dnd-discussion

[rough basalt]

They're the "standard" I think. But bi-weekly is a close 2nd.

Personally I couldn't ever do bi-weeklly or longer.

[sterile creek]

Man.... I need a pbp campaign

[zinc quarry]

Would Silvery Bards be considered dnd expanded rules or 3rd party content?

[humble cairn]

Not third party, it's an official WOTC product.

[hot marlin]

It's not third party, it was published in Strixhaven, a WOTC publication for D&D

[delicate violet]

hello

[wanton raft]

Can you possibly get a +15 modifier in a skill

By level 20

[cedar bane]

certainly. expertise doubles your prof modifer, your prof modifer goes up to +6, and you can get a +5 to a skill

so just without any spells or magic items, you can get up to like +16

[humble cairn]

My character is level 16 and has a +19 in Nature.

[wanton raft]

When do rogues get expertise?

[cedar bane]

level 1 and 6

[wanton raft]

How??

[cedar bane]

rogues do at level 2 and wizards do at level 2

[wanton raft]

Why didn't I get then huh? I must've built badly

[cedar bane]

i think wizards do then, also rangers

[cedar bane]

you have to choose them, you might have missed them

[humble cairn]

Expertise, maxed out Wisdom, bonus from Wisdom multiclassing into Druid, a few magical items.

[wanton raft]

Nature is int though

[humble cairn]

There's a Druid thing that lets you also add your Wisdom.

[wanton raft]

But I want my cleric to have a high perception. +9 at level 12 is a bit weak

[humble cairn]

It is not weak.

[cedar bane]

+9 is a lot

for a cleric for sure

[wanton raft]

At a level 20 it'll be +11

[humble cairn]

Take the Observant Feat for Expertise.

[humble cairn]

Still not weak.

[wanton raft]

Okay. Thanks

[cedar bane]

its likely be better to just take skill expert in that case

[wanton raft]

Comparatively

[cedar bane]

though observant can have some niche uses

[cedar bane]

yes but youre better in other places comparatively

its how the game is balanced

[humble cairn]

Not really, and why do yu need to be the best at Perception anyway?

[wanton raft]

So I have a high passive perception

[humble cairn]

In order to .... ?

[wanton raft]

See stuff that are hidden without always making checks

[cedar bane]

clerics arent super built for that so i wouldnt worry too much, and a 19 passive perception sees you most things as is

[wanton raft]

Yeah but at level 12, my cleric doesn't still feel strong

[cedar bane]

how so? clerics get a lot of their strength from their spells

[wanton raft]

Usually saved against. I like the healing though because nobody dies but like compared to other classes, I think this build can be stronger

I'll go to optimization perhaps

[cedar bane]

probably best, youd need to provide a bit more detail about your build to know what makes you feel weaker

good luck over there though

[paper portal]

clerics are weird in terms of optimization cus they're bad in high op but anything slightly lower and theyre complete powerhouses

[carmine tusk]

Hello

[honest sky]

Hey is there a channel to ask about getting help with dnd campaign creation? Im new to being a DM, and new to dnd itself

[idle oar]

#dm-discussion and #dm-world-building

[carmine tusk]

Its my First time playing dnd and i wanna be a druid, i have a few question, i wanna play as the race firbolg, whats a good background? Also spell and cantrip for level 1?

[idle oar]

Folks in #character-discussion can provide suggestions

[still plover]

Do you know if you're going to be playing with the older rules, or the 2024 update? Make sure to mention which.

[carmine tusk]

2024

[paper portal]

welcome new member

[carmine tusk]

Thanks

I don't wanna play full support, but i want to have at least 1 or two healing abilities and probably i would rather do spell casting then wild shape

[hot marlin]

Level 20: Proficiency bonus of +6. Add expertise for +12. Let's say it's stealth. Get that epic boon that gives you ten more for +22. Cast pass without a trace for +32. Have a dex of 30 and the highest possible is +42.

[carmine tusk]

Although some wild shape would still be very nice

I'm very confused, since its my First time i kinda wanna try everything

[still plover]

Fair enough. Pop over to #character-discussion to take this further.

[carmine tusk]

Okey

[wanton raft]

I need to go look at boons. I've a few magic items but no boons

[limber trail]

They only really come into play at very high levels, usually 19

[feral fulcrum]

And 2014 Boons IIRC were entirely optional and 99% pure crap that more often then not were outperformed by low level class features.

They were a complete joke

[rough basalt]

There was like one stupid good one i can think of off the top of my head that felt like a "post level 20" feat

[severe rampart]

High Magic?

[rough basalt]

ye

Martial Boon "you can automatically hit once per rest"
Caster Boon "you thought one Wish was good? How about second Wish?"

[severe rampart]

Unbalanced, nerf Martials

[rough basalt]

But yeah 2014 Boons were definitely not thought too deeply about and you could tell

Like there's a Boon that let's you auto escape grapples or restraints such as rope, manacles ect with an action. Not the actual restrained condition mind you, but normal items that restrain you

There was also Spell recall which was another way to cast two 9th level spells a day.

Or the Boon that gave you non-magical bps resistance specifically from weapons.

Spell mastery which let you cast shield for free permanently.

It's really dumb just how powerful the caster ones were vs just how basically negligent the martial ones were. If they were part of regular progression in '14 I feel the "martial caster divide" argument would've had more weight behind it.

[hybrid granite]

Hey, is it me or there hasn't been a new Druid subclass since 5.5e's Sea Druid? Sorcerer and Rogue* got one new and one revamp. Warlock's getting one revamp. Cleric's gotten/is getting two revamps. Ranger, Artificer, and Bard have/will have two new subclasses.

Barbarian's on a similar boat, but at least they got Giant before 5.5e. Between 5.5e and Tasha, Druid got nil.

[blissful dragon]

we have ua for new druid subs like circle of titans

[eager marsh]

there's only been a single book for 2024 after the phb and not every class got a subclass in that book

two books* but ebberon didnt add subclasses for anyone

[hybrid granite]

About to be three though, with Ravenloft.

[eager marsh]

isnt that also just a setting book like ebberon was? doesnt change that only a handful of classes even got a second batch of subs yet. 5.5e is barely 2 years old remember?

[hybrid granite]

I'm not asking them to churn out content faster though it may look like that. I'm just noticing that there has been a few new subclasses in between for Druid for a stretch of time. Or at least a new revamp, especially the XGE ones like Shepherd.

[lavish flame]

we've only gotten the Forgotten Realms and Eberron campaign guides. Those settings definitely couldve included a Druid subclass, but the books simply didn't. We're waiting on Ravenloft and Arcana Unleashed later this year, which may have a subclass in there (we got UA for a Titan-shifting Druid recently)

[eager marsh]

shepard relied on spells that were rightfully nerfed so they likely have to figure out a fairchange

[wintry spindle]

They should make a druid whichs gimmic would be weapons

[hybrid granite]

Honestly the one UA I wanted was the dinosaur one, Primeval, but they only released Giant Barbarian from that UA set.

[lavish flame]

thats kinda Spores druid

[wintry spindle]

it is?

[lavish flame]

they get melee weapon buffs

[wintry spindle]

Well them I'm out of ideas

[lavish flame]

and they have an aura of damage

[wintry spindle]

Honestly I feel more subclasses that get developed today is "This class but with stuff from this other class"

[eager marsh]

thats actually less subs that get made. the cross class subs mostly were from the first run of the game

arcane trickster, eldritch knight, valor bard, Bladesinger being shortly after

[wintry spindle]

what about moon bard

[hybrid granite]

Revamping Spores would be nice though. Like maybe less focus on spore and more focus on Decay, which seems to be its overarching theme.

[eager marsh]

what about it? it's not just stealing another class gimmick

it takes a single spell that was druid based because of thematic reasons but id never call moon bard 'bard with some druid in it'

[wintry spindle]

Agree to disagree

I think it's very druid coded

[lavish flame]

I think the strongest Revamp it needs is just "let it work with melee spell attacks too" cuz that was the real issue our Spore Druid was running into.

[wintry spindle]

Is it fun playing spore druid?

[lavish flame]

They wanted to use a Touch Cantrip (Primal Savagery) for most of their attacks, but Spores Druid doesn't key off of spell attacks, just weapons.

[hybrid granite]

I have one pre-5.5e where I do shillelagh booming blade shenans while throwing mushrooms on enemies from time to time.

[wintry spindle]

sounds fun

I've never done a druid

I am just not a fan of nature as my source of magic haha

[still plover]

Primal power, the energy of life and creation, the roots of the world, the swells of the sea, the majesty of the weather. Doesn't tickle you a little?

[wintry spindle]

More as a paladin protecting it but not as something I am part of as a culture

I like order of ancients

I like the visual of a knight covered in moss

I like the druid spell list a lot

[still plover]

That's fair. I'm always down for alternative interpretations.

[wintry spindle]

I could imagine doing that

Circle of the stars fit well with asamiar for example

celestial wibe than nature

[viral kraken]

i can't imagine mick jagger doing that. after all, a Rolling Stone grows no moss

[wintry spindle]

sometimes i just look af a cool piece of art and go "what would their class/subclass be"

[viral kraken]

was gandalf a DMPC? 🤔

[sleek cloud]

Yes

[wintry spindle]

I mean he was a Maia so kinda yeah

[rough basalt]

Yes and no

LotRs god wouldnt let him and other Maia automatically solve all of middle earths issues

So falls more under npc

[wintry spindle]

Aragorn is a party looter

He took Boromis gauntlets after his death. He really wanted that +1 ac

[viral kraken]

"this party has no party looter, this party needs no party looter!"
"lel, sry m8"

[umbral girder]

Party Ranger wanted that loot simple as that.

[wintry spindle]

Aragorn is the DMs friend who is there for the vibes and then the DM just drops lore on him

"Hey man you are actually the lost king" "Oh ok cool"

[rough basalt]

Dudes the case of the "DM forcing them to be the MC"

[limber trail]

adore the bit but aragorn actually always knew he was the king of gondor (in both the movies and the books iirc) which actually makes him a very different beast entirely, may I present...

Aragorn is the player who wrote something into their backstory which if the DM allowed them to have it, would solve the campaign immediately and so the DM needed to keep coming up with nonsense excuses to prevent them from getting it until the end

[rough basalt]

Can say so for the movies at least, as Legolas states it outright in a heated exchange with Boromir and Aragon just has like "ah shit here we go" face

[limber trail]

It's been quite a while since I read the books (gotta reread them one of these days) but the internet seems to agree with my general understanding which is that he was told fairly young, around age 20

[rough basalt]

Yeah and iirc he's like 80 something during the events of Lord of the Rings

[limber trail]

I forgot that they all age like insanity

[rough basalt]

Yeah Numenorians have a pretty substantial lifespan

I think Aragorn himself lived to be over 200

[uncut zenith]

Brennan Lee Mulligan once wrote a Twitter thread years ago making an argument that Gandalf was a PC, but one who was played by a party member who was like a traveling musician. So he couldn’t be there all the time, but the party loved him, so whenever he came back around they just let him make the most of it lol

[candid viper]

Hahaha

[limber trail]

This just made me realize, I DM for a Gandalf...

There was even a section in my campaign where their character was spirited away on their own journey to learn about the dark truths of the world....

[uncut zenith]

Yeah I think there’s a deleted scene in the movies where they acknowledge that he was in his late 80s

[quiet flare]

Im looking for tips on making a one shot with some friends

[uncut zenith]

iirc the Numenoreans descend from basically the original line of humans in middle earth, so they’re kinda like… super humans

[rough basalt]

Keep it simple.
Pick an idea.
Build the idea.
Find Monsters that fit into the idea.

[quiet flare]

Ty

[rough basalt]

For example.
Keep it simple/Pick an idea: Level 3 one shot for a party of lets say 4. There's a graveyard where undead have risen and keep bothering the town so the Mayor hires them to clear it out and stop whatever is raising them if at all.
Build the idea: Make a graveyard encounter or two, then a 3-4 room mausoleum for the boss. (going by the five room dungeon kinda idea, so if you got two graveyard encounters, do three rooms including the boss, four rooms if one graveyard encounter.)
Find Monsters that fit the idea: Zombies, Skeletons, Ghouls. Medium encounters are key here so they don't drag but there's resource drain. Xp budget for these would be 900xp for a party of 4 so 2 Ogre Zombies would be a good medium encounter for example. Then for the Boss, you'd want a Hard encounter imo, which would be 1600xp for 4, so a Deathlock, an Ogre Zombie and a Skeleton.

[empty thicket]

mmmm... how i justify throwing 400 baboons and 50 gorilas to my players...m mmmmm....

[west comet]

yo did they remove the ability to buy individual subclasses and races etc?

[rough basalt]

Long time ago.

[west comet]

hell nah why?

[rough basalt]

Money, presumably

[lavish flame]

they want more money

[west comet]

guess i shouldve seen that coming

[rough basalt]

They didn't give an actual reason iirc

They're reintroducing it in a kinda sense in the form of starter packs for classes that give you subclasses and stuff from different books.

[lavish flame]

on the backend, DDB was constantly checking to see what you owned at like all times, and people having a ton of individual items would severely slow down DDB.

[rough basalt]

Which gives a discount on the full book like it did before.

Could've been tied to the current ddb reworks

[west comet]

it shouldnt be hard to manage THE official site

[rough basalt]

As WotC for the last 2 years of 5es life cycle was a mess interrupted by a couple decent to good releases

[west comet]

true

[rough basalt]

So wouldn't surprise me if ddb reworks were planned then and shelved till lately

[lavish flame]

they did provide the official reason, they've answered it a handful of times whenever they do Q&As, its a backend issue

[rough basalt]

Oh I never saw that.

[west comet]

what is the best character creation tool other than DDB then would yall say

[rough basalt]

Nothing really.

[west comet]

bruh

[rough basalt]

Roll20s charactermancer is crap imo

[lavish flame]

you'd be surprised. the tools we have for homebrew are basically the tools they have. they've recently began undergoing an overhaul of DDB to make it work better.

[lavish flame]

pen & paper

[rough basalt]

Overall they've been doing pretty good lately

[west comet]

agreed but playing online is the easiest and cheapest so yuh

[rough basalt]

Too good for DnDtube

[lavish flame]

same. i always have to provide a disclaimer to my players that the Roll20 charactermancer is extremely fragile. merely the act of jumping backwards to check on ur previous choice can break it.

[rough basalt]

A lot of the big name wotc dramafarmers quit, split off or went on hiatus so now all I see are people trying to replace them with low views and even more nonsense than the big ones.

[west comet]

is it me or has wizards been releasing less adventure modules?

[rough basalt]

Roll20s character stuff in general just annoys the crap out of me.

[rough basalt]

New team has different priorities

The old team wanted "no settings, only adventures and if there is a setting, it's an adventure"

New team believes settings are based and that we deserve them.

[west comet]

you mean no adventures then?

[rough basalt]

There's a small adventure coming with Arcana Unleashed related to Thay.

But no big adventure books currently known of.

[west comet]

damn, i just to rly enjoy those

[lavish flame]

yeah, they havent really done adventures recently. Dragon Delve is 5.5's premiere adventure anthology, and we've got Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall to look forward to this year. There hasn't been a big 1-10 or 1-15 adventure for 5.5 yet.

[rough basalt]

So far what we got UA and confirmed is
Ravenloft Setting Guide
Arcana Unleashed which is a magic sourcebook
As for UA we have Book of Vile Darkness UAs and Dark Sun UA.

[west comet]

is there a reason why CoS was such a huge and succesful module compared to ever other adventure

[rough basalt]

It was an old popular adventure

Typically stuff wotc didn't have to make originally was good where as originals were usually meh

Icewind Dale being an outlier

[west comet]

i loved that campaign

[sleek cloud]

Pencil and paper

[lavish flame]

Updated a classic adventure, has a strong villain, its set in a cool place. Its not a very good adventure like... book-wise. The overall stories that come from it are great though.

[empty thicket]

yeah, it feel old and DnD beyond feel a bit more comfortable

[rough basalt]

Adventures in 5es lifespan was just a lot of messes and sometimes good enough to ignore the mess.

[west comet]

i dont see alot coming out of 5.5 either tbh

[rough basalt]

Then you have 2015 where all the books were released by people who could not format a book to save their lives

[west comet]

im probably just gonna keep running 5e

[lavish flame]

They're mostly focusing on settings rn, and they arent really pumping out a ton of books atm

[empty thicket]

its kinda fixing some stuff and quality life upgrades

[rough basalt]

Yeah they wanna try and undo the damage 2008 to 2024 WotC caused

[empty thicket]

polishing some stuff

[west comet]

what damage? i agree with lot of what yall saying but i still really love 5e

[lavish flame]

Forgotten Realms, Eberron, we've got Ravenloft on the horizon. As far as non-settings, we're getting Arcana Unleashed (some book about Magic), and probably a Book of Vile Darkness based on UAs that have been coming out.

[rough basalt]

4e caused a lot of irreparable damage with DnD creators as well as the fanbase due to its horrid corporate level decisions such as ruining Forgotten Realms, driving off several FR creators permanently by doing so, also pushing Paizo away.
Then Crawford and Perkins had no interest in really trying to fix that.

Like it's only after Crawford and Perkins are gone that Ed Greenwood was acknowledged in an FR book again

[west comet]

crawford ruined many things

[rough basalt]

The push to make DMs basically do all the work without the tools they needed.

[crimson gulch]

The tools are there in 5e, allways have been

[rough basalt]

Some of the important tools in there weren't the same tools used for official creation like the monster creator.

This one aint as bad, but the formatting was egregious in early 5e books

[humble cairn]

I really enjoy playing the stuff from Radiant Citadel and Wild Beyond the Witchlight also looks good.

[rough basalt]

Learning how to DM being chapter 8 200+ pages in

[rough basalt]

Ye Radiant and Witchlight are pretty good

Stuff I'd argue between 2017 and 2022 didn't really have any "bad ones"

Barring Light of Xarxys, but spelljammer 5e was just bad overall.

[still plover]

Because you had a good table, or because the quality of the written adventure was good?

[rough basalt]

Spelljammer 5e in hindsight was when it was clear Crawford is better with a system like Daggerheart.

Cause his idea for Spelljammer 5e was "vibes and narrative over actual rules"

Now that I think about the only bad adventures since 2016 I'd say were Light of Xarxys, and Vecna.

Both sharing one critical issue
Rewriting or removing stuff stuff entirely that it should've had.

[lavish flame]

BGDIA is pretty terrible

[rough basalt]

I think it's fine. My one for pretty terrible would be Storm King's Thunder.

An adventure that's purely bones, and they gave you no meat to put on those bones as they told you to use SCAG and we all know what SCAG was.

[humble cairn]

For Radiant Citadel it's good group and good material, I looked through it after running and liked it still. As for Witchlight, I haven't had a chance to play it, but I do like what I've seen of it so far.

[rough basalt]

A book with some good player options and a couple decent tidbits but the stuff that sucked was the rest and sucked pretty bad.

I imagine SKT could be better now with the FR Guides and using Bigbys for some extra Giant types here and there.

[last mountain]

Hi

I would like to make friends and find a DnD group

[karmic pendant]

#looking-for-players or #looking-for-community are great places to look

[empty thicket]

that its good, what is your favorite spell?

[last mountain]

Um I don’t have one, I only played once with some friends who don’t really play anymore

[empty thicket]

oh, then if you need some help to understand stuff, #dnd-newcomers is a channel where you can get such help

[last mountain]

Okay

[edgy badge]

How do I like read pre made dnd adventures like how do I know what to do when someone does something for example if someone says let’s go down this path how do I know what down that path

[sleek flax]

Sometimes you need to make things up or say that path leads where a different path leads

[edgy badge]

But then where would the path that it leads to lead to??

[sleek flax]

If they never take that path it doesnt matter

They’re not likely to backtrack

If they do, thats when you need to make something up

[edgy badge]

Not sure you understand my question

[lavish flame]

Usually the pre-made adventure will tell you. In specific locations, they usually number rooms and hallways on the map, and they key those numbers to sections in the book.

For example, Your players might be exploring Castle Ravenloft, and they enter a room labelled "K84" on the map which keys to a room labelled "K84. Catacombs" in your book. You then read out the highlighted "Boxed Text" or summarize it for your players.

[edgy badge]

Alr thank you

[still plover]

-# Read it in your own words, please.

[lavish flame]

Yeah, the books usually wax poetic about the colors of various furnishings and their state of being. Your players don't really need all that, and itll just become a wall of words to them. Give them the highlights first, fill in details if they ask.

[edgy badge]

So what do I do after I read the text box that says Whats down the path or in the room

[reef tundra]

Have you read one before?

[edgy badge]

Yes

[still plover]

I also find it's valuable because it helps the DM to retain what's important here. Boxed text is much of a muchness. When you read it yourself, take your own notes, give it in your own words you've got a better understanding of what's going on. It's less abstract.

[reef tundra]

Just making sure. Because often the books give brief descriptions of rooms

[lavish flame]

Your players then make decisions about what their characters will do in the space they find themselves in. They might ask things like "I want to see about that marble bust" or "you said there's a bed here? is there anything underneath it?" or even "there's jack shit to do here, lets leave."

From then, you determine the results/consequences of their actions. Maybe the marble bust becomes animate and speaks to the player! Maybe the bed needs a successful Investigation check to find a jewelry box. Maybe the players just leave and go to another room. You then repeat the process of describing locations, the players react, and you tell them their results. Skip the description if they're entering a room they've already been in.

[edgy badge]

Ah ha cheers this helped a lot

[solemn fiber]

Hello!!

I just wanted to ask one quite, as I think of it, silly question!

Are there "practice" Oneshots?

[fallow rain]

elaborate on that rq

[sleek flax]

Theres a lot of short easy ones out there for beginner DMs…?

[jolly canyon]

Starter Kits are essentially "Practice" mini campaign.

[sleek flax]

But yeah idk what practice means exactly

[fallow rain]

Lost mines of phandelver even gives you premade characters to tinker with if making a whole character on your own seems daunting

[dire void]

can i request some help pls? with roll20 macro engineering?

[sleek flax]

Gonna ask just in case: have you looked for tutorials? May find faster help if one works

[kindred kiln]

Yooo, so I've never played DND but I've always wanted to, is that okay? Lol

[sleek flax]

Of course, D&D is always getting new players

[kindred kiln]

Sweet

But I mean I do like neverwinter, and MTG (ik mtg isn't really dnd but)

[arctic bobcat]

If i cast a spell (not a bonus action), am i able to use a light weapon as a bonus action on that same turn

For example, if i cast earth tremor can i use a club after to hit a prone target

[fossil hollow]

The Light property requires you attacked with another light weapon

[severe rampart]

no

[arctic bobcat]

Balright thanks

[fossil hollow]

When you take the Attack action on your turn and attack with a Light weapon, you can make one extra attack as a Bonus Action later on the same turn.

[lofty ingot]

Hello

[arctic bobcat]

Okay cool thanks

[lofty ingot]

I’m new here

[fossil hollow]

hello new here, Im Ti Moth

[lofty ingot]

Hello ti moth

[arctic bobcat]

Nice

[lofty ingot]

My friend is on this sever so I thot I would join

[tall delta]

So the more I look at monks the more I see how well they can press and shutdown hostile spell casters is this the intention for monks?

[empty thicket]

Yes, until some point many martials can.
Until they get access to some of the heavy stuff

[tall delta]

Yea I’ve been playing an owlin monk for a little bit, I’ve been enjoying the insane movement speed but I never really thought about the spellcaster shutdown aspect until now

[solemn fiber]

I'm back!

soryr for the wait

by that i mean
is there campaigns made to just.... train a newbie?

[fallow rain]

yes, any of the starter sets

[cursive fox]

On another server a DM shared the story of their party's monk almost entirely soloing a shadow dragon. I'm a fan.

[fallow rain]

so lost mines of phandelver, dragon of icespire peak, and dragon of stormwreck isle

[solemn fiber]

oh? whats that if i may not be much trouble

[fallow rain]

lost mines of phandelver, dragon of icespire peak, and dragon of stormwreck isle.

If youre looking to play 2024 dnd / 5,5 specifically, then heroes on the borderlands is gonna be your bread and butter

[arctic bobcat]

How would one handed quarterstaff combat work? Not in game but looks wise. I just cannot see someone fighting with a staff using only one hand

[sleek flax]

Spinnin it like a cane

[solemn fiber]

i

[sleek flax]

Ever seen someone dance with a cane?

[solemn fiber]

huh? waht should i play for starters?

[sleek flax]

Idk theres probably better comparisons

[solemn fiber]

im feeling confused

[empty thicket]

Close the gap and their throats, so they wont cast spells

[crimson gulch]

Like the cartoon frog?

[arctic bobcat]

hi feeling confused im zavr

[fallow rain]

any of those are good. Theyre all seperate adventures that come with something called a "starter set" which gives you some very easy rules to understand the game, some premade characters and other neat things

[solemn fiber]

ohhhh
and i can play those without bothering anyone?

[fallow rain]

oh! you mean solo? like without friends ?

[sleek flax]

Yes, that is what I meant XD I can’t believe I know what you’re referring to

[solemn fiber]

I JUST THOUGHT SO
-# funny word "friends". mine dont even know what dnd STANDS for

[fallow rain]

okay so, playing dnd solo is **TECHNICALLY ** possible. but theres no offical way to do it, and for your first time, i really really wouldnt reccomend it

[sleek flax]

Plenty of people out there are willing to be a dungeon master for beginners

[fallow rain]

what this guy said

[solemn fiber]

oh? THATS GREAT

i wont bother anyone while doing that woudl i

[sleek flax]

The first game I joined was part of a big server with a bunch of one shots being played, in my biased opinion you should look for a one shot (doesn’t have to be in a big server though)

[fallow rain]

by bother anyone do you mean like, actively annoy them ? because no ones gonna get annoyed if you join a game designed to help new players learn

[solemn fiber]

oh thank god
thanks!

[solemn fiber]

i will! thanks for the tips you two!

[fallow rain]

go check out the #find-a-game channel in this server, should have some stuff there

[solemn fiber]

okii!!

[loud tendon]

find a game tells you how to use our Looking-for channels.. the instructions for posting with bot commands, etc. Very helpful to know before you start replying to LFP threads

[solemn fiber]

okay miss moderator!

[loud tendon]

also, good tip for newer players looking for a game - it can take awhile to find the right game for you. Due to Timezones, life schedules and the fact there are so many players than DMs, it just is what it is.. give yourself patience and keep looking - when you find a solid group the wait is worth it 🙂

[random moon]

Pro tip: can't unlock a door? Find out what the door and doorframe are made out of, as well as the walls around it. Going through a broken down door (or creating your own) is just as valid as unlocking it.

[reef tundra]

Fighter brain

[solemn fiber]

taht sounds interesting!!

any other tips like that?

[sleek flax]

Well D&D has a lot of creativity and freedom in it, there are so many things you can do to any obstacle

[solemn fiber]

i was thinking of making my character an explosive based one from the start

so i think theres that for obstacles

[random moon]

Buy a bag of ball bearings for 1000 pieces of ammo for the catapult spell, and you'll never have to roll perception for another rock again.

Also, if the wall is on loose dirt, no it isn't (mold earth)

[solemn fiber]

wuh

[solemn fiber]

mold earth?

[random moon]

Yep read the spell.

[random moon]

My favorite is fire. But that can cause problems, which is why i always have ray of frost if I'm a spellcaster

[empty thicket]

or just make a hole through the wall, easier than finding out if the door is dangerous or not

im not falling in another fey trick door

[random moon]

That was covered in my post as well 😂

[last mountain]

My character is done, how do I play

[idle oar]

Find a group is the next step

You can read #find-a-game to learn how to use our Looking For Game channels to find a group to play with

[edgy badge]

I dnd dm premade story’s can you only read the stuff in the Blue because for example someone looks at a statue what do I say

[sleek flax]

You read what is on page but if the description is lacking or gives a gameplay aspect away, you improv it

[edgy badge]

But what do I say when someone investigates a statue for example

Do I just say the description of it in the non blue text

[keen hemlock]

All my friends are spoiled by beyond they won't make a sheet without it

My first ever character was pencil and paper at my local library and it was the most fun part of making it smh

[idle oar]

Relay what information they should get if they successfully investigate it.
Otherwise, just give them the read-aloud text and if they ask for more just say, "that's all you find."

[keen hemlock]

swarmaster ranger is so terrible im tempted to attempt to make it good

every other dnd class has something going for it and ranger is the ttrpg equivelent of a wet sock

[wintry spindle]

I think rangers potential also has gone to waste with the lack of focus of good exploration mechanics

A lot of tallented dnd creators has tried to remedy it thougj

[keen hemlock]

Their main nieche is something most people dont even do in sessions

[dim flicker]

aww they gotta try it at least once

[keen hemlock]

Complete potential man class

"They are so good in dungeons tho!!!" Look me dead in my face and tell me the last time youve been in a dungeon

[rough basalt]

I'm in one rn in my Tuesday game.

[twilit sail]

Just play fighter w bow

[keen hemlock]

#true

Just play fighter in general

I might be a part of the problem cuz anytime someone new wants to play dnd I tell them to go with the old reliable human fighter

Consistent and good

[fossil hollow]

if im playing a ranger its because of spells and subclass

[rough basalt]

Ye

[twilit sail]

Someone told me that fighter is meant to be a class you multiclass with

[keen hemlock]

It really is

[twilit sail]

Would you say thats true

[keen hemlock]

High level it doesnt really get... anything really interesting

[twilit sail]

Isnt that a martial thing

[keen hemlock]

Paladin is a class thats made to go FULL ride but something like fighter works 10x better mixing it

[empty thicket]

yep, it is

you can directly mutliclass to barbarian, that is a good mix
Or spend some ASI for get the stats for another classes

[keen hemlock]

Tbh lemme not be harsh, ranger does have a use!

[twilit sail]

I have yet to play a paladin

Is hexadin fun

[keen hemlock]

One singular subclass and its only useful for like 3 builds

(Gloom stalker)

[twilit sail]

I want to run like a doomslayer type char who sacrificed his soul to fight demons

[fossil hollow]

Paladin

[keen hemlock]

Gun paladin

Very niche very fun

[fossil hollow]

if youre playing high optimization, sure

[twilit sail]

Idk if my curreny game will let me use guns

So ill prob just stick w sword and shield

[keen hemlock]

Gloom stalker is the smurf build

Idk if its even possible to smurf a ttrpg

But its that build for when rp is more of a suggestion than a requirement

[fossil hollow]

the point is that not everyone plays at that level of optimization. Ive been playing a Beast Master, its been great

I have a player who is a level 15 one. Also great

[keen hemlock]

Shout out for that person for beast master

Such a cool class on paper

[fossil hollow]

its cool in action too

2024 also boosted up the action economy for it

[jolly canyon]

War Cleric is mid afaik but it's been so fun in action. Making sure my spell casters hit their big spells has been fun. +10 to hit is nice early on

[remote bough]

hello chat

[fossil hollow]

Steel Wind Strike is all i need

[lean wigeon]

multiclassing was never part of the core rules in 5e to begin with, it was an optional rule, but everyone and their mother loves coffeelocks and sorcadin builds and munchkin'ing so it became a core rule in '24

[eager marsh]

No class is ‘meant’ to be multi classes and most multi classes are generally just worse than being solo class now in 2024 even the fighter dips aren’t as broken (action surge can’t cast anymore)

[lean wigeon]

multiclassing is a cheap and lazy way for wotc to avoid having to design meaningful and flavorful subclass options

[severe rampart]

is that a reference, I feel like that's a reference.

[lean wigeon]

if only there were more subclasses like divine soul sorc or eldritch knight fighter that explores "multiclass" fantasies without the need to multiclass

[eager marsh]

Flavor is free and 9 times out of 10 what people want from a multiclass is a superfluously perceived flavor of character that they can make by just sticking to one class

[twilit sail]

Abandon 5e
Return to odnd

[lean wigeon]

i dont like race as class

i also hate osr

[versed leaf]

Can I use D&Dbeyond for an NPC that my players keep dragging along with them?

Ill keep it a few levels below

[jolly canyon]

Wdym? Like make it a Stat block? By all means! That's a dnd classic. Your playing grabbing one of your throw away NPCs and turning it into a full on party member

[versed leaf]

A throw away gangster, taken prisoner, and they drag him along their adventures. Mainly trying to reform him and keep an eye on him.

[jolly canyon]

Yee I'd keep it a Stat block tho and not a character sheet. It's way easier for you this way.

[versed leaf]

Thanks!

[arctic bobcat]

I’m playing as a druid for the first time and had a few questions:

1. i want to play a more melee-based druid (not a tank though), what subclass would be best for that?
2. whats some good and fun wild shape creatures yall like to run (for lower levels)
3. whats some spells that’ll be good for my more melee based druid?

[severe rampart]

Shiellagh?

[cursive fox]

Circle of the Moon is probably the favorite for melee druid using wild shapes. It boosts the range of what CR you can go with, so it opens up stronger potential wild shapes.

[blissful ibex]

yeah... we really need a traditional martial subclass

they won't though because then that'd just be basically better ranger /hj

[severe rampart]

pulls out bingo card

[blissful ibex]

I did my part c:

[arctic bobcat]

I was thinking maybe spores?

[blissful ibex]

no extra attak though >.>

[severe rampart]

Spores has extra damage yeah, but Moon Druid is just better

[blissful ibex]

it's not a traditional gish martial subclass if it has no extra atack
and maybe allows casting a cantrip as a replacement

[arctic bobcat]

But shrooms 🤔

[severe rampart]

I got a Spores Druid player

[blissful ibex]

And they're not going to do that on Cleric due to Paladin and they're not going to do it on Druid because Ranger

[noble ermine]

Where are we allowed to post links and videos?

[arctic bobcat]

I mean cleric is pretty melee based

Kinda

[blissful ibex]

no extra attack though; even on Forge, Tempest, and War

[sleek flax]

Don’t know if you can… #moderator-support check if you can here

[severe rampart]

could go Valor Bard...

[blissful ibex]

meanwhile Bard, Warlock, and Wizard get extra attack (warlock gets 2 even)
and Fighter, Rogue, (and soon Monk) get a 1/3 caster subclass
Even artificer has one

[cursive fox]

If it's a D&D actual play or some kind of informational video related to D&D then it can be posted in #dnd-media be aware that memes don't count.

[twilit sail]

Whats your fav support build to rub

[blissful ibex]

Druidlock c:

Bard or Cleric and probs Wizard are better at traditional support though

[severe rampart]

to rub? I don't rub any of my builds

[twilit sail]

I will banish you to the shadow realm

[cinder timber]

How do you get more immersed when you play dnd as a player?

[bronze hound]

Giving my character a voice different from my own helps me to get in character, as it creates a separation of when I'm talking and when they are

Really think about what your character wants rather than what you as a player want. Give them flaws. Give them quirks. Gotta think about it as if you're writing a character for a book, as DND is collaborative storytelling between the players and the dm

[cinder timber]

Okay, different voice and speech mannerisms. Maybe, ill use all the fancy words I know to reinforce them. Lol

[twilit sail]

Write backstories

Write stories

[cinder timber]

That does make sense. Does the DM have a part in creating an immersive story?

[twilit sail]

Cosplay
When you attack monsters in game attack the dm irl

[bronze hound]

Yeah definitely. One of my first characters was uneducated and could barely read so I used small words a lot

[cinder timber]

Well. . . Yeah, I do that? Isnt that the game

[bronze hound]

Absolutely, it's collaborative so it's both of you working together on that

[cinder timber]

I see. I had this one DM and he made it ultra easy to immerse. He had music and good diction. Since that dude, ive been struggling 😭

[bronze hound]

(if they're a good dm) they should be considering your character, their personality and strengths and flaws, and how they may interact with the story

[twilit sail]

Dnd chessboxing
When you take damage in game the dm gets to punch you irl and vice versa

[cinder timber]

I mean there is that. I was more referring to using your words to make the world come alive if that makes sense. Pictures help, but the words give it life. Idk if that makes sense

[bronze hound]

Yeah maybe it's a difference in quality of DM

[twilit sail]

I personally find pbp more immersive

Also im much better at writing than speaking

[bronze hound]

Perhaps your new dm doesn't describe things in as much depth or in a way that appeals to you as much

[cinder timber]

I may just return to dming myself

[cinder timber]

Yes and no. At baseline, pbp is more immersive. But if u have someone excellent, you can get real immersive in dnd via voice.

[bronze hound]

Yeah fs

[twilit sail]

You could kidnap matt mercer

[bronze hound]

pbp is a baseline quality wise but it doesn't compare to voice at it heights imo

[cinder timber]

I have a problem of overprepping when I dm, and ill be real busy in the summer. So I may dm in the summer to learn short prep as I wont have any time lol

[cinder timber]

Exactly my point

[bronze hound]

Perhaps try something with a more episodic nature, like a monster investigation unit or detectives or something going from job to job session to session

[reef tundra]

There are such things as text campaigns that are not pbp

One of my campaigns are that now

[twilit sail]

There are?

[cinder timber]

Hmmm, I may do that. I dont know what i want my next premise to be tbh.

[severe rampart]

How does that work?

[reef tundra]

Yes!

[cinder timber]

U have session times where you type

[twilit sail]

Do tell

[reef tundra]

Well it’s just like a regular dnd session but instead of a voice chat you just text

[twilit sail]

Neat

I would love that

[cinder timber]

It's nice tbh

[reef tundra]

It works out pretty well for shy players, mute players, people who find it difficult to improvise quickly, etc

[cinder timber]

One person told me that they like it because they don't have to deal with mismatching voices for a PC

[twilit sail]

Real
Differentiating ppl through just voices sucks

[cinder timber]

They meant if the pc is a brooding ranger and the player voice is high pitched, it creates a mismatch 😭

[reef tundra]

I am a voice actor so I don’t get much of that issue, but it is still nice

Helps with immersion as players imagine the voices to themselves

[severe rampart]

My imagination always changes their voices and then I forget the voice

[twilit sail]

Ah yeah

Its also easier to do differently gendered chars

[empty thicket]

i like to do perfomances so its easier to me

im still improving some of my acting, but im good, last ses everybody loved how broken and desperate i sound (We almost got tpk but i managed to pull out one of the allies)

[severe rampart]

Fighter just nat 20'd three times in a row

[twilit sail]

Rip

[empty thicket]

Epic

and i always try to differ from the player voice to the character voice

sometimes saying the names of the players or the name of the characters

[glad ferry]

Who's ready for new ravenloft?

[rough basalt]

Me

Also I've found the solution to my creative block for tabletop

[glad ferry]

Whats that?

[rough basalt]

Just make shit up.

Stop thinking too hard about it.

[glad ferry]

Lol. Just make a general outline

[rough basalt]

I'm at my most creative when I'm just yapping to myself out loud about ideas not sitting around thinking too hard.

[strong wave]

What are the odds of that

[gusty charm]

Like 90% of my DMing advice for people boils down to “fake it til you make it”

[strong wave]

(1/20)(1/20)(1/20)

Big numbers go!

[gusty charm]

.0125% I believe

[strong wave]

1 in a. Billion

I'm not good at the math part of dnd

Or the making c character part

[reef tundra]

Meeeeee

[gusty charm]

That’s okay, you will improve

[reef tundra]

Everyone starts somewhere

My first character’s backstory was “she fell from the sky, has no memories of before” deadass

[strong wave]

Very breath of the wild

[reef tundra]

Indeed

[gusty charm]

My first character was so edgy, I even gave her a sickle even though she wasn’t proficient in it😅

[sleek flax]

My first was just “lol accused of murder and kicked out of tribe”

[reef tundra]

Still not a very good backstory for a dnd character though

[reef tundra]

Hey, the sickle sounds absolutely necessary for that

[strong wave]

Not the sickle lol

[sleek flax]

In case any vampires suddenly showed up

[gusty charm]

I actually ran a campaign where all the players had total amnesia and they slowly rediscovered their past (and their roles in it) as they adventured

[sleek flax]

Could never be too prepared pft

[reef tundra]

Not bad, actually. Speaking as a DM, that would give the DM quite a few things to work with

[sleek flax]

Yeah the entire tribe still existed + whoever killed her mentor (probably the chief who didn’t like an outsider being trained?)

Still love my newer backstories wayyy more

[reef tundra]

“Probbably” you never found out? What happened to the campaign?

[sleek flax]

This sounds so fun btw!

[sleek flax]

Oh it was western march or whatever they call it

[reef tundra]

Ahh, westmarch. Classic

[sleek flax]

I only played her in one shots

[reef tundra]

One day! One day I’ll run one

[glad ferry]

Just have your chsracter be from the mortal realm placed in the fey at a young age leave it and lose all memories of what happened in the inbetween times aftet they leave the fey

[gusty charm]

I got the players to consent to various levels of control, eg I said they could pick all their stats/race/name/etc but if they wanted a bigger mystery, I would pick for them

[sleek flax]

My newest character had his entire last party killed, left his homeland out of guilt, and abandoned his past life goals to become an artist lol

[gusty charm]

That’s what I’ve been saying for years lol

[reef tundra]

Oh…

[sleek flax]

Thats awesomeee god I’d love that

[glad ferry]

I'd be down for that

[torpid hound]

Let me see if I can send messages

Oh I can now send messages

[gusty charm]

Don’t worry bro you’ll do it I believe in you

[glad ferry]

Plus if a character dies they die. It happens. Almost had it happen to one of mine

I like a good challenge

[reef tundra]

Fortunately I have the premise done, and my setting seems perfect for a west march

[glad ferry]

Let's go

[severe rampart]

God I hate my luck

[glad ferry]

Granddaughter of straud sounds stressful

[severe rampart]

Electricity surge just fried my headphones, can't play D&D until I get a replacement

[gusty charm]

I think she was someone’s wife before

[gusty charm]

I’m sorry

[severe rampart]

Grr it's all your fault

[reef tundra]

Tell me about it

[gusty charm]

I personally struck the power lines with lightning… you were getting too powerful

[reef tundra]

Turns out, my character who is the granddaughter of Strahd, has a sister she never knew about, now I gotta find her before big bad granddad does

[sleek flax]

Ooh!

[severe rampart]

I've tried plugging it out and plugging it back in, didn't work, that's how you know it's dead dead 😔

[gusty charm]

Got my Xbox fried like that… it literally stated smoking

[severe rampart]

Just my luck

[strong wave]

Do any of you only play online

[sleek flax]

Yep!

[severe rampart]

oh my god I just tapped it lightly and it started working again

[strong wave]

Epic win

[reef tundra]

Meeee. Pretty much all of my main campaigns are online now :(

[gusty charm]

The power I spoke of…

[sleek flax]

Cant reliably make it to games IRL myself

[gusty charm]

Yeah

[severe rampart]

I got caught up, Vampire Spawn nearly ripped my heart out

[strong wave]

How did you find your games

[severe rampart]

LFG posts

or I just made them myself

[sleek flax]

R/lfg on reddit, and #looking-for-players

[gusty charm]

I’ve also done playtesting for MCDM online, and that was fun. If you gain enough experience, you should consider playtesting (not necessarily for MCDM)

[reef tundra]

A friend of mine contacted their friends and brought them into the game

[gusty charm]

Playing with friends and playing in person is most fun, definitely

[strong wave]

Playing in person is stressful for me

I always get really self concious

[flint ledge]

Good Timezone everyone

[strong wave]

Does action surge let me attack again

Is attacking an action

Why would I even want an action surge

[reef tundra]

Attacking is an action, yes, and action surge lets you take the attack action

[strong wave]

Oh cool

[severe rampart]

depending on how things go, I think my first character is about to die

[reef tundra]

More attack, more hurt

[strong wave]

Is that once per turn or per combat

[reef tundra]

Once per short rest

[gusty charm]

I think it worked for my high school friends and I because we were in drama so we had done improv in front of each other

[flint ledge]

Wise words truly

[north vine]

Do you think oath of the crown eould go well to roleplay a samurai, folks?

[strong wave]

I love whose line is it anyway

[severe rampart]

I get the pain of martials

the DM for this oneshot I'm playing at uses crit fumble tables

I roll 4 attacks

[strong wave]

Is that a apaladin oath

[severe rampart]

buddy, what do you mean my scimitar flew 25 ft away 😭

[north vine]

Yup

[strong wave]

Why not just play samurai

[severe rampart]

there is no Samurai

[flint ledge]

I'd say so yeah, although an oath of glory would also do it

[north vine]

Wanted to play paladin with samurai vibes

[gusty charm]

Sounds like it to me

[north vine]

There's fighter archetype

[strong wave]

In 5e?

[severe rampart]

5.5e? not that I know of

[flint ledge]

5e and 5.5 are still compatible

[severe rampart]

oh Xanathar's

[north vine]

In 5e there is one

[north vine]

Yup. And, like, fully

[reef tundra]

Samurai the goat I love it

[cobalt escarp]

samurai didnt get updated but it still works

[empty thicket]

a samurai yes, you get some T.hp and can sacrifice advantage for extra attacks

[north vine]

Except fpr some things like paladins and smite features

Yeah, i know. I just want to play specifically paladin, and want to be a samurai

[reef tundra]

I should make another samurai. The only one I had was a dragon slayer and I loved him

[cobalt escarp]

samurais make good archery builds

[flint ledge]

Anyways yeah I think Oath of glory or crown might be the best for a paladin samurai

[north vine]

I think conquest as well

[reef tundra]

Agreed. Or devotion

[north vine]

But conwuest seems pretty evil for me

[reef tundra]

Crown works best I think

[north vine]

Well yeah, good ol vanilla

[flint ledge]

I am beginning to notice my sleepiness affecting my typing

[reef tundra]

It is pretty evil coded.
That’s Why it stole my heart ❤️

[cobalt escarp]

are we talking theme wise or mechanics?

[north vine]

And why i can't bring myself to play so

[flint ledge]

Well I suppose it depends on what kind of Samurai you're going for

[north vine]

I feel uncomfortable playing evil

[reef tundra]

That’s valid

[north vine]

So i will try my best to play oath of the crown good

[reef tundra]

I’m a bad B irl so it’s fun being a bad B in game

[north vine]

And i respect people who aren't, because they are... Most of the people

[reef tundra]

Although I don’t play genuine evil characters.

You are bad guy, but that doesn’t make you a BAD guy

[twilit sail]

Most of my antagonistic chars arent like pure evil

[reef tundra]

I played a neutral evil Monk conqueror once, but he wasn’t a genuinely awful person, and didn’t obstruct the game

[reef tundra]

I like making antagonists that the players will cry over

[twilit sail]

Saaaame

[cobalt escarp]

true, conquest paladins just want land and stuff. thats not really that evil

[twilit sail]

Well i mean i write and rp

Dnd is a new thing for me

[north vine]

So my char will be samurai who swirn an oath to the idea of society

[gusty charm]

I made an antagonist the mind-controlled gf of one of the PCs

[twilit sail]

But i love sobbing readers

[severe rampart]

Wife of Tasha and Vecna and granddaughter of Strahd?

[reef tundra]

Just today, I made a player doubt everything they thought about an antagonist when they pulled out a necklace with a picture of their dead daughter

[twilit sail]

Mary sue ass bloodline

[reef tundra]

The family tree is… complicated

[north vine]

Probably will make them a tiefling and play it as oni(our dm approves that iirc)

[severe rampart]

is "Champion of Mystra" also there

[twilit sail]

My main oc is called the mary sue

[north vine]

Amd, like, they got picked up and raised by humans so they sworn to protect the society, the thing that kept them alive

[reef tundra]

Never

Slayer of Mystra, maybe

[reef tundra]

Laughs in sorcerer paladin

[gusty charm]

Is it like a throuple? Or do Vecna & Tasha not know about each other or what

[cobalt escarp]

they're the most powerful polycule in the multiverse

[undone rain]

Whos tasha anyway

[severe rampart]

I don't know, but her cauldron has everything

she's also got a hideous laugh

[cobalt escarp]

and a bubbling cauldron

[undone rain]

Oh wow shes an archfey

[lavish flame]

Tasha is a Witch Queen and the daughter of Baba Yaga and the former Friend-With-Benefit with the Demon Lord Graz'zt. She also goes by Natasha and Iggwilv.

[cobalt escarp]

nah shes a human adopted by an archfey

[lavish flame]

She's a very powerful figure in the D&D multiverse

[severe rampart]

Baba Yaga is actually in D&D?

[lavish flame]

yup, also a super powerful figure

[severe rampart]

I thought it'd be Baba Lysaga

[undone rain]

Lol reminds me of john wick

[cobalt escarp]

do they have a offical stat block

[lavish flame]

Baba Lysaga is an homage to Baba Yaga in the Ravenloft setting. Baba Yaga is also in D&D, and is mostly unrelated to Baba Lysaga

[strong wave]

How many feats do level 7 fighter get

[lavish flame]

not in 5e, and tbh I'm not sure if Baba Yaga has a statblock in previous editions

[cobalt escarp]

2

[severe rampart]

3 if you start as human

[lavish flame]

2024? If so, then Origin Feat from Background, Fighting Style Feat at level 1, Level 4 Feat, Level 6 Feat adds up to 4

with Human, 5

[reef tundra]

They share me

They don’t like each other much so they just take turns

[cobalt escarp]

it sounds like you are a child of dihorsed parents

[reef tundra]

4 if we talking 2024 backgrounds

[reef tundra]

Nah I’m just married to an evil Lich and a chaotic witch queen

[severe rampart]

5 if we add the fighting style feat they get for free

[reef tundra]

6 if we add 1 to 5

[undone rain]

Fighter legit got main character energy with all those feats😭

[north vine]

Oh, for the name i gonna use the xharacter from the obscure anime i watched roughly 4-5 years ago

[cobalt escarp]

a method i use for names is find a word associated with your character and put that word into google translate for a bunch of different languages. all but gaurenteed to find a good name

[north vine]

I use myth heroes, mashing random words together, names of character i like or random human names that just came in mind

[gusty charm]

That’s how I got kasuf lol

[errant crag]

I wanna play a Centaur Rogue because the idea of a Centaur being super stealthy while being the size of a horse is hilarious to me

[woven flint]

According to size catagories, PC Centaurs are actually smaller than an average horse

[errant crag]

Yeah they're still medium size category

[undone rain]

Still big fellas

[errant crag]

But they're also still a horse with a humanoid upper body

[undone rain]

Bigger then a pony atleast

[errant crag]

Definitely bigger than your average humanoid

[cobalt escarp]

still kinda hard to hind allat

[errant crag]

I wonder if my DM would let me take Vampire Touched from Astarions Book of Hungers so I can always have Spider Climb prepared to get around the climbing issues

[undone rain]

I also find it funny with goliaths too

[cobalt escarp]

yeah they can be 8 ft tall

[undone rain]

Those guys are usually 6-8 ft

[cobalt escarp]

thats about as big as andre the giant

[woven flint]

I mean, mechanically, not really

[undone rain]

Youd think big guys like that would be a barb or some other strength based martial but having em be a sneaky rogue would be hilarious

[woven flint]

To be fair

Most Barbarians don't wear armor

They carry "heavy" weapons, but at most, heavy weapons are like.. 8-10 pounds maximum

[cobalt escarp]

the pike is 18 pounds

[woven flint]

Okay

Anyway, nah, I wouldn't be surprised at a stealthy barbarian personally

Nobody is completely incapable of stealth

Even big and strong people can be pretty quiet

[limber trail]

Barbarians are a class I’d see as at least competent at stealth

[cobalt escarp]

i mean if i saw a barbarian axe in hand trying to be stealthy, i would be to scared to call it out

[onyx sluice]

Intimidation for stealth

[candid relic]

Has anybody made or played in a tensura based campaign

[kind gorge]

I get that people hate how the Ranger is so dependent on HM, but what's crazy is... the capstone in the UA was so much better. They did the A test B test thing where the decided to go with the better received of the two, and they gave us the UA 6 Ranger... better at level 13 and 17, but gave us the bad cap stone as opposed to

"You become an unparalleled hunter of your foes. When your attack roll misses the target of your Hunter’s Mark, you can add your Wisdom modifier to the attack roll, potentially turning it into a hit. In addition, whenever you hit that target with an attack roll and deal damage to it, you can add your Wisdom modifier to the damage."

Not saying it would have made evryone happy, but had they moved the current cap stone to 10 instead of tireless, and made this the cap stone... I think the Ranger would be viewed way different.

[undone rain]

Considering dex is also one of their main stats id say so yeah

[thorn osprey]

Slowly realizing my party is going to be HELL

[turbid vessel]

Especially 2024 barbarian, with their primal knowledge ability. Don't even need dex

[empty thicket]

they cant use their str for stealth?

[keen kestrel]

Primal knowledge lets you do a lot of things while raging now

[empty thicket]

so, in fact, you can. Nice

[keen kestrel]

It's not everything, but it does give them a bit more utility

[empty thicket]

Doing a medicine check smashing the ally chest and instantly revive him

[torpid hound]

Barbarians are valid scouts now smh

[keen kestrel]

It still uses a rage to do all this, and you can't extend it forever

[torpid hound]

Good point

[thorn osprey]

How do you hide by being stronger

Intimidate the enemy into being unable to see you?

[torpid hound]

The handbook says your primal power improves your skills

[thorn osprey]

The book can be wrong sometimes it's okay

[keen kestrel]

Basically your senses get heightened and allow you to manipulate your muscles a bit better if I had to guess

[thorn osprey]

(Joking)

[severe rampart]

Be so strong they pray you're just a figment of their imagination

[torpid hound]

Ah yes, the Krod maneuver

[thorn osprey]

LOL this is the best one yet

But Idk, I can see it making you more likely to pass Dex checks but not enhance it by your own strength lol

[keen kestrel]

It's very specific skill checks tbh

[noble pine]

What's the best way to play dnd?

[keen kestrel]

But I don't care if it's a little unrealistic, since it both mechanically helps the class and seems like a fun way to add some sort of "magic" to something that just likes hitting things

[thorn osprey]

The way you and your players like

[torpid hound]

I think the "Warrior Mage Thief" triangle is an extremely flawed way to categorize D&D classes since half of the classes are 100% mage

[thorn osprey]

The only true warrior class is probably Barbarian, only because they cannot cast spells

[keen kestrel]

the most mage mage is clearly sorcerer, but other mages can trend closer to warrior or thief

[torpid hound]

The Fighter doesn't have magic except for a specific subclass

[noble pine]

I have 5 players but all can't meet all the time, I would like to get a few more my main goal is 7

[thorn osprey]

If your 5 players can't meet, I don't know if getting more players is the best goal

[torpid hound]

Being able to use daggers doesn't make you a thief, literally every class can do that

[keen kestrel]

The fighter can be more dexterous at times, so I'd argue they can veer slightly between warrior and thief

[thorn osprey]

Unless you don't mind running without some of them

[thorn osprey]

Then you have eldritch knight

[torpid hound]

Which class would be 33/33/33?

[keen kestrel]

sure, but having access to spells like knock and arcane lock can certainly do a lot

[crimson gulch]

In person on paper with no electronics in sight

[thorn osprey]

Probably ranger

[torpid hound]

Do not tell me the Ranger is a warrior

[noble pine]

They can meet it's more work schedules now I don't mind running without them

[keen kestrel]

I'd agree honestly

we could throw another wrench in the plan

by adding a 4th point, the priest or healer

[thorn osprey]

Why not? There is an entire subclass for fighters that allows them to become better archers, thus making it warrior like to shoot arrows

[torpid hound]

Then it's just the original 4 classes

[keen kestrel]

Exactly, then you can put where on a diagram other classes would fit close to those

[torpid hound]

If you think about it there's no actual definition of what "warrior" and "thief" mean

Does it mean Strength and Dexterity? Or battle and stealth? But stealth is literally one specific skill. This is too confusing

[limber trail]

They're a martial class with a number of class features and spells based around attacking

[torpid hound]

But what does warrior and thief mean

[limber trail]

They're original 1e classes iirc

[torpid hound]

The Rogue also has a lot of features about attacking, that doesn't make it a warrior

[thorn osprey]

Warrior: a fighter who goes head on and doesn't just dishonourable acts for fighting
Theif: a stealthy person who likes to sneak around before starting a fight, doing underhanded tactics instead of going headon
🤷‍♂️ that's what my brain tells me.

[knotty vine]

Yo I have a question

[torpid hound]

The only thief would be the Rogue then

[twilit sail]

Id say bard is a mage thief hybrid

[limber trail]

The triangle is generally warrior/mage/thief. Most classes fall somewhere in between. The point that was made is that ranger specifically is a mix of all three.

[severe rampart]

What would you consider dishonorable?

[torpid hound]

What if thief meant expert (skills)?

[limber trail]

I mean yeah typically that's a part of it

[knotty vine]

So, there is this group who I told have an event to go to every Sunday, and they said, "We won't start without you." Fast forward to Sunday, and they started playing, you guessed it, without me. Now they are calling me childish for being hesitant to play with them again. IMTA?

[torpid hound]

That would make more sense

[thorn osprey]

Backstabbing, hitting someone's weak spot when they're not looking to begin the fight, suckerpunching, ect.

[twilit sail]

Sneak attacks
Manipulation
Disguises

[severe rampart]

That's not what Rogues do.

[knotty vine]

Sneak attacks

[buoyant frost]

This relates to dnd and real life, does it count as a skill to be able to just go, "Not my circus not my monkeys" when something happens?

[severe rampart]

Rogues don't suckerpunch, you can't target a "weak spot", and there's no mechanic for backstabbing

[knotty vine]

exuse my language but isnt that why sneak attack says

[torpid hound]

???

[limber trail]

There's no one rule, but classes that get expertise are generally slightly more "thief"like with their support for skill checks and out of combat solutions

[severe rampart]

Sneak Attack yes they do, but half the time they aren't even sneaking for sneak attack

[knotty vine]

Sneak Attack. Beginning at 1st level, you know how to strike subtly and exploit a foe's distraction.

You dont have to sneak to sneak attack your trying "Exploiting a foe's distraction"

[limber trail]

to be fair sneak attack could easily be flavoured as all three of these things by a rogue in combat

[knotty vine]

One of those things is kind of it already

[severe rampart]

That is fair

[fickle heart]

RPG-wise, Warriors often fight with their skill and/or power with weaponry or their bodies, where Thieves fight using less direct tactics that allow them to nonetheless keep up with Warriors.

[severe rampart]

But also, just because you're a fighter doesn't automatically make you honorable, it's moreso the player/character than the class

[knotty vine]

Not all rogues but Rogues are know to be shady

[limber trail]

Now I will 100% say rogues are more than just that and I don't necessarily agree with either description that was given, I think they don't really strike at the heart of the difference in a meaningful way

[torpid hound]

Like a Chaotic Neutral mercenary?

[woven flint]

Guess what I'm doing chat

[cobalt escarp]

ye

[severe rampart]

That's one of them, sure

[knotty vine]

Depends on the type of fighter

No one class is stuck to one aliment

[severe rampart]

at the end of the day, it's not about classes, it's about the player and the character they play

[knotty vine]

This aint 3e anymore

[torpid hound]

Laughs in no evil Paladin oath in 2024

[knotty vine]

You can be an evil paladin

[woven flint]

An Oath doesn't specifically have to bs good.

[knotty vine]

Just swear an evil oath lmao

[torpid hound]

Oh wait Oathbreaker bruh

[cobalt escarp]

i mean you can flavor devotion as evil

[knotty vine]

Conquest seems decently evil

[severe rampart]

Hopelessly devoted to youuu~

[torpid hound]

Not in the new PHB

[woven flint]

Glory CAN be Evil

[knotty vine]

Vengeance can be easily evil

[torpid hound]

Forgot what it's about can you remind me?

[limber trail]

Paladin Oaths can range across the alignment chart. There are some oaths where it's really hard to follow them while being evil sure but you do not need to be lawful good to swear a paladin oath. There's also an Oathbreaker UA in the works

[severe rampart]

All Paladin subclasses can be flavored as evil

[severe rampart]

Glory

[torpid hound]

... I'm just gonna look it up

[lavish flame]

I'd be hard pressed to call Genies "not evil" tbh

[limber trail]

I'm gonna be honest it feels to me like a failing in creativity to say that any paladin subclass can't be evil, because you can 100% create an evil paladin of any oath - even redemption and devotion. Those things are difficult to do sure but possible

[twilit sail]

Oath of love?

[cobalt escarp]

oathbreaker is stupid imo. if a oath of conquest paladin, a evil-ish oath, gives up that oath, why do they get more evil powers

[woven flint]

... Oath of Devotion 😭

[severe rampart]

I want a subclass of that

[twilit sail]

Making out w your god instead of praying to them

[severe rampart]

Oath of Friendship

[knotty vine]

Not all oath breaking apaldins become oathbreakers

[cobalt escarp]

i hav eseen homebrew oath of love

[limber trail]

People misunderstand what oathbreaker paladins are a ton. You become an oathbreaker not just by breaking your oath, but specifically by rejecting it to seek dark and necromantic powers.

[woven flint]

Not all Paladins need deities

[severe rampart]

Just because you're Oath Breaker, doesn't mean you're Oathbreaker

[cobalt escarp]

oooooooh mb

[knotty vine]

BG3 did number for oathbreaker 😭

[lean wigeon]

oathbreaker is a misnomer

[limber trail]

It's also poorly named imo

[torpid hound]

It's about heroism.

[cobalt escarp]

then where do they get there power from

[knotty vine]

To become an "Oath breaker" you have to give up your oath instead

[torpid hound]

Oath

[knotty vine]

The oath...

[twilit sail]

Making out w random passerby

[limber trail]

Typically a paladin's power comes from their oath and belief in their own goals

[woven flint]

Making promises/oaths

[cobalt escarp]

so the power of beliving in yourself?

[limber trail]

(which is why they're charisma based in 5e)

[woven flint]

Literally yes 💀

[torpid hound]

I guess they CAN swear a new good oath since the PHB allows that?

[knotty vine]

Both pretty much

[cobalt escarp]

so why isnt everyone a paladin

[knotty vine]

Clerics are the only class who get there powers from a god

Directly from god I mean

[cobalt escarp]

and celestial warlocks and divine soul sorcerers

[limber trail]

(Actually clerics can also get it from the raw domain itself, and not necessarily from a deity)

[woven flint]

Because not everyone that swears an Oath is a Paladin

Just like how not everyone that makes a pact is a Warlock

Or worships a God is a Cleric

[knotty vine]

Not even remotely true

[torpid hound]

No celestials are stuff like angels and sphinxes

[limber trail]

(celestial warlocks and divine soul sorcerers get their powers from celestials, not gods)

[knotty vine]

Yeah

[severe rampart]

You can pursue a noble goal while doing atrocities

[knotty vine]

A unicorn is a celetisal

[cobalt escarp]

dont gods count as celectials?

[knotty vine]

Not exactly

Tiamat is a god

But they are a fiend

[limber trail]

Nope, celestials generally are servants of gods but they're something else

[knotty vine]

Same with asmodeus

Gods are there own thing usually

[limber trail]

gods themselves don't necessarily have creature types in 5e and I'd probably give them their own yeah

[knotty vine]

A celestial would be a solor/angel

[lyric viper]

Celestials are higher planes, associated with alignment of good.

Fiends are lower planes accociated with alignment of evil.

[woven flint]

Me when my Celestial Warlock made a pact with Elistraee because screw yo-

[severe rampart]

Elistraee my goat

[lyric viper]

Gods can be any alignment or plane.

[knotty vine]

Yeah

[severe rampart]

Boeing 787-9

[knotty vine]

Theres too many gods to give them a single creature type

[woven flint]

Deity should be a creature type of its own

[knotty vine]

Agreed

What about demi gods?

Wait we already have those

[severe rampart]

Still should be Deity imo

[knotty vine]

Kinda

[lyric viper]

Iuz is a demigod and a cambion, Rudd is a demigod.

[cobalt escarp]

not always, heracles is a demigod but not a deity

[knotty vine]

the empyreans

[lyric viper]

Classifications of gods gets very complicated, very quick and each edition has it's own system

[twilit sail]

Pact w another party members mom

[woven flint]

Demigods in D&D are full Deities, not partially

[knotty vine]

What are empyrean then

[woven flint]

Emperyeans are celestials.

[severe rampart]

He was still a minor deity

[knotty vine]

Empyreans are the spawn of deities. While not gods themselves, they possess divine influence and powers related to their divine parents.

[knotty vine]

And fiends

[woven flint]

In D&D Demigods are full deities

[severe rampart]

Scratch that, I'm wrong

[lyric viper]

I'd say this is one of those 'depends so much on edition'.

[knotty vine]

I love the 2024 Emperyeans

[severe rampart]

Depending on where in the story

[knotty vine]

Its the only creature In 5.5e that can bypass resistence/immuntity

[woven flint]

The book "Faiths and Pantheons" tells you a lot more about deities in dnd :]

[knotty vine]

The only other creature in dnd that has a ability like that is
Fierna

And her hell fire

I still wonder why the "break drinker" is immune to radiant damage

[junior jasper]

Random question, could someone play an oath of devotion paladin who is the adoptive mother of 87 orphans who are being threatened by a great threat?

[woven flint]

Why wouldn't they be able to?

[knotty vine]

I guess

[woven flint]

Oh.. hold on

[knotty vine]

why not 100

[woven flint]

Now I see the question better lol

Uh.. thats dependent on your dm, but probably make it a more reasonable number abyway

[knotty vine]

What is a king to a god

[lean wigeon]

what's the significance of having 87 adoptive children

[junior jasper]

Wait. This is the wrong channel.

[lean wigeon]

that feels very oddly specific

[knotty vine]

I mean they did say random question

And that is a indeed a random question

[junior jasper]

I don’t know, the players won’t tell me.

[lean wigeon]

you don't come up with these kinds of characters randomly

that shi intentional

[knotty vine]

They are going to raise an army of 87 kids

Or become a lich

[junior jasper]

I didn’t come up with that! My weird friend said that.

[junior jasper]

Knowing Lily (the player who came up with this character), becoming a lich is not the plan, but if it was Cece, that would definitely be the plan.

[knotty vine]

Players are strange creatures

They can alwasys surpised you

[paper portal]

i can be trusted around kids and would never ever ascend to lichdom

[junior jasper]

I actually think that Cece might have created her wizard character to become a lich with the children becoming undead servants. She always plays combat classes. I will keep an eye on Thalia (Cece’s character.)

[knotty vine]

One of my kids is a vampire in the shadow fell and the other is a cambion doing who knows what

[broken imp]

yes is a very good idea that i was gonna try out too bad i need ot be higher lv : (

[cobalt escarp]

thats what someone who cant be trusted around kids and will ascend to lichdom would say

[knotty vine]

only level 12

[broken imp]

well um you see i'm at lv3 rn becoming lv4

[knotty vine]

Ah

[cursive fox]

speed run lichdom

• double checks CR's in the monster manual *
  or maybe slow and steady wins the race?

[tawdry fulcrum]

Very off the walls question but im looking for input. I’m not too shabby with woodworking and I’m trying to start making minis (mostly BBEG figures or giant monsters) and see if I could even profit off of it depending on quality of course. As a hypothetical would that be something yall think anyone would be interested in buying if I did start?

[knotty vine]

The thing I find funny about "lichdom" is that if the new Villainous Options come out of UA lichdom will be achievable at level 12

through I would rather be a death knight

[cursive fox]

at the pace my campaign has been going, that would still be classified as "slow and steady"

[keen hornet]

I hate when a player hits 0 hit points and just disconnects and starts watching stuff on their phone or another tab

[knotty vine]

Yeah but compared to a normal liches CR 21 it feels a vastly diff

[cursive fox]

true, I might actually make it in this lifetime

[knotty vine]

A fighter can do it by level 8 which is even funnier

[limber trail]

there's still a prerequisite of level 12 to take the final feat

[knotty vine]

Right

[lean wigeon]

I obviously don't condone this but I also don't really blame them tbh

Going down is boring, in a game where so much of the time you spend in a combat encounter already involves you doing nothing

[knotty vine]

I still think its funny that a fighter can be a lich/death knight

as they get just enough feats to do it

[rough basalt]

I hope they make it to print. Cause I like the Paths idea.

[sullen mantle]

Is it possible to have a zombie campaign for DnD

[knotty vine]

zombies stat block is right there pal

[sullen mantle]

So is that a yes?

[knotty vine]

Yes

[sullen mantle]

Goodie

[rough basalt]

Keep in mind that 5e PCs can deal with Zombies from the getgo

And only get stronger.

[knotty vine]

Through survival based dnd games are either too easy or too hard

[glossy otter]

There's a few different zombies depending on what sort of scenario you're running

[cursive fox]

They've really been bumping up the undead options for DM's

[rough basalt]

Where as the strongest zombie is a Beholder zombie, that I can remember off the top of my head anyhow.

[sullen mantle]

It’ll be fun if it’s all paladins and ranger classes

[limber trail]

I would encourage you to expand it from "zombies" to "undeads" or start zombifying other creatures - zombies themselves are low CRs but there's tons of undead creatures you can use

[knotty vine]

Druid/ranger being the bestish character for survival based dnd games

[glossy otter]

I thought that was the zombie clot? (mind that was before your edit lol)

[sullen mantle]

You right you right

[knotty vine]

I think I would rather deal with A bunch of zombies in a clot then eye beams

[limber trail]

(by level 4 your players will be tearing through every stat block with zombie in the name)

[glossy otter]

Back in 2014 it was just a template. Anything living could've been a zombie

[rough basalt]

Zombie campaign can also be pretty much rendered trivial in character creation by someone going cleric too

[sullen mantle]

Deadass 😭

[rough basalt]

I'd say the template can still work. It's not like Zombies changed much.

[empty thicket]

welp, like any zombie world there will be people who will want to just get into the chaos so...

Cultist, people who think in wrong ways how to survive, kingdoms thinking everybody is infected and no one must enter, etc. etc.

[knotty vine]

Zombie Clot maybe he higher then CR but an undead beholder is still a beholder

[sullen mantle]

Yea like some idiot thinking they’re Rambo trying to solo a horde with a knife

[glossy otter]

ye, using the sport servant template for my 2024 feywild horror campaign

[empty thicket]

Even if there is a cleric, zombies shouldnt be the only problem

[rough basalt]

Spirit Guardians being the equivalent to the army showing up at the end of Shaun of the Dead and absolutely bodying all the Zombies instantly

[glossy otter]

I mean the new 2024 looks to be worse with it being able to deploy more zombies off of it iirc

[empty thicket]

Yep, or worse

[sullen mantle]

Tweedle dumber thinking they’re Chris Kyle

The next American sniper

[rough basalt]

Feywild Horror sounds really fun.

[limber trail]

might need to prep some feywild stuff soon

[rough basalt]

Rn I'm trying to draw up some HB statblocks for my Horror game.

[empty thicket]

canibalist, crazy people, etc. etc.
Can put more treats than just zombies, some cultist crazy like in Dead Space, scavengers like in Mad Max, etc. etc.

[knotty vine]

yeah but paralzying ray

[rough basalt]

Based off Bloodborne

[knotty vine]

Truth or false Vecna is the highest undead in terms of CR

[sullen mantle]

If we’re talking real life too people are gonna think it’s like the video games until you see the sprinter zombies from WWZ

💀

[glossy otter]

Ironically it took from the story of Nurgle and Isha in 40k where they have to save an Archfey's wife from Zuggtmoy, all because (Spoilers for any of my players in that campaign) ||All because she made a bargain with the demon to revive hr wife||

[rough basalt]

Like the first boss ||has a module that let's his token morph into a new one and I'm gonna have him switch to a werewolf midfight||

[rough basalt]

Nice

[knotty vine]

I cant see zombies as a threat knowing there WS is only 20 feet

[thin flicker]

Is this where I would go to post a dndbeyond forum link about a topic I think needs more spotlight?

[knotty vine]

even a 2014 dwarf could outrun them

[sullen mantle]

Zombie dragonssss