Dungeons and Dragons

[barren quarry]

"object of her obsession" style

or giving her resistances against characters that arent the object of her obsession, and the game is about managing who she's targeting

i used a similar system with a boss of mine that was close range focused. they had a layer action where they would try to magically grab the character that was farthest away n drag them closer n set their move speed to 0 for 1 turn

as a punishment for trying to run away, but it only goes after the 1 character

so each turn the party's warlock would intentionally run away as far as possible to be the target

like a wow raid boss

cause it stopped the wizard from getting curb stomped

the warlock actually ended up hexxing the wizard so that they could use the teleport invocation to get around the Movement to 0

was a fun fight that people seemed to really like

[arctic yew]

That

Is really cool

I might try to do that because apparently roper+succubus is too strong of a combination

[barren quarry]

the charm is just the real issue lol

if you axed the charm you could use something else in its place

[arctic yew]

Fair enough

Imma go see some rewrites

[barren quarry]

for Samson the Breaker btw, you should consider an arena full of obstacles and walls, and they can send players flying to crash into the obstacles. you could even pull a hulk and have samson grab characters and then charge through the obstacles

like a reinhardt charge from overwatch

the minigame for the boss could be managing where youre standing, so you dont get caught in between the boss and a wall/obstacle

and giving the boss the ability to summon new obstacles with set conditions as a layer action

or getting to move the obstacles around

so its not just a fixed fight

[arctic yew]

how does this look

[barren quarry]

better. id consider thinking about what she obsesses over as a character though. is she obsessed over love? power? powerful magic items, etc

you should have a way to gain her obsession thats more consistent than just a persuasion check. not all characters will be very good at those

[arctic yew]

her boss

the obsession is her boss

she does not belive in the shit she spouts at all,but her boss does with all her heart and by god maggie will dive into hell if she asks

[barren quarry]

you should sneak in a mechanic where if the players insult her boss or those ideals she absolutely pops her lid n switches obsession to whoever did the insulting

that way its a flavor win and a manipulatable mechanic

itll give more agency to the players and itll make her more of a character as well

2 birds with one stone sorta thing

[arctic yew]

perfect

thank you

a lot

[arctic yew]

about samson

.....i was struggling with him because if i do make him big waaaagh barbarian that smashes everything,he is just gonna feel like a lesser version of maria (the actual boss of this organization)

which can work

the breaker version is more about how he breaks people by infecting then with mind bending rage

i dunno if that works

[barren quarry]

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh

that is a significantly different direction for the term "breaker" than i was expecting

give the barbarian smashing everything to maria then lol

[arctic yew]

oh,i ahve her sheet

[barren quarry]

for samson do forced rage effects then. like from barbarian

[arctic yew]

....hold on

[barren quarry]

holy stat block batman, jeeze

k gimme a sec to read this

[arctic yew]

wait hold on

thats the old version WOOPS

[barren quarry]

oh lol

[arctic yew]

there we go,the nightmare woman they're gonna be fighting

[barren quarry]

as much as the stat block is intimidating, a lot of that is bravado. id recommend cleaning up the spell list of spells she wont ever use, like stoneskin or magic weapon

[arctic yew]

.....true

I mean,most of the spells are gonna be

SMITE

Anyway

[barren quarry]

right lol

and almost all of those spells wont be as good as using her action to use an attack or something else

id consider merging Vengeful Blow with Greatsword

have an attack do less damage but then somehow launch a target doesnt make much sense

just moving the launch effect to Greatsword will achieve the same thing

[arctic yew]

Probably make it ANOTHER PASSIVE then

[barren quarry]

you dont have to keep deleting your messages btw

[arctic yew]

That's my ADHD and me sending messages before my tought process is complete

[barren quarry]

thats fair. nothing wrong with changing your mind tho

[arctic yew]

I send one and then I am "oh,I can just say this instead"

[barren quarry]

its true that greatsword does deal more damage. you could always make it a flat launch value like 30 feet or something

[barren quarry]

even if your messages are sometimes impulsive, they can still bring value to a conversation. up to you tho

[arctic yew]

I wanted the punch because

....idk I thought punching someone would be cool

Just

Having someone that has their main go to just being so strong instead of firing arrows they toss cannonballs like rocks without a punch feels weird

[barren quarry]

not really. consider their intelligence. are they smart enough to use the most effective option available to them? tossing a cannon ball at the speed of a ballistic missile might be ideal for their uses. would a punch ever be more ideal for uses than their sword?

if so, keep the punch

if not, dont bother unless you expect the players to disarm the boss

if theyre not intelligent enough to use the most effective option, keep the punch because its a more brutish concept

it plays into their lack of tactical reasoning

it becomes a narrative tool instead of a combat tool

[arctic yew]

Hello I am back

Also the punch was also a way for then to

Get someone the hell away

Like,lower the damage for repositioning

[barren quarry]

fair. but they could also launch someone by hitting em with the flat side of the blade no? i feel like answering the "is this useful/optimal to them?" question would still solve it. it sounds like you wanna include it tho so keep it lol

at the end of the day games are about having fun, so if you like it run it

[arctic yew]

So

Maria:Toji

Solomon:plot device/support

Magdalene:managing aggro

Samson:infighting

[barren quarry]

i feel like envy should steal things

since envy is often described as the feeling of wanting something someone else has

having the ability to copy abilities that the players just used would fit

"oh, you casted fireball last turn? that looks dope, i wanna do that, YEET"

https://tenor.com/view/explode-boom-explosion-gif-15451166

the combat would come down to making sure that youre prepared to counter whatever you just did last turn

so the party has to manage what theyre doing so that they dont accidentally do something thatll screw them when cain steals it n uses it on them

you could even make the stat block pretty close to empty, and instead cain copies the most recent 3 abilities, spells and attacks used on them

[arctic yew]

....

i think i saw that monster once that i can just copy

hold on

[barren quarry]

hm?

[arctic yew]

this works very well as a base

[barren quarry]

mmmmmmh, you could do that, but theres nothing raid boss about it since it comes down to saving throws

so idk if itd be as interactive as what youre wanting

if youre modifying it tho you could definitely tweak it to be fun to fight

[arctic yew]

also because i know you will probably eventually ask

"why are there only 5 sins"

1:maria is technically both pride and gluttony,but due to lore she doesnt have powers related to the sin

2:maria is the sword of light,and she has 5 captains that work as underlings as "the fingers that grasp the sword"

[barren quarry]

no it made sense since the titles involve the 5 fingers lol

i figured out what you were going for as soon as i read the titles the first time. the obvious naming conventions is beneficial honestly

i think its good design

[arctic yew]

woops

[barren quarry]

nothing to say woops about lol. its always good to double check

i think youve got a neat idea going for your bosses

[arctic yew]

Thanks for the help man

[barren quarry]

np

reach out whenever. i hang out in this channel and the game design channel all the time

i love creating experiences for people, n ttrpgs are one of my fav ways to do that, so i love just chatting about game design n system concepting

[stone hollow]

all the damn campaign postings i see are at level 1

[barren quarry]

whats wrong with a level 1 posting?

oh i shoud ping just incase you dont have alerts for this channel on. @stone hollow

kippie was then smited by juno for pinging

[stone hollow]

people are free to play whatever they want however they want I just don't like starting at level 1

level 1 dnd doesn't feel good to me at all

[barren quarry]

fair lol. sorry if that came off hostile, it was a genuine question

[stone hollow]

you didn't come off hostile

[barren quarry]

level 1 feeling awful is a common complaint honestly, i usually start at level 3 unless players request level 1 starts

im designing some ttrpg assets for a buddy, but afterwards ill work on my book some more. that way i can invite you to some test 1 shots sooner lol

[stone hollow]

oh fun

[arctic yew]

i cant find it,but i swear i read on one of 5e's very early postings that level 1 wasnt really...designed to be played?

Like,it was supposed to be "your group plays a single level 1 game once to nderstand the basics of the game,then you start every other campaign at level 3"

[craggy cloak]

Level 1 works when you use actually mathed out CR

but the DMG's CR math is off

its conflates offensive and defensive CR in some dumb ways and throws a lot of shit off

[barren quarry]

The few times i do lvl 1 start most often they dont level up through combat directly

I use milestone, so just progressing the story gets em levels over time. Going through initially stressful circumstances n stuff, going out n learning the land or gathering intelligence, practicing their crafts, etc

[stone hollow]

I just sent an application for one of the coolest campaigns I've ever seen and I'm joining in at level 12! (If I get picked)

[barren quarry]

An application?

Hows that supposed to work?

[craggy cloak]

hell yeah

you got this Juno you've earned it

[craggy cloak]

I'm assuming its like "fill out this google form" style stuff to get into the campaign

pretty standard stuff

[barren quarry]

Fair enough lol. Iv never joined a public campaign via a posting so i wouldn't know

[craggy cloak]

Its a good safety net for everyone involved; I have a 4-page google form I get folks to checkmark through to make sure I'm getting compatible players, that everyone understands the tone/scope of the campaign, and so we can establish some pre-sessions lines/veils and such

then i can sort the applications to find the right mix of 3-5 people

[barren quarry]

Fair. I only ever invite players personally, n i have to have known the person for a lil

[stone hollow]

Google form where they ask stuff like "how do we contact you, what's your name, what interests you about this campaign, etc etc"

[craggy cloak]

a sample of mine:

[barren quarry]

Oooooh okay

Interesting

I guess it just comes down to me mostly playing n running ttrpgs within my span of friends n contacts i already know

Since i know everyone i play with i dont have to like, vet em that hard

[craggy cloak]

Oh i do this to my friends too

I need everyone to be on the same or similar page, I've had issues

[barren quarry]

Thats fair. I usually just talk with em solo n give em the run down n then we have a tentative session 0 all together where we work shit out

It helps that most of the people i know are also friends with each other

So i know they already like, get along

[craggy cloak]

Yeah! I mean this form is basically so i can go and have a session zero with good talking points and such, but also im just a form nerd. i love data. give me data.

[stone hollow]

I got rejected

[sand hornet]

I'm sorry

[stone hollow]

talked to another gm about possibly joining and I am being vented to for like 20 minutes so far :T

this search is really not going well lmfao

[sand hornet]

Oof

I presume these are for free games?

[stone hollow]

yeah i don't pay for dnd

[sand hornet]

Ye fair

[lament geode]

While recognizing that paid GMing is a valid and awesome thing

I cannot personally fathom paying for it

Or being paid for it for that matter

[craggy cloak]

I "kind of" get paid for it in the sense that on fridays i run D&D at the library during work hours

[timber sleet]

i honestly cant fathom playing with strangers

i only play with close friends

ttrpgs require a lot of trust imo

[stone hollow]

i usually would but my friends are either already playing with me or can't right now

[craggy cloak]

Strangers with Vetting are just Future Friends

[stone hollow]

plus i can only run so many campaigns

[sand hornet]

You gotta meet people at some poijnt

[craggy cloak]

ive become pretty good friends/acquaintances with several folk in this server via recruiting strangers here

[topaz lagoon]

Likewise!

It’s not total strangers granted but the only requisites are “have seen around and interacted with previously + wasn’t put off by their vibe” which is fairly easy to meet

[timber sleet]

it sounds fun to make new friends through random dnd campaigns, but i have some pretty serious trust issues so its not really viable for me

[craggy cloak]

If you ever wanted to give it a go, I really recommend just doing one-shots, its less commital

[barren quarry]

Rip

[arctic yew]

One of my players is trying to tame a bullette who only stopped trying to kill them because of charm monster

They have 46 minutes

[tepid crane]

Oh cool world of Io has a new hardcore series

Curse of Strahd is the one module I really want to play in 5e but I’m probably going to have to GM it

[stone hollow]

would love to play that one, i kinda did a little bit but the DM was terrible and I quit before any major plot stuff happened

[craggy cloak]

CoS is my all time fave to run

[tepid crane]

I think it’s going to go down as the most popular 5e module

It seems to get way more youtube coverage then any other modules

[dapper fulcrum]

the villain therein is super present

like, an active malevolent force that messes with people in the domain

[craggy cloak]

Its got a well established plot with good thematic core and has built in ways to avoid being derailed

[modest echo]

goth opportunity (gothportunity )

[stone hollow]

also
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWfC0yNHzDQ

[arctic yew]

Hey @barren quarry , here's another thing

This one.... I feel like I might have to crowdsource

So,in my campaign,I have some additional skill trees that only martials can access. most of the skills are nabbed from lancer,or from pathfinder,or from something I saw once that I thought was cool but can't remember where.

There are 4 skill trees in total,but number 4 is being really hard to make. It's basically supposed to be a commander/strategist tree.

Here's the speedster tree,and the incomplete one

I gotta go work out for now,maybe I will get some ideas during it

[barren quarry]

Abilities that grant other people extra actions are always good for that sorta thing

"Give up your action to give someone else an action" or something along those lines

Also the ability to foresee an attack and give someone an ac bonus or advantage on a save

The ability to let other characters take the disengage action while youre near them

The ability to summon npc troops might work? But it can clog up the battlefield so make sure you use singular swarm stat blocks if you go for that idea

You can also do rally cry effects like giving people temp hp or movement speed boosts on certain commands, to get at the idea of this person giving orders

Depending on the setting and campaign theme you could also turn it on its head and let the commander copy abilities from their soldiers

But that usually implies some sort of magic theft/copy

You could also pull a bard and have a variation of bardic inspiration that the commander can give to their troops

If you wanted to take some inspiration from the name, having intimidation effects based on the state of the battle could work. Scaring the enemy into surrendering sorta deal

[arctic yew]

So
Ideas so far

When you use the help action,you can do so to any creature that can hear you speak,and to a number of creatures equal to your intelligence modifier +1

You can hire mercenaries at half the price,and once per day,you can summon 1d4+1 mercenaries (they use the bandit statblock) to help in a single fight

Intimidation/commands

They can half the resources/time needed to set traps,and also add their proficiency to the DC of the traps

[barren quarry]

the trap one might not be very useful. in 5e a lot of fights are reactionary not proactive

so you dont often get the chance to set up traps n stuff

[arctic yew]

Hmmm

[arctic yew]

this is what i got

[barren quarry]

the syntax isnt right but mechanically seems good to me

[stone hollow]

Wow glamour bard looks fun, I'm definitely gonna be playing one next chance i get. Trans magical girl bard would go hard

[craggy cloak]

Rockin magical girl music sequence

[barren quarry]

theres a 3rd party publication called Valda's Spire of Secrets that adds a magical girl inspired warlock subclass. if you ever got the chance to use that bit of content you could truly become a magical girl bard in the literal sense. works out great too cause its all just using charisma stat

[pale hamlet]

Heyo I'm in arctic survival campaign that takes place bi-weekly on Fridays 9:30-midnight EST. The DM is looking for a couple players to join since some of the existing players are on a hiatus. Currently lvl 7. Message me if interested

[barren quarry]

aw man. that sounds super fun but i dont think iv got the time

juno has been dying to play in a game tho, so maybe they'd wanna. @stone hollow

[stone hollow]

Damn it's not on a day that works for me

[barren quarry]

Dang. So close

[obsidian patrol]

Does anyone have tips or tricks on how to play Rune Knight?

For Fighter?

[pure elm]

It's pretty straightforward for the most part

You can turn big for a damage boost, and you got your runes for a bit of utility

[tepid crane]

cast haste on yourself

take whatever spells essentially give you magic steroids

[craggy cloak]

care not to lose concentration on haste, that backfires poorly

when ive seen my players on rune knight its usually just whatever kind of fighter they wanna make with extra magic utility that doesnt require spell slots, its nice and versatile

[obsidian patrol]

Might be better to get someone else to cast haste on me

[barren quarry]

war mage, become large, go brr. in all honesty its a pretty simple subclass to play. the biggest thing is just rune choices cause you dont get all of them. Cloud rune is really funny and honestly great to use. you can just sling a critical hit an enemy rolled into someone else (make it hit the wizard's familiar if youre out of choices, its still better than said wizard dying)

fire rune is your go to damage activation so its never really bad to take

personally i like Cloud Rune and Stone Rune, but thats because im a scheming bastard who never plays straight forward fighters

level 7 +, honestly i think that Hill Rune is better than Storm. dont get me wrong, on demand advantage or disadvantage is nice, but a full minute of physical resistances (even to magic weapons notably) is like, just kinda too good

[dapper cove]

Quick question, does anyone here have familiarity with the Tome of Horror and equivalent third party books for NPCs in terms of difficulty relative the first party ones? I've enjoyed them more in the past since they have more depth to them in my experience, but want to see if I'm right in believing they're also a tad bit more difficult to fight.

[smoky notch]

the necromancer/paladin multiclass: can it be done?

[pure elm]

sort of

though you'll be very MAD

[dapper fulcrum]

a stat-boosting item like a Headband of Intellect, an Amulet of Health and a Belt of Giant Strength makes the dream work

[slender nexus]

You don't really need to be, you can go pretty light on int

Since Animate Dead et. al don't care about your int

And you're dumping a bunch of spell slots into them anyway, so the reduction in spells prepared isn't as painful either

It's a particularly fun multiclass if you're an Oathbreaker

I will note it's one of those multiclasses that feels less than half as effective as two single-classed characters working together

Pally being a half-caster puts you behind a dedicated Necromancer, you only really come online at 12 when you get Aura of Hate

[pure elm]

yeah but you still need at least 13 Int for multi requirements

so you already need 13 Int, Cha, and Str

[slender nexus]

Yeah, you probably end up with a point buy along the lines of 15 str, 15 cha, 13 int, 12 con, 8 dex, 8 wis

Maybe 14 str 10 wis, but only having +2 to hit hurts

(Assuming you get +2 cha +1 str from race)

[timber sleet]

probably the most MAD multiclass ive ever seen was monkadin
you need at least a 13 in str, dex, wis, and cha, and dumping con is just a horrible idea, so your literally only dump stat is int

[dapper fulcrum]

at level 20 with a 14 monk 6 paladin spread and some stat-boosting items to make up for your MAD stats (amulet of health and belt of fire giant strength) you can have ridiculous amounts of saves

[timber sleet]

i tried to play a monkadin and decided "well im not too good at combat, what if i try to talk my way through stuff and play oath of redemption plus way of mercy" and then realized less than one session in "damn i hate trying to play characters like this" and got permission to switch characters lmao

[smoky notch]

i've been thinking ab just doing dex fighting

since paladins don't really need strength

[nimble quartz]

Dexadins are fun but if you’re not house ruling away the multiclass stat requirements you still need at least 13 Str if you wanna multiclass

[smoky notch]

i already cleared that with my gm

[dapper cove]

It's pulsating yet bereft of life, as stone turns to the whitened carcass of a long dead whale, permeated by a rot of forget-me-nots

The gang's time at university is going swimmingly.

[smoky notch]

i have already encountered this problem

thank god i'm determined enough to see it through

i just need to raise dex a little more and also raise intelligence and charisma and make sure i have enough constitution and also keep my wisdom decent for the socially adept aspect but that's neither here nor there

[final phoenix]

I wonder what's the ideal amount to develop out a story line that might not get explored. Rough outline and dramatis persona only?

I've got a spelljammer crew that just got their ship and I've come up with 5 possible contracts they could take

But just idea

[craggy cloak]

i like to think of stories in terms of seeds, sprouts, stalks and plants; with seeds being the small ideas i havent fleshed out and plants being fully developed plotlines, and i like to have 5 seeds per 1 plant

[sand gust]

Does anyone know groups, communities or servers running the Technomancer's Textbook?

[sand hornet]

The what?

[sand gust]

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnearthedArcana/comments/l3mlvh/technomancers_textbook_a_free_275_page_book_full/

[ashen hollow]

My character just got oneshot in a narrative campaign on turn 1 of combat and wow, I'm kinda mad

Nat 20 hit by a chasme and the necrotic damage put me to 0 max.

[sand hornet]

Oof, that sucks

[ashen hollow]

I don't know if I'm just a bad sport but like, that really fucking sucks

D&d isn't a wargame and there's not necessarily supposed to be "counterplay" to what the gm can do but also like, come on

[pure elm]

nah that's justified to be mad about

fighting a Chasme when you are low level enough that it can oneshot you like that is also rough

I also had a character instantly die to a Chasme once
crit from the knockout aura, and died from massive damage

[timber sleet]

chasmes are really nasty

honestly things that reduce max hp in general are really nasty

[ashen hollow]

So on 1/10 chance the local NPC cleric was close enough to revivify me and it happened
So I'm back which is good, but damn

[willow wadi]

What level?

[willow wadi]

Augh reply to this

[ashen hollow]

5

sorry I got distracted

[willow wadi]

No worries I missed the backlog

That’s nuts at level 5

[ashen hollow]

Im a ranger too with +2 con so I have 44 hp

But a Chasme insta kills someone with that HP on a crit 80% of the time according to anydice

[timber sleet]

jeez
tbh im all for hard encounters and sometimes killing a character or two but just "put 1 more cr than recommended for the party" is usually not a good strategy for making hard encounters because a lot of monsters can really fuck up a group of adventurers a level lower than them in an unfun way

[ashen hollow]

Apparently the GM didn't read the second half of the Chasme's proboscious statblock

Which as a longtime GM frustrates me

[timber sleet]

😭

[ashen hollow]

She literally thought I was just on the ground and I had to correct her when I checked the statblock (not expecting an enemy at our level to do 76 freaking damage)

[timber sleet]

i tend to be very careful when it comes to choosing enemies, theres a lot of factors to consider

[pure elm]

Chasme are incredibly dangerous

the unconscious aura can be extremely deadly if people fail the save

[timber sleet]

ive never used anything that reduces max hp purely because of the chance of a crit just wiping someone off the face of the earth, and ive been considering implementing a homebrew ruling where hp reduction on a crit is just the dice rolled (i use the rule where crits are max + dice instead of 2 x dice)
so for example, a chasme crit, instead of doing 14d6 necrotic that also reduces max hp, itd to 7d6 necrotic that reduces max hp + 42 nec damage that doesnt

[tepid crane]

I mean it’s bones are still pretty wargame-y

Good thing you had a cleric though

[ashen hollow]

I suggested that and she agreed to implement it

[tepid crane]

HP and level draining monsters are pretty cool to me as a threat

[timber sleet]

yknow, i just took a closer look at the chasme statblock, and jesus fucking christ
the low ac and health is the only thing weak about them, 60 feet of fly speed, the ability to knock people unconcious for 10 entire minutes, magic resistance, resistance to all the most common types of damage done by spells, 4d6+2+7d6 damage on a +5 to hit attack, they're nuts

[pure elm]

Their attacks are brutal

And if you fail a save against the aura, that's an auto crit incoming

[willow wadi]

The chasme aura is wild yeah

They’re a very very funny summon

[timber sleet]

dont worry though, you become concious if you take damage! (you will wake up in heaven because you just took 8d6+2+14d6 damage)

[tepid crane]

Oh the hitpoint reduction only lasts until a long rest

[timber sleet]

the biggest threat from hp reduction tends to be how it affects healing in the moment more than in the future, so when a max hp reduction goes away doesnt really matter when the monster does enough max hp reduction to instantly kill people

[pure elm]

also max HP reduction increases the risk of death by massive damage on subsequent hits

[timber sleet]

i dont really like the massive damage rules tbh

especially in early levels they're just way too easy to trigger, half of somethings max hp is nothing to a rogues sneak attack

[pure elm]

hmm?
that's not the one I meant
I meant the one that instantly kills you if you go to negative max HP in one hit

[timber sleet]

oh, i dont think ive heard of that

the way i rule "massive damage" is that if you go to negative your normal max hp (so not affected by hp reduction) you have to make a dc 16 con save or get some serious permanent injury, like losing a limb

[pure elm]

I mean, that's a base rule

[timber sleet]

oh, weird, i searched up "massive damage 5e" and didnt find that, guess it just isnt something that comes up often

but yeah, ive found it now

[pure elm]

it usually doesn't often come up past the early levels

because your max HP will just be too high for it to happen

[timber sleet]

fun fact: in all my time playing dnd ive only had massive damage come into play once (and it was using the homebrew rule i mentioned above)

and its a really funny story

basically, i was playing a wild magic sorcerer and got the roll on the wild magic table that makes you and anyone within 30 feet of you vulnerable to piercing, then i got hit by an etn's morning star. i was instantly dealt massive damage and had to make the con save (thankfully i saved)

[tepid crane]

I’ve died to massive damage from traps a few times

[timber sleet]

tbh, i dont use the base trap stats all too much, i tend to homebrew them so they're punishing but not basically instant death. because more often then not, if the party doesnt have a rogue, then they're gonna inevitably fail some checks and get hit by traps due to pure bad luck.

(plus, i tend to use traps mid-combat a lot because its a real fun way to add extra enemy synergy without adding more enemies, so those traps also need changed stats)

[tepid crane]

I guess that works but the people making traps in my games want their traps to kill their enemies

[willow wadi]

Combat traps are a lot more fun than solo ones I agree

[timber sleet]

sometimes you gotta sacrifice a little bit of realism to have the game remain fun. like, you can have things way above the party members that are still fun (like, really tough enemies that can be avoided or worked around or persuaded or whatever) but traps arent that, because they dont react to what you do in any way other than "shoot this dude"

[tepid crane]

to each their own

[timber sleet]

honestly im starting to realize im just not a fan of out-of-combat traps in general. for, say, a hill giant thats in the direct path to a town the low-level party needs to get to, the party can take the long way around the territory, they can try and sneak past, they can bribe the hill giant with food for safe passage, they can hire others to get a bigger group and take down the hill giant, or they can do any number of creative solutions that i didnt say here. with traps, its just "succeed your investigation check or have a good passive investigation or get shot with a shitton of poison damage". maybe in some parties there are other counters to traps, like a party with a necromancy wizard/circle of spores druid can send in zombies to trap-test, but those are far rarer than alternative ways to get around non-trap things usually are.

[tepid crane]

I think the issue is using an investigation check to bypass actually dealing with the trap

I'd rather describe the room and let the players identify and then solve the trap

Successfuly dealing with the trap can have as many approaches as you want

[timber sleet]

true, i suppose im just being too restrictive in the way i run traps

ill try some other methods in the future

[tepid crane]

not trying to say my method is the best but I try to be open to as many directions as possible. I feel pretty good when my players pull out a list of past traps and try to see what they could do to get around this current one.

[sand hornet]

Debating what class to go with "Robot from an advanced world, now in a fantasy world"

Maybe Fighter

But I'm not entirely sure, plus it depends what I wanna lean into I suppose

[tepid crane]

I mean artificer is probably the typical choice but yeah it depends on how you lean

[dapper cove]

Traps as a problem to be solved works well, whereas yeah traps that are "save or suck" effects in disguise do kinda... Suck.

I do think there's a way to run an action scene with traps along the lines of the stereotypical "A boulder comes crashing towards you", but at least for me that's by running them as a quick and intense action scene once the trap is sprung.

[tepid crane]

I am waiting until I can DM again to use one of those. I’m going to place down a pipe puzzle and start a timer to simulate water flooding the room while the party tries to redirect it away from the room.

[stone hollow]

if i wanted to build starscourge radahn from elden ring, what could i do to build that

[dapper fulcrum]

Graviturgist Watchers Paladin

[stone hollow]

thats an interesting idea

[stone hollow]

i was reading DAWN and I saw a technique i wanna make a 5e subclass inspired by, basically I want to make a subclass that transforms into a weapon another member of the party can wield (think soul eater)

i think it should be a sorcerer

[modest echo]

ooooooh

[stone hollow]

im just not sure how to pull it off tbhh

[final phoenix]

Fellow DMs, how many times have you done specific word play just to amuse yourself? I've tasked my players to get a star map that is tattooed on the pinky of a Eclipse giant. When they accepted the mission "the leader is known to keep the star map on him person"

[tepid crane]

what

[final phoenix]

So, Eclipse giants are gargantuan. The map is tattooed on his pinky. His skin is obviously on his person

I phrased it that way to amuse myself

[fair sand]

do yall think a rogue is generally one of the better classes to get more dynamic movement through a fight?

[modest echo]

They get more movement in general, at least

bonus action options good

[fair sand]

was thinking about how to play less static in a combat, my usual favorite class is monk because he has a lot of means to be where he needs to

but thinking about rogues class features

really allows them to slip around the field

[modest echo]

yeah they're almost Monk But Better on that front

[craggy cloak]

I really like Scout Rogue and the psychic rogue for movement shenanigans

[fair sand]

I just want to feel like... flow

Sometimes it's cool to just stand and beat each other up, but it can get a bit dry

[craggy cloak]

I like to reward monks/rogues/etc in my games with lots of extra battlefield interactables, or making it clear of like, hey if the rogue can use some good movement spacing he can run all the way up to that enemy caster sort of stuff

[fair sand]

ive always been a monk fan because they often have many means to get wherever they might be needed; and sometimes its good to have someone in the right place at need despite not quite being on par in combative specializations

[dapper fulcrum]

If youre in the sort of campaign thats generous with magic item drops and letting players pick magic items, a heavy weapon Monk is actually fun

Barring the proficiency tax that a dip in fighter or war/twilight/tempest cleric, a monk with a polearm or a greatsword with Ogre Gauntlets or a Giant Belt is fun

[fair sand]

Ehh, I think monk is just fun as is

[dapper fulcrum]

Not on reddit or any large enough dnd community that rotates around memes

Monk has its niche as a martial controller but its lack of dpr and con saves being easier to pass at high levels get leveled against it, often cruelly by people memeing

[fair sand]

Big shrug, I've played monk at low and high levels and generally enjoy myself. I accept that according to dnd reddit or 5e understanders im doing it wrong or something though

[dapper fulcrum]

Pretty cool of you really
I love the monk, hate its haters

[fair sand]

It's like my... "home" class

From which I depart to try out other classes when the adventure suits

I've not yet played every class, and rogue was one I've not done yet (source of my og question)

[dapper fulcrum]

Have you gotten a dragonhide belt, its a great QoL magic item for monks

[fair sand]

Nah actually, never heard of it but I like dragons

[dapper fulcrum]

Its in the Fitzbans book, increases the save target of your monk abilities (including stunning strike) and lets you roll 1d6 to recharge ki equal to that amount as an action once per day

[fair sand]

Oo tasty

[dapper fulcrum]

Also, Rogue 2/Monk x is decent
You get more proficiencies and Cunning Action

Rogue 3 if you want the archetype investment

[fair sand]

Last time I monked we had a custom gourd that I could drink for ki and temp hp

For my drunken master

I was looking at an alert shadow monk/ assassin

Or pure rogue

[dapper fulcrum]

Whats your preferred gameplan

[fair sand]

Really depends on class, but for rogue, I don't really really have one

I know I'd natively be a skill monkey

So I'd probably be scouting and sleuthing

[dapper fulcrum]

shadow monk gets Pass without Trace so combine that with Stealth expertise you will not be percieved

[timber sleet]

another one of the players in my current campaign is going shadow monk x/gloomstalker ranger 3

its a really cool concept, i like it

[fair sand]

that IS a cool idea

[timber sleet]

also forgot to mention, but they're playing a half-drow and plan to take the eldritch adept feat for devils sight

so thats another few layers of cool

[stone hollow]

trying to make a homebrew subclass out of this, how should i pull it off?

[modest echo]

What immediately comes to mind is:
Defining how becoming a weapon changes how other can interact with you
Defining if there's some kind of special effect your wielder receives

[stone hollow]

some loose ideas i have are:

• Giving special maneuvers to the wielder/weapon in a similar vein to battle master or psi warrior, but it uses your sorcery points
• Not being able to hold anything in your hands, but use yourself as a spellcasting focus
• Spells that you cast that target yourself instead target your wielder
• Not being able to move and sharing a space with your wielder

[modest echo]

hmmm okay
If your wielder can use your sorcery points, I think you'd run out pretty quickly if you're also using them

[stone hollow]

well ideally there's a level of communication/teamwork there. It could also easily just be reactions that you can use your sorcery points for

[modest echo]

Huh I like the reaction thing a lot

[stone hollow]

like oh shit the guy wielding me is in danger, i use my reaction to parry

[modest echo]

yeah!
That could work as either a defensive reaction or offensive one, I think

[sand hornet]

If it matters I have seen a homebrew class like that

can share it if you want

[stone hollow]

Please do

[sand hornet]

sent

[amber adder]

OK SO. I was reading DAWN (my fav RPG for like six months now) and I was reminded there are techniques I there for giving your character an install, like what sol has in older guilty gears

I really wanted to play DAWN but my friend is running 5e so I’m looking for a class homebrew or not that can somewhat simulate that vibe of building meter and buffing your character with a stance change or straight power up

[rigid cipher]

gghhhh gamers i might need help

coming up with a character idea

i was thinking of some sort of cleric but now im not sure. too many domains.

[tepid crane]

Light domain, PRAISE PELOR

[arctic yew]

my friend group absolutely refuses to do lost mines

because the three times we tried we all got slaughtered by goblins

[tepid crane]

lol

I remember when my highschool group ran it. Just chilling on the wagon and arrows started flying if you didn’t hop under the wagon you basically got polymorphed into a porcupine

[smoky notch]

rangers are just dex paladins

discuss

[nimble quartz]

Paladins can also be dex paladins

[modest echo]

are paladins particularly gifted at wilderness survival

[nimble quartz]

Oath of the Ancients paladins might be, idk

Haven’t looked at that subclass in a bit

Otherwise not usually

[fair sand]

i think also rangers aren't natively gonna be dex docused; but yeah you can be a dex pally im pretty sure

you just dont have the ability to apply dex to melee, so be a ranged pally

[dapper fulcrum]

Hexblade 1 crossbow expert sharpshooter paladin

Hand crossbows are one handed weapons so hex warrior applies to them

No smite, only gun

[dapper fulcrum]

The Shattered Obelisk ups the ante in terms of lethality post Mines storyline imo

[nimble quartz]

Finesse martial melee weapons exist though?

I’m confused

Why wouldn’t a paladin be able to use dexterity for melee

Like I’m not trying to one-up you I’m genuinely confused and wondering if I’ve forgotten something important lol

[fair sand]

oh no i was just absent minded

im not like looking at any refs atm and going by memory

so you have the right of it in your correction

[nimble quartz]

Gotcha gotcha

Understandable

[topaz lagoon]

Hey y’all, what’s the take on the Star Wars 5e port? Any good?

[craggy cloak]

i enjoyed my time with it and i think its well thought out in terms of playing 5e in Star Wars; its hard to recommend when the FFG Star Wars system exists, but i would play 5e Star Wars again if invited to do so

[topaz lagoon]

Ooh, what’s that one like?

[next canopy]

My current aim is to come up with a backstory for each subclass in the game

Rn i'm doing abherent mind sorcerer

[elder remnant]

You want some ideas or just looking to share what you're making?

character creation is fun

[next canopy]

More like sharing rn, i'm basacly writing a creepy pasta for the sorcere

"My weird ass uncle gave me his shitty house and now the voicecin my head won't stfu"

[arctic yew]

having a player that is very eager to grab at the hooks i give is fun

but it can be frustrating when they are the only one doing it
right now,i have a player that both has

a cursed sword containing a fragment of the soul of the greatest warrior and biggest serial killer in history

and a item that will eventually turn then into a time traveller

they were NOT both supposed to go to the same person,but

she was the only one that tried to get then

[tepid crane]

This doesn’t seem like a problem unless the other players feel they aren’t having enough attention

[frail hull]

Sounds like your player is about to cause a bootstrap paradox.

Maybe she was supposed to get both. And brings the cursed sword back to the past where it becomes the serial killer.

[rigid cipher]

This is excellent quest material

like seriously, a time-travel item mixed with an item from history?

you could kill two birds with one stone by investing a little time in a side-quest where the player goes back in time to deliver the knife to its owner.

alternatively, if you fear how much power you're giving to this one player, you can always add on a curse to one of the items to make it less-than-desirable.

Perhaps the sword infused with the soul of a notorious serial killer attempts to possess whoever wields it so that the soul can carry on its dark work! Maybe build mystery around the serial killer's purpose - Perhaps it's thought that they were just a mindless murderer, but the wielder of the blade can tap into memories indicating a dark purpose pursued doggedly by a weary-but-rational mind...

I did not slaughter for the sake of the act. I did not hold contempt for those who met their end along the edge of my steel.

I killed because I knew.

There was something inside of them. Something written upon the slate of their bones and the scrolls of their flesh. I'd seen the secrets their bodies hid, once, and I couldn't deny myself the knowledge therein...

[arctic yew]

So,here's the thing

In this setting,the greatest warriors in the world are given the title of pillars of war by the goddess of combat.

This absolutely unhinged lunatic called tsumukari called the pillar of oblivion just.... Really liked to kill. Just. A mix of boredom and sadism.

It requires all the other pillars of the world to come and subdue her to take her to have an audience with the goddess of war.
Who tsumukari immediately tried to kill,and got humbled real quick by having her soul shattered and trapped in her equipment. Now,she is just a bunch of relics in the ground,waiting for someone to find then and wield then.

That player found the scabbard,and witouth knowing what was going on she accepted to be her wielder. Now,that piece of her soul is inside the player and the scabbard at once. Tsumukari trains her to be a better,stronger vessel in the future,while the player tries to get stronger to better contain her,since she can force a saving throw once per day to take over the body of the player until they can succeed the save.

Right now the player is looking for the shattered pieces of her soul to merge with then all so there isn't a risk of some other deranged lunatic getting a piece of the soul of a woman that wipes out cities with her hands when she gets bored.

[tepid crane]

Ohhh, you kept talking about the serial killer possession thing for the past few months and I was kind of worried you meant the jack the ripper kind. This is less worrying.

[arctic yew]

To be fair,I suppose mass murderer would be more accurate

Eh,English is my second language and I will continue using that excuse till I die

[proud osprey]

can i vent that i deeply dislike the “this is my oc and i’m bringing them to this campaign” approach to character building for d&d campaigns

like i think it genuinely does portray a sort of creative failing by disengaging with the fact you’re playing a character in a group of other characters alongside a group of other players. it’s always seemed like really bad form to bring in your precious original character fave who is extremely developed at the onset. like. idk. there’s so little development to be had early on with that character now by way of ludo-narrative fun

[lament geode]

Yeah, I dislike it.

It almost feels like disrespect to the DM because now you're basically putting them in a situation where if your concept doesn't fit the mood/setting of the game, then like, they HAVE to say no or otherwise throw off the vibe.

Now, that said, there is some value to the plug-and-play nature of D&D in particular where one character from one game MECHANICALLY works in another game.

[cold cloak]

I've not seen that kind of approach to D&D campaigns before. My personal experience normally has allowed sourcebooks and general premise outlined before character creation.

Though the crowd I play with is also used to the Adventurers League system so any campaigns tend to be pooled from players already used to that sort of restriction.

[lament geode]

That's the thing, it's not usually GM led in those moments, it's usually an outsider who says "This is the same catgirl I've played in 6 different campaigns" trying to get into your game

Or someone who's like "Oh, you GM a game? I have a cleric already that I could play."

[dapper fulcrum]

the compromise here i feel is to have your OC concept's Core but to like, make them malleable to the campaigns they join by not going into said campaign with an unchanged character (ex. Quirky Catgirl Chaos Magic Sorcerer with a Chainsaw Doll Familiar) but to do the necessary adjustments to make it fit the theme and tone

ex. Curse of Strahd: Catgirl leans into the Chainsaw Doll thing as a grotesque construct they brought to Barovia. Human-only steampunk setting: Girl is an artificer with goggles that look like cat ears when worn, uses unstable (chaotic) alchemy and a repurposed carpenter robot.

the OC's Core is there but is altered to fit the Vibe of the campaign

its how my friends and i reuse our OCs in different campaigns in different ttrpg settings

[lament geode]

Yeah, I do that sometimes. I have a character from something else that I really enjoyed, I can keep the GENERAL VIBES without taking it over

[proud osprey]

hell is other players

[modest echo]

harengon is rabbit people

[proud osprey]

muscle mommy rabbit people is not a world i’m ready for

[modest echo]

the future is now

[proud osprey]

does this make me a coward

[proud osprey]

i don't wanna go to school today

[craggy cloak]

no, you can always set boundaries and sourcebook limitations

its important to do so actually

[proud osprey]

yes

in fairness this is on me for loosely fishing for a potential adventure here

with little boundary or restriction

[cold cloak]

Harengons are also one of the official options. (They're from the Wild Beyond The Witchlight book)
There's a lot of those now and with the prevalence of D&D Beyond showing you all the stuff it's not really clear to players what is or isn't appropriate for a given game.

[tepid crane]

It feels weird calling your character a muscle mommy

[sand hornet]

Feels like a dndism

At least player culture wise

[tepid crane]

Maybe but it feels a bit fetishtic or gross to me

[modest echo]

no? you could call it a meme phrase but it's definitely not localized to dnd

[willow wadi]

I think it’s fair to be like “I am weirded out by a character described as [race], [class], [sexual appeal]” yeah

[sand hornet]

Fair

But yeah, what Cyan said

[arctic yew]

.....the fact that i have a NPC in my world that fits that exact description,except "with negative 3 braincells"

[proud osprey]

i’m here

[proud osprey]

i’m extremely here

like “muscle mommy” is, unfortunately, weirdly good shorthand for a lot of characters in media. but like. you’re your d&d character’s writer, designer, possibly artist, and everything else. feels a bit of a self report to just be like “yeah i’d smash this humanoid rabbit”

i have reined things in a bit. everyone’s more standardised stuff that fits the setting. but then

don’t like that last comment

[sand hornet]

Are these strangers or friends?

[proud osprey]

strángérs

pretend that’s french and fancy

[nimble quartz]

Should probably make it clear in no uncertain terms that you're not comfortable with how horny they're being

That or just leave, since they're strangers

[proud osprey]

yea

don’t worry this is my (virtual) table. i’ll crack the whip

[tepid crane]

Sorry mate didn’t mean to insult you in any way by talking about your group

[proud osprey]

what

no i meant like i agree 😭

where do we land on Ordinon as the name of a god called the Immortal Dragon

[lament geode]

Calling a fictional character in published media a muscle mommy: Acceptable
Calling the character of literally another human being at your table in this collaborative story a muscle mommy without their consent: Creepy.

[tepid crane]

Just say strong or muscular or even brick shithouse or something

Not trying to clutch pearls it just rubbed me wrong

[lament geode]

Calling that same character a muscle mommy after they've SELF-IDENTIFIED the character as such: Valid, but if they ask you not to, respect that

[proud osprey]

it’s their own character

[lament geode]

Ahh.

[tepid crane]

My bad dude

[proud osprey]

it’s okay

giving players an out of character lecture about how they shouldn’t do something to internalise that they absolutely shouldn’t do it in character so that they absolutely do it and create more juicy drama

4d chess

https://tenor.com/view/death-note-keikaku-dori-keikaku-dori-death-gif-19559967

[tepid crane]

I mean I don’t think my comment or opinion here matters if you’re all happy and enjoying your game then it’s going great for you

[proud osprey]

no you’re okay don’t worry

[arctic yew]

warlock/sorcerers multiclass when they hit 18

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/376424583953252353/800888931868213248/human_extinction_attack.gif

[dapper fulcrum]

Quicken Spell for that EB deeby

12 blasts with Quicken Spell and Action Surge

[arctic yew]

So in my usual DM's campaign, and by extension my own campaign because we love referencing eachother's campaigns, we have a cosmic entity named Jack.
You only perceive Jack if you nat1 a perception check

You see,Jack has some incredibly strong thighs. He does nothing but leg excercises all day.

So much so that by rolling a nat 1 you can sometimes see Jack squat

[slender nexus]

Currently in a high-level Spelljammer campaign

We have boarded a Tyrant Ship

This fight has become exceptionally silly

I have cast Antimagic Field, so all our casters and Warlocks are reduced to hitting them with sticks and daggers

And the swarm of Beholders are just trying to nibble on us

It's basically level 1 combat for everyone except our one Fighter, who's having a field day

(And our Paladin, who doesn't get to Smite or his aura, but at least can hit twice with a decent bonus)

[slender nexus]

Firbolg benefits: Including equipment, too heavy for Beholders to lift

[stone hollow]

im trying to come up with some sorta backstory for a moon druid and i just don't know what this subclass is really supposed to be outside of the ability to turn into animals

[random gull]

Exactly that. How about a forest reviving an old woodworker to do good, sharing the power of all animals. Or Changeling Moondruid, trying to become everything before rebirth. Or Urchin, as only animals treated them fairly.

[stone hollow]

ohh okay so thats interesting

hmm

i will think about how to apply this to the pirate setting im playing in i think i have some ideas

[random gull]

Currently gm'ing one, Pirates are back

[tepid crane]

Could do something cool with the tides and moon

[stone hollow]

maybe

tbh i never really understood the connection between the moon and the animal forms

[tepid crane]

Werewolf vibes?

[craggy cloak]

its easier if you consider it less a "direct moon connection" and more of a title/name, if youre using mechanics as lore

but from the phb,

"Druids of the Circle of the Moon are fierce guardians of the wilds. Their order gathers under the full moon to share news and trade warnings. They haunt the deepest parts of the wilderness, where they might go for weeks on end before crossing paths with another humanoid creature, let alone another druid.

Changeable as the moon, a druid of this circle might prowl as a great cat one night, soar over the treetops as an eagle the next day, and crash through the undergrowth in bear form to drive off a trespassing monster. The wild is in the druid's blood."

but you could just as easily call them Circle of the Wilds or w/e, its just a poetic title

[stone hollow]

i see i see

[arctic yew]

trying paladin for the first time

what's a fun subclass?

if it helps,i'm a warforged

made to be "a holy warrior witouth a soul to corrupt"

[dapper fulcrum]

the basic Devotion fits

if you want a protector of nature, Ancients
Glory if they're a heroic deeds sorta person
if they are designed to fight against certain evils, then Ancients, Vengeance and Watchers work

[arctic yew]

...
I may use HK 47's speech patterns

[random gull]

Like every other Game Designer, my 5e conversion to be quicker and easier and more streamlined is nearly finished :D

[tepid crane]

Did you get rid of skills?

[random gull]

And passive AC, dead levels, rolling for hp, saves and so much more.

[smoky notch]

only 5e players will be like “i love this game, i wish there was less of it”

[random gull]

I never liked it, so I basically made it new in a way I like it.

Just too slow and clunky but good with options and general feel

[arctic yew]

5e already barely feels like a game with how much of it was removed for simplicity's sake

It's a bit better than PotA tho

[elder remnant]

I wonder if the new 5e reboot will convince D&D gamers to try other systems. If not it seems pretty cool. I like how martials mostly got buffs and casters mostly got sidegrades.

[sand hornet]

I mean most people seem ambivalent about it

In the 5e community at least

[pure elm]

it's fine I think

but not like big enough to really get me excited

there are some good changes, but a lot of the fundamental system is the same
and I personally just had kinda wished for more structural changes

[sand hornet]

Yeah exactly

But it isn't bad enough to drive players away

And TBH I feel.most people would drop ttrpgs as a whole if it got bad

Most wouldn't flee to other systems

[elder remnant]

Yea, I don't like it, but for a lot of people D&D is the only rpg they'll ever play, to each their own at the end of the day though.

I see more people trying to homebrew spelljammer into a more sci-fi setting than even thinking about trying an actual sci-fi rpg for example

[sand hornet]

To be clear this isn't to say they don't like other TTRPGs, it's just that DnD for whatever reason is just the only one that catches their interest

[sand hornet]

Ironically, the common opinion for Spelljammer 5e is that a fan alternative is much better than the WotC one

That I've seen at least

[elder remnant]

I think the core of it is familiarity. Most people start with D&D so they mentally frame all their knowledge of ttrpgs around the context of D&D

[sand hornet]

It's a hack of Mage Hand Press's Dark Matter, which is basically scifi space opera dnd

[arctic yew]

so far i am mostly just

lifting the martial buffs and the new exhaustion rules

and ignoring the rest

[arctic yew]

how do you make spelljammer with no ship combat

[sand hornet]

What's the new exhaustion rules?

[sand hornet]

Brand Recognition

On paper, it goes like: Customer Sees Brand they like, so they buy it regardless of quality

[arctic yew]

10 levels of exhaustion

every level gives you -1 to all rolls,stacking up to -9

you die when you get 10 exhaustion

[sand hornet]

Ah

That is better

[pure elm]

that actually got reverted

[sand hornet]

Oh

[arctic yew]

why

[pure elm]

it's back to how it was before in release

[sand hornet]

Welp

[pure elm]

I'm a bit ambivalent on the new exhaustion

it is definitely more granular, but I think also more punishing than the old one mostly

[arctic yew]

not really?

[pure elm]

old Exhaustion is at most kinda annoying before you get to three levels

[arctic yew]

you need like,5 levels of exhaustion to equal the first 2 levels of before

[pure elm]

I'd much rather have disadvantage than -5

flat penalties are really strong, disadvantage can be counteracted

[sand hornet]

Actually we're using the new Exhaustion Rules in my friends Odyssey of the Dragonlords campaign

I got Exhaustion 4 due to bad luck

-4 to all rolls and dcs and whatnot kinda sucks

[arctic yew]

its also nice to

be able to play berserker barbarian and actually use my defining subclass trait

witouth making myself useless for the rest of the day

[sand hornet]

This resulted in my character dying, to be clear

[pure elm]

my other problem with the new exhaustion is also that the 10 point scale might make GMs more likely to hand out Exhaustion
but you still clear it at the same slow rate

[sand hornet]

Because that -4 also applies to Death Saves

I had to make a new character

[pure elm]

well Zerker also doesn't give Exhaustion anymore

[arctic yew]

good

at least they gave us this after what they did to my beloved son,zealot

[sand hornet]

Wizards have 1d4 hit die

But are otherwise buffed

[arctic yew]

the meme is alive again

[pure elm]

huh?

I had not heard about that

[sand hornet]

They changed the Wizard from d6 to d4 for hit die

Counterspell and Dispel Magic can also be casted even when not prepared by an Abjuration Wizard

And if they fail to.work the spell slot isn't expanded

[elder remnant]

I wonder what the in house reasoning is for wanting the max possible martial damage to be equivelant to level 4 or 5 spells. like I can't imagine how you look at the game and go "ah yes, being able to use a bonus action to attack is cool and exciting enough to be an entire subclass."

[pure elm]

do you have a source for that, because I had not heard or seen anything to that effect before?

it's also not listed as a change on their blogposts on what changed for Wizards

[elder remnant]

like, in third party 5e suppliments you have martial techniques where you can cut the air and attack your enemies at range with swords, but apparently the majority of D&D players would hate that?

[sand hornet]

Hmm, I can't seem the find the Hit Die thing, it may just be hearsay

[sand hornet]

Battle Master

[pure elm]

but casters are hard to evaluate fully because they have not shown a lot of spells

[sand hornet]

Alternatively, Guy at the Gym fallacy

[pure elm]

if there aren't major spell nerfs, casters will still be very powerful

[elder remnant]

I disagree that tripping someone is cool enough that it warrants its own subclass

It really feels like the only reason the martial caster divide is the way it is is because of the "just some dude" thought process D&D players seem to have about martials

[pure elm]

hmm, it's part of it, but there's more factors

[elder remnant]

Idk maybe it's because I play almost exclusively martial characters, but the best martials in the game are almost always half casters because even if you're a ranged damage dealer with crossbows or whatever, your entire shtick can be summed up as "I damage the thing"

[pure elm]

the simplest one is that spellcasting is by its nature an easily expanded system

[elder remnant]

and apparantly that's what the people want

[pure elm]

you can just print more spells

and because its a commonly shared feature for all casters, that happens a lot

similar subsystems for martials will get new options much more rarely

another thing is that spells are concrete
they have specific rules text saying what happens when you cast the spell
which gives you as a caster certainty, because the GM is much less likely to disagree with the text

[elder remnant]

I genuinely believe if WOTC tried to print something like I mentioned above, a sword technique where you throw "air slices" at your enemies, or giving the barbarian the ability to tear up a piece of terrian and throw it, or anything "too fantastical", most players would be up in arms.

Which makes me want to ask, why not just make all martials half casters?

but I know that would also make people mad lol

[sand hornet]

People still wanna play "badass normala"

It's a big and common fantasy

Dnd just doesn't do it well

[elder remnant]

I guess that's all it is, I can't understand it because there is nothing normal about being clawed by a dragon, or even something "small" like a bear, and not immediately collapsing. But that's not "too fantastical" lol

[arctic yew]

"if you want to do that,feel free to do so,just dont go above level 6."

[elder remnant]

Which unfortunately most games of any rpg do just that

[tepid crane]

Tier 1 is so groovy

[dapper fulcrum]

Dnd's sacred cows hold it back

A wizard reversing time or summoning meteorites is acceptable

But god forbid a martial do something cool like throw someone across the gap, or lift something the average weightlifter can weigh. That's "weebshit" and doesnt deserve a place in our classic fantasy ttrpg

[arctic yew]

Even in classic fantasy,wizards usually ain't doing that

Merlin got his shit rocked by 6 homeless men that Arthur had to chase off so he didn't die,and the people that were throwing fireballs and stuff like that also had impossible sword skills

[sand hornet]

Yeah but that's not the modern conception of it

[dapper fulcrum]

Real mythic hero/wuxia stuff

Someone once said that DND Fourth Edition was western Cultivation fantasy and i cant get that thought out of my head

[dapper fulcrum]

I will argue that modern conceptions of dnd are nurtured by its own reference pools and memes

Insular garden of self reference and shenanigans/vibes sold to casual audiences

[elder remnant]

Yea which is how you get a weird attitude of "if a martial does anything more flashy than a level 3 spell that is unrealistic anime nonsense."

[arctic yew]

steel wind strike

Gives me conniptions

why is that a spell

why is the something that no martial can ever do

[sand hornet]

Wizards can though

and not just Bladesingers

[elder remnant]

when I first got into 5e after not playing since 3.5, the first 3 games I played I tried making a melee wizard with a focus on steel wind and vampiric touch. that is what started my journey of "why are martials just guys with sticks?"

[dapper fulcrum]

Again, sacred cows and people in playtest who think fighters should be simple

[random gull]

Also the idea of simplicity in mechanics allows new players to have a nice starting ground and narrative adaptability of physical actions; which is done ten times better by the Dungeon World Fighter

[dapper fulcrum]

As what someone on this server already stated, its unfun to play a game where you Lose even before you start actual play
There is a "wrong" choice unconsciously placed in character creation

And its always up to the DM to make up for this deficiency in balance

[tepid crane]

I think there’s a good middleground between anime tier cutting mountains in half and the current classic fantasy

[elder remnant]

I wouldnt go as far as saying playing martials is suboptimal, you can do comparable damage (never more), but the thing is there is only so many ways you can reflavor "I hit the thing" before there's no point in describing it anymore

[dapper fulcrum]

Thats why im a big fan of the Giant feats that add funky 4e esque riders to your basic attacks, same with the planescape feats too

[elder remnant]

cutting small buildings in half probably, but the weird thing is, at least in my experience, most D&D players would balk at that.

[dapper fulcrum]

I keep hearing that high level P2E has that, but then again casters apparently dont have the same level of grandiosity there so i see caster-playing 5eonlys avoid P2E because it "nerfs" them

[tepid crane]

I mean yeah I also balk at that. I’d allow boulders or trees.

[elder remnant]

This sounds really accusatory but I have a sneaking suspicion that some of the people that think the difference between martials and casters in D&D is fine, basically think that casters should be better than martials in most ways

which is why I say "just make all martials partial casters"

but we can't have that because apparently someone needs to be at the bottom lol

[dapper fulcrum]

I saw the most bleugh take once

That said that it is correct for Martials to be BMX Bandit and casters to be Angel Summoner

[modest echo]

there's some interconnected bits here

[timber sleet]

make one class that combines all the worst aspects of the martial classes to counterbalance the buffing of all the other martials, thatll keep those people satisfied

[dapper fulcrum]

Like, they think the power disparity is Good

And should be enforced

[modest echo]

martials as simple + casters complex is an established play convention

complexity rewarded with extra power is also an established thing, because, why else is it worth it?

[elder remnant]

"Oh you miss normal guy martials? then only allow your players to play the peasant class."

[tepid crane]

I do enjoy sucking and failing which is probably why I like martials

[modest echo]

(as well as like, basic resource economy stuff, limited resources need to be more powerful than consistent access stuff, or why else is it worth it)

[modest echo]

furthermore they do want at least some of the game to be low(er) complexity for new players

[timber sleet]

weaker than any other class while being super MAD and having ridiculously niche abilities

fuck im just making pre-buff ranger again huh

[modest echo]

so, basically, the solution is a total complexity rework

[dapper fulcrum]

Need to make a system where martials have complex skill trees and weapon combos that create devastating effects and control options (stunning, proning, drawing aggro, causing enemies to hit other enemies, counterspelling with a weapon, etc) while casters Literally Only Have Fireball

[tepid crane]

That sounds pretty magical

[modest echo]

which wrecks the established Complex Wizard play fantasy as collateral damage

[elder remnant]

Bruh so many people play D&D as a slapstick comedy. The first IRL game of 3.5 i ever played, our DM made us track a wizard through a cave, when we found a portion of the cave that was underwater we spent 45 minutes slipping in and failing to climb out because "the walls were slick"

[tepid crane]

I get the joke but I think there are legitimate ways to make martials better

[tepid crane]

Dnd’s community and it’s humour has had an irreparable effect on ttrpgs smh my head

[timber sleet]

we've been playing tyranny of dragons recently and our artificer ||fell down the grung stairs in i think chapter 6 like 4 times 😭||

[elder remnant]

The amount of people I've seen say "the monk buffs are great but the old monk wasn't that bad" has made me come to the conclusion that most people that play D&D never look at another character and go "man I wish I made something that cool."

[dapper fulcrum]

I run/play in my slice of the SEA's Organized Play community, the oneshot format and generous magic item economy means that a lot of martials gain a significant power boost compared to most home games i know of

At least until a mind flayer or something with a charm/paralyze/stun DC of 15 or higher shows up

Or the maze/forcecage/wall of force spells

In which case the players just twiddle their thumbs while the casters pick up the slack

[modest echo]

oh yeah that's gonna be rough

[elder remnant]

like idk how you can swing 3 times, miss twice, fail a stunning strike and go "ah yes, I am just as awesome as the paladin who smote for 40 damage"

[dapper fulcrum]

I played a tier 4 (levels 17-20) game and the full fighter dealt 150+ damage per turn until the boss used a DC 22 stun attack that left them unable to play the game for 4 turns straight

Even in tier 2 a single mind flayer replicates this experience

What im going about is that aside from complexity options martials should get some way to mitigate the BS control effects that leave them utterly paralyzed (literally and figuratively) in many engagements

[tepid crane]

Tinfoil hats

[dapper fulcrum]

Monk hate frustrated me immensely

They are simultaneously ridiculed for being low tier and Nerfed for being "OP"

[elder remnant]

People just hated that they could stun, that's it

not that stun existed, hold person is fine

but that monks specifically could stun

[dapper fulcrum]

Hold Person
Psychic Lance
wall of force
Tasha's mind whip
Banishment
Force cage

Its fine if the caster can hard cc but how dare this martial do it

[elder remnant]

I remember someone did the math and if you build a monk for speed, like with the mobile feat and some magic items, a monk can exceed 100 miles per hour.
and you know why no one cares about that? because being able to run around doesn't really impact combat all that much the way most DMs run it.

actually didn't they erratta out that you could action dash and bonus action dash?

😂

[pure elm]

people just get salty about Stunning Strike
Monk genuinely was struggling bad

[elder remnant]

literally can't have that either

[pure elm]

no

[elder remnant]

ah thank goodness

[pure elm]

fortunately 5.24 Monk is actually great

they got some much needed buffs, might actually be one of the better martials now

[tepid crane]

Weak encounter design imo

[dapper fulcrum]

Wish they nerfed wall of force though

[pure elm]

decreasing the damage ceiling of feats also benefitted Monks

[elder remnant]

I've seen, it only took 5 or so years but the D&D community finally agrees that "hey wait a minute, it doesn't feel very good that the punching class can't do as much punching as someone with a feat"

[pure elm]

oh yeah, we need a bunch of spell nerfs

[elder remnant]

I'm pleasantly surprised there's no one bringing up the fact that monks now do as much damage as short swords as a baseline

I seriously thought that was gonna be a take

[pure elm]

but yeah Monk is pretty good now

Rogues have taken their place at the bottom

[dapper fulcrum]

In my Organized Play community i feel like there is always a Teleport Tax when it comes to playing oneshots

Because the mages the DMs use often do things that hardstop martials unless they have a means of teleporting
So fey touched feat, eladrin, shadar kai, etc are the meta

[pure elm]

melee in general is just punished a lot

[dapper fulcrum]

Im sad that the mindset cultivated by the mechanics/memes/vibes of 5e always needs to have someone at the "bottom" tier

[pure elm]

though with Sharpshooter no longer being a damage boost the benefits of range builds are lessened a bit

[pure elm]

I mean, it's not even just that
it's that Rogues kept a lot of their previous problems, and also other classes have gotten good boosts

getting Expertise is less of a big deal when a lot of classes have Expertise as well or other skill boosters

[dapper fulcrum]

Nerfed Sneak Attack to be on your turn too

[pure elm]

that one actually got changed back I think

so double Sneak is possible again

[dapper fulcrum]

Im glad

[arctic yew]

Even then it's hard for me to buy it

Sir balin destroyed a entire kingdom with a single spear throw

We don't know how the fight between Gilgamesh and enkidu went,but we know that after they stopped punching each other there were two mountains missing

Idk why there's this recent trend of pretending that people being reality-breakingly strong is a modern invention

[modest echo]

i don't think mythology plays a huge role in player class fantasies (compared to the influence of modern fantasy)

[random gull]

When it comes to class fantasy, it usually doesn't revolve around 20th levek godhood. Dnd could cap at 12 and wouldn't loose too much

[dapper fulcrum]

when i think of popular media depicting the 5e martial experience/class fantasy (affectionate) i think of Hawkeye, Sokka and Stark from Frieren

[cold cloak]

Movement skill tax, and the save bonus/Paladin in party tax so you can actually beat the DCs for Banishment and Psychic scream too.

[dapper fulcrum]

Paladin tax my beloathed

[cold cloak]

No +6 bonus from a Paladin who read the Charisma tome next to you? Off to the dimension of not-participating-in-this-combat for you.
Oh you rolled a 20? DC is 22.

The struggles of a martial in the 5e ecosystem.

• Banished for rest of combat
• Psychic Screamed out of relevancy
• Wall of Forced and all the casters teleported out without you
• Combat takes place underwater and you're the only one who can't recast water breathing
• Hypnotic Patterned and ignored for the rest of the fight
• Caught in friendly hypnotic pattern which took out 90% of the combatants
• Disadvantage on Saving throw because of your instrument of the bards? DC 24? Guess I'm incap.
• Standing in between someone's pet Golem, summoned celestial, planar bound elemental, and menagerie of pets. After they pile in there's no space left for you to get in and engage

[elder remnant]

The summoning is my favorite, because of how heavily influenced by action economy D&D is, if you have enough summons, there is literally nothing else the party needs to do besides cast cantrips.

oh yea cantrips automatically scale better than martial attacks do

[pure elm]

well, EB does

other cantrips don't

but they scale well enough

[elder remnant]

damage+effect is always better than just damage

[pure elm]

the ones that do good damage don't have effects though

[elder remnant]

imma pick a random one and say fire bolt, lemme look it up

[pure elm]

Firebolt is the worst example for that, because it has no rider

it's just a d10 with good range

which is good mind, but not better than weapon attacks

[elder remnant]

there are only 4 weapons in the game that do similar or more damage

and only one of those weapons is ranged

better than 90% of what martials do

[pure elm]

even 4d10 is worse than two attacks from a martial mostly

EB is the one that is the baseline because it adds mod

cantrips are not the reason casters are ahead

[elder remnant]

true, but my point is that cantrips alone nearly invalidate what martials are "supposed" to do

"consistent damage"

[pure elm]

no that mostly comes through other spells like summons, Spirit Guardians, etc

cantrips alone are not an issue
the issue is when they are combined with damage boosting summons or locking enemies down enough you can just cantrip them down

[arctic yew]

i have had so many discussions about how the "martials last longer" argument is wrong in 90% of the situations

[elder remnant]

What even is the recommended encounters per day? 4? Nobody ever does more than 2

[pure elm]

Depends on difficulty of encounters

If you do medium encounters, slightly more
If you do Deadly encounters, less

I think a fairly decent guideline for if you want fewer encounters would be 3

Do Hard, Hard, Deadly

With a short rest between each

[cold cloak]

The fun part is that half-caster and most class feature based pets are reliant on your own action economy to function. You need to spend bonus actions to get them going.
Except the ones summoned by spells. Summon elemental? Summon demon? Haha the Wizard gets to break action economy.
Simulacrum? Twice the actions of everyone else?
Sure why not?

[cold cloak]

I'll have to agree with Alaen though. Cantrips don't outstrip martials in terms of scaling outside of EB.

It's the same problem as the Rogue. One attack with decent damage isn't as good as multiple lower damage attacks, and Martials have easier sources of damage riders.

Or well... Half casters do, and martials have a couple of rider sources tied to class features.

[cold cloak]

I am liking part of what the new half edition did for martials, though I wish they committed to having more ways to break crowd control effects.

[craggy cloak]

I get in 4-6 per adventuring day

Encounters don't have to be just combat, just a good resource drain, which expands the options; in addition, I can layer encounters in such a way that they go from an Easy encounter directly into a Medium/Hard but still get the drain I want from the adventuring day

[obsidian jasper]

yo guys, I've already talked about this in discussions once, I am trying to create an ability/feat (idk what it should be) for a character, that allows that character to create weapons out of ||enemies bodies|| TW for body horror I guess (if someone doesn't want this here please tell me), I've only played as a player so I don't know much about balancing. Basic idea is weapons have same stats but don't take money, I can throw them away or keep them so that I can adapt to different scenarios. Any ideas welcome and all.

[modest echo]

I think Lizardfolk have a "create weapons" species trait

could use that for precedent

[obsidian jasper]

it requires time and a roll though right?

[cosmic geyser]

Something to keep in mind is to also be weary of how this could potentially interact with the Warlock's Pact of the Blade feature.

[obsidian jasper]

alr I'll look into this more, but I wanted this to be something universal I guess or something I get at level 1

[craggy cloak]

current lizardfolk dont have it anymore, but it used to read:

Cunning Artisan. As part of a short rest, you can harvest bone and hide from a slain beast, construct, dragon, monstrosity, or plant creature of size small or larger to create one of the following items: a shield, a club, a javelin, or 1d4 darts or blowgun needles. To use this trait, you need a blade, such as a dagger, or appropriate artisan's tools, such as leatherworker's tools.

[obsidian jasper]

Ye so basically what I want is this on steroids, I’d like it to be short enough to be done as an action or bonus action and any part can be used

[modest echo]

Remind me what the motivation for this is?

[obsidian jasper]

being helpful

fighting skeletons?

make a mace

etc

or just like create a javelin out of a parts

throw it at a ranged enemy

[modest echo]

The existing rules for improvised weapons let you use another weapon's stats if it fits

so.... I'm not sure you need a specific rule for this

if you really want it to be part of a character

[rigid cipher]

i comed up with a homebrew magic item idea

Galeb Durh's Hide
Half-Plate, very rare (requires attunement by a creature with a strength score of 13 or higher)

This mighty armor is fashioned from plates of living stone, said to have been shorn from the earthen body of a powerful elemental. The plates seem to shift and grow in battle to protect their wearer.

While wearing this armor, you are resistant to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage from non-magical attacks.

Additionally, when you would be hit by an attack while wearing this armor, you can use your reaction to try to deflect the blow. You can reduce your movement speed in increments of 5 feet, up to your maximum speed. For every 5 feet of movement speed you lose, you gain a bonus of +1 to your AC. The penalty to movement speed and AC bonus last until the end of your next turn.

[modest echo]

ooooh nice

[rigid cipher]

:3

I was inspired by the first episode of Xiaolin Showdown, of all things...

[slender nexus]

Taking this on my Hasted Tabaxi Monk to get +40 AC

But more seriously, fun item, I like the tradeoff there

[rigid cipher]

:] thank u

[nimble quartz]

🫵 Xiaolin Showdown mentioned!
(also: same name lol)

[arctic yew]

...my campaign has like

5 shen gong wu

[rigid cipher]

you should go for 6 👀

[nimble quartz]

You should!

[fair sand]

Dnd, I've come here with the same question I asked pathfinder. For Honor is releasing a Sohei character very similar to Benkei from Japanese legend. How would you go about building this guy in 5e?

Link for trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L68zunK5dQQ

[tepid crane]

Started reading the order of the stick. It’s pretty cool to see how the edition changes affected classes and playstyles.

[pure elm]

yeah the very first page is a joke about going from 3e to 3.5

[tepid crane]

It’s just a dnd comic but it’s been going on for so long you can kind of use it as a time capsule of 2nd edition, 3/3.5 etc

[arctic yew]

samurai fighter literally has a feature for fighting after you die

although zealot barb does it better

[final phoenix]

I need to kick around an idea for a special weapon named "the corpse grinder" to go against a lvl 9 4 person dnd campaign

I was thinking multiple 6 six rolls but that seems boring of "it just hits hard"

[lament geode]

If it hits a PC below 50% HP, they start making Death Saving Throws even while not down.

Failure fucks them up hard

[random gull]

Corpse Grinder
Ranged Crossbow that needs undead as ammunition, grinding them down i shards. When aiming at an opponent, summons 2d6 Zombies or Skeletons to hold them in place at the beginning of the turn, deals 12d6 Necrotic at the end if still held.

Alternativly, 1d6 damage for every undead alive in 15 foot range around the target

[final phoenix]

I was planning on Mr. Fisher summon some undead archer type creatures at the beginning of the fight

[dapper fulcrum]

Eats any corpses already present in the field

each time it eats a corpse it has a "Corpse Round" that it fires for devastating damage

[arctic yew]

lets see

they have

the eye of the falcon

the mantis flip coin

the two ton tunic

one player had the star hanabi,but he retired that character to go study a big bad and play another character (i have a tag out mechanic )

and they also briefly used the denshi bunny on a magic item shop

[arctic yew]

Do you think sentient weapons would regard grindstones like a spa day or like torture

[tepid crane]

I’d say torture

You aren’t removing blood or rust or other stuff that’s coating it, you are shaving off part of the weapon

[random gull]

More of a training session, as they are getting back into shape

[tepid crane]

Yes they are getting back into shape in the same way a person could get back in shape by ripping off parts of their skin

[mellow rivet]

it's like declawing a cat - real bad for them

[random gull]

Dnd. Is. Fantasy. Of course it can be that, but what fantasy do you want to evoke here? Going with grande fantasy means probably something like a training arc instead of going SAW

[arctic yew]

i mean,training is kinda destroying your muscles so they get back stronger

[tepid crane]

Like how monks make micro fractures in their bones so they grow back stronger

[tepid crane]

I’m just taking the basic building blocks of fantasy that I think everyone works from and putting them together

And combining it with what I already know about blade restoration for knives where you do actually remove a non-indescribable amount of metal before sopping it. I think that the sword is it’s vessel and you would be damaging it’s vessel by using a grindstone on it.

[random gull]

Makes sense, but that is not the conventional association with grindstones. Grindstone makes things sharp, not brittle or shaving of material - I doubt that is in the theatre of mind for anyone that is not into blade restoration.

[modest echo]

being conditioned to better fulfilled its purpose makes sense as a workout to me

[tepid crane]

Well in that case it can mean whatever you want. The grindstone can be replaced by a microwave or rocking chair.

[random gull]

Wouldn't be the conventional association here

[tepid crane]

My point is that I don’t believe that association is correct but also this has gone on too long for a “Hey is option 1 or option 2 cooler?” Question

[random gull]

True 🤝 I just get exited over topics like idea vs reality of things in games and what expectations look like in games :D Like we can all agree dragons are frogging cool, but getting that multiton heavy beast into the air would require insane strength to the point of "hummingbirding" :D

[tepid crane]

I think the idea of where you apply science is interesting but I don’t believe in changing fundamental things I think are common and explainable to fit a different view

Remember when this was about talking swords?

[random gull]

Absolutely, but that IS about the example of expectations and realism :D

[tepid crane]

It's not about realism as much as internal consistency I think. If grindstones don't work this way for magical swords then how can I know that anything that relies on sanding/grinding works? Hell I would even start questioning the physics of the fantasy. So maybe it's more of an immersion thing.

[modest echo]

it's not about whether or not the physical process of sword sharpening changes in a fantasy world, it's about whether the physical events of the process or philosophical end of the process is more important to the magic talking sword

[tepid crane]

It might just be the stem nerd in me

[trail ferry]

my friends bought me a mic

so i'll do a one shot for them

i want a classic dungeon crawl

but

it will take place in the warrens from the game Darkest Dungeon

[modest echo]

ooooooh

[trail ferry]

i just need to read some guide on dungeon crawl cause i never did one before

not the first time i gm dnd but yeah

[modest echo]

exciting!

[tepid crane]

Those players better play dwarves or the poison damage is going to be massive

[trail ferry]

[trail ferry]

i dont think i can go as crazy as i would have liked with this sadly

i wanted to have a whole swine king fight, but there's one person who's going to be playing with us who never even played an rpg before

so i gotta do a lvl 1 warrens adventure

[tepid crane]

I mean you can still have the swine king, rpg knowledge shouldn’t stop you from having a boss fight just maybe don’t have traps or a crazy amount of loot or npcs

[arctic yew]

heeeeey

does anyone have

a level 7 dungeon i can just

plug into my campaign while i think of a way to progress the plot

[trail ferry]

That means i also need wilbur

Oh boy i hope they dont one shot wilbur

[dapper fulcrum]

level one adventure

ogre for the swine king maybe

easy cr 2

is deadly as heck

or if you wanna be mean

use the ogre variants from VGM or MotM

[trail ferry]

The ogre gets a free reaction if you hit wilbur

[tepid crane]

yes

[trail ferry]

What ability should wilbur have?

[dapper fulcrum]

draconic cry from the new kobold

[trail ferry]

What does it do

[dapper fulcrum]

bonus action, cry out, allies around them (10ft) gain advantage on attacks, saves, and skill checks for a round

[trail ferry]

Oh that works well

[dapper fulcrum]

im thinking in terms of 1st level players so if they were like level 3-4 id have suggested something more dangerous

like the cry adding an additional +2d6 damage

[tepid crane]

And when wilbur dies give the swine king a autocrit for one attack

[trail ferry]

Revenge for wilbur

[frail hull]

has anyone ever used the Planegia setting before? if so how was it?

[tepid crane]

I like how they explain the neolithic stasis

It is also just a really good setting

[frail hull]

that's awesome, does it work with current 5E without being too imbalanced?

[tepid crane]

I’m probably not the best person to talk on balance but I think it’s fun to play

[frail hull]

ok, thanks

[tepid crane]

I’m probably not the best person to talk on balance but I think it’s fun to play

[pure elm]

New Exhaustion
Still 1-6, die at 6
Speed reduced 5x Exhaustion Level
Deduction from any d20 test equal to 2x Exhaustion Level
No comment on how this affects the spell save DC
from someone showing their PHB early despite the NDA
this is really funny, they arguably made Exhaustion even worse than before

[sand hornet]

Oof

[dapper fulcrum]

goddamn

[random gull]

Did anyone play nimble 5e?

How is it?

[slender nexus]

I mean, assuming the same penalty applies to your DCs I like this a lot more than 5e exhaustion? Old exhaustion has a tendency to be extremely binary with the threshold between "does nothing" and "entirely combat ineffective" varying depending on the character, at first blush this seems like it should help a lot with that.

[pure elm]

it applying to DCs as well would be fair in conditions actually affecting casters for once

but I disagree that it's not that bad

even just one level here is pretty brutal already IMO

-2 on all your rolls and -5 speed is a lot

on old Exhaustion that would have only been disadvantage on checks, which is not a big deal at all

[slender nexus]

Oh, yeah, it's absolutely brutal to be hit by, but that's why I like it more now

Wait, did you mean worse to be hit by or worse as a mechanic? Because I parsed it as the latter lol

[pure elm]

worse to be hit by

[slender nexus]

Oh, gotcha, no disagreement there

[pure elm]

and Exhaustion already had IMO a problem with being fairly punishing to have stack up when it happens

since you get rid of it pretty slowly

it IMO makes it even harder to actually use Exhaustion as a mechanic, because it's now even more rough to get a level or two applied

[slender nexus]

Hmm, I'm of two minds on that, because the stacking is devastating, but before you could pretty much consider level 1 to not exist, and for some characters same for 2 and 3, which felt over-lenient

[pure elm]

casters could mostly wriggle out of the consequences yes
but that's kinda a larger issue in the system tbh
for martials it was still fairly bad to get Exhausted to 2 or 3

[slender nexus]

My group has been using the playyest -1 per level, -5ft every two, die at 10, some things (e.g. sickening radiance) apply two stacks, so guessing we'll stick with thay

[pure elm]

the UA version was at least much more granular, yes

increasing the scale makes getting a few levels of Exhaustion comparatively less bad

[slender nexus]

(Well, ranged martials could afford 2 pretty easily, but yeah melee really wanted to not go above 1)

[pure elm]

also true, but that's similarly the privilege of being ranged at work

but yeah either way, I just feel that somehow this newest version (if it really is the case) somehow combines the worst of both worlds

[slender nexus]

I definitely prefer it over the old one, because having half your party entirely combat incapable while the other half is functionally unimpaired sucked, but it does make exhaustion 1 harder to use

Also Sickening Radiance really slaps with these rules since it hits your saving throws too

[obsidian jasper]

You guys think I could make a necromancer that is more focused on a few very strong soldiers instead of a horde of zombies and could I make it so all my undead only serve me if they want to (speak with dead spell), this would all only be if my dm agrees but idk if this would throw of the balance or something else

[craggy cloak]

the Summon Undead spell from TCE fits what youd be wanting

[slender nexus]

Mmm, disagree there, Summon Undead really doesn't fit the necromancer's permanent minions style IMO

Unfortunately for creating a few powerful undead instead of a horde you pretty much need to be level 11+, to gain access to Create Undead

[obsidian jasper]

It was more like flavor and stuff but Alr thx

Oh yeah btw the necromancer character I made is one specifically made for me and my friend so we can play together (he’s playing an oath breaker) This gives us synergy right?

[craggy cloak]

it works fine for the specific "i want to make a stronger undead", they can be permanent in all but mechanics and just use the spell to get them into combat itself

[obsidian jasper]

What I meant here is that instead of summon nameless corpses, I ask the bodies of powerful foes the party defeated if they want to swear loyalty to me and become my death knights

[sand hornet]

Has anyone played Dark Matter? The setting bny Mage Hand Press

[next canopy]

I know the Martriarcal society for elfs is like a classic thing. But what if Matriarchal dwarves

[tepid crane]

I think that’s just a drow thing over all

Idk I like to do something bizarre and fantastical for my fantasy societies, like the ruler being decided by whoever has the crown (The whole kingdom was in chaos for a while when the ruler decided to hide away in order to not lose it)

Or wizard duels

Settle every matter of office with a wizard duel

[fair sand]

Random caster homebrew rule idea

Any spell caster who can perform rituals may cast any spell they know up to the ninth level as a ritual even if they do not have access to spells of that level; however any spell cast this way must be cast as a ritual with an extra hour per spell level and twice the material cost.

Additionally, any spell caster who also knows or has access to this that spell may assist with the ritual to reduce casting time by 10 minutes per spell level, with a maximum of shaving an hour.

Numbers are real rough, but the idea being that lower levels should access more powerful spells by committing to long rituals

[tepid crane]

That’s great until the lvl 1 wizard starts popping off wish 2 times a day

[fair sand]

Very true, id need to come up with some other kind of limitation; though at least for the wizard he'd have had to find a scroll of wish somewhere at level 1 to learn it

Maybe some kind of interaction with exhaustion levels. And boost the time per spell level.

[tepid crane]

Or just watch any other caster in the party who has access to it

Since wizards can copy spells they find

[fair sand]

Huh, I don't remember wizards being able to copy any spell into their spell book that they've seen

As far as wizards I've seen in play, I don't think I've ever seen a one copy every spell that every other caster in their party has

Generally there needs to be something written

[tepid crane]

It’s a rule

You can copy them into your spellbook for a GP cost of inks and materials

[fair sand]

Yeah but the rule doesnt say "When you've seen it"

there has to be something to copy from

[modest echo]

yeah i think that's for scrolls

[fair sand]

flavor wise, i just think its a bit strange how so much magic is barred from casters for so long, and then so much of it is only cast in like 6 seconds; I figure with appropriate time and preparation, wizards, druids, etc, could cast more powerful magics

[modest echo]

hmmm yeah rituals don't let you cast beyond your normal slot level

[fair sand]

a non DnD example, but in Baldurs gate the druids are performing a rite of thorns; something you as a player are unable to do at all whatsoever; but clearly its druidic magic completed by the cooperation of multiple druids and an artifact

and a decent amount of time

i feel like casters would, in general, be able to do that kind of thing

cast powerful magics beyond their normal ability by choosing the right preparations, taking the appropriate time, and using the right magical assists. Maybe also with the help of others

[tepid crane]

The ritual drawings are study-able?

[fair sand]

as a note, thats a weird point to belabor when I've already acknowledged that there are holes in the homebrew rule and have pitches/contemplated fixes or adjustments

never claimed it was air tight

[tepid crane]

Not trying to shoot holes in it

[fair sand]

maybe something like "gain two levels of exhaustion per spell level beyond your current ability after ritual casting a spell above you ability" or something

so you could cast wish if you know it but itll kill you till you're much closer in level

could also see having to make some kinds of saves during hte ritual or it fails

[fair sand]

There's probably a more elegant way to achieve what I'm looking to emulate though

[trail ferry]

anyone ever used sanity in dnd?

[timber sleet]

there's sanity mechanics?

[mellow rivet]

it's an option in the DMG

I've used the temporary madnesses but I've never tracked sanity scores

[tepid crane]

yeah it went pretty well for a game based on Gaelic folklore

[trail ferry]

Tell me about temporary madness

[trail ferry]

How did u use it?

[mellow rivet]

it's stuff like: you've been through a traumatic situation, have a new personality quirk until you can face your fears

it's not super realistic but it's fun

[tepid crane]

the way is was shown in the DMG

[craggy cloak]

Yes; did not enjoy it given theres already plenty of other attrition to work with within the system, it just felt like more work as DM.

[final phoenix]

I have an idea for a Dragon. A uranium dragon. One that is ancient large and depleted of energy. I do not have ideas for the lair though

[modest echo]

sounds like it wouldn't be a place of honor

[tepid crane]

It’s lair is japan

[final phoenix]

I HAD FORGOTTEN HOW MUCH THE LONG TERM STORAGE STUFF FUCKS

[pure elm]

this is not a place of honor

[final phoenix]

That Architecture with blasted burnt skeletons on the surface. A battleground of a war ended immediately. Breath weapon of fire and acid damage. Misshapened large beasts throughout the tunnels

[elder remnant]

Fun twist: make the breath weapon deal very little damage but have it cause the victims to save against contagion

https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Contagion#content

[final phoenix]

"The dragon opens it's mouth and you see a tooth move and the mouth shuts it completely, You see a bright blue flash. Make a constitution saving throw."

[final phoenix]

https://x.com/discord/status/1818686176166842958?s=46

Discord (@discord) on X

D&D IS NOW ON DISCORD.

Get your friends together to play all your favorite tabletop RPGs on Roll20, now available as a Discord Activity: https://t.co/DCkaK00bVc

Twitter · Jul 31, 2024, 4:32 PM

Interesting

[obsidian jasper]

I made a demon core flail as a joke

[craggy cloak]

https://vxtwitter.com/CHofferCBus/status/1818723495377076290?t=rraMxtma1GEdjWPWzCnJOQ&s=19

[pure elm]

they also jump with Dex now apparently

[dapper fulcrum]

YES

[pure elm]

GWF fighting style is now worse lmao

It's now when you roll a 1 or 2 turn it into a 3 instead

Which is mathematically worse than the old one, especially on single dice

Guess Defense is still the go to FS for 2h

[obsidian jasper]

Yo guys quick question, what classes scale well into endgame? I know the wizard does but I have almost never played martial classes so idk about them.

[slender nexus]

The more caster you are, the better you scale into lategame

Paladins are also very nice with the number of high DC saves in lategame play

[dapper fulcrum]

Paladins at t3 feel like a requirement in some games ive played at higher tiers tbh

that aura does a lot of work

[slender nexus]

Yeah, lategame 5e gives up on the idea of bounded accuracy for saves

Good luck fighting that dragon with a DC 21 Fearful Presence with a +1 to wis saves and no pally

[pure elm]

Late game saves are fucked yeah

[slender nexus]

Wait, so it's also even more weighted towards 2d6 weapons over 1d12 than before? Lmao

[pure elm]

Yes

But also its mostly just worse than before

It gives a smaller average increase than previously

You can illustrate that pretty easily too, since a reroll has the average of the die
So on a d12 the results are now
3,3,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12
And it used to be
6.5, 6.5, 3, 4, [...]

[frail hull]

Not sanity per say, but or GM is using the A5E strife mechanic. And let me tell you, even as a barbarian it started to make life hard, especially when I hit the tier where all wisdom rolls were at disadvantage.

[elder remnant]

word on the street is that dual wielding might get turbo buffed. good because I have literally never seen a character do that lol.

[pure elm]

some stuff I'm catching from discussion on a Treantmonk video

• Exhaustion is confirmed to now be -2 on all check per level, -5 speed per level, die at 6, no effect on DC casting or otherwise
• you can now only cast one leveled spell per turn, everyone who thought that's how it already worked rejoice I guess
• the Hide rules are the ones from the playtest, which is gonna cause some !!fun!! rules interactions

[slender nexus]

No effect on DC
WotC don't make casters better than martials in every situation challenge. Difficulty: impossible

What's the exact wording on leveled spells, btw? Curious how it interacts with reaction spells on your turn

Notably if it's specifically one leveled spell per turn that means the caster loses a 1v1 counterspell war, unlike in 5e