One thing that quickly became clear to me when reading the DnD 2024 Player’s Handbook is that force damage is much more frequent. It seems like Wizards of the Coast is sprinkling this previously rare damage type into every corner it can find.
For instance, all Monks in the updated rules can deal force damage from level 6 onwards. Beast Master’s primal companion deals it from level 7, but all Rangers get it right away anyway from the new-and-improved Hunter’s Mark. As well as HM, a bunch more spells can dish out force damage, from Mordenkainen’s Faithful Hound to Conjure Woodland Beings.
I think I see what’s going on here. Force has always been the DnD damage type that is hardest to resist, and therefore sticking it onto an underwhelming class feature or spell is a good way to give out an easy buff.
The thing is though, I find force damage really unevocative. It’s just never quite been clear to me what it looks or feels like – I suppose because the Player’s Handbook describes it as “pure magical energy” and, obviously, that’s not something that can exist in the real world.
If I was really pushed to describe it, I’ve always thought of force damage as basically bludgeoning damage, but coming from a magical source. I imagine being hit by a bolt of force or whatever, feels quite a lot like being hit by a rock.
It’s not such an issue when force damage is used sparingly, or comes from a magical projectile like Magic Missile or Eldritch Blast. But I think all the new instances of force damage dilute it, and make its meaning more unclear, mainly because they’re not quite so magical.
For instance, when a Ranger shoots a marked creature with a bow and deals extra damage to it, I imagined this was because they’d picked out and aimed at a weak spot. Now that this is force damage, what am I to make of that? The spell’s description is extremely bland, so offers no help either.
I suppose the root of the problem is that this skews DnD just a little further towards feeling ‘video gamey’. It’s already one of my biggest issues with the tabletop RPG that so many of its mechanics are hard to explain or justify in in-fiction terms, and less arcane forms of force damage fall under the same category.
If I’m right, and Wizards of the Coast wanted to upgrade certain classes to strike through resistances, that’s an admirable goal. Some would say it takes valuable decision making out of combat, but it’s always felt distinctly unfair to me that – unless your DM is generous in providing 5e magic items, martial classes are mostly stuck dealing piercing, slashing, or bludgeoning damage, while DnD Wizards can do whatever they like. Pesky wizards.
But if that’s the goal, why not just invent a new tag like ‘unblockable’, to indicate particularly powerful strikes that force their way past most forms of resistance? My DnD 2024 Monk could have unblockable bludgeoning punches, while the 2024 Ranger’s bow could ‘pierce’ a foe’s defenses.
Anyway, it’s not a huge deal. Perhaps not worth my spending 600 words on the issue. But hey, it’s a Thursday afternoon, the perfect time for a grumble, so I thought I’d see if anyone else feels similar?
For more Dungeons and Dragons content, check out our guides to DnD classes and 5e races. And don’t miss our look at the new content, like this rundown of the best DnD 2024 weapons to try out.
Source: Wargamer
