Counterspelled Booming Blade

[Blatant Beast]

I'm not "inflating" anything - I'm using the printed Improvising Damage value from the table in the DMG, which you're supposed to use for things like jumping into a volcano vent.

Psyren, I am talking about the Cauldron example, not the underwater vent.

A DM can set a fix damage amount for anything that is not in dispute.
A DM can say something does 48d10 damage, and then take average damage to get the result they want.

Unfortunately, I know how the sausage gets made, and I do not think it is pretty or elegant. As I said, it is a rules aesthetic concern, I have that I am sharing.
It is perfectly fine, if you do not share the concern.

I find it wonky that a person trapped in a cauldron of boiling water takes more damage with their head out of the cauldron then when completely submerged, by RAW.

It is a specific situation in which, if I were the Sage of Sage Advice, I would recommend people to feel free to override the general Underwater rules, and make a more specific ruling that better fits the cauldron of of boiling water scenario.

The slogan “Rulings not Rules” is a great summation of the fact that D&D games can be so diverse that using the text as written, can be the wrong call, and a DM should make a ruling for the specific circumstance.

I feel comfortable asserting that I think you are probably in general agreement with that sentiment. Theodoxus is absolutely correct, RAW is dumb, in the literal sense of the word…which is why DM exist, to make the Rules less Dumb, to not blindly adhere to the rules when they lead you off the broken bridge, metaphorically speaking.

What I wonder is, would those that are more focused on RAW only games, also make a DM judgement call that in the specific case of being completely submerged in a cauldron of boiling water, as the Rules as Written are deficient for that case.