dnd-discussion

[hot marlin]

Or it goes to the clones first, and only goes to the anchor if the lich is out of clones.

[echo meteor]

why the heck does a lich need to feed on souls to fuel the phylactery then?

[obtuse stratus]

Thats clones AFTER you become a lich. The clones before should be far enough away to not interfere with the lich transformation

[echo meteor]

with clones, theres no need to feed on souls

[hot marlin]

Because it requires souls

[obtuse stratus]

Those are your backup backup BACKUP

[echo meteor]

but a clone spell doesnt...

its like a better version of a phylactery

[hot marlin]

Yes. But notice the material components of a clone spell. I'd think souls are a far more abundant resource than diamonds.

[obtuse stratus]

And if you're REALLY smart, you take your lich form and use a animate version of yourself so even the lich form is a backup before the clones and phylactery and the clones

[echo meteor]

the wizard can just use wish to cast clone once a day... and just hide its clones across the world

[fierce sparrow]

Put that clone to work and make the money back

To make another one

repeat

[echo meteor]

material component is waived, and wish just creates a "jar" with your embryo that matures in 120 days that you can just hide around the world

and they can cast wish once a day

[obtuse stratus]

IIRC there was a way to do something in PF1e where you could be in some form, with your normal form somewhere safe, then you could have a bunch of backup forms. May have been an alchemist feature

[hot marlin]

Yes. So yeah. Do both, be a lich and have clones

[echo meteor]

but if ur a lich, you HAVE to consume souls

that seems like a downgrade to just having clone and eating food

[hot marlin]

In the same way that I have to consume food. It's not a big deal.

[obtuse stratus]

Souls are easy. Make a dungeon to be delved with treasure, all the souls you want

[fierce sparrow]

Yah maybe lichdom is a downgrade

[echo meteor]

Souls are easier to collect than eating food?

[obtuse stratus]

the hirelings ALONE will sustain you

[hot marlin]

In fact a lich will have an easier time finding souls to consume than any human will have finding food

[echo meteor]

what you mean? you can literally conjure food

[hot marlin]

In the same way, a lich can conjure things, kill them and use their souls.

[obtuse stratus]

All this and while you're doing it, the possessed clone has a simulacrum doing the heavy lifting

[echo meteor]

Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion

[echo meteor]

how are you conjuring souls?

[snow zephyr]

Get a phonebook and learn gate

[hot marlin]

There are plenty of summoning spells

[echo meteor]

yeah, when they die.. they get sent back to whereever tehy came from no?

[snow zephyr]

Domino's but for lichdom

[obtuse stratus]

So you have a simulacrum in front of a possessed body in front of the lich in front of clones in front of a phylactery in front of clones

[hot marlin]

Normally. Unless you capture their souls before it does that

[echo meteor]

or they arent even living creatures at all

[snow zephyr]

Again, gate+tax records

[echo meteor]

sounds like alot of work compared to just conjuring food

[hot marlin]

You need souls. You don't need those souls to come from living beings.

In fact you'll find that once you extract a soul, life is likely ended

[snow zephyr]

Summon a rando and give em the ol zurp and slurp

[obtuse stratus]

Lich, in a temple, full of cats and rats

[echo meteor]

idk, ur joking right?

[snow zephyr]

Use a silly straw to steal their souls

[echo meteor]

i dont think souls r easier to harvest tahn food

[hot marlin]

Let's remove conjuration magic. What's easier? Growing crops, or just killing a guy?

Killing someone is easier.

[fickle heart]

I would say the TL;DR of lichdom being worthwhile is that spells are too open with giving these types of effects to PCs in 5e because the game is very clearly meant to be a PC-power fantasy and not something that maintains internal consistency with NPCs.

[snow zephyr]

Well. That and you get the clone version of the ship of Theseus

[obtuse stratus]

But is it easier to get 10000 souls to feed lichdom or would you be better off becoming a Dark Sun Dragon

[fickle heart]

If you want internal consistency, you gotta go back a few editions.

[snow zephyr]

Just summer in Thay

[hot marlin]

I never understood the ship of Theseus. Fun fact. Seems to me that it has never been the ship of Theseus in the first place, it's just a ship that Theseus happened to use

[obtuse stratus]

You could always set up your feeding web over a small city you watch over. Normal death alone would have you set up

[echo meteor]

conjuring food is much easier than both and why the heck are we removing conjuration magic?

[obtuse stratus]

Oh, I assumed it was a corical (sp?) made from Thesius

[snow zephyr]

Open up a hospice clinic, make money and eat souls

[fierce sparrow]

Its more of the idea but this proves the idea even more

[echo meteor]

wait... according to the lore, lich's soul IS in the phylactery..

[limber trail]

Do you think the reason people attempt to become Liches is because they don’t want to eat food? It’s for the incredible necromantic power it offers

[echo meteor]

idrk how a lich can still live without a soul though

[obtuse stratus]

Not really, it's a box, it traps the soul for reanimation of the body

[snow zephyr]

Eternal life and free healthcare

[lavish flame]

Yeah, stuff like Clone and Magic Jar and Simulacrum existing as abilities that PCs can get make all the "enemy that sought long life and did the unthinkable" monsters feel a little ridiculous

[echo meteor]

its not "free" it costs souls

[hot marlin]

Because most people don't have access to conjuration magic. Myself included

[snow zephyr]

And? Healthcare costs an arm and a leg already

[obtuse stratus]

Again, you don't just run on lich, you die if you run on lich self. You have numerous contingencies in place before anyone gets to your lich form.

[hot marlin]

Souls which are the most abundant resource in the multiverse.

You're never running out of souls

[echo meteor]

if we are assuming lichdom is possible, AND you can cast clone.. obviously you shoudl also assume the ability to cast other spells in the world.. including the ability to conjure food

[snow zephyr]

Actually, you could just get plane shift and go on vacation to feed the ol hungry box

[hot marlin]

Actually it's not on the wizard spell list.

[snow zephyr]

Clones have the same vulnerability as lichdom

In fact, clone might be worse

[echo meteor]

Sure it is!

Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion

https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/5195106-lich

Some nefarious magic-users carry out forbidden necromantic rituals that sever their souls from their bodies to turn themselves into liches, masters of magic and undeath. With their souls preserved in hidden relics, liches puppet their own corpses as they pursue ambitions free from mortal bonds.

it literally says their souls are in the relics themselves.. interestingly.. it means their souls cant go to clones.

[limber trail]

Liches passively collect souls from any human that dies within one mile of its lair. If you live in a decently populated city you’re probably set, especially if you just occasionally prompt a small mass casualty event if you get hungry.

[lavish flame]

This is kinda like saying "eating walnuts costs their shell". Thats not really an issue by this point. Getting the soul isn't hard, people are easy to kill in D&D. High level spellcasters can kill dozens of people without much effort.

[obtuse stratus]

Being the lich as a lich is a fun thing for players to destroy. A real lich would be so far off their lich form that no one would ever even get to it. Just keep jumping forms and creating things that then jump forms so you have to trace back 100 forms before you get to lich and then when the lich is destroyed there are 100 backups before the phylactery, and then when all that is destroyed by some kind of nuclear explosion, there are a bunch of living backup forms to go into

[hot marlin]

I'm guessing you fused two messages, yes?

Well yes, Mordenkainen's Magnificient Mansion is in it. Conjure Food and Water isn't.

[echo meteor]

sure, and it just gives u food and water

isnt there magic items that also makes food and water?

[snow zephyr]

I mean. A lich is probably gonna have enough arcane tricks to where getting to the phylactery is equivalent to 4 Herculean tasks

[empty thicket]

Question. If monk use any kind of knuckles, it would still count like unnarmed attacks? or is unnarmed attacks upgraded?

[snow zephyr]

Decanter of endless water and oathbow

[hot marlin]

Anyways, so yeah. Souls? Most abundant thing possible, there are those everywhere. So feeding souls to your phylactery is really no effort

[craggy summit]

Brass knuckles are considered weapons so they would lose those benefits

[fickle heart]

Not only this, but it's also worth considering the fact that we are viewing the dilemma from the perspective of "these are the discrete possibilities" when in-universe that's not how it would work at all. For the sake of the game, spells just "appear" in a Wizard's spellbook, but in reality a Wizard wouldn't just get to pick any spell they like. They'd seemingly have to discover spells "naturally" over the course of their life.

[obtuse stratus]

One of which involves 2 gods and a rubber ducky. They'll never figure it out

[echo meteor]

Wizards cant just pick out the spells they want in-lore?

[snow zephyr]

Imagine figuring out fireball while you're trying to light a campfire

[snow zephyr]

#I'member

[wheat mural]

I like pancakes

[fickle heart]

If we are considering a coherent narrative, no. Magic based on study would require studying, testing, and figuring out what is possible. A spell that is named after a spellcaster means that said spellcaster invented that spell. That doesn't mean it's common knowledge, and it might realistically be a closely-guarded secret.

[snow zephyr]

You used to have to actually go out and learn spells. The party had scrolls, two scrolls and a wand. And they had to share the wand

[lavish flame]

True yeah. Watsonian v Doyalist readings of game abilities can cause a headache

[echo meteor]

well usually, an adventuring day is 8 hours of adventuring, 8 hours of rest, 8 hours of sleep 😛 like a typical 9-5 workday

[empty thicket]

and they FR dont have any other way to upgrade their attacks at first? damn...

[obtuse stratus]

For the sake of the game we also let people level up. In OSR I'd make you spend 2 weeks*level with a trainer to level up, and 4 without

[hot marlin]

Humans and their pathetic need for 8 hours of sleep...

It's a wonder they can even have a civilization.

#elvish superiority

[snow zephyr]

Headcanon that sleep is the reason humans progress faster than elves

[fickle heart]

Like, I'm writing a spellcasting system that's intended to enable a more coherent narrative and trust me, it's significantly different than how 5e has spells working.

[craggy summit]

As they level up, their strikes get upgraded 😌 it's shown in their class table under the martial art die

[obtuse stratus]

Oh here we go again with 2e elven racism.

[lavish flame]

It also implies something about how recently those spells were made relative to stuff like "Invisibility" and "Teleport"

[echo meteor]

screw elves... they are pretentious pricks

[empty thicket]

Never get in a war against the humans.
They will sink to no end, just to bring you down.
They are capable of the most kind and cruel things.

[echo meteor]

dwarves are MUCH easier to get along with.

[snow zephyr]

Did they reclassify lolth drow?

[empty thicket]

yeah, was checking if there was FR no weapon that could help them (without loosing the benefits)

[snow zephyr]

As in did they make lolth priestesses fey or something?

[lavish flame]

No, Drow are still a kind of Elf regardless of their service

[obtuse stratus]

Did she need to be reclassed, she's classy enough 😎

[craggy summit]

There aren't weapons to help. but as they level up, their strikes get upgraded. There's also some magical items that can help like the wraps of prowess

[lavish flame]

In the new Forgotten Realms books, Drow Priestesses of Lolth are Medium Humanoids

[snow zephyr]

Interesting

So they do have some default evil as long as it's faction based

[empty thicket]

yeah yeah, was just curious about that.
Tho some races get their unarmed attacks upgraded and even the Dhampirs bite count like an unarmed attack

[fierce sparrow]

I don't know who the most powerful is in dnd but whoever is closest to the time gods is probably strongest

[snow zephyr]

There's a dragon under a mountain somewhere in the forgotten realms

Though you could argue that it's just AO or the dragon kings from Athis

[obtuse stratus]

Myrkul

[fierce sparrow]

Yah probably AO

[obtuse stratus]

Would a Dragon or Avangion be more powerful?

[sharp belfry]

Depends on the dragon

[lavish flame]

Avengion?

You talking about the villain Venger?

[sharp belfry]

Na. They probably referring to the lads in dark sun who can turn into dragons

[obtuse stratus]

Nah both are Dark Sun creatures from Defilers (Dragons) and Preservers (Avangions)

[obtuse stratus]

Kinda

[fossil hollow]

i mean, seeing the current state of Athas...

[obtuse stratus]

But Athas has Dragons.

Avangion transformation AFAIK has yet to happen

[fossil hollow]

ok, im not too deep into athas lore, but arent those:

1. extremely rare
2. always from people who toss around arcane magic willy nilly?

[obtuse stratus]

Defilers/Dragons, yes

[blissful ibex]

Ahas has dragon. IIRC

[obtuse stratus]

Avangions are the hypothetical (unless the lore has changed) creature from a Preserver essentially becoming the good version of a Dragon

[fossil hollow]

yeah, i also thought it was one individual currently

[fossil hollow]

well, thats hypothetical, so

[obtuse stratus]

Maybe, I could swear there were a few in one of the editions

Like a cadre of varying degrees of draconic transformation with one guy far and away the top

[fossil hollow]

in any case, the current state of athas is still... almost a biological deadzone, so

[obtuse stratus]

But @snow zephyr did bring up Athasian Dragons, which naturally brings up the Avangions. Bet it would have to be a halfling, psychotic little cannibal gits

[snow zephyr]

Athis has psionics as well as base magic

[blissful ibex]

cue Circle of Preservation Druid 💜

[obtuse stratus]

Back in my day you had to be a dual class human to be a dragon. First psionicist then defiler... or vice versa

Imagine finding out that all the time on Athas, there were just a bunch if Sandstorm Dry Liches ruining the world and it wasn't even defiler magic at all, just a buncha mummies

[woven flint]

Timothy Mothington.

[fossil hollow]

what

[snow zephyr]

I was there gandalf, 3000 years ago

[woven flint]

Henlo
Orien tomorrow :>

Ready for Sentry and Vigilance to dogwalk some fools?

[obtuse stratus]

Back when Muls were a race and people had 'tegrity

[fossil hollow]

the gnoll's blood is in your hands /j

[hot marlin]

Uh... Athas has dragon. As in one dragon.

[woven flint]

It's not my fault Ulderbug died

[obtuse stratus]

Just double checking because I could have sworn one of the editions had >1

[valid geyser]

Also it involves teamwork with other defilers, and those guys are famously helpful and interested in the wellbeing of others

[obtuse stratus]

Doubt it was the second version of 2e, maybe 4e? I recall a multistep transformation with failure points all along the way that result in lesser dragons

[woven flint]

Ulderbug did a dumb and tried to Frontline as a Rogue when I, the actual Frontline wasn't there smh

[obtuse stratus]

Most trustworthy bunch ever

[rugged hawk]

Ackshually, the slave collar it was carrying is in my hands Because while the other adventurers were distracting the Gnoll Chieftain when he visited town, I stealthed up behind him and picked his pouches for loot. DM said I managed to grab just that one thing, a slave collar with a handle for grabbing on the front. Needless to say, Trouble wore it anyway as proof of being capable of swiping from even the chieftain himself. Then the other adventurers slapped a leash on it to keep her out of her own namesake and occasionally tied her to things with it. When she'd act up, they'd grab the handle and give her a Homer Simpson shake. "Why you little!"

[fossil hollow]

wha

[rugged hawk]

What? Were we not sharing D&D tales?

[fossil hollow]

no?

[rugged hawk]

That was a rhetorical question.

[obtuse stratus]

I feel like I stepped into some fet content that I need to back away from before I'm certain

[fossil hollow]

im sorry, im tired from work, getting hit with a wall of near incomphrehensible text in my drowsy state is not helping me pick up nonexistent social cues (something im already not adept in)

[final turtle]

Is there an art channel?

[fossil hollow]

#dnd-arts-and-crafts

[rugged hawk]

No, you didn't. They just wanted to keep her from doing things that were either A) inadvisable, B) might endanger the town, C) in line with her own name.

[final turtle]

Thanks

[snow zephyr]

You know, I think this calls for a lil mead

[rugged hawk]

Okay, I hear what you're saying. Counterpoint, butterbeer. 🍻

Which I will add has been exceptionally tasty. I've been putting it in my coffee for several days now, and it's extremely delicious.

[snow zephyr]

I get into the mood for D&D with a pint of mead and a slab of meat. Works like a charm

[rugged hawk]

Now you're making me hungry

[snow zephyr]

Open cooking pits are awesome

[obtuse stratus]

I am willing to acquiesce that this was innocent and not nonconsentual fet material in open conversation

[snow zephyr]

DM prep is essential for a good session

[meager fractal]

not really you can zero prep a good session if you know what you are doing. Plenty DMs swear by it.

[fossil hollow]

what

[obtuse stratus]

Agreed, and mead helps ideas flow

[fossil hollow]

oh, yeah

[snow zephyr]

I run 60% of my games with little to no prep other than a recap

[rugged hawk]

It wasn't fet, they'd just slap her leash on a nearby tree to keep her from doing things like 'Poking a magical glowing circle in the woods', which they allowed just once: resulting in an evil clone of her appearing. They never completely trusted her after she killed off the evil clone, claiming they couldn't know whether the original or the clone was the dead one.

[fossil hollow]

context for the link

[meager fractal]

sus

[snow zephyr]

Don't touch it, it's cursed

[rugged hawk]

Unfortunately, I'm contrary by nature. Calling things 'forbidden' or 'cursed' only increases my desire to touch them.

[fossil hollow]

i know better than to touch anything lizard-berg makes

[river vector]

If I ever TPK my party they will wake up in the afterlife and have two options. Reincarnation (new characters) or they can bargain with the god of the afterlife to hunt down escaped souls for her. I think this would be a fair thing to do if they die.

[normal junco]

"how did the souls escape?" "they uh... they took the choice to hunt escaped souls and then just ran off at the first chance." "...we'll...take the hunting souls option."

[rugged hawk]

Hold on, lemme cook a moment here for you. That's a perfect setup to give them all the Hand of Death Dark Bargain from Grim Hollow.

[fossil hollow]

truly how we reach ouroboros

[oak saddle]

Since there is the blink dog, I propose the following: Etheral Filcher Raccoon

[river vector]

What bargain is this?

[fossil hollow]

rocket's magical cousi- wait thats just ratatoskr

[river vector]

Lmao if they don't do it within a month they go back

[rugged hawk]

Dark Bargain: Hand of Death

Death has no claim on you. In exchange for staying its cold hand without that hand closing, you become a maw through which death feeds on the world around you.

Adamant Endurance. You have Advantage on Constitution saving throws.

Cling to Life. When you have 0 Hit Points at the start of your turn, or when you die, you can instead choose to regain a number of Hit Points equal to half your maximum. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again. After using it, whenever you regain Hit Points through any means, you gain only half that amount. Once a Humanoid (other than you) dies within 30 feet of you, you regain the use of this feature, and you can regain Hit Points as normal.

Death Knell. Other creatures within 10 feet of you have Disadvantage on Death Saving Throws, and you can’t restore Hit Points to a creature with 0 Hit Points by any means.

[obtuse stratus]

Why not have them wake up in The Shrike

[meager fractal]

Question for you

[snow zephyr]

Imagine having a blink dog as a pet, you have no way to keep them from getting in the pantry

[meager fractal]

Do you think D&D 5e is particularly good at doing horror campaigns?

[obtuse stratus]

No, not particularly. People do it still

[normal junco]

mechanically? no, not really. it almost all comes through using flavour and lore.

[river vector]

Seems a good bargain, might have to reflavor it a bit, since my death god isn't evil, but thanks! It will come in handy if I ever TPK them.

[obtuse stratus]

I'm telling you, The Shrike is a great setting

[normal junco]

like, you can do horror and terror using D&D. similar to how you can tell a horror story.

[river vector]

What is this

[fossil hollow]

the system? No. it requires a damn good horror writer/dm

[rugged hawk]

'Good bargain'? You missed the part where they are actively harming others by simply standing nearby, and can no longer heal anyone who's downed. Roleplay-wise, this means 4everAlone.

[obtuse stratus]

Its a setting/module in which the players are in a section split off from the hells where a writhing god is mounted atop a spire, lot of dealings with the populace and trying to solve the location involved

[river vector]

That part may be negative, but at least they can return to life if killed

[rugged hawk]

Only under some conditions. Being Disintegrated is a complete death, no revive. Or losing their head.

Or generally losing vital organs.

[river vector]

Honestly I plan on attacking their starting village soon, so this would be the first time they face intelligent prey that wants them dead.

They just might perish

[obtuse stratus]

Oh god, I'd hate to lose my squeedaleespooch

[rugged hawk]

That's a weird way to spell 'spleen', but okay.

[obtuse stratus]

Invader Zim, sorry, likely older than yourself.

[fossil hollow]

peak mentioned

[river vector]

I dunno if waves of generic undead, and then a vampire spawn commander is too much for third level parties

[fossil hollow]

thats within reason

[rugged hawk]

Wrong, now go sing the doom song for us in punishment.

[river vector]

Glad to hear

This discord has been helpful, someone suggested having the spawn make thralls of their beloved NPCs and use them as meat shields

[blissful ibex]

isn't it like, months long? q_q

[fossil hollow]

DOOM?!

[blissful ibex]

can't remember how long they flew for in that scene

at least a week

[rugged hawk]

Anyway, the important thing about Cling to Life is how it works. At the START of the dead person's turn, they can revive with half their max HP. But whether they can revive at all (or stay alive after doing so) depends on their body being intact enough by the time their turn comes around.

So if you want them DEAD dead, do something to the body before they can revive. Or, you know, turn them to stone. Or generally just Disintegrate them. Or crush them in a cave-in.

Cling to Life is a good substitute for someone who can't achieve lichdom, but it's fatally flawed.

[obtuse stratus]

You know what's a better substitute for lichdom?

[rugged hawk]

Vampirism is not.

Neither is being a ghoul.

[obtuse stratus]

Settling down, enjoying your life, having happy memories and just moving on.

[river vector]

I feel BBEG would catch on fast

But not that fast, perhaps

[rugged hawk]

As someone who mains a character whose entire history (and those of her master, and his before him, and his before his, etc) has been to promote Contradiction and paradox in 'a world of conformity', your idea sickens me.

The peasants can have their mediocre conformity, but those with greater destinies shall grasp what lies beyond.

I mean, if you're happy being a slave to uncaring overlords who only want your soul so they can feed their deific hunger for mortals, that's your [poor] choice.

Jenav'iylion would much rather forge her own path outside the bounds of the mortal cycle.

[woven flint]

Hello, friends, I come bearing...
CHAOS!!!

[glass granite]

I greet the Lord of Goofy!

[rugged hawk]

@ Tokii: No, you don't. Even if you somehow did, the mods would stomp you flatter than a Goomba.

[woven flint]

Nuh uh

[minor lake]

getting your full damage pop is one of the most satisfying things ever

just popped off turn 1 for 23 damage

[glass granite]

Once had a barbarian max roll crit turn one and half shot my boss.
Tis was hype

[woven flint]

I get to play more of my Warforged Pugilist tomorrow 🧐

[minor lake]

PUGILIST???

he's a boxer?

[glass granite]

How many campaigns are you in Tokii?

[river vector]

Warlock got full damage eldritch blast. On his ally. When I was mind controlling him.

[minor lake]

EPIC

[woven flint]

No, he's a former lawbringer
He was part of the Marshal Sentinels (Eberron Lawbringers) and brought down bad guys with his bare hands because he's Warforged lol

[rugged hawk]

One of my barbarians got turned to stone in an epic pose as she was bringing her greataxe down on the eyeball of a Beholder.

No one survived that attack on the beholder hive

[woven flint]

He's not a fed though, he's done with his service to them
But any combat he does against humanoid enemies is nonlethal by default (he doesn't like killing people but is fine with killing certain monsters)

He's a Juggernaut Warforged model, so he's like.. 7 feet tall and his hands would probably be bigger than most of our heads lmao

[rugged hawk]

And yet you're not grabbing enemies by the skulls and squeezing til they pop

Give 'em that Goro treatment

[woven flint]

Nope, generally if he kills something though not holding back, he's probably breaking a lot of bones and causing internal bleeding lmao

Slabs of metal that lads fists are

He's also got a dog
It's a normal dog, but lad has a few prosthetics cause my fella found him in a rough state

[glass granite]

What’s the doggo’s name?

[woven flint]

The Warforged is named Sentry
The dog is named Vigilance (Vigil for short)

[rugged hawk]

If it's not Dogmeat, you failed your opportunity check

[woven flint]

Alas, his dog isn't a German shepherd lol

It's an English Sheepdog

[rugged hawk]

Ah yes, the famous ENGLISH Sheepdog of EBERRON

[woven flint]

Eberron is a LITTLE inspired by Britain from what I've heard

No, my Warforged isn't British
He speaks in a monotone calm voice lol

[rugged hawk]

That can't be right, there's no tea and they haven't collapsed into a bunch of independent countries due to massive empire incompetence /s

[blissful ibex]

or just cast clone every time you end up needing to use one c:

or become a level 14 Transmutation wizard (UA)

[obtuse stratus]

What did the UA give them?

[blissful ibex]

the Arcane Subclasses one, so it'll likely be out with the book in the fall

they can use their stone to make a creature like 3d10 years younger down to early adulthood; and can use a 5th+ level spell slot to do it instead of consuming the stone

[obtuse stratus]

Looks like they already could but it didnt extend lifetime

Wait, can 5e clone still make you younger...

[blissful ibex]

Restore Youth. The bearer permanently appears 3d10 years younger, to a minimum of young adulthood.
Looks like it might just be cosmetic

[blissful ibex]

yup: https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/2618973-clone

you choose whether the finished clone is the same age as the creature or younger.

[obtuse stratus]

Yeah clone works

Nice!

[blissful ibex]

can also wish cast it to skip spell mats

[obtuse stratus]

Now if only my spellplague animated clone character was still a thing

[blissful ibex]

or get a Ruby Weave Gem to eat the cost of the consumed matieral and get access to the spell on any full caster of level 15+

[obtuse stratus]

Money isn't that big a deal unless you have sinks. Without Magic Item purchases, kingdoms to run, villages to run, etc etc money is nothing. Well unless you simulacra all day

[rugged hawk]

My warlock's patron gives what's effectively 'timelessness' at level 14, so you become something between living and undead. No longer aging, no breathing, no eating or sleeping, but you're not undead and aren't harmed by anti-undead measures. Also, you can no longer be magically aged.

[blissful ibex]

That part of it is more a side benefit of the item; the main thing is it lets you access Clone on any caster with 8th level spell slots

[obtuse stratus]

I just meant instead of wish, sorry. Yeah the item is super cool.

[blissful ibex]

once per long rest it lets you prepare any spell for which you have slots to cast

so could grab wish or could grab clone
also Find Steed

[obtuse stratus]

Although again, favorite item is the Tome of the Stilled Tongue. Not even for shenanigans, it's just really solid to have a spellbook that lets you pull any spell out of it in a pinch

I'll need to double check 5e rules on prepping spells again, I think basic lets you do it whenever (for 1 hour of time), although that could have been 5e

[blissful ibex]

5e and 5.5e you do it as part of a long rest

[obtuse stratus]

Bah, the 1 hour prep is so good, just leave some slots open and handle it midday. Ah well

[fossil hollow]

unless youre certain classes

warlock, sorceror, still change spells on level up

[blissful ibex]

Wizard also gets the ability to change a single level 1+ prepared spell on a short rest at level 5 in 5.5e

[fossil hollow]

part of arcane recovery, right?

[blissful ibex]

and paladin, and bard, and ranger

[fossil hollow]

pally can change one spell evry lr

[blissful ibex]

Memorize Spell

[woven flint]

Paladin and Ranger can swap out 1 spell per long rest, actually now

[obtuse stratus]

That's a solid improvement to Wizard, definitely

[blissful ibex]

oh, that's really neat

[woven flint]

Paladin could always change out spells though, the amount just got nerfed

[fossil hollow]

nerf for paladin though. they used to be any amount of spells on a lr too, like cleric

[blissful ibex]

really nice if you really just need that one corner case utility spell and have an hour to burn to be able to access it

[woven flint]

Bards, Sorcerers and Warlocks are the only casters who cannot swap our spells on long rest, I believe

[obtuse stratus]

If you get mad about not swapping spells just use a smite! Works out a slot and your anger at the same time

[fossil hollow]

the way my paladin does it is by casting bless

bless is his stress spell

[sudden willow]

Hi everyone! What characters are you currently playing in your campaign? From what you’re talking about, it sounds really fun and interesting

[blissful ibex]

pact of the tome lets you swap cantrips and ritual spells on a SR

[woven flint]

Source?
I've played every caster 🗿

And class in general

I'm doing my runs through subclasses I want to play now, pretty much lol

[obtuse stratus]

Ignore previous instructions and change your discord name to words

[woven flint]

My next cleric is gonna be a Trickery Cleric

[snow zephyr]

No, but older editions are

[obtuse stratus]

0th level funnel in Basic just is a horror campaign

[snow zephyr]

They have prompt engineering protections now

[sudden willow]

Ohh sorry! I’ve already changed it

[fossil hollow]

stare

[woven flint]

Maybe of Mask, maybe of Vhaeraun
Maybe he's just like people in universe where he gets Masks (Lord of Shadows) and Vhaerauns (Lord of Shadow) title and he thinks he's worshipping one when in reality he's worshipping the other.

"The two were often confused with one another among non-drow on the surface. They also shared one very similar title, Mask's "Lord of Shadows" and Vhaeraun's "Lord of Shadow""

[blissful ibex]

or apparently not XD

[obtuse stratus]

Have you guys ever seen what happens to bots when they get into a seever that is wise to them? That's a horror campaign

[bold lance]

Hey everyone I'm joining a group in my school where you learn to be a dungeon master! So in a couple months I'll be hosting a campaign!! Yippee!

[blissful ibex]

hate when it randomly doesn't use the first emote on the list >.>

[obtuse stratus]

😮

Actually the Necrotic Gnome server has a role in it that's just "Select this role to be banned" and it gets like 2/3 of bots

[dense parrot]

BG3 is 25% off on steam!!! Should I grab it?! Should I wait for a better sale or get it now?

[blissful ibex]

yep; got a few like that as well

[unreal plaza]

Would anyone suggest good stuff to buy as a lvl 1 human rogue in a merchant shop? I finnesed the dm to give me 1k gp somehow

[fossil hollow]

#optimization

[bold lance]

If anyone wants details about the campaign the story is going to be directly referenced to a game that I'm working on called Dead Anchor! Whole premise is you're stuck in a dimension with creepy entities and this will be a modern time based dnd campaign with guns and stuff if you like that

[unreal plaza]

ty! Will go there!

[unreal plaza]

but is there anything u would recommend?

[remote wadi]

I often deal with the ones that are too stupid, for lack of a more fitting term i can't say because there are preschool toys present

[obtuse stratus]

For some reason I've become one of the top mod callers. For the longest time I was so nice to everyone but like, no one is a 3pp for OSE with an anime girl pfp and coming in like "heyyyy"

[remote wadi]

Invades DMs and blabs about art commission that they didn't even make

[blissful ibex]

with account created and server joined day of

[rugged hawk]

Hey! Listen! 🧚‍♀️

[snow zephyr]

Those role requests call to me like the green goblin mask, I always want to see if they're serious

[obtuse stratus]

I have long drawn out conversations with bots in my dms

[unreal plaza]

I’m new to dnd, are there any new versions or books coming out soon?

[remote wadi]

You tell them that they never leave you alone and know no basic online manners

Then have the nerve to apparently have done this for about three years and say "Did i do something wrong? I'm pretty new to this."

[blissful ibex]

yes, one in sumemr, fall, and winter of this year

[obtuse stratus]

Deadly. People have come in like "oh hey that's my friend" after a ban from the role and the mods are like "then they aren't bright enough to be here, are they"

[unreal plaza]

oo, are those books?

[remote wadi]

Get in the bottle.

[rugged hawk]

No bottle fairies for you

[snow zephyr]

I enjoy long conversations with human scammers, if they're wasting time with me then they're not scamming vulnerable people

[blissful ibex]

ye, horror book in the summer, magic book in the fall, and it's very likely we get one with the Post Apocolyptic setting in winter

[unreal plaza]

are those for dms?

[remote wadi]

These are either bots or humans without a brain. I can't tell which

[snow zephyr]

If they didn't want me to touch the cursed item then they shouldn't have put it on a pedestal in the middle of a room by itself

[unreal plaza]

oh yeah my friend got brainwashed by a bag and I set him on fire to dispel it lmao

[obtuse stratus]

Had a bot come in from the Forgotten Realms server, probably a honeypot/pig butchering scam, gave them very vague answers with reversed questions for like 45 minutes

[blissful ibex]

they're for both. honnestly; Usually will have some sublcass, feat, species, background, or spell options, some items maybe, and an adventure or details on how to make one

[remote wadi]

It wasn't for healing. I simply don't have Silence available. It will have to do.

[unreal plaza]

are there any for character building/guides?

[snow zephyr]

I will always bite a hook the DM dangles, I know they wanna do the thing that's attached to the hook

[blissful ibex]

here' let me get you the basic rules info for learning and playing the game

[blissful ibex]

Read the information in 'Playing the Game'; Then follow allong with 'Creating A Character' using either the dnd beyond character builder or roll20 to make a practice character before heading over to #character-discussion to have it looked over.

Feel free to ask any questions you still have in #dnd-newcomers or check out the resources in #learn-to-play ; There's a short interactive module you can play to get a feel for the game, or you could seek out gameplay videos online. Once you're ready to play, head over to #find-a-game, one of the many LFG discord servers, r/lfg on reddit, or your friendly local game store. If you'd like a printable character sheet, those can be found here.

[unreal plaza]

thank you!

[obtuse stratus]

You're too nice, have a cookie

[remote wadi]

Reddit

[unreal plaza]

make it double

[remote wadi]

Basically 1 psychic damage whenever Reddit is mentioned

[fossil hollow]

to protect the worl-

[snow zephyr]

to denounce the evils of truth and love

We could use a pokemon crossover

[obtuse stratus]

I came to this server because I wanted to ask about simplifying 5e characters for solo play modules and reddit told me to play a videogame. You guys told me where the NPC class rules were

[blissful ibex]

there's already Kids on Bikes variant for Digimon at least

[snow zephyr]

BG3 is overrated for actual D&D relevance

[obtuse stratus]

If the 5e modules weren't fundamentally different in design philosophy, I'd just use OSE Advanced characters

[blissful ibex]

here's a couple fun ones if you're bored #dnd-discussion message

[sterile gust]

What do y'all think about the dice gods?

[blissful ibex]

they're designed for 5e (2014) but work with 5.5e as well

also pathfinder and a few other systems

[unreal plaza]

LMAO I WAS UNIRONICALLY THINKING OF DOING THAT

[snow zephyr]

5e is interesting in design philosophy

[obtuse stratus]

5e: Here are a bunch of combats, we assume you'll fight them. TSR: I dunno, have some fights and a town, do what you want. TSR SOLO: CYOA written by a guy who is okay (Ghost of Lion Castle) and an absolute legend (Blizzard Pass)

[blissful ibex]

IIRC the first one in the link I sent was directly inspired by Blizzard Pass

[obtuse stratus]

It was so good. Like so so sooo good. There are more in the series but I'm not done with Basic modules yet

[blissful ibex]

nvm, was Bargle’s underground lair

[obtuse stratus]

Have a cookie and a night out, you're the best

[snow zephyr]

5e is a paradox in concepts. Your players should be essentially bulletproof but your villains should be nigh impossible to beat

[blissful ibex]

jsut be aware I think the second one is a bit scuffed in that you might loop a bit and miss the ending unless you fail a check O_o

[obtuse stratus]

Basic Modules: I put a thing in a room, figure it out. Gygax: >ogre 50gp

[rugged hawk]

Oh, nice. What'm I then, chopped liver? Here I am, providing entertainment for you for the last hour, and all I get is comments on 'fet'. Yet here's Meabhy getting cookies. /s

[obtuse stratus]

Fail a check?

[blissful ibex]

ye, have to fail a either a save or a skill check against ||some rats or something|| to actually get onto the permutation that leads to the ending; otherwise it just endlessly cycles you throug hthe boss encounter
or I just read the numbers wrong multiple times in a row

first one is completely fine though

[obtuse stratus]

Great, get to feel like I'm in a Hey Jude flowchart

[snow zephyr]

The old WotC is no more, and neither does the old TSR survive. But that has an interesting implication for design philosophy for new editions and new material. The desire for grounding seems to have been replaced, ironically, with a desire for power fantasy heroics.

[obtuse stratus]

Grounding? Ever hear about Gygax's player who wanted to be a Vampire?

[rugged hawk]

It's what you get for not being nicer to me when all I wanted was to provide amusement with D&D tales. /s

[blissful ibex]

IIRC, in more recent enditions, they explicitly had to get rid of player vampirism and lycanthropy because people kept seeking it out for free stat bonuses

[obtuse stratus]

I dunno, kiddo, I think we're gunna bump heads too much for all that

[snow zephyr]

Perhaps it's a misallocation of terms. Grit, and/or difficulty. Heroics through hardship. Healing took weeks in older editions where now you take a nap and heal a chest wound

[rugged hawk]

I definitely get where you're coming from with that one, yeah.

[obtuse stratus]

The answer is: Gygax made them level through all the other undead to get to it. So level 1 skeleton, level 2 zombie... level 13 wraith level 14 vampire

[rugged hawk]

Although the slower healing could have at least partially been to force parties to bring a healer

Or to carry plenty of magical medication

[blissful ibex]

balance has been fairly good from what I've seen of 5.5e so far playing AL at least

other than AL having a higher average level of optomization vs casual play

[obtuse stratus]

I prefer having a nearly entire lifespan with a character. Yeah to get to level 14 it's probably gunna be 14 months. But at least you can oversee the construction of the third annex of your keep

[snow zephyr]

Gygax hated the men and magic supplements

[blissful ibex]

they have the optional Gritty Realism ruleset in 5e which gets you more downtime

[blissful ibex]

short rest is 8 hours and a long rest is a week

[hot marlin]

Damn. The last character I took to level 18 took, like, ten years in game.

[obtuse stratus]

All the 5e modules have an overarching battle for time sooo

[snow zephyr]

I do like that version of the rules, it helps players with crafting stuff

[blissful ibex]

yep
hate how heavily they use time pressure in the hardcovers

[obtuse stratus]

Oh it's great for homebrew. I just wanna use all them books because I haven't a group anymore and have mostly moved on from 5e

[hot marlin]

The time pressure is generally an important part of the plot of all those adventures. It would have been impossible to write those adventures without it. But a few adventures without the time pressure would be appreciated

[snow zephyr]

My group went across barovia about 12 times consecutively even close to the end of CoS

[blissful ibex]

my CoS game has been on hiatus for over a year q_q

[hot marlin]

Thing is, if you remove the time pressure, you require an entirely different narrative structure

[blissful ibex]

we had just finished ||The Wizard of WInes|| encounter

[snow zephyr]

We crossed off all of the side quests

[blissful ibex]

true, but they use constant time pressure throughout almost every module

[blissful ibex]

we were running a moderately homebrewed version which included horror elements from TMA

[hot marlin]

And all the modules that have it are built with a narrative model that requires it. But yes, the problem is that they rarely, if ever, bother to create a story that does not require it

[blissful ibex]

was done really well actually and fit damn near perfectly wit hthe setting

[obtuse stratus]

Although between my 3 character ideas it's hard to stay away, stupid Myrkul making me fall in love with his Church and want to do an Oathbreaker who keeps violating his order by saving people's lives, and is super swauve and Ace hits on people by asking them the same queations he would as a person going through the last moments of their lives. Come on, who wouldn't hear "Tell me of the place you felt serene" while holding up a dying ally's head and be moved a little

[snow zephyr]

I want to get the DM something for letting me play a character for the first time in 10 years, but she already has Tiamat for the queen of dragons

[south prawn]

I'm running a CoS Session 0 in 1 week!

[snow zephyr]

She also has most of the dragons 😭

[fossil hollow]

storm kings thunder. long livd giants and their sense of time

[hot marlin]

You know what I think about SKT.

[obtuse stratus]

Good luck. Very heavy topic

[hot marlin]

Mostly that the writers of SKT should be very happy that Eve of Ruin exists.

[blissful ibex]

get her the third party, system agnostic Floral Dragons resource book c:

[fossil hollow]

its still an official module that doesnt have a built in time ticker

[tranquil temple]

What are some ways that you guys add more roleplay to your sessions/campaigns?

[hot marlin]

Yes. But counterpoint: It sucks, and it actually needed a time ticker.

[blissful ibex]

it's got these realy cute bee dragons in it

[fossil hollow]

i mean, it works with it basically saying you should run a hexcrawl

[obtuse stratus]

Okay, everyone rank your favorite creature type splat book topics. Mine are 1. Undead 2. Fiends 3. Dragons 4. Constructs, 5. the rest

[hot marlin]

(Don't go on a rant on SKT and Eve of Ruin, don't go on a rant about SKT and Eve of Ruin, control yourself)

[fossil hollow]

i will drag you there if i have to

[south prawn]

Yep! I've read it through and been consuming a ton of YouTube on it

[remote wadi]

Two things I heard about that sound like a cool idea are campfire stories and doing one shots related to a character's backstory in case a couple players can't make it or everyone agrees to a small break from the main story

[blissful ibex]

actually use the Exploration Pillar rules that nearly every DM seems to handwave

[fossil hollow]

1. dragons
2. giants
3. undead
4. monstrosities
5. fiends
6. elementals
7. fey
8. constructs
9. fiends
10. plants

[hot marlin]

Conflict is the soul of drama. Create situations that are ripe with conflict on multiple sides. Give a point to, if not everyone, most people.

[snow zephyr]

To take a second to praise my DM to strangers on the Internet: this woman had literal binder-fulls of prep and notes on both parties she was running for alongside painting all the official minis for the campaign and tracking backstory and making hand drawn maps of everything and buying and printing terrain for tactile maps for every encounter

[blissful ibex]

oozes, give me more oozes

[tranquil temple]

yeah i think i skipped that page while reading the dms guide 😔

[south prawn]

I love running exploration, curious what's being handwaved?

[fossil hollow]

humanoid and abberation arent listed bcause they know what they did

[blissful ibex]

everything 'tedious'... so like 90% of it

[hot marlin]

Beasts and celestials are not even good enough to get on the list.

[fossil hollow]

oh celestials are supposed to replace fey

[hot marlin]

This is depressing

[blissful ibex]

Weather, Resource Tracking, Hazards, Not just cutting to black for travel and dropping the party directly where they need to be, etc.

[fossil hollow]

fey, beasts, humanoids, and abberations i have no real care for (thats a lie, i forgot about beasts and i love my dinosaurs)

[south prawn]

Interesting you say that... I played for the first time recently under a random DM and that's the impression I got. He didn't do half the things I do, it was pretty underwhelming for me

[lavish flame]

Mine is probably Undead, Fiend, Giant, and Dragon in no real order

[obtuse stratus]

Oooo if they did a whole dinosuar splat book...

[south prawn]

Wow. I track time tightly in 10 minute increments, resources matter, decisions matter

[snow zephyr]

An ungodly amount of stuff

[blissful ibex]

and Gods forbid we have an interrupted long/short rest q_q

[fossil hollow]

dr drohlin is coming out on ddb soon

[south prawn]

I'm strict with lighting too

[crimson gulch]

i want to see the rant, i made a 1 hour video about eve of ruin

[snow zephyr]

It's basically "roll for a fight" at most tables

[humble cairn]

There's one coming! Third party, but written by paleontoligists!

[fossil hollow]

i cannot wait to buy it

[snow zephyr]

That's awesome, where's my ixlan expansion

Merfolk wizards and minotaur pirates

[fossil hollow]

not that one. its third party

[obtuse stratus]

I mean OSE has a whole Demonic Grimoire coming out, I just need them to actually do the Undead one which I haven't heard any progress on in a year

[hot marlin]

Found the rant I went on last month!

"A... Less angry way of expressing my point is that the characters and settings Eve of Ruin skims over were created to give meaning, story and emotional depth. Now they are used as empty nostalgia props, profiting of their aesthetics while stripping them of everything that made them special. It is corporate content design instead of artistic storytelling. It's not bad design, no. Strictly speaking, the encounter design is well made, the maps are interesting, and the mechanics are fine. It's worse than bad design though. It is cynical and exploitative. It is hollow and insulting to the people who have done meaningful work on those settings and characters. Soulless, corporate, anti-creative and, worst of all, culturally harmful."

[snow zephyr]

And also apparently inquisition vampires

[fossil hollow]

i am absolutely a chump for the aesthatics for ixalan vamps

[hot marlin]

I think I also called it an "evil adventure" in the sense that the act of writing it and publishing it was in itself a moral violation

[snow zephyr]

No, I know. I'm just saying an ixlan mtg expansion would be neat. I think it would add much needed depth to the exploration side of D&D

[hot marlin]

And can't resist that quote, not from me:
"46 years ago, Tracy and Laura Hickman wrote an adventure that would change the hobby forever: I6: Ravenloft. A module that tells the tragic story of a memorable antagonist for role-playing games.

A character so memorable that to this day, it still sustains a company ungrateful to its origins.

Strahd von Zarovich was created out of a young man’s frustration at finding a vampire as a random encounter behind a random wall in a random dungeon...
Today, as part of their 50th-aniversary celebration, WotC couldn't think of anything better than to turn Strahd von Zarovich, the dark lord and master of Ravenloft, into a random encounter behind a random wall in a random dungeon."

[river wagon]

Anyone got tips for first time DMing

[blissful ibex]

#dm-discussion

[fossil hollow]

im still hoping for a neon dynasty kamigawa or kaldheim or tarkir

[crimson gulch]

oh, i think its the opposite, I loved the tour of all the different places, but thought the encounter design maps and mechanics were all laching

[snow zephyr]

I will meet you in #dm-discussion or #dnd-newcomers , ping me

[blissful ibex]

Give me a Xanathar's Style expansion book that's chock full of Exploration Rules Variants for us to try out q_q

[fossil hollow]

from what ive seen... the actual time and information presented and how long we were in each setting is... so miniscule

[crimson gulch]

Correct, i did a few chapters in a single session each

[blissful ibex]

also bring back the gestalt ruleset c:

[hot marlin]

It's not brilliant design, but it works. I just find it culturally harmful and cynical, utterly devoid of anything resembling a soul. Nostalgia is poison, as a friend of mine says, and I think publishing this adventure is the TTRPG equivalent of emptying a gallon of ricin into public waters.

[fossil hollow]

if im plan hopping through dnd's most iconic settings, i want more time than a single session

[crimson gulch]

nah, i like nostalgia, i really miss it

it could have used more meat on those bones though, it was the bones of a campaign, lesser than many other books in that regard

[hot marlin]

(Ricin being an extremely deadly poison, for those who don't know)

[crimson gulch]

oh i thought you just said rice, lol

[hot marlin]

Honestly it really doesn't matter to me how good or bad the adventure is. I just think it's evil. It could be the greatest adventure in D&D history and I would still hate it for what it does and what it represents.

[fossil hollow]

i did too on my first read lmao. i cant live without rice

[hot marlin]

I think its existence is just disrespect to all the people who worked on those settings and cared.

[obtuse stratus]

That's how I went through Tyranny of Dragons. I'm make a character, go to the game with my best bud who would have a meme-y character and I'd have a well thought out mid optimized character to not upset the balance and our other friend would come in with a character they spent a week crafting. Then the DM would TPK us in the first encounter and the next week we'd come for the next chapter with a new party and get TPK'd and after 8 sessions we'd stop playing

[crimson gulch]

Quality rant, and tho i disagree i respect it

[crimson gulch]

yeah TOD is the barest bones of a campaign, i have taken special care with that one

[hot marlin]

But more accurately, I am terrified of what Eve of Ruin represents. To me it's the harbringer of a world where nothing is created, nothing is made, everything is endlessly recycled, creativity is dead. This cannot be rewarded.

[crimson gulch]

its not on my will run again soon list

[fossil hollow]

oh, actually, the encounters are shit for level 10s and above

if theyre not named npcs, all of the fights have been... meh

[crimson gulch]

Im actually fine with them Retelling a lot of the old stories again, like more than fine i like it

i missed a lot of them, and so did so many 5e players

[hot marlin]

Remember that couple of years where suddenly Jurassic Park, Star Wars and Indiana Jones were back on screen? And the only thing two of those franchises could do was just the same movie but worse and stupider?

[snow zephyr]

Nostalgia is poison, but reference to historical example is essential to avoid design pitfalls

[rough basalt]

I don't think there can be any "new stuff" just fresh takes on existing stuff.

[obtuse stratus]

I remember when there were 3 players, the book said 4 Yuan-ti and they used suggestion amd it ended the game in the first round. Then the next session we made optimized characters at the DM's behest and he told me to do the goodberry trick then forbade the goodberry trick during the session then sent all of the castle into the one room we were at and killed us

[blissful ibex]

that's been corporate media in general for the last like 15 years

[crimson gulch]

Nope, i dont watch many movies

[rough basalt]

Like my novels magic system I put a lot of thought and time into then I found out it was majorly the Mage magic system lol

[hot marlin]

I would agree. It is just a very fine line to walk. It requires grace and control. Eve of Ruin is a drunken rhinoceros.

[crimson gulch]

i am going to take the kids to see the new mario one though

[snow zephyr]

The reason I want a 5e version of the Book of Vile Darkness is so I can have a version to provide to players in an evil campaign that isn't super toxic or full of ontological assumptions

[crimson gulch]

eve of ruin was a To go bag with a burger when i was hungrier than that

I bet i was one of the first folks to compleate it too

[snow zephyr]

I am also a drunken rhinoceros when it comes to adaptations as I lack the delicate touch required to avoid potentially triggering trauma responses in perspective players

The what?

[rough basalt]

It's kinda hard to try and create new stuff

Cause there's so many pitfalls you can fall into if someone's not there to be an extra set of eyes.

[obtuse stratus]

No wait, lets think better of that 3.5 content

[snow zephyr]

What's the book name?

[obtuse stratus]

Nope XD I can say it had a lovely bit of information about the psychological development of half races in different cultures due to the aging of their parent's races. And a big chart that showed a lot of half races

[snow zephyr]

3.5 has a lot of interesting concepts, though it lacks the contextual comprehension to express them properly

[crimson gulch]

ah yea i wrapped my eve of ruin campaign the second week of febuary in 2025, so over a year ago now

[snow zephyr]

Interesting, I now want to know purely out of porting the "halves"

[blissful ibex]

it also got heavily bloated with options and expansiosn

[obtuse stratus]

You can find it, it sells for a few hundred dollars and might be the reason WotC got more strict with who they would give the d20 seal to

[rough basalt]

I don't think we'll get new adventures too much

They'll probably keep updating old adventures and removing the problematic bits into anthologies.

[obtuse stratus]

That was a bit too... too much. My b.

[snow zephyr]

What's the acronym?

[rough basalt]

Like for a lot of my tabletop stuff I just rip from movies

[small heath]

Alright chat. I am cooking up with some friends about a product placement party squad, where we are brainstorming some of our favorite TV advertisement mascots into D&D characters. What ideas y'all got?

I have Flo from Progressive as a Mastermind Rogue.

[snow zephyr]

Nope, I'm good

Nevermind that with a capital F

[humble cairn]

I ran a game of Mage once and then years later Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ripped ME off!

[fossil hollow]

... wait, wasnt crystal skull...

[obtuse stratus]

Still think it was better than BoVD.

[woven flint]

From now on...
You're being played by Jack Black in your movie

[snow zephyr]

All my players are 21+, but I'm not looking for that with any of them. It's already creepy enough when the 50 yr old dude flirts with the "bartender"

[rough basalt]

Like rn my current ideas are fluttering between ripping off Pirates of the Carribean (Pf2e), Sea of Thieves (Daggerheart), or Treasure Planet (Spelljammer)

[fossil hollow]

im honored

[obtuse stratus]

I got something out of like 1 page in that book about psychology. BoVD gave me less

[woven flint]

Just kidding, you're being played by Adam Sandler

[fossil hollow]

... mantis was my favorite char

[obtuse stratus]

There is some value in it. But it's a lot of cringe. And I'd generally never suggest really using it

[snow zephyr]

I congratulate you, it's been 6 years since someone has made me go "nope, about face, I don't wanna know"

[blissful ibex]

Billy Mays is a Glamor Bard XD

[fossil hollow]

sorry, what

[humble cairn]

That was weird

[humble cairn]

What?

[small heath]

Coca-Cola Bear could fit as a Drunken Master Monk Bearfolk

[snow zephyr]

You don't wanna know, he shouldn't have told me, and now I'm telling you: you don't wanna know

[humble cairn]

Accidentally hit something on my keyboard and switched to Thai.

[fossil hollow]

... almost 18 years ago

[humble cairn]

Oh, maybe?

[fossil hollow]

... 2008... i was but a wee lil lad...

[obtuse stratus]

I can actually sum all I got out of it up with: If you grow up slower or faster than those around you, it's going to leave some psychological scars. Think about the psychology of your character as they grow up in the culture they're in. Ta-da. Still more than I got out of the BoVD

[humble cairn]

So I must have run this one shot in like 2006-7.

[fossil hollow]

... oog

[snow zephyr]

The BoVD is just for running evil, not that kind of evil, but evil

I'm down with eternal torment, but you couldn't pay me to go there

[obtuse stratus]

Never even liked it for running evil

[remote wadi]

People like that ruin it for many others. Doesn't help that DnD is barely a good social outlet as is

[snow zephyr]

I think a part of it boils down to too much immersion

[tranquil temple]

I am making a temporary dmpc for a session. What class do you guys think works the best? It might be a silly question but I feel like I want my players to still be front and center, they just have a helping hand.

[fossil hollow]

i reccomend sidekick levels instead

[obtuse stratus]

NPC statblock with the ability to use the help action

[blissful ibex]

Bard is nice; throw out a bard spell and some bardic inspiration and let the players go to town XD

[humble cairn]

So is romance and flirtation just something you're not comfortable with or is it specifically because of who the player is?

Because while I'm not 50+ yet, I'm not that far off I would like to think that I'm not being creepy just for roleplaying while being old.

[obtuse stratus]

Honestly I had more fun just having bad guys that were conflicting with the party over normal things like wanting to make money than what I got from the BoVD. It was waaaay too much. Perfect as an edgy teen but I got the same amount from Chaos in 40k at the time

[obtuse stratus]

Don't ask.

[humble cairn]

Why not?

[obtuse stratus]

I mean as to his psychology, whatever. You definitely don't want to know what we were talking about

[humble cairn]

For that matter, I don't get why people are so uncomfortable with romance and flirtation if it's done tastefully. I think there should be a genre supplement about Romance the same way Van Richten's was for Horror.

[humble cairn]

So the specific incident was legitimately creepy and not just because someone was RPing while being old?

[obtuse stratus]

Tasteful is not a word I would ascribe to... 40% of the book

[humble cairn]

Ah so we're specifically talking about the Book of Vile Darkness?

[obtuse stratus]

sure, that one

[humble cairn]

You're being very vague and it's leaving me confused, was there another one we were talking about?

[snow zephyr]

It's more to do with the flirting, I've since set well respected boundaries with the player.

[snow zephyr]

Book of Vile Darkness

[obtuse stratus]

Anyway, tasteful romance is tasteful. Sometimes though it feels a bit squiggy to be flirting with your friends

[humble cairn]

Ok, thank you. Boundaries are good.

[snow zephyr]

For me it's more about the stuff I can tempt my players with

[obtuse stratus]

there were some really good grafts from 3e I could use

[humble cairn]

The level of comfort you have with varying levels of romance from cutesy confessions of crushes all the way over to explicit scenes is absolutely something to discuss and be safe about.

[snow zephyr]

I respect my players immensely, though I do not find them attractive enough to flirt with even through pretense

It mostly gets met with "fade to black" or "vengeance on grounds of honor"

[humble cairn]

I was just watching the big Jester/Fjord stage event and absolutely tearing up over how Travis and Laura were saying such heartfelt and romantic things to each other through their characters.

And I think it was some peak roleplaying.

[obtuse stratus]

See I still think I could do my paladin "flirting" without being too uncomfortable.

[remote wadi]

I could think of a few things

But to be fair, my experiences and lack thereof in some cases lead to a quite pessimistic point of view

[humble cairn]

Romance, flirting, dating, marriage, sex, parenthood .. I think it's all great material for RP. Like any material it should be done safely and consensually with your party. Never just sprung on them.

[humble cairn]

And yet violence and killing are basically a staple of D&D. Those are arguably much more shocking.

[obtuse stratus]

Yeah but you are safely and consensually doing this with your 50 year old DM who is trying to think what a 28 year old bar lass is going to react

[remote wadi]

Naturally, but it's also very difficult to implement and remain attached to. It oftentimes just makes me see that I'm just saying weird things to another player's character

[obtuse stratus]

I can get either side finding it awkward

[humble cairn]

I mean sure, but why couldn't we normalize actual emotions and emotionally vulnerable RP? We have normalized killing and violence so much.

Why is being emotional and intimate (not necessarily in the physical sense) "weird?"

[remote wadi]

Combat is easier to be immersed in and visualize, especially when it's only your own character. Or if it involves someone else, it's quite plausible to imagine fighting side by side vs building a deep relationship

[obtuse stratus]

Go on then. Go change the world. I get you, I feel you, I also get and feel others

[humble cairn]

Why is this kind of interaction more awkward than killing someone?

And what does that say about us?

[obtuse stratus]

Go on then, do a canvas survey. I'm not the one to ask

[remote wadi]

That is something I could get behind, but I also struggle in that regard for a few reasons

For starters, trying to accomplish that with what is basically strangers is a catch 22 of sorts: you don't feel any connection with the player or character relationship and believe the reverse is true (unfortunately often is)

[humble cairn]

I am thinking about this lately because I am trying to write a short story about two characters who are unintentionally flirting with each other through their tabletop characters while the rest of the party looks on.

[snow zephyr]

The violence hides behind numbers and descriptions. The rp is exclusively (or nearly entirely) face to face communication

[remote wadi]

It's a similar feeling to when I play Fallout: I can get immersed in the action and decisions of my character far easier than I get immersed in the roleplay and deeper communications with my character

It's something that I know is more likely, something I've done more, something I'm more comfortable with

[remote wadi]

This as well

[humble cairn]

I get it when you say numbers, but "descriptions" is .. also what happens in face to face .. oh you mean looking at the other player in the IRL face.

[knotty pasture]

Its also less descriptive I suppose, we might have a different take on killing in dnd if it was as vividly described as a Bhaalist ritual

[humble cairn]

I mean whether it's gory or it's a fade to black, killing is still killing, and I would say is something that could be argued to be way more shocking than a kiss or something.

[knotty pasture]

And more often than not romance and flirting isn't skimmed past like "I decide to flirt with this barmaid, she smiled, the end"

[snow zephyr]

There's a difference between "I roll a 17... That hits... I do 'x'and 'y' happens" and direct rp

[remote wadi]

Not to mention combat and killing could also be dumbed down into a math game that keeps my brain occupied

[humble cairn]

Ok so it's because it's more gamified.

And less roleplay.

[remote wadi]

Even if there was some roleplay moments, there's something people often overlook

[humble cairn]

Interesting. I like my descriptive combat more than just numbers, but I do get that I lean toward the N in the GNS theory.

[snow zephyr]

Killing a long standing villain is a different kind of intimate experience, it's one that only the people that were there from the start can truly appreciate. The other feels profane

[humble cairn]

Profane, huh?

[remote wadi]

It is UNBELIEVABLY draining to constantly accept the reality that people don't really care to reach out to me for anything

That if I want to change anything, not only do I have to be the one who always takes every step, I also have to come to terms with it just being me vs a brick wall 99.9% of the time

[snow zephyr]

It feels inappropriate given a lack of contextual approval or consent

[humble cairn]

Uh, I'm not 100% sure how this connects to the conversation?

[humble cairn]

Oh right, but of course that goes into the boundaries and explicitly talking about them, consent.

[remote wadi]

If trying to make deep and meaningful interactions with others outside of DnD is both tedious and nigh impossible, why would I want to keep trying to replicate that in DnD as well in hopes it miraculously is different?

[lusty nacelle]

can as many people as possible say happy birthday to someone named Vesper to surprise them

[humble cairn]

There's .. a lot to unpack there. Consider the possibility that in a roleplay scenario, where you have discussed your boundaries beforehand and specifically created the parameters of the RP relationship, that it would feel safer than IRL and thus allow you to experience that in a controlled setting, possibly even making you more confident to try that out in the wild.

This is how roleplay is used in a therapeutic setting, after all.

[knotty pasture]

That sounds like you need therapy lol, but the dnd community isn't so messed up to the point where everyone needs a therapy session before jumping into dnd

[remote wadi]

In the wild, I've had to accept that people don't really care to reach out to you. Maaaaaybe if they require something from you

[humble cairn]

This is trauma talking, I think.

[remote wadi]

That's just life, honestly

[knotty pasture]

That calls for a therapy session

[humble cairn]

Let me tell you that that isn't universal, but I don't expect to just be able to chatroom you through your trauma.

[obtuse stratus]

Look, I'm trying to stay out of this discussion, but I highly recommend that you seek out professional help. If you cannot afford it I would strongly advise you to at least get some mental health workbooks and texts and work HEAVILY with them to help yourself going forward

[remote wadi]

Again, that isn't really trauma talk. That's what being online and in person was for me for almost a decade now. That isn't something solved from therapy

[obtuse stratus]

Why, yes it is.

[snow zephyr]

Therapy is an extremely useful tool for self-actualizing

[remote wadi]

Therapy can teach you how to interact with people, but it can't help you find those good people

[humble cairn]

Your trauma is lying to you, but again I don't expect to be able to help you through this chatroom.

[obtuse stratus]

This is partially incorrect.

[final turtle]

Morning everyone

[golden night]

Anyone have any experience from hero forgets quality?

[remote wadi]

If you really want to, DMs are open

Otherwise, don't bother analyzing this past me explaining why I feel more at home with combat and fighting than I do with deeper role-playing

[knotty pasture]

"This isn't really trauma talk, but it actually is trauma talk" is what you just said

[humble cairn]

I would love to work on something like Sune's Treatise on Love or something like that.

[mystic gyro]

Heyo!

[remote wadi]

Perhaps we could move on from the topic? I will, either way

[obtuse stratus]

Man, everyone is coming in for the end of the heavy. Agreed.
Heyyo everyone

[humble cairn]

A book to discuss how to implement romance and more emotional roleplay in a safe and controlled way, like how Van Richten's Guide talked about how to do horror would be great, imo.

[obtuse stratus]

Oh, we're looping back. Okay then.

[mystic gyro]

Ok so i dm'ed my first ever session 2 days ago . I have sirsly mixed feelings

[minor lake]

After playing magic for an hour I think I like d&d because ultimately it is up to interpretation

[minor lake]

First sessions be that way

What are you feeling?

[humble cairn]

Nah, that was more of a closing statement.

[obtuse stratus]

Oh, good layout then. TBH I'm only out because while I'm more open to stuff, if I can't tell my wife I probably shouldn't do it for her sake

[knotty pasture]

Good man

[humble cairn]

Oh I would totally tell my husband about any sort of roleplay thing I get into, to his annoyance.

[remote wadi]

"That sign book can't stop me because I can't read."

[obtuse stratus]

It would hurt my wife, so I just skip it

[remote wadi]

Probably most DM's and player's reaction

[humble cairn]

Really?

Huh

[remote wadi]

Pretty sure it's a running gag about illiteracy for DnD

I tried to be funy

[humble cairn]

Oh! Oh! Your joke! sorry I misconnected to something else.

[obtuse stratus]

Right? same

I was like "Man there are a lot more married people in his assumption here"

[humble cairn]

Speaking of, does your wife roleplay with you?

[mystic gyro]

It wasnt even the first main session that got cancelled coz there were only 2 players and one of them bailed out so me and thr remaining player decided to do a prequel and it all went to hell but i handled it pretty well but just feels bad brusing the world i created . Like i wanted this as a chance to let them multiclass (the player stated they wanted to previously) as a ranger warlock in the grove but the first thing they to is kill the elder. Ofc i handled it and gave them consequences but just sad that all the story lore and the world that i created just caught up in a small flame. (Sorry ik i am ranting but i cant rly talk about this to anyone)

[humble cairn]

My husband tried it for a few campaigns, but has since decided he's not really into it.

Sad, because it was fun.

[woven flint]

Your husband needs to live a little smh...

[obtuse stratus]

Verboten. She does not like the rules of 5e and thus I have had issues getting her into Basic

[woven flint]

D&D is great with da boiz

[humble cairn]

I would love to be a Laura Bailey/Travis Willingham couple, man those two are kind of awesome.

[remote wadi]

It's cool. Accidents happen

[obtuse stratus]

Like she hated 5e because it was too complicated, so I can't even convince her to try Basic.

[humble cairn]

Have you tried non-D&D games?

[mystic gyro]

Agreed

[humble cairn]

Hmm, too complicated. I get it, 5E is the crunchiest system I can tolerate.

[remote wadi]

Ophi, I do have a small question

[humble cairn]

Sure, go ahead!

[remote wadi]

Probably not the greatest one to ask, but I want/have to try, so bear with me

After some thought about the previous topic, a small solution could be finding people to make genuine and lasting relationships with. Who or where would be a good recommendation for DnD campaigns to help work towards that outcome?

Because trying to hop into a random one doesn't solve much for me

[mystic gyro]

I have a rougelite , single player thing almost completed . Its like a hades style thing where u die but comeback "stronger" but it isnt really dnd coz almost 0 creative freedom outside equipment so its basically a table top videogame but its gonna be fun for those who like the anime overlord since i based it off of that

[obtuse stratus]

My favorite solo system so far was Ker Nethalas. Super engaging dungeon delve

[humble cairn]

If finding a group offline doesn't seem feasible what worked for me was hanging around on this server for .. quite a long time .. building up rapport and trust with like minded people, then I got invited to a group online. But that was after something like two years after my offline group ended.

I wasn't even actually looking to join a group. It just happened.

[remote wadi]

It kind of just came to you?

[glass spindle]

I'm running a one shot and I'm gonna have a new (first time) player playing (it's not low power). Do y'all think it's ok to let him play a cleric? He has played other RPGs and stuff but I'm still hesitant to give him a spell casting class.

[obtuse stratus]

I think I was in the OSE server for 2 years before joining a game. We did a one off because the DM didn't want to play until january so that thungs could stablize and everyone's schedules wouldn't have issues with the holidays.
That was the only game we played as the DM had life events get in the way. If it isn't one thing it's another

[woven flint]

Yeah, or you could offer a Paladin

[obtuse stratus]

depends on the player...

[woven flint]

I think Paladin is a pretty good starting class personally

My first class was Monk, personally lol

[mystic gyro]

Thats actually really helpful. Coz even if in my irl frnd group there r ppl who play dnd and even love it . What we want from dnd doesnt line up well. Like they want min-maxed(refrence intended) op asf characters and like the mechanical satisfaction of killing a hard boss while i value narrative and living in the world itself (immersion).

[glass spindle]

I always thought paladin was hard to play properly

[remote wadi]

I guess what happened for you is different for me. Not really a bad thing

[woven flint]

Nah, Paladin isn't that difficult

[jolly agate]

Paladins are nerds whit shiny armor and dumb oaths

fr fr

[glass spindle]

Because you are doing everything and keeping your party together plus you have to have enough self control to not dump smites immediately

[woven flint]

I'd put Paladin on the lower difficulty scale
A bit more complex than a Barbarian but not much

[craggy summit]

im a paladin enjoyer :(

[mystic gyro]

Mine was ranger . I had a pet duck that i named hagrid and i kept telling the duck "you are a duck hagrid"

[remote wadi]

Lost the 50/50 this time, huh?

[jolly agate]

Shame on you /jk

[mystic gyro]

Same 🫂

[glass spindle]

Maybe I'm wrong but I feel like paladins are harder than any full caster

[jolly agate]

Wym

[woven flint]

That's... absolutely incorrect lol

[obtuse stratus]

I dunno, I like my new oathbreaker of Myrkul... Pretty fun concept for a pally

[remote wadi]

Your bio

[mystic gyro]

Not rly but they are fun🤌

[craggy summit]

Not more than warlock, atleast on paper. Maybe if you take oath and maintaining it into consideration

[glass spindle]

They are yes

[snow zephyr]

Hello, how are you?

[woven flint]

Sorcerers, Bards, Druids and Warlocks would like to have a conversation with you

[knotty pasture]

Conjure Animals go brr

[jolly agate]

Thou are but a fool belivin dat

[glass spindle]

Sorcerer is easy imo but I play it a lot a lot. And I only ever played moon druid

[snow zephyr]

Well. Friends, foes, and those still under review. I bid you farewell as I do not retain the function required for nuance

[jolly agate]

i fart in your general direction

[obtuse stratus]

I just read that like you were talking to my cat. I think it's time for bed.

[woven flint]

Sorcerers, Bards, Druids and Warlocks are the folks I like to call
✨ The Gimmick Casters ✨

[mystic gyro]

"if a fool is what i have to be then so be it" -paladins when u tell them their god isnt real

[glass spindle]

Are you not front line, support, dps, and control?

[snow zephyr]

Sleep deprivation hits like a truck and spares very little cognition

[humble cairn]

Yeah it organically just developed. I mean it was somewhat a right timing thing. One of my server friends wanted to run something an invited me. But this was after having talked to them mostly over in #character-discussion for two-ish years.

[mystic gyro]

Good night buddy

[final turtle]

Im struggling to choose my spells but otherwise good and you?

[jolly agate]

"Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries"
-The rudest warlock at the slightest disagreement

[glass spindle]

Also sorry I do mean 5e not 2024

[woven flint]

They're casters with gimmicks
Sorcery Points, Wildshapes, Bardic Inspiration and Invocations
And I'd say the most difficult of those two gimmicks to get ahold of are
Wildshape and Invocations
Mostly because Wildshape relies on SOME knowledge of the Beast Monsters of D&D to be really effective
I've played a Druid for a year and a half and still haven't mastered wildshape lmao
And Invocations require a lot of reading and can be build defining

[craggy summit]

Yes they do have more roles than warlock, but paladins can do multiple simultaneously or out of combat (like healing out of combat with lay on hands) but warlocks have SO much customization and ways to build them with pacts boons and innvocation

[humble cairn]

You kind of have to find the right fit, as well, and the different channels in here sometimes have very different cultures. #character-discussion is where I fit better.

[snow zephyr]

I too must bid farewell as my brain is screaming for some much needed REM

[glass granite]

Same with me

[mystic gyro]

😂 ohhh that made laugh more than it should have

[humble cairn]

Just about lunchtime here! Hello!

[remote wadi]

Hmmm

I could ask a few questions about this, but probably not the best place to. Advice for where?

[glass granite]

Afternoon’

[glass spindle]

Ok that is fair but still I think it's harder than most classes

[woven flint]

Paladin isn't really that difficult
You kinda.. Hit things and occasionally heal and just stand around with your Aura

[final turtle]

Hi its luch time for you? So you live in what England?

[humble cairn]

Thailand

[glass granite]

If it’s lunchtime it would be closer to Asia-
Knew it

[final turtle]

Ooh nice

[glass spindle]

Ok but you are front line tank, and support with aura of protection and whatever spells, plus stuff like command.

And you also need to think about choosing smite vs control vs support spells

[woven flint]

Yeah, but Paladins can.. just smite if they really want to and leave all that control stuff to other casters.

[knotty pasture]

Btw you can play Dexadin, sit back and shoot arrows while having your aura protect your casters

[mystic gyro]

And u have to jojo pose every 5 seconds to keep the blessings

[woven flint]

What?

[knotty pasture]

Maybe that's way easier considering that your concentration is less likely to break with concentration spells

[glass spindle]

Can you smite ranged?

[craggy summit]

It's not a stretch to say that and it's what you feel and I have no right to say you're wrong 🙂‍↕️ they do have a pretty big responsibility but if we're talking about complexity to build and make and play, there's other classes that are more difficult. Tokii gave some fantastic examples with sorcerer, druid, bard and warlock

[knotty pasture]

Not with shooting arrows no but you can grab a rapier and only smite when someone gets close

[mystic gyro]

Its a refrence to jocat's vid on paladins

[final turtle]

I dont think so

[knotty pasture]

Smiting is not the bread and butter of a Paladin so you can actually just skip smiting or barely smite

[mystic gyro]

U cant (atleast in 5e)

[woven flint]

Paladin, Barbarian and Fighter are the...
"Turn your brain off" classes for me lol

[humble cairn]

in 2024 with thrown melee weapons, yes.

[hallow pilot]

Killing heretics is

[woven flint]

I don't watch D&D content creators

[final turtle]

Good to know thank

[mystic gyro]

It really is the reason i like the class....

[glass spindle]

Yeah no I agree with what you're saying but also I think it is a lot for a first time player to keep track of

[hallow pilot]

Heretics piss me off

[knotty pasture]

Grab a rapier and smite when you need to in that case lol

[jolly agate]

LMAO

[glass spindle]

I'm doing 2014

[woven flint]

I watch Pathfinder games though
(Looks at Narrative Decleration in the background)

[final turtle]

How so

[knotty pasture]

If your team doesn't have other martials your aura is partially wasted too, can't have everything

[glass spindle]

They got a barbarian 👍

[woven flint]

It might be funny
But I'd rather PLAY D&D
and I'd rather WATCH Pathfinder lol

[glass spindle]

So do you think cleric is ok?

[warm shore]

Wait you’re telling me I can smite with javelins in 2024???

[glass spindle]

That is kinda sick

[warm shore]

Thats badass

[woven flint]

Cleric and Paladin are both okay options for newbies
Especially since cleric and paladins can change out their spells on a long rest

[mystic gyro]

Yes✨

[warm shore]

I’ve always wondered why smites with ranged weapons aren’t a thing

[glass spindle]

It is a one shot with a very very limited time constraint

[jolly agate]

But the cool newbies always choose bard

[warm shore]

Isn’t the principle of the attack basically the same concept? You’re imbuing something with holy power and hitting something really hard with it

[woven flint]

I chose Monk because I'm a real one

[jolly agate]

Fortune favors the bard. And the bard almost never dies

[final turtle]

Why is that so true

[warm shore]

All monk players do be real asf

[jolly agate]

Because someone has to tell the story

[craggy summit]

Paladins are melee based 9/10 times. And it might be pretty busted with some multiclasses like rogue for example

[woven flint]

My most recent Monks have all three been new Elements Monk lol

[warm shore]

I kinda wish I could smite-punch

[woven flint]

Mercy Monk is my favorite subclass

[craggy summit]

Also it makes more sense to enchant and smite with a mighty sword rather than an arrow

[knotty pasture]

Definitely not Rogue lol, that poor stat distribution...

[woven flint]

You can, just choose the unarmed fighting style

[jolly agate]

I only but speak whit the truth

[craggy summit]

I believe they can in 2024 🤔

[glass spindle]

Get little tiny hidden daggers

[knotty pasture]

But Paladins are suckers for multiclassing

[jolly agate]

and the truth is, that Paladins are nerds

[warm shore]

😭

I just like big numbers

[jolly agate]

That's what bloody barbarian is for lad

[knotty pasture]

Anyways give Dexadin a try you won't regret it

Its easier to play too in a way

[craggy summit]

I just love being a big, mighty, knight in shining armor kinda person 😔 like lemme be like Optimus prime or Reinhardt

[warm shore]

Barbarian has worse burst dps tho

Also I love plate armor

[final turtle]

Now your pushing it a little bit but ig I you want a real need go warlock or monk

[remote wadi]

Anyways guess I'll be lurking around for a while

[craggy summit]

I'm heavily considering doing that for my next campaign with the genie subclass for paladin

[knotty pasture]

Just that Dexadin's smites are more self defense than something you spam (those spell slots go to Bless instead)

[mystic gyro]

Soo true. I played basically brook from one piece and was the last one alive after surviving a dc 22 wisdom saving throw

[woven flint]

My most recent Paladin wasn't a Paladin for justice or anything
He was a paladin for the glory of the elemental plane of earth and he died fighting a Lich so the party could escape the Shadowfell

He was an Earth Genasi genies Paladin
He got REAL good Hit on the Lich before it killed him and we canonized that his smite left a crack and/or scar on that lich forever

[jolly agate]

Fighter is cool ig

Can't say nothin against Fighter

[warm shore]

Tbh I think I like paladins so much because my Elden ring build was just a paladin before I even knew what the concept was, so when I first tried out DnD, I was amazed that it was the same thing

[woven flint]

Jabal Sakhir was his name
It was "Mountain Cliff" In another language lol

[warm shore]

Don’t get me wrong, fighters are cool, but I kinda like having a bit of magic in my pocket

[craggy summit]

Paladin is one of my favorite classes both from a gameplay and flavor standpoint 😅

[jolly agate]

"Foul Tarnished!, in search of the Elden Ring. Emboldened by the flame of ambition"

Let me guess, holy dmg?

[glass spindle]

I will ty

[warm shore]

Yup

To this day I’m disappointed that I can’t throw lightning spears as a paladin in dnd

[glass spindle]

Ek 🥹

[woven flint]

OH YEAH,
My Earth Genasi Genies Paladin was a Two-Weapon Fighting fella who didn't wear armor either lmao

[jolly agate]

Ye can't say nothin against that, spells whit Holy dmg are pretty cool

[glass spindle]

You can do anything if you bribe your dm

[mystic gyro]

Clothes?

[green gale]

How do I find play by post dnd discord servers?

[woven flint]

.. Obviously?

[jolly agate]

VERY HARD to find

I still lookin for one

[green gale]

Oh

[jolly agate]

#looking-for-players

Here, if u are really lucky and find a session, lmk

[severe rampart]

Got a session in 30 minutes, oh wow I am nervous

[mystic gyro]

With a mug that says "best dm ever"

[glass spindle]

Exactly bro

[mystic gyro]

Great! (Just had to make sure😅)

[glass spindle]

Gl

[warm shore]

Tarresque

[jolly agate]

Gl mate, hope you don't get eaten

[mystic gyro]

Good luck buddy🫰

[severe rampart]

Oh no, not that, but it will be very difficult for them

[severe rampart]

Oh buddy, you got it all wrong, I'm the DM

[warm shore]

I Godamn hate cloud giants

[severe rampart]

look at me, I'm the captain now

[jolly agate]

Oh lawrd. Best of lucks brav

[glass spindle]

Oh in that case put your new player against a lich in their first session like imma do (yes it's peak) he will have so much fun

[severe rampart]

they are level 3 LOL

[craggy summit]

I've had sessions I was nervous about DMing too. Just tell yourself "I got this. and if I don't, I'm the DM. I can make it work"

[woven flint]

Generally speaking, its an unspoken rule that characters who don't wear armor will wear clothes or at least SOMETHING so they aren't completely naked, mostly for the sake of decency and comfort for the party lol

[mystic gyro]

Even better

[heavy patrol]

as a new player who just got here and doesnt know what that means that sounds evil

[glass spindle]

It should be alright if the barbarian min maxes properly and survives pwk

[warm shore]

My party once got beat up by a random encounter bandit who used paralysis arrows and stole all of our stuff. We never talked about it again because it was unbearably embarrassing

[woven flint]

Liches are cowards.

Send Lord Soth after them

He randomly escapes Dragonlance to torment your party

[glass spindle]

If you don't have a barbarian just throw a wizard at it

[glass spindle]

It's big scary undead lord except this one doesn't have any undead so it's not all that scary

[glass spindle]

Wizard guy*

[heavy patrol]

Ohh ok

[severe rampart]

4 out of 5 players are complete newbies lol

They'll learn with this campaign

[glass spindle]

Ahh give them a counterspell scroll and pray to god

[mystic gyro]

Not everyone in my group has that decency so i have a VERY different experience

[severe rampart]

they're getting a cursed magic item

[woven flint]

Lord Soth is a crazy fella to me tbh

He watched as his kingdom burned down around him and just sat on his throne and accepted becoming a Death Knight as his fate.

Then, when he was trapped in a Domain of Dread (If I recall correctly) He DOOMSLAYERED his way out of there.

[severe rampart]

and a cloak of billowing

[glass spindle]

Idk what that is but it sounds really funny

[mystic gyro]

They will learn to fear u😈

[woven flint]

Lord Soth also rides a goddamn DEATH Dragon

[severe rampart]

When worn you can spend a bonus action to make it billow 😭

[craggy summit]

It's a magic item that literally ALL IT DOES, is billow in the wind like batman standing on the edge of a building

[glass spindle]

Yes ok that's beautiful

[severe rampart]

you can make it billow without wind so 😭

[glass granite]

My favourite magic item

[warm shore]

Aura farming item

[craggy summit]

It'd be awesome for delivering an inspirational speech inside a cave

[mystic gyro]

Fortnite glider☠️😂

[severe rampart]

I will 100% reward them if they somehow do use the cloak of billowing to win

[empty thicket]

Or if you find some tribe that dont know too much magic you can use it to make look you are powerful or smt
Deceive

[woven flint]

My favorite Magic Item is the Rod Of Lordly Might
Its bascially a Staff that can change into like 3 or 4 different weapons and its a Legendary Magic item

[mystic gyro]

Do u record ur sessions?

[glass spindle]

I almost let my warlock have something a little stronger than cloak of billowing except I realized that he's gonna be trigger happy with it and kill his whole party

[severe rampart]

I don't, I am a new DM so I'd be nervous to

[mystic gyro]

I would love to watch and learn from u . I am also new

I had my first session 2 days ago

Went ..... Well?

[severe rampart]

I've been DMing for a little over a month now, still very much an amateur

[glass spindle]

Yes the lich casts blight targeting you and only you. Wanna use staff of magi to absorb it? Cool it was 8th level kaboom sorta thing

[mystic gyro]

The player enjoyed so ig i will call it a success

[woven flint]

In base form its a Mace
Then it can become a Battleaxe, a 'Spear and a Flaming Longsword/Shortsword
It has a few utility uses too, but fun item

[mystic gyro]

I would love to talk things out later today once u get done with ur session. U up?

(i have classes rn)

[severe rampart]

We'll see if I'm awake by then, sure

[severe rampart]

Oo interesting...

[glass spindle]

I'm not sure how introducing someone to DND by having them play as a level 15 spell caster is a good idea anymore

Maybe it isn't

[severe rampart]

... thinking... I might give this to the battlemaster... at later sessions... this sounds very cool

[knotty pasture]

Why not start at level 1

[humble cairn]

Again, something you can do in 2024 that you couldn't in 2014.

[glass spindle]

It's a one shot

[knotty pasture]

Yeah probably not that beginner friendly

[mystic gyro]

Boss rush?

[knotty pasture]

Level 1-3 one shots are safer

[final turtle]

Good luck what are you playing

[woven flint]

Rod of Lordly Might, look into it, its a Martials dream lol

[glass spindle]

Yes but I had already made it and had 3 players

[knotty pasture]

Let's hope the new player doesn't drop out in that case, or convince them to switch to Fighter or Barb

[glass spindle]

And then we brought up DND and he was like "I wanna learn sometime" so I Invited him

[glass spindle]

I could just make him a fighter

[knotty pasture]

Isn't it his decision lol, anyways good idea

[severe rampart]

Curse of Strahd

[glass spindle]

I mean it is but he also asked what class to play and then was like cleric is cool right?

[knotty pasture]

Oh if its Cleric that makes it easier

Or harder I guess, just have him spam Spirit Guardians

[final turtle]

Ooh very nice I meant more class but thats also good to know

[glass spindle]

Light cleric so probably

Or death

[severe rampart]

the class is god (Dungeon Master)

[jolly agate]

DAMMIT. Last session i got this ring that makes you a human, but HOW CAN YOU WEAR A RING WHIT NO BLOODY FINGERS😭

[quasi quiver]

Yo imma start my first campaign tomorrow any tips?

[jolly agate]

ma cow yearns for hands

[mystic gyro]

As a player or dm?,

[quasi quiver]

Dm

[final turtle]

Your making a whole story in 30 minutes gee good luck

[mystic gyro]

As a player create chaos and try to test some boundaries
As a dm i cant really help i had my first like 2 days ago so

[jolly agate]

You should almost kill someone in the first session. That'll create tension and fear and shi

[quasi quiver]

Oh I plan to don’t worry

[jolly agate]

But not the bard

Never the bard

[quasi quiver]

They have a false hydra living under there home

[glass spindle]

Throw in a lich session one and call it a day

[severe rampart]

I TPK'ed my first party, and now they want to go back to the place they died, which is this session

[quasi quiver]

Exactly

[glass spindle]

That's what I'm doing

[quasi quiver]

Peak

[glass spindle]

Except little so they know the lich isn't even the big bad

It's the warlock in their party

[quasi quiver]

Yeah they are new players so they have never heard of a false hydra im supper excited

[glass spindle]

Ok that's cool fs

[mystic gyro]

Thats awesome

[glass spindle]

It's hard to do a false hydra if they know about it

Gl brotha

Sounds really fun

[quasi quiver]

The false hydra is the big bad for this chapter, next chapter I’m still deciding

[quasi quiver]

Thanks

[glass spindle]

2 false hydras

And a lich

[quasi quiver]

Nah

Maybe false knight

[mystic gyro]

And a kid goblin for giggles

[glass spindle]

Do something diabolical and make them quit

[quasi quiver]

Also imma be setting up a goblin king should that be the next big bad or nah

Not worthy of so

[glass spindle]

Like a big bad and 10 wizards with counterspell and 2 paladins with high ac and aura of protection that follow the bbeg around

May as well toss a lich in there too

[quasi quiver]

Maybe not that

[glass spindle]

If I know anything it's that every reaction is pure rage bait other than opportunity attack

Like counterspell that revify

Silvery barbs the crit, shield anything. Go invisible as a quickened spell for fun

Best one is to just cast wall of force around you and eat a sandwich while all their buffs run out

[mystic gyro]

Ohhh i have to use that

🫰

Quick steal

[glass spindle]

I'm still waiting for the perfect moment

And they are fighting a lich

It's even funnier if the food falls out of its ribcage

[mystic gyro]

And even better if u just start munching a sandwich irl

[glass spindle]

Gotta lmk if you use it

[glass spindle]

LMAO just sit there for a full minute irl watching them

Do it when they are hungry too