dnd-discussion

[cerulean monolith]

More like if the dragon is goated

[umbral girder]

Not a matter of being “goated”
More if the dragon corpse feels like it

[oak shoal]

So if I say pretty please?

[umbral girder]

It’s a corpse

It doesn’t respond. Because it’s dead.

[oak shoal]

That's stops nothing in DND

[umbral girder]

Being undead is not being dead

[oak shoal]

Speak with dead is right there

[umbral girder]

So it still does nothing

Still won’t work, you aren’t asking the corpse you are asking the dragon

Speaking through its former body

[oak shoal]

Ragebait

[fossil hollow]

Speaking the Dead with someone you killed tends to make them less than willing to talk

[oak shoal]

What if I'm goated

[fossil hollow]

doesnt care

[oak shoal]

If LeBron James murdered you rn and used speak with dead would you talk with him

[fossil hollow]

nope

[oak shoal]

Nerd

[eager marsh]

bro murdered me so he aint getting a peep

[fossil hollow]

Look where you are for a moment and be self aware please

[oak shoal]

It's meant to be ironic

[fossil hollow]

tone does not translate well over text

[oak shoal]

Nerd

Yes I am a nerd book worm I'm studious

[umbral girder]

Yeah this is a block and move on situation

[woven flint]

Worlds funniest person, everyone

[sullen ingot]

What warlock invocations really fit for a character that cant cast necromancy spells for any reason, and also that generally wants to do fire spells? I have pact of the Blade and am going to Warlock 2. My patron is “Pelor”(I talked about this pc a few times in the last couple days, mostly in rules discussion though)

[oak shoal]

[eager marsh]

considering only 2(?) invocations are necromancy....any of them besides those

[cerulean monolith]

Pelor, the Oeridian sun god?

[sullen ingot]

That’s who he thinks is giving his powers

[cerulean monolith]

I don’t remember Pelor restricting necromancy spells. But to be fair I also don’t remember him making pacts so play your character as you wish 🙂

[uncut zenith]

I think they put “Pelor” in quotation marks to imply that the character thinks their patron is Pelor

[cerulean monolith]

Ah. I love that concept!

[uncut zenith]

But really… [dramatic pause] isn’t.

[sullen ingot]

My first 3 levels were in Paladin, and we decided that I didn’t have very Paladin-like behavior so working with the DM to move the story forward we decided I should be taking warlock from here on in

[sullen ingot]

This. That’s what happened

https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/157101237

here’s the sheet, if it helps

[eager marsh]

I can't think of any patron that would restrict necromancy either however

[sullen ingot]

Note that no necromancy is a self-imposed restriction from the Paladin oath, not a mechanical one

[eager marsh]

Does that take into account that the spells that bring people back to proper life (not undead) are also considered Necromancy spells?

[sullen ingot]

Otherwise, false life all the way

[eager marsh]

Raise Dead, Revivify, etc?

[sullen ingot]

The spell description says necromancy, so that breaks my oath

[eager marsh]

Yes I was making sure that your character made the oath while aware of that fact

[sullen ingot]

I could break my oath with the pact of the Blade and doing necrotic damage actually. Because that’s “necromancy”

[cerulean monolith]

By… what logic?

[eager marsh]

The character's logic

[sullen ingot]

It’s a roleplay restriction that the DM found to be funny many sessions ago, so we’re going with it

[cerulean monolith]

Oooookay

[lilac kelp]

Okay :)*

[glass granite]

Oki doki

[cerulean monolith]

Would you guys run a large reality-altering killing-machine as a boss fight or an environmental hazard?

[glass granite]

The latter

[sullen ingot]

Anyway, what then do I do with invocations, within both my oath and the rules?

[cerulean monolith]

Everything except for those 2

[sullen ingot]

Environmental

[umbral girder]

False life is necromancy right?

The Fiendish Vigor invocation?

[cerulean monolith]

Yes

[eager marsh]

False Life and the invocation that casts animate dead are the only strictly necromancy invocations iirc. Wait no theres one for bestow curse too

[sullen ingot]

There’s one for bestow curse? That’s cool

[eager marsh]

it's one of those 'you can use a pact slot to cast it' invocations from 2014 iirc which made it super mid

[umbral girder]

On a technicality the 2024 version of Pact of the Chain because it has a skeleton as an option

[sullen ingot]

Good thing I took Pact of the Blade, then

[fossil hollow]

definitely environmental, like a lair action

[umbral girder]

Pact of the Blade brings back a dead subclass feature /jk

Truly Necromancy /jk

[limber trail]

you can take multiple pact invocations in 2024 so you can grab pact of the chain too

[hoary valley]

Hello, im new here and also new to playing dnd, can anybody help me how to navigate dnd?

[cerulean monolith]

#learn-to-play #dnd-newcomers

[sullen ingot]

What I know for sure about “Pelor”, is that he is an arch-fey of some kind, and that he hates undead/necromancy, and likes fire

[hot marlin]

Pelor is not an archfey. That's the god of sunlight in the Greyhawk setting

Nothing fey-like to my knowledge.

[umbral girder]

Yeah that’s the point

That’s why they said “Pelor” and not Pelor

[hot marlin]

Missed the context

[cerulean monolith]

Perhaps Not-Pelor would be clearer?

[umbral girder]

The quotations is to show it’s someone calling themself Pelor

[hot marlin]

Okay nevermind, I'll go hide in a hole somewhere

Ping me when an alignment argument starts, I miss those.

[cerulean monolith]

I can explain why I’m always right and alignment is good if you want. I think I’ve got a couple hours to spare

[woven flint]

Something Something
Lawful Good!
Something Something
Chaotic Evil!
Something Something
Neutral!

[glass granite]

Yo wanna join my hole? It goes from Australia to the Swords Coast

[sullen ingot]

“Paladins should always be LG, and Hextor shouldn’t be allowed to have paladins.”

[woven flint]

Not a good argument as some Paladin subclasses are inherently not good get L + Ratio'd 🤓 /satire

[umbral girder]

Nice try. We all know breaking your promises and making deals with fiendish forces and crushing the spirits and hope of your enemies is Lawful Good /jk

[woven flint]

Here's why YOU'RE wrong and I'M right!
Vineboom

[ebon dome]

My paladin is lawful evil

[sullen ingot]

Alignment is obviously relative to your deity. So everyone who is pious is LG, just by their own god’s standards

[cerulean monolith]

“I slew thousands in the name of those fiendish creatures.” - John LawfulGoodMan

[umbral girder]

“It’s ok, they were goblins!” -Actual Gygax Quote

[glass granite]

Hi right, I’m Left

[sullen ingot]

So starting from here, who actually is “Pelor”(Not-Pelor), or what additional details would help narrow it down?

[umbral girder]

Can’t wait for the school semester to be over, I want to read my AD&D books to see what wild stuff is in there

[knotty pasture]

Even though alignments in 5e are largely obsolete in its way, its interesting that some magical weapons can force change your alignment

[umbral girder]

Yeah like Zariel’s sword or the Eye and Hand of Vecna

[quasi dome]

Alignment isn’t something that can bear the load of your character’s whole personality, but I still thoughtfully pick an alignment every time because I find it offers great insight as to how the character makes decisions

[sullen ingot]

But I can still cast Protection from Evil

[fossil hollow]

which notably protects you from certain creature types, not alignments

[sullen ingot]

You hush. You’re undermining my point 😛

[fossil hollow]

Older editions it did what it says on the tin, but in 5e its just against certain creature types. Same with Dispel Good and Evil

... when did i start using on the tin

[foggy river]

No, you can't. I't now "Protection from Evil or Good", and doesn't even do that - it's protection from supernatural entities, including things like Celestials, Fey, Fiends, or undead.

[fossil hollow]

already said so above

[foggy river]

Yeah, I was typing 😄

But you can't cast "Protection from Evil", because the name of the spell includes "Or Good"

[sullen ingot]

You too. Youre undermining my point in this alignment argument someone suggested

[foggy river]

"Argument". Reason given. 😄

[fossil hollow]

Im not even sure what that is supposed to be making a point of

[glass granite]

Hi not even su-
Ok that’s too long

[limber trail]

Not for me, hi not even sure what that is supposed to be making a point of

[fossil hollow]

Haha, so funny dad(s)

[glass granite]

You’re a dad too

[hushed mason]

You do understand, @glass granite , that in English, one can "be" something without "being called" that literal thing, right?

[glass granite]

Oh absolutely

I am 100% aware of what I’m doing, 0.1% of the time
This is part of that 0.1%

[foggy river]

I think the big problem with Alignment for mortals is the same as the Orc Problem that consumed Tolkein in his later years. Something that has free will can choose to commit acts of evil or good, and thus be evil or good. Something that cannot choose and is, by nature, always evil or good, is something that has no true free will.

[fossil hollow]

Im as single as can be

[glass granite]

Pfp

[fossil hollow]

... forgot i was Dad for a moment

[glass granite]

One of us!

[fossil hollow]

Dad no longer, i am Boros

[somber oasis]

i got stuck roleplaying with copilot this was a bad idea

[glass granite]

Well, I hope you’re not stuck anymore

[somber oasis]

nah finna go get stuck again brb

[meager fractal]

Do you think Warlock will be a good game?

[fossil hollow]

#dnd-media

[knotty pasture]

There's something I wanted to give a shot anyways, probably would get me sent to the Nine Hells by this server however

So we kept establishing that AI makes terrible DMs, but what if we act as DMs while they play out a campaign instead

[sullen ingot]

So… I think you should film it and post it to YouTube. It’ll be funny

[knotty pasture]

Not a content creator type of person but I could give it a try, I guess the only limitation is that spellcasters would take more effort to juggle between spells

Its probably going to forget about its inventory so rather than AI PCs being fully autonomous, I'm still half controlling them to prevent them from deviating

[meager fractal]

I ran chatgpt through a megadungeon (barrowmaze) once. It wasn't very good

[glass granite]

I feel like it’d just give you a terrible headache

[knotty pasture]

That too, unless its something awfully short like a oneshot

I can't imagine taking AI through a level 1-10 dungeon without its memory frying by the time we hit level 4

[fossil hollow]

i think first two sessions and its kaput

[hushed mason]

AI can't do math. It cant keep track of things. It's overall not very helpful other than providing some suggestions.

[glass granite]

AI can do math tho?

[hushed mason]

Not D&D math.

[fossil hollow]

i thought at the very least it can do math

[glass granite]

Maybe not like basic chatbots tbf

[glass granite]

I’ll take your word for it

[glass granite]

Same

[knotty pasture]

My thinking is that I'll have to do the math for them, like if they take an action that requires rolling I'll just do all the calculations myself and force the interaction a certain way

Without necessarily telling them the roll results etc(?)

[old sluice]

Actually something that cannot choose is unaligned in 5e.

[inland bobcat]

Megamind

[dim sparrow]

Guys I’m new and I’m looking forward to start my d&d journey with a good first game please lmk if you have a game

[fossil hollow]

#find-a-game

[umbral girder]

So this is not the place to ask.
#find-a-game explains how to find a group on this server.

[dim sparrow]

Oh mb

[foggy river]

Fiends are "Always Evil".

[old sluice]

Actually no! There are non-evil fiends.

[hushed mason]

Which ones? 🙂

[fossil hollow]

i know theres one in planecape torment

Fall-From-Grace or something. theres two in modules, and yeah

[old sluice]

Two types published in 5e. The stench kow and the fiendish spirits.

[fossil hollow]

i think a lot of them would be in sigil, but i feel thats them acting on good behavior for fear of the lady of pain rather than being actually good

[old sluice]

In lore, there is Fall-From-Grace yes.

[old sluice]

That would not be being good. Lawful at best but I don't think the way a person acts under duress changes their alignment

[fossil hollow]

yeah, more being on good behavior out of fear

[golden cedar]

Yeah that's lawfulness - if you threatened a demon to behave well or else, I think they'd just attack you

[fossil hollow]

eh, depends on wether or not they think they can take you

if youve proven strong enough, they might submit. for a time.

demons on average are more animalistic, and... more loose with their inhibitions

[golden cedar]

True, though not all of them are very smart

"The risk I took was calculated but boy am I bad at math"

[fossil hollow]

yeap

[old sluice]

Demons behave well in the streets of Sigil

Not all of course but those who survive

[old sluice]

I think "instinctual" may be a better word than animalistic here. They're not dumb. But they have strong instincts and strong individualities.

[golden cedar]

The 10th aartuk after seeing the first 9 be instantly vaporized for trying something: ;<_<

[old sluice]

There's a Karlach dialogue that's interesting where she says that with demons there are no rules, no generalities you might apply. With demons you don't have a choice, it's all on a case-by-case basis

[hushed mason]

Karlach?

[fossil hollow]

i would expect nothing less from demons.

[old sluice]

BG3 character.

[fossil hollow]

the rule with demons is that there are no rules

[old sluice]

That's incidentally why she says that fighting devils is easier

If you fought one erinye you can expect the same thing from the next erinye. Which would be a fatal mistake if applied to vrocks

[fossil hollow]

aye. devils basically train rigorously

[golden cedar]

There's even more of this in prior editions; used to be a common enemy in 1-3e called a "hordeling." They were some of the common fodder in the Abyss on par with manes or dretches (or a step up, I can't remember). Thing is, no two were alike, all having chaotically different traits

[woven flint]

A Devils more likely to let you live if they can get a deal outta you

A Demon is straight HANDS

Devil: Average Office Worker

Demon: SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!

[limber trail]

You can talk your way past a devil with quick wits, you can't talk your way past a demon

that's always been one of the ways i've generalized it quickly

[golden cedar]

And you can bribe a yugoloth

[woven flint]

Unless it's like
Graz'zt, he's literally the most level headed of the demons

[golden cedar]

But it needs to be a good bribe

[fossil hollow]

i think you can talk past grazzt

[limber trail]

It's a generalization, not necessarily a rule

I moreso share it that way to get players unfamiliar with the differences on board quickly

[fossil hollow]

i usually do: anarchists vs lawyers

[woven flint]

Now which Devil do we feel would be more kill on sight like a demon? 🤔

[limber trail]

demons: nasty nasty nasty, best evaded or killed
devils: tricky, you might be able to make a deal, be very careful

[fossil hollow]

chain and lemures

if you see a bone devil, you screwed up

[woven flint]

Aren't Bone Devils typically executioners or something? 🤔

[fossil hollow]

lemures i kill on sight to put them out of their misery

[golden cedar]

Horned Devils are the lazy mid-level management

[fossil hollow]

chains just terrify me

erinyes are cool 🫣

[limber trail]

Wait I just saw the chain devil art that's so sick

[golden cedar]

Demodands are just kind of a fixture of Carceri

Even though they count as demon type 4 essentially

[woven flint]

Would y'all rather..
Be locked in a room with Asmodeus for 24 Hours
Or be locked in a Room with Demogorgon for 30 minutes? 🤔

[fossil hollow]

asmodeus

[golden cedar]

Asmodeus, not even close

[limber trail]

I wanna run some kind of devil themed arc in my campaign now

[fossil hollow]

demogorgon would drive me insane and rip me apart within the first 30 seconds

[woven flint]

I'd figure as much lmao

[limber trail]

Demogorgon sounds atrocious to be in a room with lmao

[fossil hollow]

tbf, you asked:
lawyer with god powers, or homicidal two headed baboon the size of kong

[woven flint]

I wish Demogorgon was on par CR wise with Asmodeus
(Then again, Demo is CR 28 so he's not that far behind)

[fossil hollow]

iirc, asmo's statblock in chain is an avatar

[limber trail]

only a 26 in MotM/MToF unless there's another source im missing (so like, what's even the point smh)

[golden cedar]

Asmodeus is a deity so he technically can't have a statblock as a deity, only his avatar. Traditionally, deities themselves don't have stats because mortals lack any way to meaningfully harm them

[woven flint]

Would Titanic possibly have a chance to Fight Orcus if things go too wrong? Lmao

[woven flint]

Whaaaat?
Then I was trippin'

[fossil hollow]

yes. 7 other fingers of the tenebrous hands exist

you killed three of em, all the death giants

[limber trail]

to be fair I may be missing them, I just know demogorgon because ive had both those books open all day prepping for my session tomorrow

[hushed mason]

Traditionally, as in 3rd edition, deities certainly do have stats.

[woven flint]

Orcus is another one of those demons I FEEL like you could talk to just for a bit before he kills you

[golden cedar]

I thought 1st and 2nd also only statted the avatars?

[hushed mason]

Could be!

[golden cedar]

Oh wait there is that one 2e adventure where you straight up fight Lolth in the Demonweb Pits

[hushed mason]

Queen of the Demonweb Pits?

[limber trail]

This is 100% something that changes from DM to DM, especially (but not only) DMs who run non-official settings where the power levels of deities may be different

[hushed mason]

I believe that's the name of it.

[fossil hollow]

theres a 3e book (Demigods and Deities iirc) that stats most of them out

[woven flint]

Frankly
I'd love to run the gauntlet fighting the Demon Lords, it sounds like a slogfest but also insanely fun

[golden cedar]

I thought it was Journey to the Demonweb pits but I think we're thinking the same one yeah

[fossil hollow]

I just use any statblock that fits to be an avatar

[hushed mason]

And Faiths and Pantheons.

[raw ocean]

Is a CR 0 creature reflavored to be a capybara too much for a level 3 party?

[hushed mason]

Aww. They're adorable.

[woven flint]

Oooh, wait, another question for you all...
If you had to run the gauntlet between fighting (you have no choice BUT to fight in this hypothetical) Archdevils and Demon Lord's, which would you choose?

[fossil hollow]

impossible to win. that cuteness feature is impossible to save against

[raw ocean]

I just wanted a big capybara to carry around stuff for the party and the DM shot it down

[hushed mason]

Well, they're not big. They're little.

[raw ocean]

Aren’t they like dog size usually

[fossil hollow]

depends on the matchups. all demonlords hd to fight to thrive, and some archdevils wield more political or military power than raw strength

[hushed mason]

They're rodents.

[fossil hollow]

the biggest rodents

[keen valve]

They range from small to dog sized.

[fossil hollow]

they are dog sized, as the biggest rodents

[raw ocean]

Biggest rodents in the world

[hushed mason]

"Adult capybaras grow to 106 to 134 cm (3.48 to 4.40 ft) in length, stand 50 to 62 cm (20 to 24 in) tall at the withers, and typically weigh 35 to 66 kg (77 to 146 lb),"

[woven flint]

Hmmm..
Let's say one on one's

[keen valve]

Why are you wanting a capybara to carry stuff though?

[old sluice]

Point is: It's a bad idea to try to generalize at all.

[hushed mason]

I guess that is pretty big. But, I don't think they'd make a very good pack animal.

[raw ocean]

So it can help us, and I don’t want him to fight anything and get hurt

[woven flint]

Which is PRETTY damn big for a rodent lol

[fossil hollow]

my point more so is that sending Titivilus would struggle against most of the demonlords

[hushed mason]

You might say they're of unusal size.

[raw ocean]

I was trying to reflavor a huge CR 0 creature into a giant capybara

[keen valve]

But beyond that. Is it just aesthetic, gimmick, symbolism?

[fossil hollow]

hes only CR 16

[old sluice]

Demogorgon actually. Demogorgon is insane, the insane can be predictable. Say the right things... I have a slightly better chance than with Asmldeus

[fossil hollow]

all the demonlords are 20s on average

[raw ocean]

Aesthetic and encumbrance is in the campaign so he will carry items for us

[woven flint]

No, I mean like
IF YOU Had to go fight all the Demon Lord's or Archdevils one on one, which would you choose

[keen valve]

Maybe it's just not a native creature for where your characrers are.

[golden cedar]

Are there technically an infinite number of Demon Lords due to the Abyss being bottomless or are we just talking the Demon Princes

[raw ocean]

I was going to use find familiar

[woven flint]

Demon Princes, I just call them Lord's because I think it sounds better

[fossil hollow]

oh. aahhhhh. id say... who would kill me the fastest and most painlessly... Orcus

[keen valve]

Oh. Wild, no idea why they didn't allow it then.

[raw ocean]

It would be a reskinned CR 0 beast

[keen valve]

Unless they don't exist in that world.

[old sluice]

Orcus kills painlessly. But what happens after death is not painless.

Better a slow death with freedom in the afterlife than a quick death with centuries of torment

[fossil hollow]

my soul will be long gone after he kills me. he can do whatever necromancy he wants with my body

[raw ocean]

DM said “At the current party level probably not”

[woven flint]

That's... dumb? Lol

[keen valve]

Talk to them and see if they understand what a capybara is and does.

I think they might have 0 idea what it is.

[teal niche]

flavour is free
or at least should be.

[woven flint]

Orcus: "500 Liches."

[raw ocean]

I asked to reflavor a “Haungharassk” just for the size part of it

[hushed mason]

Flavour as at the discretion of the world-creator.

[raw ocean]

I was going to get rid of most of its abilities too

[fossil hollow]

crap i forgot he can do that. i dont wanna end up as lich food

[limber trail]

a huge beast as your familiar is probably a bit further than what the spell was intended for

[woven flint]

It's so strange to me that ANYONE would want to work with Orcus unless they're undead, brothers just gonna kill you eventually and do unimaginable evil Necromancies to your body

[raw ocean]

Spell says any CR 0 beast

[hushed mason]

It's a HUGE creature. Capybaras aren't THAT big!

[keen valve]

Most aren't huge. Large, at most iirc.

[fossil hollow]

thats kinda what most people sign up for when they follow orcus. either that or theyre desperate for a loved one back

[keen valve]

Large capybara is funny though.

[teal niche]

yeah, but i dont really see how a capybara would interfere with this unless capybaras were completely extinct, in which case, your familiar just looks like this creature you found in a book about extinct creatures.

as long as the Beast has a CR0, it's ok to choose

[raw ocean]

It’s not even meant for combat so I don’t see a problem with it being huge personally

[limber trail]

True, it does, in that case it’ll work yeah

[keen valve]

Ask your dm and talk to them.

[woven flint]

My advice would be
"GO to the closest Cleric! Or hell, even a Lich!"

[hushed mason]

Not very convenient for taking indoors/underground.

[keen valve]

I don't see why you aren't.

You should communicate bc this game is big on communication.
Especially when you are perceiving a problem.

[fossil hollow]

you know how much medical care costs?!

its 50 gp to get a lesser restoration! at the least

[raw ocean]

Wild West campaign so we’re going to be on the road alot

[woven flint]

Do you know how much it probably costs in materials to contact Orcus in the first place? 😭

[hushed mason]

So get a mule. eyeroll

[raw ocean]

• the DM is giving another player a sphinx of wonder

[fossil hollow]

just utter his name

[teal niche]

simply use obscure fiend pact tech to take 20 levels of fiendlock and subclass swap to celestial

[woven flint]

Yeah..
But.. that's a small familiar

[keen valve]

Cow.

Ooh- wait. Bison.

[fossil hollow]

are they a warlock? they can naturally get sphinxes of wonder

if they have pact of the chain

[woven flint]

You want a HUGE creature as a familiar

And a Sphinx of Wonder is Tiny or Small lmao

[old sluice]

Actually not that much. Contact other plane has no material components.

[fossil hollow]

deer is medim sized

[hushed mason]

My sorceress character has a raccoon familiar.

[raw ocean]

The CR 0 creature used only for transport is that big of an ask?

[old sluice]

Moreover plenty of spells allow communication as long as it's on the same plane.

[keen valve]

If it's a travel based game then yes, probably.

[hushed mason]

I would say 'no' on the basis of flavour alone, personally.

[fossil hollow]

and generally uttering a demon's name gets their attention

[woven flint]

I'm talking for a non spellcaster.

[keen valve]

But again, you should really be talking to your dm.

[raw ocean]

You know what you guys are right, I’ll just save up 1000 gold and buy 5 elephants

[woven flint]

Not all cultists can do magic smh

[hushed mason]

Perfect! Problem solved. Provided you can find said elephants.

[fossil hollow]

the problem there is finding someone selling

[teal niche]

shouldnt be that much
just like
insult him

[old sluice]

Then I am sure there are plenty of magic items made for communication and Orcus has a collection of those

[old sluice]

You said it's a wild west campaign... Why not camels?

[fossil hollow]

... i dont recall camels in wild west

[woven flint]

I'm like... 80% sure he's too egotistical or smart to really care..
Also, if he did care.. he'd.. probably just kill you anyway? 😭

[raw ocean]

I just want a capybara

A big one, rideable

[teal niche]

congrats! you got his attention!

[old sluice]

Actually the US army experimented with using camels instead of horses until the civil war.

[woven flint]

Alternatively, play a small species and have a normal sized capybara

[fossil hollow]

... what

[old sluice]

It was a small experiment but the reports made at the time were glowing. Had the civil war not happened, more US divisions would have been rising camels

[hushed mason]

I could see reflavoring a riding dog as a capybara.

[fossil hollow]

... well, aint that... neat

[teal niche]

oh also Ti-moth can you send me the dnd discord bingo sheet?

[fossil hollow]

mine is outdated, but shore

[old sluice]

Here, this should tell you all you need to know: https://youtu.be/SXI_YMF2hgU?

[teal niche]

please santize your youtube links, anything after ? is a source identifier

[somber oasis]

is character creation supposed to lowkey be like a therapy session or am i doing this wrong

[fossil hollow]

wot

[somber oasis]

noticing halfway thru that all my characters flaws are mine LOL

[fossil hollow]

is inevitable i feel. i know writers tend to do that too

[raw ocean]

Creations are a mirror to one souls or something

[fossil hollow]

several of my friend's ocs inherited their anxieties subconsciously

[somber oasis]

literally

[woven flint]

DM: "Mhhh, okay, what class speaks to you most?"

Player:"Uh.. Barbarian?"

DM, Out Loud but also writing in notes: "Has.. Anger issues...."

Player: "HEY! WHAT THE HELL IS THA-... you know what? I see it."

[somber oasis]

mommy issue having ass goblin

[somber oasis]

lmaoo

[fossil hollow]

you write what you know about

[umbral girder]

“No. Hitting things really hard is just very funny to me.”

[woven flint]

I write what I know???
I have a character obsessed with the occult but I as a person know nothing about it smh..
Checkmate. sTInk-moth /j

[teal niche]

real

[woven flint]

DM: Erases and Rewrites, still speaking aloud "Has... Psychopathic tendencies.."

[umbral girder]

“Also no. I like it 24/7.”

[fossil hollow]

"likes dragons... a bit late..."

[hushed mason]

omg... 10:30 at night... "can you wash my clothes for me?" mutters about children

[woven flint]

Destroy the child.

[hushed mason]

It took so long to make her, though.

[umbral girder]

Already on it /jk

[fossil hollow]

ok, say bye bye to Slate

[woven flint]

Make another.

[hushed mason]

It took ten years of trying the first time...

[woven flint]

Then try again for the next 18 years.
And be successful this time! /joking

[hushed mason]

I suppose I should be glad she is doing this NOW instead of tomorrow morning.

[woven flint]

My Harengon Wizard recently became a dad, somewhat.

He drew the Dragon Card from the Deck of many things and has a Wyrmling as a daughter now

[fossil hollow]

5 more years til shes CR 8

[woven flint]

He's still got time to teach her how to ride a bike and play football!

[fossil hollow]

... can she ride a bike? actually, when do they get their shapeshifting powers

[woven flint]

Alternatively, maybe he could eventually pass on the teachings of Bladesong to her

And she, could have students of her own one day and carry on his legacy

[raw ocean]

DM allowed a large flying capybara

Life is good

[woven flint]

He also needs to invent cars so he can teach her how to drive.

Run the full good father gauntlet

[fossil hollow]

looks like no humanoid form til shes like, several hundred years old

[teal niche]

Fabricate is an amazing spell

[woven flint]

Okay, fine, he'll teach her how to ride a skateboard over a bike
It'll be like one of those videos of a dog on a skateboard

[fossil hollow]

balling

[keen valve]

This is why we speak to our dm. We get free flying capybaras.

[teal niche]

capybara :3

[woven flint]

SLATE IS BALLING?!

Get her some Jordans, a Golden Chain and a Hat thay says Supreme

[raw ocean]

Reskinned giant fly

[woven flint]

And a kickass pair of shades too

[raw ocean]

I’m gonna drop bombs on bandit camps ❤️

[keen valve]

Can the capybara talk? Make it talk.

[fossil hollow]

roll her persuasion against Diancastra at Adv

[keen valve]

Drop some spirit bombs of insults on your foes.

[woven flint]

I don't know my child's stats, man 😭

[golden cedar]

Our sorc once flew up on a broom and inverted the bag of holding that contained several kegs of smokepowder and alchemist fire on an army of 100 men. They did not survive.

[raw ocean]

If it talks, it will have the deepest cowboy accent ever

[woven flint]

I know she's got 14 Int, but otherwise idk

She's one smart Wyrmling

[fossil hollow]

posted

[keen valve]

Yessir!

[teal niche]

i recently started my first proper campaign in a long time
cause i've just been helping other people with character creation at my dnd club

[woven flint]

Kill all the players you helped...
(In D&D)

[old sluice]

This I did not know

[teal niche]

i will
our club always runs a lvl 10 pvp one shot at the end of the school year
mwahahahaha

[woven flint]

I'm afraid that my character will possibly start a villain Arc if my dm kills his wyrmling

I fear that day

[raw ocean]

Martials players greatest weakness, force cage

[fossil hollow]

Yletrin seems to be on their antihero arc

[woven flint]

He loves her as if she was his actual biological daughter

[golden cedar]

Dynamic character changing let's gooooooo

[woven flint]

You do NOT want the Harengon Bladesinger on a villain Arc

He's so kind and loving to everyone 😭

[fossil hollow]

cant you cast true ressurection with the tome of historia?

[woven flint]

That is true, but when do I fully attune to it, damnit >:[

[fossil hollow]

well, there was two days, id say your able to get 16 more hours

[woven flint]

Which is how much longer til I do? 😭

I badly want to throw a Meteor Swarm at Oroboros

For being a threat to my child, of course

[fossil hollow]

ok, you got 20ish hours left

but i think this is gonna be a megadungeon, the glacier is big

[golden cedar]

What if the character is already on a villain arc

(Looking at my drow swash/dexadin and drow enchanter)

[remote wadi]

Question about Ranger

Aside from a better martial weapon, what are some ways to make him stand out in roleplay or combat?

[golden cedar]

They're known best as expert trackers/scouts, for combat you can go melee with high damage or versatile range - at least in my experience

[knotty pasture]

Throw down control spells to annoy the enemy, buff your own team with Pass Without Trace

[storm crow]

Do y’all ever wonder how poverty and starvation still exists in a world with magic

How do people starve when priests and shamans can literally conjure food

From thin air

[nova hedge]

Anyone else get extremely happy when your dm uses an npc that you talk to them and helped them make?

[lavish flame]

There's no real supply chains for transporting the food or magically capable people

[storm crow]

I was thinking it might be a wealth inequality issue

[lavish flame]

Not to mention that thats a service you'd need to buy

[storm crow]

Makes sense

Not everyone is gifted enough to be a cleric or Druid either

[lyric viper]

Yeah- Conjure Food and Water is a 3rd level spell and Goodberry only goes so far.

[storm crow]

I feel a lot of people forget that even at level 1, adventurers are much more advanced than the average commoner

[storm crow]

What about doctors and medicine?

[knotty pasture]

Its also a level 3 spell, you need at least level 5 to be able to cast Create Food and Water

[storm crow]

Does a world with healing magic need medicine?

[knotty pasture]

Yeah cuz cure wounds doesn't cure disease

Lesser restoration also cures poison and not disease necessarily iirc

[lyric viper]

It's certainly interesting trying to think of how accessible magic actually is in D&D.

And absolutely it still would. 5th+ level clerics aren't going to be in every town.

[storm crow]

I’m currently playing a doctor rogue who specializes in non-magical healing

[knotty pasture]

Pickpocket all the healing items you can get to yeet them at your team

[storm crow]

But his whole ideals is that because of Magic’s existence, people have stopped innovating and thus the progression of research for medicine has stopped

[old sluice]

There is a limited amount of people capable of doing it. And those who can have a limited amount of spell slots.

[golden cedar]

We actually do have some numbers on this; according to AD&D 2e, only 5% of the world has character levels, and only 2% of the world are magic-users

[storm crow]

it’s always “why study to be a doctor when you could spend that time trying to gain a connection to the upper planes?”

[old sluice]

A single druid can't feed a village. Nevermind a town

[storm crow]

I think it’s an interesting conversation

[proud trellis]

hello, just joined today

[storm crow]

I’ve always had questions about the lives of commoners in a fantasy world with magic

[lyric viper]

It's also a little interesting to think about how different editions approached things. Like in 1e while Cure disease guaranteed you'd recover you still had to recover. It wasn't instant. Cure wounds sped up the healing process, it didn't simply magic wounds away.
It feels a bit more ✨ poof✨ in 5e.

[lavish flame]

Yeah definitely. Anyone can learn to apply a tourniquet and administer first aid (Healer's Kit My Beloved), but not everyone is a practitioner of magic

[old sluice]

Although I would say that as it stands there is no spell useful for epidemics. In case of a major contagion, you still have to deal with it the old fashioned way

[storm crow]

I think it can make for an interesting story though

That’s atleast what I’m trying to create with the doctor in my current campaign

[lyric viper]

Hello! We're currently thinking on how magic would shape daily life of commoners- like medicine, food, so on.

[potent oasis]

Trying to figure out where one would post a mini short story of their character backstory meant to display personality and vibe. 🤔

Which of these channels would it suit, you think? (Might take multiple messages haha)

[storm crow]

But generally, yeah, I do feel like especially on the upper spaces of the world, medicine is underutilized and most likely underfunded for research. I’m actually pretty sure that advancement of technology would probably be slowed too because of magic. Sure, not everyone is a magic user, but there are many ways to become one

[knotty pasture]

Though tbh I reckon magic wouldn't be accessible to almost all commoners

[storm crow]

Anyone who is smart enough could go to a wizard academy, anyone who has enough passion and talent can become a bard, anyone who is religious enough can become a cleric, anyone who is connected enough to nature can become a Druid, and anyone with something to lose can become a warlock

[knotty pasture]

You either need to study a lot (wizard), have a complicated family history (sorc) or be in the middle of a patron contract (warlock)

[lyric viper]

#character-discussion ! You can also share a link to the story (like a google doc) instead of posting all of it into the chat.

[knotty pasture]

Clerics are down to luck on whether a god would notice you, Druids probably have the highest chance without relying on luck

[storm crow]

In comparison

It also takes years of work and dedication to become a medical practitioner

[old sluice]

So when we consider the primal needs, we have a simple list: Water, food, shelter, cleaning, health. How does the existence of magic impact those, with the toolset 5e grants?

[knotty pasture]

The realistic answer is this sadly

[old sluice]

(Also, I put the words "toolset" and "5e" in another order and got timed out for some reason that I can't explain)

[storm crow]

So, if they both take similar amounts of time and effort, why wouldn’t someone just choose the magical option and perform miracles?

[potent oasis]

Following up on this my Druid in my current party just left the feywild where she grew up (feylost background) but is amazing at medicine. She refuses to handle metal tools, but she guided the wizard and the ranger via her medicinal skill through a surgery due to her knowledge of medicine (which was allowed due to the ranger’s dexterity in handling blades and the wizard’s intelligence in understanding what on earth she was talking about lol) so I can see this being a fun mechanic.

[old sluice]

And honestly, I think the answer is "not that much".

[storm crow]

I think it depends on how common spellcasters are in any given setting really

[potent oasis]

Oh that’s a much better idea, I’ll turn it into a small doc first. ☺️

[old sluice]

You would need an incredible amount of spellcasters all devoting their spell slots almost exclusively to it to feed a meaningful portion of the population through magic. For diseases, it's even worse. They're borderline useless as epidemic prevention.

[lyric viper]

One of the fun games I like to play was 'If you could pick one cantrip you could have in real life, what would it be?'

No cantrips really address major issues, but Prestigidation can help with cleaning and cooking, Spare the dying at least helps you stabalise a dying person to have a chance at helping them. Shape Water, Mending, mold earth...

[old sluice]

But cleanliness? A few castings of prestidigitation clean your entire house

[old sluice]

Get out of my mind

[proud trellis]

Im certain large corporations would find a way to make it suck for all of us.

[potent oasis]

Mold earth would make you the most sought after construction worker to walk the earth lol. You’d make so much money.

[old sluice]

So cantrips technically have a bigger impact. A society where people are taught one or two cantrips as part of their normal school curriculum (high elves come to mind) looks very different

[lyric viper]

Cantrips are more accessible. Some cultures are implied to have many citizens who know at least one cantrip. (Some elven societies, Halruaa in FR).

[knotty pasture]

Prestigidation seems about like the most versatile spell to have that isn't just about killing people

[storm crow]

Still though

[knotty pasture]

Mage Hand is cool but irl there's a lot less uses for it

[storm crow]

I can imagine that perhaps the progression of medical research (or hell, even the research of other things magic currently is able to solve) could be halted due to magic just being a thing

[potent oasis]

I don’t know about that. Can it assist you with surgery as a doctor? Or pick pockets?

[storm crow]

Why create vaccines? Why create safer methods of surgery?

It’s still like the 15th century

[knotty pasture]

Do you need a third hand to help out with surgery when you can have two surgeons working on it at once though

[old sluice]

Medical research not really. Have you seen the cost for regeneration spells? Any spell that does more than just give you back HP is incredibly expensive.

[stuck shuttle]

Vaccines would still be needed. They’re preventatives, not something really taken after the fact

[knotty pasture]

And this is assuming the surgery needs a third hand

[old sluice]

Moreover, magic is useless in an epidemics. Plagues will be just as deadly

The only difference is that prestidigitation makes people cleaner, maybe slightly lowering contagion.

[stuck shuttle]

Yeah the frontline of medicine scales better, relatively cheaper, and relatively farther than what magic could do.

[potent oasis]

Well… less need for another surgeon if you can handle it all with one person. I guess corporations would go for that to save money but when you say it like that… very draining on the one individual. Oof.

[storm crow]

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say the doctor feels that magic is useful but "Isn't enough"

[remote wadi]

Hard to explain without getting political

[stuck shuttle]

If anything magic would likely be an accessory tool for medicine rather than a replacement

[storm crow]

Discussing economics and financial hierarchy aren't politics

[old sluice]

Actually that is definitely political. "Who gets which privileges" is the quintessential political discussion

[storm crow]

Fair enough

That sucks because I feel that's a very important part of this conversation

[old sluice]

Also the answer to that question is simple: People starve because spellcasters simply don't have the spell slots to feed everyone

[storm crow]

Because I do believe access to magical solutions to large issues would only be available to the privileged

[remote wadi]

I was about to mention a real life country, but this actually works

[lyric viper]

Our rules on discussing politics is more no real life politics. Such as discussing currant political leaders, legistration, or getting into debates over things like Captialism vs Socialism vs Communism.

We do recognise that when it comes to world building, economy and class structure is inevitably going to come up.

[old sluice]

Actually I don't think the rules prevent discussing politics from the point of view of within the fiction. No current politics, no real life politics, sure

[storm crow]

Oh then that's fine yeah we can discuss that

[old sluice]

This is the third time in ten minutes you have said the same thing I was saying. I will be denouncing you to the nearest inquisitor for this mind reading you are doing.

[potent oasis]

This conversation is reminding me of a book I read. In the book, anyone able to cast magic was automatically considered a noble and anyone that couldn’t was a commoner who was forced to work for those capable of using magic. Which in a DnD world, could be used as a setting but it would become very grim dark very fast.

[storm crow]

None of the nobles or kings or queens want to fund medical research because why do that when you can just hire the best priest in town?

[remote wadi]

Also, this could work out, now that I think about it

The only unfortunate parts are that I decided to take Deft Explorer

And it is very hard to have things like favored terrain and places to hide inside the Death House from CoS

[knotty pasture]

Yes, let's talk about Baldur's Gate politics and why Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard may be a questionable person

[limber trail]

I think to this point, someone was talking about abusing the marriage and revivify spells to give armies +2 AC for the duration of battles, and I sat down and did the maths and for a 6000 person army that works out to something like 1,876,000GP a week and a staff of something like 400 clerics working around the clock solely on revivify spells and ceremonies. The economics of magic is rough.

[old sluice]

Also I do have to say: Famines are manufactured.

[stuck shuttle]

I’m pretty sure most magical ways to feed someone are also explicitly bland. I’m sure you could put a dent into a starvation issue but I doubt the populace would be particularly happy to eat wheatslop until the issue is resolved

[storm crow]

You best bet in the next 50 years faerun will have flying ships

But no vaccines

[old sluice]

Famines don't usually happen because there simply isn't any food. Famines happen because food is taken by the people in power to other places. Whether they are the product of actual malice or mismanagement, their cause is always from up top.

All the great famines of the last five centuries were the same. There was enough food.

[lyric viper]

In my own worldbuilding I'd personally consider any spell above 3rd to be so rare it couldn't be relied on for a culture to shape itself around it's existence.

[storm crow]

The nobles want to cut healthcare so ordinary people have to pay for clerics to get healed, instead of doctors

Yes I'm a conspiracy theorist, how could you tell?

[limber trail]

I do like to worldbuild the history of my worlds so that high level magic was abundant (cities had 1-2 people who would cast control weather for example) but that's long faded in the modern era

[lyric viper]

(it was interesting that 2014 Create F&W said it made 45lb of food, but only fed 15 humanoids for a day, when the rules where 1lb of food should sustain 1 humanoid. Mustn't be very calorie dense).

[stuck shuttle]

3 pounds of lettuce per person

[old sluice]

Certainly, I can imagine an elven or gnomish culture where everyone is taught a few cantrips the same way we're taught to read and write. I could imagine that culture having many people learn 1st level spell, the equivalent of a high school diploma. 2nd level spells? Yeah, a significant part of the population. About as significant as people with a master's degree. But above that? Absolute elite stuff. I'd say the proportion of people capable of casting 3rd level spells is the same as the proportion of people with more than one doctorate

[remote wadi]

Another question

[old sluice]

(Almost nobody has multiple PHDs, don't listen to Marvel)

[remote wadi]

What HP range would you say a normal enemy has at the 5th level?

[storm crow]

So

[stuck shuttle]

Does anyone restrict certain types of spells as well in their worldbuilding? As an example in my setting communications related magic is significantly harder to find

[storm crow]

If medicine still has an amazing reason to exist because magic isn't widespread enough to stop plagues or hunger

Does that mean it's perfectly acceptable to learn the secrets of medicine from a vampire?

[lyric viper]

Well. The condition of your teacher might be more questionable here than the desire to learn medicine.

So I wouldn't say perfectly acceptable 😛

[hot gate]

I generally look at which spells would stop the vibe I'm going for. For example, goodberry is a nogo if you're trying to have any kind of narrative around hunting and food precurement.

[storm crow]

Okay I've got a better question

Say a vampire is 1,000 years old. If you find a cure for vampirism and cure her, would she turn into dust or remain as beautiful as the day she was turned?

[stuck shuttle]

I don’t think the average commoner would ask you where you went to school / learned your trade, especially if you can fix them up well

[stuck shuttle]

I think that’s entirely dependent on the cure and what you feel is more fitting for the narrative

[remote wadi]

@knotty pasture question about my character

What exactly was making me reconsider going 3 levels in Ranger and 8 in Fighter?

[lyric viper]

With Vampirism being more a magical curse than a disease, I'm not sure you could find a mundane cure.
But if you did cure her, the method of the cure (Such as killing and resurrecting, wish) might make a difference.

[stuck shuttle]

Yeah that’s kind of the basis of why I made communication (and planar travel) spells rare in my world. I wanted the delay of information to play a larger role in my setting.

[old sluice]

Again, it's not a matter of spread for plagues. Even if everyone was a caster, that would not do much, if anything, to stop epidemics.

Tell me, which spell do you use to stop a plague?

[storm crow]

Lesser restoration I believe

[old sluice]

There are none. There are spells that can cure a few patients, but not only are they high level and requiring very costly and rare components, but they also do not prevent reinfection.

[storm crow]

Maybe when my rogue gets to level 10 he can invent vaccines

[potent oasis]

Well… all you really need is an alchemist artificer to create vaccines, right?

[old sluice]

While lesser restoration does cure the disease itself, it does not prevent reinfection and does not create immunity. The person you cured may be reinfected in the same minute

[old sluice]

Actually you just need any character with proficiency in medicine.

[potent oasis]

Or if we are talking evil politics, a person with the poisoner feat to create epidemics?

[storm crow]

Oh shit this is great it actually gives my character a reason to go out of his way to invent vaccines

Because think about it: How come someone who got infected with a disease and survived is much less likely to become infected again, yet someone who got infected with a disease and was cured with magic got reinfected easily?

[potent oasis]

Would you not need alchemy kits and proficiency in making potions? (I’ve had some DMs rule potions could only be made by people who had a fitting class or backstory reason to be able to)

[storm crow]

Actually, the herbalism kit is what allows you to make medicinal potions

The alchemy kit is for terrorist weapons

[lyric viper]

This actually came up in one of my games with my cleric PC who was a pretty darn good Cleric but also had a lot of medicine skill and mundane healing.

He alone would never be enough to solve a Plague. He had means to make himself resistant, he could quarantine and cure small groups of people, and show how to give relief to other victims, but you'd need so many more people to help out in an epidemic.

[old sluice]

"Inoculate the disease in order to create immunity" is not a complex concept. It has been practiced long before vaccines. You need a character capable and willing to study how diseases work, how the immune system works, based on the knowledge of immunisation, and develop a means to create a neutralized version of the pathogen for safe immunisation. That is what a vaccine is.

[potent oasis]

Ah, interesting— Oh god terrorist tools

I guess artificers in modern society would be quite sought after for many bad reasons. 😅

[storm crow]

Thankfully, My whole character's point is the study of medicine (and his realization that magic is actually more useful than he thought)

Funny I'm playing a rogue with this but I think it's fun

[old sluice]

In fact the 18th century philosopher Voltaire wrote about the quaker communities and how they immunised themselves against... Cholera I believe?

[storm crow]

A thief rogue with the healer's feat is the best you can get for a non-magical healer

[potent oasis]

That’s honestly an interesting idea that I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed in a party. 👀

[remote wadi]

Wait, so how common are Wisdom saving throws?

[lyric viper]

In out situation we still needed to identify how the disease was spread, formulate Public Health announcements and organise relief.

It was a strange thought, but essentially my Cleric had to triage and decide who best to use spell slots on.

[storm crow]

it's quite fun to play

[lyric viper]

One of the most common saves I believe.

[old sluice]

Less than dex, more than just about every other save.

I'd say third most common.

[potent oasis]

Would love to see it! I might borrow this idea someday. 💜

[storm crow]

in an enviornment where a majority of adventurers rely on clerics, druids, and bards for healing, I think it's interesting to play a rogue who still believes in the study and practice of physical medicine

[potent oasis]

What stat does a healer kit rely on again, if any?

[storm crow]

None

[potent oasis]

OH wow, underrated item

[remote wadi]

And what's the other one? Charisma?

[storm crow]

but I had this guy be mostly wisdom since that's what medicine scales off of

[remote wadi]

Or is it strength?

[storm crow]

But you need a feat in order to make it work. only reason thief rogue is the pick for this is because you can heal others as a bonus action

[old sluice]

No, constitution. Constitution is for resisting poisons and diseases and sometimes cold. Dexterity for area of effects you need to dodge

[storm crow]

Mechanical gameplan for this character is mostly simple though: Use healer's kits to keep allies in the fight, and craft healing potions during downtime to use later.

[nova trellis]

Familiars who create poisons and create familars, repeat unto infinitum. Doesnt have to be strong, just need fast replication.....

God, that could be a concept for a fantasy Grey Goo scenrio.

[potent oasis]

Wow, I should pop into this chat more often lol. You all have an interesting capacity for thinking outside the box.

[remote wadi]

I'm asking this because if Wisdom Saving throws are really that common and important

I may consider doing (mostly) mono Ranger until level 8 to get the Gloomstalker perk to get advantage on Wisdom saving throws

[remote wadi]

I wish I did, to be honest

But then again, that's for other people. It's isn't for everyone

[old sluice]

Advantage on wisdom saves is good. Failing a wis save can be devastating

[potent oasis]

I posted a short story snippet of a character I created named Anevra who’s a Druid of Dreams Feylost origin. She appears schizophrenic or crazy to others at times because she talks to what others view as an imaginary friend, but she’s a brilliant medic for obvious reasons. But how would you multiclass her to optimize her for the healer profession if you had to? (Imagine this for a world that has gritty realism rules and can only long rest once per in game week)

[remote wadi]

So I think my character would do well with 8 Ranger and 3 Fighter levels

[knotty pasture]

You hated Ranger so much that you wanted to move out of it asap, and there's nothing too much going on for Ranger at level 4-5 compared to going Fighter all the way

Its either 8 Ranger 3 Fighter or 3 Ranger 8 Fighter

And telling you to go 8 Ranger really does sound too cruel

[nova trellis]

A thing to think about when world building with magic. If you could create a city-scale crisis with 1-3 leveled spells, it would make sense the world itself has safeguards against such scenarios.

[remote wadi]

I'd say that's a good choice

But looking at it again, I'm realizing something. 8 Ranger and 3 Fighter could actually work out pretty well

PWT could be very useful when you remember we have a rogue on our team. I won't be able to benefit much from sneak attacks, but I feel like surprise rounds could be very useful and common if I play my cards right

[nova trellis]

Example, if Druids are anything above uncommon, it would make sense anyone having a secret meeting to be suspicious of any small animal. Actually, the more I think about that, it would make sense for any secret meeting to have at least one magic user passing messages with the message cantrip so no one could hear even if eavesdropping.......

[remote wadi]

That, and I'd assume forests would be very common in a Curse of Strahd campaign, making Natural Explorer actually worth considering

[knotty pasture]

I mean if you say so lol

[nova trellis]

I would just go gloomstalker ranger dip and go full fighter from there. Personally

[remote wadi]

That is also another choice, but I am a little bit worried about my lack of spell casting

[humble cairn]

You're ... setting yourself up to come back and complain again. I feel.

[remote wadi]

I'm trying to be optimistic, if I'm being honest here

[nova trellis]

Battlemaster covers all your needs and more!

[humble cairn]

Do you not get the option for the Tasha's upgrades?

[remote wadi]

Option for what exactly?

Tasha is there, but i don't know what I would be looking/asking for

[humble cairn]

Natural Explorer is completely replaced by Deft Explorer in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything.

[remote wadi]

Isn't it optional?

[nova trellis]

Or you could go funky and go Echo knight for that sweet sweet free echo teleport.

[humble cairn]

It is optional, but it is kind of the better option.

[remote wadi]

Ah. I do have Deft Explorer

[potent oasis]

I honestly prefer deft exploration

[humble cairn]

Natural Explorer is great in theory, but that conditional leads to a negative gameplay experience, in my experience.

[remote wadi]

Fair enough

Although I do forget what I have as an expertise

[humble cairn]

Oh okay so why are we talking about Natural Explorer then?

[potent oasis]

Deft is a more selfish gameplay style though (in my opinion, even as one who prefers it)

[remote wadi]

Wait a second... I don't even have an expertise-

[nova trellis]

Better question, how does your DM handle exploration usually?

[remote wadi]

I don't know, ignore that

[remote wadi]

I don't know yet. So far, it was mostly "fog urges you to go to this location"

[nova trellis]

Because depending on DM style, the actual class feature is bloody pointless.

[humble cairn]

You should have one, if you're using Deft Explorer.

[humble cairn]

You talking about Natural Explorer?

[remote wadi]

Apparently, it hasn't been reflected in my sheet. I will bring it up to the DM

By the way, what should I make an expertise?

[humble cairn]

What are you already proficient in and do you mainly care about combat as opposed to out of combat Utility?

[nova trellis]

Yup yup.

[remote wadi]

Perception, Investigation, Insight, Athletics

[humble cairn]

I have my own issues with Natural Explorer, it's not the worst Ranger '14 class feature, but it has some design flaws that leads to a negative experience when I tried it out in good faith.

[tame estuary]

look friend, give it a couple more sessions

[remote wadi]

Combat isn't the most important thing in the world, but I would prefer to have a small blend as to not feel detached from the campaign

[old sluice]

For a two person meeting, sure, message works. More than that and it's a horrifying waste of everyone's time.

[remote wadi]

That's why I'm here. Apparently, there were some things still to be sorted out for my character, and was asking for advice on it

[tame estuary]

like what?

[old sluice]

Imagine a zoom call where it takes you six seconds to say anything and you can only be heard by a single person at a time. It's horrifying

[humble cairn]

Choose..
.. Perception if you want to prevent the nasty 2014 Surprise
.. Investigation if you want to be the one to figure out what things means, but only if your DM runs it correctly
.. Insight if you want to be useful in social scenes for detecting when people are lying or otherwise prevaricating
.. Athletics if you want to either grapple enemies or be good at escaping grapples, though I bet you didn't prioritize Str so this goes a bit counter to a Dex play style

[remote wadi]

Apparently, despite having Tasha's Cauldron, I haven't swapped abilities yet. That means an expertise to choose from when I do switch over

[knotty pasture]

I two turned a 276 hp boss with Gloom Stalker Ranger (level 8) coming in 2nd in the dpr race for combat, but I'm listening in right now anyways

[humble cairn]

Perception is also great for being able to sense traps and see clues (not figure out what they mean, that's Investigation).

[remote wadi]

Also, trying to choose between which class I should give 8 levels and which should have 3

[tame estuary]

alternatively just follow your heart, I once had a ranger player who never used hunter's mark and and was just in the game to roleplay being a ranger

[humble cairn]

You're already invested into Ranger, and it's not a good idea to multiclass before you hit level 5 anyway.

[knotty pasture]

Optimization would probably tell you to not run Hunter's Mark at all lol

[remote wadi]

Perception it is. I want to be on the good side of surprise rounds

[nova trellis]

DnD isnt a game built around optimization and as long as you're not overly multiclassing into oblivion. Most things can work. I only suggest things because I think it would lead to interesting gameplay or that the DM will actually make interesting encounters that engage with said features you picked.

[humble cairn]

I've used HM all of ... twice? ... on my Ranger.

[knotty pasture]

The suggestion was something like Absorb Elements, Goodberry and Entangle

[tame estuary]

which is viable, the DM will always cater the game to what the players want to play (in a perfect world)

[remote wadi]

8 Ranger 3 Fighter it is, then

[knotty pasture]

I went Ensnaring Strike on my Ranger instead cuz the Druid's doing Goodberry duties

[tame estuary]

I wouldn't even think of build ideas when you're still at level 3

[nova trellis]

Agreed

[knotty pasture]

You could think of it as early as level 1, just that you don't have a lot of options to branch out of

[remote wadi]

Well... what would I think about?

[knotty pasture]

There's only like 4-5 usable spells at those levels and you pick three out of the 4-5

[humble cairn]

Making your character memorable in roleplay, exploring motivations, building relations with the party.

[tame estuary]

think about what you'll be eating tonight, how you're gonna prepare it, why does your character always chops onions horizontally

you'll get features later, but early levels give you leeway to not think about it right now

[knotty pasture]

You'd be spamming Entangle anyways

[golden cedar]

Sometimes I straight up don't build

[tame estuary]

vibe building

[golden cedar]

Level 20 flat wizard baby let's gooooo

[glass granite]

How does your character like their eggs?

[remote wadi]

To be quite honest, I did try my best to do that. But all that really happened from roleplay like that was losing half my rations because literally no one else thought about bringing things like rations and a waterskin

[silk hare]

denatured using alcohol of course

[knotty pasture]

That's not really your fault

[remote wadi]

This is Curse of Strahd

...and our Owlin is a male lol

[knotty pasture]

I mean living off Goodberries isn't the worst idea...

[golden cedar]

That's when your character calls everyone else an idiot

[humble cairn]

For me this would be cue to become Party Parent.

[tame estuary]

I feel you're frustrated at the table, maybe talk to someone close about it to tell if you're being unreasonable or not

[remote wadi]

Both options have some flaws

[nova trellis]

Purely my opinion stuff: I think Ranger is a really bad class for RP because the mechanics in the class offer so little to work with. Playing a ranger feels like a diet druid who took levels in arcane archer.

[tame estuary]

nah ranger is the best class to roleplay because you're a hunter, you hunt

[humble cairn]

Mechanics don't really limit roleplay, though?

[tame estuary]

hmm this scaly creature seems to be limping from that attack, we should let it go and make it run back to it's nest

[humble cairn]

But I've never been one to need the mechanics to support my roleplay, I add roleplay and the mechanics just better follow.

[remote wadi]

I would love to have my character have a facepalm moment and get upset

But I don't know how well that or trying to be the "Party Parent" would go when, at the end of the day, they are far more likely to protect you than the other way around

It would have been a great idea for sure, but that also implies the other players felt like roleplay. And from how quickly they just decided to long rest... I don't think there was much motivation

[nova trellis]

Yes, agreed, but mechanics can help inform roleplay. The fantasy I'm trying to go with. If I want the fantasy of ranger, I just do battlemaster archer.

[tame estuary]

star lord from guardians of the galaxy or kazuma from konosuba
literally every single person besides them in their group is better at them in combat scenarios

[humble cairn]

I'm having a great time with my Ranger, roleplay included.

[knotty pasture]

Idk, bg3 really opened my mind up to how far you can push things with Ranger rp

"Oh no you're sick, the doctor is unavailable, you need to line up"
"... I've been hunted by all kinds of monsters, man or beast, and I should really go see the doctor right now"
"Yeah okay you can pass"

[tame estuary]

that's a shame, might be a table filled with power gamers and your expectations don't align

[humble cairn]

Long Rests require rations usually, so forage and provide rations and be like "If you don't want to eat wild game, remember to stock up next time you're in town."

[knotty pasture]

There was also another one where:

"See that nasty church over there?"
"Tall buildings, good vantage points... Great for ambushing!"

Rangers contain both the inner battle junkie/murder hobo and the dramaticness of a Bard

Barbs are all about "you want a piece of me?!?! Come get some you jerkfaces"

[humble cairn]

Perception Expertise also does mean you will notice things first and be able to disburse that information as you wish. I mean I should disburse the information, but when you do you get the opportunity to roleplay.

[remote wadi]

I personally felt the largest frustration when actually leaving the house

Because of 3 main reasons: most main hallways needed a Con saving throw or else poison damage, every hallway had bladed traps where you needed to pass a hefty DC check or take double digit slashing damage, and trying to break any wall spawned a swarm of rats

So if anything, I lost my crap by basically seeing "Try to think your way out of these dice rolls, loser"

[knotty pasture]

Don't you have a wizard in your party

[tame estuary]

oh boy

[knotty pasture]

Get them to use detect magic or something to address the traps

[nova trellis]

"You didn't really have a pleasant long rest. The stomachs of you and your friends echoed all throughout the night."

[tame estuary]

traps for low level players? this might not be a table for newcomers

[remote wadi]

Tried that. We found out they weren't traps (sorry if I called them that), they couldn't be disarmed or prevented t all

[tame estuary]

yeah no get out of there

I don't really see you having a lot of fun at that table

[humble cairn]

Well now that you remember your Perception Expertise, you should be able to notice those .. not traps? that sounds like DM bs to force damage on you.

[tame estuary]

traps are bs, there's something inherently wrong for them DM to pull a gotcha

[remote wadi]

Well, I would have to ask my dm "Can you swap out my Natural Explorer with Deft and have my Canny Expertise be Perception?"

[humble cairn]

If any of them were Dex saves, do remember that the Dodge Action gives you Advantage on Dex saves.

[nova trellis]

"Pfff, guess I'm taking the observant feat at lv 4. Bite me DM."

[humble cairn]

I thought you already had Deft Explorer?

[remote wadi]

From what I remember, our options were to jump through (Athletics Check) or stay for a small amount of time to see a time window to jump through (Intelligence Check?)

[remote wadi]

I thought I did too

[humble cairn]

You really need to look at your features and think about which ones you want to upgrade with Tasha's because basically every Ranger 2014 feature had a Tasha's upgrade.

[tame estuary]

let's outline some things here

• the game has additional rules that makes it frustrating
• the players aren't really playing in a way to find a silver lining
• the DM is running a game that's actively making you uncomfortable

I don't think this is a ranger problem

[humble cairn]

Not a Ranger problem.

[nova trellis]

Could still do echo knight to simply teleport thru said traps.

[tame estuary]

does curse of strahd even has traps like this?

[humble cairn]

I dunno, could ask in #1029833015423143957 ?

[tame estuary]

I'm pretty sure you can attempt to dismantle them or creatively find a workaround since this is released in current decade and not 40 years ago

[remote wadi]

We were level 2 at the time
And the guy who had teleportation used it after 1 attack against the boss to "keep some distance"... only for the boss to do the 200 IQ play of walking forward 20 feet anyways

[remote wadi]

I really tried my hardest to. But no dice, pun not intended

[nova trellis]

Was it misty step they had? Assuming they had fey touched?

[remote wadi]

No idea, haven't seen too much of the Fighter and his sheet yet

[humble cairn]

Sounds like Lily had it right: #dnd-discussion message

[tame estuary]

so yeah can we talk less about what the ranger class can do and focus more on other things that are bothering you with your game? that way we can make a case and you can present it to your DM and they'd make changes

[echo agate]

hows the general experience utilizing the find a game feature on this discord, figured i might wanna give it an attempt due to increasing interest in DND in general, as well as how others do games

[tame estuary]

look at me telling people not to leave smh, that would be too easy now would it?

[nova trellis]

You said lv 2 so I assume the teleport came from the feat.

[knotty pasture]

If you're in American timezones it gets way easier imo, otherwise its tough

[remote wadi]

Well, I suppose I will take the latter first. Although if I'm going to be honest, presenting a case to the DM is unlikely. I feel like I'm on thin ice as is from the rant the other day, and he seems adamant on avoiding changes

[knotty pasture]

Also there's a good amount of weirdos as per gigantic server LFGs go unfortunately

I mean just leave the table if you're on so called thin ice and its still a bad experience for you

[haughty prism]

next question. where do i go to find specific games i want? Sure Find a Game category exists but a filter would be nice

[tame estuary]

games where your only choice is to grin and bare it if you don't like the game is a bad game

[remote wadi]

I can't say for sure I am, I just don't feel like poking the DM more than I did

[tame estuary]

please leave

[knotty pasture]

Idk isn't it the DM's job to make the game enjoyable for all

[tame estuary]

you are not being respected for your time and commitment to the game

[knotty pasture]

Or is it a self indulgent thing for the DM

[nova trellis]

Yeah, the problem with the game I'm seeing is less ranger and more very rail roady design where the DM wants you to go one way.

[knotty pasture]

It was especially funny considering the convo in optimization earlier where some of us were talking about how Divine Smite is a terrible spell

And just yesterday the convo was about how the Paladin in your table was winning the dpr race by a huge margin

[remote wadi]

Look, I get really really tired of having to choose between nothing and a bad version of it

So if you ever wonder why I'm very stubborn about things like this, it's because of my tendency to grab ahold of whatever I can and figuratively hold on for dear life

[echo agate]

tough it will be, though i can probably handle american timezones should it be weekend

[humble cairn]

Though you haven't said much about this DM somehow I get the feeling like they are also a Rule of Cool DM? Which means they would rather rule based on vibes and coolness than rules?

[tame estuary]

the more games you're in, the more you recognize which one is what you don't like or what things you don't like from different games

[knotty pasture]

Yeah that's nice, it was hell for me cuz the games are all during 8-11 AM my time cuz they're all in America lol

[tame estuary]

I'm on the same boat but it's fine for me lol, kind of have that unemployment buff

[remote wadi]

It's hard to say. I couldn't really tell you

Although, I might be able to live with it if he does actually get me that magical ranged weapon I asked about

[tame estuary]

this is a toxic relationship and you know it

[remote wadi]

And I'm desperate enough that I just might grin and bear it

[tame estuary]

but you're complaining and making it a problem to us 😩

[humble cairn]

Rule of Cool DMs aren't inherently bad, but they don't fit with everyone.

[echo agate]

looking back at my first game, that was probably my worst experience, granted this was also amplified because the only 2 experienced people in the party didnt understand artificier either, and neither did i as i'm progressively learning now it is VERY different from how i initially understood it

[remote wadi]

I mean, you did give me the option to talk about what ranger can do or explain what about the campaign was a problem. Sorry, but you did sign up for this

[nova trellis]

Try joining Bi-weekly games to avoid burnout

[knotty pasture]

Its true but you shouldn't say it

[haughty prism]

where do i go to find specific games i want? Sure Find a Game category exists but a filter would be nice. finding text rps by a regular way is grueling

[knotty pasture]

Nah its just that, per my nature, no way I'm waking up at 8 am to play dnd like I'm going to work on a day off lol

[remote wadi]

Mmm, I'm used to people doing that

[knotty pasture]

I don't love any one game enough for this kinda commitment

[knotty pasture]

We expected pragmatic conversation not half therapy half venting tbf

[remote wadi]

Mmm, fair enough I suppose. Sorry

[echo agate]

i mean, if you do this, you're not gonna love the game enough to do this for a lot longer, (though it depends on how much you enjoy sleeping in and/or care about being awake in the morning)

[tame estuary]

I think if you have a problem you have to talk about it and say it, else you proclaim that you enthusiastically agree, might be extreme but if I'm going somewhere to have fun, I'm going to make sure I'm actually having fun

I'd make the worst wife fr fr

[knotty pasture]

Ranger sucks because my DM's a jerk, the other PCs are jerks and the homebrew rules are indirectly nerfing my class isn't as constructive as you think it is

[echo agate]

my experience with ending up doing that for other games, and then burning out a bit later, realizing i rather just not play if this is necessary

[remote wadi]

Then what exactly can be done aside from either sticking around and seeing where this goes

Or just dropping it and moving on again?

[humble cairn]

Also, not knowing how to tactically optimize doesn't help.

[tame estuary]

that's your decision to make

[haughty prism]

challenge accepted

[tame estuary]

letting go of your toxic relationships is healthy in the long run

you either find more about yourself, or understand others better

[knotty pasture]

The latter is the better idea, yes

[remote wadi]

It's... tough to explain, shall we say
I doubt dms are available, but I may as well ask

[humble cairn]

Well first, finding out what you personally enjoy about D&D is a good thing. Because then you know what kind of games and what kind of DM style you actually want so you can say it explicitly to your table. I feel like there is something about what the DM is doing that is impacting your enjoyment.

[knotty pasture]

You can probably survive as a monoclass Ranger in general, especially when Curse of Strahd doesn't even go to T4 iirc

Just do the bare minimum with optimizing and you'll be fine in theory

[tame estuary]

my friend told me that dnd is a lot like sex in that it requires respect and consent, and I hate him for telling me that

[humble cairn]

But if you find out what you personally enjoy, you can also find the aspect of what your DM is doing might actualyl be enjoyable.

[nova trellis]

Ranger takes the biggest quality hit depending on DM style out of any of the classes. Ranger is about exploration and quite a few DMs treat DnD as a interactive novel. So, lots of yapping with a bit of combat.

[remote wadi]

I'm starting to hate you for that too /jk

[haughty prism]

that analogy. LMAO that threw me off. does this friend spitting the truth or something?

[mellow sequoia]

This feels like it would be very funny out of context

[knotty pasture]

Tbf even Ranger does the yapping part decently well, or at least better than Fighter and Barb on that regard

Barb's yapping is as funny as it is frustrating, Ranger's yapping has a bit more layers to it

[remote wadi]

So

How can I best explain my lack of openness to constantly letting go and moving on?

And where. Where as well

[haughty prism]

i say i require liberty in DND even in the ways of me speaking. Like me writing instead of talking

And I take such customs i made seriously and I DONT WANNA be questioned.

[nova trellis]

DnD tables do tend to have a lot of sex jokes and sexual tension.

[haughty prism]

because not every question needs an answer if its violating something that is clearly a boundary

[tame estuary]

from my experience, it's honestly about keep finding groups I don't connect with and I needed to find why, I need to know what kind of player I am and what I enjoy about the game and what would be enjoyable if other people share them

so yeah, takes a while to find the perfect table

[knotty pasture]

What is bg3 if not being presented with multiple opportunties to do the deed, maybe dnd tables should be like this more

Finish a quest to have a go at it with two Drow twins that would have costed you 1k gp!!

[haughty prism]

OH YEAH there is something im now worrying bout and that is me. Wanting to do what I can to be a player and yet im concerned im gonna mess it up so bad the session would become unfun if I went out of character or became so selfish im becoming a diet DM with favouritism of a higher caliber

instead of a player aka co-writter

[knotty pasture]

If you're not griefing its safe

[haughty prism]

another piece of the table, making things balanced. (that word is loose though)

OH YEAH speaking of using a voice. If I was in the physical table and not online, well there is nothing i can do about hiding my own vocals because THEY WILL be heard.

[nova trellis]

Be a decent human being. Do things in game that are fun to you and would make a interesting jumping off point for other players to work with. Its a collaborative story.

[echo agate]

i actually have it a bit similar, a bit afraid to go too out of roleplay, or just not do my character justice

sometimes i find it hard to get into the mindset of how i should play my character

[haughty prism]

2nd guessing is a pain in the neck sometimes.

and sometimes initiatives backfire

[remote wadi]

As much as I love learning DnD, I don't know if I'm mentally prepared for months or even years of bad experiences before truly good experiences

[haughty prism]

yeahh to think its easy to play as a gary stu for a joke

than to make actual banger sessions

[knotty pasture]

There's bg3 right there if you want to set the blueprints and foundation for roleplaying your character

[nova trellis]

Your character could be the most evil SOB possible but as a player, you should do things that allow for other players to have interesting and fun roleplay.

[haughty prism]

what i say for certain gary stus/mary sues/FLAWLESS ONES automatically hog all the spotlight in the world

[echo agate]

thats how i initially got interest in DnD, through that and then the opportunity presented itself with a guy asking if anyone was interesting

[knotty pasture]

That moment will come for me soon enough I hope, I beat the game once and am halfway through my second run, just refining my PCs one step at a time

[echo agate]

don't think i've done that? atleast not intentionally, most i have done is a lot of my characters driving factor being money

which also isn't great, and i need to work on that

[haughty prism]

normally. character doing stuff to get paid is like not bad. it all depends on execution

[old sluice]

None of us was mentally prepared yet we did it anyways

It was our Vietnam war. Sometimes I have flashbacks. Long nights where me and the boys were hauled up, suffering the DM's insanity

[remote wadi]

No comment

[haughty prism]

i do feel like playing as the main antagonist in a DND Game.

whether be a dark lord or a corrupt official, a tyrant, literal evil mirror of the protagonist, an evil sorcerer, doesnt matter

tho DMs by technicality have that privilege

[nova trellis]

I have a in joke with a friend. We had a player who was something called a bloodfiend(basically a vampire) and the DM occasionally had other bloodfiends secretly speak with them. Conversations lasted for 35+ when the content was 2 minute tops. So whenever in a modern game we had someone yap, we just say their speaking with bloodfiends.

And yes, we both left that campaign with that player and DM.

[echo agate]

my original character was.. basically a blank slate, i'm not proud of him, though i enjoyed the original design

current campaign was essentially, meeting a guy who seemed sketchy but willing to "help" our goals come to fruition,

he explained certain stuff he could do from what he had overheard in a previous conversation, some debts that could be paid and he'd pay us good money if we'd take care of people being late to their payments to him,

Initial reaction from my rogue was immediately
"How much money we talkin' about, And Would you care what said people had in their pockets by the time of death?"

essentially it's me being afraid of going overboard in the money hunting aspect

[old sluice]

None of those, except the evil mirror and even then, are necessarily antagonists

[echo agate]

though he has a story which i tried making the want for money make sense, suppose i feel a bit like he's too much of a blank slate currently, needing to try to refocus brain power on what could be values

[haughty prism]

oh yeah speaking antagonists. I do enjoy me the pure evil variety. Since its just easy to like for them to wake up and begin their evilness.

waking up one day and say "ima boutta do some devious trouble today"

[old sluice]

Here let me take all those ideas and make it a perfectly functional PC
Dark lord: Paladin, second son of the duke of whatever. Your older sister took the throne and you hate her. You're adventuring to get enough money to hire a mercenary company to unseat her. Your adventuring companions? You'll reward them.
Corrupt official: Warlock. You are part of the royal inquisition, as an apprentice, but your true hunger is for the wealth and power that position brings you. When that wasn't enough, you made a deal. More power. The actual traitors you find, you evaluate them. Sometimes you help them fake their death, provided they can pay. In favour or money. You have made quite the network.
Tyrant: Same as dark lord
Evil mirror: OK that needs to be worked together with another PC
Evil sorcerer: You were born with that sorcery, draconic sorcery to be exact. And sometimes you think like a dragon. More wealth, more power, a hoard... And those houses, o how flammable they look. You play nice for now, you hide your true nature. But when your adventuring team fights spellcasters? You pillage their secrets. You want to steal the rituals they use for their evil magic, the summoning and binding of demons, and more and more and more. The lair of the cultists? You convinced your party to leave it intact. When they slept, you sabotaged the maps so the other PCs can't find it again. It will be your lair when you come into your power

[nova trellis]

Urk Urk The Orphan Stomper.

[echo agate]

our current Employer is a guy who's "Allergic to sunlight" and really pale, in a city where the sun never leaves (homebrew stuff)

the first thing i asked for was if i can insight to see if this guy was a vampire

failed that check so hard

[arctic kestrel]

hello

[haughty prism]

Hmmm. good suggestions. Good ground works.

i do agree that with doppelgangers it has to be explained

[echo agate]

i didnt even see this, i would love to try that, sounds amazingly fun

[silk hare]

since he aint a vampire, Im sure he would enjoy some homemade meal (the main ingredient is garlic)

[glass granite]

Maybe some silver…silverware too

[echo agate]

as far as im aware from my insight check of 8, don't think he lied

[arctic kestrel]

does anyone know about homebrew in dnd beyond i need some help
unless there's a technical support channel or a dnd beyond discord i couldn't find

[silk hare]

true true, I think he would also enjoy very porous furniture, yk, wood that splinters easily

[haughty prism]

Speaking of Paladins. I am kinda interested in trying this class specifically because dang they are knights with magic

and because the concept is kinda easy to implement? Though im still a noob at DND so maybe im arrogant

[silk hare]

and oh no, you dropped a bunhc of rice/ salt in front of him

but he isnt a vampire so he doesnt feel compelled to pick it up right?

[arctic kestrel]

are you guys in the middle of something? i can go elsewhere, sorry

[silk hare]

#homebrew

[glass granite]

#ddb-support

[echo agate]

oh no, just talking, probably #homebrew

[silk hare]

its discord even if others are busy theyll answer, no need to apologize

[old sluice]

My favourite is really the guy who writes down and learns the elaborate magical plans of foes so he might copy them in the future.

[soft hare]

Hey chat
If a mother figure was to join a party and her weapons are her chanclas
How much damage would she deal to enemies?

[echo agate]

unless it's DND beyond specific issues

[haughty prism]

oh yeah and i also enjoy evil doppelganger trope where there is an evil version of the main character who copies their skillset. its a real close contest inherently in my opinion

[silk hare]

just choose a weapon that they use and then say they are chanclas

[echo agate]

you see your friend Thomas Copying the BBEGs Runes, for some purpose?

I wonder whos gonna be the BBEG next campaign

[silk hare]

sth that fits with the range requirements etc

[arctic kestrel]

thanks

[silk hare]

maybe sth that has the thrown property

[soft hare]

Quite literally flipflops (the ones with a crystal design as any mother would wear in public)

[echo agate]

that goes pretty hard as a weapon ngl

[silk hare]

yes I know what they are, but lookk at melee weapons, chose sth that has the right range and the thrown property and choose that

[old sluice]

One day I will play a character who finishes tomb of Annihilation and then decides to find a way to imitate and improve on the villain's design

[silk hare]

unless you dont want to throw them

[glass granite]

Oh we talking about thong-
Wait only aussies call them that. I’ll stick with flip flops.

[silk hare]

but maybe sth like glaives

[arctic kestrel]

OTHER PEOPLE DONT CALL THEM TGONGS??!?!??!?!?!

[glass granite]

Apparently!

Also tone down on the cap locks

[silk hare]

yeh that word means a different type of clothing in most other countries lol

[haughty prism]

dragonborn paladin. simple and yet i like it

[arctic kestrel]

huh‽

how

[glass granite]

Just…search it up

[silk hare]

theres a bunhc of words like that my dude

[soft hare]

I recall a friend suggested to using a bra as a slingshot

[silk hare]

especially looking at amerian Vs English english

[soft hare]

If Thanos was a mother

[echo agate]

that reminds me, while taking down a large mud monster, Our barbarian from height jumps ontop of it, then goes "I'm actually not angry, so not gonna activate rage", He's very surprised by how much damage the mud monster suddenly does to him compared to the other barb who is raging

he's very lucky he manage to live that fight

[silk hare]

yeh halfing all damage IS really helpful

well not all, but in this instance

[echo agate]

who would have thought halving it is useful when trying to be one of the primary tanks of the team

[silk hare]

frfr

I mean the better option is to just not get hit but alas

[echo agate]

simply a matter of too good rolls - for the monster

surprisingly, our other barb died first, saving me in the instance, so alas, my rogue lives, granted due to certain debuffs, i have like 5 CON

[silk hare]

wtf did you do for your As allocation?

cos 5 CON??!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

how did you survive lvl 1 even

more fragile than an anemic wizard like damn

[glass granite]

Stealing that one

[silk hare]

xD

[echo agate]

So my original allocation was 10 CON, this was meant to be a joke from starting at level 3 as a phantom rogue (bordering life and death as the description would call it)

felt it could be a fun interaction to a squishy rogue.

managed to level 5 where the current allocation happened which halved it.. it is not a great situation to be in

it is regardless, really funny

[haughty prism]

shame some perks i like of a paladin are locked behind the good guy route lmao.

[echo agate]

i dont usually do it, but rolling for stats also put me in this situation, with 4 / 6 rolls being 10 or 11, and so i saw a scenario that could be fun

[neat hound]

Hey, been away from the game for a while now.

What was the consensus with the 5.5E changes? Has there been much in the way of additional supplements/bringing old content up to date, or is it better to stick with the older materials for now?

[hot gate]

You can just use old material with the new base rules.

I like the rules refresh, it has generally been an upgrade for my groups.

[south inlet]

Hi

[silk hare]

Good thing "good" is a quite subjecrive term

[old sluice]

Find me something that isn't subjective

(You won't. You are a subject. You can only perceive through subjectivity. Even objective things only exist through subjective perception)

[silk hare]

"water reaches 100°C under 1atm it boils" there, thats objective bc u have empirical evidence and its reproducible

[old sluice]

Empirical evidence that is perceived. It requires a subject to perceive to be true

So it may or may not be an objective fact, but it cannot be perceived objectively, only subjectively. Therefore, its objectivity is unproven.

(Ok so this is a bit of a cheeky demonstration that's rather popular with postmodernists. It's funny, somewhat truthful, but very useless)

[proper forum]

Hello presumably experienced players I have a warlock related question

Does the pact of the blade work well with hexblade or is it kind of redundant?

[tulip anchor]

How do Cantrips work, exactly?

[old sluice]

You either know a cantrip or you do not. If you know a cantrip, you cast it as much as you want

That's it.

[tulip anchor]

ok?

[echo agate]

what are you curious about exactly, maybe we can help if you got specifics you don't understand or need clearing on

[tulip anchor]

mainly are they cast once per turn? Or I can go free-willy and use however much I want?

[echo agate]

They cost an Action, so That would be usually once per turn

[tulip anchor]

gotcha

[glass granite]

What’s the coolest weapon for a one armed fighter (this is for an NPC)

[echo agate]

there are minor exceptions, quickened cast for sorcerer ET.c.

[dim dust]

Hello how likelly is a party of 6 lvl 15 characters to survive a battle of 5 balog demons and 12 nalfasnee demons?

[tulip anchor]

you still speak of Cantrips, correct?

[echo agate]

Yes,

what i mean is certain classes has ways of utilizing bonus actions instead of actions for the cost, such as Sorcerer's Metamagic having quickened Cast

[deft pine]

How do I play wizard that doesnt revolve around fireball spam

[glass granite]

Don’t take fireball

[echo agate]

But primarily, IIRC basically all Cantrips cost an action otherwise, when in combat

[deft pine]

At all?

[glass granite]

Well, it’s a sure fire way to not spam fireball

[deft pine]

Fair nuff

[tulip anchor]

so basically: Cantrips use up your turn, unless you have a spell/talent that provides you with extra action, then you can use Cantrips + either attack or spell

[deft pine]

Im about to go into a v difficult gameplay campaign, wizardposting is the goal despite

[echo agate]

You might need to research Actions, because thats basically what we're talking about, It's utilized on every class, and is usually their way of attacking, Cantrips, melee, ranged, all attacks

[tulip anchor]

ok

[echo agate]

Spells, All of it, generally speaking if you're using DNDbeyond you can click on the attack/cantrip/spell and it will tell you wjhether it costs an action or a bonus action

[echo agate]

if you've played BG3, They generally in my experience use actions really well in that game, and that's how i originally learned to understand it

[tulip anchor]

oh, then that makes sense, ok

[echo agate]

feel free to ask again if there's anything else, or just generally didn't understand my explanation, im sure someone else has a better way of explaining it than me

[stuck saddle]

When was the last unearthed arcana?

[hot gate]

October 30

https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/ua/subclasses-update

[echo agate]

what is Unearthed arcana exactly?

[hot gate]

Playtest material

It gets released so those who want to try experimental features can do so and provide feedback. UA sometimes gets officially released, but not always.

[teal niche]

most subclasses that come in books after the PHB were first playtested through UA

[hot gate]

The 2025 artificer had two different UAs before its release earlier this month.

[echo agate]

I see

[knotty pasture]

You should take it for a rainy day anyways but Wizard has plenty of other good spells at level 3 spell slots

Bestow Curse, Counterspell, Fly, Hypnotic Pattern, Enemies Abound

[hot gate]

Lightning bolt can also be very rewarding if you manage to line it up well.

[coarse ravine]

Currently wild shaping into a icycle this morning

[lyric viper]

You must be a mighty druid to have reached the elemental shapes.

[minor cargo]

Sounds cool.

[crimson gulch]

It's finally warming up after a cold snap here, was minus 28 c for a week and now it's plus 3

[visual tide]

i got a question i saw a vidoe about this dream race that when they leave there home they gotta take the form of this like little stuffed animal and i dont know the name of it

they live in the land of dreams or smth i forgot

[naive dirge]

hi

[silk hare]

warmhammer, just mega bizeps

[silk hare]

sounds like homebrew ngl

[limpid zenith]

how do y'all feel about Chwingas? just a random question

[heavy oxide]

i think that was someones version of the kalashtar

[limpid zenith]

i love the little guys and need to know the public opinion

[heavy oxide]

arent they fey?

[limpid zenith]

Elementals I believe

[heavy oxide]

they look chill but they have the vibe of stealing your bad when you arent looking

and running away like plankton with a kraby patty

[cerulean monolith]

I love when little gremlins steal my bad. I don’t want it

[stuck shuttle]

There are any official stuffed doll species for 5e. Closest thing off the top of my head are Doll Golems that existed in previous editions of the game, though they’re monsters, not playable options iirc

[rough basalt]

Could do a reflavored reborn

oh didnt read the og message

for that idk

[woven flint]

I LIVE!!!
RAAAGGHH!!!!

[rough basalt]

Not for long, I'm preparing some truly evil stuff

[leaden lodge]

Are we allowed to talk about third party stuff in here or only first party cuz there's probably something in a third party book

[heavy oxide]

theres nothing i can find

[woven flint]

I'm sure you're allowed lol

[heavy oxide]

dnd is dnd so probably

[woven flint]

I've talked about the Pugilist class a few times without any nagging, you should be alright

[cerulean monolith]

As passing mention yeah, but in-depth conversation would go in #third-party

[woven flint]

Too bad building a strength monk is sub-optimal 😔

[woven flint]

Hi, Sam :3

[leaden lodge]

Wait I think I found something on D&D Beyond

[limpid zenith]

unless you roll like 3 16+ on your stats yeah it's kinda ass

[leaden lodge]

There's something called threadborne from the book The Crooked Moon part 1

[heavy oxide]

i just flavour it that hes strong from how hard the punches are

[tawny warren]

I have a project I want to work on and have never played dnd - I was wondering if anyone had a few mins who could help?

[clear owl]

Hi guys Im new, is there anywhere that I can search some friends for playing dnd?

[woven flint]

The anime "Mashle" really inspires me quite a bit lmao
I love the idea of having no magic in a magical world and just relying on FIST >:3

[leaden lodge]

And if it's on D&D Beyond they counted as official?

[limpid zenith]

how I feel when I play human fighter for the 100th time

[woven flint]

No

[leaden lodge]

Hey it's there under their species list

[heavy oxide]

being the one person in normal clothes and no weapons is weirdly comedic

[leaden lodge]

Like on their main species page

[heavy oxide]

as a monk i dont normal use weapons even if they are better

[woven flint]

Third Party content isn't specifically made by WOTC, it's there because it's been purchased

[limpid zenith]

"you are elf with magic? I am.. Joe the boxer."

[leaden lodge]

Regardless whether it's official or not. It's on their main species page and it tells you what book it's in so it counts as something