dnd-discussion

[hot marlin]

Is it a more idealistic one, where you beat their armies, accept their surrender, then incorporate their population into your own as equals before the law?

Or do you beat their armies, accept their surrender, then treat them as lower class citizens or maybe turn them into a slave class through a draconian system of laws?

[fossil hollow]

Dogma and beliefs tends to factor more into wether a nation or organization ties itself to certain gods

[wooden cedar]

Pretty much yeah, just kill a shit ton of people, enslave them, take the land for yourself etc

[wooden cedar]

exactly this

[wispy mantle]

Am new here hope i am welcome

[fossil hollow]

"Do you know how little that narrows it down?"

[wooden cedar]

I see, so I guess I need to develop the lore of this kingdom more

[wispy mantle]

Nice ! am Aiming to cover you up in your need of artist. I would love we can connect , so I can showcase you my portfolio

[hot marlin]

And then there is history to consider. A nation aligns itself with certain religions due to the history and culture of that nation

[wooden cedar]

I'm aware lmao, I'm thinking of maybe giving it ties to asmodeus

And his whole order thing

[fossil hollow]

neat thing about Asmodeus: They tend to like to disguise themselves as anything but them

[wooden cedar]

So, disguise themselves as non devils?

I know he's a massive serpent who takes on the guise of a 10 foot tall humanoid being

[hot marlin]

In D&D that is also a trick I once saw used. What do you do when your enemies are principled? They will accept surrender, they do not kill prisoners, they do not torture, they respect peace meetings?

Suddenly the PCs can look like the bad guys.

[fossil hollow]

hehehe

[wooden cedar]

Well, I want the kingdom to be the "bad guys" in a way

I think it just becomes a matter of developing the lore more

Thanks everyone!!!

[potent vector]

I'm back already lol

Ic it's been handled ig

Darn, I love the Hells versus Abyss lore

[violet basin]

Sir, the Geneva Convention would like a word with you.

[fossil hollow]

There is no G.C. in Faerun

[feral fulcrum]

The Potted Plant is Asmodeus. Don't lie to me and say it isn't! I know his tricks!

[fossil hollow]

"..."
Its just a potted plant

[violet basin]

that is also asmodeus

[rancid brook]

Random comment: I would love to see a book covering all the "canon" lore.

or/both

New classes that are 'race as class' or simplified classes in the spirit of OD&D.

[feral fulcrum]

Neither are going to really happen in 5E.

[fossil hollow]

they havent been doing "canon" for a long time already

[hushed mason]

If they tried to create a single book of lore... it would inhibit their freedom to change it as often as they do.

[rancid brook]

@feral fulcrum Why not? It seems like an easy enough thing to do since it's all there's content.

[hushed mason]

It would be out of date as soon as they published it.

[fossil hollow]

Just in FR. Theres 50 years worth of lore, with multiple writers. Ed Greenwood also has a different image of FR

Then theres BG stuff

[feral fulcrum]

Because WOTC doesn't do Canon, and because Race As Class also doesn't make any sense in 5E, because Races are super simple. They're not going to spend money on things they don't think people will care about, and as they aim for Mass Market Appeal, everything gets dumbed down, the best you'll get for lore is random little tidbits in various adventure books. Or occasionaly a tiny thing here and there in stuff like Bigby's. They just don't do Nitty Gritty details in Fifth Edition at all.

[crimson gulch]

Race as class has been gone for like 35 years or so, i dont think that is comming back.

books with lore come out all the time, the new DMG had a lore glossery of some of the most commonly referenced peices of lore so that was nice

[fast latch]

There’s a few race as class homebrew if I remember it right

[crimson gulch]

and the new forgotten realms books have got loads of lore in them, its nice

[feral fulcrum]

I'm used to 2014 DND where they basically ignored the settings for the most part.

[crimson gulch]

theres homebrew for everything, thats besides the point

[fossil hollow]

ignored? It was basically all FR

[feral fulcrum]

And that was part of the problem. :V

[fossil hollow]

im not saying it wasnt

[remote wadi]

So good news and bad news

[hushed mason]

Oh!

[feral fulcrum]

They had a wealth of other things to draw from, and it was all just...One Size Fits All Forgotten Realms. What the hecks a Greyhawk and Dragonlance?

[hushed mason]

You've quit the game and now you need to find a new one.

[remote wadi]

Good news, session went pretty well in terms of overall enjoyment

[crimson gulch]

yeah the 2014 PHB was full of forgotten relms lore, 19 of the campaign books were in there

[hushed mason]

That's good!

[feral fulcrum]

And I still don't know why they treated Dragons more like Beasts then Dragons in their 2014 Stablocks. That was weird.

[remote wadi]

Bad news, the session's rolls for me were... not the greatest. 2 7s when trying to lockpick, 6 on initiative

[rancid brook]

The release last year really didn't feel the void. If anything, it just touched on a few high points. DMs will always interpret what's released. I just want to see where or what they think.

[hushed mason]

Meh. Bad dice happen.

[remote wadi]

This is amidst crazy rolls, including a 31 on an Arcana check

[feral fulcrum]

Vast history across most settings as potent spellcasters and intelligence, "Oh yeah just toss all that in as an optional sidebar. Meh."

[crimson gulch]

the new forgotten realms source books jumpstarted 3 campaigns for me, its been great

[fossil hollow]

let them all spam the same multiattack and legendary actions, copy paste, change some numbers

[rancid brook]

Me personally I enjoy reading all the lore. I'm the player that's down for the deep dive.

[remote wadi]

So it went pretty okay, but I hate that feeling when you try to do one singular task because you couldn't do much for the team anyways

Only to fail said task

[fast latch]

HAH

That sucks

[remote wadi]

Oh, yeah. And our Fighter decided to wander off to look at something in the middle of the night. Made a stealth check at disadvantage only to still get an 18

[feral fulcrum]

Failure is simply part of the game. Don't be too bummed when things fail.

[remote wadi]

This is less about one less than eventful day and more transitioned into a running gag that I came to terms with

[crimson gulch]

the last time i had a PC wander off in the middle of the night i just looked at the rest of the party and said "and Cedrick was never seen again"

[remote wadi]

Like, I have good planning and have a decent idea of stages in battle

I just have terrible luck

Not much can be done about that, but I'm just here for the fun anyways

[fast latch]

Seems like a jerk move in my opinion

I mean, why not let them fight whatever is trying to murder them?

[crimson gulch]

becauze they were a level 1 wizard with 9 passive perception and couldent see in the dark

i let him walk it back though

[remote wadi]

DM was asking me why I was lockpicking a chest vs shooting a crossbow, and I just explained that both of our big guys were fighting twig blights, and a 1d6 with no CBE would not exactly accomplish much

[fossil hollow]

damage is damage

[crimson gulch]

disarming things that are killing you while in iniatative is one thing, but looting while others are fighting is poor form

[remote wadi]

But what is taking out one Twig Blight vs wiping out 20+ in 2 turns?

[remote wadi]

I would have to use an entire turn just to get into a position to attack anyways. At that point, it was clear I might as well explore the rest of the place we were at as a smaller means of team contribution

In other words, I ate the poison of reconnaissance, might as well lick the lockpicking plate

@fossil hollow BTW, how they took out that many was a fusion of a Cleave homebrew rule and a Fighter and Paladin with mauls

So in essence, this was less of an abandonment and more knowing they will be perfectly fine and making myself useful

...and still failing because bad luck

[fickle heart]

It happens. There's running gags that I roll terrible initiative (in general).

[remote wadi]

I'm okay with that result, such is life. Just explaining the what and why

[fossil hollow]

cant wait to see how hard Garth hits the draconians

[remote wadi]

Besides, the irony here is that the DC was probably 15, and I got a 14... twice

[reef copper]

Well luck tends to even out over time (multiple rolls). So if you see two rolls as a unlucky scenario you will always find situations unlucky

[remote wadi]

I respectfully disagree. The odds that I roll another 7 base are the same as me rolling 2 before. Accumutively, it would be less likely needing only one to pass

But believing that the next one succeeds is more likely after several fails is a main reason why gambling addicts keep going. "Quitting before they hit big"

Besides, if there was some sort of karma for dice rolls, then I would playfully have to see it for myself. My rolls have been below average consistently, with some miniscule, but very comedic exceptions

[reef copper]

No i mean that your rolls should turn into more or less a bellcurve in the case of multiple dice and a average equal to half the die in single dice

[remote wadi]

That would be for damage dice, for the most part. For ability checks, getting advantage on things are much harder

[reef copper]

My point is that it’s usually better to be an optimist than a pessimist and you can always see things in data that follows your expectations

[remote wadi]

Ehhh, this is just a blend of realism and observations

[reef copper]

Btw how come the other characters are so much stronger in combat?

[crimson gulch]

also usualy picking locks takes more than an action, so doing it in combat is not really viable

[reef copper]

Well we got to accept that it did take an action this time tbf

[remote wadi]

They aren't exactly ultra strong. They just have an option for AoE, in a sense

Remember, those 24 enemies were twig blights. Close to half of a goblin's health

[glad arch]

I have one of the higher intiative bonuses rn and still always end up either in the middle or near the end

My dice do not bless me on initiative

[crimson gulch]

the wizard in my friday game can allways just hold up fingers on one hand for his initative

[reef copper]

Ok i see

[shadow venture]

Do you think a human could realistically disguise as an elf?

[crimson gulch]

yeah

[bronze wave]

Pretty easily yed

[remote wadi]

The one defiant act i had for initiative was back when I was level 3. Wizard and Paladin got nat 20s on initiative, but I still went first

[bronze wave]

Ppl do it irl all the time lol and that’s without magic

[remote wadi]

Small homebrew rule that allows you to deal overkill damage to other enemies within your reach

[reef copper]

Not completely but close enough. A closer inspection would be hard to pass probably

[glad arch]

+5 from alert (2014) and i rarely roll higher then a 12

Tbf its hard to beat our twilight cleric with a +7 and advantage

[remote wadi]

For me, Paladin got to 22 (or was it Druid?) And Wizard got a 23

I got a 15 + 8

[reef copper]

So melee is stronger i assume, or are most things buffed?

[remote wadi]

Mmm, most things across the board have been buffed

I was upset at first because Ranger did not reslly benefit much from them... until I saw the buff to dual wielding and took it back. It was enough. Maybe more than enough

[crimson gulch]

dual weild rangers slay so hard

[feral fulcrum]

It does let them reach Fighter Levels of Blender, but with more damage.

[remote wadi]

Yeah. I ended up getting 2 silvered shortswords and a hand crossbow, second one probably on the way

Buff in question is 2 attacks from the BA instead of 1

[reef copper]

So basically you take the dual wielding trait and with huntersmark outdamage a base fighter?

[twin vector]

What background makes most sense for someone who was banished from their home?

[remote wadi]

Nah. I already have sharpshooter

[feral fulcrum]

2014 or 2024?

[remote wadi]

Hunter's Mark also requires me to give up a good spell on my next level up

[unique nacelle]

I’m so sorry I’m new here
Where can I ask for help finding resources for something specific?

[feral fulcrum]

Really depends on what you're looking for.

[twin vector]

5e

Wood elf btw

[hushed mason]

Ask a more specific question, and we'll direct you.

[feral fulcrum]

That doesn't actually the Answer. Both are 5E, but 2014 and 2024 Backgrounds work very differently

As 2024 Backgrounds come with Feats, and 2014 ones do not.

[twin vector]

I thought 2024 was onednd?

[feral fulcrum]

2024 is 5E, just updated.

The most major changes are just how backgrounds work, that's pretyt much the only substantial change in the system.

[fossil hollow]

that was the playtest name

[twin vector]

Oh

[feral fulcrum]

Technically, that was the Marketing Campaign name

[crimson gulch]

You were banished from youe home and then what? Did you become a soldier, a scholar, a hermit?

[feral fulcrum]

Then they realized people were mistaking it for a New Edition and put the brakes on it hard.

[crimson gulch]

There's a lot of ways it could go

[twin vector]

I still thought it was

[unique nacelle]

I want to find yuan ti media
Specifically looking for physical media tho
Was hoping someone could help me lol

[twin vector]

2014

[hushed mason]

Do you mean books?

[unique nacelle]

Yes

I only have found very little and one of them is Serpent Kingdoms which is hard to buy because it’s old and expensive lol

[feral fulcrum]

All the old books will be, well, old, and expensive, as they're not printed anymore.

And unless you luck out on finding a non-mainstream seller selling one randomly for cheap, your'e probably going to get price gouged.

[twin vector]

But still in 2014 5e what background makes most sense?

[hushed mason]

The best yuan-ti resources I'm familiar with are Serpent Kingdoms from 3.5e. There's also a series of adventures called The Barrow of the Forgotten King, The Sinister Spire, and the Fortress of the Yuan-ti that are yuan-ti centric. There is also a novel series Venom's Taste, Viper's Kiss, and Vanity's Brood. These are all 3.5e era, but they're the best yuan-ti resources I have been able to find. I am running the adventure series, so I asked around a lot for more yuan-ti stuff, and there really isn't a lot.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to find any of these in print; however, they may be available on Archive.org.

[meager fractal]

Which dinosaurs would make the best shock troops for a villainous lizardman

[unique nacelle]

I appreciate this a lot :)

[feral fulcrum]

I don't think there's any decent ridable ones, so probably just Combat T-Rexes as per usual.

[hushed mason]

The novel series is great becuase it shows a yuan-ti led, human-majority city.

[potent mountain]

Heyy what's good all

[unique nacelle]

I want to buy Serpent Kingdoms but it’s quite pricey as said
Maybe a birthday gift for myself lol
Yuan Ti are my favorite dnd race :)

[hushed mason]

Deinonychus

[fossil hollow]

Deinos and Allosaurs

[hushed mason]

It's a shame WOTC hasn't done more with them. Since they're proprietory, you'd think they would use them a little more often. I did read another novel with yuan-ti, but they were nothing more than background baddies, so I don't recommend it.

Tomorrow, my group is doing the final combat(s) in the adventure series. I'm afraid it may be TPK.

[south isle]

I'm trying to find a way to create a half dragon character, are there any rules for making one in 5E.

[feral fulcrum]

Not to my knowledge, no. The cloest you get is Dragonborn, and those are distinctly different from Half-Dragons.

[polar raft]

Hello everyone, I’m trying to find a DM for me and couple of my friends. But the looking for DM tab isn’t workin for me. Could anyone help me out?

[rough basalt]

Trying to find a DM who'll take over for a group of friends will take awhile. Quickest way would be one of you DMs, but other than that, just gotta wait.

Could broaden your search on r/lfg and other dnd discords with lfg channels

[south isle]

I have the Council of Wyrms campaign book from ADND. Was wondering if that could be updated to work.

[rough basalt]

Or if you wanna use a VTT, ask on their forum or discord

[unique nacelle]

I’m writing a novel with them as main characters and race and my heart hurts for how little there is about them lol

[hushed mason]

I definitely suggest you read the novel series, then. I read it on my tablet, and I hate reading electronic documents, but it contained a lot of helpful stuff. It's a FR novel series.

[potent vector]

You're prob better off taking a subclass/flavored feats that let you be a half dragon, maybe spell if you're a caster

Or flavored Dragonborn ofc

[feral fulcrum]

Half-Dragon's are mechanically, basically just Dragonborn.

[unique nacelle]

Will do! Ty :)

[hushed mason]

BTW - I asked the very same question here, and aside from Serpent Kingdoms, no one had any suggestions for me. I'm so happy to pass on what I learned afterwards.

The best channel to ask about something like that is #dnd-lore.

[vale sage]

Is the Puglist basically a monk or barbarian?

[fossil hollow]

yes

[harsh hollow]

Yeah, it's just based less around graceful dodging and more about taking it on the chin and then hitting back.

[pearl hedge]

hey all! just updated my profile pic since forever ago.. also got a cool dnd-themed keychain. unfortunately one of our players was a no show and one of them literally dropped out mid-SESSION 0

[harsh hollow]

Unfortunately it has an issue of relying more on a bunch of interlocking cooldowns you have to keep track of instead of making good use of its focus point copy.

[pearl hedge]

such a shame.. we hadn't even started playing and they dropped the campaign beca they wanted to eat dinner in the middle of it.. smh

[meager fractal]

Is there such a thing as a device that causes a wild magic surge at the point where it lands when thrown?

[hushed mason]

Dinner used to be a problem when I played on mIRC 20 years ago. People HAD to go eat dinner at the table with their parents.

[crimson gulch]

Failing to make the time to play is something that very much still happens

[hushed mason]

I play with older people now... who can eat dinner at their PCs.

[pearl hedge]

well the thing you do with games is you eat BEFOREhand so you don't have to get up and step away from the mic to eat.. i know this problem all too well

[verbal geyser]

Guys she broke up with me on Valentine’s while we were doing well how much longer till i have 20 strength?

[hushed mason]

Now I'm hungry.

[supple rain]

Hey, I’m kinda new to dnd (and just joined this server), and I was wondering what channel I could go to to ask questions about character creation?

[stiff rock]

#character-discussion or #dnd-newcomers may be best

[verbal geyser]

#character-discussion

[supple rain]

Thank you

[pearl hedge]

#character-discussion is where i'd go

[pearl hedge]

sorry i'm not understanding

[hushed mason]

I play online.

No one has to leave their computer to go eat dinner with their parents anymore because... we're too old for that.

[ebon silo]

Pugilist class is the best class ever now

Now i can role play street fighter

[crystal nest]

I'll give the Pugilist worries the same amount of time I gave the Healing Word worries to go away

[harsh hollow]

There's a Monk subclass in the Valda's release they did here that actually does Street Fighter stuff, combo system and all.

Also had a Spider-Man rogue subclass.

[hushed mason]

Yeah, it's disappointing to have folks just bail like that.

[pearl hedge]

more mature themes and all and we actually had some decent roleplay with the other PCs that were there. but it was super unfortunate we only had 3 today especially since it was session 0

[feral fulcrum]

God, so many Nat 20's on all sides this session. Suppose it's only naturally with all the Advantage from flanking going on.

[remote wadi]

One other thing about the campaign i am in

It makes a lot more sense about why we rarely have our Cleric. He is enlisted, so a lot of the time, he is either busy or dead tired

Honestly? Respect to him for that. Not having a player a lot of the time sucks, but he's doing a good thing out there and I can't be mad at that

[crimson gulch]

Making the time to play can be so hard, I was doing shift work for decades so i get it

[wispy star]

So I want to throw an undead owlbear at my players. Other than immunities to poison and exhaustion and the thing where they pop back up with 1 HP is there anything else I should add to it?

[marble lion]

You already do. Now go make something of it

[crimson gulch]

Undead resilience is good, maby add some necrotic damage to its attack too

[lavish flame]

Goes without saying, but actually changing the Creature type to Undead is useful for people like Clerics and Paladins

[sharp forge]

Hey who wants to call and create dnd characters for fun

[potent mountain]

How did you guys figure put what class you like?

[glass granite]

I found the class that let me punch things and ba pow, monk main

I’m a sucker for unarmed combatants in fiction

[naive cedar]

I played them and decided i like cleric the most for the roleplay and the support element

[marble lion]

I had a vision and found a class that played into it

Fiendish warlock in this case

[pearl hedge]

there's a channel for talking about that! it's #character-discussion

[livid slate]

When will they add melee sorcerers ;-;

Bards get the most melee being a blatant support and sorcerer is left with none

[glass granite]

Cleric is right there for melee full caster

[severe rampart]

... Bard.

[livid slate]

Why do other spellcatsers get them : (

[open moss]

make ur bard do mma as a art

[livid slate]

Warlock is built in
Artificiers can
Wizards can
Bards excel at it weirdly enough
Clerics are clerics
And sorcerers only means of melee is multiclass

[severe rampart]

Because sorcerers are nepo babies who got their magic from their lineage

[livid slate]

1 there's other cases
2 I do not see why that forces them to only use magic.

[severe rampart]

But also probably not that viable because they're very squishy

[potent mountain]

Im trying to figure out what class to play

[livid slate]

Then why not do smt like Bladesinger?
Or maybe be like offense is the best defense?

[potent mountain]

Ive played dnd 1 campaign and 5 other one offs and im tryna find who I like

[glass granite]

Do you want spells or weapons?

[severe rampart]

I mean nothing is stopping you from picking up a sword as a sorcerer and cast spells that work with your fighting style

[potent mountain]

That a tough question

[glass granite]

Weapon prof

[potent mountain]

I'd choose spells tho

[livid slate]

Exactly.

[glass granite]

Support or blaster?

[severe rampart]

Oh yeah, that too, simple weapons though right? If I remember correctly

[glass granite]

Swords are martial

[livid slate]

I wish for at least one melee sorcerer ;-;
Can ua save me here?

[potent mountain]

By support do you mean like healing?

[livid slate]

Also it's objectively worse.
A subclass would offer an advantage

[potent mountain]

Is both an option?
Id prolly say blaster

[glass granite]

Healing, buffing, crowd control

[glass granite]

Both is an option, but it’s less helpful

[severe rampart]

Yeah, Bards

[potent mountain]

Ill pin that

[glass granite]

Wizard or Druid seems fitting

[livid slate]

Celestial warlock :3

[potent mountain]

Blaster probably

[glass granite]

Divine soul sorcerer mayhaps?

[potent mountain]

Im thinking about sorcerer and bard

[glass granite]

You want metamagic shenanigans or skill shenanigans

[potent mountain]

Shiiittteeee

[potent mountain]

Whats uhhh metamagic mean wdym by that

[glass granite]

The ability to augment spells. It’s a sorcerers signature

[potent mountain]

Could you elaborate on "augment" im sorry

[glass granite]

Subtle spell (no verbal or somatic components), heightened (harder to resist saves), twinned (can target more enemies, with conditions), augment (change damage type) to name a few

[potent mountain]

Ooh thats good

And wdym by skill shenanigans

[livid slate]

Not mentioning quickened spell is a sin

[glass granite]

Oh and quickened spell, you can cast spells as a bonus action

[livid slate]

Perfect timing.

[glass granite]

Mhm

[glass granite]

Expertise in skill checks and adding half your prof bonus to anything you’re not proficient in

Plus enhance ability (a spell) that gives advantage on skill checks

[potent mountain]

Id prolly take the augmentations

[glass granite]

Sorcerer it is! Bards are more supportive anyway

[potent mountain]

Pray tell about bards though

Im kind of fine with support, i just dont wanna be "able to heal and nothing else" support

[glass granite]

There’s no class in the game like that

[fossil hollow]

Not even clerics are heal and do nothing else

[glass granite]

Not even Life clerics are heal and do nothing else

[potent mountain]

Thank yog-sothoth

[potent mountain]

Ive fallen to a lie from big dungeoneer

[jovial shadow]

I'm back!

[vital axle]

Besides the fact a lot of people understands damahe its allways the best option

there is a lot to do out combat xd

[potent mountain]

Tell me about bards por favore

[naive cedar]

Cleric DND made me realise how much i love playing support when its not just healbotting

[potent mountain]

Perhaps I need to be enlightened

I think i could do good support if i tried bard

Being a frontliner does get a little exhausting

[naive cedar]

bard is also a very fun support but it plays differently

a lot of people dont like druid but i enjoy that one too

those are the three main support classes id say

[livid echo]

So I have second session of D&D of my new ongoing campaign tomorrow afternoon

We skipped a week for Super Bowl but getting back in tomorrow

I have 3 more sessions I paid for and I really need to take these and consider if I stay with the campaign or take a break and maybe do one shots for a while - the group dynamic was not the best in session 1 and it’s true what they say no D&D is better than bad D&D

I really want to give this group a few more sessions and see if it grows on me it may just have been a poor session 1 and maybe the DM will have a conversation with some of the more rowdy party members in the background especially if things continue the same

D&D should be fun and have some generalized rules on etiquette I would have them anyway if I was a dm

So fingers crossed for a good fun time tomorrow

[stone panther]

i hope your session goes better! im sorry the last one was rough

[obtuse glacier]

Question for all the DND people.
How do you use your downtime?

[potent mountain]

I just left a campaign because I didnt mess with the players or DM

[potent mountain]

Always do something.

You have a side hustle? Make products
Dont have a side hustle but want cash and have down time? Sell soda or something
Prepare spells. Summon demons. Whatever it takes

Always fo something

[livid echo]

Tyvm i plan to give it an honest shot not just because i paid for it but because it would be unfair to just ghost everyone especially as i like the game cafe and other groups will probably be better last one i was in for 4 weeks (very short campaign) was an absolute blast and we meshed well together

[obtuse glacier]

Was reading this as i was coming into the chat.

I run games and have had this issue quiet a bit myself. It's hard as a GM/DM to pull the trigger on players not being a good fit. But i've also noticed that sometimes the dm needs to step up instead of loosing a good player for a bad group.

But at the end of the day.... You have to value the dollar. Especailly in this economy. If the game isn't for you, your probably not going to be happy in 8+ more sessions in.

[obtuse glacier]

I've noticed that a lot of my players tend to just "rest" or rotate keeping watch which is kinda boring when people are funding these games, ya know.

I feel like i gotta find things to put infront of them or they just do as said. I got Doomsgrinder cookbook (and working on my own cooking stuff) which gets some DT interactions but i've noticed a lot of players i've met just want to hack/slash/and RP with townspeople

[livid echo]

Yeah I think the DM is great I think he is most likely very young he seems young anyways and plays with his mom and dad on the side and I think he is just at an age where it’s hard to handle this kind of stuff he doesn’t have the years of life experience yet

Again really great guy and great story teller we are in a home brewed world of his and he did amazing on it so much detail he wrote like a giant encyclopedia on his world for all the players

[potent mountain]

I personally strive to do a side hustle

Its fun and free gold

[obtuse glacier]

See im not the only one who thinks about that extra coin!

I definitely introduced gambling in towns.

[stone panther]

players LOOVE gambling

especially if you up the stakes with magic items in the pot

[obtuse glacier]

tell them we're gonna roll some dice and play blackjack or just straight up gamble on dice. That has worked a few times.

But i'm just wondering if there's an entire generation of gamers coming in with only tv, movie and baldur's gate experience and just don't know what they're missing.

[potent mountain]

I used to take the criminal feat just for the playing card deck proficiency

[obtuse glacier]

Yeah, you'd beat the dm npcs at cards with that more than half the time.

[potent mountain]

Ive left that for other origins because im truna be serious and min-maxx

What gains a man if he gets the world but forfeits his soul?

[obtuse glacier]

I have been playing with the idea of building a website that would have "rolls" and mini games for them but its a lot of work for it to fail.

[livid echo]

Well ty again all I’ll post tomorrow how session 2 goes im hoping its good i want to love this campaign

Anyways I think im off to bed have a truly wonderful night oh and happy Valentine’s Day all

[obtuse glacier]

I sadly never got into min/maxing.
It sounds fun but every time i play instead of dm i do wild stuff instead.

Like my current play PC is Zorak the Bard (like zorak from the old space coast to coast show). And his plan is to become a cleric to spy on some cleric group for a Auril who promised him warlock powers.... But the whole thing is a meme where he fights with her and has fits cause it ends up.... She never wanted to help him. Just see if he was dumb enough to become a cleric and "spy" on some group for her, for free.

[glass granite]

I do everything in my power to get a cape of billowing

[potent mountain]

What gains a man if he gets the world but forfeits his soul

[fossil hollow]

The man who sold the world

[glass granite]

And if I have one, then the rest of the party needs one to

[obtuse glacier]

We have a 16 year old who really wanted one. I do the wandering merchant where 1 item is cursed but everything is on sale.

I almost got them with the cursed item but a player caught into which one seemed like the curse. The youngin asked about the cape and my npc tried to make it seem "magical" and everyone started making jokes about "well if its windy, is it really magical?" lol.

[obtuse glacier]

I had to re-read that.
He gets the power to rule the world, but at a cost. And that cost could be deadly depending on who owns said soul.

[glass granite]

He gains the world, I’d say

[potent mountain]

Have yall really never heard that quote?

[obtuse glacier]

nope

[potent mountain]

Bomboclat

[junior spade]

what actually are aasimars in dnd

[fossil hollow]

The celestial version of tieflings and genasi. Planetouched mortals who have a touch of celestial abilities

[junior spade]

Planetouched?

[fossil hollow]

the term for tieflings genasi and aasimar. Touched by another plane of existence/extraplanar

[lavish flame]

"Got some Planar influence" is basically what that means

[open moss]

i love giving people curses

[lavish flame]

Tieflings are Planetouched because they have ties to the Lower Planes. Aasimar are Planetouched because they have ties to the Upper Planes. Genasi are Planetouched because they have ties to the Inner Planes.

[fossil hollow]

Planetouched was a general term used to described mortal creatures whose lineages traced back to an outsider of some kind, causing them some unusual characteristics that persisted in the bloodline for several generations. Planetouched were not as dramatically different as a true hybrid (i.e. a half-celestial or half-fiend) would be. The most common types of planetouched were tieflings and aasimar. However, there were no "typical" planetouched, as the different types generally lacked cultures of their own and instead adopted the culture they were born into.

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Planetouched

[junior spade]

So are they like normal ppl that gods like or

[fossil hollow]

theyre people with a connection to beings like elementals, fiends, and celestials

Extraplanar/Outsiders

[stark maple]

i hope we get a playable fiend race

[fossil hollow]

highly unlikely

unless they make Cambions playable for some reason

[barren panther]

Isn’t there already a campion flavored rifling?

[fossil hollow]

Tieflings basically fill the niche anyway yeah

[barren panther]

Man autocorrect is killing me today

[potent mountain]

You know how tieflings are temu demons? these are temu angels.

[barren panther]

Temons

[junior spade]

No I genuinely thought tieflings are just born that wau

[signal imp]

Hey dose any one play dnd in Colombia the gf wants to know

[feral fulcrum]

Some can be, some can be made jsut from exposure to Infernal Energy, or deals with Fiends.

[barren panther]

It’s similar. They’re not really demons or devils, more like one wound up in the gene pool a while back. Same goes for aasimar with angels

[feral fulcrum]

Same thing with Aasimar's, but Celestials.

[fossil hollow]

doesnt have to be angels either. It can be any celestial. Ive played a kirin aasimar before

[potent mountain]

trying to choose between bard or sorcerer. any help i can get choosing?

[signal imp]

Whats is the worst thing a dmd did to you in a sessions? My dm is making us fight five ancient dragons at once and they are being controlled by a powerful mage.

[fossil hollow]

roll a die/flip a coin

[fossil hollow]

cancel a session

oh in session. Uhhh seperate the party in the death house while a party memeber played chess with him, our lives on the line

I hate that incel (Strahd)

[barren panther]

Define worst

[signal imp]

Worst then fighting 5 ancient dragon all at the same time.

[worn lagoon]

sorcerer if 2024 bard if 2014

[barren panther]

There’s like challenging encounter worst and then there’s made D&D not enjoyable worst

[worn lagoon]

subtly try to kill us all because we 'made him feel like a neanderthal'

[fossil hollow]

isnt that Normal DMing tactics

i am subtly trying to kill players

[worn lagoon]

i would need to go into detail for why that was unusually awful to play through

[fossil hollow]

fair nough, i expect DM vs player mentality

[signal imp]

What the one class you you will never play ? Me it would be a bard

[worn lagoon]

half of r/dndhorrorstories is dm taking an ooc problem into the campaign, this one was like that

[barren panther]

I’m rooting for my players. I’m always trying to create a challenging but enjoyable encounter

[worn lagoon]

monk rogue or ranger

[severe rampart]

How dare thee

[stoic haven]

Why does this remind me of (Spoilers) ||Vox Machina with Pike gambling against the archdevil while half the party watches||

[keen kestrel]

druid or wizard, meh

[signal imp]

I wizard can be broken late game

[worn lagoon]

wizards are always broken, it's probably not because they're weak that they don't want to play it

[keen kestrel]

I'm just indicating the classes I don't wanna play

[barren panther]

The only class I’ve never been super into was warlock

[keen kestrel]

I don't really enjoy wizards, and druids are just wizards that wild shape

[worn lagoon]

i would say that's a huge stretch

[severe rampart]

This is where I disagree, Warlocks are cool if you can craft the deity alongside the DM

[keen kestrel]

Is it though?

[barren panther]

Everyone’s got preferences

[barren panther]

Yeah I’d say so too haha

[worn lagoon]

the only vaguely wizard-like subclass of druid is like, land, and even then it's very little overlap

[fossil hollow]

... i would not be surprised if thats where Nealen got it

[keen kestrel]

While druid gets a bunch more abilities, at the end of the day they're primarily tanky wizards

[barren panther]

I’d say a Druid is more like a nature cleric than a a wizard

[worn lagoon]

they barely have spells in common

[keen kestrel]

They still just cast a concentration spell then protect themselves somehow

[signal imp]

Why dose this discord channel can't have a voice channel

[worn lagoon]

isn't that everyone

[signal imp]

I am doing a sorc and multiple class into wizard

[keen kestrel]

warlocks do eldritch blast, bard gives out inspiration, sorcerers like doing crazy stuff with meta magic, clerics can also just frontline and heal along with other things

while some of the druid subclasses can change it up a little bit, that's also what happens to wizards

[worn lagoon]

sorcerers are the actual wizard clone

you just get to heighten that hypnotic pattern that will instantly end the encounter

[keen kestrel]

that's what I mean though, sorcerers at least get something unique

[worn lagoon]

not their spell list

it's just wizard but missing a fifth of its coolest spells

[severe rampart]

totally not directed at me

[keen kestrel]

but meta magic is way more interesting than simply getting every spell in the game through money

[worn lagoon]

wizard gets a lot of subclasses with interesting features

[signal imp]

See i making this character into my eso character

[severe rampart]

eso character?

[worn lagoon]

being able to summon a tiny hut in one action is really funny

[signal imp]

Elder scrolls online mmo

[worn lagoon]

how, you only ever cast fireball

[severe rampart]

Exactly, you give me a level 12 wizard with a bajillion spell slots, I'm casting an upcasted fireball, not hypnotic pattern

At least we didn't die

[worn lagoon]

idk if you noticed but the fighter ended up doing more damage than you

[severe rampart]

Which one, we had two

[worn lagoon]

the one that soloed the lich

[severe rampart]

if it was Belial, that's because they're insanely good at the game

[worn lagoon]

it was her first time playing dnd

[severe rampart]

No shot? she was so immersive wth, it felt like a novel when she described her actions

[worn lagoon]

she has native speaker superpowers, we cannot compete

[exotic sinew]

Is anyone else upset that the new wild magic table doesn't have the roll where you fireball yourself

[worn lagoon]

I'm not using the new magic table because self griefing was half the hilarity

[severe rampart]

LOL mine was

"You're very young for your age"

[chrome verge]

Lmao yikes

[barren panther]

We still got flowerpot mode I’m cool with it

[worn lagoon]

what the hell does this even mean 😭

[severe rampart]

The DM didn't get a wink of sleep and it was funny as hell

[severe rampart]

I was playing my child character and this NPC was talking to me, accidentally the DM said "You're very young for your age"

[chrome verge]

I love that so much haha. Ive had way too many sessions on no sleep and they always feel like a fever dream its so fun

[chrome verge]

Lmao

[severe rampart]

Hearing that at 2 AM in the morning is hysterical

[chrome verge]

It's 11:15pm for me lmao, but I will still be up at 2am haha

[worn lagoon]

i think my favorite moment lately was when i showed what those pond women looked like underwater

[umbral girder]

16 spell slots for a level 12 Wizard fun fact

7 of them can’t do fireball.

[severe rampart]

Some are reserved for Scorching Ray, the other for casting utility spells, and cantrips... Fire Bolt

[umbral girder]

A wand of fireballs would be very nice

I think it doubles how many you got going.

[severe rampart]

that would've been a nice magic item to have

[unkempt hill]

Late for me to say this, but to those that didn't get to hear it today, Happy Valentines day

[modest plover]

if a player picks astral elf and then picks hexblood, does the hexblood overwrite it?

or how does that work

[fossil hollow]

any lineage overwrites your orignal species. Only thing you would keep is any speeds from your specie at time of change

[modest plover]

lineage requires the character to die?

am I just grossly misunderstanding it

[fossil hollow]

... sorry, i was thinking about reborn

[fossil hollow]

yeah, no, just at the time of the change of species.

I was thinking about how reborn's most common way to be done is death

[modest plover]

okay but it still rewrites everything over to what hexblood does right

basiaclly hexblood is your race and the previous is just flavor or whatever

[fossil hollow]

yes. You dont keep anything but skill proficiencies and speeds if you dont pick two skill profs

I have a hadozee turned Dhamphir after an unfortunate encounter with her patron, a vampire that turned her into a Mananangal

[modest plover]

first off, super sick, second off thank you sm!

[harsh hollow]

Someone mentioned how terrifying a centaur turned Dhampir and so able to just walk up surfaces would be and I still think about that sometimes.

[small heath]

Question: I know its looked down upon for PCs to metagame info from what a DM has. But what about the other way around?

[meager fractal]

I'm a warlord in a 4e game. I have no idea how to describe any of my powers but I do a lot of stuff.

[flat monolith]

the dm should know everything about the players

[small heath]

Should I, as a player, not reveal info about a character that I feel like is important to reveal later when the time is right?

[flat monolith]

like you suspect someone is the bbeg or about your character?

[small heath]

I guess? Let's say my character, and sorcerer, swaps out their metamagic as they're allowed to do. Is it my job to inform the DM about that even though its a known rule?

[flat monolith]

yeah

[hushed mason]

Something like that is best communicated with your DM.

[small heath]

Then I guess another example would be lore related. Let's say I have this secret that I want revealed later on that'll add in relevant context, but I dont want to spoil it to the DM or the party because I feel like they will ruin it.

Or that it won't go the way I envision it.

If a DM is allowed to hold secret info about NPCs, then logically can PCs do the same?

Or is this depending on the group itself?

[flat monolith]

the dm shoud know the secret but the other players shouldnt, because if the dm doesnt know this then it can interfer with what they have planned in a unfun way.

[humble cairn]

Players who try and keep secrets from other players usually turns out one of two ways, in my experience: 1) The other players figure out the secret immediately and ruin the surprise or 2) the other players never figure out the secret and when it is eventually revealed they don't actually care .. ruining the surprise.

In my experience it's best to actually have the whole group in on the secret, let the players know and have them help you keep it secret from their characters.

Secrets and reveals are hard to do without player cooperation, but if you get their cooperation you can create that tension and the reveal with them, plan ahead for a generl shape to how the reveal is going to go.

[small heath]

I personally think that PCs should be given the opportunity to play story teller and reveal stuff that the others dont know about. Obviously there are good ways to go about it.

[humble cairn]

Again, I think it's tricky for most groups. Talk to your group and discuss this with them.

You can have the talk about "how much can we keep secrets from each other" without specifically revealing the secrets you want to keep.

[south raft]

You can probably also talk to your DM regarding a desired direction with plot hooks regarding your character's backstory.

[humble cairn]

This logic doesn't follow. PCs and NPCs are built differently, for different purposes, and with different rules.

The PCs are the main characters. The whole group should be fans of each of them and should be looking forward to their developing story as well as helping all of them create the dramatic scenes they want. NPCs are not the main characters, they exist in order to provide challenges for the main characters and to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the PCs. They do not exist for their own purposes, they exist as scenery and props to reflect against the PCs.

Of course, memorable NPCs are great, but ultimately they still are there to act as backdrops for the PCs.

[lavish flame]

Additionally its a bit like saying "Should the actors keep secrets from the editors in a movie"

[small heath]

Then what about reoccurring characters from the DMs?

[humble cairn]

Same thing? They come back because their job is not done.

[glass granite]

Anything a DM does not know is not canon

[humble cairn]

PCs should totally be able to have secrets from other PCs. But I don't recommend that players have secrets from other players, especially from the DM.

[harsh hollow]

If you want something cool to happen it's easier to get it done if the players know even if their characters don't.

[glass granite]

I don’t mind it personally between players unless it heavily affects the other players

[harsh hollow]

What you as a player and your character know are different things.

If you hide a surprise from the DM it could be something they don't allow and then all that time spent planning will be for nothing and grind everything to a halt.

Work with them, not in spite of them.

[raven cove]

There are few reasons to want to keep things from the DM, but there are some people who run tables like that out there.

Not my cup of tea.

[harsh hollow]

It's something that can so easily go wrong in a lot of ways though.

It working is probably the exception to the rule rather than being the norm.

[raven cove]

You'd have to want a lot of chaos, and others.

[harsh hollow]

Like I could see something where you decide your character is like the child of a plot relevant NPC or something and then

It becomes real awkward when your entire backstory rode on that and it turns out they're infertile but you didn't ask.

Now the DM either has to retcon plans on the fly just to suit you or your entire backstory was wasted because being surprising to the DM was more important.

Like it just feels like hiding things from the person controlling the universe has so many ways to go wrong.

[small heath]

As a player still gaining experience and joining multiple campaigns now, I am still learning about the standards of expectations from everyone involved for a campaign to go well. This started as a random thought I had in my mind.

I do appreciate the responses ❤️

[harsh hollow]

It's a complex subject for sure, there's no real right answer.

[small heath]

I figured. But these kids of discussions I enjoy because it helps me conceptualize stuff. I ultimately aim to be a better player every session.

And hopefully learn how to be a DM by the time summer comes around.

[harsh hollow]

Just keep in mind that while there are a lot of bad stories about DMs there's just as many trying their best to make a good experience for you.

That's why I had the view on the subject I did. You're far more likely to get the moments you want if you go over it with the DM first, even if that means at least to them it's not a surprise. They can set you up to surprise everyone else!

[small heath]

I like to tell my current DMs a series of ideas I have for my character and how they fit into the current narrative. I try to specific enough that they understand it but vague that I can mold the approach.

[indigo delta]

is there a chatroom for homebrew spell discussion?

[humble cairn]

#homebrew

[indigo delta]

thanks boss

[mellow copper]

Hey

Anyone up?

[humble cairn]

Those of us in Southeast Asia are.

[mellow copper]

I need help with an character I'm kinda new and I have an concept of a character I want to do

Nyx Veyra is his name

[fathom arch]

I'm a beginner myself but what do you need help with?

[mellow copper]

So are u able to like make it own ability

Bc I want my character to basically void step where they can go into another dimension

[humble cairn]

Hop on over to #character-discussion

[safe thistle]

are there ways to get certain spells from ranger class as a warlock?

[humble cairn]

2014 or 2024? And which spell?

[fathom arch]

Not sure, maybe with pact of the tome?

[safe thistle]

2014, idk the name right now, i remember what it does though, at least the two spells i want, one gives extra damage and the other gives extra movement, the wiki is down so i cant find the names of the two spells

[humble cairn]

Hunter's Mark and Longstrider?

[severe rampart]

Expeditious Retreat, and Hex? or Hunter's Mark

Right I think Ophidimancer got it

[safe thistle]

longstrider, the other is something strike...

[humble cairn]

True Strike? Steel Wind Strike?

[severe rampart]

True Strike? Booming Strike?

[safe thistle]

its a level 1 spell, zepher? i know im screwing the name

[severe rampart]

Zephyr Strike

[safe thistle]

thank you

[humble cairn]

Zephyr Strike

[fathom arch]

longstrider can be gotten with that ritual spells feat iirc

[stray sage]

how good would you say the order of scribes subclass is?

[fathom arch]

and I think warlock tome and/or invocations can give you rituals too?

[humble cairn]

Hmm .. unfortunately Ranger is not a class list eligible for Magic Initiate.

[safe thistle]

i dont get ritual spells, takes an hour long to cast it. i dont think i can take that and make use of it if im reading ritual spells correctly

[fathom arch]

A ritual spell can either be cast like a normal spell using a spell slot or as a ritual for free but a longer casting time

and I think longstrider is a ritual

[humble cairn]

Ritual spells add ten minutes to the casting, the Pact of the Tome invocation, Book of Ancient Secrets, lets you ritual cast and pick up rituals outside of warlock.

Zephyr Strike is really hard to get without dipping Ranger, but Longstrider is easier.

[safe thistle]

ok, but still, its 10 mins, unless you saying that i can cast it like normal when i use pact of the tome

[humble cairn]

Longstrider is not a ritual, but it's on the Wizard and Druid list, so you could Magic Initiate .. hmm as a Warlock you'd want to get it through MI Bard since it matches your casting stat.

[fathom arch]

my bad then

[fathom arch]

And I don't quite remember, much less for the 2014 version

[humble cairn]

Why do you want those spells, in particular?

[safe thistle]

i have a soft spot for speed

like insane speed

[humble cairn]

Warlocks get Expeditious Retreat innately.

[safe thistle]

that just a dash action in short

[humble cairn]

Which you can double.

Being able to Dash as a Bonus means you have an Action free, which you can also use to Dash.

[fathom arch]

Maybe take a look at monk

[humble cairn]

Meaning you can go triple your speed.

[safe thistle]

yes, i know monk gets extra flat movement, but i want to do more. im a drug addict afterall

i want this to be funky, and weird

[humble cairn]

Trying to do it with Ranger spells is not the best way to do this. You're definitely sticking with Warlock?

[safe thistle]

not sure

the reason why i was thinking warlock was because of eldritch blast with snipping capability

[humble cairn]

Ok well if you want to go fast, Warlock isn't really the class. Monk and Rogue are fast.

And Rogues also benefit from the long distance sniping tactic.

[fathom arch]

monks get like a perma +10 feet if they're not wearing armors

[humble cairn]

They get more than that as they level up.

[fathom arch]

and step of the wind

[safe thistle]

up to like....i think it was additional 40

[humble cairn]

I think they max out at an additional 30.

Meaning their regular walk speed is equal to most other people's Dashing speed.

[safe thistle]

i can already do alot with a catfolk

[humble cairn]

Tabaxi, of course.

[fathom arch]

does it have to be 2014?

[safe thistle]

its the only one i know beside pathfinder

[fathom arch]

I think 2024 archfey can allow you to spam misty steps

[safe thistle]

hey, that cheating, no no no xD

teleport not allowed

[humble cairn]

Anyway if you want to be fast and snipery, Rogue works well.

[safe thistle]

i guess, i could look at wizard, i heard they can get eldritch blast

[tidal bough]

Whats the topic/question?

[humble cairn]

With difficulty and it doesn't work as well for them unless you get yet another feat for Agonizing Blast.

[safe thistle]

speed, just pure unadult rated, speed, with the side of snipping

[humble cairn]

Do you not want to do Rogue? Because you kind of just ignored my comment.

[fathom arch]

anybody can get eldritch blast with magic initiat, but you won't get multi blast

[tidal bough]

Oh trying to get max speed?

[humble cairn]

Yes you will, it's based on character levels. What you won't get is Agonizing Blast.

[safe thistle]

just enough to relocate at any given moment

cover blown, must find a new spot kind of thing

[fierce trellis]

Only in 2014.

[humble cairn]

This is a 2014 character.

[fierce trellis]

Ah fair

[humble cairn]

Did you not like Rogue?

[hot gate]

Magic initiate only offers cantrips from cleric, druid or wizard, so no

[fathom arch]

nvm then

[safe thistle]

the reason im not interested in rogue (and never will be) is because i dont do much with the whole sneak attack, just not my style

[tidal bough]

Fair fair, I mean monk barb tabaxi is enough to get around quickly, moving upto to 300ft in a round

[safe thistle]

im listening, due pray tell

[fathom arch]

I remember a way to get warlock, but maybe it's in 2024?

[humble cairn]

Ok that's fine, you just kind of ignored me, if it matters, Sneak Attack doesn't have to be from hiding.

[hot gate]

I had assumed 2024 with my answer

[humble cairn]

Anyway, how about Kensei Gun Monk?

[fathom arch]

what am I remembering then

[humble cairn]

Magit Initiate 2014 accesses more class lists.

[fierce trellis]

2024 you can use Eldritch Adept > Pact of Tome

[humble cairn]

How do you feel about Kensei Monk? You can get really good with ranged weapons, Kensei make quite good snipers.

[safe thistle]

i did reply, i just didnt think rogues are all that...great from my perspective, you have to get advantage though gimmicks, which, its kinda why i never like rogue, i like being a skill monkey when i want to be a rogue, but when player ask me why i dont sneak attack, i just never been a fan is all.

[safe thistle]

wait, kensai can do range weapons? i thought they cant, interesting

[humble cairn]

Yes, they are very well known for being great archers.

[safe thistle]

ill definitely think on that

[tidal bough]

Tabaxi 30ft move speed
Monk unarmored movement +10ft
Barb unarmored movement +10ft
50ft movement speed
Tabaxi species trait doubles this to 100ft
Movement, action dash and ba dash makes this 300ft.

If you really want to push this as far as possible you can also get boots of speed and potion of speed/haste spell which would get this to 1200ft in a single round, if youre lvl 19 and get the epic boon of speed you can push this even further by increasing your speed by 30ft and take the speedy feat for an extra 10ft move speed for a total of 90ft base move speed

Redoing this is 90ft base
Tabaxi double to 180, boots of speed double to 360, potion of speed double to 720.

Movement, action dash and bonus action dash 720x3 for a total of 2160ft per round.

You can push this farther but realistically you dont need to

[safe thistle]

lets add mobile feat into this XD

[tidal bough]

Mobile is speedy but 2014

[safe thistle]

also, didnt think that unarmor movement would stack tbh

[humble cairn]

Why the Barb when more levels of Monk gets you more speed?

[tidal bough]

You can add it tho technically but I avoided as it may be considered double dipping since theyre almost the same

[safe thistle]

true

[humble cairn]

The fastest build ever has been done, you can just google it.

But honestly more than 60 speed is redundant. All it does it take you away from the encounter.

[tidal bough]

Barb gives 10ft of movement extra as opposed to 5ft from lvl 15 monk to lvl 20

Technically speaking the best way to optimize this would probably be 13 monk 2 fighter and 5 barb

[verbal geyser]

Yes sir and/or ma’am 🫡

[safe thistle]

not to me it isnt XD, i will be a true butler with a sniper

[worn surge]

heyy does being a ranger with 2 favoured enemies at l1, mean i know an extra language? or is google lying

[humble cairn]

If you're using the 2014 rules it does, and lucky for you, you don't have to rely on Google to confirm, the rules are available to read for free online: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/basic-rules-2014/classes#Ranger

[remote wadi]

Good evening

[undone rain]

Eldritch knight seems like a pretty cool subclass ngl. Its useful for range while still being able to frontline

[humble cairn]

It's a Fighter, which is very solid, with spells. Yep, it's good.

Hextra Attack is also very nice.

[undone rain]

Kind of like bladesinger but more frontliner and a lil less spells

[feral fulcrum]

It's certianly better in 2024 then it was in 2014. On account of them finally learning what good Game Design was for 5E.

[undone rain]

I will definetly play one. While i can technically play wizard or sorcerer i also enjoy being a martial so

[humble cairn]

It was solid back in 2014 as well, but yes they learned a lot from feedback in ten years and smoothed out many of the pain points.

[feral fulcrum]

If you're a high enough level Wizard, you can definitely slip into a Martial's role fairly easily, though only breifly.

Tenser's Transformation and Steel WInd Strike are hilariously good spells.

[humble cairn]

Quite a lot less spells.

[feral fulcrum]

Yeah, one's an actuall full caster, and the other's like a Quarter caster with susbtantial restrictions on spell picks.

[undone rain]

Because they rely on memory rather then spellbooks

[remote wadi]

So, session went pretty well today. Only real complaint was that the luck budget felt like that one meme of the horse drawing

[humble cairn]

Tenser's is bad for the armor thing, though. You can't cast it while wearing armor you're not proficient in and after you become proficient because of the spell, it doesn't last long enough to don the armor and use it.

[remote wadi]

Seemed like it always stopped when it was my turn

[humble cairn]

1/3 caster

[feral fulcrum]

Eh, and such profficiency's can be trained, and ignored via things like Barrier Tattoos.

[humble cairn]

It's levels get counted as a third for MC spell slots.

[remote wadi]

For context, we're talking our Wizard getting a 31 on an arcana check, Paladin getting a nat 20 on initiative, and our Fighter leaving in the middle of the night to check something important... only to still get an 18 on the disadvantage stealth check

[feral fulcrum]

That do indeed be how rolls work.

Sometimes people roll high, and you roll low.

[remote wadi]

Then for some reason I can't explain, I couldn't roll above a 7 all session

[feral fulcrum]

Just how RNG works.

[undone rain]

The dice gods decide what happens

And let me tell ya their never on my side

[remote wadi]

It's a shame because all things considered, picking a lock during combat was a good choice because rest of the team easily wiped up most combat within 3 turns today

Might as well make myself useful if I was way out of range for melee and all the enemies were either too strong to care about ranged or aren't worth spending ammo on

Once again an example of how I can have great logic for decisions, but bad luck

But hey. Not complaining about a session that everyone else enjoyed. I don't mind having mid luck for needs of the many. Just hope it bounces back in my favor soon...

[undone rain]

Always does at the funniest moments

[remote wadi]

At the most ironic moments for me

I guess today's was the overflowing amount for everyone else when I barely failed most tasks

Again, we're talking a 31 on a Wizard's arcana check

[feral fulcrum]

Looks at the 45 they've rolled before

Expertise and max 1d10 BI go BRRRRR on a Nat 20.

[remote wadi]

For here, it was nat 20 + 20 int + arcana expertise

I think it's best if I take those 2-3 levels in Rogue. I need the expertise

[feral fulcrum]

You could also take the Skilled Feat when you get to a point to take a Feat.

Think it was Skilled anyway.

[remote wadi]

I'm already proficient on Thief's Kit and have an expertise on Perception

Might as well get Stealth and Thief kit expertise

[tawny ether]

well then

[exotic sinew]

What are some feats that are good for a ranger

[remote wadi]

For 2014? Sharpshooter is rarely a bad choice

[exotic sinew]

2024

[feral fulcrum]

Speedy can't go wrong on any class.

[severe rampart]

Sharpshooter

Magic Initiate Wizard is also nice

[exotic sinew]

So I shouldn’t bother about the dual wielder stuff I should just be a archer ranger?

[feral fulcrum]

Up to whatever you think is fun.

If you want to focus on Melee and like being in the thick of things, go Dual Wielder and spam attacks (Very effective with Ranger's damage adders), or go Ranged if you'd prefer to stick back and avoid being stabbed by the latest gribbly of the week.

Or do both, by carrying a bow as a backup. Because Dual Wielding means you'll almost certainly want to be doing a Dex build

[sturdy knoll]

How do y'all handle fitting a session in frequently? Only done session 1 of curse of strahd and the supposed once a week is quickly unravelling to a maybe once a month. I already work 2 jobs alongside university studies and am dm'ing. Pair that with a mix of uni students, unemployed and full-time employed players and you see how we're in a tough spot

[hot gate]

I try to clear that up as much as possible before we even start. Even before a session 0, I'd make it clear on which day we play and that if that isn't possible for someone, they should probably join a different game.

Additionally, we have a "one person missing means we still play, two missing and we cancel" rule. That saves a decent number of sessions.

[still plover]

Yeah. For a long game, the schedule comes first.

[glass granite]

I have a “if we have 5 we play” rule cuz I have 7 players, and while it most definitely helps the reality is that unless times have been decided and cleared before, you’re just not gonna have a consistent game schedule most of the time

[worn surge]

ohh ok does favoured enemies do anything for 2024

[humble cairn]

It is entirely different in 2024, but you do still get extra languages, as part of a level 2 feature.

[sturdy knoll]

Yeah, we tried to sort saturday nights every week but it only took 1 session before we realised that that wouldn't work.

[hot gate]

Sorry to hear that. Maybe you could do a poll to see where there is the biggest overlap in time people can actually do on a regular basis.

[humble cairn]

Both are good, you should decide on one, though.

Don't try to do both with your permanent choices like Feats.

[exotic sinew]

I think my issue with deciding what I want to do is the other people in the party like the idea of being the dual wielding sounds really fun however we have pal,barb,rogue already so they will be up in the mix there is a caster and then myself another rogue and an artificer (I don’t really know what they do) so I feel that if I go melee as well it will be too many people for close range combat but then when I look at archery (and I don’t want this to sound bad) it looks kinda weak, and kinda not very useful but i don’t know if I am just looking at it wrong

[humble cairn]

It's not weak, but it's more defensive, because you get to stay far away from the danger. Being alive and staying in the fight is doing more damage than being knocked out on the ground.

Archery builds are definitely not weak.

[hot gate]

Yeah, a ranger archer in my game consistently did the most damage because she was practically always in range and didn't have to worry about enemies attacking her all that much.

[covert root]

Also, Piercing damage is very reliable compared to the other mundane damage types.

[hot gate]

And that +2 to damage attack really adds up

[humble cairn]

And think about range .. melee builds need to think about having enough speed to get close to enemies, you basically are able to reach enemies for over a hundred feet in any direction instantly as an archer. Not having to waste time getting close to enemies also means you start doing damage faster.

Combats are balanced around being three rounds long. One round spent getting up to range with an enemy is one third of a battle doing no damage, when the archer has already started filling the enemy with arrows.

[remote wadi]

Ehhh, don't fall into the trap like I did

Just because they can use a bow and arrow doesn't limit them to ranged combat. They can be a menace in close range combat

[exotic sinew]

I think my biggest worry is just not being useful and being more of a hinderance to the other players than being helpful

[remote wadi]

Light Armor is quite strong with a great Dex stat, and adding a shield onto that means you can go from long range attacks to a great Frontline character to soak up incoming damage

Remember: Ranger has a d10 for hit die

[humble cairn]

You're gonna have to stop worrying about this and just pull the trigger on the character, both ways of playing are good and you will be able to contribute.

[tidal bough]

Archery isnt as flashy, but its consistent, youre 10% more likely to hit enemies

[humble cairn]

Commit to the one you think is more fun and just go, you've been waffling about this for awhile now.

[exotic sinew]

I am sorry I’ll shut up.

[tidal bough]

Theres going to be multiple situations where either one is a better choice, however, if you do not have a ranged martial combatant (i.e rogue) it would be a good idea to spec into archery in the event theres something that flies and doesnt touch the ground

[humble cairn]

No need to do that, but overthinking it won't help you and I'm just trying to help you.

[exotic sinew]

I overthink everything in life lol and because I am new and my action will impact other players enjoyment I am really trying to understand everything I can to not screw things up

[humble cairn]

The point of the game is to have fun. Overthink it too much and you're going to ruin your own fun which is the only way to do D&D wrong.

[remote wadi]

Best advice i can give is that a suboptimal, but altruistic player is leagues better than a player who is very strong, but exceedingly selfish

[surreal salmon]

Who pinged 😭💔

[exotic sinew]

Okay I will sit on it and just roll with the punches every fortnight. I apologise for this

[tidal bough]

As long as you arent stealing other players classes without consent, or doing anything that is socially frowned upon you'll be fine, just make sure to tell everyone youre new and ask for help where you need it

[humble cairn]

No need for apologies, we're just trying to help you.

[tidal bough]

Rangers are generally a jack of trades so they can fill in alot of different roles

[remote wadi]

Tis the thought that counts. No worries

[remote wadi]

They just unfortunately fall apart because most campaigns have little exploration and a somewhat large party

[tidal bough]

This as well granted 24 version i dont believe is as geared towards the exploration

[proper forum]

Sorry for saying this but I'm not sure what a Ranger's role is supposed to be in a party. I think they are intended to be damage dealers but wizards, warlocks and fighters easily outclass them in that department

[exotic sinew]

The 24 version pretty much removed all the class specific features that were geared towards exploration

[tidal bough]

I do wish they pulled the ranger away from being so hunters mark focused though, or did something similar to druid where there were alternative uses for wild shape

[dark basin]

Mostly utility spells and just being your average half caster martial.

[tidal bough]

Ranger is a flex class that can fill multiple roles dependant on the situation but isnt super specialized into any one role

[remote wadi]

Basically, they're a jack of all trades of sorts from what they can do. A fighting style, spellcasting, proficiencies in simple, martial, and shields; and a d10 for hit dice is already a great start

[tidal bough]

You can definitely specialize them but basically its a worse version of a fighter, rogue, cleric, druid, etc. But its all at once so it makes them viable

[proper forum]

Rogues are also not that great as damage dealers but are useful outside of battle, being good at stealth and disarming traps. Is a ranger supposed to be like that?

[exotic sinew]

See for me this was my first class that had spells so it was a toss up between warlock and ranger. And well the invocations list overwhelmed me so I went with Ranger lol 😂

[tidal bough]

Rogues are certainly good damage dealers

But also good skill monkeys

[inner silo]

Can the rangers multiattack let you throw two stones from the magic stones cantrip?

[humble cairn]

I haven't found my Ranger falling apart and I'm in a party of 6.

[humble cairn]

Yes

[inner silo]

Oki, thanks!

[humble cairn]

Rangers aren't a "worse version" of another class, though?

[tidal bough]

Not "another", multiple

[inner silo]

They are one of the most versatile classes and one of the strongest early game classes

[humble cairn]

The Ranger still has a lot of exploration stuff in their kit, a lot of the 2014 stuff for exploration was kind of annoying, and I did play with them, because they kind of just handwaved away exploration and made it a non-issue, in a weird way it downplayed exploration.

[tidal bough]

I love rangers dont get me wrong, but rangers are good at lots of things but not great at specific things

[humble cairn]

I find that phrasing to be unhelpful, Rangers are their own class and do quite well.

[tidal bough]

Personal opinion so dont mind me

[humble cairn]

We already have a new player here who has expressed that they feel worried about not contributing, telling people that Ranger is a "worse version" of the other classes is just going to turn people off to a class that is actually great and fun to play and contributes to a group.

[humble cairn]

Don't worry, Ranger is awesome and fun and definitely contributes.

[inner silo]

Rangers can also fill most of the roles

Skill monkey, face, single target damage, a bunch of crowd control and some healing

[tidal bough]

Rangers can do that, but not as good as the classes that would normally fill those roles

[inner silo]

Other classes usually can only do that thing though

[tidal bough]

See we understand eachother

[inner silo]

A ranger can be multiple at the same time, a good face and a single target nuker for example

[humble cairn]

Rangers are a half caster martial with a nature themed spell list that has a lot to offer in all the roles of a party: Damage, Utility, Support, and Control. They switch pretty easily between the versatility of a caster and the focused damage dealing capacity of a martial.

[inner silo]

Okay I'll definitely make my next character a ranger

[tidal bough]

My biggest issue with them is that theyre so heavily tied to hunters mark

[humble cairn]

They are not dependent on that spell at all, however.

[tidal bough]

Never said that either, I said that theyre heavily tied to it

[humble cairn]

HM is useful at lower levels and ignorable at higher levels.

[humble cairn]

Which doesn't end up being a hindrance in actual play, it's just people having problems with the design.

[tidal bough]

If they were going to tie the class so heavily to the hunters mark and make it so the damage scales with ranger levels i feel as though they should have made the subclasses change how it works

[tidal bough]

Exactly youre understanding

[inner silo]

How to become a fey wanderer ranger

[exotic sinew]

Okay after level 4 if I was to dip a few levels into bard would my spell casting still be wisdom or would it depend on the spell??

Also cause I will be a fey wanderer does the “otherworldly glamour” do anything to the spell casting if it does go off charisma?

— Whenever you make a Charisma check, you gain a bonus to the check equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of +1).
You also gain proficiency in one of these skills of your choice: Deception, Performance, or Persuasion.

[tidal bough]

Hit lvl 3 and have access to the books

[humble cairn]

I would not suggest multiclassing at all for a new player.

[tidal bough]

Bard spells are cha

[south raft]

cha real smooth

[exotic sinew]

Roger Dodger

[inner silo]

I mean, in lore, how does a person become a fey wanderer? Do they have to visit the feywild?

[tidal bough]

They use separate spellcasting

[humble cairn]

Your Fey Wanderer stuff won't help with casting Bard spells at all.

[tidal bough]

Ohhh, I mean you could have dealings with a fey being and learn from them

[remote wadi]

Not to a huge degree. It just is how it goes: the larger your party gets, the less beneficial being a jack of all trades is

Doesn't mean it becomes useless, just that you're incentivized to focus on an aspect moee

[tidal bough]

Or visit the feywild

[inner silo]

Alrighty

[tidal bough]

Could end up having some sort of fey curse placed on you etc.

[inner silo]

Btw dopplegangers and in consequence changelings also come from the feywild, right?

[exotic sinew]

Alright good to know. So is a “check” just like if I am trying to use one of my skills like persuading or deceiving. I assume it has nothing to do with saving throws

[remote wadi]

I mean, it is why Fighter becomes almost a mainstay in a party of 5 or more. They have little reason not to become basically the melee god

[humble cairn]

Correct, there are three main types of rolls in the game, called "d20 Tests" https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/br-2024/playing-the-game#D20Tests
Attack Rolls, Ability Checks, and Saving Throws

[tidal bough]

Dopples are monstrosities

[inner silo]

Oh i see

[humble cairn]

Or archery god

[inner silo]

And changelings are fey but come from dopplegangers and humans

[inner silo]

Or throwing javelins god

[humble cairn]

I don't think that's necessarily true.

[inner silo]

What would be true?

[dark basin]

Changlings are from the feywild.

[humble cairn]

I don't think Changelings are descendants of humans and dopplegangers, but I might be wrong.

[remote wadi]

Mmm, that would be a bit much for a Fighter... Dex builds do make it possible, but that genuinely is more a Rogue or Ranger's thing

[humble cairn]

Nope, Archery Fighters are pretty mainstream.

[dark basin]

Depends on the fighter. You can do a dex-fighter.

[remote wadi]

Hence Dex build

[humble cairn]

Fighter Primary Ability Score is Strength or Dexterity.

Dex Fighters are just as intended as Str Fighters.

[remote wadi]

In a large party? Chances are, Rogue can just pick up a light crossbow or Ranger can exist

[inner silo]

It's one of the versions I've seen the most often though if there's another that you know I'd really want to hear it as i plan on making a changeling pc

[exotic sinew]

The first changelings in the multiverse appeared in the Feywild, and the wondrous, mutable essence of that plane lingers in changelings today—even in those who have never set foot in the fey realm.

It doesn’t say anything about them being from Dopplegangers

[inner silo]

Hmm interesting

[exotic sinew]

They just appeared

[remote wadi]

So like I said, they don't become super useless if they try to be versatile. They just have a lot less consequences for specializing

[humble cairn]

A Battle Master Archer is something to be feared.

[exotic sinew]

Kinda sounds like the human thing in the 2014 PHB where no one knows where they came from

[dark basin]

My point is that dex is not too much for a fighter. If you're specifically referring to close range abilities, there are feats that do that (which is a bit much), or finesse melee weapons like the 1d8 rapier or 2d4 double bladed scimitar.

If you're worried about not having heavy armor, the only penalty to not having the strength requirement is -10 speed (at least in 2014). Decently negligible for a ranged build; especially when you probably want medium armor master anyway.

[violet cave]

I think it would be cool if there were heavy bows that use strength instead of dex, archers irl needed to have a lot of upper body strength

[inner silo]

Ah i see, that makes sense why that's what i remember

[humble cairn]

Fighters are not intended to only be Str. They are just as intended to be Dex.

[remote wadi]

So is an Assassin, for the most part

[inner silo]

Fighters are intended to be weapon guys

[humble cairn]

The Ability Scores are not realistic anyway. Certainly the weapon mechanics are not.

[humble cairn]

Sure, but again, being a Dex and ranged build is no sort of reach for the Fighter class at all.

[exotic sinew]

Well clerics are meant to be goody healer peeps but you try telling that to a war domain cleric

[remote wadi]

Level 7 would be what...? 2d8 + 8d6 from one crit strike? Double that if there's a caster with Haste

[inner silo]

Clerics are the god guys not the healer guys

[dark basin]

Or wizards being ranged to a bladesinger.

Classes are not limited to one exact archetype; especially with subclass opportunities.

[remote wadi]

And I agree with that. It's totally within possibility, but large parties means very likely that you will have more ranged options than melee

[remote wadi]

Unless life cleric

[humble cairn]

An all ranged party is fine, no need to push someone into melee.

[exotic sinew]

I think the death and grave domain may balance on a very very thin line for being “good

[dark basin]

You wouldn't double that damage because sneak attack can only trigger once per turn. A bit schematic but it makes the damage far less impressive.

[exotic sinew]

When I think of the class that is like the goody two shoes its paladin

[remote wadi]

Need is a strong word. But somebody's gotta help keep backline in the back

[remote wadi]

Almost forgot that. But with Sharpshooter, you still get considerable follow up damage

[humble cairn]

With control effects like the Ranger can cast and like the Battle Master can put into their bowshots you can keep many things in check.

[remote wadi]

That's 2d8 + 10 base. Nit enormous, but still good

[dark basin]

Yes, but that is not something a fighter is locked out of. A player can play either a rogue, ranger, or ranged fighter and be just as viable as any other.

[remote wadi]

This is in the context of a large party. Like, 6+

[inner silo]

Not good guys, god guys

[remote wadi]

By that point, you are more rewarded for some specializations than you are for versatility

[inner silo]

Bhaal is also a god

[exotic sinew]

Oh lol 😂 😂😂 I read that wrong

[inner silo]

Depends on the party

[dark basin]

But dex fighter is technically it's own specialization. I'm a bit confused by the logic because in a 6+ party, you'll typically have more than one person that wants to be frontline.

[inner silo]

Or might just be 5 warlock tieflings

[exotic sinew]

Other than being an oath breaker can you be an “evil” paladin?

[remote wadi]

More often than not, you will have ranged spellcasters or martials with noteworthy ranged options. At that point, melee Fighter would be a more beneficial pick than a ranged. Not useless, just more beneficial

[humble cairn]

Absolutely.

[inner silo]

Crown paladin of a tirant

[humble cairn]

Conquest is very easily evil coded.

[exotic sinew]

Oh I don’t think about that

[violet cave]

conquest paladin

[inner silo]

Meh. Maybe you want to always stay back and just never let enemies get close

[humble cairn]

I don't really agree.

[remote wadi]

And more classes want to do that vs ones that want to get close by sheer virtue of "if enemies are not close to me, they can't hit me with melee attacks"

[dark basin]

Both are viable. It's not an active detriment to your party if you want to be ranged. Each have different combat advantages based on positioning, damage type, etc.

[humble cairn]

Getting some mix of Control, Damage, Utility, and Support is important, but the melee/ranged mix is not that important.

[exotic sinew]

Interesting. I cannot play evil characters but good to be aware of

[inner silo]

Also rangers especially fey wanderers are some of the best characters in a non combat heavy campaign

[humble cairn]

If you can Control enemy actions and positioning at range, you can accomplish holding the frontline.

[remote wadi]

Never said neither in unviable. Just one gives more benefits in a large party. Much more likely to be backline heavy

[exotic sinew]

Yay 🙌 we are doing wbtw (dm is adding some combat encounters) but still yay 🙌

[humble cairn]

There's one thing inherently more likely by being a melee build, and that's the opportunity to Grapple control enemies as an opportunity attack, and that's only in 2024, so it's even less necessary to have melee in the party in a 2014 environment.

[remote wadi]

Then wouldn't several spellcasters do that easier than a bow Fighter? I'll admit, it won't be a landslide because Extra Attack and Action Surge, but it wouldn't be too close to called either (not many ways to buff damage considerably without losing accuracy with a longbow. Same can't be said for cantrips and a few upcasted spells

[inner silo]

What's wbtw?

[exotic sinew]

Wild beyond the witchlight

[inner silo]

Oh i see

[humble cairn]

Yes, it is easier to control the frontline as a bunch of casters, hence the reason why MMO style "tanking" is a myth in 5E, especially 2014.

And also why the idea that a melee is necessary at all in a team comp is kind of a myth.

[remote wadi]

Ehh, it's kind of...? This is more a Venn diagram between AC, saves, and HP. With the middle not really existing

[glass granite]

Monk-
Oh wait HP

[remote wadi]

Yep. Can't have all 3

[humble cairn]

I mean there's whole articles from optimization communities about how tanking is a myth.

[glass granite]

Paladin

[humble cairn]

None of those things does a "tank" make. What you need for true "tanking" is Control of enemy actions.

[remote wadi]

No dex saves

[dark basin]

"At that point, melee Fighter would be a more beneficial pick than a ranged. Not useless, just more beneficial" hence why I mention not an active detriment and that both are viable since those go hand in hand as basically synonyms for my main point.

Whether or not it supports the backline is a bit up to combat and how the DM likes to run it. Will the DM let the dumb enemy attack who's closest despite extenuating circumstances? Yeah probably. Will the DM let the smart enemy ignore the weak backline to do what the dumb enemy does? Probably not. Sometimes you get creatures that simply walk by the frontline and go straight to the backline. Having a person with AC back there isn't the worst thing because the frontline cannot serve as a omnipresent brick wall (most people will probably build into AC for this exact reason, but it kind of goes without saying).

Having someone at the front 'tanking' isn't the worst idea, but it isn't more beneficial or less beneficial than anything else. For example, a melee fighter versus a flying creature is going to have a lot of trouble compared to a dex fighter who is prepared for longer range.

[glass granite]

Aura of protection

[inner silo]

Do monks have to be calm inner peace?

[humble cairn]

No, that's flavor and can be changed.

[glass granite]

Nahhh, I’ve had a battle crazy monk before

[remote wadi]

I mean... fair enough

[inner silo]

Alrighty thanks!

[remote wadi]

Enter the Shadow Monk

[glass granite]

Crown paladins are great “tanks” imo, they look super fun

[humble cairn]

Yes, there is some control there, but still kind of loose.

[dark basin]

Crown paladins, where being valuable for one spell meets the logical extreme.

[glass granite]

But yeah tank in the MMO sense doesn’t really happen. It’s all soft taunts and killing things before they kill you.

[exotic sinew]

My monk character was semi inspired by old yoda. He was a 300 year old gnome that learnt how to be a “monk” by the Forrest and stuff and he was way of elements and stuff so yea he wasn’t like a “stereotype” monk

[humble cairn]

Melee builds are fun, and they contribute in unique ways, but it's not so that they are necessary at all. Control of enemies is necessary, but that can be done at any range.

[humble cairn]

The 2024 change to Grapple did make it a bit closer to real. Because now Str based melee (and monks) can deny enemies the ability to move past them in combat.

[remote wadi]

I say this because it isn't as easy as, say, Fire Emblem going "High defense means they're likely an armored class"
If you have absurd AC and HP, then you will probably fall victim to saving throws. It's why that ultra focused Tortle Monk build is in danger when magic dex saves introduce themselves

[glass granite]

Yupadoo

[humble cairn]

This has almost nothing to do with my point.

Defenses and toughness make you tough, but toughness alone is not "tanking."

[glass granite]

It’s being “tanky”

[remote wadi]

It is a large part of it. I know what else a tank does

[humble cairn]

I don't think Tabletop Builds is the end-all-be-all of D&D analysis, but they do make good points: https://tabletopbuilds.com/two-problems-with-tanks/

[mellow canyon]

hi guys

[dark basin]

hello!

[mellow canyon]

i've never played dnd before but i did a little research

[humble cairn]

And so .. the idea that you need someone in "the frontline" in a party is false. A party can achieve that kind of defensive control without having a melee member at all.

[glass granite]

Goood morning afternoon evening, Wahzzup!

[mellow canyon]

how do i play

[humble cairn]

Check out #learn-to-play

[glass granite]

#learn-to-play probably will answer that

[burnt valley]

Melee lul

[glass granite]

Especially recommend this Free basic D&D rules: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/free-rules

[humble cairn]

Now, I do think melee builds are both fun and contribute to a party.

[glass granite]

They’re just not necessarily required

Though I do like having them. Need someone to BONK

[hot marlin]

Fun fact I learned recently: Unseen Servant is basically an at-will darkness for an hour if you're fighting humans underground. Even better than darkness because your party with darkvision sees while they're blinded

[remote wadi]

Gave this a quick read, and I honestly agree. A big chunk of the time, most of the classes feel way too... squished together

[humble cairn]

I'm trying to think of anything that is actually required in a party and maybe ... you need some kind of spellcasting?

[feral fulcrum]

Gestures at Charger Rune Knight Fairy Big Bonk

[humble cairn]

I don't know what that means?

[glass granite]

Eh, I wouldn’t even say so

It’s heavily recommended tho
Like, heavily

[feral fulcrum]

Depends on the Campaign.

[humble cairn]

There's just some things you might not be able to handle if you can't see magic or deal with it in some way.

[dark basin]

How so? "I command you to hold this blanket over their head!"

[feral fulcrum]

Most would very much like a Caster though. Because D&D is an inherently magical game.

[hot marlin]

Nah, just have your unseen servant turn off the lights.

[remote wadi]

The 2 main points in the article were that most options for control are situational and limit offensive capabilities by a ton

With the second point being that with basic optimization, tanks aren't needed that much

That second one is what I was referring to by being squished together

Like, it always felt off from Barb's sacrificing a good chunk of AC only to have 1 point higher average for hit die than a Paladin or Fighter

[humble cairn]

"Tanking" requires the ability to control enemy actions in a much more definitive way than just imposing Disadvantage. Most of the builds that are heaviliy armored and melee don't have such Control methods. Hypnotic Pattern is a hard control as opposed to the soft control of the Ancestors Barb.

[remote wadi]

Wizard's are also very frail, but it stops being this massive concern with a few levels

[feral fulcrum]

Next campaign session, Oberon is probably showing up, Violence is expected.

[burnt valley]

the hit die difference is negligible

[remote wadi]

I noticed that being a point discussed early on. Strange they didn't make that a third point, given how impactful it is

[humble cairn]

Now, with the change to Grapple in 2024, Str melee and Monks have a Control ability that is much more definitive and hard than they used to.

Which brings that "tanking" concept much closer to reality.

[remote wadi]

Perhaps if/when 6e rolls around, they can make those changes

[burnt valley]

There's also the issue of enemies dealing high damage in melee (of varying damage types btw) rather than ranged attacks

[humble cairn]

I mean they made a significant change in 2024 why are we theorizing about the next edition?

[burnt valley]

It will never happen, i suggest playing 4e for martial fantasies

[humble cairn]

Yes, this is the other half of "tanking" which is surviving the aggro you're trying to bring to yourself.

Grapple builds in 2024 environment are very much closer to a true tanking build.

With the Feats, especially so. Grappler and the new Street Justice Feat are awesome for a would be tank.

[feral fulcrum]

I swear to god if I live to see a 5.5.5 E before 6E, I'll be very dissapointed in WOTC.

If WOTC still owns D&D by then.

[humble cairn]

In a few years there's going to be a book that does for 2024 what Tasha's did for 2014.

[burnt valley]

Gutting summoners in general

[humble cairn]

Anyway, enough faffing about a theoretical new edition when we already have some awesome new changes that actually might make tanking a real thing.

[feral fulcrum]

By 5.5.5 I mean basicaly 2034 DND ala 2024 DND compared to 2014

[humble cairn]

Because the new Grappled Condition has much more teeth than it used to.

The hard control of 0 Speed plus additionally the soft control of Disadvantage on attacking other people. Adding in Grappler and Street Justice, your would be "tank" is doing a lot to both Control the enemy and Support allies both defensively and offensively.

Knocking your grappled target prone helps you defensively survive their attacks as well.

[glass granite]

Gotta love monks being able to grapple and shove in one turn at level 1

[humble cairn]

One thing changed about the subject that this article is too old to mention is that Opportunity Attacks have now become much more Control heavy, with the new Grapple.

[feral fulcrum]

I don't think I'll ever particularly care about shove.

[humble cairn]

I mean it's basically a Mastery for unarmed, and enables a fairly nasty combo with Grapple. even if you have no free hands, you can still Shove, slowing down an enemy on an OA if you need to.

[glass granite]

Remind me, do you need a free hand to shove?

[humble cairn]

Nope

[glass granite]

Heck yeah

[feral fulcrum]

By all of five feet as I recall, which...in very niche situations, with precise posiitoning, yeah sure it'll once in a blue moon do something meaningful. But I feel like 90% of the time. "Well that was mildly annoying for them, it doesn't change the battlefield state in the slighest."

[humble cairn]

Umm .. you do know you can Shove Prone, right?

[glass granite]

The infinitely better option

[feral fulcrum]

I was getting to that, forgive me, it's like, four hours past when I should be sleeping and my brain is melting out of my ears

[humble cairn]

The 5ft shove is more defensive, if you need to leave without Disengaging or if you need to break their Grapple on you.

If you have Extra Attack and you really want to move somewhere else and hit something else so you don't want to burn your Action on Disengage, you can gamble with a Shove. Move them back 5ft, now you don't have to Disengage, and you can go spend your other attack on another target.

[glass granite]

Granted, I really only shove with monk

I don’t particularly find it worth it with other classes, just cuz burning your entire action with extra attack to shove grapple feels too costly

[humble cairn]

Or, if you are Grappled and don't want to burn your whole Action trying to break free, Shove them. If that moves you out of their reach, the Grapple is broken and you've only spent one attack instead of your whole Action.

Melee combat got a whole lot more fun and tactical in 2024. I'm not sure most people understand that.

[glass granite]

I mean weapon masteries alone helps

[humble cairn]

Yeah Push Mastery also accomplishes this.

[remote wadi]

Because I'm kind of already looking forward to it /hs

[humble cairn]

Sorry can you explain what "/hs" means? It's an emotion marker of some kind, but google is failing me.

[remote wadi]

All good

I believe it is half serious

[humble cairn]

Anyway I believe that while the changes to Grapple haven't made melee builds more necessary, it has made them more unique and more fun.

[solar nebula]

can you 3d print dice instead of buying it?

[empty thicket]

In theory you can, polish the edges and make it roll comfortably

[glad arch]

I imagine printing balanced dice is somewhat difficult but yeh you can print them

[severe rampart]

I would not trust myself to do that, I'd be paranoid of it being accidentally weighted to one side

[serene jolt]

That's why I love the Artillarist Artificer's canon. You can push it back 10 feet if it hits. So my noodle arm can escape creatures a little better. XD

As a bonus action too!

[obtuse patio]

Do you guys have a feeling that everything you do is not very good?

[proper forum]

Yes, it is very common. I used to feel that way too.

[obtuse patio]

Like "oh i have a idea" and when you do it its feel odd or unnattural

Being dm or player?

[proper forum]

You mean when you get an idea you feel like it's not really yours?

[obtuse patio]

No, it feel like a very boring thing and then i dissapointed. Even if i not finish a idea

[proper forum]

I used to feel that way too, which led me to leave many of my project unfinished. It all felt like a mountain of work and it led me to quitting before ever starting the project. I felt overwhelmed without even really doing anything. But all I had to do is get started. Once you get started, the pieces start falling into place you start seeing everything as more of a process rather than a load of work that you have to finish. And once you are finished, trust me, you will be left satisfied, and this will leave you more motivation to start projects in the future!

[obtuse patio]

Hope so...

[proper forum]

If the amount of work seems overwhelming, start breaking it down into smaller pieces or steps. First I will do this, then I will do this. And most importantly, don't pressure yourself. There is no need to finish fast or be perfect. Don't see whatever you want to do as a responsibility or a job. It's a passion, something you want to do, not something you have to do.

[obtuse patio]

Thanks

[humble cairn]

Sounds like the phenomenon known as "Imposter Syndrome" it's just an insecurity, don't listen to it.

[proper forum]

Isn't imposter syndrome when you think that you don't deserve an important achievement?

[humble cairn]

Or don't belong in the position you're in, etc.

General "I'm not good enough" insecurity.

[proper forum]

To me it sounds like an inferiority complex. But how we label it doesn't matter. What matters is how one can face it.

[obtuse patio]

I think that just because, I wasn't good dm for my players. I tryed to do "sandbox". But i was and still very inexperienced. And now everything feels like not good enough

[proper forum]

Do you need help with being a dm?

[obtuse patio]

I like to listen a advice, thank you!

[proper forum]

There is a guide, I could potentially send it to you

[proper forum]

It's howtogm.guide

[obtuse patio]

Thank you

Can you guys tell me about your games. Especially how long you play and how you prepare

[undone rain]

Find steed is actually a really good spell. I was able to save the party with it

[worn surge]

quick question, if i have 8 charisma, can i still play a sociable and silly character?

[fair summit]

Definitely. Your ability scores do not necessarily need to limit how you roleplay your character, it jus taffects how good the results on average are
Heck, sometimes the DM might give an advantage, or allow something to succeed automatically if your roleplay makes it make sense in the moment

Though it is a bit weird to dump a stat you intend to be related to a major part of the character 😛

[undone rain]

Had to run away, picked up our prone sorcerer and our bard while i was on my steed and we got away

If only find steed was for fighters too

[humble cairn]

It IS a great spell!

[undone rain]

I am gonna pick that every time i play paladin holy crap

[humble cairn]

If you play 2024 Paladin you have no choice.

[undone rain]

Sure it may be situational but i saved the party with it

[undone rain]

Horsey timeee

Do wish fighters had access to it too tho

[chilly bone]

Hey at what age did you guys get into DnD

[undone rain]

Around 16, didnt find a party until 18 tho

[vital valve]

Hello, questions here's. Can Gargantuan monster tohit medium size players with advantage or not?

[humble cairn]

Uhh 35?

[vital valve]

Do they have a rule for size diff?

[fair summit]

There are no general rules for any advantage on attacks based on size difference, no

[vital valve]

Thank you!

[small heath]

What if spells had a monthly subscription to cast them?

Like each schools of magic made you pay like 400 gold a month or something or you lose access to the Weave.

[fair summit]

Warlock patron of Capitalism

[small heath]

Bbeg idea: they are trying to monopolize magic.

You're going after a corrupted business wizard billionaire

[fast latch]

My friend’s playing a Paladin for the first time, what’s the best subclass for them?

[small heath]

What kind of Paladin?

[worn surge]

real i made a mistake and changed my characters personality mid way

but i’m not bothered to rewrite the whole thing

[small heath]

For Paladin you probably should have a mindset established that aligns with an oath