the 5e rules everyone at the table forgets mid-fight

the arguments that pause combat for ten minutes, settled with the actual SRD text

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Opportunity attacks: one reaction per round, only when a creature LEAVES your reach with a move (not a teleport, not being pulled)

shoving someone away doesn't provoke, they didn't use their movement

Advantage does not stack. three sources of advantage = roll 2d20, same as one source

min 4 players and someone always forgets this one, roll 2 not 3

Advantage and disadvantage cancel out 1-for-1, they don't average or add

Concentration checks: DC is 10 or half the damage taken, whichever is higher

not a flat DC10, people forget the half-damage clause on big hits

You can only concentrate on one spell at a time, casting a second concentration spell drops the first

Readied actions use your reaction, so you can't also take an opportunity attack that round

Cover: half cover +2 AC/Dex saves, three-quarters +5, total cover can't be targeted directly

Flanking is an OPTIONAL rule, check with your DM before assuming it's on

crunchy > light tables usually run it, theater-of-the-mind tables usually don't

Grappled condition doesn't stop you attacking, it just sets your speed to 0

Two-weapon fighting: the bonus action attack does NOT add your ability modifier to damage unless you have the fighting style

this one costs new players damage for months and nobody catches it

Death saves happen at the start of your turn while at 0 HP, and any damage while at 0 is an automatic fail (two on a crit)

The free D&D Beyond Basic Rules page has the exact wording for all of the above, if the table needs a tiebreaker

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