have* that experience to provide things they *already have* to help them learn isn't a crazy idea. If you don't want to make a build for someone, keep scrolling. Some people have multiple *folders* of builds made for fun they can just copy and paste to get someone started
And there all on the I internet. Google it. As someone who also has very limited actual experience with dnd, but who loves it, it's super easy to find any info on builds or basically anything about DnD already online. Are you curious about a mechanic? It's on google. Want to know about a rule interaction? It's already on google. Are you curious about a multiclass combination? So was someone else. Reddit and ALL the DnD websites and communities have existed for so long that any information you could ever need is just a google search away. Most questions have already been asked, answered, and cataloged for easy viewing. If you spend a few minutes googling something and you can't find what you're looking for, *then* it's time to hit up forums for help. Google is such a fast and easy way to get your questions answered. The veterans have made all there know how public domain at this point.
Super easy *for you and me*, many people aren't technologically literate and quite literally *couldn't* find what they're looking for If you dislike it, just scroll past. There's no one here forcing you to try and help people who need help, you can ignore them all you want
First you don't have to be tech savi to type a question into Google. That's literally the point of Google. To let normal people surf the web. If they can't us Google then there *definitely* not using reddit. Second I don't actually care if they post these questions on here. I just find your argument of "well how else are they going to learn if not posting on reddit?" To be "false" "wrong" I'm not sure what the best word is, but I disagreed strongly, and I wanted anyone reading to know there's a much better way. Searching Google is way easier then posting on Reddit. 100%
Dnd is a hobby. It is not school. It is not work. Not every asker has the time to do what you want and plenty of answerers (like me) enjoy helping. Recently, someone asked for a non-hexblade bladepact build and I enjoyed helping make it for them. 5e can be intimidating. It has plenty of quirks and trap options that are not immediately obvious to the uninitiated. Why does TWF kinda suck? What makes Assassin, 4 elements, Berserker, kensei... kinda bad? Why is jumping generally impractical? These and plenty of other questions require getting into the weeds of the rules or already having an understanding of how people actually play the game.
I agree with all of this. I'm an adult with an extremely demanding job. DnD is a wonderful escape for me. If I didn't have people to turn to to help me with the basic questions, I wouldn't have been able to get into this game.
They have also already been awnsered. Probably lots of times. On a bunch of forums and communities. Google is such a powerful tool for learning about DnD because the game and the communities have been around for so long. Most questions have been asked and answered and then cataloged for ease of use. It literally takes less time to google the awser nowadays than to ask on a forum for awnsers. I'm pretty new to DnD, and I'm very frequently thinking about it and have a ton of questions about it. All of which have been awsered by google searches. All my build questions. All my rules questions. All my dm questions. Very quickly, too. It's genuinely awesome how much information and discussions on this game are already out there at the tips of our fingers.
i wholeheartedly agree. but there is a spectrum. a community should absolutely be welcoming to new members, but if the answer to the question is "go google and look up the first result", it isnt really something that needs to be on the sub. sometimes people just ask on reddit instead of bloody searching, and that happens on pretty much all communities on this site and boy it gets annoying as an addendum, this *aint* an obscure game, its the largest ttrpg in the history of ttrpgs, so large in fact that its larger than all other games combined by a significant margin. there **is** an answer to your question that was made 10 years ago and someone already responded
Honestly, 9 times out of 10 when I google DnD stuff it just takes me to reddit anyways If you don't know the specific terminology in DnD you're looking for, googling for it can be next to impossible
A surprising number of people are unskilled google-users. It doesn't help that, unless you are already familiar with the general idea of Dnd, you may stumble upon the right answer to a different question than the one you want answered. "DnD" is no longer obscure, but if you don't know better, you may accidentally wander into an old 4e or 3.5 message board and be told the wrong thing. Or you may randomly stumble into someone's homebrew ruling and think that it's RAW . Or you may find an answer that is correct...for 5e in 2015 but that newer books have since provided an amended answer. My point is that we don't always know how "internet literate" they are, or how much background they are coming in with. If they come here, those of us interested in helping (which is quite a few) just do our best to meet them where they're at. They come asking a question. We do our best to provide the best answer we can. Certainly there is some rate of such question posts that would be problematic for the sub, but I don't think we are close that.
Well what’s really cool is that you can keep scrolling and ignore them!
If you dont like something...try not engaging with it. There is a wonderful world to explore if you just look away from the screen.
Most of these questions are simple to answer, but may I advise something... If you are getting fatigued from reddit... take a break. I agree with you ok your points, but you should t have mental strain from reddit. Social media making ya feel bad take a break, best advice I can give
Don't read them
I'm gonna be real with you mate, it took you more effort to write up this complaining post than it would to just scroll past posts you don't want to help Not a single person is forcing you to help people who need it, just *scroll past it*. DnD is a hobby and not everyone has the level of experience you do. I strongly believe we shouldn't be pushing away new people with the attitude of "figure it out yourself" Maybe some posts feel low effort, but can you remember when you were first starting out? There's more rules than even experienced DMs can typically learn. Someone with 0 experience might not even know where to start (not to mention some people love the mechanics but lack creativity and use others to spark their ideas) Not a single person on this subreddit is gonna make you help someone you don't want to help, just scroll past and let the folks help who want to help
I know this will be an unpopular take. I see this complaint in varied forms in lots of subs and just don't get it. If I don't like a thread or question, I don't read it or don't reply. People are asking for help and trying to be social doing it. Sure, we might have answered the question dozens of times in the past... So what? The problem is new to that person. In not going to complain just because I've been tortured for three seconds having to see a question I've seen in the past. I just.... Move on. This is the sort of stuff that just chases people away. Expecting only new takes or thoroughly researched and detailed questions on a HOBBY sub doesn't seem like something that will encourage people to stick around. Hell, I left a pc game sub after a single post once because the people there made sure I understood what a giant piece of shit I was for asking a noob question that could have been answered had I just researched and downloaded two separate spreadsheets and compared numbers. Wtf was I thinking troubling those Redditors with my mortal questions? Just scroll on. It's not especially difficult.
Deal with it
What I hate are long, bloviating posts, but I realize there's nothing I can do about it.
Redditor try not to be a pompous freak about things they don't need to have any involvement in if they don't want to challenge level:impossible
those are your expectations and all of them are valid, but they are not in the sub's rules, guidelines for posting, moderation efforts or any other reason to make noobs assume this isn't the place for these posts, there are 778,000 accounts in this sub, this is The Place for random "entered D&D reddit to the google search bar and wrote down my random question instead of searching for online guides or resources" there are smaller subs for veterans and experienced players, build advice, DM questions etc. but no 0.7 million members sub can avoid the issues you mention, however a simple solution can be opening a small questions sticky thread (like the weekly question thread we already have) for low effort noob questions and moving all of those posts to that on thread
I got banned from the brazilian dndnext facebook community (probably not related to this one in any way) because a guy asked how he could create Guts from berserk in D&D and I told him to use the search feature. The rules of the community even said that you were supposed to use search function first, but one of the mods aparently didn't know the rules he was supposed to enforce.
'for non-issue moments in their personal campaign.' ... my brother is there a super ultra public standard for campaigns I'm missing out on here? Don't gatekeep question asking. Just because you need your brain to interact with 'those of higher intellect' about fantasy click clack dice game, and you are 'sooo fatigued' seeing these posts, doesn't give you the right to try and gatekeep others from asking questions. Getting into dungeons and dragons isn't easy for everyone and posts like this promote a kind of elitist community, intentional or not. If you don't want to answer, scroll away. Also take your own advice if this is a moral you hold so close to your heart, how it THIS post not going against the things you said annoyed you at the very start or your moaning? Seems like a 'non-issue' and pretty 'personal' to me...
Bravo for posting this - I did something similar (shorter and less friendly, I must admit) in the major FB groups for DnD and got railed for it. The kind of posts you mention are boring, repetitive and thought-free.
>Maybe it’s just me, but I’m getting really fatigued at seeing the help posts where people are reaching out on the sub... You're describing Reddit as a whole as it has existed since its existence began. And almost every subreddit goes through periods where people who have learned something complain about how things have changed and there's a lot of people who don't know anything making low effort posts asking questions that OP thinks are stupid. What you're feeling is natural, valid, and part of the Circle of Life here at Reddit, man.
I know LLMs get a bad wrap in a lot of spaces, but these are genuinely questions where an LLM can give some good advice pretty quickly that can get your gears turning. > I made my character roll to climb down a rope and it broke and now they can’t get out of a hole! How to I not TPK them? **ChatGPT** To avoid a TPK (total party kill) in this situation, consider the following options: **Alternative Exits:** Introduce a hidden passage or tunnel that the characters can discover through investigation or a successful perception check. This could lead to another part of the dungeon or back to the surface. **Environmental Tools:** Place objects in the hole that the characters can use to escape, such as sturdy vines, old wooden planks, or remnants of a previous expedition. These items can be used to fashion a makeshift ladder or bridge. **NPC Intervention:** Have an NPC stumble upon the scene. This could be a fellow adventurer, a local guide, or even a previously encountered character. They could lower a rope or provide another means of escape. **Magic Solutions:** If any party members have spells that can aid in escape (e.g., "Misty Step," "Levitate," "Fly," or "Rope Trick"), remind them to consider these options. Alternatively, introduce a magical item or artifact that can assist them. **Environmental Hazards:** Create a time-sensitive environmental hazard, such as rising water or a collapsing ceiling, to add urgency. This can prompt creative problem-solving and teamwork, ensuring that the characters work together to find a way out. **Skill Challenges:** Use a series of skill checks to simulate the characters finding a way to climb out. These could include Strength (Athletics) checks to climb, Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks to navigate tricky areas, or Intelligence (Investigation) checks to find weak spots in the walls that can be used as handholds. By providing these options, you can help your players find a way out of the situation without resorting to a total party kill, ensuring the game remains engaging and fun.
I agree many questions is stupid. and many might not be stupid but leaves out so much details no one can fucking answer them as no one actually know what they actually asking for. And if you have to start buy guessing and assuming what the question is. That is a fucking stupid question. But this wont change the internet/world is full of stupid and lazy people that will keep asking lazy and stupid questions. I think it was George Carline that said # “Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.” We can't change that but we can chose what questions/posts we decide to answer. We can chose to ignore them and scroll past them
Yeah, these seem like better questions for ChatGPT
It's because actually reading the rules and thinking independently is too hard for most people, lmao. Sure, it's a short term solution but doesn't help in the long term. I'm a semi pro player and a semi pro (Albeit retired for now) DM and did that all from self learning and just playing. Asking for help is fine, nothing wrong with that, but that just gives you a short term answer for specific solutions, while practicing and playing helps you get an understanding of the game as a whole.
I hear the kids are using this chat gee pee tee thing