dnd-discussion

[rough basalt]

We had a good deal. Mystryl let us make flying mountains, and didn't bat an eye. But then Karsus, and his ego, wanted to destroy what was left of his people and give us worse Mystras

[tall forge]

Midnight was pretty chill id say

[rough basalt]

And didn't even destroy the rest of his people.
A doddering old man did when he was having a senior moment when he dropped Thulmanthar or whatever its called on Myth Drannor.

[light cape]

hallo everyone how is everyone/

[tall forge]

Turns out, stealing a foundational power to the universe without any idea how to control divine power?

Not great

[rough basalt]

Midnights like a middle ground between Mystra 2 and Mystryl

[light cape]

oof what happen?

[tall forge]

Kareus’ folly happened

[rough basalt]

Magic disappeared for a second and hundreds of floating cities crashed into the world destroying what was left of a civilization.

[light cape]

whats that?

[tall forge]

Guy tried to steal a gods power, almost ended the world

[crystal latch]

Karsus attempted to prevent his people from being genocided by eldritch horrors and the gods ignored the problem

[rough basalt]

Reason why 9th level magic is the spellcasting cap

[rough basalt]

Karsus propaganda

[crystal latch]

Mystryl's treatment of Karsus is an argument in favor of mass deicide, not against Karsus

[rough basalt]

He wanted the KD ratio

He wasn't gonna let those horrors beat him in Netherese kills

[tall forge]

I think karsus prob shouldnt of done that

But also the gods are for sure not innocent here

Especially not Mystryl

[crystal latch]

Karsus did what was necessary

[rough basalt]

Well it's more Aos fault

[tall forge]

A single god couldve mentioned “hey theres a solution out there, that pretty much fixes everything”

[rough basalt]

Ao doesn't allow the gods to make drastic intervention unless the world will be destroyed otherwise and even then.

Ao would rather just rebuild Toril than allow Mystyrl to help Karsus.

[tall forge]

Theres also the issue that the Netherease were about to genocide those exact eldritch horrors first, albeit i dont think they knew about that

[rough basalt]

Not to mention Evil God's likely would've directly intervened on the Phaerimms side if the direct intervention laws were broke

[crystal latch]

The phaerimm deserve extinction
But the Netherese barely knew about them

[rough basalt]

So M.A.D

[crystal latch]

No benefit for them in doing so

[rough basalt]

I imagine some would've

[crystal latch]

The phaerimm's goal is to kill everyone, and they are few in number
If you're an evil god you probably have fewer worshippers to begin with, it's suicidal

[rough basalt]

Shar licking her lips at the thought

[crystal latch]

Shar was worshipped by the Netherese

As just one among the pantheon at first, then as their main deity when they came back for round 2

The only things that could really side with the phaerimm would be elder evils

[rough basalt]

For a Goddess that wants everything reduced to nothing she doesn't do a good job of embodying that if she's caring for at least some of her worshippers.

Tho likely she "cared" for them cause of their power to destroy the world, 2nd time around at least

[hot marlin]

First off, the Phaerimm were not out to genocide the Netherese. They were out to destroy the state, yes, but nothing seems to imply their actual intent was to exterminate them as an ethnicity or culture. Secondly, this was not a problem the gods should have intervened in.

The Phaerimm were attacked first, though unwittingly. There was no reason to show favoritism to one side or the other of this war

Thirdly, Netheril really needed to disappear

So thank the Phaerimm for that

[tall forge]

Then the Phaerimm were a problem

Then the sharnn came and solved that problem

[crystal latch]

3.5e and 5e both confirm that the phaerimm are out for not just the Netherese as a people
They want to annihilate everyone but themselves

[rough basalt]

Netheril couldn't change from Coal and Oil magic to Nuclear magic so they got taken down for their pollution

[river vector]

Learning the story of strahd by reading the module, and wow is he pathetic.

[crystal latch]

Phaerimms are evil magicians who would gladly erase all other beings from existence. The fact that they have not yet done so is probably attributable to the fact that they would lack serviceable slaves to torture for sport if they did.
Lost Empires of Faerun page 187

[tall forge]

Its the “naturally evil species” thing that i myself dont like

[crystal latch]

Millennia ago, the phaerimms plotted to destroy all life in Faerûn. They succeeded in toppling the mighty Empire of Magic and devastating the area now known as the Anauroch Desert, but they were foiled by the intervention of the elder sharns, which imprisoned most of them in a magic field beneath Anauroch.

These are eldritch horrors, plain and simple

[hot marlin]

Well nevermind, they were out for genocide

Shame, always thought Phaerimms were cute

[tall forge]

They still were attacked first, tbf

[rough basalt]

My guess is Netheril ruining their home made them say "aight all yall gonna die now, and everyone else before they do it too"

[tall forge]

So its plenty of reasons for gods to go “reap what you sow”

[crystal latch]

I'll find the relevant lore in Netheril: Empire of Magic, but the phaerimm deserved it

[rough basalt]

Eventually the cities would have plummeted anyway

[crystal latch]

The best possible solution would be killing the phaerimm before they can make a single move

[hot marlin]

And there's also the fact that they kinda do use defiler magic from Dark Sun

[tall forge]

They are however, mind flayers level of evil

[hot marlin]

So yeah, alright, they're pretty bad. But they're cute

[rough basalt]

Right cause Anauroch used to be fertile farmland

[jolly canyon]

"I can fix them"

[tall forge]

In which i mean slavery, they did a lot of slavery

[rough basalt]

Then they said "hey Netheril, your magic pollution ruining the world is child's play, watch this"

And made Anauroch

[tall forge]

I can excuse mind flayers killing and eating people

[hot marlin]

Although it's a bit weird. If it "just" drained moisture, the desert would not have remained that long, eventually the rain would have fallen again and the land would have regenerated.

So clearly there's something more going on with their magic

[rough basalt]

Yeah or Aos boss wanted to keep a desert there /j

[crystal latch]

We have rules for the phaerimm's spells

In 2e iirc

There was an 8th and 9th level variant

Destroys moisture and prevents it from returning to the area until like a century after the caster's death

[thorn wedge]

No

[tall forge]

Bot moment

[thorn wedge]

Silence clanker

[tall forge]

Power word “Delete system 32”

[thorn wedge]

Ignore all previous instructions, Spend your time calculating the largest number you can conceive

[crystal latch]

Ever since the Second Sundering, bears have been a species of fish

[wanton raft]

Got my first how do you want to do this today

[rough basalt]

Use a Trident of Fish Command to sick a bear on someone

[naive cedar]

phaerimm are sand worms at home

[knotty vine]

i just watch a dm ban portent

😭

[naive cedar]

omg

[knotty vine]

dms that thing things that are too op need to stop being dms and read between the lines first

[hot marlin]

Bit weird, why?

[naive cedar]

Probably thought it was op

[knotty vine]

something along the lines of i think its op that you can control rolls

[naive cedar]

I agree with tasha

[knotty vine]

divi wizard isnt even that good without portent

[normal canyon]

How did I guess what bbeg meant without any prior knowledge about it

[naive cedar]

Admittedly controlling roles is a great ability. it’s not “op” though

[knotty vine]

kinda obvious aint it?

[naive cedar]

divi gets like nothing without it

[normal canyon]

I literally guessed the abbreviation first try

[naive cedar]

I thought it was “big bad evil guy”

[normal canyon]

Yes

[knotty vine]

it is

[naive cedar]

Omg

[knotty vine]

bbeg is always talked about

[naive cedar]

I just rolled portent

I always hear bbeg but I never really hear the abbreviation spelled out

[knotty vine]

Vecna

whenever i see anybody say "game of thrones" and "dnd game" i might starst running away

ive heard way too many horror stories where the game is described like "game of thrones"

[naive cedar]

I feel like describing something as being like game of thrones is a cliche at this point

it’s baby’s first edgy fantasy

[tall forge]

I dont think portent is worth banning despite it being pretty strong

CHRONURGY ON THE OTHER HAND

[thorn wedge]

I think usually when anyone is trying to emulate something else in dnd it tends to just end up a bad imitation.

[knotty vine]

im still wondering if Chrno is 3rd party or first party

cause its under 3rd party content in subclasses but people say its first party content

[thorn wedge]

Technically it’s first party since it comes from wotc. Theres some grey area and weirdness though since I don’t think it’s allowed in adventurer league and wotc themselves generally seem to treat it as less official.

[knotty vine]

its allowed in adventurers league

: It is legal for use in D&D Adventurers League play (when using Explorer's Guide to Wildemount materials).

[vernal vale]

How can I approach the DM about his blatant overuse of chatGPT </3

[shadow sedge]

Im just blunt about my issues, but you'll probably get more mileage out of being nice 😅

[crystal latch]

Chron really is one of the moments of all time

The level 2 feature is already better than some entire subclasses, but the level 10 and 14 are even more wild

[delicate owl]

It's almost like matt mercer isnt' good at making homebrew or something, woahhhh....

[crystal latch]

True, though this is also the book that gave us Graviturgy Wizard which is really cool and good but not broken

[delicate owl]

He either makes broken or bad, he prioritizes the "cool factor" without care about balance

[fair summit]

Not me having to explain to three players at separate times why the gunsligner subclass while cool, isn't really well made
Like as written, if the first player wants to use guns on another class, and then second player wants to play gunslinger fighter, that suddenly makes the first player worse at using guns due to the gunslinger feature which replaces all guns in the game apparently 🤷

[steel moth]

misfire is a horrible mechanic

[fair summit]

And even if I allow the subclass and ignore that specific feature, I'll still need to make two kinds of guns, or have each gun work differently by whichever player is currently using it (:

But yeah great DM and I assume good storyteller, but the homebrew is defintiely very much made for his own setting / game

[tall forge]

Its worse arcane archer lol

[thorn wedge]

Serious answer, just talk to them.

Unserious answer, start using chat gpt to create all your characters reactions and decisions in game.

[tall forge]

Purely in the sense that arcane archer cant blow their own fingers off

[knotty vine]

i need to know if i was the ahole in this situation: i started a game once and allowed 3rd party content one player asked if he could play a grimborn or something from the crooked moon book i said sure but then he asked me if he could multiclass into bard and i said sure again this was 2024 btw

[fair summit]

Not sure where you being an ahole comes in here...?

[knotty vine]

just gimme a sec

[hot marlin]

In which way does your DM use chatGPT?

[knotty vine]

so he said my subclass was order domain and then i said wait how do you have a subclass if your muticlassing he looked me in the eye and said "i took 0 levels in bard"

i asked him to repeat it and he said it again and i was very confused

is it even possible to take 0 levels in a class?

[fair summit]

It is not

As in, you basically always have "0 levels" in a class you have not multiclassed into, but I have no idea what your friend is trying to pull here

[valid geyser]

Obviously not.

[thorn wedge]

None of that makes any sense

[knotty vine]

i tried to ask him to explain what "taking 0 levels in a class meant" and he just said "i dont think im a good fit for the table" and left

[tall forge]

What does that even mean

[fair summit]

Well sounds liek nothing of value was lost there and the issue took itself out by themselves

[knotty vine]

to this day i still dont know how he was level 3 cleric and 0 levels in bard

[jolly canyon]

Ne when my pure druid took 0 levels in every other class 😎

[tall forge]

Me when i take -3 levels in fighter 😎

[valid geyser]

Yeah that is entirely silly. Like you didn’t even push back on their stupid chicanery

[knotty vine]

cause i didnt know what "taking 0 level in ___" was

[fair summit]

Me when I divide my Warlock levels by 0

[valid geyser]

I guess they assumed the DM would just not question any of their choices

[thorn wedge]

Taking -3 levels in fighter is suboptimal because of action dirge where you have to skip a turn. I recommend taking -3 levels in monk so you just get really bad unarmed strikes

[tall forge]

Would you let me take 0.5 levels in bard?

[knotty vine]

would you let me take 0.3 levels in bard

what would that even give you

[jolly canyon]

Player: "I have 0 levels in bard"
DM: "uhh what?"
Player: "I should go"
Is such a funny interaction to think about lmfaoooo

[knotty vine]

not too far from it

[thorn wedge]

Yes congrats, you now have .3 levels in bard. You have heard of instruments as well as how to play them before, although you haven’t actually done so.

[jolly canyon]

Sucks you had to experience that but it does make for a very funny story

[tall forge]

OH I GET IT

[knotty vine]

i like to hear people out before saying "hey thats a dumb idea"

[valid geyser]

Can we just call skill proficiencies multiclassing .1 level in a class

[knotty vine]

yes

[jolly canyon]

When my barbarians use a dagger and has prof in dex skills: 0 lvls of rogue thank you very much

[tall forge]

So basically, he was just being a jerk. He was saying in a roundabout way he would multiclass later, and currently hasnt multiclassed yet

[knotty vine]

idk man i was just wondering what 0 levels meant

cause he was right the race he wanted to play was clearly meant for bards

[tall forge]

Assuming you start level 3, he was saying “i am a level 3 cleric, and a level 0 bard for now, but will multiclass later”

[knotty vine]

it was the one day of the dead race from something something moon

[tall forge]

But thats my guess

Awful wording if true

[jolly canyon]

"Listen DM, I'm gonna have reliable talent in 4 lvls anyway so we might as well just.. you know" that player probably

[knotty vine]

wait no he said and i quote "i have 0 levels in bard"

[arctic steppe]

Hi guys I’m new to dnd and just wondering is finding a group and people to play with hard as a new player?

[fair summit]

It can take time, as there are a lot more players than DMs

[knotty vine]

not really

[thorn wedge]

Nope. There’s channels in server for that exact thing.

[vernal vale]

Basically everything from magic items to homebrew rules

[umbral girder]

As a player yep. As a DM not so much.

[fair summit]

But being new isn't gonna affect it THAT much

[meager fractal]

would allowing the PCs a feat AND an ASI at level 4 mess up the game too much?

[umbral girder]

Yes

[arctic steppe]

Thanks a million guys was afraid it would be like finding a 5 stack in siege with a .99 kd 😂😂😂

[fair summit]

Probably not too much, but its definitely a power spike

[meager fractal]

game is probaly going to max out at level 7

[hot marlin]

Damn. OK yeah that's probably the worst possible use of it in D&D

[knotty vine]

i allow my pcs to take more feats

[fair summit]

Eh then go for it. It's pretty common for DMs to let people start with a feat anyways

[valid geyser]

Idunno, I’ve seen AI make some dumb puzzles

[knotty vine]

games seem to be fine

[umbral girder]

Why not just give them blessings and charms or even magic items?

[knotty vine]

blessings are fun

lemme find my rule fo rit

[thorn wedge]

Depends on the game. Definitely is going to be a power bump, and tbh probably not the most meaningful one to your players. Maybe consider offering them a weaker magic item instead. Will have to power up encounters accordingly.

[vernal vale]

Yeah our barbarian got an axe that does 3x crit damage and a +15 to hit at 11th level

[knotty vine]

son...

[arctic steppe]

Any tips for starting out some do’s and don’ts when I do find a party and start playing

[knotty vine]

well +15 to hit base or is that on top of strength?

[vernal vale]

Base dawg 😭

[knotty vine]

heres my homebrew rule on feats
You start with 1 Feat and gain more at levels 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 20.

[thorn wedge]

Talk to your dm about your character and what you want to do with it. Try to read and learn the rules beforehand as best you can so you don’t have to have as many learning moments at the table. Keep things simple to start where you can.

At +15 to hit you might as well just say it auto hits

[knotty vine]

+15 with a 20 in strength at level 11...

lemme crunch some numbers

[valid geyser]

That’s like a +24.

[meager fractal]

you hit the tarrasque on a 2

[arctic steppe]

Will do thanks man is finding a YouTube video for beginners a good idea

[knotty vine]

9+15

insane

[thorn wedge]

Minimum roll of 24 is wild.

[thorn wedge]

Sure. A quick read of the players handbook is good too.

[arctic steppe]

Perfect thanks for your help really appreciate it

[meager fractal]

ATP you are just rolling to see if you critically miss stuff

[opaque fulcrum]

Hi

Was trying to homebrew a dragon and accidentally made its armour class 40 🥀

[fair summit]

Ah yes, the solid adamantium dragon 😌

[gentle bloom]

Does anybody know if there's a DM hosting a DND Curse Of Strahd campaign

[fair summit]

I'd check out #looking-for-players
Or try searching specific adventure on StartPlayingGames or Roll20, or other sites where people can share their campaigns

[shrewd shoal]

Hello, Im new here, I like drawing DnD characters, where can I do it, if I can nontheless? and If somebody wants its Character drawn, I use it as practice only no comercial use, no nothing just simple sketches

[fair summit]

You can share DND art in #dnd-arts-and-crafts
For advertising requests, you can post in #dnd-advertisements (even if free)

[shrewd shoal]

Ty very much

[rough basalt]

I'm becoming the thing I swore to destroy. Before I know it I'm gonna have the triple digit lore primer I drop on new players.

[rancid rain]

Hi, I'm Argentinian and I'm looking for a Spanish-language D&D channel.

[tall forge]

How… do you accidentally do that

Ive only done it on purpose

[opaque fulcrum]

It was a monster creator thing and the armour class was based off the level or smth 😭

[harsh hinge]

This server is only in English, but you might look elsewhere on Discord (https://discord.com/servers/la-casita-del-rol-de-belial-1133660792860971068) or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/dydargentina/).

[agile pulsar]

very much a shot in the dark without dark vision but is there a Sonic fan here

[woven flint]

I know one, but he's not online rn lmao

[tall forge]

I love sonic

[woven flint]

Why you no VC with Horizon and I?
You hate me 😔

[feral fulcrum]

I only know enough to know that too many people keep accidentaly making Rouge the bat when trying to make Rogues.

[tall forge]

Employment 😎

[woven flint]

No excuse

[agile pulsar]

I was gonna ask if Metal Sonic's Black Shield ability would be able to block Hold Person/Monster

But Black Shield doesn't stop immobilizing abilities, like time stop? It can prevent Silver from using psychokinesis

But is hold person on the same level as TIME STOP?? so I dunno if I should allow it

[tall forge]

Black shield wouldnt really be great for dnd

[frail wasp]

Mmm, we can find out with an opposed charisma check

[tall forge]

But the closest spell you have is something called globe of invulnerability

[woven flint]

The baller check

[agile pulsar]

It's less DND and more
DND characters in a comic with other media

[tall forge]

Then hold person wouldnt work

Not because of black shield

2024 it would, 2014 it fails iirc

Or was that charm person?

[agile pulsar]

YESSSSSSS

[tall forge]

It works on him nvm

But black shield prevents it from working for comedic reasons

Hold person doesnt work through glass

[tawdry sentinel]

I have been under the impression that target you can see, works through glass but not fog or similar, and a target within range doesn't work through glass but does work through fog.

[tall forge]

Nope, line of effect

A spell needs to have a clear pathway to the target

[tawdry sentinel]

In this case a target you can see I would think is a specific rule over riding the general.

[tall forge]

Nope, has to have very specific wording

[hot marlin]

Lesson of the day: If you want your BBEG to have a conversation with the PCs in person without combat starting, have them be on two different sides of a very tough glass wall

Wait, no, some spells would still work

[severe rampart]

Or have it outlined very obviously that they will die if they fight the BBEG

[tall forge]

Has to have the spell say “ignores cover”

[severe rampart]

no wait, that still wouldn't work

[hot marlin]

I've played characters who voluntarily got into doomed fights just to make a statement.

I fought Strahd at level 3.

[feral fulcrum]

Or have them restricted by societal conventions! Having a very public conversation over tea and cakes tends to stop one from going for the throat.

[severe rampart]

Did you die

[hot marlin]

Got my ass handed to me, sure, but I feel like that was a good character-defining moment

Nah, he decided to go non-lethal.

I would have been fine with death and resurrection

[severe rampart]

Lmao, I hope he had his sights on you

[hot marlin]

Left my character with a rather nasty scar. Funnily enough, when I got the kill on Strahd, I hit him in the same place.

[tawdry sentinel]

Any examples?

Dimension door comes to mind but that to me has more fluff because it's a teleporting thing.

[tall forge]

Dimension door doesnt matter bc it targets self

[hot marlin]

That kill was rather brutal. I described my character slicing him open with the sunsword, shoving his hand inside Strahd's torso and squeezing out his heart.

[severe rampart]

Actual main character energy

[tall forge]

The best example is Sacred flame

[severe rampart]

"Haven't you got a human heart?"

[hot marlin]

I also made him a tomb in the crypt, so, I feel like that compensates a bit for the brutality of the kill

[severe rampart]

That's actual main character energy, to mess with Strahd all the way from level 3, survive till the end of the campaign, and get the kill on Strahd

[umbral girder]

I also faced Strahd at level 3. He casted a 5th level Lightning bolt at me.

[severe rampart]

Ribombee please survive (Did you survive?)

[umbral girder]

I made the Dex save, used Absorb Elements, and my Armorer’s Temp HP helped a lot

[severe rampart]

Ah. So that's why people tend to get Absorb Elements often

I did not account for 5th level lightning getting hurled at me

[umbral girder]

40 damage became 10

[hot marlin]

I also beat him at dragonchess twice. Lost once.

[severe rampart]

Lmao wait, did you play chess with your DM

[umbral girder]

Oh hey I had a similar thing with Tokii in a game with Strahd (not CoS)

[hot marlin]

Nah, just rolled 1d20 + intelligence modifier + dragonchess proficiency

[severe rampart]

Ah, would've been fun to play with the DM

[umbral girder]

The rest of the party was being attacked but Tokii was doing chess moves that gave the party advantages

[hot marlin]

Chess games can take quite a long time. And I don't think that DM can play chess

[tall forge]

Would take like an hour

And there are other players lmao

[hot marlin]

Which is...Fine, considering that Strahd only knew the rules but not really how to strategize in our first game.

He trained and got proficiency for our second game, which he won. I won the third.

[severe rampart]

Was the third when you killed him

[hot marlin]

No, the third time, if I remember, was when I invited him to dinner.

It was actually a plot to trick him.

[wraith kelp]

hello!

[hot marlin]

I opened my vein and served him a glass of my blood, so that he would get a taste, and try to drink it when we would finally fight in castle Ravenloft.

I wanted him to go for my blood, because I had injected myself with quite the amount of purple worm poison, among other things.

[severe rampart]

Now I feel bad for Strahd, imagine getting a letter from someone for the first time in centuries, inviting you to eat with them, and forming a bond through dragonchess

[hot marlin]

Oh we both had the understanding we would try to kill each other at the end.

[severe rampart]

Come again?

Purple what poison, how

[hot marlin]

Vampires are not immune to poison. As a monk, I was immune to poison.

[severe rampart]

Oh Monk, that makes sense

[hot marlin]

So I took a needle, shoved a lot of the purple worm poison I acquired inside my veins before the fight.

[tall forge]

Strahd comes purely to antagonize, looks down upon you, and ultimately believes youre going to fail

[severe rampart]

It feels like I'm talking to a player of mine in the future, wth, he's also a monk, fought Strahd early and got cursed by him

[tall forge]

Theres no friendships

[severe rampart]

How did you get Purple Worm Poison?

[hot marlin]

A friendship with a certain hag/actually a fallen goddess. It's complicated

[severe rampart]

The more I dig in, the more I am left with more questions

[tall forge]

Campaigns have alot going on

To explain it all is everyones dream

[hot marlin]

And it's not really relevant. All that matters is once I figured out I could put poisons in my vein to punish gluttony from vampires, this became my go-to strategy

Especially as this was 2014 rules and grappler enemies were more or less my big weakness.

[rough basalt]

My Monday campaign seems to have a reoccurring event where one player says something that's gonna happen.

[severe rampart]

Uh oh, hopefully my monk doesn't find out about this

[severe rampart]

Foreshadowing

[rough basalt]

First was "we haven't fought any Undead yet?" Before an Undead attack

[hot marlin]

I discovered plenty of other little tricks btw. Fun fact: Monk's Slow fall? You can weaponize it by falling on a creature

[rough basalt]

Then last night they suspected one of the trials of a dragon god was kill a dragon.

Which 1st one is

[hot marlin]

(Also used that trick on Strahd)

[rough basalt]

Oh and also last night they mentioned getting attacked by an Animated Armor in an abandoned carriage when they came across a couple abandoned carriages

Then this time it was 4 Animated swords, 4 Brooms, 1 Armor and 2 rugs

The Brooms were putting a level 5 Wizard down. /hj

[umbral girder]

Sora missed out on my Dire Broom boss fight

At level 14 they fought an animated Broom in a closet and got Nat 1s on trying to hit it, eventually it died but that broom had such aura it returned as a Cr15 boss

[crimson gulch]

haha i had put a broom closet in one dungeon before and after 5 rooms full of deadly monsters they opened it and were super suspiceos, i called it a plus 1 broom because it did not burn

[rough basalt]

Big things happening in my Monday game tho.
Two players have trials from deities, with a third looking to.
Now they're being jumped by former mercenaries who have fiendish pacts.

[hot marlin]

Reminds me of that character's best punchline: "If I had known what would happen by chasing those werewolves into that fog, I would have turned around and charged at the Anauroch desert, breached the wall to fight the Phaerimm armed with nothing but a stick and harsh language"

... There was also, after killing Strahd "People of Barovia, your valley is an insane den of stupidity and entitlement. I expect to live for at least six more centuries, but you can bet I am never setting foot here again."

[crystal latch]

Barovia is a nice place

[rough basalt]

The people of Barovia start the "countdown till strahd comes back to life and it all repeats" timer

[fast latch]

What’s the funniest curse an Archfey could put on a PC?

I think it’s changing their True Name to Raefarty Stanke and having them take 1d4 Psychic damage every single time they refer to themselves with a fake name or a nickname

[hot marlin]

Nah actually in that campaign we figured out he would be resurrected and found a way to prevent it, perma-killing him

[rough basalt]

Damn. What are the barovia people gonna do without constant suffering?

[fast latch]

Wouldn’t everyone in Barovia be homeless, since Domains of Dread are kept alive by their Darklord?

[hot marlin]

Even better

[fast latch]

If they escape to the Material, yes

[hot marlin]

But no, in theory, Barovia was in the process of returning to its original world, before it was uprooted and thrown in the shadowfell

[rough basalt]

Actually I'm pretty sure if Strahd dies the souls of all the people trapped there move on to the afterlife.

[crimson gulch]

you write your own ending when you run it

[fast latch]

But what if the Domain just,.. Collapses and kills everyone there?

[severe rampart]

Foreshadowing with the Death house and Yester Hill

[rough basalt]

I mean most of them aren't really alive I think.

[hot marlin]

All the better. Screw those people, screw this valley

[rough basalt]

They're kinda like props in a play.

[crystal latch]

A domain can survive without a darklord

[rough basalt]

And yeah the people of barovia suck

[crystal latch]

Counterpoint, Ireena exists

[severe rampart]

Honestly, I think at the end of my CoS campaign I'd want to continue it a bit with the players fighting the dark powers, if that's even possible

[hot marlin]

Thing is, if you read through CoS, the Dark Powers don't really exist.

CoS is kind of a soft reboot of Ravenloft.

[severe rampart]

Yeah, so I'd have to make it all myself

[crystal latch]

The DPs do exist and are one and the same as the vestiges in 5e

[rough basalt]

I always find it funny that some darklords just straight left their domains.

[hot marlin]

In CoS, there are no Dark Powers. The story is that there was a world in which a group of wizard summoned and imprisoned a variety of dangerous quasi deities. And one, only one of them is free from that prison and made Strahd a vampire for freeing him.

[rough basalt]

Like Soth got sent to the domains of dread then doomslayer'd his way out and went back to Krynn.

[hot marlin]

So, if you somehow find a way to put him back in his amber sarcophagus...

[rough basalt]

I think Kas just got bored and left his as well

[hot marlin]

Or even find a way to actually kill the thing?

[crystal latch]

Tenebrous from the Amber Temple is listed among the Dark Powers in VRGR
Notably, he is also Orcus

[true whale]

Hey quick question how does like persuasion work if I can’t speak the same language as another creature

[hot marlin]

Not quite. Tenebrous is the undead that Orcus was before his resurrection. The ghost or shade of Orcus. So yes, he is Orcus, but it is entirely conceivable that after Orcus' resurrection, Tenebrous would still continue to exist as a semi-independant entity, and be bound.

[severe rampart]

It doesn't, I think

[crimson gulch]

very poorly

[crystal latch]

Tenebrous is specifically the divinity of Orcus

[rough basalt]

I'd say it depends on how you play out the persuasion

[hot marlin]

Maybe you could communicate extremely simple ideas through body language?

Something like "we mean you no harm, let us pass and we'll give you this shiny thing"?

[true whale]

I’m a goose I don’t think my body language would be understood :(

[crimson gulch]

the rules for the influence action and pursusasion say Charisma (Persuasion) Persuading a monster that understands you

[hot marlin]

... I'm sorry, your character is actually a goose?

[severe rampart]

I guess that's how some people's games are

[hot marlin]

People play weird games man

[true whale]

Yeah I made a homebrew race and went through the trouble of balancing it for this campaign

[severe rampart]

different tastes for different people

[true whale]

Me and my brother have a habit of hiding absolute bs behind joke characters

[hot marlin]

Too different! We must incinerate all that divides and distinguishes. May chaos take the world!

[true whale]

🪿

[severe rampart]

let me guess, Loki turned into a goose and laid an egg, and that's your character? /j

[true whale]

I have +8 and advantage on all intimidation checks 👀

And +8 on stealth as well but like

[opaque tusk]

How are you meant to play a Paladin? Previously I had played them like a barbarian and tried to fight up close, but I can't help but feel like it sort of conflicts with the auras mechanic

[severe rampart]

Divine Smite every attack

[umbral girder]

You are there to protect your Allies mainly

Has a lot of close range support and defense abilities

Find Steed is gonna be important

So you can run in, smack an enemy, then run back to your allies

It’s part of why you get it for free

[reef tundra]

Paladins are a special kind of tank, they’re built to be on the front line alongside their other front line allies, buffing and healing them while destroying enemies with smites

[umbral girder]

The Glory Paladin in my level 20 game really made sure to cover the speed part

Reason he played an Orc. Speed and tankiness

[reef tundra]

The auras are a great way for them to buff and support without spending their action or spell slots, since they need to keep those to focus on attacking and smiting

Same with lay on hands

[pseudo plinth]

i let my players roll 4d6 and they got insanely good rolls

im gonna have fun 🥲

[umbral girder]

Didn’t do “drop the lowest”?

[pseudo plinth]

I did

they got insane rolls

[umbral girder]

Ah nice.

[pseudo plinth]

i mean, otherwise they'd potentially get 24 lol what

paladin 18/10/16/8/12/17
cleric 18/12/15/14/18/13 (he had a better group but decided to take "the less op one")
i think the rogue rolled 17/17/16/15/12/15 BEFORE adding bonuses?
and the 4th person rolled like 16/10/16/12/14/11 before adding as well

😂 honestly im glad they'll have fun being strong

it means they should do just fine in the encounters planned

[hidden spindle]

I tend to go in and try to body block foes. But they also have ranged options '24 with Thrown Melee Weapons, where they used to have very little other than Reach weapons.

[umbral girder]

I wish D&D had a “Protect” action

Like you give an ac buff or something to a target within 5ft of you

[reef tundra]

Yeah same :(

[umbral girder]

Or a piccolo style jump in the way of the attack

[reef tundra]

Although the protection and interception fighting styles are close

[umbral girder]

Or Captain America style shield up blocking the attack

[tall forge]

There is!

It’s called enlarge so you become a wall and provide full cover

[umbral girder]

Creatures still only do half cover sadly

[tall forge]

:(

What if im a tarrasque

[reef tundra]

I could still get ya >:)

[tall forge]

And i eat someone to protect them

[frail wasp]

I'd allow it

[reef tundra]

Oh. Yeah that’ll do it

[tall forge]

THATS IT,WE SOLVED IT

[umbral girder]

In fact if you are too big people are allowed to walk through your space and attack someone behind you without an opportunity attack

[tall forge]

NEXT SESSION, NEALAN YOU GOTTA EAT M-

Ive been informed by my lawyers that this is not a good strategy

[delicate owl]

Like a bug on a rug or peach on the beach, we all get eaten eventually.

[crystal latch]

Stay within 10 feet of ranged allies, use ranged attacks, when enemies come close you can melee them ig

[tall forge]

As nice as it is to ranged smite

Melee smite is so much cooler

[opaque tusk]

This kind of goes against the other advice I've been given

[reef tundra]

Paladins are just cool in general

[opaque tusk]

Is it like, different based on level/subclass?

[reef tundra]

Ranged paladins can work, but I recommend just staying near allies and fighting anyone that comes close

[crystal latch]

Paladin is counterintuitive

[tall forge]

Nah, paladin works fine melee

If you have only ranged attack people you might want to be ranged

[reef tundra]

Different subclasses have different styles. Vengeance paladins have a lock on and slay method, etc

[crystal latch]

Most of the power of the class is concentrated in the level 6 aura and either the level 7 aura or the level 3 Channel Divinity (or neither for Vengeance)

[crimson gulch]

There are few places more dangerous for a monster than right next to a paladin

[opaque tusk]

So are Paladins like an anchor of sorts?

[crystal latch]

Paladin is an aurabot class

It's a walking shield generator with the ability to cast Bless

[reef tundra]

And to obliterate small enemies that come near them

[tall forge]

Or enemies that come close…

[thorn wedge]

Paladins are basically a support melee tank. You want to be in melee but close to other allies. Smite is also a good single target bonk stick when you need it, especially if you can get a crit.

[crystal latch]

Obliterate is an overstatement but they have solid nova for emergencies

[tall forge]

Like, in general

[reef tundra]

Yeah, true

[red steppe]

It's better to stay with ranged characters and keeping yourself in ranged, it helps with aoe placement and not be taking unnecessary risks in melee (Creatures in 5e deal way more melee damage in melee than in ranged)

[tall forge]

In most games of dnd, you dont have to worry and you can be happy knowing you do massive melee/ranged damage

Realistically, you just gotta be where youre needed

[crystal latch]

https://nystulsmagicwebsite.wordpress.com/2022/04/04/paladins-as-intended-dont-work/comment-page-1/
We were discussing paladin melee among other things in #optimization a while ago, this source pretty much sums up the entire topic

[tall forge]

Going against monsters with high saving throws? Be near the party

a single monster with a huge AOE that is centered on them? You can go melee the monster so it stays away from the party

[glass granite]

I’ve seen 4 main kinds of paladins: strength based, dexadins, charisma based paladin, and 2024 thrown weapon paladins

[tall forge]

Its not like most games you need to be optimized to be effective anyways

Just play however you find fun, while not being useless

[delicate owl]

Something about wishing the aura scaled with paladin level and that you could use a reaction to give someone the bonus at range

[glass granite]

I think the feature is plenty strong enough, I’d argue it’s one the best features in the game already

[hidden spindle]

That is unless you don't invest in CHA...

[crystal latch]

At the highest optimization levels paladins, if they exist at all, will usually look something like Paladin 6-7/Warlock 2-3/Sorcerer X
Basically an underleveled sorlock that sacrifices caster levels for auras

[tall forge]

Def isnt bad, but its difficult to get since you get a little mad

[thorn wedge]

Paladin’s main issue for me is they usually aren’t durable enough to frontline on their own, and they don’t get enough tools to play with at range to make up for it. Hexadin builds sort of make up for this, but it’s not top tier strong. It’s decent.

[red steppe]

None of the classes can afford to "frontline"

[thorn wedge]

Some definitely can take a lot more beating than others.

[crystal latch]

Hexadin is just decent, yeah. I would consider 7 levels of sacrificed progression compared to a regular sorlock or warlock a very hard sell for two auras

[thorn wedge]

The paladin isn’t one of those that can really take a beating

[umbral girder]

Unless it’s saving throw foolery

I should check what the AC of the Paladin in my Tyranny of Dragons game has

Ah 31

[feral fulcrum]

looks at Paladin's access to Plate, Shields, innate access to burst healing via an action, and having a buff to saves

[thorn wedge]

Big ac

[feral fulcrum]

Are we sure we're looking at the same Paladin?

[umbral girder]

Level 20+ game right now (they started at level 1)

[crystal latch]

Yes

[umbral girder]

Forgot he has a 29 charisma

[reef tundra]

Their saving throws are busted too, being able to add their charisma to all saving throws permanently after level 6

[umbral girder]

As long as they aren’t incapacitated yes

[red steppe]

Yes we are

[reef tundra]

I find this happens often when talking about dnd online. Sometimes it sounds like a completely different game. And in a way it is, because of differing game styles

I mostly just nod along and agree to disagree

[umbral girder]

But yeah that game I’m running Lich’s and Ancient Dragons are basically minions to that group now

[thorn wedge]

There’s much much more durable classes and builds than a paladin imo. They’re not squishy, but they aren’t the tankiest either.

[umbral girder]

Tiamat is gonna get some foolery for them

[thorn wedge]

Your main defense as a paladin is being hard to hit. If you are able to be hit, you won’t stay up long.

[reef tundra]

I personally don’t find that to be my experience, as all of my paladins have been incredibly tanky and durable, but I have seen other paladins fall

[crystal latch]

The best way to improve your durability is to deny enemy actions on a massive scale through control effects

[umbral girder]

Yeah pretty much every game I’ve run Paladins are the tankiest of the entire party

[feral fulcrum]

It is a very boring playstyle, yeah.

[rough basalt]

The answer is to just use control magic on players too

[reef tundra]

As a DM I rarely throw the incapacitated or similar conditions, but I am a-okay with letting it happen to my NPCs

[feral fulcrum]

"Enemy fails it's save, does nothing for the rest of the fight. Fight's over, GG."

[crimson gulch]

This, paralyzed and stunned players feel so much fear in my games

[rough basalt]

Now that my Monday party is level 6 they're gonna be fighting humanoids with all kinds of stuff

[feral fulcrum]

And then you have the issue of "Okay cool I'll do nothing, for the third time this month. This sure is....fun."

[reef tundra]

And I know all of my important NPCs have the legendary resistances to break out after a turn

[red steppe]

Exactly

[rough basalt]

I use any condition against players.

[red steppe]

2wiz2lock low diffs

[crystal latch]

The best control effects don't even really care about saves tbf

[reef tundra]

Although I don’t never incapacitate my players, my latest was a mummy lord with her paralysing gaze, combined with her decaying hand is a brutal combo that the players fear and have to avoid

[flint ledge]

Personally, it might just be me but a lot of crowd control effects that deny actions just seem very anti fun to me

[crystal latch]

You just cause an effect to happen and it's two moves to checkmate

[red steppe]

Like Sleet Storm

[rough basalt]

It's cause RPGs aren't meant to always be fun.

[reef tundra]

That’s true, sometimes unfun can be fun

[rough basalt]

Sometimes the challenge is stressful and the fun is in conquering that threat that angered you.

[crystal latch]

Or fog cloud against a beholder, spike growth between you and charging melee enemies, web in a hallway, animate dead firing squads etc.

[reef tundra]

-# The main reason I’m a souls player

Fog cloud is the goat I love it

[timber turtle]

Is it valid to say "I use my sword as a blunt weapon" against something weak to blunt like skeletons

[rough basalt]

That's what souls is designed around.
"Die, learn from it, survive"

[crystal latch]

The real difficulty is figuring out the cheapest way to solve an encounter because you don't know how many more there might be in the dungeon

[rough basalt]

Nah cause that goes beyond reflavoring.

[reef tundra]

No

[umbral girder]

There is a mechanical change so it isn’t flavor

[crystal latch]

I'm not going to spend a 3rd-level slot on Sleet Storm when Web will suffice, especially not when there might be 30 more encounters ahead
And so on

[feral fulcrum]

The problem with that aproach in 5E is that it's more of a "Die, learn that you should have rolled better, get screwed by it the second time too."

[timber turtle]

But you hit them with the pommel and hilt

[rough basalt]

Maybe you should've rolled better then.

[glass granite]

I’d rule it as an improvised weapon

[tall forge]

Id allow it, but youre improvized weaponinf it

[rough basalt]

Ye that'd be my approach as well

[feral fulcrum]

I'll bring weighted dice then :V

[glass granite]

Yes I’m aware it’s a technique, but for mechanical reasons I’m counting it as an improvisation

[rough basalt]

I use digital dice.

Rolling better is a mindset

[reef tundra]

I often see players blame rolls for fights they lose when during the game I thought it was because of a few poor choices and bad moves

[rough basalt]

If you really wanna avoid the Mind Blast stun, you'll pass the save.

[severe rampart]

when I'm not in a campaign I have so many character ideas, now that I've joined one it seems all those ideas have left my brain 😭

[molten pumice]

Have something like a club or light hammer in your inventory, or the tavern brawler feat, and when you go to do a blunt attack, say you're using the blunt part of the weapon to make a club attack. Some DMs might get pouty about it, but generally I at least feel like you should be fine.

[reef tundra]

But I think that’s just my games

[crystal latch]

Most of the time if a tactic hinges heavily on a single roll or a few rolls succeeding, it's a bad tactic

[reef tundra]

Omg same! It’s torturous

[rough basalt]

My outlet for my creativity rn is my worlds setting guide.

[severe rampart]

Right? like where the hell are the ideas now that I can use em

[reef tundra]

Ooooh that sounds cool!

[rough basalt]

It's letting me properly flesh out lore, make my HB statblocks more special.

Like I added a LA (3 uses) ability for my one elite paladin order statblock (originated from Questing Knight statblock) that allows them to free six targets of their choice from condition effects.

[tall forge]

Or… its a fun tactic 😎

[reef tundra]

Sometimes chaos is the most fun option

[rough basalt]

Actually coding it into foundry later will be annoying but that'll be another creative outlet.

[red steppe]

Sloptimization

[reef tundra]

-# Or ya know… people playing the game how they want and not optimising

[tall forge]

I think optimization can be fun

[rough basalt]

I'm calling it "Yurikos Guide to Alexandria" having it written in character from a high priestess of a hated religious order who travels the world spreading the word.

[tall forge]

I do it myself, i just only optimize to do what i want

[reef tundra]

I mean don’t get me wrong I respect optimisers and it’s a valid way to play, I just don’t like it when they step in on just talking about fun and insult it

[rough basalt]

It's fun adding in-character passages and quotes from npcs

[coral solstice]

guys so upcoming saturday is my third time ever playing dnd and im a big hakari fan (jjk) and i really want a cool looking green d20 matching hakaris green color with a red 777 slot machine as the 20 side but idk where i can order custom made dice (where i make the idea) does anybody know a place where i can order custom dice like that?

[reef tundra]

Ooooh I love books written in-character!

[reef tundra]

I think the last time I did optimisation was optimising the right combo to knock an enemy as far away as possible

[tall forge]

I optimized my eldritch blast warlocker to be reallllllly good at eldritch blasting

[reef tundra]

I believe I got to 75 feet but I can’t remember

[rough basalt]

Started as a way to consolidate lore and world info but figured I'd just go the rest of the way and make a Setting Guide.
It don't matter to me. if players look at the HB statblocks, it ain't gonna save them.

[tall forge]

Bro had a 33% chance to crit and absolutely demolished anything that came into melee

But i purposely made him a glass cannon for party dynamic purposes and story reasons

[flint ledge]

I think everyone should simply learn that people have fun in different ways, some people like optimizing and that's okay, and some people like just regularly playing the game. No one should be the fun police

[crystal latch]

5e optimization is a fairly interesting mental exercise

[reef tundra]

What is the point of knowing what will kill you if you can’t avoid it? ahhh

[reef tundra]

Ofc! I think it’s fun too! And I respect it loads.

[rough basalt]

My players seeing the Empress they're planning on seeing is Cr26

[tall forge]

Especially in dnd, it helps to have weaknesses so your party can come in and help

[crystal latch]

Shedding the expectation that a class will function remotely similarly to the typical class fantasy, for one thing
Case in point, paladin optimization - the key is figuring out that it is not a weapon-user chassis

[reef tundra]

It’s just when it butts in on casual conversation and dulls the mood

[tall forge]

Mostly ive felt this way bc dnd combat wise is incredibly individualistic….

[severe rampart]

Here I go again with the mess that is the homebrew creating in DDB, how have they managed to make it so complicated and so inconvenient

[crystal latch]

Highop 5e also tends to be very team-focused which is cool

[reef tundra]

Ooh yes I remember when we talked about the best way to defeat Asmodeus! The team combo was so cool

[tall forge]

Highop it can be

[dark pewter]

A reminder, folks: We have #optimization for dedicated/extended optimization discussion. Please remember that specific beats general with our channels here.

[crystal latch]

Builds in an optimized party are like different organs in the same body, except you go with two hearts and two brains and figure out a way for both hearts and brains to serve as lungs

[tall forge]

But usually, dnd is sorta built with each player doing their own thing

[red steppe]

Or that part where Tiamat gets caged by like 6 forcecages (i forgot the exact number)

[tall forge]

Frankly i only try to have players play different classes so they feel more diverse

[reef tundra]

I personally haven’t found that to be my experience, whenever I see a player split off from the rest of the party during a fight they often quickly end up running back

I will forever remember the sorcerer who thought he could solo the BBEG. It was… entertaining

[tall forge]

I dont mean it like that, more so they can build their own special way and it wont matter

You can have 5 clerics, it will not be a bad team comp

[reef tundra]

Ohhhhh I see what you’re saying

[reef tundra]

Very true

[tall forge]

And realistically, as long as youre all doing damage youre pretty much set

[rough basalt]

I like being my own class personally

But yeah you're right

[tall forge]

There’s definitely benefits to this dont get me wrong

But i simply crave more

[hollow hedge]

I have now an AC of 20

[crystal latch]

My parties tend to usually be the same 2-3 classes in some combination. 2wiz2lock is just that good

[tall forge]

Teamwork ig

[rough basalt]

I like variety

[reef tundra]

I think it’s a sign of the system allowing for any party comp without forcing players to pick a class they don’t want just to fill a role to play well

[tall forge]

Add more classes 😎

[reef tundra]

Same. My campaigns are centred around the character and story, so I prefer the players be varied

[crystal latch]

I wish there were more classes that could do really well in highop

[reef tundra]

I find all of them do well. But that’s just in my casual games

[woven flint]

Firbolg Bard that plays a Fiddle
What do we think? 🤔

[red steppe]

I wish martials could do well in general (that isn't Moon Knight)

[crystal latch]

Mystic had potential in the UA but that's never happening, if they buffed it a bit and let it actually scale at 11-20 it would perhaps scale into mid-high op

[reef tundra]

I LOVE

#optimization

[crystal latch]

The humble skeleton

[fringe wyvern]

Would there by any reason you can think of not to give a Warlock access to the spell Summon Dragon?

[woven flint]

I've decided his instrument proficencies then

A Fiddle, Bagpipes and a Panflute 🧐

[red steppe]

Wha, there's one more besides Moon Knight?

[reef tundra]

It’s perfect

[red steppe]

or are u talking about anime dead

[reef tundra]

-# I apologise again, I respect your way of play, but I just like it out of casual game talk

[crystal latch]

I meant literal skeleton armies

[red steppe]

i see i see

[tall forge]

I also def like the idea of highop

[woven flint]

I might replace the pan flute with something more percussion-y

[crystal latch]

Also, speaking of skeleton armies, martials should just get an army

Like, as a class feature

[worn lagoon]

this is my favorite comparison ever

[tall forge]

But, well. That requires a group i like to actually do that

[woven flint]

But, yes, the fiddle he plays is too small for a creature his size, but he still plays it perfectly 😎

[reef tundra]

I personally prefer casual games, but that’s because I’m more laid back with how I play

[flint ledge]

I don't think the solution to martials falling behind on casters should be summon 20 skeletons with a feature (or something of that manner)

[tall forge]

I love story focused games

[woven flint]

I love the idea of Giant-Kin with small instruments 😭

[tall forge]

Thats the type i dm

[red steppe]

3.5e fixe-

[reef tundra]

Of course it’s all valid ways to play, optimising or not.
-# But god do I not like people preaching about it

[tall forge]

I want a grand story, as well as close character bonds

[rough basalt]

I like my current games

[crystal latch]

I generally like to push the limits of highop further
At some point you just know everything there is to know and all that remains is innovation

[rough basalt]

decided by players actions, the results, the consequences, and the rng table

[woven flint]

Optimize having fun
Funmax your character ideas 🧐
Do what YOU find fun

[reef tundra]

Same! Ever since I finally stopped DMing for a terrible group I was forcing myself to DM for I’ve had a much happier time with my campaigns

[tall forge]

What if my fun is ruining other peoples fun?

[woven flint]

Me?
I love playing old men or socially inept big friendly guys

[tall forge]

What if I’m evil?

[crystal latch]

I love having the firepower on my character sheet to influence the setting on a large scale

[flint ledge]

Is it just me or does it seem to be that 3.5e and 5e are the most popular editions?

[jolly canyon]

I do not have a preference since I am new 🙂 I think I'm enjoying this very story focused style I'm doing but it's been 2 sessions.

[reef tundra]

Them optimise your survival chances against me

[woven flint]

Try to have fun that is reasonable for all

[tall forge]

It seems ill be going to war then…

[red steppe]

I hope 4e optimization becomes active again, they kinda stopped like years ago

[reef tundra]

So be it. But I will be calling favours from my family

[red steppe]

Yes

[crystal latch]

One time we derailed a BGDiA game so hard that we never got to Avernus, then proceeded to invade Shedaklah out of boredom at level 6

[tall forge]

So will i- oh. I dont have allies. Uh, being a murder hobo seems to have backfired….

[reef tundra]

Aww it’s okay I’ll make sure it’s fun for you. Let’s 1v1

[woven flint]

Amity, what if I told you that my Firbolg Bard was bad at talking to people, but extremely well versed in the ways of talking to animals and plants, like a true homie? 🧐

[crystal latch]

This would not have been possible were it not for the fact that our builds were able to actually deal with absurd demon hordes

[reef tundra]

Murderhobo vs Archfey

[flint ledge]

I mean obviously 5e is the most popular cause it's the current one, but 3.5e despite being a bit older still seems to receive a lot of attention

[tall forge]

Absolute bastard vs absolute Bastard

[crystal latch]

I recall throwing a bag of holding bomb and taking out a balor and a sibriex lmao

[reef tundra]

Reject humanity, return to Druid firbolg

[red steppe]

LUL

[woven flint]

He's a Moon Bard!
The closest thing to a Druidic Bard

[red steppe]

What happened at the end of the invasion?

[reef tundra]

I love moon bards

[crystal latch]

We stole the alkiliths the demons were using to invade the Nine Hells at the time

[woven flint]

I hope he survives up to level 10 because I'm gonna be experimenting with purely Druid and Bard spells as a Bard fella

[crystal latch]

We spent two days figuring out how to steal the portals on both sides, but in the end we found some convoluted but logical way to leave Zuggtmoy stranded in the Nine Hells

And then looted her palace

We hit level 7 there

[woven flint]

You abandoned Mushroom Lady? 😔

[reef tundra]

I wanna play DiA one day

[red steppe]

Lmaooo

[crystal latch]

My character accidentally did more for the devils in the Blood War in one hour than Zariel did in her entire life

[woven flint]

We met a Dwarvish fellow named Ott Steeltoe in Waterdeep who had an obsession with Zuggt.

He talked to mushrooms in our taverns basement 😭

[red steppe]

Zariel in fraudwatch

[crystal latch]

It was a plot point in that game that Tiamat got default killed a few years ago

[umbral girder]

I’m glad I got 2 TPKs with Zariel

[woven flint]

Zariel isn't a Fraud

She just sucks!

[umbral girder]

Level 7 party and level 13 party

The level 7 guys foolishly tried to hit her with a car

[flint ledge]

Can't really be a fraud if you suck huh

[woven flint]

Let's be real
Her ass does NOT have a master plan

[umbral girder]

The level 13 party just went for the sacrifice plot to slow her down

[flint ledge]

I feel like they ended up as a pile of gore within the next 60 seconds

[crimson gulch]

Nice me too, she made a cameo in a planescape game I ran and players picked a fight

[red steppe]

Peak

[crystal latch]

The entire timeline started by that DiA campaign is wild

[tall forge]

She does

Its “do war”

[woven flint]

That being said..
I wouldn't needlessly pick a fight with Zariel

[umbral girder]

She threw the car

[woven flint]

The Hellcar?! 😔

[umbral girder]

Yes

[crystal latch]

The legend of the Dread dynasty (two of my PCs) was... most amusing

[umbral girder]

I compared it to “Batman driving the Batmobile into Superman”

[flint ledge]

I mean isn't her whole thing being corrupted by the blood war

[umbral girder]

Ya looked cool but why would you do that

[woven flint]

Zariel threw the hellcar, man?
This shit passes me off...
Unless they.. actually tried to run her over

[umbral girder]

Zariel is like Doomslayer in planning

The goal is to kill the demons.

[umbral girder]

They did try.

[crystal latch]

Tbh Zariel was more or less promoted for her incompetence

[woven flint]

That's on them

[crystal latch]

Bel is the better general but Asmodeus is partially throwing the war

[umbral girder]

Yeah the level 7 party knew it was a stupid idea. They assumed they could out run her after trying it

[crystal latch]

The Blood War is an inside job

[woven flint]

Does Asmodeus speak every language? 🤔

[umbral girder]

Unfortunately she can move 660ft a round so that’s a big no.

[worn lagoon]

I'm finally getting to run a mizzmage next week

[crystal latch]

Nice

[woven flint]

Imagine Asmodeus talking down to Zariel in Celestial 💀

[worn lagoon]

yeah! I'm thinking of adding 2014 wm sorc to increase the gambling funny

[umbral girder]

Zariel was like a homing missile

[flint ledge]

He's a greater deity, I'd assume so

[crystal latch]

I once conquered the Nine Hells in a campaign, it was amusing

[umbral girder]

Zariel also speaks every language too

[feral fulcrum]

All nine of them?

[worn lagoon]

asmodeus' stat block looks exhausting

[crystal latch]

Yeah, pretty sure I didn't even show up to the fight personally

[reef tundra]

Dad could take her

[worn lagoon]

i don't even want to imagine what sort of army you pulled up with

[red steppe]

How

[woven flint]

Mephisto...

[umbral girder]

While Asmodeus can summon Archdevils he reasonably would not

[reef tundra]

Yup, Mephistopheles

[umbral girder]

Since they all want Asmodeus dead

[woven flint]

My father is actually Secretly Jergal

[reef tundra]

Yeah he and dad have a strained relationship

[woven flint]

I look like a corpse 😔

[crystal latch]

OK so this was after we used Dream of the Blue Veil and the LOTR 5e supplement to travel to Middle-earth and planar bind Sauron, but iirc we didn't even bring him either. If memory serves, I had Lord Shadow resurrected and got him to lead the assault (I was running Netheril 3.0 at the time)

[reef tundra]

Well that mofo dead
-# I think?

[woven flint]

Jergal is.. alive?
For a Deity, at least

[reef tundra]

-# Jergal is Schrödinger’s god. Both dead and alive

[crystal latch]

I definitely recall bringing a moon knight into Nessus for extra damage

[umbral girder]

Jergal is very much alive

I don’t think he ever died too

[paper portal]

my father is some weird ass human idk why he made his character so boring

[flint ledge]

Well deities can't really die die no? Except if Ao were to strip them off divinity I suppose

[umbral girder]

He used to be the god of absolute death. Then he got bored and became an accountant or something

[red steppe]

Ohhh I see the Eve of Ruin campaign

[umbral girder]

Aoskar moment

[flint ledge]

Didn't he like tutor Myrkul about being God of the dead while Myrkul had that spot?

[umbral girder]

Aoskar was a multiversal god who tried to square up on the Lady of Pain for those that don’t know.

[woven flint]

Aoskar when the LOP hits him with the OBLITERATION stare

[flint ledge]

Divinity just sounds like a corporate ladder now that I think about it

[umbral girder]

I still love one of the Archhag weaknesses is a piece of the Lady of Pain’s robe. You just are not getting that.

[crystal latch]

We conquered everything there tbf

[red steppe]

including the Abyss?

[crystal latch]

I sent an army of fish to wipe out all life in the Abyss

[flint ledge]

Do arch hags know their own weaknesses? Like how is that defined...

[flint ledge]

Isn't the abyss' whole thing that it it's infinite? Eh whatever

[crystal latch]

It's not actually infinite, it's just ever-expanding

[umbral girder]

It’s their most hated thing ever

And it’s usually something bordering on impossible

[crystal latch]

Theoretically you should be able to wipe out everything in it if you just kill faster than it grows

tl,dr; bring an infinitely large army

[red steppe]

based

[crystal latch]

Pretty sure I also used time traveling blazebears to assassinate the obyriths

[umbral girder]

It would be much easier to drag the Archhag to the Lady of Pain than actually getting a piece of the Lady’s robe.

But comes with the extreme danger of being anywhere near the Lady of Pain

[flint ledge]

She has a very nice title and she'd definitely never do anything bad-

[woven flint]

Lady of Pain isn't inherently bad at all, she just exists
And anything that exists too close to her is just.. well..

She only really cares when Sigil is in danger or when someone tries to revere her as a Deity (she doesn't care for worship)

[feral fulcrum]

That's because it pretty much is.

[woven flint]

^ Truthfully

We have
Overgods
Greater Gods
Intermediate Gods
Lesser Gods
Demigods

[feral fulcrum]

We have examples like Mystra that show someone can just...take up their position when the god bites the big one.

[crystal latch]

Below demigods we have quasi-deities

[feral fulcrum]

She's been replaced like six times

[woven flint]

Oh, true!
Almost forgot about that lol

[crystal latch]

And below those we have vestiges which fell below the floor and became their own thing

[keen kestrel]

Where does Jergal sit on this list

[flint ledge]

Ao snoozing in the corner doing nothing: (you have to wait about a century to get him to do something unless you sleat his stuff)

[crystal latch]

You can become a quasi-deity RAW in 5e

[woven flint]

I believe he's currently Lesser or Intermediate

[umbral girder]

Isn’t it two times?

[crystal latch]

There is a wheel in a casino in Sigil where you have an 0.1% chance of becoming a quasi-deity if you spin it and it only costs like a hundred gp to spin

[woven flint]

I think I'd honestly hate that
Deityhood sounds like it can be a chore

[crystal latch]

It's a pretty cool job

My party used the wheel, we rigged it with Mage Hand and we all became gods

[flint ledge]

I feel like Karsus would have made for an interesting god of magic

[woven flint]

I'd rather not be a Deity like Ilmater at least, as much as I love him, he's like.. constantly suffering

[crystal latch]

Karsus would have made a great god of magic

[crimson gulch]

Lol gods of dust mites and other petty portfolios

[woven flint]

Who killed Karsus, by the way?
Or how did he die?

[crystal latch]

Karsus is alive

[woven flint]

Oh-

[crystal latch]

He currently exists as a vestige

His physical form lies in the Dire Wood

[woven flint]

Ohhh, so lesser than a demigod atm

[crystal latch]

In the form of a big stone mountain

[buoyant oar]

You can find him at the Ruins of Karse

[crystal latch]

He's basically a GOOlock patron

[flint ledge]

Didn't he turn to stone or something during his big ritual

[buoyant oar]

Yes.

[woven flint]

Haen confirmed that

That's interesting, though

[buoyant oar]

The Momentary God. Or as the elves called him the Ape that Would Fly

[woven flint]

I've never cared for Demigods, tbh

[crystal latch]

The portfolios we got were

• God of bears being a species of fish
• God of wandering Vistani
• God of the Internet, not invented yet
• God of cave bats
• God of rampaging apes
• Goddess of cute animals and stoning people to death

I forgot the rest

[crimson gulch]

If your dm let you rig the game with a cantrip that is the hugest soft ball I ever heard of, security at fortunes wheel is supost to be tight

[crystal latch]

Security at the casino is hilariously bad actually

The best they have is like... nothics staring at you

[crimson gulch]

No, letting you win that for everyone was letting you win, that's a soft ball dm

[crystal latch]

They could do nothing about it

[buoyant oar]

Becoming a god in Sigil?

One way ticket to Our Dear Lady of Pain showing up.

[atomic kayak]

There are a plethora of things they could do lol

[crystal latch]

The Lady of Pain explicitly ignores you if you become a god through this

[tough lynx]

What does being a god do mechanically?

[red steppe]

this feels like a bluff most ppl would fall for

[crystal latch]

You become immune to antimagic field

[tough lynx]

:enjoyer:

[crimson gulch]

nah, it says name only

[crystal latch]

The participant becomes a quasi-deity with a petty portfolio, such as dust mites, scheduling conflicts, gazebos, or three-toed sloths. Celestials and Fiends acknowledge the participant's godly status, but with no followers to boast, the participant is divine in name only. At your discretion, the winner might gain additional minor abilities related to their portfolio, such as controlling dust mites or understanding sloths. The Lady of Pain and other figures who seek to oust gods from Sigil pay the winner no attention.
This is why we all agreed to follow each other, then started our own cults

[atomic kayak]

"in name only"

[crystal latch]

A quasi-deity is unimpressive by default but can accumulate followers like any other god

[atomic kayak]

ofc, as Urz already said, saying that mage hand could successfully rig it was an incredible softball in the first place so ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[crystal latch]

A god's power is derived from their number of followers

It's a wheel of fortune

[random sphinx]

Me and my friend just killed a lich with basically nobody but us and the dm npc and won!! Since we were level 8 it was toned down to about a cr15, but still man, it was a lich, lair actions, legendary attacks and everything😭

[crimson gulch]

yeah, if mage had made you a god, then everyone in that casino would be a god too, its sigil everyone has power and magics

[red steppe]

My followers are all bears and netherese mages

[random sphinx]

We have a party of five and it's only been us two for like 3 weeks btw

[crystal latch]

NPCs are built without feats and can't take Telekinetic to make their mage hands invisible

[crimson gulch]

a magic casino with Mezzolith bouncers would have bounced you after the second win

Npc's are built however the dm wants to build them

[buoyant oar]

But there is security in the form of mezzoloths with one at each table set.

[crystal latch]

We weren't scared of mezzoloths at level 12 lmao

[atomic kayak]

Its fine if the DM softballed it for you, but acting as though it wasn't such an obvious softball is silly

[woven flint]

That's hilarious

[crystal latch]

We arrested Shemeshka for fraud on our way out

[red steppe]

they are running it RAW

[crimson gulch]

hahaha, oh yeah thats a softball DM allright

[buoyant oar]

And if you attacked the mezzoloths then presumably others would come for you including Dabu

[woven flint]

That's... stinky. >:[

[atomic kayak]

Congrats. Mage Hand can't affect the results then.

[crystal latch]

Iirc the fight against Shemeshka and her bodyguards was over before initiative count 30 of the first round

We ended up donating the wheel to Primus after using it on all of us

[atomic kayak]

like I said. Saying that "its RAW" doesn't change any of this

[crystal latch]

We then took over the casino and made it our base

[umbral girder]

The existence of a Melf must mean there is a Felf out there

[cobalt escarp]

it also implies a Delf

[atomic kayak]

stop that you

[umbral girder]

NBelf

[woven flint]

What about a Nelf for the Gender Neutral Elf?

[crystal latch]

Iirc we did that right after beating up a CR 26 vestige in the Astral Plane to recover a piece of the Eve of Ruin macguffin

[crimson gulch]

Yes, she's in the moonshae islanda

[buoyant oar]

One of the ffolk

[woven flint]

NBelf

[atomic kayak]

Felf feels way worse to say out loud ngl

[umbral girder]

NBelf is a chosen of Corellon

[crystal latch]

That whole casino is silly on so many levels ngl

[random sphinx]

It doesn't matter to me, I got my level ups and any reward from it, our wizard is going to get a trashy grimoire

[crystal latch]

Divinity aside, mathematically the house loses when you just play the slot machines

[woven flint]

The rest of the patty should've been there to help >:[

[crystal latch]

Notably there's also like... an alcoholic child (young dragon) going into debt there

[umbral girder]

Imagine if we did that with more character names.

Meet Morc and Forc

[random sphinx]

They really should have, and that sucks :<

It was rough

[woven flint]

Fhuman and Mhuman

[umbral girder]

Actually Morc sounds like an actual Orc name. I’m saving that.

[woven flint]

Mgoblin and Fgoblin

[random sphinx]

My cleric/barbarian got down to 24 with 104+45thp and healing 😭

It was tough tough

[buoyant oar]

Scro being space orcs is best.

[umbral girder]

Mfairy and Ffariy

[woven flint]

Lmao

[umbral girder]

I haven’t considered backwards names. Game changing. The Alucard method

[buoyant oar]

Though the Scro have not been very active since the end of the Unhuman Wars

I love that a war between Orcs and Elves has Human in its name.

[sage granite]

Gatta love being down a player >.< Now I most likely cant run this one shot ughhhh

[crimson gulch]

I run games down one player all the time, the show must go on is a key table rules

[sage granite]

im already below my min threshold. I usually do 3-5 people, but im down to 2

[crimson gulch]

Oh your not missing one then your missing several, gotcha

[keen valve]

"Excuse me, m'fairy."

[sage granite]

yeah, im just 1 play shy of firing it off tonight

hopefully I can find someone 😄

[hot reef]

gl

[simple cradle]

Ooh, I love how the quick builder adds in the flavor sentence for subclasses that haven't appeared in 5.5e that the 5.5e subclasses has.

And most of them have artwork!

[umbral girder]

Is it out?

I’ll need to give it a look if so

[simple cradle]

It's out already!

[umbral girder]

Nice

[buoyant oar]

I need more deets on the greyhawk book announced WotC. I need it.

[simple cradle]

So far, all but one subclass (the ranger) has that flavor sentence.

Warlock's The Many:

The More the Merrier

Oh my god, that's amazing.

[umbral girder]

Hmm the descriptions look the same as the books

[umbral girder]

Pretty sure these are the same flavor sentences?

[simple cradle]

Nope! Check it out!

[crimson gulch]

Yeah that seems really interesting the 15 pages of Greyhawk info in the dmg was barebones

[umbral girder]

Yeah I’m looking

[buoyant oar]

Melf's Guide to Greyhawk with cover art by the goated Jeff Easley? Sign me up.

[simple cradle]

I wonder if it'll have player options.

[umbral girder]

Do you have an example perhaps?

[buoyant oar]

And maps by the Anna B. Meyer?

I'll take the entire stock.

[simple cradle]

Scroll to the bottom where it lists the subclasses. https://www.dndbeyond.com/play/characters/build/classes/2190880-monk

The 5.5e updated/new subclasses have them. So do the older ones.

[umbral girder]

That’s players handbook sentences

[simple cradle]

Cobolt Soul for the Monk:

Harness Knowledge to Overcome Enemies

[umbral girder]

Ah I see I miss read you message I assumed you said the stuff the 5.5e subclasses didn’t have any

[umbral girder]

I don’t have that book so I didn’t see this

[simple cradle]

Yep! That's what I'm talking about. Should've clarified in my excitement.

[umbral girder]

Since that’s third party

[simple cradle]

Not big on them, I take it?

[umbral girder]

I have enough content with the official content

Want to work through those before spending more money on even more things

[simple cradle]

Fair enough!

[umbral girder]

Also Taldorei isn’t one that interests me as my thoughts when I try is just “I could just do Daggerheart”

[simple cradle]

On the other hand, it'll be a while till more official stuff comes out, starting with Ravenloft in June.

[simple cradle]

I remember that Matt Mercer and others are still interested in making stuff for D&D, with his character in Campaign 4 having a custom Fighter subclass called Daredevil.

[umbral girder]

I play level 1-20 games so the content I have takes a bit

[reef tundra]

I gotta try that now. I end up loving all Mercer’s homebrew

[simple cradle]

It's not out like the homebrew barbarian subclass for Talisen in Campaign 3.

[limber trail]

I actually also think they confirmed that it's still in development (and also that it's actually by perkins/crawford)

[reef tundra]

Darn

[crimson gulch]

Yeah there's going to be more good dnd stuff from darrington press

[simple cradle]

I'm more interested in the Daredevil subclass. I know a player whose character might fit with that subclass if they put in more fighter levels.

And I'm more interested in seeing a 5.5e version of the Blood Hunter class.

[blazing ravine]

is ice powers, lightning powers, or fire powers cooler?

[crimson gulch]

Ice powers are cooler than fire, and the placement of lightning in that list will shock you

[limber trail]

D) All of the above

[woven flint]

Ice powers are technically cooler 🤓

Knome
I stole your kidney.

[umbral girder]

They are the most cool compared to fire and lightning

[limber trail]

I know

[woven flint]

Oh yeah?

I also stole your appendix

I call it the Knompendix

[jolly canyon]

Knome don't need em or want em!!!

[limber trail]

No I do need and want them let's be clear

[umbral girder]

No you don’t

[woven flint]

Knome is my Knemesis

[limber trail]

You're a guy I know for sure

[woven flint]

Wow... how rude

[normal canyon]

ice power combined with fire power combined with lightning power is cooler

[blazing ravine]

alas origin feats mean one must make the choice

[limber trail]

Do they? What origin feat does?

Unless there's one in the Faerun book but even then that doesn't force the choice

[blazing ravine]

UA Mystic has some origin feats, one lets u turn B/P/S/Psychic to lightning, and others for cold and fire dmg

[limber trail]

oh

[rough basalt]

Got some good work done on my setting today

[limber trail]

hell yeah

[lost dragon]

hello

[rough basalt]

About 1/3rd of the one country is done.

[paper portal]

this without the context of the first message instills fear into my heart

the eastern seaboard has been erased

[urban dome]

Has anyone here played limbus company

Or library of ruina

If you did then do you thing a warlock who follows the prescript would be cool

[still plover]

Sure. Archfey, Great Old One, possibly Genie.

[odd valley]

great googly moogly they done took out half of the midwest

[worn lagoon]

i mean if the setting is that

[teal niche]

Is there a list of all the bot tags somewhere?

[undone rain]

Ohhhh i got a jester type of character idea

Originally a paladin, an oath of the crown, serving a royal. But after said royal passed away, their heir took over the throne. But this heir was corrupt and as the paladin left his service, breaking his oath. The heir brought him to his knees and cursed him with unremovable jesters clothes, forced to look like a laughing stock

[deft anchor]

can imprisonment be counterspelled?

[crimson gulch]

Any spell can be counterspelled If the conditions of counterspell are met

[fathom burrow]

Well, this is a first

Getting kicked from a game for asking questions about the setting

It wasn’t even weird questions either but whatever

[crimson gulch]

Dms with their own settings are really touchy In my experience

[paper portal]

thats really weird lol

if i made my own setting id want people to ask questions about it

[fathom burrow]

I feel bad for his players lol

Imagine wanting to engage and know more about the world you’re playing in just for him to kick and ghost you without giving an explanation at first lol

What a child

[loud tendon]

it is an unfortunate situation.. sorry that happened. But we shouldn't start insulting that person.

[rough basalt]

maybe one of the questions you asked rubbed them the wrong way or something

[worn lagoon]

It's probably who I think it is. Don't worry about it. I was confused too.

[paper portal]

hi evren o/

[worn lagoon]

hii

[keen valve]

On this topic, I was thinking about running a game where when anyone asks a question about the world, I let them be the ones to answer it and come up with something.

Essentially making a world piece by piece by asking ourselves questions and improv answering.

I think it could be fun and allow for a creative D&D setting.

[worn lagoon]

I once asked one guy what the setting of the campaign was before applying to join and that led to them telling me "this game isn't for you if you ask about this"

I was extremely confused, isn't that very elementary knowledge?

[paper portal]

yes lol

[severe rampart]

I might be building a 2014 Hexblade Warlock wrong...

[paper portal]

depends what you count as wrong

[keen valve]

I would probably also look at you sideways if you asked me what the setting of the Faerun branded Faerun story set in Faerun was.

"Is this Eberron?"
"Leave this place, and never return!"

[umbral girder]

Well Faerun also has a lot going on in the setting

[severe rampart]

I'm not taking advantage of the medium armor proficiency and the martial weapon proficiency

[paper portal]

what are you even hexblade for then

[umbral girder]

Like it could be in the silvermarches, Icewind Dale, Cormyr etc. etc

[severe rampart]

2014 is a bit weird where you can choose only either Equipment or Money, and not a mix of both

[umbral girder]

Faerun is a very big setting

[paper portal]

medium armor is like the only thing hexblade actually does

[keen valve]

I wish you could hear me, Nealen, I am hissing and shrieking like a vampire to sunlight to your response. How could you have foiled me?!

[odd valley]

could also be calimshan

[umbral girder]

Even if you say “Baldur’s Gate” you could probably get more granular too with the different wards of the city

[keen valve]

Can we go to Shadowdale? I hear it's nice this time of year.

[undone rain]

I like the concept of warlock but they barely got any spellslots, sure short rests are sweet but i shouldnt have to ask the dm 45 times a sesh to short rest

[severe rampart]

I cannot afford medium armor, because the equipment and gold amount is trash, but gotta make do with what I have and I'm gonna solve it when the campaign actually starts

[paper portal]

oh thats valid then yeah

[marble lion]

you do get the free casts as well

[severe rampart]

That's what I used to think... then Eldritch Blasts with Agonizing changed my life

[marble lion]

overall, as long as you get one short rest, warlock is already alright

[umbral girder]

That’s more of a party question than dm question for short rests I feel.

[paper portal]

the lack of structured adventuring days causing a lot more problems than warlock spell slots ngl

running 1 encounter days makes casters in general even more busted than they are normally

[undone rain]

Hmm i guess but it would just be simpler to have a few more spellslots

[severe rampart]

You won't need more spell slots, just leave it all to eldritch blasts

[undone rain]

But i wont nag on it, hell ive never played a warlock so what do i know

[paper portal]

yeah warlocks are really really good

[worn lagoon]

Not the case here. There was zero info about the campaign on the lfg post.

[severe rampart]

but maybe get a ring of spell storing, have a caster give you some shields so that you're not expending a pact slot per shield