Dungeons and Dragons

[willow wadi]

Since the 5e wizard is already pretty 3.5 sorc-y

[obsidian jasper]

so if I change that a bit I can use chronurgy?

[willow wadi]

I mean that's a question for your DM not us

[pure elm]

tbqh, I doubt you know or will use most of the actual broken things with it

[slender nexus]

Metamagic is pretty interesting in concept, IMO they could have made it more class-defining

[willow wadi]

Metamagic used to be something everyone could lean into!

I think it would have been better as a feat

Or a few feats

[slender nexus]

Yeah, that would also have been nice

[obsidian jasper]

alr

[slender nexus]

Though then yeah Sorc would be even sadder

[obsidian jasper]

ye

why not just merge them for dndone

[willow wadi]

[insert lament for the playtest sorc here dot rant]

[pure elm]

because metamagic is the Sorc class identity now

[obsidian jasper]

like wizards can either go like one specific school

or metamagic

[pure elm]

and 5.24 isn't really making any large sweeping changes

[slender nexus]

I do like the suggestion I've seen floated around of giving Sorcs the spell points variant rule, and just adding spell points plus sorc points into one big resource pool

So they get even more spell flexibility

[modest echo]

Many dnd decisions can be explained in terms of momentum, "we were already doing things this way, and it would be too much work to change that"

[willow wadi]

I've played with spell points and its maybe a little messed up as a rule

IME the result was primarily "holy shit that's a lot of daily casts of fireball"

[slender nexus]

I'm not surprised to hear it would probably need balancing around

[pure elm]

the added flexibility of spell points often leads to spamming higher level slots and lower level slots, and ignoring the middle ones

I do still like it as a solution though

it does at least give Sorc more of an identity

[craggy cloak]

I always liked toying with the idea of axing druids wildshape and giving magic forms to sorc via bloodlines

[dapper fulcrum]

Im biased towards the sorc and the ranger and the monk
Iv played a sorc ranger monk before, culminating in this

[craggy cloak]

Sorcs should be the weird chimaera mages, let druids be druids

[obsidian jasper]

I just want to use wizard spells but get metamagic

[dapper fulcrum]

Too weird for the playtesters maybe

[obsidian jasper]

and maybe not have to choose a specific school

[dapper fulcrum]

It was a fun idea

[craggy cloak]

There's "generic" wizard schools that dont force a spell type

[cosmic geyser]

Fellow monk enjoyer 🤝

[obsidian jasper]

which ones just improve my damage?

or should I just go with sorcerer then

[dapper fulcrum]

Of you want a generalist
War wizard or Scribes

*if

[obsidian jasper]

isn't warwizard like defensive?

[pure elm]

yes

[dapper fulcrum]

Also if you want wizard spells, get clockwork or aberrant sorc

[pure elm]

they do have an offensive feature technically, but it's not great

[obsidian jasper]

and scribes isn't combat focused iirc (like not meant as the main damage source)

[pure elm]

though I think the Surge thing got buffed a bit?
don't remember

[dapper fulcrum]

(my phone battery will die at any moment so if i disappear frommyhe combo you jnow why)

[craggy cloak]

Does a wizard need combat features, you got The Spellz

[pure elm]

frankly, none of the Wizard subs will do that

[dapper fulcrum]

Scribes lets you fireball a devil with a sound bomb

Bypassing immunity

[pure elm]

Scribes still does, because you get to swap damage types

[obsidian jasper]

I got spells but at early game I can't do jackshit

[craggy cloak]

I will simply upcast Magic Missile at all times

Huh

[pure elm]

early game you have spells

[obsidian jasper]

but they suck

a martial outdamages me

[pure elm]

cast a Sleep, that's like two enemies taken out easily in an early fight

[obsidian jasper]

but I'm meant to be killing the enemies in my oarty

party*

we got a druid to control the enemies

[pure elm]

the only painful level for casters are maybe 1-2

[craggy cloak]

Thats everyones job

[pure elm]

once you hit 3 you are already fine

[obsidian jasper]

I'm meant to make the healthbar go away

[craggy cloak]

Everyone should be doing damage

[pure elm]

an unconscious enemy is basically dead

[obsidian jasper]

fair enough

[craggy cloak]

D6 or d10 itll hit 0 eventually

[pure elm]

they can't do anything, and you auto crit them

[craggy cloak]

If you want to kill immediately in round 1 you want a paladin

[obsidian jasper]

how would I need to flavor spells that they feel more like disintegrate

[pure elm]

2nd level you get Web, which is already incredibly lockdown

[obsidian jasper]

I did 32 damage with a onehanded weapon in one turn

idk if that's much

but it felt good onehitting

[obsidian jasper]

I like burning rays and rimes binding ice more

[craggy cloak]

You want draconic sorc and to spam fire spells, it seems imo

It Just Works

[obsidian jasper]

no, I just don't like pinning down enemies, I've done that too it was boring

I didn't feel important

[obsidian jasper]

demons and devils gonna be fun

[pure elm]

I mean, it seems you already know what you want fairly clearly
So just... do that?

[obsidian jasper]

I know everything except my subclass

this is literally

pain

[cosmic geyser]

Wait so you’ve already chosen a class?

[obsidian jasper]

wizard

unless something changes

and I say

nah sorlock

[modest echo]

Evoker is the blaster wizard

[obsidian jasper]

I tried it

didn't like it

played till lvl 4, that was a campaign where I leveled up fast

then I died

so I'm considering chronurgy

[modest echo]

Go for it

[obsidian jasper]

I mean I really like graviturgy themes but

iirc it's not good for what I want

[obsidian jasper]

is that even a good idea?

like is chronurgy the best possible blaster

[pure elm]

no

[modest echo]

i don't know the subclass, but if it's attracting your interest that's an advantage over the others

[pure elm]

but as mentioned, none of the Wizard subs will really directly aid you in blasting

[obsidian jasper]

mb for wording, wizard ain't got blaster subclasses really (except like evo)

[pure elm]

Evoker lets you avoid friendly fire, so you can place AoE more precisely, and you get extra damage later
Scribes lets you swap damage types

[obsidian jasper]

I think I like chronurgy more

with me being able to catch things in time

stuff like that

or ultimately

which ones can deal more damage until lvl 16 and does the difference change something?

[stone hollow]

arcane archer is cool but it sucks so bad that you only get TWO arrows

[obsidian jasper]

and if all of my ideas and all don't work

I'll use bladesinger

[arctic yew]

Bespoke?

[arctic yew]

It also sucks that the entire subclass is effectively just "you have magic arrows" when...there are already a bunch of magic arrows.

I feel like everything arcane Archer does would be more fun if it was just magic items

[stone hollow]

I think it would be cool to make a wizard or sorc subclass that puts spells into arrows

[cosmic geyser]

Bespoke was probably the wrong word. I meant giving the butchers a trait that handles the healing aspect of the bite

[arctic yew]

Ooh

[frail hull]

Reminds me of a 3.5 wizard subclass that had the ability to cast spells onto bullets or siege engines. Still had to hit the shot, but being able to cast touch spells at 50 ft was fun!

[cosmic geyser]

I could’ve sworn there was a 5e subclass that lets you do that

It might have been homebrew though

[craggy cloak]

Range modifications are tricky

It can really throw off so much in terms of balance and design or be useless depending on how its handled

[cosmic geyser]

Oh wait, not the range enhancement stuff. I was talking about the putting spells onto projectiles stuff

Also Transmuter Wizard is kinda cool. I didn’t know it’s capstone could allow you to cast raise dead once per long rest

[arctic yew]

The closest thing I can think of is chronurgy being able to make magic candy

[cosmic geyser]

Yeah I looked and I think it was a homebrew thing. There is the chronurgy thing though, and that’s close.

[worthy plank]

Scribes does have a feature tailored towards getting around resistances, but that’s about it

Oh god necroposting oops

[craggy cloak]

depending on table thats really really good for doing damage!

i know it worked wonder for my players since i like to vary things up like resistances

[obsidian jasper]

What’s necroposting?

[worthy plank]

posting about an old topic or conversation

[obsidian jasper]

I mean I take the advice

I just noticed that I either have to make a homebrew wizard school

Or

I have to make a sorlock to get what I want

And as it’s dnd beyond its probably easier making a homebrew subclass lmao

If someone has an idea what feature a combat focused wizard would use please tell me

I already have the add intelligence modifier to spell damage

[slender nexus]

I mean, any Wizard subclass that does more damage than Evoker should probably not be allowed at any table that cares for balance

[obsidian jasper]

I made a variant of the evoker with the help of chatgpt as I don't have all the knowledge at the ready I hope this isn't bad in some way please inform me if it is so

basically no keeping allies save

and more making damage good

but ignoring the buffs to evocation

maybe I can add some self damage

basic idea

2nd level

I can reroll the damage of one roll

lvl 6 I can add a second damage dice if I hit but I need to roll a constitution saving throw which is 10+spell level or take the spells level in force damage

lvl 10 add int modifier to the damage rolls

14 max damage output of any spell I want, if I do this more than once between long rests I must suceed an int saving throw of 14+1 for each level above 5, if I fail I fall unconcious for 1d12 turns, I don't get my proficiency in int saving throws

if this is unbalanced please tell me what I shoudl change

[dapper fulcrum]

that's just slightly more buffed version of evoker

[obsidian jasper]

so

[obsidian jasper]

can I use it or should I just go with sorlock?

[dapper fulcrum]

personally id sorlock

[obsidian jasper]

alr what sorcerer subclass should I take?

[dapper fulcrum]

divine soul/hexblade is the most common cheese dip ive seen
medium armor from hexblade, cleric spells from sorcerer as a backup healer

[worthy plank]

the bootleg paladin way

[dapper fulcrum]

blaster paladin
different from the Ranged Paladin, which is just a hand crossbow-using Paladin X/Hexblade 1 (Hex Warrior specifies one-handed weapons and guess what a hand xbow isss)

[smoky notch]

pnet dnd thread

i request help brainstorming...

for a name, nothing more

for a human fighter who likes money and also is a forty year old woman

[pure elm]

Ophira

[modest echo]

Ariel

[obsidian jasper]

Oh you can do that?

[smoky notch]

well nobody’s ever stopped me

[obsidian jasper]

Mei Mei

[smoky notch]

perchance...

that's got good fantasy vibes but it seems a little high-class

[obsidian jasper]

May I also request name adobe?

Advice*

[modest echo]

Go for it

[smoky notch]

she joined the military to get out of poverty, she is rather poor and remains still

[obsidian jasper]

Need a name for a human with some elve ancestry, he’s a noble I like the name lorian maybe you got something similar. Also maybe not religious names as dnd has like its own religions so I think it doesn’t make much sense

[modest echo]

Larian

[obsidian jasper]

Hmm not bad

[modest echo]

Dinah

[obsidian jasper]

Artemis or something similar or Diana

That’s just more ranger

I just realised

Mb

[smoky notch]

perchance

i do love the name artemis though

artemisia sounds solid

[modest echo]

maybe Artesia?

[smoky notch]

artesia goes hard

definitely adding it to the list of potentials...

maybe a D name also

or

chilchuck vibes?

like a D name that has chilchuck vibes if that makes sense

i will think on what that looks and sounds like posthaste

nevermund. i can't do SHIT

hmm...

esel...

dorvah...

doorchuff... (/j)

[modest echo]

Dorna 🤔

[smoky notch]

DORNA............

CHRUE....................

[cold cloak]

Lao Mei

[smoky notch]

if i can manage to take inspiration from general chinese aesthetics/imagery without it feeling too much like orientalism then i'll keep that name in mind

[stone hollow]

Clerics should have bigbys hand

[dapper fulcrum]

Diraza

Edena

[tepid crane]

Jarnathan

https://tenor.com/view/jarnathan-jarnathan-my-beloved-my-beloved-beloved-d%26d-gif-18347132004198290272

It is a very noble sounding name

[craggy cloak]

Cobalt

[obsidian jasper]

Isn’t that a metal?

[obsidian jasper]

Not bad

[obsidian jasper]

That seems a bit very derogatory

[craggy cloak]

Sure, it can also be a name

[obsidian jasper]

Ah

[obsidian jasper]

This sounds like a name straight from blood borne

[stone hollow]

who are some cool deities for light domain

[smoky notch]

?

also, i’ve settled on gigi, as it’s a name i’ve wanted to use for a long time

[obsidian jasper]

Esel means donkey

In German

[smoky notch]

LMAO

[modest echo]

Light that Burns, Light that Guides, Light That Reveals

[smoky notch]

she IS a bit of a donkey...

[modest echo]

(Sun, Stars, Moon if you like)

[craggy cloak]

Canonical to a certain setting, or...?

[stone hollow]

yeah but i figured it out im just doing helm

[tepid crane]

Obligatory Praise Palor

[obsidian jasper]

I need name recomendations

for my noble house

can yall please help me?

the house is a mix of elves and humans, great mages and fighters

some can do both

younger house

not very influential but wealthy

[tepid crane]

What historical group are you styling them after?

[obsidian jasper]

I can give you the banner but I made basically everything from scratch

[tepid crane]

No inspirations or references?

[obsidian jasper]

no

[tepid crane]

how do you even know what a noble house is?

[obsidian jasper]

wdym?

[tepid crane]

how do you know what a noble house is if you haven't heard of it from any television or books

[obsidian jasper]

I heard from it from history and media, but I didn't use those as inspiration

[tepid crane]

Is adding a god called Neub who is the patron of novice adventurers too on the nose?

[cosmic geyser]

Just change it Nu'eb. They won't notice anything

[tepid crane]

Hah, I think I’ll make a priest npc to follow along with these new players and perform epic rituals before turning back to the party and giving them basic advice.

Levitates into the air with lightning crackling.
“The ten foot pole is useful for poking buttons and tapping floors from farther away.”

[obsidian jasper]

Yall I have an issue

a party member is a circle of stars druid

how can I still be a damage dealer

if my friend can do 4d6 damage at lvl 2

[craggy cloak]

will your enjoyment be ruined if you arent doing the most damage?

You could go for spells/attacks that target Saves instead of using attack rolls.

[obsidian jasper]

it's only till like level 5 I have issues

[obsidian jasper]

I got appointed as the damage dealer and I like big numbers

[craggy cloak]

appointed? huh

thats wild to me

[obsidian jasper]

so basically it went like this

X

I'm a tank

Y: I'm a rogue

Z: I'm a drui

d

[craggy cloak]

oh okay yall are playing like its 4e

[obsidian jasper]

no

it's just that the roles came to be

like that

[craggy cloak]

5e doesn't really have all that to be entirely honest

youre just self-imposing

[obsidian jasper]

alr

[craggy cloak]

that said

i mean, really, the answer is to just... i dunno, be more accurate? hit saves more?

[obsidian jasper]

alr

[craggy cloak]

guiding bolt doesnt add ability mods, so its damage varies a lot, and even at second level Stars Druid is doing cantrip damage like you can

plus its using up a spell slot on Guiding Bolt instead of better spells

[mellow rivet]

Stars druid is very good but they'll still run out of spells eventually

[craggy cloak]

if they're casting Guiding Bolt they arent casting Entangle, Fog Cloud, etc

[mellow rivet]

they do get a couple of bolts for free, though iirc

yeah, from the map

[craggy cloak]

yeah proficiency bonus per rest

but moreso its like, using your turn on it vs battlefield control

[obsidian jasper]

so basically a druid is more suited for control of the battlefield?

[craggy cloak]

Spellcasting in general excels at control, yeah

[obsidian jasper]

2nd level: I can Reroll one damage dice per turn this is between long or short rests Idc, as many times as my int modifier
Lvl 6: If I hit I can roll a second damage dice but must succeed a con saving throw of 10+ spell level
Lvl 10: I can add my int modifier to the damage at lvl 14 it will double (if you’re fine with that)
Lvl 14: I can deal max damage (spells 5th level or above)if I hit like no dice roll, but if I do this more than once between long rests I must succeed an int saving throw which is 14+ every level over 5, I don’t get proficiency and if I fail I’m knocked out 1d12 turns
I also get proficiency with one weapon (I chose a onehanded one)
the dm approved it, I specifically made this wizard subclass bc I didn't liek the other ones

this is what I'm using

[obsidian jasper]

alr, makes sense

[mellow rivet]

yeah, if you're specifically a wizard then you want to be debuffing enemies and using spells for utility things. Obviously fireball is popular but stuff like Slow and Hypnotic Pattern are more important

[obsidian jasper]

so my subclass makes no sense?

[mellow rivet]

I wouldn't go qutie that far

there's plenty of subclasses that make one class act more like another

[obsidian jasper]

so

I need your opinion real quick

am I better of with this or just the sorlock hexblade+divine sorcerer

[smoky notch]

DelBouraine or some shit

[mellow rivet]

if you just want to do damage, then definitely go sorlock

[obsidian jasper]

alr

I took wizard because of the freedom

all the spells give me

and bc they have high damage spells

[obsidian jasper]

I'm currently thinking about lorian, larian and some others

[smoky notch]

[Personname] of the House of Lorian has a nice ring to it

[obsidian jasper]

oh you meant for th house mb

the characters name is probably lorian

sorry

[obsidian jasper]

it's gonna be hard explaining why I can cast cleric spells lmao

in the backstory

alr guys, you all say sorlock which I find interesting but I looked at all the subclasses and they were all kinda not what I was looking for

[cosmic geyser]

Sorry, that was a bit rude.

What type of subclasses are you looking for?

Like is it the thematics of the subclass that is turning you off?

Or is it mechanics not meshing in a way that you like?

[obsidian jasper]

the thematics and the mechanics

like the darkness one for example

it's almost like too much based on death to be called darkness

[obsidian jasper]

what was rude, sorry if I said something rude

[cosmic geyser]

No, I originally said something that could be perceived as rude

[obsidian jasper]

ah

so

btw sorry I feel like this is getting really boring for yall as it's always the same thing with me

[cosmic geyser]

But to cut to the chase (for my sake, as I will get sidetracked talking about shadow sorcerer): What are you looking for both thematically and mechanically with your class choice?

[obsidian jasper]

a subclass

which is basically just

damage boosts

and doing stuff with damage

like spell casting that is used more offensivley than for control

spells that do things like inflict wounds, disintegrate, eldritchblast things like that

[tepid crane]

I would recommend just googling it. 5e is old enough you will probably find someone already detailed a build you want on reddit like 4 years ago

[obsidian jasper]

like wizard or sorlock?

[tepid crane]

Literally any class you want

Every build has been gamed

5e has a gazillion players and it’s been explored fully

[obsidian jasper]

alr

Zen did you want to say somethign?

[cosmic geyser]

So I’ll be honest: spellcasters in general don’t really need more offensive buffs from their subclasses as they’re already strong enough as is by virtue of having access to spells. Especially so in the cases of Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard.

That’s why when you do see more offensive-inclined subclasses for them, any damage buffs the subclasses have to offer tend to be a single class feature. The spellcasting subclasses in general tend to focus more on providing additional utility or alternative ways to play the base class instead of raw damage.

[worthy plank]

yeah the only outright damage bonus I can think of is Clerics' Potent Spellcasting, and that's only cantrips

on a class whose cantrips are kind of known for being...

meh

on the damage front

[cosmic geyser]

Evocation wizard has a thing that adds their int mod to evocation spell damage

As does Draconic sorcerer with matching element damage instead

[worthy plank]

shows how much I play damage focused spellcasting subs

[worthy plank]

btw hot take this makes arcana cleric the best spellcasting cleric

[cosmic geyser]

I’d contest that hot take, but I have to read what Arcana cleric does

[obsidian jasper]

so then

why does the circle of stars

for example

have two different features which are big damage boosts

or the warlock getting boosts to damage or defense

[pure elm]

Stars is strong early, and then it doesn't scale much

[cosmic geyser]

If anything, Stars is strong because of its features that don’t do damage imo

[pure elm]

free casts of Guiding Bolt is a lot when you're only casting 1st level spells anyway
and it's much less relevant when you got higher level slots to use those actions with

[obsidian jasper]

alr

so what should I do to keep up, I like being the damage dealer and I like magic, but probably because of balance these are rarely mixed

[pure elm]

but also in general, a lot of the strongest damage spells are tbh not spells that get boosted by most damage boosts

just using a Summon spell and cantrips already catapults you into top tier DPS

or being a Cleric and casting Spirit Guardians and then just standing in the middle of a fight doing whatever

hell, casting a normal Fireball into a semi crowded fight will often already match the output of an unoptimized martial for a whole fight

[obsidian jasper]

alr so the subclass I made, should get a damage boost at lvl 2 for cantrips and then at lvl 10 it applies to every spell and I should add some other features? I noticed that if I use divine soul sorcerer for a sorlock I'd have to rewrite my entire backstory

[obsidian jasper]

alr

I like signle target spells or spells that aren't aoes but specifically target enemies

[cosmic geyser]

Yeah, but wizard’s damage stems primarily from aoe spells

[worthy plank]

They get two wizard cantrips, potent spellcasting, and some other casty benefits

[obsidian jasper]

ah fuck

[pure elm]

summons, the Tasha Summon spells especially

a Summon and cantrips can nearly match optimized martials in output

[cosmic geyser]

Yeah, and they also a) give your party extra action economy, and b) you get an extra meat shield

[obsidian jasper]

alr I'll look into summons

now, the wizard spells I've been eyeballing are

psychich scream

disintegrate

sunburst

fireball (just with a different flavour)

vampiric tocuh

could I just reflavour all wizard spells that are aoes and that are good so I like them?

[tepid crane]

Yeah you can do whatever if you aren’t changing the actual mechanics or deciding it blasts an airhorn every time you cast. Just talk with your gm.

[obsidian jasper]

alright

so finally for the subclass if anyone still has the nerve to continue talking

what features next to adding my int modifier should I add?

[tepid crane]

Anyone got some helpful “omens” to give brand new adventurers.

[cosmic geyser]

Retuuurn the slaaaab or suffer my curse I don't think that's the type of omen you're looking for though

[cosmic geyser]

I'm assuming you're talking about this subclass?

[obsidian jasper]

ye

[cosmic geyser]

Oh I replied to the wrong message lol

[obsidian jasper]

I want to make my own wizard subclass, I'll also probably add some flavour text about how there's more if you look deeper like darker themes

[cosmic geyser]

So I just want to be upfront with this before I continue: what I'm about to say is not out of a place of malice. If I come off as rude, I do apologize as that is not my intention.

[obsidian jasper]

dw

[cosmic geyser]

If I'm being honest, I personally think you should stick with official content instead of jumping immediately to homebrew, especially if the plan is to use your own homebrew subclass. Because as it is right now, your subclass is more or less "evocation wizard but better* and also a free weapon proficiency".

[obsidian jasper]

the weapon proficiency is bc the dm said It would be a good idea

and yeas I basically tried making the evocation wizard into something I liek more while still trying not to go too far away or make something too strong

[cosmic geyser]

So in the case of a wizard, granting them proficiency with a weapon is a big deal. It's why almost all of the Bladesinger's features focus on what it can do with a melee weapon.

Wizards, with the exception of the Bladesinger, are not proficient with weapons expressly because that's the realm of a martial class like a fighter.

[obsidian jasper]

I made it a onehanded weapon and the only reason it exists here is bc probably I should have something for rp and if I don't have any spellslots

and it's a special weapon regardless (how it works)

but alr

SO I should change things to make it distinct from the evocationist

[cosmic geyser]

Yes.

[obsidian jasper]

got an idea

?

[cosmic geyser]

I have a feeling you might be looking at the wrong class if evocation is not doing it for you. Going off of what this subclass has to offer, I feel like sorcerer might be more up your alley. Specifically the draconic bloodline sorcerer.

Because as it is, the evocation wizard is already really strong in terms of damage

[obsidian jasper]

I mean I'm fine with the features except sculpt spell which is boring

I just don't ahve an idea hwat to replace one of the features with

[cosmic geyser]

I wouldn't

Sculpt spell allows you to cast aoe evocation spells without worrying about friendly fire

Which is really great in conjunction with spells like fireball and even weaker spells like shatter

[obsidian jasper]

I generally don't have that issue as I aoe from a different dircetion than my friends,

I basically just position myself in a way that friendly fire doesn't happen

[cosmic geyser]

Yeah but you're not always going to be in a position where you can hit just your enemies

Sometimes your allies will get in the way

Sculpt spell just makes it so that you can hit your enemies while keeping your allies safe. It basically prevents you from becoming Megumin

[obsidian jasper]

megumin?

[cosmic geyser]

The wizard girl from Konosuba. She basically spent all of her experience trying to learn the strongest spell in the setting: Explosion. Which means she's really powerful, but it comes at the expense of oftentimes doing way more damage than is intended (and also more often than not also hits her allies)

[obsidian jasper]

but chronurgist

doesn't have the feature either

and is considered the strongest wizard, or is it because I deal more damage it's better that I don't hit my allies?

[cosmic geyser]

Chronurgy is strong for reasons outside of raw damage, namely because its 10th level feature essentially allows you to concentrate on two spells

[obsidian jasper]

ah the funky orb

[pure elm]

yeah it's basically a free Ring of Spell Storing

and that's the "fair" use of it

[cosmic geyser]

I was thinking it's more like free contingency. But then again, contingency and RoSS are more or less the same thing from what I remember

[obsidian jasper]

alr

I'll make it more unique then

give a reason why it's different from evocation

and make it feel different

[pure elm]

and then you get into the real broken use of casting Tiny Hut mid combat

[obsidian jasper]

btw my character is true neutral

does that mean I can change to any alignment later on?

[pure elm]

alignment doesn't matter 99% of the time tbh

[obsidian jasper]

alr

how do I get into rp?

[cosmic geyser]

What is your character like?

[obsidian jasper]

a noble going adventuring to hone his skills and use what he learnt

and to gain influence

[dapper fulcrum]

Sculpt Spell is the GOAT if you want to channel the wizard meme of casting fireball all the time

[obsidian jasper]

also as the campaign also has some dark shit in it

I planned on character development

from going to a normal happy noble wearing white extravagant clothes

to changing to a black jacket that is more function than fashion

is there any reason I should go with evocation instead of just divine soul and say ye I just get magic bc I do? For sorlock of course

[dapper fulcrum]

i read somewhere that pure black was actually more luxurious in medieval times than colorful clothes

but that was an article and half a lifetime ago so take my word with some salt

[cosmic geyser]

Sculpt Spell, save-based cantrips dealing half damage on a success, adding int mod to evocation spell damage, and max damage evo spells

[obsidian jasper]

would make sense, but you don't see blood as well on black...

[obsidian jasper]

I meant for dealing damage

mb

[tepid crane]

Washing clothes does exist, also red works even better. Don’t feel forced to kit yourself out in hot topic merch unless you want to

[obsidian jasper]

BLoodborne fashion

[obsidian jasper]

and I have never bled onto red clothes but on black it just looks like a wet spot

[rustic totem]

Does anyone have information on the 4e virtual tabletop they were developing before it got canceled? It was supposed to be basically the second half of the edition yet I can barely find info on it

[cosmic geyser]

Spoilered for CW reasons ||I found the Wikipedia page on the murder-suicide: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Melissa_Batten ||

[rustic totem]

Is this related to 4e?

[cosmic geyser]

Yes. The case involves the developer behind the VTT

[rustic totem]

Wait I think I heard about this

Was the husband the person designing the vtt?

[cosmic geyser]

Yup

[rustic totem]

Wait that was actually true I thought that was just some rumor

That's actually insane

[cosmic geyser]

Yeah. From what I remember too, he was the only person familiar with the source code. So after all of that went down, it was impossible for anyone else to really pick up the pieces. That coupled with 4e’s general unpopularity, and one can kind of see how 5e turned out the way it is.

[rustic totem]

Aint no way

This is some top tier alternate timeline shit

[rustic totem]

Also although it would've been nice 5e doing the 4e type combat would've been highly unlikely considering the reputation 4e had

Which for the most part wasn't because of the actual system

[cosmic geyser]

Yeah my knowledge of dnd outside of 5e is pretty limited. So I know like the historical context behind the previous editions, but I’ve never played them

[rustic totem]

Oh

I was about to ask if you had anything on the actual vtt they were developing

Not context but like videos or articles and stuff like that

[cosmic geyser]

There is a wikipedia page on the service itself

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%26D_Insider

I'd have to find it, but I know Matt Colville has also talked about it a little bit on a video

[rustic totem]

It turns out there's actually a ton of videos

I just couldn't find it cause I didn't know the name of the vtt

https://youtu.be/Qr7lUMRO3R8?si=CcmAchmLIx78bMeL

https://youtu.be/pZ3l3rRYv70?si=Cn73AWyxlkXrNjs7

https://youtu.be/xt9qtQCj5Y0?si=sg3_fO0L-ZaVZgIu

https://youtu.be/m20AJvdzAdo?si=taanO0oVirQYSYcX

If yall wanna look

It actually looks pretty advanced

[cosmic geyser]

Sorry, I got preoccupied with stuff. I'm not going to lie, I take umbrage with the pursuit of more damage. Especially when it comes to wizards. To highlight why, I'm going to give an example of the amount of damage a max level evocation wizard can potentially do in one round. This will be standard 20 Int Wizard with no magic items, assuming we're hitting at least two targets with a spell that forces a save

20th level Evoker casts Meteor Swarm (9th level evocation spell, deals 20d6 fire and 20d6 bludgeoning damage on a failed save)

Overchannel allows the Evoker to max out the damage on MS, causing it to deal 120 fire and 120 bludgeoning damage on a failed save

Empowered Evocation allows the wizard to add their Int mod to one of their damage rolls. Which in this case is just icing on the cake for Meteor Swarm. So that's 120 fire + 120 bludgeoning + 5 Int mod bonus damage

Assuming you hit at least two enemies with Meteor Swarm, you can potentially deal checks notes 490 damage total (and this is hitting two targets btw). And that's just one action without any shenanigans and tomfoolery like Metamagic Adept. And it should be noted that Meteor Swarm has a range of one mile and launches four meteors that each have a radius of 40 feet. So Sculpt Spell is going to be extremely useful in this case as your allies (and potentially yourself) are more than likely to get caught in at least one blast.

And yes, I am aware that this is 20th level shenanigans. The chances of your party getting to 20th level are slim, but I hope this still highlights a potential reason why just chasing damage outright is not really the way to go when designing a subclass.

[proud osprey]

is it bad form to limit species selection very specifically

[cosmic geyser]

Like player race/species options?

[proud osprey]

yea

as well as potentially what’s out there in-universe at large

like d&d has so many fucking peoples, even before you get to the scope of supplemental materials

[cosmic geyser]

Honestly that's fine. Like those are valid reasons to limit player species options, especially if you're going for a specific tone for your campaign

[proud osprey]

kinda going a bit lower fantasy with it. so far thinking just humans, dwarves, halflings. maybe orcs or smth

[cosmic geyser]

Oh yeah that would definitely be a good reason to limit which races are available.

Although now I'm tempted to do a campaign where the only available races are Aaracockra, Kenku, and Owlin

[proud osprey]

yeah like i’ve done weird shit before

but i ain’t in my weird shit era

[obsidian jasper]

But this is a 9th level spell, something I probably will never reach

[obsidian jasper]

Also elves right?

[proud osprey]

20th level never fuckin happens

[proud osprey]

i didn’t say that :p

[obsidian jasper]

That post was made by elve enjoyer

Btw I overworked it a bit, at 2nd level I’d get to add my int modifier to the damage I deal with touch based spells and melee attacks with one specific weapon. (I think I’m having an identity crisis at this point)

[cosmic geyser]

That's fine. Making subclasses is hard, especially in the case of the wizard imo.

Not helping things is that base 5e comes with 8 subclasses for wizard, so right from the get-go it was always going to be pretty rough when making a wizard subclass that stands out as a) wholly unique, and b) can stand on its own mechanically

[proud osprey]

humans, dwarves, halflings

what else

[cosmic geyser]

I think for a low-magic setting, orcs and/or goliaths would work pretty well

[obsidian jasper]

AND ELVES

[proud osprey]

i honestly don’t think i see it with the elves

[cosmic geyser]

I'd have elves be an exotic race, with half-elves being so rare that people just kind of assume that half-elves are elves

Or better yet, have proper elves be extinct

[obsidian jasper]

Like how do I make a wizard subclass that feels less nerdy and more like using magic and learning it and understanding it like I want my character to later get some bloodborne esque stuff bc noble and all and wizard seems better than warlock sorcerer might fit bc of noble and blood line (didn’t find a subclass I like)

[obsidian jasper]

Or you make elves just chill on a whole other continent

[cosmic geyser]

So.. if you're going for a specifically bloodborne feel to your character, Matt Mercer's Blood Hunter class is probably much more in line with what you're looking for

[obsidian jasper]

No, I want wizard bc wizard good, what I meant is like the stereotype of all casters being weak and shit

What I meant with the feel is that in the game the “spells” are all offensive and focus on like dealing damage to one enemy or an aoe

But it’s like all very focused and damagy and I wanted to combine that with my special noble house

Bc like wizard has a not so low dex anyway

So I thought why not

Theme it a little

[cosmic geyser]

...you could do Bladesinger and then flavor it to be more to your liking instead of what the class normally is...

[obsidian jasper]

I did the evoker as I wanted to also give it that special magic blood feel

But I took inspiration from the bladesinger

For the 2nd level thing

Because touch spells being rewarded is kinda risky for a caster so is using a melee weapon

So I wanted to make myself think

Is it worth it

[cosmic geyser]

Oh, your subclass. My bad, I thought you were still talking about which subclass to choose.

[proud osprey]

don’t hate it

[obsidian jasper]

No, I like mine most so far

But it’s basically if a caster had an identity crisis

Imo

But I’m sorry to once again annoy you with my bs

[obsidian jasper]

Why don’t you like elves?

[cosmic geyser]

Nah it's not annoying at all, though I do think you are limiting yourself by excluding martials.

Ideally, if you really wanted to do single-target damage for your character, I'd just say paladin and end it there.

[proud osprey]

i didn’t say i don’t like elves

[obsidian jasper]

I played a paladin and I enjoyed it but it isn’t what I want here

What I like about how I made it is burst damage

I like burst damage

In other games and here

It feels so good

Wearing down a target with good damage

And then BOOM

Dead

[obsidian jasper]

I don’t like martials

They’re

Tasteless

Except maybe a ranger

Which is a half caster

Iirc

[cosmic geyser]

Yeah, but Paladins are also martials. Especially if you're building them around smites

And I'd argue that martials are not tasteless

[obsidian jasper]

I mean paladin and ranger are good

I like those

But like

Fighter

Feels empty

Anyway, we can probably argue about this forever as this is a personal thing

You helped a lot so far and I greatly appreciate your advice

Basically my subclass is now what if blade singer early but caster later

Hybrid if you will

[cosmic geyser]

Yeah, but at that point why not play a bladesinger instead? Or eldritch knight fighter, for that matter?

[proud osprey]

humans
dwarves
halflings
hmmm

[cosmic geyser]

Gnomes maybe?

[obsidian jasper]

Because fighter isn’t as good and blade singer is too focused on the swordplay

[proud osprey]

firbolgs and goliath’s are always faces of mine

[obsidian jasper]

Hmm, kobolds or some lycanthropic species?

[cosmic geyser]

Low-magic setting, so maybe ix-nay on the lycanthropes

Kenku

Or maybe Tritons, actually?

[proud osprey]

nah to all of these suggestions

only things on the shortlist rn:

• orcs
• goliaths
• firbolgs

maybe all three

[obsidian jasper]

FALSE HYDRA

I think I’m happy with the subclass I made

I put in the features I like

I have an explanation in the backstory

The dm allowed it

I could multi class in theory

And feats exist

I mean like one ability is basically twined spell

Character got trained by a paladin, a wizard and a sorcerer

So we got an ability that fits a wizard

A sorcerer and a paladin

[cosmic geyser]

Alright. Sounds good then

[obsidian jasper]

Although I feel like I’m stupid for doing something like that instead of just

Choosing a sorlock or something like that

Can’t wait to get my version of inflict wounds though

One of my favourite spells

(I’ve never played cleric before)

[proud osprey]

meanwhile i’m “winning” a “debate” in another server about whether it’s bad form to bring a character entirely made up to the game before your dm has even given you resources

or the culture of OC&D where you bring your precious OC to the table regardless of setting or vibes or character options or what other players and the DM are feeling or what

[dapper fulcrum]

nope

nothing's stopping you from making a ranged bladesinger

hand crossbow+fire bolt is decent enough

[obsidian jasper]

It doesn’t involve ✨ magic:✨

[worthy plank]

I have a fun bladesinger build that I wanna play for a spelljammer campaign

nerd sword & pistol character that's a bladesinger/artillerist multiclass

[obsidian jasper]

That’s cool

Basically

[dapper fulcrum]

Bladesinger Arcane Trickster Hexblade has a lot of DPR even at T2
and is overall very versatile

[obsidian jasper]

https://tenor.com/view/bloodborne-gif-18037122

This guy

[dapper fulcrum]

Ranger

or even Bladesinger

flavor is free

[obsidian jasper]

I meant the gunslinger

Mentioned earlier

[dapper fulcrum]

half of my wizards aren't even scholarly

[obsidian jasper]

^^

[dapper fulcrum]

still, i mean flavor is free
a wizard isn't "nerdy" as you said

[obsidian jasper]

Ye

I think and hope the way I made my subclass not nerdy

Like that

[dapper fulcrum]

I'll be very honest the only reason i use a bladesinger in the Organized Play games i play in is so that i can use the cantrip extra attack for silly shenanigans
I'm very, very happy that Valor Bards and Eldritch Knights get Cantrip Extra Attack in OneDnD, i don't have to use bladesinger for my concepts

[proud osprey]

won that argument

[worthy plank]

Oh shit they do?

pog

[dapper fulcrum]

absolutely
excited to play an Eldritch Knight in OneDnD

[worthy plank]

Wizards has so far gotten

One thing right

as a change

Amazing

[obsidian jasper]

But warlock is now a halfcaster

[worthy plank]

bruh

[obsidian jasper]

Is it still top tier?

Like no.1

[worthy plank]

?

D&D?

I mean

[obsidian jasper]

Ye

[worthy plank]

I don't think D&D is top tier

[cosmic geyser]

She’s talking about Wizards as in Wizards of the Coast

[proud osprey]

is the game shit yet

[dapper fulcrum]

Wizards are always at the top therein

its WotC not SotC

[proud osprey]

is the new game crap or nah

[dapper fulcrum]

or FotC

[obsidian jasper]

Ah

I meant the class lmao

[worthy plank]

lol fair

[obsidian jasper]

Nah wizard of the coast are GREEDY

[cosmic geyser]

Should be BotC, not to be confused with BotC

[dapper fulcrum]

its decent
its okay
the new ranger is disappointing compared to everything else sadly

[obsidian jasper]

Like they should change their picture to a dragon

[dapper fulcrum]

gone are the 4e days where you can use a Daily power to hit someone enough times to kill them instantly

[obsidian jasper]

And the warlock

[dapper fulcrum]

really
Ranger is fun

in 4e

[obsidian jasper]

I will mourn my loss

[dapper fulcrum]

its okay in 5e but the memetic online consensus is frustrating

[obsidian jasper]

Of characters that I could use to rp as I’m pretty much unable to

[proud osprey]

they keep doin it huh

[worthy plank]

Part of my hateboner for 5e is ranger just

[obsidian jasper]

Why don’t they ask the community what changes they want?

[worthy plank]

getting utterly shafted

in comparison to its parallels in other systems

[obsidian jasper]

What’s hateboner?

[dapper fulcrum]

also memes

[worthy plank]

uh

[dapper fulcrum]

"just play fighter with a bow lol" makes me angery

[worthy plank]

hateboner is a...

idk in my case it's 'a vulgar way to say I like to dog on a thing'

[dapper fulcrum]

as limited as the base 5e warlock is i adore its design
if short rests were like 4e short rests the warlock would be so good

[obsidian jasper]

Ik but where does it originate from?

[dapper fulcrum]

very customizeeable, the warlock

[worthy plank]

I mean idfk I just exist on the internet lol

[obsidian jasper]

BUT NOW THEYRE HALFCASTERS

MY LIFE IS RUINED

[worthy plank]

half caster warlock is a firm

flavor downgrade, mechanics

sidegrade?

[cosmic geyser]

I mean… they always kind of were half-casters

[worthy plank]

They

N-no?

[cosmic geyser]

Ehhh… now that I think about it… not really

[worthy plank]

lol

[pure elm]

that got reverted from the UA

[obsidian jasper]

So they are still full casters?

[pure elm]

they tried it for one time, and everyone hated it

they still work the same as they did before

[dapper fulcrum]

half caster seems fun

[cosmic geyser]

Right, I know why I made the dumb. It’s because my brain is only thinking in terms of spell slots

[dapper fulcrum]

now if all the 5e classes had the same design principle as a 5e warlock, thatd be fun

three layers of customization

[worthy plank]

This may be stupid, but I wonder if you could make each class have spell slot management as unique as warlock

[dapper fulcrum]

and a balanced spell progression

[obsidian jasper]

Someone wanna hear a story about my first character?

[cosmic geyser]

Maybe, but not while I’m getting ready for bed

[worthy plank]

I mean I wasn't about to start brainstorming

lol

[cosmic geyser]

I mean…

NO, me! It’s time for bed

[worthy plank]

lol

[stone hollow]

Hmmmm what are some good tips for making a cleric backstory?

I decided the deity she follows is Helm but I'm out of ideas beyond thet

[proud osprey]

so i got banned in that other server so transferring my loose ideas here:

• party is part of a mercenary company
• low fantasy ish world
• humans, dwarves, halflings, firbolgs, goliaths, maaaaaaybe orcs
• Gritty

[dapper fulcrum]

Forgotten Realms?

[stone hollow]

We're using the faerun cosmology to make things simpler but no not forgotten realms

[dapper fulcrum]

Ahh
Id have given some suggestions based on their FR lore

[stone hollow]

I'd like to hear them if you got them

Could still help

[dapper fulcrum]

Since in FR, Helm was one of the gods that werent banished to the material plane during the Time of Troubles

In fact the overgod tasked him with making sure no god came back to the heavens/upper domains until the gods found the stolen mcguffins of that era (tablets of fate)

Except the goddess of magic tried to Karen her way back to her domain, even provoked Helm

So Helm struck her down, as he was instructed to do so

Created dead magic zones across the world, persisted even after that version of the goddess of magic was replaced by an ascended adventuress

So people hated Helm for a good while

Helm's clergy became kind of a mess afterwards, before his death during the 4e era

He returned back in 5e and people hate him less. His clergy was less messy nowadays too

So backstory

The idea of doing your duty even if its unpopular

Or the question if doing your duty is worth it

Maybe Helm is unpopular in that world too

How would that affect

[stone hollow]

How would that affect what?

[proud osprey]

we’ll never

[dapper fulcrum]

how would that affect the cleric's relationship with the rest of the world?
what is Helm like in this setting? What sort of beliefs do their particular sect hold, or ideals that they elevate compared to other sects?

[tepid crane]

For the GMs out there, how many chickens are you letting a party bring into a dungeon. Like if someone keeps using chickens to check for monsters or traps would it bother you?

[lament geode]

The first few times wouldn't bother me

The next few times I would bring into question the value of

1. Wasting money on chickens over and over
2. The logistics of carrying said chickens in
3. The damage they are no doubt doing to the local economy if they're situated in a relatively small area

People would likely STOP selling them chickens after a time

[craggy cloak]

Generally dont, but I dont run those tones of games

[timber sleet]

also, 4. how are they holding all those chickens, even tame chickens tend to have limits on how long they're fine with being held for before they start to fight back or try to escape. even if they have a bag of holding i can imagine the chickens would try to rip up some of the stuff in there after a while of being there

[proud osprey]

to be clear we are in agreement that rocking up to a d&d game wanting to run your darling OC rather than make a PC in the spirit of the DM’s game and setting is bad form and a little rude, right?

[craggy cloak]

Its missing some level of the buy-in

[proud osprey]

your psyduck is so good murdoc

[craggy cloak]

Thank you

Ultimately people are gunna have OCs they are fond of but theres gotta be flexibility and a willingness to engage the table setting on its own terms

[proud osprey]

like yes it goes both ways

but the problem is usually that people come in wanting to play something quite specific or unique to themselves and the circle block into square peg school of campaign design ain’t great

[craggy cloak]

Yeah

Tbh i usually filter a lot of that out with my player surveys

[dapper fulcrum]

if the player is willing to conform their OC to fit the world of the setting then sure

[proud osprey]

i wanna run a game

where the party are part of a mercenary company

and it’s that low fantasy setting i was hashing out last night

where elves are extinct

[tepid crane]

Sounds cool

Anything else you want to share about it?

[proud osprey]

hmm

idk. kind of a frontiersy vibe. i’ve been playing red dead 2 so wanna inject a little of that energy into the world and mechanics

[slender nexus]

Apart from the logistics, I would not expect chickens to be terribly effective for this - they weigh too little to trigger pressure plates, they can't open doors or interact with mechanisms, they might not activate some magical traps (anything that keys off creature type, for example). And on the debit side they make stealth pretty much impossible, because you're not keeping a chicken from squawking if it feels like it, and the more you've got the more often they'll do so.

[dapper fulcrum]

needless animal cruelty for the Bit than id be comfortable with

[obsidian jasper]

How’d you get banned for that?

[obsidian jasper]

You could make it so they’re tasked with going onto a new continent that has all matters of magic fuckery and creepy stuff

Maybe add hunger?

[proud osprey]

i did

let’s leave it there

suboptimal vibes over there

[proud osprey]

not magic fuckery and creepy stuff necessarily but maybe

was thinking some kind of oregon trail type vibe maybe idk

[frail hull]

Easiest way is to say the spells good berry and create food and water don't exist. Instantly makes survival more of a priority.

[stone hollow]

man i wish clerics could get flame blade

[proud osprey]

what if i gated certain classes to certain races

[frail hull]

Unless it's spellblade, which used to be elf only, can't really see a reason members of different races could not be classes.

Unless, I was in one game where the DM banned most spellcasting because it was dark sun, and only the " bad guys" had access to those classes.

It's doable, but would need really good story reasons why... maybe orcs are not able to be clerics or paladins because no God will claim them. Or dwarfs can't be druids because they are so far removes from living nature in their cold, Rocky holes? Stuff like that.

[proud osprey]

i was thinking that given the already limited species selection it could work

tricky tho

[tepid crane]

I get that but for one copper piece getting to drop a chicken in a hallway and throw a con of corn on the other side seems pretty effective against tripwires

And also if you can’t see into a room toss a chicken. If you hear the tell-tale sound of a dragon eating a chicken you know there is in fact a chicken-eating dragon in that room

[timber sleet]

and then the dragon investigates the place where the chicken came from because dragons are smart and know that chickens dont just get tossed into their room by nothing

[tepid crane]

Well hey at least you have until it destroys the door to run away

Much more time then if you stepped into the room

[tepid crane]

Plenty of need for caravan guards if you are going with something medieval, maybe guarding a noble as they are travelling to the king’s court

[proud osprey]

maybe

hired by a shipping company to help transport lots of goods to a new settlement

something like that

[tepid crane]

Oh is it set in a western/frontier?

What’s the era you are emulating

[proud osprey]

western aesthetics, medieval fantasy

POSSIBLY add in early firearms. bitches love gunslinging

[obsidian jasper]

What if you make the continent a cooler place with less sunlight

To contrast the normal place

[proud osprey]

eh

[obsidian jasper]

Alr

[proud osprey]

i like the idea of it being cold in placws

always like when a western ain’t just deserts

[final phoenix]

Gun slinging magic users is always such a fun idea

[proud osprey]

ehh

maybe magic is the gunslinging of this wild west

[proud osprey]

that’s cool actually

what’s fire bolt if not a gun in fantasy clothing

[tepid crane]

A projectile of heat

[final phoenix]

Evil dead army of darkness is western isekai

[proud osprey]

BEHAVE

[final phoenix]

Wait till I tell you Dante's inferno is self insert fan fiction

[proud osprey]

how do you gunslingerify the mage

like turning gunsmiths into magic shops

hmm

how to systems design that

[final phoenix]

Gun as magical focus

[proud osprey]

wandmakers selling magical components

[final phoenix]

Something something "magical pressure, spell ingredients in a shell, engraving the gun with runes" something

[proud osprey]

hmmm

[final phoenix]

The wizard's spell book being their gun, each spell gets inscribed in the gun, each element is a chamber

Like go to an element, load the spell ingredient cartridge, build the magic in the gun and fire as I imagine it

[proud osprey]

ehhh

don’t want actual guns i don’t think

damn my brain is fuzzy on this one

[final phoenix]

Or too gun like?

[tepid crane]

Give them a wand holster and you need a wand to cast spells

[proud osprey]

hmm

thinking about the campaign premise

[final phoenix]

Trigun but rather than technology it's magic

"A spelljammer ark crashed on this back water of the astral sea... the helm was lost or damaged in the crash. So that generation made the most of it. Magic here had different rules then they were used to, new ways of casting had to be invented...."

"Legends speak of the helm being somewhere on this planet like it's a golden ticket to riches. Hell, some of the people on that ship never gave up tryin to leave here! Still most folks got to calling this place home."

[frail hull]

If you don't mind it being too gun like, could go the route Outlaw Star did amd just have each spell contained in individual shots that have to be loaded.

[frail hull]

Honestly the fairys in the giant light bulbs makes me think it was also magic.

[final phoenix]

Hey now, those were extra or intra-dimensional beings or something. Mind you "any sufficiently advanced technology etc..."

[worthy plank]

Sounds like an interesting time

How low fantasy would it be?

[final phoenix]

I always wanted to run more games in the Hillbilly universe

I mean Appalachian fantasy is such a great setting

[proud osprey]

hrmmm

[proud osprey]

teebius deebius

[worthy plank]

fair

[proud osprey]

could be cool tho right

• mercenary company
• frontier
• some form of gunslinger analog

• town on the edge of civilisation
• oregon trail type vibes
• only a few playable races

[worthy plank]

I feel like the gunslinger analog should be more... 'cultural' than literally needing someone that looks like a gunslinger

[proud osprey]

explain your words lady

[worthy plank]

Gunslingers in old west stories are famous because they're exemplars of independence, of confident individuals braving dangerous wilderness. These things are just wrapped up in the aesthetic signifiers of the time i.e. cowboy hats, revolvers and leverguns, horse riding, etc

I've made a cowboy character who only trafficked in some of these symbols

Really only the one, she has a cowboy hat

She doesn't even have a gun

[proud osprey]

lever action sword

[worthy plank]

If you seriously tell me she's not a cowboy character, I'm going to laugh at you lol

She doesn't have a gun, she has a sword and a whip

[proud osprey]

that’s indiana jones

[worthy plank]

I wonder who Indiana Jones' aesthetics are inspired by

But yeah in your setting idea I feel like the entire party is going to be given the cultural cache of a term like gunslinger

They're the adventurers, going out into the wilderness and away from the safety and constraints of society

[proud osprey]

them’s mercenaries

adventurers is pretty spot on

braving the wilderness. fighting ornery locals and more ornery wildlife

what kinda infrastructure exists

what kinda society is this

[worthy plank]

probably little if any

unpaved roads

leadership is local, emanating maybe a township or two for a really important trading center like a big town that has a road to a city

[proud osprey]

dirt path with wooden boards to circumvent intense mud

[worthy plank]

exactly

You ever played Roadwarden?

[proud osprey]

nope

[worthy plank]

I imagine it like that

Well you play what amounts to a fantasy sheriff lol

and the infrastructure is exactly like this

[proud osprey]

i’ve seen pictures of it

yeah i fw that

feel like the humans and halflings came from away. wanna capture that american colonialism vibe. the dwarves are here too, have been forever, because the dwarves have been everywhere forever

and then the goliaths, firbolgs and orcs are actually native to this land in some capacity

elves are extinct, seriously doubt that stuff like dragonborn, tieflings, and aasimar really exist as “races”

[worthy plank]

are half-elves existant or no?

[proud osprey]

not too confident

[worthy plank]

Valid

I do think there is an interesting door for characters and factions that claim to be half-elven

[proud osprey]

thinking of elves as a former global superpower, very high magic

but intensely a thing of the past

[proud osprey]

yeah same. like the bloodlines running an empire back in the old world claims descent

that sorta thing

[dapper fulcrum]

Eberron has that Wands as Guns aesthetic

[proud osprey]

gwands

thinking it’s gotta be a campaign where people care about their equipment

where everyone’s got a horse to get around

some kind of survival mechanics

[obsidian jasper]

Yall

Do you have roleplay Tipps?

For a myrderhobo like me

[final phoenix]

In the hillbilly universe based place i made half elves existed but where like the crooked man from hellboy. Something about them was off. (Cause why would one guess that 2 completely species could interbreed) ((also it was bayou elves living in giant mangrove trees))

[obsidian jasper]

That literally plays dnd for the combat and because of ✨ magic :✨

[final phoenix]

The main half-elf looked normal but his joints were all wrong

[modest echo]

Get attached to NPCs, and tell the GM that you're interested in story hooks

[obsidian jasper]

I got a new dm, he listened to the ideas I had

It was awesome

And he gave the other players and me a sneak peak

This is basically the image of that

[final phoenix]

It's an improv tip but "yes and" things

[obsidian jasper]

https://tenor.com/view/full-moon-bloodborne-gif-13663686

[obsidian jasper]

I don’t get it

[final phoenix]

https://youtu.be/NmafmRIeet0?si=gSaqHFMefWhUMqOj

[obsidian jasper]

Thx

[final phoenix]

DND is basically imagination within a set amount of parameters so where you told the story for that and getting involved in it is up to your imagination and working with the storyteller

Sometimes that's making up something dumb and just going with it

[obsidian jasper]

Alr

And do yall have an idea what I can do for the party since I’m the noble? Like what role should I take then it’s normal interaction not combat

[final phoenix]

Consider this; what made your character's family noble? Military? Economic? Something specific to the region?

[obsidian jasper]

Military and longevity

Basically a mix of gebes

Genes*

And genes

Their only special thing is that they’re rich

And because of fey elve ancestry basically everyone can use at least a bit of magic

[tepid crane]

I do urge you to look up actual noble lines

Or even just fiction about it

[obsidian jasper]

Alr

I’m curious to why but I’ll do it

[tepid crane]

You should at least know a little about the thing you want to do

[obsidian jasper]

I mean I know the Europeans married their children off to each other to make alliances

There were multiple wars fought just between to noble houses

[tepid crane]

That is a bit of an over simplification

[obsidian jasper]

Ik

I had at least one noble house in school so far

[tepid crane]

You went to school with someone from a genuine line of royalty?

[obsidian jasper]

No

They taught us about a noble house

The

Let me get the English name

The house of Habsburg

[tepid crane]

Ah the really inbred one

[obsidian jasper]

Ye

[tepid crane]

Well generally the whole reason nobility existed is because feudalism gave rights to members of the ruling caste’s family and not peasants

Nobles were the major landholders and they had privileges peasants did not

[obsidian jasper]

Ye, we had that

Minor nobles controlled smaller amounts of the land

While more prominent ones controlled more land

[tepid crane]

Also an expectation to levy troops to their lord

Right

[obsidian jasper]

They were all under the king/emperor

Basically because too much land for one person

It got kinda split up

So the kind had control

[tepid crane]

So in order to be a noble what lands does your guy claim

[obsidian jasper]

I don’t have a map arm

Atm*

Basically they got more rich and influential some place further north

Built their place on the ruins of an old castle

[tepid crane]

Well how are they so rich and influential

[obsidian jasper]

Because they live very long, they all have a talent for magic as especially the elve part consists of eladrins

[tepid crane]

If they were given the land of a castle to rebuild it, their boss must expect danger

[obsidian jasper]

Some fought in wars here and there

Others use their magic for other purposes

Or were advisors

[final phoenix]

So they took over some old land. And a castle is a show of force one must remember

[obsidian jasper]

Castle is ruins but yea

[final phoenix]

What was their relationship to the previous lords of the realm?

[obsidian jasper]

I worked on some other stuff of the house more as that was more important for the dm so I dont have much for this stuff

[proud osprey]

thinkin about this setting idea while i go hunting up in the hills in red dead 2

ama

[tepid crane]

It takes a lot of money and resources to rebuild a ruined castle, it must be very important

[proud osprey]

let’s brainstorm this shit

ideas jam B)

[obsidian jasper]

Alr

What do you want

[tepid crane]

Why not use deadlands

[obsidian jasper]

I mean you do kinda want a nice place to live in

[proud osprey]

hm

[obsidian jasper]

So my idea was

Castle ruins were really old

Like

[tepid crane]

Right but castles are more expensive then manors and also not as pleasant generally

[obsidian jasper]

Did I say castle?

Fuck

[tepid crane]

They are very cold

[obsidian jasper]

How do you call the fortress made of stone but with aspects that are

More extravagant

[tepid crane]

A castle

[obsidian jasper]

Like a part has a roof

But it’s still more a defensive thingy

[final phoenix]

https://youtu.be/etlxTPy4QcY?si=lOT0Hyknjmy4mWqv

[obsidian jasper]

Thx

[tepid crane]

Walls?

[obsidian jasper]

Ye

Stone walls but the thing where people live

Is more like a large house

[tepid crane]

A tower?

[obsidian jasper]

No

[final phoenix]

Gaurd house?

Time for a chart

[obsidian jasper]

Like imagine one of those big houses like

Manor House with walls basically

But a bit older

[tepid crane]

I mean Manors can have walls

[obsidian jasper]

So the castle I was thinking of was minor

Didn’t have a draw bridge

Or a big ass gate house

Doesn’t have a moat

I have pictures in my mind to how it looks

But because my drawing skills suck

I can’t make it

[final phoenix]

I wouldn't judge your drawing skills

[obsidian jasper]

I’ll draw it on the plane flight if I feel like it

Alr?

My idea was

There were ruins on a hill

And as the noble house my character originates from was rising to prominence at that time

They got it

The reason no one got it first was

Bc idk

Luck

[final phoenix]

A bribe in the right hands at the right time is worth a thousand swords

[obsidian jasper]

Thank you

This fits

[final phoenix]

To simplify maybe "gold can be stronger than steel"

[final phoenix]

I cannot help but think of blind boy's improvised songs while he played RDR2 due to this.
https://youtu.be/oqaCTeZSJfo?si=fNWdnrhElXOymtO-

[proud osprey]

wild

maybe this is a west marches game

small frontier town

player driven exploration of this great and vast new frontier

dangerous and truly wild wilderness

[proud osprey]

perhaps d&d ain’t the system i need for this

hmmm