dnd-discussion

[knotty cipher]

I fully agree

For exemple the players manage to free a town of the BBEG's control and after a few days if they stay in that town you can have the BBEG send a army to take it back over showing the players that he means buisniss and that you simply arnt strong enough to win het

[limber trail]

I've got an idea for a story beat which I did want to have in the campaign, but it doesn't make a lot of sense anymore because the players made choices which mean it doesn't make a lot of sense. So, I'm now looking at taking what I can from that idea, repurposing and reusing it, and seeing what I can change to make the idea fit.

[vale kettle]

Greyhawk (the city) has like like 30+ inns 🫠 man… so annoying

[lethal bobcat]

Blinded is probably worse

[scenic zinc]

Sure hope you don't want to cast spells

[limber trail]

Blind characters are a mechanical detriment but can be worked around. A mute charater is a roleplay detriment which will be pretty hard to play. I would skew away from both, to be fully honest.

[scenic zinc]

Mute would effect verbal component - it wouldn't only be rp

[limber trail]

Also very true - I forgor lol

[calm cobalt]

I wonder how it would work at the table to play one of those two

[vale kettle]

Have a custom feat where you can use somatic components instead of verbal when a spell requires a verbal component

[lethal bobcat]

Both affect RP anyway but mute even allows for Common sign language

[scenic zinc]

"Here's a magic item to help you not have to deal with that problem"

[limber trail]

Sure, but also sometimes it's nice if your players legitimately accomplish something, and for their actions (such as freeing a town) to last and have long term positive consequences

[calm cobalt]

Ye true, getting a blindfold in a backstory with blindsight 20ft xd

[lethal bobcat]

Sure, neither is impactful with homebrew...

[limber trail]

I did actually play a mute character in a one shot. It was fun, and fine, but I would not recommend it for anything other than a one shot - it very significantly cut back my ability to engage in any real RP.

[calm cobalt]

I wouldnt really mind playing either, but in a longer campaign it could definitely get annoying

[scenic zinc]

Nothing I said was homebrew

[limber trail]

I was playing a martial thank god, so I don't need my verbal components

[lethal bobcat]

You were the only one not mentioning custom feats and items in this case

I'm kinda sad that RAW sign language can't be a verbal component

[limber trail]

It also just means your party needs an additional language to understand what you're saying and it'll mean you can't really have any moments to RP amongst the party through dialogue. Again, can be done, but I'd only trust experienced players with it.

[calm cobalt]

My take was having a backstory with one of the players, they would be my companion

[lethal bobcat]

Still better than players choosing a crow of all things as their race

[limber trail]

It can work, but you'd need to talk to the player to figure that out and be open for the possibility that people just might not want that

[scenic zinc]

It's because it has nothing to do with any given language. If it could use sign language then there'd be no point in subtle spell

[limber trail]

Verbal components aren't about actual communication (language), it's the specific use of sound and utterance

[knotty cipher]

Now here is a problem between story theory and humans

Since story theory says that, if the villain is writen that way, he sould take the town back

The "human theory" says we hate conciquences for our actions

[lethal bobcat]

Come again?

[scenic zinc]

Eh?

That kind of Story theory has nothing to do with a dynamic story in which there are effectively multiple authors contributing.

[calm cobalt]

Yee haw

[eternal tendon]

I swear the conversations on here get more complicated than Reddit 😂 😭

[scenic zinc]

Not a high bar

[limber trail]

You as the DM have a lot of leeway to have the villain realise that retaking that town is more effort than it's worth. He would need to move new armies and give up on current objectives to retake the town, which he probably doesn't actually need.

Now, you can certainly have consequences for that action. Maybe the villain realises the real problem is these meddling heroes, and chooses to send an elite warrior to go teach them a lesson, or even they themself arrive for a "chat". I'm sure as a part of the players retaking that town, it'll be strengthened - local militaries come in to fortify the walls and leave an emplacement.

There's a lot of grey space between "The villain does nothing" and "the villain undoes the players' hard earned progress". You ideally wanna find something in the middle - which becomes the next problem the players face

Don't repeat problems - take the players' previous actions and find new and interesting problems for them to face

[lethal bobcat]

Undoing the hard progress can be a fun thing in and of itself, depending on what you're planning to do

[limber trail]

It can be, but it also really often can demotivate the players. To be clear, sometimes you wanna demotivate the player characters, but you want the actual humans you’re playing with to constantly be excited for whatever is coming next

I would be pretty careful and show some restraint when it comes to undoing player progress

[humble cairn]

Then the suggestions from before work just fine. Moon Druid or World Tree Barbarian depending on how morphy you want to get with it.

[lethal bobcat]

A freebie you can always do in the town example and pulled straight from LOTR is to have a message arrive to the players just before they enter the lair, deep into enemy territory, that a town they saved was razed to the ground and armies are mobilising fast

Tropes are always fun

Oh and if you think a real setback is in order, prison escape or similar is such a good one

[limber trail]

Prison escapes are great fun

[lethal bobcat]

Oh ye, they're freebies basically

You can even draw it out by having their equivalent of magical items be spread along strongholds, basically having to retake 2 players' gear and 2 players' in another

1 session for the prison arc, 1 for getting back on foot

I think I pulled that straight from an AL-compatible module so maybe don't literally plagiarize

But then, that's from a while ago so I doubt it's still legal anyway

[limber trail]

(You can and should plagiarize as a DM. Absolutely nothing wrong with it)

[lethal bobcat]

Good point. So on this website called- <user is banned for supporting piracy>

[limber trail]

Hey plagiarism isn’t piracy

[lethal bobcat]

Me when the AI cleanroom code:

[wicked mulch]

D&D Question of the Day (D&D Beyond: Playing the Game):

A rogue wants to Disengage and then Hide in the same turn. They have features that can make one of those a Bonus Action. What limits apply?
A) You can take any number of bonus actions.
B) You can take one bonus action; you choose which to use.
C) Bonus actions always happen at the end of your turn.

[knotty cipher]

I agree about the gray areas but even takeing the city can be a chalange to the dm

For exemple they can send milicia around the city to starve it out so its easier to take over

They can send spys and dopelgangers to infiltrate the goverment

Make a army out of a masive animated illusion spell to have the town be ocupied whitout any force (use goblins or summons to make it real of the patry aproaches)

Have the town be taken over if they players let them

If they just runaway then the town sould be taken over as a conciquec of not beeing a hero

[humble cairn]

B

[limber trail]

B of course

[glass granite]

B) From Cunning Action

[knotty cipher]

Ill mention i see this as a debate on how to use storytelling in ur DND campain

You give me your viewpoint on DMing and i give mine

[lethal bobcat]

A if you ask very nicely

[severe rampart]

B.

Once again late, but I like answering dang it

[lean wigeon]

i eat the rogue's character sheet

yummy

[spring light]

to split hairs, B is the prevailing precedent.
However if my rogue wants to forgo a standard action and utilize 2 bonus actions, i will likely permit it.

[severe rampart]

Isn't that just... using their action as normal?

[spring light]

i think so?

[severe rampart]

Yeah, so I don't think the conversion is necessary

[humble cairn]

That would allow chugging two potions of healing.

[limber trail]

It would also allow monks to do some pretty strong stuff at certain levels with flurry of blows

[glass granite]

Tbf, it’s like one attack more than normal with double the focus cost

[limber trail]

Granted, for a focus point

It's probably not the end of the world

I do have an instinctual hesitance when players want to take two bonus actions because it usually (based on my previous experience) signifies some kind of tomfoolery afoot, but if it's not too bad then why not

[fiery nimbus]

Crying is a free action but depending on the situation might require a stealth check

[spring light]

generally agree, especially since i have that specific monk in my party.

But at the end of the day... 🤷 let the players have fun, right? Try to keep it balanced, but sometimes throw them a bone

[limber trail]

100%

[tawdry sentinel]

I don't really follow.

Anyone can hide etc. as a full action.

Rogue cunning actions says they can hide as a bonus action.

It's not when you hide it uses a bonus action in place of an action.

So surely you can do a hide and a dash every turn if you want to it just uses the action and bonus.

[spring light]

it's more the "use a bonus action in place of a standard action" context

and honestly piddly regular things like that? i'm almost always going to say "yup, you do that"

But there are classes with chicanery and shenanigans with their bonus actions

[tawdry sentinel]

Any excuse to use the potion mixing table

[woven flint]

So, I have a question for you folks.
How would you feel if your parties ally was Secretly a fiend and you found out?
But on the same coin, they've been nothing but genuinely helpful, cordial and kind to your party and the people that live in the same area it does?

[spring light]

🤷 so what. It's a crazy mixed up world.

now, i'd have to know what character i'm playing, because my character may have strong feelings about this.

[woven flint]

I mean, I'd personally still treat them as a friend and keep their secret because they're a great person despite their origin as a fiend

But also because my Cleric doesn't really have any hateful feelings towards Fiendish individuals lol

My party hates racist more than fiends, undead, aberrations, etc
And we've had more cordial relationships with said creature so long as they aren't that lol

Three Kuo-Toa live in the basement of our Tavern because we felt bad for them

(Yes, we provide them with ample amounts of water)

[still plover]

Yup.

[serene jolt]

I got to level 6 on my bard. I want Counterspell, Catnap, and Suggestion. It's a Westmarch but I'm commonly alongside a Sorcerer with Counterspell. Catnap would be also used often because of how DMs make their encounters here.

Any other suggestions or perhaps a recommendation based on what you think would be more used?

I can only choose one spell and I'm stuck with it until 7 so struggles

[woven flint]

Hmmm, Spirit Gaurdians...?

(Assuming you're a Lore bard, I believe)

[oak grotto]

Obviously that would depend on the character. Fiends are known to be excellent liars and devious so 99% of my good characters would be hella suspicious of them. Probably hostile.

Unless the DM states otherwise I will assume that all fiends are intrinsically evil.

[serene jolt]

(I'm not a lore bard)

[rough basalt]

Well if you're not a lore bard. Counterspell isn't a bard spell.

[woven flint]

Yeah ^

Not until 10th level, at least

[rough basalt]

Magical secrets comes online at level 10 for every other bard.

[serene jolt]

Oh gosh you're so right. I thought it was. Mb. Okay then out of the two, or any other suggestions for a base bard?

[tawdry sentinel]

Hypnotic pattern

[hollow estuary]

I LOVE HYPNOTIC PATTERN 🤑

[serene jolt]

I have slow but Hypnotic may be a good idea for swarms or multiple targets.

[signal imp]

So my dm hates me from last night. I had a rod that everytime we do a long rest. I can put one charge in it. Now the rode max charge is 50. The dm said it was ok. It dose one d 12 damage every charge.
I used it to kill the big boss
It had 50 charges

[serene jolt]

I'll grab Hypnotic. Why not?

I also considered the tiny hut because of our campaign setting (we're in a desert with intense highs in the day, intense lows in the night and extremely dangerous creatures roaming).

But Idk how often I'd be using it realistically.

[tulip gyro]

Hi guys me and my friend are looking to join a session

[serene jolt]

#looking-for-players

[split dagger]

If i quicken fireball then use my action to cast scorching ray
Is that allowed or nah?

Pretty important question

[umbral girder]

Nope it is not

Both 2014 and 2024.

[harsh hinge]

Pretty sure no. In 2014, casting a leveled spell with a bonus action means you can only use a cantrip as your action. In 2024, you can't cast two spells using spell slots in a turn. For these sorts of questions, we have #dnd-rules.

[umbral girder]

Quickened spell in 2024 specifies your action has to be a Cantrip

[split dagger]

Hmm okay thank you

[umbral girder]

2014 has the same rule for Bonus action spells

[split dagger]

Is that the last part saying it cant?

[umbral girder]

Yep both require you to use a Cantrip if you cast another spell

Cantrip is a level 0 spell

[split dagger]

"nor can you cast a level 1+ spell on this turn after modifying a spell in this way."
This part

[umbral girder]

Like Firebolt and Ray of Frost

[split dagger]

Ah okay then thank you
Because yesterday i asked the dm and they said it can and i dealt a total of 56 damage from fireball and scorching ray lol

[knotty vine]

dnd is such a expensive hobby

[uncut zenith]

It doesn’t have to be

[crimson gulch]

My players spend about 120 to 160 a month on my sessions

[uncut zenith]

But it certainly can be if you decide to spend money on module accessories etc

[hard ginkgo]

It can be as expensive as you want it to be.

[slender mason]

honestly beyond price is there any reason not to just flavour a Light Hammer as Club like 🤔

[woven flint]

No lol

[slender mason]

Slow mastery maybe but it doesn't even stack in any way so TWF clubs isn't as useful as it sounds

[woven flint]

Go off, king, they both do bludgeoning damage

[slender mason]

I guess for hitting multiple targets

but Hammers have Thrown too, and Nick

I was thinking if any weapon was gonna be flavoured as like the sticks people Nightwing or Daredevil have, it should be Club, but Light Hammer works best

[humble cairn]

I've reflavored Light Hammers to a few different things: Brass knuckles, iron rings worn on the forearms, Olympics style discuses.

[severe rampart]

Fighting with brass knuckles would be so cool

[swift silo]

If you could have a bag of holding irl what would you want it to look like ie. Backpack, briefcase, dice bag?

[cobalt owl]

Would a creature under silence still be able to hear telepathic speech to them?

[swift silo]

Yes

[cobalt owl]

Thanks

[grim fjord]

Fr

[grim fjord]

Backpack

[short brook]

idk why a sort of brass knuckles/fist weapon aren't a thing?

[severe rampart]

If I were to make one, it'd probably be a magic weapon for monks

[short brook]

Yeah, my old dm friend HBd +1 Brass Knuckles for my barb

[grim fjord]

NO they don't need to be even more potent they already scare me

[short brook]

I was like why aren't these just a thing already??

I think my favorite magic item have to be the tattoos though

[latent swallow]

Looking to join a session

[normal canyon]

#find-a-game

[latent swallow]

Ok Ty

[grim valve]

Where would be the best place to get a hold of the books? I'm talking story books, not gameplay books. Like with Drizzt and the like?

[normal canyon]

Internet

[slender mason]

Throwing Brass Knuckles honestly amuses me endlessly

like pure styling on someone

[severe rampart]

My monk player would do that

[dim kernel]

That would be great, it can do such a thing

[spring light]

uhg, they're really pushing that new liveplay hard.

[severe rampart]

On a "how do you want to do this", he threw someone into the air, punched them, and made the "falcon punch!" noise with thematurgy

[fiery nimbus]

whats liveplay? since they didn't push it hard enough and i don't know

[knotty vine]

Unf

[primal estuary]

Guys

Dungeons. Dragons, even.

[ornate skiff]

It’s kind of hard to ignore

[wintry spindle]

what are we some kind of dungeon and dragons?

[ornate skiff]

Just dice, chaos, and everyone getting way too attached to characters they made in like 10 minutes

[wintry spindle]

some players spend 6 hours on their pc

and they never get to play them

[ornate skiff]

Some people build the perfect character

And then the session just never happens it’s criminal

[wintry spindle]

Sometimes people make a pc to early imo, and then they have to make it fit with a game it was never ment for

[rough basalt]

Yeah I've started trying to restrict character creation to session 0

[junior jasper]

Hello.

[ornate skiff]

Sometimes the character is already a whole story, and the game just has to awkwardly bend around it to make it work

[wintry spindle]

me too

I often have some loose concepts but i rarely make a charachter that works within the world

[ornate skiff]

Same

[rough basalt]

I'll sometimes just ignore applications that have a character already made.

Unless I specifically asked for a character idea as a way to tell that they read the post.

[ornate skiff]

I start with a vibe and adjust it to fit the world as I go

[wintry spindle]

Ofc sometimes i go to myself "playing x class would be cool"

[ornate skiff]

If someone ignores the prompt and just drops a pre-made character

[ornate skiff]

It kind of feels like they didn’t read anything properly

[short brook]

I have classes i want to play but not characters truthfully

[thorn wedge]

Some people aren’t into roleplay as much and that’s okay

[cobalt owl]

I usually take a mechanics first approach to DND lol

I fill in the various RP things later

[ornate skiff]

Not everyone’s there for heavy RP some people just wanna enjoy the game and chill

[thick void]

I'm the exact opposite. I start with the person and personality and decide what kind of skills and abilities would this person have. But I stop there. I don't go into backstory or anything. I wait till I learn about the campaign.

[short brook]

I'm not great at RP tbh, but I still enjoy this game. I kinda fanboy over other players at my table because they're much cooler than me

[cobalt owl]

I'm a very "it goes in the square hole" person for making characters and stuff

Build first RP later, because a build for me is the skeleton I use for things

Clanks

[cedar bane]

i love the campaign i play in so much. My dm is amazing and genuinely its so fun to explore and solve the world that hes made, i just finished writing my in character notes this week which are about 2000. Could not be more thankful, just wanted to gush a bit

[short brook]

Lucky you, my friend

I want to get to a table where I feel that way

[cedar bane]

yeah, i got super lucky to even find it let alone be let in

[cedar bane]

it took me about 2 years of consistent searching and 1 month dying campaigns, but every once in a while something really special comes up

[onyx haven]

I've got a bad habit of coming up with a character idea, then going "Now what would make this person?" and end up making towns, cities, culture, etc 😅

[short brook]

I see... guess it'll be a while for me

[cedar bane]

youll find something, try not to lose faith

[cedar bane]

the dm who tries to make pcs

[onyx haven]

Then when I try and find a game to play them in, it's like "Hey... do you have space for a domain of dread?" lol

[cedar bane]

just need to clone yourself and run a campaign where you can do that

[simple barn]

ello

[cedar bane]

h

[flat monolith]

hello

[simple barn]

ooga booga

[rough basalt]

Same. My characters always start with just the mechanics

[simple barn]

lowk remaking my character rn

[flat monolith]

if you have any questions ask them here or in https://discord.com/channels/516367331358801950/966723268675510372

[flat monolith]

awesome

[simple barn]

oh, I've played a couple sessions

[flat monolith]

ah perfect

[simple barn]

since I'm making the character like this ancient flower person, should I do like druid and cleric

[cedar bane]

seems most fitting

you could maybe make a wild magic sorcerer work

[simple barn]

maybe, but I'd rather be like a support

[cedar bane]

or a ranger

[cedar bane]

then druid or cleric would fit best

[simple barn]

why not both 🤔

[solar crow]

I only have 1 session left of my first ever campaign

[cedar bane]

you could but they do similar things so itd be a bit redundent

[simple barn]

maybe

[cedar bane]

hell yeah, hope it goes well

[humble cairn]

"Ancient flower person" is flavor that can be put on top of any class. Class is mechanics, so you should pick class based on how you want to play.

What is the play style you want?

[simple barn]

W

[solar crow]

If it'll be anything like Yesterday's session it's gonna be bad for my party

[cedar bane]

you win these trust

[solar crow]

3 peoples death ward got popped, we had to use a scroll of revivify on our wizard, 3 people had concentration spells up and they all went down

It was not good

We got a short rest but no long rest

[rough basalt]

Go out in a blaze of glory

[cedar bane]

use every scroll and potion you have

[simple barn]

a support

[humble cairn]

Very general, but plant themed and support? Druid Will do you just fine, Circle of the Land would work well.

[simple barn]

ye

probably gonna make a custom background

[rough basalt]

Tonight i run my first one shot in awhile

Maybe it might be my first successful one in years

[simple barn]

W

[jolly canyon]

Definitely tell me how it goes in #tales-from-the-table

[simple barn]

I'll see if I can join, depends if I'm busy

[rough basalt]

I foresee them just obliterating everything and saving the day

Last time I ran for higher than level 6 was in 2023 so will see

[simple barn]

tryna figure out a good race for this

since when was there a dryad race

[woven flint]

I mean...
Eladrin are the closest things you can get to Dryads without homebrew

[simple barn]

is there a specific thing in dnd beyond that has that

[rough basalt]

MotM i think has Eladrin

[woven flint]

Yeap

[rough basalt]

Monsters of the Multiverse

[simple barn]

$30.

[umbral girder]

Has around 30 races and a bunch of monsters

It took a bunch of races from a lot of other books and put them in 1 book

[simple barn]

it says that it costs $30

[umbral girder]

And?

[woven flint]

It's worth the money tbh

[simple barn]

das expensive

[rough basalt]

DnD is an expensive game if you want more character options

[hot reef]

Worth is entirely dependent on the individual

[umbral girder]

It is couple hundred pages of content to use

[rough basalt]

It's definitely one of the books that earns its payment

Unlike someone looks at the spelljammer box on my shelf

[simple barn]

I get the money next week

[sleek cloud]

Eladrin mentioned, time to bring up my eladrin wild magic sorcerer Trevellian Valamont again

[simple barn]

what

[sleek cloud]

He’s distinguished

Anyway

[solar crow]

I am very concerned about next weeks final fight session- 3 people yesterday popped their death ward, one of those players later dying before getting a scroll of revivify used on them, 3 of us had concentration spells up and they all went down too, and my dm told me she plans on making us use our last revivify scroll and wish we had a few more

[hot reef]

If you use a pdf or paper, you can just copy down the race once if you have a friend or library with the book

[sleek cloud]

Pursue a glorious end or endure an agonizing defeat

[simple barn]

not a lot of people I know even play dnd

[solar crow]

I am not looking to have my character die! This is my first character and I've grown very attached to her. This campaign started in September, and I've grown very attached to her. Too much has happened in this campaign for us to die now

[rough basalt]

Sometimes it happens.

[solar crow]

We have to kill the boss we don't have much other choice

[rough basalt]

Then use everything you got left.

[solar crow]

Me and our druid are preparing revivify (spell) cause we already have a diamond that was going to be for true resurrection for the mage that created the dungeon we're in, but we're gonna have someone break down the diamond so we can cast revivify

[woven flint]

Not to be morbid, but when you're attached to a character, its the perfect time for them to die

[solar crow]

No

I refuse to let her die

[woven flint]

sometimes you can't prevent it

[solar crow]

We've already gotten through 2 sessions of this fight

We have the resources to keep reviving people

[hot marlin]

This is a game where raise dead, reincarnate, resurrection and true resurrection are all spells.

Most TTRPGs do not have means of avoiding death like that

[solar crow]

We have a revivify scroll and 1 diamond that was originally gonna be for true resurrection

[hot marlin]

In Shadowrun, once you're out of Edge, you're done, nothing can save you. In VTM... OK vampires are hard to kill anyways so nevermind. In any Warhammer TTRPG, PCs are expected to die lie flies. D&D is the one TTRPG I've played where death need never be final

[solar crow]

We're also not a normal campaign by any means. 5 people level 20, with everyone having custom magic items, and another custom item the whole party shares and transfers each turn that does all sorts of cool things

[woven flint]

Keep in mind
True Ressurection takes an Hour to cast

[solar crow]

We're not using true resurrection

[sleek cloud]

What level are yall

Oh

[woven flint]

They just said, Star lmao

[solar crow]

We're gonna break down the diamond that was supposed to be for true resurrection for something else

And use revivify spell as needed

[sleek cloud]

I can READ ALRIGHT.

I can READ WORDS I SWEAR

[hot marlin]

It's alright Star. You are a D&D player. Very few of those can read

[woven flint]

Then I don't see why you're so worried about dying

[solar crow]

Because ik my dm and she's not gonna make this easy

[sleek cloud]

I mean, at level 20 it shouldn’t be

[solar crow]

Ik her too well

[hot marlin]

What's the situation exactly?

[solar crow]

Fighting an alien God homebrew monster

Thing

[hot marlin]

So?

[woven flint]

I hope it slaughters the lot of you
I'm on the Aliens Side /jokinh

[simple barn]

xenomorph solos

[solar crow]

Next week will be the final of 3 sessions against this boss

[severe rampart]

Going up against Thragg

[hot marlin]

Three sessions on one fight?

[simple barn]

they'll be fine

[severe rampart]

One for each phase

[solar crow]

2 and a half hour sessions

3 different phases of things happening

[hot marlin]

Oh. I suppose it's more acceptable

Wait, have you considered banishment as an option?

[severe rampart]

Oh darn I actually got that right? I was just guessing

[severe rampart]

After saving the world they'll have to save the galaxy, and then the universe

[solar crow]

First phase was just fighting normal. Yesterday's phase was fighting with time stop going from both the enemy and our wizard (we have a special item amulet that allows the wearer to move through time stop), and idk what next week is yet

Different things have been happening each session of the fight

[wicked mulch]

D&D Weekend Thought Exercise – Weekly News Wrap-Up – Exploration

This week, reporting on NASA’s Artemis II mission described human beings traveling farther from Earth than ever before and gathering new knowledge from a place that has long symbolized wonder, danger, and destiny — while also advancing a long-term project of sustained presence and eventual settlement beyond Earth.

Thought Exercises: Imagine your D&D party discovers a previously unreachable realm — a hidden moon, a sealed demiplane, a lost Underdark civilization, or a newly opened Spelljammer route. The place contains valuable resources, ancient knowledge, and strategic advantages. It may also contain fragile ecosystems, sacred sites, or cultures that do not want outside interference. What moral obligations should heroes, rulers, or adventurers honor before claiming, settling, exploiting, or “civilizing” such a place? At what point does “adventure” stop being heroic discovery and start becoming appropriation, extraction, or conquest? How would you design a campaign so that the party has to confront not just what they can do, but what they should do?

No answer required. Simply food for DM/player thought. Have a safe weekend! DC

[sleek cloud]

Thinking is for wizards.

[rough basalt]

Sounds like a minefield

[hot marlin]

I would lean hard into it

A hidden moon might be a good idea. Maybe people find, in ruins of bygone civilizations, more and more proof that there were once two moons.

The second moon... Yeah, got it. A rift to the Abyss opened there. It turned into a jungle. White sands, black and green trees. Full of demons.

[rough basalt]

Its just a minefield of potential issues that'll make people roll irl initiative on you, but what Incubus is saying sounds pretty cool

[hot marlin]

So the great wizards of the time used magic to... Hide the moon? Obscure it. Make it slightly out of step with reality. And over those millenias things changed. The abyss was beaten back, and though all the inhabitants are tiefling or some other flavour of fiend-touched, they developped a great many cultures and civilizations.

So I'd frame it like that. Have the first expeditions go there thinking they'll be the heroes who take it back from the demons. So they slaughter their way through it. Find new resources, new magical knowledge, new relics... But it turns out that the demons were beaten back by the natives eons ago. And those people you thought were demons? The natives that you are slaughtering

[rough basalt]

That is a fiendish plot twist

[hot marlin]

Yes, quite.

[hot reef]

Did a Q’barra dragonshard mining arc. Pretty close to that

[hot marlin]

But even as people realize that there are no more demons on that moon, the exploration has simply become too profitable. They are all demon-blooded, after all, so it's easy to rationalize demonizing them.

[sleek cloud]

“Moons haunted.”

[rough basalt]

I do like the idea tho from a literary standpoint

it'd be compelling and that plot twist would be like getting hit by a bullet train.

[hot marlin]

See. The trick with minefields? They're only interesting if they blow up

Pyramids on the moon! Oh, oh, giant statues in the middle of a lake on the moon, clear blue water surrounded by white sands.

[cedar bane]

or the classic, the moon is alive

[lean wigeon]

the moon is the bloated corpse of an old god

[simple barn]

had to take an exam, mb

[solar crow]

Banishment would be difficult. We're in a dungeon where time and space aren't normal whatsoever, and idk if it's possible to banish something out of the dungeon

[hot marlin]

So while I very much agree that colonial themes are a minefield, they are part of the genre. D&D has been called a colonialist fantasy for good reason. And I think it is far more insidious to ignore it than to have the plot actually directly adress it

There is a certain viewpoint I keep seeing that seems to treat adressing and analyzing and questioning those tropes in fiction as a bad thing in and of itself, as though it creates the problem. This is the equivalent of accusing doctors of giving people cancer because they diagnose and treat it, it's weird

[fresh bloom]

Have you seen the live stream of the Digital Circus voice actors playing D&D as if they were the characters playing D&D?

[still plover]

-# "Moon's haunted."

[simple barn]

the moon from that one zelda game

[still plover]

Brother Moon!

[simple barn]

lowk rolled an insane number for a druid

[rough basalt]

Never thought about it like that

But yeah you right

Damn, this space talk got me in a jammingspell mood

[simple barn]

e

I had to get a bad str roll to fit my background

[junior jasper]

Hello.

[simple barn]

ello

[lethal bobcat]

I accidentally cheated at an in-store event OOPSIE

The DM didn't see it either

I had a Quarterstaff (2SP) and used it as a Spell Focus

[meager fractal]

Hi

[lethal bobcat]

Is there a way in RAW to die painfully as punishment?

[cloud bison]

are there any classes not proficient in all simple weapons?

[lethal bobcat]

Not in 5.5e

Well technically you can be proficient in no simple weapons

[cloud bison]

what class?

[simple barn]

die to a rat

[cloud bison]

are there any classes not proficient in light armor?

[sleek cloud]

Wizards and sorcerers I think

[lethal bobcat]

I was totally wrong and don't listen to me

For light armor, the Sorcerer doesn't have it

And the Wizard

[simple barn]

my dnd beyond app is being funky

sad times

[lethal bobcat]

*all dnd beyond apps

DDB being awful to use is the glue that holds the community together

[simple barn]

yup

can't pull up my character's background bc ddb is cardboard

[sleek cloud]

Mines working

[cloud bison]

i dont understand how there improvements to maps like every week, yet the site itself has like 5 year old problems

[lethal bobcat]

They could've solved one by printing an image of a boomerang on the weapons page

[simple barn]

mine isn't, oddly enough

[sleek cloud]

Better yet, origami the paper into an actual boomerang for authenticity

[lethal bobcat]

Does this mean that RAW stew is an actual food if you cook the pulp in water? 😋

WAIT! Does this mean that toilet paper?

Human wizards with the Alert feat:

[mint wedge]

Hey y’all, not related to dnd but to those in the US- there’s gonna be a big tornado warning and general storm warning. Please be careful y’all.

[lethal bobcat]

Wait I just realised that if N - 1 players take the Alert feat, then turn order between N players is arbitrary

[simple barn]

was debating on using magic initate (druid) but it has no good spells for me

[lethal bobcat]

Which class?

[simple barn]

druid

[lethal bobcat]

Fair and true

Magician is too strong to pass in comparison

[simple barn]

I did magician bc I don't wanna be dealing damage

full support

[silk hare]

depends on if you look at 5e or 5.5e + you didnt account for any dex modifiers

[lethal bobcat]

Magician is good for dealing damage too tbh, you can start with Shillelagh if you set Guidance as the always feat

[simple barn]

I just did that

[lethal bobcat]

5.5e as is forced now

And I was talking about the swapping

[silk hare]

ah I see, I mean kinda, but that disregards enemies

+5.5.e is absolutely not forced, I know plenty of tables/people that are still using 5e, me included

[lethal bobcat]

If you play in stores, the 2014 Alert is seen as updated in 2024 so obsolete

[simple barn]

realistically, couldn't I just grab a weapon from someone in my party and buff it with Shillelagh

[lethal bobcat]

Well I'm assuming RAW + updates via errata in official sanctioned tables

[lethal bobcat]

Yes

[simple barn]

heh

[lethal bobcat]

Well yes, it does disregard enemies

[simple barn]

I changed one of my magic initiate spells to charm (for more debuffing)

[lethal bobcat]

Btw I'd highly recommend at least one Whip spell if nothing else for damage, can never hurt

[simple barn]

the humble entangle:

[empty thicket]

welp, the idea its that it hurt

It must hurt

[simple barn]

bouta be like bulbasaur from pokemon

"use vine whip!"

[lethal bobcat]

That's a level 1 spell but I'm not gonna argue it's not a must

[simple barn]

then whatchu think I should do then

the character is lvl 1

[lethal bobcat]

No no, I agree, Entangle is a really good spell

[empty thicket]

what it do? i dont know about it

[simple barn]

o

[rough basalt]

2014 you get +5 to initiative and can't be surprised.
2024 you get your PB bonus to initiative, can't be surprised and can swap initiative

Swapping initiative is for tactical purposes

[simple barn]

PB bonus??

[rough basalt]

Proficiency

[simple barn]

o

[rough basalt]

So its less to start with then gets more by the end

[empty thicket]

welp, the idea i guess would be either make last to play some martial or someone that have a good reaction and let some others like casters//Crow control tools go first

[rough basalt]

oh right huh

Well the swap initiative is very helpful

[silk hare]

yeah tbh new alert is severely nerfed

still okay but not broken anymore sadly

[empty thicket]

if i got a good initiative being a martial and can swap it with a caster so he can just blast the enemy easily, then go for it

[rough basalt]

You can swap with your control caster and have them drop a potentially encounter ending spell right from the getgo

Its the same feat cause the original was too powerful to be something anyone could start with like it is in 2024

[empty thicket]

or need a fast heal too, a revivify so a teammate came back to fighting, etc. etc.

[lethal bobcat]

Tbh old and new feats stacking would've been really funny for a few of them (mostly looking at Lucky)

[silk hare]

I mean whats really bonkers is that theres some BMT backgrounds that give u the alert feat for free in 2014

[rough basalt]

Ye that was when they were testing the 2024 origin feats

and they realized they needed some changes to be balanced for 5.5e

[lethal bobcat]

I do miss the UA ranger

[rough basalt]

yes and no

[lethal bobcat]

The humble cat with its 1d4 claws:

[rough basalt]

It's less everything is more powerful now but everythings caught up to the power creep that started with Tashas

A lot of the revised rules was reeling in stuff that was too powerful to the point it was mandatory to take for people

[silk hare]

I mean for me its more like: early game is even more of a gamble now, bc u cant build anything that by itself is strong enough to survive those early levels and isnt a martial (unless your dm is lenient or u get lucky in encounters)

[rough basalt]

And making bad options comparable to Tashas level of power

[silk hare]

and the powercreep comes back once u hit lvl 4 anyways

[rough basalt]

Not really

[lethal bobcat]

You mentioned powercreep

[rough basalt]

2024 tier 1 PCs are much more durable than 2014 ones

[proper forum]

I'm a firm believer that power creep makes everything worse but I'm not sure if it applies to D&D

[rough basalt]

Power creep happens in every edition of dnd

[lethal bobcat]

One that's quite deadly if your hit die is 1d4

[rough basalt]

Except 4e

[lethal bobcat]

AD&D

[silk hare]

any game that has options really

[rough basalt]

Usually the biggest mark of power creep in older editions was when the Psionic classes were released

Cause they were always broken in every edition they were in

[proper forum]

And it's not like that's a problem in D&D because every time there's a new version everything gets updated, it's not a gacha game where the newest character are always stronger and if you don't have them you lose in the current META.

[rough basalt]

2e they were a complete different magic system that outclassed literally everything

[silk hare]

kinda? but imo that also has to do with that certain feats early game are also an "easier" pickup, due to your options being so limited, like yes you can build tougher characters, but the same builds are possible in 2014, just less used due to "better" options that let you realize your characters potential like 4 lvls earlier

[lethal bobcat]

No one played that far tho

No one does nowadays

[rough basalt]

Not entirely in 2014 you were forced to be a variant human to have the same level of durability in 5.5e (taking tough)

[silk hare]

yeah tbh I got one that I specifically told, I use PHB, tashas, XGE and Fizbans (for some items/spells I like)

and they rocked up with, hey so I want to play this MMOM PC like

[proper forum]

My dm allows basically everything as long as it's written down SOMEWHERE regardless of where. We've had no problems since now.

[rough basalt]

5.5es heal buffs have made tier 1 pcs significantly more durable ime

Paladins having BA lay on hands, heal spell buffs having double the dice

[silk hare]

I mean yeah, but that applies to any of the more "durable" builds anyway

[lethal bobcat]

Druid feels balanced in 5.5e on the other end of the scale

[rough basalt]

in '14 heal spells were mainly a placebo rather than actually meaningful

[silk hare]

yeah but thats assuming you A: have a healer
and B: the dm is "lenient" on those earlier lvls

[rough basalt]

I'm not lenient at low levels and heal spells are why my parties survive

[silk hare]

I mean, id say their use case was just vastly different

instead of actually helping in combat, it was a "res for 1 turn" button

[rough basalt]

And now they're very helpful cause instead of back up for 1 turn you're at full hp again at those lower levels

Cause cure wounds for example went from 8hp on average to 13hp

[lethal bobcat]

Modules starting at level 1 were already quite decent for level 1 parties. I assume modules from starter kits, RAW and used in events, are the baseline without leniency

[silk hare]

yeah thats true tbh Im not disagreeing with 2024 as a whole

Im also just a bit biased bc getting to a point where your PC build does what you wanted it to do, you just need a bunch more lvls

[rough basalt]

thats almost a full health bar for a level 1 pc of any class

[empty thicket]

healers are nice, but playing a "support" role isnt for everybody

[rough basalt]

Ye they intentionally changed subclasses to avoid 1 level crazy power dips

[silk hare]

I mean kinda? but then again, so is picking any class really, narrative and mechanical in my eyes dont have to be disconnected

[rough basalt]

Since MCing wasn't a core rule in '14

But is in 5.5e

[empty thicket]

like me, im an addict to do tons of damage but another thing that activate that light on me is literally rising from the dead on heals my whole party

[silk hare]

yeah thats fair, I personally enjoy it, but I mostly go for druids/ clerics, which are also just somewhat busted once u hit lvl 5

[lethal bobcat]

Banning Humans is wild lol

[rough basalt]

Specifically variant human

[empty thicket]

depend of the setting

[rough basalt]

it was a minmax race

Alongside Custom Lineage and Half-Elf

[silk hare]

absolutely a minmax race, but I mean theres other less optimal options

[lethal bobcat]

So PHB-1 seeing what else they printed

[sly crest]

I actually came in wanting to play a healer. I was a resto shammy in WoW and I was so proud of keeping people's health up

[empty thicket]

i dont dislike it because i can find ways to enjoy it, but mostly is that people want to be the epic knight that is giga cool and not his companion that heal him or support him

[fiery nimbus]

Actually its in many ways preferable

[rough basalt]

So in '24 they made getting an extra feat core human, but its restricted to origin ones rather than "aight i get whatever feat I want"

[fiery nimbus]

i like parties without humans

[silk hare]

yeah see my approach is more like: I have the capabilities to help you, but once I hit lvl 5, you better stay in my AOEs or you are on your own lmao

[rough basalt]

I mean people played variant human for the feat

and if they didn't it was partially for the feat cause base human was complete gutter trash

[empty thicket]

i like humans, itself.
Hybrids humans like half orc or elf are okey
But humans are like really nice for me, comfy option most of the time

[lethal bobcat]

I honestly never met those players... Now my friends' party is 2 Rogues, a Ranger and 2 full casters

[silk hare]

I mean yeah, but its the make belief game with math rocks, where you want to see a character succeed with X or Y

if me picking that choice (which can still be explained narratively) buffs my chance to see the character I wanted to play actually do the thing with no real drawbacks, why not?

[sly crest]

#RangerGang

[lethal bobcat]

I play Human for the extra feat but I don't see how you can't use the mechanics for your roleplay. I'm actually sad I couldn't get Fey touched

[empty thicket]

Options:
Sneak attack
Or can try with Sneak attack
mmmm..... had said "Sneak attack" before?

[small heath]

Question: is a phylactery considered a magic object?

[rough basalt]

Its not that you couldn't its that people generally didnt

They usually picked Vhuman cause base human was bad and to start with strong feats

[sly crest]

I don't know, let me "ask" this werewolf

[lethal bobcat]

Variant Human Fighter always felt like a meme rather than something you saw in the wild

[rough basalt]

Nah it was pretty common, Variant Human Martial with GWM or Sharpshooter

[lethal bobcat]

I don't know how I missed them all

[rough basalt]

They'd miss a lot but when they didnt they killed stuff instantly until they could stop missing a lot

[empty thicket]

i almost made one if it wasnt because i wanted to do tons of critics with champion and half orc

[sly crest]

Great, now I've angered a werewolf and a lich

[empty thicket]

But the Human fighter and wizard are a common meme that i wnat to do

[sly crest]

go on?

[empty thicket]

a werich? Liof?

[woven flint]

You know..

I play way too many goodie two-shoes characters

I have the urge to play a fella who straight up Doom Glory Kills every enemy he meets

[rough basalt]

Like one thing I remember was a guy show up to a game of mine with the BoMT background for Lucky and VHuman for GWM

[sly crest]

I've been joking around, lol

[rough basalt]

And CL was intended to be "Homebrew race" the official option but it was just treated like VHuman with Darkvision

[lethal bobcat]

Honestly respectable

[silk hare]

I mean unless explicitly stated that thats not allowed I get it

[sly crest]

CL?

[rough basalt]

Which is why I wasn't surprised when its banned quite often

[silk hare]

custom lineage

[sly crest]

oh

[rough basalt]

Variant Human with Darkvision

[sly crest]

honestly, I would

have used custom lineage

[silk hare]

I mean yeah thats exactly what it is, but I dont have to play a human

[rough basalt]

Custom Lineage was like the pinnacle min/max option

[lethal bobcat]

I wish CL and Sidekicks were combined somehow in a new book

[rough basalt]

Never saw anyone use it for what it was intended to be

[lethal bobcat]

Full species picking

[junior jasper]

Hello.

[silk hare]

no, I get that you dont particularly like min maxing, everyone enjoys the game in a different capacity, I e.g. like minmaxing and reading throught the rules

and then building the strongest/most fun thing I can come up with

[crimson gulch]

I have had some super flavorful CL charters that weren't just min max, it's been great for that

[silk hare]

Im not saying you are wrong, Im just trying to give you my POV

[rough basalt]

Not saying it didnt happen but it was commonly used for its power ime

[empty thicket]

Trying to explain how a dragonborn and a fey got laid and made me its... would be complicated

[lethal bobcat]

I'm waiting for the day that I can play a fox RAW

[wintry spindle]

I just like feats

[sly crest]

the anthropomorphism in DND goes straight from demihuman to furry, and tbh I'd like some options in between. Only ones I can think of are Tieflings and Satyrs. and the latter are often banned

[empty thicket]

lets just say a wizard did it

[lethal bobcat]

I think there's enough material for that tbh

[rough basalt]

I'm actually surprised to hear people used CL for what it was intended for

[empty thicket]

a wizard did it

[rough basalt]

Tho iirc CL was just the answer for Vhuman

[still plover]

When I first picked v.human, it was totally for the feat. It was a good while after putting the character together that I came up with something you could call story behind it.

[rough basalt]

So people could be VHuman without being humans

[sly crest]

As a forever wolf kid, I empathize. Pretty stoked for Lupin!

[rough basalt]

Since free feats as a species reward was just that much better

[lethal bobcat]

? Why have a wolf when you could be a wolf?

[rough basalt]

Iirc Vhuman was only made cause base human sucked and it was basically slapping a bandaid on it. "it sucks? uh free feat ship it"

[errant crag]

Hey chat what are we talking about

[silk hare]

Vhuman and Vhuman+darkvision as races

[sly crest]

"wolf kid" means I like(d) wolves a whole lot, often to a "cringy" degree

[wintry spindle]

what about variant elf

[rough basalt]

Vhuman and Vhuman with pointy ears

[errant crag]

2014 v human?

[silk hare]

propaganda

[errant crag]

I guess that's normal human in 5.5

[lethal bobcat]

As an argument against the idea that a majority of vhumans min-maxed, I have seen a lot of people hate not being able to play a normal 2014 Human in 2024

[wintry spindle]

variant DM when release?

[silk hare]

yeah so essentially its more so about people not liking the race bc people use/used it to minmax a lot

[rough basalt]

Why would you play a 2014 human in 2024

[lethal bobcat]

Roleplay reasons is why

[errant crag]

I felt +1 to all ability scores was a really cool bonus for Humans to have

[vale sage]

Uh, how do I join a campaign on DnD beyond? I am a newbie

[rough basalt]

Theyre literally the same

[karmic heath]

Nacho cheese or salsa

[lethal bobcat]

Not that strong compared to proper SAD, but indeed really cool

[rough basalt]

The only difference is theres no Vhuman anymore its just humans

[lethal bobcat]

VHumans weren't the same as normal Humans in mechanics and Humans now follow VHuman rules more

[oak grotto]

#find-a-game

[rough basalt]

Vhumans were duct tape

[wintry spindle]

the problem now is the whole origin feat limits humans choices but they still get an extra one so its ok imo

[rough basalt]

They were just a variant rule not a unique humankind

[lethal bobcat]

And yet people miss playing the normal 2014 Human race, even if it was worse

[slender mason]

has anyone ever tried Epic Heroism?

Short Rest (5min)
Long Rest (1 Hour)
Full Rest (8 Hours)

seems interesting

[rough basalt]

And I think at that point you're just being obtuse

[oak grotto]

Just know that DnD Beyond is just a place where you make your character sheets. It's not used to actually run games

[rough basalt]

Cause 2024 Human is both Vhuman and old human put together since theyre both just Human

[plush ermine]

im playing a beast master ranger, im like 99 percent sure that ur feats dont apply to ur beast, but i really wanna take grappler so my chatacabra land beast summon can pummel and grab someone while i beat them w a shillelagh

[lethal bobcat]

Actually, it still cracks me up that "Human" was Caucasian and "Variant human" had a darker skin tone. That was also a topic for a while and it still feels quite oof on WotC's side

[sleek cloud]

inspiring leader temp hp can be given to your pet

[wintry spindle]

variant beast master fixes this /j

[sick comet]

i feel like im in an abusive relationship with the blood hunter class class, its so cool flavor-wise but a lot of the abilities aside from mutant are kinda abysmal

[crimson gulch]

Blood hunter is bad homebrew

[lethal bobcat]

I'm talking purely about the roleplay aspect here. Because I believe that if you joined a random pod, people trying to make something cool was more common than minmaxxers

[rough basalt]

Its literally the same species

[wintry spindle]

whats the best homebrew class?

[sick comet]

its so cool flavor wise and i really like my own blood hunter but most blood curses are awful

[lethal bobcat]

Sure, they're both Human... Is there a big miscommunication here?

[sick comet]

that one commoner class laserllama released on april fools

[silk hare]

mine that gives the character insta 20 lvls worth of features from 5 different classes

[rough basalt]

Yeah you think they're different

[wintry spindle]

but do you have dark vision?

[errant crag]

Variant Humans could take feats that lend themselves to the roleplay and aesthetic that the player is going for

[rough basalt]

They're not. They just stopped having Vhuman be a DM permission variant and put it in the base human

[lethal bobcat]

They mechanically are and they were seen as such. They didn't feel 1:1

[silk hare]

well obviously + they get tripple spell slots/lvl and get to use the spell slot lvls from up to 5 lvls above them

[wintry spindle]

seems pretty balanced

[silk hare]

yeah, kinda underwhelming even, but what will you do

[rough basalt]

Same with '24 Human just without room for serious shenanigans

[errant crag]

A player who wants to play a peak athlete could be VHuman and take the Athlete feat, or a player who wants to play an analytical genius could take VHuman and pick Keen Mind. A lot of people want to take gameplay options that support the roleplay they're going for.

[silk hare]

they can also cast greater invis 8x per short rest without using conc and fly without conc up to 3x per short rest

[rough basalt]

And in more cases than not people took it for power which is why it was funneled into base human and reeled in

[errant crag]

And 5.5e Human is inherently more limited because they can only take origin feats

[tulip lava]

Hi! Does anyone know if the quickly play maps from the playalong packs are goong to be ADDITIONAL to the 57 maps the RAVENLOFT productS already contains?

[rough basalt]

Because 2024 feats give ASI points

[wintry spindle]

Me a human 2024 picking ofc magic initiate

[rough basalt]

Like most Vhumans i saw would take Tashas half feats so they could have an 18 in their stat to start with standard or point buy

[crimson gulch]

Better not be, I'm sick of digital having more than the books

[errant crag]

I'm not saying that it was a bad balance change, I'm pointing out what it is Ink Guzzler is getting at because you keep disingenuously insisting that they don't realize VHuman and Human are the same species when they obviously do.

[rough basalt]

But they don't?

[errant crag]

It's very obvious what Ink Guzzler is getting at but you're hyper focused on trying to prove them wrong about something

And are being disingenuous as a result

[rough basalt]

I'm just seeing "they're two different species"

[errant crag]

Gameplay wise they are yeah

And some people want gameplay options to reflect their desired flavor and roleplay

[rough basalt]

Then its a good thing '14 still around

I just don't like the idea of one player having a powerup every else gets at 4 at 1 and is why I like that the 2024 human limits it to origin feats

[errant crag]

Then don't allow that in your games

[wintry spindle]

Humans are build different

[rough basalt]

Yeah its why i follow the general rules it says "if its reprinted, use the new"

[knotty cipher]

What happens when a vampire drinks another vampire dry??

In vampire the maskarade thats a mortal sin but the vampire gains all the abilitys of the other and grows stronger

[errant crag]

I also have mixed feelings about it because there are a number of feats they DIDNT give that to, which makes those feats inherently less appealing now.

[fiery nimbus]

nothing

both are undeads and undeads can't contract vampirism

[knotty cipher]

Rly???? Thats a bummer

[errant crag]

And those feats aren't generally strong enough to justify not having an ASI

[knotty cipher]

If vampire A drinks vampire B to the point of deatg
What happens to vampire A

[rough basalt]

All general and epic boons give an asi in content made in the 2024 corebooks and after

Unless you're talking origin feats then thats intended

[fiery nimbus]

well first thing first, Vampire doesn't have an ability called "drain"

[errant crag]

I'm talking about feats from like TCE and XGE and other books that didn't get reprinted

Some of those feats within those books do have ASIs but a lot werent given them unfortunately

[knotty cipher]

It drinks the other vapirea blood so much they dont have a drop left anf they die

[rough basalt]

Most of the TCOE ones didnt get reprinted due to game design changes but Gunner is the outlier

[silk hare]

do vampires in dnd even have blood canonically?

[rough basalt]

Idk why that one wasnt reprinted

[fiery nimbus]

If the vampire reduces other vampire to 0 hit points, nothing happens

they just die and thats it

[errant crag]

Eldritch Adept in particular gets massively nerfed by the 5.5e changes and really should have been reprinted

[fiery nimbus]

it will probably use shapeshift to get away though

[errant crag]

Because they added level requirements to a ton of the general invocations that makes them ineligible to be taken with Eldritch Adept

[knotty cipher]

Awe man i was hopeing it would be cooler
Like in Hunter: the vampire

[fiery nimbus]

I have no idea what did you expect

[rough basalt]

It didnt get reprinted i believe cause they wanted to limit the amount of robbing other class features

Hence the MI change

[umbral girder]

fun fact I learned

[rough basalt]

Like MI Artificer wasn't added in Eberron either

[errant crag]

That's ridiculous

Those feats exist for the purpose of classes to get those options without multiclassing

[umbral girder]

in 5.5e wizards from level 3 to level 13 have the same amount of prepared spells as they have spell slots

[rough basalt]

In the old design yeah

[errant crag]

And those feats didn't get reprinted and thus are still legal options for 5.5e as per WotC themselves

So it makes no sense for them to then design 5.5e with the intention of making those feats less appealing

[rough basalt]

Different people technically

[slender mason]

I mean they didn't really design with those feats in mind

[knotty cipher]

Well then smash me
Was hoping something cool would happen

[slender mason]

they just happen to exist

plenty of Feats were reprinted but near identical, usually just adding a half ASI

[umbral girder]

I mean that doesn't guarentee it gets updated from outdated design.

[errant crag]

They should have designed with everything that isn't getting reprinted in mind if they're going to insist that things which didn't get reprinted are still legal to take and that 5.5e is backwards compatible

[umbral girder]

Like magic weapon damage not being a thing

[rough basalt]

Perkins and Crawford were the ones who were insistent on old content still being applicable and their influence led to that being the case but seeing as how MI Artificer didnt get reprinted, I think the new team intends to keep classes unique as much as possible

Unless you take the choice to dip for that class

[errant crag]

There is no MI Artificer, Artificer Initiate is not the same as MI

[slender mason]

I mean they should have just taken the plunge and broken off all backwards compatibility, imo

[rough basalt]

Artificer initiate is pretty much the artificer version of MI

just instead of a couple cantrips you get one and 2 tool profs

[errant crag]

That would have been terrible

And would pissed even more people off

[normal coral]

Yo anyone here wanna help me decipher a dwarvish language puzzle?

[errant crag]

With how much stuff didn't get reprinted

They pretty much had to make it backwards compatible to justify it still being 5e

[slender mason]

(it shouldn't have been 5e, is my point)

[fiery nimbus]

no

[slender mason]

if we were able to drop BackComp we might actually be able to get stuff like a Hidden Condition

[errant crag]

There are a number of fun builds you can do mixing 2014 options with 2024 options

Some of my favorite characters have mixed options from the two rulesets

[rough basalt]

Then the people who did that are gone and the new team has made their design intentions clear. DnD will have setting guides, will have classes not being jumped and robbed, and a moreso clear design intention

rather than the game design changing every year

[errant crag]

Classes are not being jumped and robbed just because other classes can get similar abilities that's so ridiculous

That's actually absurd

Warlock loses nothing from a character taking Eldritch Adept

[tulip lava]

I'm sorry about that. But I'm leanong to think that they WILL be extra content, an not just sneak peeks, as some of those play-along packs will be releases after the book

[slender mason]

if this new team can give us the next new Class since Artificer I will love them forever

[errant crag]

They're not being robbed, robbed implied being deprived of something

The way you're using it is not what the word robbed means

[rough basalt]

There are some invocations that are just very powerful that are available from the start

Like Devils Sight

120ft of darkvision that sees through all darkness not just normal.

[errant crag]

Do you feel robbed if somebody plays the same class as you?

[rough basalt]

Kinda

Depends on what kind of game its gonna be

If we're doing like an all fighter one shot or something no

[errant crag]

I'm playing in a game with two bards and two rogues and nobody feels "robbed"

That's such a strange lens to look at it through

[rough basalt]

But if I'm a warlock and saw a new sorc being better at EBing than me without a 1 level dip id probably be sad.

[woven flint]

Class diversity is fun, frankly

[crimson gulch]

Doubling up on classes is fine when folks can play nice togeather, nothing is fine when folks can't play nice

[slender mason]

Sorcs shouldn't be able to get EB either way, tbf

[rough basalt]

cause id have to do a two level dip to get that gatling gun

[rough basalt]

Think thats why Sorcererous Burst is also sorc only

its a very good cantrip that they get for being themselves

[fiery nimbus]

I wish they just reworked Ranger

[slender mason]

p much

[errant crag]

If another player was like "I'm gonna do your build but better to prove that I can do it better!" then yeah it makes sense to be upset but somebody playing the same class as you is not that

[rough basalt]

And loops back into why I think the new team wants to limit taking stuff from other classes without MC dips

[errant crag]

But the same team wants to discourage MC dips

[slender mason]

Ranger and Paladin having better exclusivity of their spells to (especially from Bards)

[fickle heart]

Looking at the 2024 invocations you can pick with Eldritch Adept, I suppose I don't really have any major objections to what you can't pick.

[rough basalt]

Cause MC dips could be extremely strong.

[serene turret]

Hi I'm looking on starting to play dnd wheres the best way to start

[errant crag]

Yeah and they're not now

[woven flint]

At least NOW they do
Bards can't steal EVERYONES shit anymore

[errant crag]

They don't need to continue to make them worse

Also I never understood what was so OP about hexadin

"The paladin can ignore Strength"
So what? Are you giving them point buy with a 40 point cap or something?

[rough basalt]

spamming smites using cha for rolls and critting on 19s and 20s

[errant crag]

That is the most nothingburger "OP" thing I've ever seen

[slender mason]

it gave way too much for a single 1 level dip

[rough basalt]

it was like buying a car for the price of a happy meal

[errant crag]

It's really not

[slender mason]

you can still take Blade Pact now

but it doesn't give nearly as much

[errant crag]

I mean now a paladin can just take MI Druid and take Shillelagh and can have a Charisma weapon without needing to MC at all

[fickle heart]

Admittedly that weapon is limited to very specific types, much more so than Hexblade.

[rough basalt]

Shillilagh is weapon limited

Can't use a Greatsword

[errant crag]

I just don't see how it's OP

Strong maybe but not OP

[fickle heart]

It might be differences in what people coin as "OP".

[rough basalt]

WotC saw enough stories of hexadins one turning bosses and they put them down.

[errant crag]

A character attacking with their casting stat is not OP in my eyes

By that logic a Paladin having 16 strength and also 16 charisma is OP

It's the same number

[rough basalt]

That would only be at level 1

Hexadins one downfall is it takes some time to come online but once it does, the DM has to balance around them.

[fickle heart]

Put another way, things being OP generally means that things can be UP. If something is "too weak", other things will generally be "too strong".

[errant crag]

Unless you're doing 1 to 1 point buy where players can easily spend point to get up to 20 charisma, the fact of "they can ignore strength and pump Charisma" means literally nothing to me

[fickle heart]

It's reduced investment for a similar result, that's it.

[slender mason]

that's not all they got either

[errant crag]

That doesn't seem so game breaking to me

[rough basalt]

Minimize the investment to maximize the reward.

[errant crag]

That doesn't seem like it's upending the balance of the campaign to me

[proud tree]

Hi guys!

[rough basalt]

I knew someone who had to ask their player to change characters cause their hexadin kept nuking bosses and even the player was like "yeah this is boring now"

[proud tree]

Are we allowed to post commissions in the art channel?

[slender mason]

granted it wouldn't be as big a deal now that Smites are a BA

[fickle heart]

That's likely a difference in the usage of the word "OP", yes. OP is often dramatized, but something being overpowered doesn't mean it fundamentally breaks stuff, in the same way that something being underpowered doesn't mean it fundamentally doesn't work.

[errant crag]

This sounds more like an instance of smite stacking being too strong than a player being able to attack with charisma

[slender mason]

so it wouldn't be stackable on turn 1 with Hexblade's curse

[hot reef]

Combination of both makes it strong

[slender mason]

the difference is that a Paladin that can dump STR (13 at least) can pump something else higher, like WIS or INT or CON

for those saving throws

whereas a standard Paladin has to work to balance their STR and CHA

[rough basalt]

Basically you'd have a Paladin and Warlock that's better than both your parties paladins and warlocks.

[errant crag]

There's not a universe that exists where you people will convince me that a paladin being able to attack with their charisma is overpowered

[slender mason]

(or DEX and CHA)

[errant crag]

It's simply not

[rough basalt]

Well it was strictly a subclasses channel divinity cause it is strong

[lavish flame]

I don't like it cuz Martials that do Spells don't get a similar kind of thing for their Spellcasting, they just have to be MAD

[umbral girder]

Oh god I need to rest my eyes. I joined that chat and read Hexblade’s curse as “Herobrine’s Curse”

[errant crag]

That's something I find more reasonable to be bothered by

[woven flint]

Lolths dead brother

[hot reef]

Hexblade is one of the top subclasses for taking a 1 dip, for several classes
Paladin synergizes with it more than most

[slender mason]

CHA attacking isn't the only thing the dip gives you, you get Champion Lite Features, and everything from Warlock 1

[rough basalt]

Ye you have Hexadin, Hexsorcadin

[hot reef]

Hexblade dip is extremely popular for optimizers iirc

[slender mason]

the same Multiclass now is basically fine

[rough basalt]

Hexardadin

[umbral girder]

AO’s brother

[woven flint]

Herobrine is now Ao's brother

[fickle heart]

This likely just comes down to semantics, yeah. I myself don't think it's gamebreaking.

[rough basalt]

But for more tables than not it was gamebreaking.

[fickle heart]

I still wouldn't say "gamebreaking", even if I'd say "overpowered", though sometimes a more palatable word is "overtuned".

[slender mason]

it's more about how much value you get from that Vs a single level in any other class

[errant crag]

Then people need to stop throwing around the term OP. OP means "overpowered", as in too powerful for the health of the game.

[rough basalt]

And it was too powerful for the health of the average game.

[slender mason]

things mean what people use them to mean

that's just how language be, unfortunately

[fickle heart]

That is not what overpowered means, though, even when it's viewed as such colloquially. The actual definition is much more tame.

[rough basalt]

Like if it wasn't very powerful then optimizers wouldn't use it.

They only use anything that gets them more power to their build and a lot of the time that was 1 level of Hex

[fickle heart]

"Overpowered" simply means having more power than it should/is necessary, and is the exact opposite of "underpowered".

[errant crag]

If you guys wanna argue that Hexblade is too powerful of a subclass to be available at level 1, then that's a different discussion than Paladins attacking with Charisma being OP.

[rough basalt]

Same reason 1 level of Twilight Cleric was a popular dip.
It gave you ridiculous value for little downside.

[fickle heart]

Sometimes overpowered stuff is fine, and sometimes it's not.

[rough basalt]

Especially since a good few capstones in 5e14 sucked

[drifting lava]

Hi guys

[rough basalt]

So you weren't missing much for not getting it.

[fickle heart]

Fireball is overpowered, for example, and that's been explicitly stated to be the case by the designers.

[slender mason]

in all honesty more classes being potentially SAD is fun, it's just a shame for the ones that can't ever be

[plush ermine]

multiclassing is hard to deal with, especially when it comes to the power relations between half and full casters and martials. Ive been trying to make some alternate rules for gestalt so ppl can play non optimal things like a barbarian druid or a wizard sorceror, instead of defaulting to classes that share the same scaling things like hexadin or barb fighter.

[slender mason]

like I love Astral Monk and hope we get a new version because WIS attacks are fun

(even if it costs Focus to activate that, which is fair)

[errant crag]

Barb Fighter is not OP there's no way

There's just no way that people consider Barb Fighter to be too strong

You have to be joshing me

[fickle heart]

I'm not sure they actually said it was OP.

[rough basalt]

I think Barb MCs are usually 2 Barb for rage then 18 something else.

Aren't they?

[fickle heart]

They said it was synergistic, as opposed to non-synergistic combinations.

[rough basalt]

Like 18 rogue 2 Barb so you can always sneak attack with reckless

[plush ermine]

not about strong, just generic

[north vine]

Are tgere pbp lfgs here?

[plush ermine]

cus they both scale off the same stuff

[rough basalt]

That was part of why CHA multiclasses kinda went stupid hard as they did.

They never had downsides other than missing out on features and for a couple of them they weren't really missing out

Like 2014 Sorcs capstone was laughable

So laughable its their level 5 feature in 2024

So dipping Warlock for EB and invocations wasn't a downside.

It was only ups

Sure you delayed spell levels, but that don't matter when you got the King of Cantrips

And cantrips scale off character level.

[plush ermine]

Also the point buy and asi system would need to be tweaked to allow multi stat gestalt chars to scale decently, but any change to that also benefits mono stat classes alot especially fighter and or rogue combos cus even more stats. A part of me wants to say that because they picked a more grounded option of a class combo, its eligible to that kind of increase.

so far the number i can find that can make it work is 36 points. and at asi's u get +2/+1 or +1/+1/+1. These are gonna be some busted chars. but thats the price to see more multiclasses instead of hexadin for the 1 millionth time

[rough basalt]

I think you're gonna see more broken versions of the same MCs more often than otherwise.

If you have a group of min/maxers that is.

[plush ermine]

true, but im mostly running this w friends and they dont like minmaxing.

[rough basalt]

Ah then might be an interesting experiment

[plush ermine]

And tbh i cant fully bring myself to say "no u cant play that", but i will ask for a thorough backstory and exactly how that lead to that. My alternate rules tried to acc for warlock short rests by making their pact magic spell slots replace their spots in their total spell slot count rather then adding it, so they really care about short rests even more then they do. Eldritch smite x divine smite will be some nasty dmg but thats unavoidable.

[drifting lava]

Whats the best server to join if i want to play DND with other people? I just started playing but i kinda know the basics

[plush ermine]

I mostly run tweaked or homebrewed monsters, practically every boss i make either has phases or a domain expansion so they also pull bs as well.

[plush ermine]

checking in with the find a game section at the bottom of the channels usually is good.

[drifting lava]

thank you 🙂

[rough basalt]

Yeah I use a good amount of HB on the dm side.

It's fun.

[errant crag]

I wonder if I should get spell cards and creature cards

[rough basalt]

I think they're cool and can be pretty helpful.

I cant remember how expensive they are tho

[errant crag]

There are third party/fan made ones online for like 20-30 bucks for all the major spell lists in one bundle

[rough basalt]

Thats nice

I know wotc is making some 5.5e spell cards with the high magic book this fall

[errant crag]

I have a deck of cleric spell cards but it's only for 5e/2014 spells

[rough basalt]

I'm sincerely hoping the rest of the XGE spells are reprinted alongside new ones

[errant crag]

I got them when I first started playing because my first properly made character was a Grave Cleric

[rough basalt]

Cause XGE has all the natural disaster spells I really like

Like Dust Devil, the regular tornado spell

Tidal Wave

[austere root]

Warlock has the worst lv1 spell list out of all casters and champion is... champion. CHA melee is pretty much the only thing going for it, but even that is limited to onehanders until lock3

[rough basalt]

Not Hex which is why it was such a popular dip

[umbral girder]

Armor of Agathys

[austere root]

I feel like as a paladin, especially if running gwm, you have better things to concentrate on

[rough basalt]

Its not concentration

[umbral girder]

Hex? It is last I checked

[austere root]

Isn't the context 14? Hex is concentration.

[rough basalt]

Oh i meant hexblade

[slender mason]

Hexblade Curse

[umbral girder]

Oh yeah Hexblade’s curse

[rough basalt]

Level 1 Hexblade got you the Shield spell, Hexblades curse and Hex warrior which gave the pact of the blade

[austere root]

I'm not talking about that one when I'm talking spells, it's nice, just 1/sr is the only catch

Still very nice to have, not revolutionary

[rough basalt]

Well, the point was youd do nothing special then nova whatever boss monster shows up

[slender mason]

not forgetting Eldritch Blast too, which will scale with all levels

for when you can't get close enough with the sword

[rough basalt]

Boss shows up time for 100+ damage every round from round 1

[austere root]

EB without invocations isn't nearly as impressive. You'd want the second lock level.

[rough basalt]

Well i think the usual Hexadin spread was 6/6

So you could get Devils Sight plus darkness for crit fishing with advantage and critting on 19s and 20s

[umbral girder]

Idk even on its own EB is still good

[slender mason]

my lord the 14 PHB is a chore to read through

[umbral girder]

Multi attack, Force damage, alright range

[rough basalt]

and you did i think 6 levels in devotion paladin

[umbral girder]

Yep the 2014 rule books were rough to read

[austere root]

It's okay.

[rough basalt]

cause you could add sacred weapon to the hex warrior pact of the blade charisma rolls iirc

[austere root]

I find that splitting rays isn't as good when you are unable to know exact enemy hp, as its ability to finish things off and distribute the rest of the damage to other stuff is sketchy.

It's a bigger boon in bg3

[rough basalt]

Huh turns out devotion was a lower end choice

[austere root]

Devotion is one of the subclasses ever

[rough basalt]

cause even tho stacking attack bonuses meant youd hit a lot more with GWM, it didnt give enough more

Oathbreaker so you can add cha to your damage twice was a popular choice apparently tho it was "memey"

[austere root]

crown and watchers are good

oathbreaker's banned too often for me to remember

[rough basalt]

Redemption was another top pick for it

Since it gets a lot out of having jacked cha (good control magic)

[austere root]

Hypnotic pattern paladin

[rough basalt]

I think the main thing was just enough pal levels for AoP, and enough smites to spam

Since you'd have advantage, crits were common with a 20% chance.

[austere root]

Good subclasses tend to have a lv7 aura that's worth picking up

[rough basalt]

Like old ancients aura

[austere root]

Most notably aura of alert from watchers

[rough basalt]

watchers one is yeah

+5 to everyones initiative around you

more importantly you

[simple barn]

I'm finally home

[burnt grove]

Is nick with dual wielder feat just that broken? Like with hunters mark it seems strong as hell at 5 lol

[rough basalt]

No

it's comparable to other weapons

[burnt grove]

Like the extra attack with The d6 seems stronger cus of hunters mark is why I’m asking lol

[rough basalt]

yeah sounds good, not broken tho

[burnt grove]

Am I right it’s 4 attacks at 5 cus dual wielder?

[rough basalt]

Yep

[burnt grove]

Damn lol

[rough basalt]

8d6 single target after the HM is applied if all attacks hit which is nice

[burnt grove]

If I had fighter levels action surge would it be 6?

[rough basalt]

ye

Dual Wielding got a much needed buff in '24

[burnt grove]

Yea I’m looking at everything right now and I’m like wtf

It’s a flurry of damage

[rough basalt]

What balances nick is that its only once per turn always

and the dual wielder extra attack takes a BA

[burnt grove]

That’s fair lol

[rough basalt]

Instead of being a meme, its pretty comparable to the other weapon styles now

[burnt grove]

Oh do other weapon styles do as much?

[rough basalt]

The issue was in 2014 is that the dual wield attack was a BA

[burnt grove]

I’m trying to decide if I wanna be a strength or dex based ranger atm lol

[rough basalt]

dual wielded weapons didnt do enough damage to keep up with the others compared to the cost

[burnt grove]

No no they did not I do miss the old dual welder feat tho

[lavish carbon]

is it common to join a group with video or people just use voice only ?

[rough basalt]

voice only is the most common i believe

[burnt grove]

+1 ac, able to use non light weapons

[rough basalt]

You can still use a non-light for your BA attack

[burnt grove]

But then nick wont trigger properly .. unless you use dual wielder feat

To swap weapons?

[rough basalt]

yeah you light weapon, nick with nick weapon, then attack with the first weapon again, then draw the non-light weapon and hit with it as a BA

[burnt grove]

lol

Mass attack then slow or knock em prone

[rough basalt]

You can draw/stow weapons as you attack as long as its not like two weapons at the same time unless dualwielder

[burnt grove]

Ye

[rough basalt]

that dual wielder double stow i think is pretty nice

cause it lets dual wielders pull out a bow if need be

[burnt grove]

So…. Nick mastery plus sap mastery lol

You attack with light weapon gain nick, then sap them with b a

[rough basalt]

ye shortsword, scimitar, shortsword, flail was an idea i had for a paladin

[burnt grove]

Lmfao

Short sword Scimitar mace I think is going to be my str ranger build lol

Damn

Seems strong

[jolly oak]

what would be a good background for living in a castle all your life, dying, and then coming back to life due to a great revival

[burnt grove]

Noble?

Like idk

[jolly oak]

but he was the king

wait lemme see what the nobel background is

oh yeah that works

thank you!

[burnt grove]

Nw

[rough basalt]

just killed 25 goblins with one fireball lol

[slim cloak]

I was wondering… why can’t warlocks use Fireball?

[slim cloak]

Outside of the fiend patron or the spellcasting initiate: Wizard or sorcerer feat

[glass granite]

The initiate feats can’t get you fireball anyway

[slim cloak]

oh

[rough basalt]

mom said no :<

[slim cloak]

But… it’s… it’s cast through the weave… like every other spell…

[rough basalt]

cause not everyone can cast every spell

Warlocks are a class that generally specialize in what their subclass does best and pick invocations that support it

Fiend specs in blowing people up so it gets fireball

[empty thicket]

can get you some good lvl 1 spells tho

like from cleric, heals or guiding bolt

[glass granite]

Mhm

[empty thicket]

and guiding is a peak spell for starter levels, good damage and the advantage

[odd valley]

bless just standing in the corner

[empty thicket]

Celestial in being a supportish warlock, strong and few heals.

[rough basalt]

You get a feature that heals pretty well and can't be counterspelled

[flint ledge]

Bless is extremely solid

[rough basalt]

and its a BA iirc

mending on top (trust)

[empty thicket]

the lv10 feature of celestial its a good sustain for hte whole team

and the lvl 14 one is... idk if its me but the wording is weird

[rough basalt]

ye i have a player playing a celestial warlock in my tuesday game and he puts in some serious work

[cinder timber]

how would you guys rate the life domain cleric? Is good?

[empty thicket]

im reading about it, too centered around healing in a class that already heal a lot.
Could be good for solo healer of a whole team (3 to 4 + cleric)
But if you are taken down or silenced your team would be in great dangers

But getting upgraded heals mean less uses of them too, so more free spell slots for offensive//utility

[odd valley]

not the best cleric domain but it’s also not terrible

[glass granite]

I personally like it, but I’m not gonna say it’s spectacular or anything

[empty thicket]

Its like a big cheeseburger with double cheese, its an upgrade to something already made. But not something special or extra

The same cheeseburger but with more cheese only

[cinder timber]

Thanks for the feedback

Do you guys pick a subclass then make the character? Or do it the other way around?

[livid pivot]

Hey yall, i'm new to GMing and im looking for a good map making tool. How's dungeondraft holding up in your expirience? Are there any oher tools you'd recommend instead

[waxen lake]

hey everyone im new to this server but not completely new to dnd i dont have any groups to play has anyone had luck finding play group on here or is this maybe not the best place to try

[empty thicket]

depend, sometimes i just grab an idea of character
Call it a "Bounty hunter that seek good big amounts of money for big hunts and fame"
Then i work around of what i can do about it

[cinder timber]

Fair enough, I have an idea of what I want my dude to do. but, the subclass I want it completely different

[glass granite]

I’ve had decent luck

[empty thicket]

would mind to expand about it?

[cinder timber]

Well, I'm in a campaign where stars are a big thing. I want my big to be a researcher and historian, but I want to be a light domain cleric lol

[knotty vine]

curse

[glass granite]

I mean the sun is a star

[knotty vine]

the sun is indeed by a star

[waxen lake]

ive wanted to play again for a long time but kinda just nervous to like find a group

[empty thicket]

Welp, for reasure, the creator of the theory of big bang was a priest because they were searching how the world work to prove that god made everything so well.
So being a Cleric that search such thing isnt rare at all

[cinder timber]

I study sun, fireball is just baby sun lol

[cinder timber]

Yeah, but being a light cleric rather than a knowledge cleric seems to not fit

[glass granite]

Light cleric fits fine imo

[empty thicket]

yeah but there is the funny thing, you dont need to be your whole class.
Your character can be anything else and would work too

[cinder timber]

I was thinking he had a dream of a supernova. So, he likes light 💀

[glass granite]

Knowledge cleric worships the pursuit of knowledge and the gods that represent it, that doesn’t mean other clerics can’t also be scholars or historians of their domain