dnd-discussion

[silent axle]

Ultraviolet was a movie dont be silly

[twilit sail]

lovecraft as the final boss of the campaign

[silent axle]

You have to fight a racist writer that calls you slurs

[humble cairn]

It has a way of sneaking in because people are unaware of the biases they have when writing things. It's why sensitivity consultants are a good thing.

[lavish flame]

yeah they were never going to, im not even certain why the question needed to be asked? they were never gonna write like an 1880s bigot in their contempprary game for ages 12+

[twilit sail]

dear god he cast vicious mockery whatever will we do

[vivid canyon]

Have you heard of Flatland? Was a story about, essentially, a two-dimensional land with 2D people, and what happened when they were taken into the third dimension. I can see the extension of that - 3D people seeing into a fourth dimension - being that sort of 'reality you can't actually conceptualise'

Maybe play with ideas like demiplanes with bizarre dimensions

[humble cairn]

As a non silly way to do it, I would have a powerful psionic person stuck in the middle of the dungeon, barricaded in a safe room to protect him from the terrors that he is unwittingly conjuring from his own nightmares.

[twilit sail]

i played an odnd game a few months ago where the main antagonist hired the pinkertons to hunt us down

[twilit sail]

thats pretty cool

[umbral girder]

Hmm googling and it seems they are a DnD original.

[silent axle]

WOTC?

[twilit sail]

no john rockefeller

[vivid canyon]

That could be pretty cool!

[twilit sail]

the immortal dark warlock controlling the city of columbus ohio

[silent axle]

Lmao

[flint ledge]

I mean certain people do complain about them moving away from certain things on some platforms

[lavish flame]

yeah, but like this was never in the realm of possibility

[twilit sail]

you see john rockefeller wanted to use the angel lucifer for his nefarious deeds but my half-vampire doctor party member made out with lucifer and nuked ohio before he could use him

[lavish flame]

did Supernatural get an RPG?

[flint ledge]

I think I just had an aneurism reading this

[silent axle]

Ohio definitely deserved it

[humble cairn]

He would be a writer whose mind is a portal to the Far Realm, they haunt him and terrify him, but don't actualyl kill him because he is a nexus of energy for them.

[twilit sail]

so

he is azathoth

[umbral girder]

Ah yes Mystra and Volo /jk

[west timber]

Visiting Nijo-jo castle in Kyoto today.... Welp, my players are gonna be infiltrating a Japanese castle soon

[twilit sail]

Have them fight musashi

[umbral girder]

Or Strahd with a Katana /jk

[west timber]

Musaahi Minamoto as a cool duelist encounter would be fun...

[empty thicket]

na, he will arrive late and ragebait you all the time

straight cheese the duel and let him drown or smt

[west timber]

Thats...Not what he did? He did underhanded stuff for duels yeah but he also did traditional ones lol

Like yes ge did thr sun and ore stuff but that's not all he was

[empty thicket]

oh wiat, we are talking about Musashi miyamoto or there is fr a character called Musaahi Minamoto?

[west timber]

Typo Musashi Miyamoto, most successful Samurai(More of a Ronin) duelist

[empty thicket]

oh yeah him, came late to lot of his fights, fought dirty sometimes and finally was dirty and stinky most of the time.
Still a deadly duelist and killed like 20 or more people in a war

[red wharf]

hello everyone, i’m new to the whole DnD community and game i hope to learn a lot and get to meet people who i’ll be able to.. play? do you play dnd? yeah i’m very interested ive been playing baldur’s gate 3 a lot and thats my introduction i cant wait to learn more. Feel free to message me im open to new friends my name is Jet nice to meet you all

Oooo there’s a newcomers tab, my apologies i don’t read

[paper portal]

welcome!

[odd valley]

thought we were taking about alan wake lmao

[vast saddle]

May I know the lore behind the Ring of Winter? Does it have to be worn willingly?

[ornate copper]

How do you usually connect unrelated plot threads in your campaign?

[glass granite]

How do you mean?

If they’re unrelated, why would I connect them?

If I wanted to, I could put in a third party or create a connection from history or characters between the plot points

[ornate copper]

That would honestly work for way longer than it should

[vast saddle]

Well, I guess I need someone who has knowledge on Artifacts

[silent axle]

Describe a rhino or a giraffe to your players without naming them

[ornate copper]

I know a little bit abt it

[spice crane]

What kind are you dealingwith: historical artifacts, software artifacts and game artifacts,

[vast saddle]

Ring of Winter

One of the evil Artifacts

[spice crane]

The Ring of Winter? Yeah that’s not just an artifact, that thing is practically a curse wrapped in power. Immortality, control over ice and cold, and the ability to freeze entire armies but it slowly corrupts whoever wears it. Most people who chase it end up destroyed by it.

[dim flicker]

god i love cursed items

they're such interesting plot devices

[vast saddle]

Is it possible for someone to wear it for 300 years?

[reef tundra]

I actually haven’t given a cursed item yet in all my years of dungeon mastering

[dim flicker]

there's a first time for everything

[spice crane]

Technically? Yes. The Ring of Winter is tied to immortality and preservation, so a wearer could survive for centuries. But after 300 years, you probably wouldn’t still be the same person mentally.

[vast saddle]

My human PC has the background of being the victim of Ring of Winter for 300 years before he was put into an "eternal" slumber by the Summer Lady and destroyed the ring

I hope it makes sense as a background

[reef tundra]

You’re right >:)

[hoary totem]

Thorn Ring from Deltarune

[reef tundra]

I think my players would appreciate a copy of the Ruby rod of Asmodeus…
-# A cursed copy >:)

[fervent kayak]

I had a thought and now I want to know what would be the dnd equalivent of calling a swat raid on someone

[reef tundra]

Knight Crusade on their house

[odd valley]

depends on where you are

[fervent kayak]

No particular location just a thought

[odd valley]

if you’re on baldurs gate? it’s siccing the flaming fist on a supposed bhaalist cult

if it’s waterdeep, then it’s reporting about a sighting of a criminal gang to the waterdeep guard order (i don’t know their names)

[reef tundra]

In any kingdom aligned with the lord’s alliance, you could call the lord’s alliance knights

[spice crane]

Yeah, it absolutely makes sense! Being a victim of the Ring of Winter for 300 years explains the immortality, trauma and corruption, while the Summer Lady putting him into eternal slumber is a solid way to preserve him after destroying the ring. It’s a really strong tragic backstory.

[odd valley]

iirc you can’t destroy the ring of winter forever

[spice crane]

The Thorn Ring? Yeah, that thing is disturbing in a completely different way.

[dim flicker]

the items from chains of asmodeus are so good for party conflict when things get a little too samey & boring

[fervent kayak]

Imagine like if prank YouTubers exsisteded back then “I called a knights crusaid only friend”

[reef tundra]

You are a genius

I completely forgot about chains of Asmodeus, it would fit so well for my campaign

[vast saddle]

I think Summer Lady can destroy it

[arctic bobcat]

I wanna try and reflavour goodberry for my chameleon hippie druid

I was thinking “goodbug” where its bugs instead of berries

And its very disgusting looking

[reef tundra]

Honestly sounds perfect

[ornate copper]

Do you run any campaigns?

[reef tundra]

Three 😎

One online, one at college, and one with my friends

There was a time that I used to run 5

[ornate copper]

Oh that's really nice

[reef tundra]

How I remained alive during that I have no idea

Fortunately my college one and irl friends one should be coming to an end soon

[ornate copper]

What type of campaigns do you run?

[hot gate]

Me too! 🫸

[gusty charm]

That’s crazy, running one makes me want to pull my hair out sometimes. Very impressive

[reef tundra]

🫷

[reef tundra]

Mostly mystery adventures. Often with a tiny bit of political drama

[ornate copper]

That's good

[hot gate]

Personally, I manage by running prewritten camapigns. Still a lot of prep and pre-game-stress, but way easier than doing everything yourself!

[lavish flame]

I mostly run open-world sandboxes. I've been enjoying doing a short adventure module to lead into the sandbox.

[ornate copper]

Can I get a few more details for your campaigns

[paper portal]

No romcoms?

[hot gate]

Hmm, what sort of details? Lots of stuff going on in camapigns!

[reef tundra]

The romcom always finds a way

And some romances in the campaign are so bad they might as well be considered a comedy

[dusky harbor]

I can never roleplay romances. I hate it, but i think that's just a me problem

[reef tundra]

-# I’m calling you out, Olivia the warlock, I know your crazy ahh only dating Victoria for the validation and attention she gives you! /j

[paper portal]

except for irl of course

[hot gate]

Mine have regular stints of melodrama, mainly thanks to my excellent players

[reef tundra]

Romance is always funny irl /j

[hot gate]

That's fine too. Romances are certainly a topic for a session 0 and how much everyone is ok with having them in the game. More nuance can also be given with lines and veils, where you say if you want to "fade to black" or not have it in at all.

[reef tundra]

Let’s see, one is about stopping the son of Asmodeus from sending a city to hell, the other is stopping a priest of the goddess of death from breaking her goddess out of hell… and the other is just Vecna - Eve of Ruin, pretty much

[ornate copper]

D&D really just escalated from local problem to full cosmic apocalypse checklist real quick like, yeah we’re either stopping a city going to hell or dealing with Vecna again at this point

[hot gate]

"Somehow, Vecna has returned"

[reef tundra]

Fortunately the Eve of Ruin campaign isn’t in my setting, but the other two are

Man, I just realised my setting has had to face a goddess of death plot and an Asmodeus plot back to back

Well… 40 years in between, but that’s still too close to each other for my liking

[fathom gate]

You activated my credit card! This allows me to access any card in the game and i choose to summon. You!

[knotty vine]

Vecna is really bad in 5e

[lethal bobcat]

There's semi-official rules for going level 21+ in PF2e (i.e. in their actual rules and SRD but as a variant rule and not further explained) and there's semi-official rules for doing a campaign past level 20 in D&D (with epic boons and rulings for added strength in AL tho no AL adventures supporting it AFAIK?)

Anyway, if level 21 were possible, what'd be the actual meta?

Personally, I'd assume that with armor dips like ArtiChron still being strong (and arguably stronger now in 2024), almost nothing would change but people either would get access to an Epic Boon or Capstone, or more likely some subclass features...

[thorn osprey]

I heard of a thirdparty book pushing 20+ levels into the adventure

Not sure the name ect, sadly

[royal oasis]

Could I “pspsps” a dragon?

[ornate copper]

Yeah that’s kind of insane pacing for a setting 40 years barely feels like a breather before the next apocalypse shows up

[thorn osprey]

If you don't enjoy being alive, yes

[fathom gate]

Roll animal handling

[reef tundra]

A human in that time could get married, have a family, settle down, retire, all sorts…
Meanwhile elves be like “AGAIN?! ANOTHER ONE!”

[thorn osprey]

I found the book! If you still care.

[still plover]

Why would that be the skill to use there?

[fathom gate]

What else would you use to pspsps a cat

Dragons are just large cats

[feral fulcrum]

Considering the vast majority of dragons are sentient beings perfectly capable of having a conversation, I don't think Animal Handling would be reasonable

[thorn osprey]

[still plover]

Huh. The things you learn. /j

[feral fulcrum]

And would come off kind of racist

[thorn osprey]

I am pretty sure you'd get one of your hands removed if you try to treat a dragon like a cat

[fathom gate]

Nah trust me bro. Roll animal handling

[lyric viper]

While I like to imagine some younger types of dragons might react to things in a cat like fashion (like jumping on the reflections of shields) I imagine most dragons would react to being pspspsps'd like a human would.

[ornate copper]

That’s a solid setup honestly gives the players a strong hook and then lets them actually breathe and mess around once they’re in the sandbox

[thorn osprey]

Make a dex saving throw

[fathom gate]

Oh hey is it just me or is it getting a little toasty in here

[ornate copper]

Yeah, humans are treating it like a full life cycle and elves are just getting deja vu every few decades

[thorn osprey]

I think it's just how to train your dragon doing permanent damage to dragon's rep lol

[hollow halo]

I head of an interesting one shot DnD game is the group in a mansion with the barest of items but having to surving hordes of zombies, think of it like CoD zombies

[limber trail]

Dragons are definitely not large cats lol

[ornate copper]

Feels weird trying to handle something that can hold a conversation and outsmart you So would you treat it like a full social encounter instead?

[still plover]

How do you mean by the barest of items? Starting gear only?

[still plover]

Absolutely.

[hollow halo]

Yeah starting gear only, but through exploration you can find better gear. And if you die you become a super zombie yourself

[hot gate]

Sounds like a fun setup for a one shot. Though for practical purposes, I'd make the dead pc into a standard monster stabtlock that the DM controls and then the player can pick up a fresh character.

[feral fulcrum]

Give 5E some credit, it also happens to forget that the majority of D&D dragons are intilligent spellcasters.

"Oh right, the spellcasting, eh, make it an optional side-block. They're jsut big dumb scally lizards, yeah?"

[reef tundra]

-# 5.5e the goat fixing that 😎

[thorn osprey]

Which version has them casting spells?

[reef tundra]

-# Although of course that is subjective on whether or not it is the goat, it is valid to not like it

[paper portal]

yeah 5e SUCKS /silly

[errant crag]

Cartographer Artificer is sick

I'm able to go in with my Enspelled Greatsword of Divine Smite, hit with a smiting true strike, and teleport back to the other side of my teammates to safety

[potent perch]

Salutations

[thorn osprey]

Would a young dragon be able to learn spells/cast them from scrolls?

[wintry spindle]

I think it depends on the dragon. I feel most dragon cast magic from within like sorcerers

But some dragons love knowledge like brass dragons

[thorn osprey]

in the monster manual 25 it has most adult dragons casting spells

[wintry spindle]

You can always change it as a dm

[thorn osprey]

For context, I have this party with a dragon "friend" who I thought could be secrectly snatching scrolls that the party don't end up using, and either saving them for himself or learning them on the spot.

[limber trail]

I’m sure there’s some barriers RAW but you also 100% can bypass those barriers as a DM.

[wintry spindle]

What kind of dragon and which scroll?

[limber trail]

Essentially the dragon would be a wizard in addition to innately casting magic

[thorn osprey]

It's a Red Dragon, so 100% would snatch things as his own treasure.

And scroll, haven't decided yet.

[wintry spindle]

Draconic sorcerers for example get their powers from their blood

[potent perch]

Wizard Dragon, their hoard is a massive castle that's actually one huge library.

[wintry spindle]

You can just let him learn it if you thin its balanced enough

[thorn osprey]

I just want to create some form of conflict between the dragon and the party.

[wintry spindle]

A lot of people give young dragons shapechange

[thorn osprey]

Since I don't see the dragon being friendly with any of them besides his close childhood friend.

[flint ledge]

Well Casting spells from scrolls isn't particularly hard

[wintry spindle]

Red dragons are evil by nature weirdly enough

[thorn osprey]

That's why I asked tbh, it seems that even a rogue can just fling a fireball if they have a scroll

[wintry spindle]

Technically no

Scrolls can only be used by someone who can cast the spell normally

But people rule it differently

Baldurs gate 3 for example

[still plover]

Dragons are vastly magical and powerful individuals with no fixed maximum lifespan. If you're taking their statblock as the entirety of what they can do and who they can be, you're doing it wrong in my opinion.

[wintry spindle]

Dragon statblocks are very limiting

[reef tundra]

Especially the 2014 dragons

[wintry spindle]

Yeah its good they made the 5.5 have different stat spreada

[reef tundra]

I have never ran a dragon with the 2014 stat blocks

[thorn osprey]

That's what I've been trying to do, the statblocks just seem to undermine them a lot

[wintry spindle]

He could always just eat the scroll

[still plover]

It's a starting point, that's all.

[flint ledge]

Well that's cause they're chromatic dragons all chromatic dragons are usually evil due to Tiamat

[wintry spindle]

Yeah, there are exceptions, especially in modern dnd

But some species are just "evil" and the red dragon is muhahaha evil

[flint ledge]

That's why I say usually

[hot gate]

The rules also say usually

Feel free to create Ron, the himbo red dragon who wants to open the best bakery this side of Calimshan

[wintry spindle]

Thats just dragon delves a bakers doesnt with a red dragon instead

[keen valve]

Hm, why yes, I think this will perfectly fit into my D&D game.

[reef tundra]

I have a nice red dragon called Rashaad, who put aside her pride and evil to raise a white dragon wyrmling she found in a dungeon

She’s not perfect but she’s doing her best as a single mother god damn it >:(

[keen valve]

This sounds like a GlaDOS-esque relationship here.

[wintry spindle]

What about cow pattern dragon

[hot gate]

I root for Rashaad!

[reef tundra]

She does speak quite similarly to Glados, now that I think about it

[thorn osprey]

I wasn't planning on turning this dragon evil, or even "bad" but the pc INSISTS on wanting to meet Tiamat and "earn" her favor.

Soooo, dragon has to be evil.

[still plover]

Corathrax the Blind, who rules a vast library complex buried beneath the sands, using magical gemstones to read all languages since being maimed in a ill-chosen duel centuries ago.

[reef tundra]

Although I think my favourite dragon in my setting is Fellotroneus, and I promise it’s not because he’s based off of Megatron

[flint ledge]

Reminds me, I do think a lot of the poor dragon stat blocks should receive at least one unique thing a lot of them are just dragon but different breath attacks

[wintry spindle]

Evil is also a balance

What is evil?

[thorn osprey]

Honestly, the party is pretty messed up so--he might be right at home lol

[wintry spindle]

You can always introduce something cute and then let the dragon kill it

[thorn osprey]

Knowing my players, they'd kill it first

[wintry spindle]

Damn evil party

[thorn osprey]

A former assassin
A beserker who lives from killing creatures
A wannabe lich
A wannabe deathknight
and the only "good" soul is an artificer.

[wintry spindle]

Damn

[stray sage]

if there was an ability that allowed you to jump as high and as far as you have movement speed, how useful would that ability be?

[wintry spindle]

Kinda woul get overtaken by just the jump spell

[thorn osprey]

There is a reason the plot will be moved by a devil, not some king who tries to hire some heroes lol

[still plover]

Most walls and buildings would pose little or reduced obstacles. Difficulty terrain would be irrelevant as long as you have line of sight.

[keen valve]

Glados + Crows = Rashaad + White Dragon Baby.

[potent perch]

A dragon knowing the jump spell would be hilarious

"I don't fly, i jump good"

[flint ledge]

Reminds me of that fever dream my group once had where they started to claim Bahamut was secretly evil and Tiamat was a nice orphanage saver

[thorn osprey]

😭 damn

[flint ledge]

Same group btw #tales-from-the-table message

[thorn osprey]

How

crazy party

[paper portal]

otherworldly leap exists

[keen valve]

My personal belief was always that dragons don't fly. They're like chickens, they can glide really well.

[prisma prairie]

Just imagine a dragon aggressively flapping its wings and going no where

[stray sage]

does jumping upwards cost movement?

[hot gate]

high and long jumps both cost movement yeah

[stray sage]

so if you both high and long jump (i guess it would be called a diagonal jump) does it cost double movement?

[tough epoch]

hmm

[stray sage]

so for example if i jump 5 feet forward and 5 feet up, does that cost 10 feet or 5 feet?

[rough basalt]

High jump and long jump have their own sort of thing going on

[stray sage]

that doesnt answer my question

[rough basalt]

Jumping 5ft forward isn't gonna do anything other than use 5ft

Same with 5ft up

[stray sage]

so if i jump up 5 feet and jump forward 5 feet at the same time, does that cost 5 feet of movement or 10 feet?

[rough basalt]

Oh, you mean both at the same time. I think it'd be 10ft.

[stray sage]

okay thank you

[rough basalt]

Idk, they don't really think about that kinda jumping in the rules I don't think.

[stray sage]

so the official rules dont have rules for long and high jumping at the same time?

[rough basalt]

I have to find the phb page for them cause my brain ain't awake yet but I'm 90% sure theres no official rules for doing both with natural movement.

[vast saddle]

God....I have to debate of Ring of Winter

[rough basalt]

Yeah it's just long jump or high jump

[vast saddle]

Do cursed artifacts usually bend every known D&D logics?

[stray sage]

there should be rules for a combined jump

[vast saddle]

I need cursed artifact specialist again

Aaahh, I see....

[feral fulcrum]

They're supposed to be, in most settings, natural Sorcerors. Each dragon inherently capable of at least, some level of magic.

[rough basalt]

Yeah and as they get older, typically they become able to cast better magic. (Reflected in their spells on the statblock for each age)

[vast saddle]

I see.... We have no cursed artifacts enthusiasts for now

[cobalt owl]

You'll get one eventually, its inevitable

[vast saddle]

Well, all I see right now...is mechanic talk again

[vast saddle]

Like....in a decade?

[cobalt owl]

Hey I didn't say when

[glad arch]

I think thats intentional, if you long jump obviously you wont go as high as with a high jump

[hot gate]

The rules have a complicated relationship with diagonals, so unless you want to do Pythagoras, I'd just find out the distance from your original position to the target, figure out if both height and length fit within the limits of the jumping rules and then subtract the longest distance covered in this jump by either rule from movement.

[ornate copper]

Exactly, they’re basically born spellcasters at that point

[glad arch]

Draconic sorcery exists, sorcerers literally having magic based on dragon ancestry

Makes sense said dragons would have magic

[knotty vine]

Dragons are magical beings in there own right

[past blaze]

yeah dragons are less of a 'wow I get to have magic' and more "I AM the magic"

[lethal bobcat]

Oops! I did not see this before! If possible, ping or DM me as I am yes!

[tough epoch]

What class and subclass would be best/optimal for a character that would use a Whip as their main weapon?

PS 2024 5e

[still plover]

I recall battlemaster being a fair pick.

[knotty vine]

whip is just such a bad weapon

[tough epoch]

it is... but its such a cool weapon

its a vibe

[still plover]

Don't look at the damage die, look at the features and what you can deliver with it.

[knotty vine]

Why not just use a ranged weapon at that point

[pliant sapphire]

Go rogue. Sneak attack from 10ft

[knotty vine]

-# or a dagger

[lethal bobcat]

Gish classes never mind Slow if you want some funny builds seeing you choose a bad weapon. I'd say Warlock especially

[knotty vine]

Finesse makes it decent on a dex based character I guess

[tough epoch]

hmm

[knotty vine]

But its also a martial weapon

[lethal bobcat]

There's a lack of items in the Magic category too but of course a caster is always good anyway

[tough epoch]

idk I just have a vision of a character wearing a masquerade mask wielding a whip

[lethal bobcat]

The issue is that I'd get smited if I talked about the best homebrew options to make it work

[still plover]

Optimal, though: #optimization

[knotty vine]

I would prefer two dagger instead of a whip

[wintry spindle]

They should make bad meta magic. Like making a range spell touch

[tough epoch]

lol

[lethal bobcat]

Niche Magic

[still plover]

Sure! You can throw your weapons away instead of making opportunity attacks at 10'.

[knotty vine]

Always use find traps

[wintry spindle]

Loud spell adds verbal component to non verbal spells

[knotty vine]

or making 3 attacks

[lethal bobcat]

I'd Touch Fireball with my Owl Familiar tbh

[knotty vine]

SInce two weapon fighting/nick

[still plover]

Yeah, that's fair.

[wintry spindle]

Slowed spell. It makes a bonus action spell to an action

[knotty vine]

3d4+9 is better then 1d+3

[lethal bobcat]

If it didn't cost a sorcery point or more, this'd be genuinely good

[wintry spindle]

Are there any bonus action cantrips though

[knotty vine]

A few maybe

magic stone

[glad arch]

Shillelagh

[still plover]

Getting the bonus on every strike? That'd be a feat. Doesn't count here.

"I don't like" isn't the same as "has no use." Getting 10' range with option for Dex with a one-handed weapon opens some fun options.

[knotty vine]

Those are more to buff into an attack

[lethal bobcat]

Concentrated Spell adds Concentration to lingering spells with Instant duration or lingering effects without Concentration requirement

[knotty vine]

Im not saying whip doesnt has a use its just why use it

Tasha's mind whip is a great spell after all

[lethal bobcat]

Also, I certainly had moments where I'd have loved to move a Spell action into an Action because of Bonus Action spells so I can see uses... Just that's mostly Druid and Ranger isn't it?

[knotty vine]

Its also a Martial weapon so it has to contend with other weapon in that place

Like whip isnt the only weapon with a 10ft reach

[still plover]

None of which are also one handed, and have finesse.

[knotty vine]

Yeah but whos gonna use a whip and say a shield I guess

[lethal bobcat]

Rogue

[still plover]

Dexadin. Fighter.

[lethal bobcat]

Also Bladesong would be funny

[glad arch]

Gotta use a whip for the castlevania vampire slayer vibes

[knotty vine]

Rogue can just use any ranged weapon

[lethal bobcat]

Without the shield of course

[glass granite]

I’ve seen rogues do it when taking a dip

[knotty vine]

And a dex fighter can use a rapier

whip is just a reach verison of a rapier with a smaller hit dice

[still plover]

Ranger

[knotty vine]

But I guess the slow property has its use

Ranger can also just use a rapier

[lethal bobcat]

Ranger with a Whip would just feel bad lol

[knotty vine]

Or hear me out

[still plover]

And lose the reach.

[paper portal]

if wotc werent cowards they would let slow stack

[knotty vine]

a ranged weapon

[still plover]

No OA.

The specific properties of a whip are what you pick it for.

[knotty vine]

Not always needed

Ah hell that guy is 10ft away not Op I guess

[still plover]

No whips for you, got it. But trying to shoot down every argument in favour of them is seeming like narrow thinking.

[lethal bobcat]

Rogues don't seem to hold up too well when using Ranged or Thrown weapons but in all fairness, Whip not having Light or Nick makes it no more useful there... Good way to use Melee and then walk back without provoking Opportunity tho

[knotty vine]

Because whips just seem too niche

[still plover]

Oh yeah, the weapon selection is old school trash.

[glass granite]

I’ve seen some monks use them to some effect
But yeah they’re certainly niche. Part of their charm maybe.

[lethal bobcat]

I feel like adding some extra magic items would make it more reliable

[knotty vine]

I guess monk can use them since bigger hi wait a min

[lethal bobcat]

Allow for easier Proficiency gain for certain classes and when attuned, and add some decent effects

[knotty vine]

Not even monks can use whips effectively

[glass granite]

Yeah not fully

[knotty vine]

Since whips arent light

[glass granite]

They require a dip. I’ve seen Ranger and rogue dips

[lethal bobcat]

Monks are better off Unarmed anyway if you allow some 2014 like AL or the like

[paper portal]

tasha's rules

[knotty vine]

2024 monk with daggers is a monster

[lethal bobcat]

Nah Multiverse is what really does it

[eager marsh]

Whips are just mediocre weapons unless you take advantage of them being the only 1 handed reach weapon to also rock a shield. unfortunately most features thatshould be based on reach are hard locked at 5 ft instead (sentinel, protection, etc)

[knotty vine]

Also 2014 monk has Gunk

Thats what Im saying theres much better 1 handed weapons

[glass granite]

The main issue is…you can only unarmed strike as a bonus action, so you can’t fully make use of it.

[eager marsh]

Being reach requires a penalty, which is fine, i just think they overcompensated that for the damage. whip at 1d6 would feel perfectly fine imo

[knotty vine]

I really wish the second part of deflect attacks wasnt a saving throw

[lethal bobcat]

I'm looking at any Bugbear Monk and just wonder how any weapon like a Whip could get to even 10% usefulness

[eager marsh]

its simply not a good weapon mechanically. you use it for flavor an style points when you play a Belmont

[knotty vine]

Id rather just use a glaive or something and flavor it as a whip

[eager marsh]

not being dex would annoy me too much to do that myself but otherwise weapon flvaor is indeed free

[still plover]

Two-handed. Think like a striking chain with a short haft.

[eager marsh]

a whip literally cant be used two handed correctly with how they work

[knotty vine]

Belmont doesnt hold anything in his other hand

[eager marsh]

too much disconnect for my brain to tolerate

[eager marsh]

he very frequently does actually

[still plover]

Ah, talk to Tasha about it.

[lethal bobcat]

If it wasn't for the Belmont idea, if someone like Soma Cruz is ok, then viability-wise full casters can enjoy it

[tawdry sentinel]

I quite like the aesthetic of a whip with a spear.

[knotty vine]

just pick up a great sword

[eager marsh]

a whip would actually be useful on spellcasters for keeping distance and using true strike. shame most casters cant use it

[knotty vine]

You would have to muti class for it or take a feat

[lethal bobcat]

Every caster has a subclass and then comes Warlock with Pact of the Blade

[eager marsh]

which simply wouldnt be worth doing

[knotty vine]

Thats why I dont think whip should be a Martial weapon

[eager marsh]

unfortunately it has to be. it takes more training to even use at all vs other weapons to make it function

any idiot can pick up a bow or crossbow and do teh motions. you really cant with a whip

[atomic kayak]

Whip is pretty neat with mastery now

[glass granite]

Bows are generally difficult to use effectively no?
Crossbow I agree

[atomic kayak]

(It was also a fun alternative to a dagger before anyways)

[eager marsh]

effectively is different. i said 'at all'

[lethal bobcat]

If you plan to use your melee at all, then any full caster will do well with it at level 3 or 4 latest

[knotty vine]

Ah yes the dnd the game where anybody can pick up a sickle and do more damage then a whip

[reef tundra]

Combines with slasher to reduce most enemy’s movement speed to 10 feet. It’s fun

[lethal bobcat]

You were choosing the subclass anyway

[reef tundra]

They’re the same. They both do a d4 do they not?

[atomic kayak]

I mean. That makes sense

[eager marsh]

that's just realistic. its a solid bladed weapon. also farmer backstories are common. its a farm tool used to harm. historically accurate

[glass granite]

I think whips, at best, are more fun than good

[atomic kayak]

Whips being martial weapons makes a lot of sense

[glass granite]

That i agree with, though balance wise not so much.

[atomic kayak]

Being an alternative dagger let's them be pretty solid just in general

[knotty vine]

Fair enough give me my greatclub

Dagger just allows for more attacks

[eager marsh]

they arent light so i wouldnt call them an alternative dagger personally

[glass granite]

I don’t know where you’d use a whip in place of a dagger

They’re fun on monks or with a shield for some characters tho

[atomic kayak]

The reach without needing to throw primarily

[lethal bobcat]

Whip as Simple Weapon and also add Boomerang

[knotty vine]

Whip is the weird brother of a Rapier

it just has a smaller hit dice for range

[glass granite]

Generally tho, you use the dagger as an offhand, but doing that with a whip is more difficult.

[atomic kayak]

DDB spaghetti code causing irreparable harm to the dnd community by being unable to make magic weapons without a base weapon

[knotty vine]

I dont know rouge wouldnt just use a crossbow

[atomic kayak]

You generally don't see daggers outside of rogues and monks regardless. Exclusively dagger wielding rogues are very very common

[knotty vine]

Does nick add the mod to the attack?

[lethal bobcat]

I've seen it on Ranger and the like because why not

[glass granite]

Not unless you have two weapon fighting

[knotty vine]

I see

[glass granite]

I’ve seen it on rangers, some Dex fighters with a shortsword, and on a thrown weapon paladin

[atomic kayak]

Ive also occasionally seen it on other classes like ranger and fighter, hence "generally"

[lethal bobcat]

Also I wish there was a variant rule for allowing more expensive weapons otherwise equal to steal the cheaper weapon's mastery. Like 2 scimitars is just badass but you can see the issue

[atomic kayak]

Shout out the rogue/barbarian dagger user i played with

[lethal bobcat]

I played with a surprising amount of Ranger players so maybe my view is biased

When Ranger is played, people seem to pick it up alongside a crossbow now

[atomic kayak]

In general rangers in my experience have gravitated towards the various bows, rapiers, clubs, and axes

[glass granite]

Never had a ranger with an axe

[lethal bobcat]

People I played with have way different tastes... Huh

[glass granite]

I’ve seen a monk with an axe tho

[lethal bobcat]

Same here, nor a club

[atomic kayak]

The clubs are mostly because of them wanting to use Shillelagh

[glass granite]

Club has Shillelagh, so I’ve seen it once or twice

[lethal bobcat]

I've seen that logic in action for a Druid actually

Different groups moment

[knotty vine]

DND truth or false only 5 creatures were resistance to posion in the 2014 monster manual

[lethal bobcat]

I'll vote false

[atomic kayak]

Wasnt it like, 7?

[lethal bobcat]

But damn were the a lot of monsters printed after

[atomic kayak]

Its a low number that just had resistance

[lethal bobcat]

Oh right the undead swab have immunity

[knotty vine]

And the answer is...

True!

The monsters are the succbus and incubus the assassian the cambion and Duergar

[lethal bobcat]

Aren't there like 20 stat blocks for different Assassins?

[fathom gate]

I cast gun

[knotty vine]

I have no idea what your talking about

The statblock is just called "assassian"

In the 2014 monster manual

[lethal bobcat]

Oh ono I got fooled again by specificity

What was the Drow assassin again?

[uncut zenith]

There are other statblocks that were designed to operate as assassins, but yeah. There is only one “Assassin”.

[knotty vine]

In the current 2024 monster manual theres 6! monsters that are resistence to posion

Those being the assassin(again) Badger and its giant variant the cambion and the incubus and the succbus(again)

[lethal bobcat]

This makes me feel even worse for poison... It sounds like it's not too bad and then you get hit by resistance or immunity the moment you open a campaign

[knotty vine]

Who knows those giant badgers are pretty damned bad

[lethal bobcat]

The giant badger dies if there's a spellcaster at all

[knotty vine]

D&D true or false There are currently 20 celestials in the 2024 monster manual:

[lethal bobcat]

I will say False again and get burned because I can think of more

[tender pier]

Question, are there other lands beyond faerun? i just got into official DND lore and based on the map looks like i can go westward (or on my words, going more right)

[knotty vine]

True(ish)

The animal lord has like 4 stat blocks on its own over there

[hot gate]

Sure. Looking for the planet (Toril) on the FR wiki will show more

[eager marsh]

There are in fact other continents but those Realms were Forgotten long ago

[rough basalt]

Keep in mind other lands haven't been touched in years.

[knotty vine]

Abirl Toril

The only reason it was broken in two was cause AO got sick of us fighting

[eager marsh]

Joke aside each continent was heavily inspired by historical settings irc like Europe and mesoamerica but involved a lot of problematic writing of those cultures

[rough basalt]

Yeah Maztica was colonialistic but not the "right way"

[twilit sail]

Lmao old dnd with its super racist art

[rough basalt]

Right way being handling the theme correctly

[sour cave]

Question, would swinging with a grappling hook ala spider man be athletics or acrobatics? Could it be either?

[rough basalt]

They were so afraid of being problematic with Maztica they went in a circle and looped back to problematic.

[eager marsh]

Gygax and the gang were very not woke yea

[knotty vine]

I like that Unicorn in dnd are peaceful being but will curb stomp you if you distrurb the peace

[eager marsh]

I don’t think trying to not be problematic was the intent it was just bad

[eager marsh]

It’s like how Hatterene in Pokémon strangles you for experiencing ‘loud emotions’

[knotty vine]

Thats just how old dnd was

remembers old goblin art from 1e

[rough basalt]

The funniest thing was them just straight up removing Maztica in 4e FR

[wicked mulch]

D&D Question of the Day (D&D Beyond: Character Classes):

A class broadly describes which three things about a character?
A. Species, alignment, and languages
B. Vocation, special talents, and favored tactics
C. Background, trinkets, and equipment
D. Armor, weapons, and treasure

[twilit sail]

Decide thru karaoke
If they can sing the spectacular spiderman theme song they get to choose

[rough basalt]

B

[knotty vine]

b

Honestly I feel like the new UA's have been playing it too safe I wanna see something thats broken but that will never come to the main game

[eager marsh]

Well yea that’s the point?

[atomic kayak]

And lore

(Drow being a. Very easy. Example of both)

[knotty vine]

The closest we got was like the pest domain cleric

with a bit of thoery crafting a tomb of understanding it could be pretty game ending if the enemy isnt immune to exhastion

[paper portal]

i kinda get that yeah

[knotty vine]

Doubly so since if they fail one its an up hill battle to pass the rest

[paper portal]

5e being balanced is a lost cause but the game being broken is fun in its own way :3

[knotty vine]

Like at level 20 I think clerics spell save dc would be at least 17-19

A tarrqaque only has a +10 to con

[atomic kayak]

None of these.

Class doesn't describe vocation or even favored tactics particularly at all

Class is not a job

[turbid vessel]

Some systems encourage you to really stick to the given flavor. DnD is not one of those systems

[knotty vine]

Fighter Kinda sounds like a job

Im a human fighter

[turbid vessel]

Does this mean bar brawls are a tax write off

[knotty vine]

No you misunderstood thats a job

A human fighter

[atomic kayak]

Even within the given flavor it is not describing a job or tactics

[small sand]

Is it just me or is the twilight domain channel divinity kind of bad lol

[knotty vine]

"I need to write a bad take today"

[glass granite]

Yeah might be you, it’s very strong

[knotty vine]

What provaked you to say something so...

Im not gonna say wrong but.. different

[small sand]

I'm looking at domains because I'm making a cleric character and in comparison it just seems a lot less useful and a lot less fun idk

In comparison to the other domains' channel divinities I mean

[glad arch]

Free temp hp scaling with level every turn is very usefull

[knotty vine]

Ah yes the ability to give 1d6 temp hp every round or remove frightened/charmed not strong at all

[twilit sail]

making your party way bulkier is pretty good

[atomic kayak]

Its good, not as good as some people act like it is, but good

[knotty vine]

Not to mention the ability get stronger as you level up like providing half cover

[glad arch]

1d6+level

[knotty vine]

at those higher levels

[glass granite]

Less fun? That I might agree with. But the amount of temporary hit points it gives you is very impactful.

[knotty vine]

The main reason it was so strong in 2014 is cause all of those ablities were online by level 2

[turbid vessel]

The charm or frighten thing can be pretty situational, but I'd be remiss if I turned my nose up at that amount of temp HP every turn, especially in something as broad as a 30 foot radius

[atomic kayak]

Generally speaking it tends to go from absorbing 1 hit (or half a hit) to absorbing part of one

[knotty vine]

Not to mention advantage on initiative rolls

[twilit sail]

peace cleric can bless their entire party every turn?

[knotty vine]

and 300ft dark vision because yeah

[atomic kayak]

Provided no obstacles are in the way at least, due to aoe rules

[knotty vine]

Peace cleric is broken in a diffrent way

[twilit sail]

what were they thinking?

[knotty vine]

it can add 2d4 to any saving throw attack roll or ability check

[atomic kayak]

(Incidentally, this is one of the reasons its not as good as people tend to act like it is)

[glad arch]

Both are broken in the good way, buffing your entire team instead of just you

[knotty vine]

Yup

Embolding bond just gets better as you level up

[small sand]

I hope we get an a lunar domain eventually. Twilight is twilight and light is solar

[atomic kayak]

Light is not just solar

[glad arch]

Thats the damage transfering right?

[knotty vine]

Light is just for clreics who want to cast fire ball

[knotty vine]

It also adds 1d4 to any ability check attack roll/saving throw

[atomic kayak]

Light is well. Light.

Like half the gods with the Light domain aren't associated with the sun

[knotty vine]

Oh yeah twlight can also while in dim light or darkness gain a fly speed

for 1 min proficiency bonus times a day so 3 by the time you get it

[glad arch]

Yeh theyre fun

[knotty vine]

Its just good features back to back

[paper portal]

It's the best one by quite a big margin

Twilight is crazy good

[glad arch]

Playing with one and as a paladin i rarely get hit and when i do the damage is like halved effectivly

[twilit sail]

how good is it compared to peace

[knotty vine]

Also an amazing list Faerie Fire, Sleep
3rd Moonbeam, See Invisibility
5th Aura of Vitality, Leomund's Tiny Hut
7th Aura of Life, Greater Invisibility

[small sand]

"Channel Divinity: Radiance of the Dawn
Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity to harness sunlight, banishing darkness and dealing radiant damage to your foes."

Me when I'm not solar

[paper portal]

Better for sure, it's peace's 1st level feature (or 3rd in 5.5 but you get the idea) that makes it so good

[uncut zenith]

Twilight is probably the best 2014 cleric sub. Not broken like a lot of people think it to be, but pretty darn good

[paper portal]

Peace is the best to dip, twilight is the best to mainclass

[knotty vine]

Again the only reason why it was so good in 2014 was because you know how much stuff you got from just level 2

[paper portal]

Yeah it's bafflingly frontloaded but twilight sanctuary is good even through to tier 4

[knotty vine]

Its just good through and through yeah

[glad arch]

Do any extra spell lists like this ever go beyond 4th level spells?

[uncut zenith]

Twilight and Peace gave us a good look as to what the new cleric subclass design was gonna look like starting in 2024

[knotty vine]

Still wondering why anybody would need 30 feat of dark vision

[paper portal]

it's very necessary trust

[knotty vine]

cicrle of power and mislead

[paper portal]

Does help with like kiting ig

[small sand]

Everyone has dark vision nowadays smh

[atomic kayak]

Ive got horrible news for you about what moonlight is

[knotty vine]

Not 300ft through

[small sand]

/j obviously

[small sand]

I mean at least in the FR isn't the moon actually an illusion lol

[knotty vine]

The moon is pretty real

[atomic kayak]

(Also notably, what you quoted doesn't contradict what I said)

[paper portal]

haha sometimes

[knotty vine]

One thing I like about 2024 is that they changed the wording of daylight

[minor cargo]

oh brother, here we go again. "the moon reflects the sunlight". but it's night time. there is no sun!

obviously the moon is a giant portal into some kind of lunar dimension and the light is coming from that other plane of existence. It's so obvious.

/lh /jk

[knotty vine]

So now it is sunlight

The moon is just the moon goddess thats why it has no effect on creatures

Selûne

[atomic kayak]

Time for my werewolves to change anytime the sun is out

[knotty vine]

Weird name

[atomic kayak]

Basically a real life name

[knotty vine]

Cant werewolves fully control when they turn into werewolves

[uncut zenith]

The moon does have effects on creatures (see lycanthropes)

[knotty vine]

At least in dnd

[tender pier]

i see, im guessing those locations are just as fleshed out as faerun?

[knotty vine]

where

[small sand]

I can't wait to abuse the hell out of divine intervention

[knotty vine]

Divine intervention is still pretty wild to me

Not seeing anything about moon light on the werewolf stat block im I looking in the wrong place?

[small sand]

It's designed to not actually work most of the time tho, no? So it's not really a balance problem

[knotty vine]

I know the spell moon beam does something to shapechangers

[hot gate]

Nowhere near as much as far as I know, no. Most of the focus was on Faerun and the areas around the Sword Coast

It's a huge area

[uncut zenith]

Moonbeam

[knotty vine]

Right 2014 player

[knotty vine]

But thats not the moon

Thats a spell effect

[paper portal]

yeah 2014 divine intervention is pretty eh

[tender pier]

oh i guess im free to speculate about them and host my adventures there (would be cool if it was more fleshed out though)

[knotty vine]

Thats also works on all shapechangers not just lycanthropes

[small sand]

Wait what was changed about it in 5.5? /gen

[knotty vine]

So unless stated worthwise Dnd werewolves are pretty much in full control

[knotty vine]

You can pretty much cast any 5th level spell or lower as a magic action

Cleric spell I mean

[minor cargo]

In 2024, werewolves often can't resist changing form on a full moon.

Werewolves change from their humanoid forms into fierce wolves or wolf-humanoid hybrids. Werewolves can shape-shift voluntarily, but many can’t resist transforming during the nights of a full moon.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/5195267-werewolf

I don't know if you would count that as "being affected by the moon" since it's kind of wishy-washy (e.g. doesn't affect any kind of roll).

[delicate owl]

The moon do be mentioned within the descriptor of Weretigers and Werewolves.

[paper portal]

planar binding and hallow are big ones

[delicate owl]

To add to rhe above..

Some weretigers’ transformations might also be tied to the crescent moon, seasons, or momentous events.

[carmine tusk]

Me and my party were thinking of getting the Digital player handbook together on dnd beyond because its really limiting without it

[knotty vine]

Doesnt really do much mechanically

[carmine tusk]

We can't pick any subclasses without It, i'm stuck with circle of the land

I HATE circle of the land

[crimson gulch]

yeah if you dont have the handbook phsyically or digitally its hard to use it

[delicate owl]

Mechanically no.

Narratively yes.

You didnt specify soo...

[knotty vine]

When I was talking about above aka being effected by something aka creature with sunlight sentivity having disadvantage in sunlight

I did higher up

When we were talking about sun and moon light

And how moon light does absoutely nothing

Sunlight does a few things like kills vampires

[delicate owl]

Ah, there goes the goal post

[knotty vine]

The goal post was already there...

If you scrolled up

[dusky harbor]

Takes them out of their transformation

[wide rover]

Howdy

[still plover]

G'day.

[tall spade]

Top of the mornin'.

[knotty vine]

My name is Tasha

[wide rover]

So how many kitsunes are in here

[wide rover]

Aye top o the mornin

[paper portal]

no freaking way

[wooden silo]

I am playing a campaing and didnt have a session 0. After playing session 1 I realize everyone in the party is good guys and so I wanna retire my PC which is a bad guy for a good guy.

Is retiring PC's of level 1 after session 1 frowned upon by the community? I dont wanna make my DM angry or anything 😓 (new player here)

[bronze canopy]

Let your dm know that you don’t think your character fits and that you’d like to make another

[hot gate]

I don't think the opinion of the community really matters here, only your DMs opinion does.

[cursive fjord]

Especially if you didnt know going in and having a completely different tone of character and wanting to change is more than accaptable

[hot gate]

But for reference, I'd totally let this go through as a DM, while all the while reprimanding myself for not doing a session 0.

[wide rover]

Ur ok just let the DM know that u wish to make a new one tho Imma be honest make something ur comfortable with

[lean wigeon]

guys one of my players is playing a bard (dirty minmaxer class)
i hate bards
what do i do? can i just rip apart his character sheet in front of him?

[wide rover]

Do wat I do shove him in a cave with a black dragon with no way out

[wintry spindle]

You ask hem to do a irl performance or else it doesnt count in game /s

[still plover]

Instinctive reaction withheld

Alright, what bothers you about bards?

[wooden silo]

Thank you all i will do that. I didnt knew much about the world and the setting 😊

[wide rover]

senses his reaction n holds a Eldritch blast

Akhem

[cursive fjord]

I have to ask is this a genuine question?

[twilit sail]

go straight for the head with a right hook then follow up w a jab

then go for a kick in the privates

[uncut zenith]

If you don’t like bards, you should’ve ban them before having your players make characters. That said, there’s nothing inherently wrong with bards in my book, so I’d just let them play the character they want to.

[twilit sail]

afterwards grab his head and slam it into the nearest table

[wide rover]

I just murder em outright in the funniest way possible like death by pie

[crimson gulch]

No I don't think it is

[twilit sail]

its not genuine

[cursive fjord]

I don't think so but it might just be a young player who might think its an acceptable answer when its not

[wide rover]

Bards are never allowed in my playthrough they r annoying af

[twilit sail]

if you see "dirty minmaxer class" then its obviously not serious

[still plover]

How so?

[twilit sail]

probably the sleeps with everyone stereotype

[uncut zenith]

Considering the state of the internet, you never know for sure

[wide rover]

Let's see they just act bloody insane the entire campaign I had to kill one n let me tell u he died to a random fall from a roof

[atomic kayak]

That sounds more like a player issue than a class issue

[turbid vessel]

i feel like you're basing your experience off of like 1 or 2 player experiences you personally had, rather than bards as a class

[twilit sail]

lmao you make it sound like the bard is some kind of demonic entity that possesses players to make them act crazy when they choose the class

[wide rover]

I had 20 bro 20 is enough

[turbid vessel]

uh huh.

[wide rover]

I mainly have a cleric a warlock (me) n a fighter n a ranger

[south prawn]

My one and only time in the player seat and what did I play? Bard

[twilit sail]

i want to play a bard for my next char..

being the face sounds fun

[wide rover]

Eldritch blasts

[twilit sail]

Or a hexblade thats fine too

[turbid vessel]

my favorite bard i've seen played was a spiritual medium that used music to center energy that would allow them to gain insight and powers from previous ancestors practicing the same musical traditions

[royal oasis]

Would David Attenborough be a druid or ranger?

[tall spade]

yes

[cursive fjord]

I really enjoyed playing a Bard therapist.|| I also based them loosely on Hannibal Lecter bur I digress||

[limber trail]

Druid 100%

Bear Grylls would be a ranger

[celest spire]

Yeah he would 100 percent be a Ranger.

But what subclass!!

[limber trail]

Hunter probably by virtue of it being most "generic"/nonspecific

[celest spire]

Likely Hunter or Gloom Stalker.

Remember he was an SAS member. So he's a scout and ambush specialists in unexpected environments.

[still plover]

My bard idea is a travelling archaeologist, historian and linguist who studies Words of Power, leftovers from the primal times of the creation of the world.

[dense nacelle]

Can you counterspell contingency spells? Since they’re not being cast at that moment I would think no, right?

Like, the spell was already cast, this is just the effect of the spell taking place

[still plover]

Probably agreed. I think they're cast at the time of setting the contingency. #dnd-rules might know.

[empty thicket]

i mainly have a fighter, poor guy is getting some character development.
Someday i might be able to play a warlock that i want or a wizard

[dense nacelle]

I wanna play a wizard so bad

[wide rover]

Ah

[dense nacelle]

Wizards are so fun

[empty thicket]

i want to play warlock so badly too, but i dont want to kill off my fighter and im waiting for some campaigns to open or have a spot free

[turbid vessel]

there's always multiclassing, whether or not that's actually good advice

[dense nacelle]

I keep joining campaigns and they need a tank, which the wizard I’ve built is not

[turbid vessel]

though for the right builds and with the right spell choices, a level or two in warlock doesn't hurt for fighter

[severe rampart]

for 2024?

[empty thicket]

my cha is crap...

[turbid vessel]

some of the spells don't require cha! like armor of agathys, or hex. both are pretty sick additions for fighter

[empty thicket]

and im going with a "Pure class" ideology for now, trying stuff

[uncut zenith]

Or take the Eldritch Adept feat for a couple invocations and some warlock flavor if you don’t wanna MC

[severe rampart]

Maybe they're refering to the multiclassing requirement

[empty thicket]

yeah but for context i have 10 cha.
i need 13 and im already lvl 8 and used the last ASI for getting Sentinel

[turbid vessel]

oh! gosh i always forget that that's a requirement

yeah i guess it's a balanced requirement but i'm still gonna complain about it every time lol

[severe rampart]

I love spells that don't rely on the spellcasting ability, playing an eldritch knight with 12 int, I just have absorb elements, shield, and magic missile

[uncut zenith]

The MC requirements are mostly there to make sure you have a decent stat spread before you dip into another class

Cuz dipping into Warlock with a CHA of 8 probably won’t get you very far

[empty thicket]

i think its okey, rarely is a bad number and mostly its because "fit" the requirement of the class

I wont think or like a Dext figher who have 8str multiclass for free to barbarian

[turbid vessel]

i'll be honest i don't even multiclass much anyway so i have no reason to complain

[empty thicket]

and get the whole rage upgrading them

And we dont want ANY caster to get for "FREE" action surge.

We all saw shorts of that bald guy doing "combos" using action surge.

[severe rampart]

the casting 5 spells?

[empty thicket]

yeah, i guess it might be him

[turbid vessel]

didn't 2024 fighter update so action surge can't use the magic action?

though i suppose there's still broken combos that can be done

[severe rampart]

Most optimizers play 2014

[uncut zenith]

Yeah I hate multiclassing lol

[empty thicket]

wont be possible i guess for Eldritch knight

[severe rampart]

I believe it's because you used to get subclasses at different levels for different classes, so it was cheaper to dip

Now you have to commit to 3 levels

[turbid vessel]

well an EK can still cast a spell, attack and replace an attack with a cantrip (at level 7), so that's pretty good

[empty thicket]

Its a good class who add spells in general and make them work

[uncut zenith]

Yeah EK is finally great and not just good enough

[empty thicket]

It play with the fact that you want to attack after casting something to upgrade that attack and at higher level when you can have like 3 attacks you can sacrifice 2 of those for one spell

[uncut zenith]

Took them a couple tries, but I think it’s mostly because the synergy is better with the 2024 base Fighter than it is with the 2014

[empty thicket]

and in consideration, misty step is a lvl 2 spell and is one of the best gaps closer for a class who weakness is taht

oh wait, is bonus action, so you can move, misty step and still be able to do 3 (or 1 + spell) attacks

[empty thicket]

2024 fighter seems so goated

[uncut zenith]

It really is

I’m loving my 2024 Battle Master

[empty thicket]

i like the whole mastery weapons thing and you working around them and the second wind being used for upgrade skills

[severe rampart]

Fighters are fun

[empty thicket]

its in fact a free bard inspiration for yourself

[uncut zenith]

Weapon Masteries were a great way to add some variety and customization to martials

[severe rampart]

I couldn't enjoy fighters as much because my DM used crit fumbles

[uncut zenith]

Ew

[severe rampart]

I attacked 4 times in one turn what am I supposed to do

Scimitar flew 25 ft away from me

[twilit sail]

Booooo

[empty thicket]

what is crit fumbles?

[severe rampart]

Natural 1 = something bad happens

which is very unfair to martials who attack multiple times

the higher and higher level you get the more likely it is you're going to get more natural 1s

[still plover]

A bad idea encouraged by wizards who cast spells calling for saving throws.

[paper portal]

haiii its me

not like we use action surge anyways tbh

[empty thicket]

Oh...

[severe rampart]

those darned wizards.

[hot gate]

The shadow lobby of Big Wizard 😔

[empty thicket]

I would max put if you miss all your attacks the enemy get advantage in his next attack
Same would apply to enemies so... having high AC and making them fail would mean something

[severe rampart]

There was one crit effect I really liked, if you landed a Natural 20 on an attack or anything in combat you can grant inspiration to yourself or your allies, but you land a nat 1 you inspire the enemy (same thing applied for the enemies)

[thorn osprey]

I dmed you :)

[empty thicket]

that sound good

Dangerous but risky

And for me that i am a guy who try to fish critics like an addict, more.

[keen hemlock]

Every single 2024 new subclass is really good i just wish 2024 combat wasnt so boring

[severe rampart]

What?

[empty thicket]

its good as the DM can or want ngl

I was talking with mine and we got some upgrades

[keen hemlock]

Whoever made Winter walker and djinn paladin needs to be kissed on the mouth

Especially winter walker they made ranger not terrible thats very hard to do

[empty thicket]

We have a glory kill mechanic and for that we needed enemies to waste reactions. The thing is he rarely put reaction in enemies so he now put some silly reactions so we have enemies to use that mechanic

[dusky harbor]

Ranger was terrible?

[cursive fjord]

Ranger isn't terrible in the first place but everyone is entitled to their opinion

[turbid vessel]

for everyone at home, that's "ranger bad" for the dnd server bingo card

[dusky harbor]

News to me

[keen hemlock]

always has been

[empty thicket]

Further im going to talk with him about upgrading some stuff of it

[severe rampart]

What kinda DMs do you have, I made a custom enemy that's resistant to every damage except for one where it's vulnerable to that changes for every player every round, they could determine what it was using their bonus action and a successful DC check

[dusky harbor]

Guess you never played with one who knows how to play one haha

[cursive fjord]

Now PHB 2014 Ranger on the other hand, kinda terrible.

[severe rampart]

Thanks

... I've checked this box off 10 times now

[cursive fjord]

Tasha fixed so much of it and i loved it

[keen hemlock]

Its true unfortunately

[severe rampart]

can someone mention how martials are weaker than spellcasters

[dusky harbor]

How about this one.

[paper portal]

honestly it was never as bad as people thought

[dusky harbor]

Fighter boring

[keen hemlock]

Less versatility and creativity you can do

Martial is more consistent but not as flexible

[cursive fjord]

Man have you heard, Spell casters are op

[paper portal]

ranger essentially gets all the good parts of the druid spell list, hunter is a pretty solid subclass too

wait is pwt phb in 5e i should know this

[cursive fjord]

Also healing is kinda pointless too.

[dusky harbor]

Thats a Bingo!

[cursive fjord]

Trying to get you that Bingo in record time lol

[paper portal]

ok it is yeah rangers had all of their main tools in the 2014 phb ngl

[hot gate]

Slow down, I'm ticking boxes as fast as I can 😔

[dusky harbor]

What do i win

[turbid vessel]

a wellness check

[severe rampart]

Your very own timeout corner

[dusky harbor]

Yay

[keen hemlock]

2014 was so good

[paper portal]

thats why i still play it

[keen hemlock]

Im a newgen who preaches 2014 agenda

2014 is superior

[dusky harbor]

I havent played or ran 24 yet

[cursive fjord]

Its different strokes for different folks

I enjoy both

[dusky harbor]

Will one day

[turbid vessel]

to each their own. for my group, we enjoy the cleaner feel and balance of 2024

[twilit sail]

I play 2014 bc ive never played w a dm who plays 2024

[paper portal]

yeah its weird how many people insist one is better when its rly just preference

[cursive fjord]

The only complaint I have with 2024 is the Paladin.

[woven flint]

Salutations, friends
The goofy one cometh 🧐

[severe rampart]

How?

[keen hemlock]

2024 paladin is kinda better even as a '14 glazer

[cursive fjord]

I never liked Find Steed. And if I wanna Smite Bot let me

[paper portal]

oh boy i have all sorts of complaints about 2024 i probably shouldnt voice here

[woven flint]

Ah, yes, because youbcan't divine smite on every hit but get probably the most buffs in the game!

"Oh no! My steak is too crispy and my lobster too buttered!" /silly

[turbid vessel]

yeah, they lowered the damage potential and raised the support potential for paladin. different, and i like what changed! not everoyne liked it tho

[keen hemlock]

Smite botting in 2024 would make paladin SO strong

[cursive fjord]

Oh most definitely, I understand WHY but doesnt mean I have to like it

[keen hemlock]

Oath of the djinn paladin smite botting would solo so many encounters

[paper portal]

phantom steed >>>> find steed

[hot gate]

I like it a lot, makes the class feel more diverse

[dim schooner]

does hunter's mark's damage dice gets double as well when doing a crit

[cursive fjord]

I dont like having to track a second creature when I'm playing.

[woven flint]

You mean Oath of the Noble Genies?

[woven flint]

Yes!
All additional damage gets doubled on a crit

[paper portal]

afaik the rules on what does and doesnt count for crits are pretty much nonexistent

[keen hemlock]

Djinn genie same thing

[woven flint]

Not really.. no?

[severe rampart]

that's why we love Sneak Attack, Smite, Conjure Minor Elementals, Fount of Moonlight, etc.

[cursive fjord]

Usually ALL DICE is doubled

[keen hemlock]

Im to used to using the normal version of genies which are just called djinn

So anytime I want to say genie I say djinn

[severe rampart]

Cuphead...

[woven flint]

There's no "normal genie" in D&D though

Djinni, Dao, Marids and Efreeti are all equally as normal genies

[paper portal]

and thats why 2014 rules are better, purely because assassin gives guaranteed crits

[keen hemlock]

I mean in like real life, because im used to saying djinn as a general umbrella term

[severe rampart]

Assassin in 2014 was horrible what do you mean?

[dusky harbor]

I like assassin

[woven flint]

Fair enough 🧐

[paper portal]

ehhh im not gonna bother to argue with that but even so they shouldve kept the guaranteed crits and make them easier to get

[severe rampart]

You do something cool for the first turn of combat and then there's nothing else you can do for the rest of combat

[dusky harbor]

Thief is my favorite

[uncut zenith]

Yeah 2024 Assassin is much better than 2014 imo

[severe rampart]

Low bar

[keen hemlock]

Assasian is one of those subclasses that just cant be good

The basic idea is hard to get much value out of but you can't change it without losing its identity

[paper portal]

2014 assassin can be good but it definitely needs multiclasses

hence the whole ranger 5/fighter 3/rogue 3 build thats been floating around for ages

[severe rampart]

if you need multiclassing for a subclass to be "good" I don't know if it is

[uncut zenith]

The new one is pretty good. Especially now that poison is universally more effective than it was in 2014

[paper portal]

id say so, theres more things that arent saved by a multiclass

[uncut zenith]

Agreed. A class/subclass should be good on its own, not based on how it interacts in a multiclass

[atomic kayak]

Incidentally, that describes many scenarios where people say "X class/subclass is the best"

[dim schooner]

if i use hunters mark on a previous turn, then on the next turn hit someone, then use the spell ensnaring strike, will both the damage of hunters mark and the effect of ensnaring strike take effect?

[still plover]

For their intended role, indeed!

[atomic kayak]

(See things like: multiclassing specific subclasses to make certain classes good (warlock dips are common, specifically hexblade) or multiclasses like a cleric dip for wizard, where now you are no longer just a wizard and can't be judged as such)

[still plover]

No. They're both concentration spells.

[dim schooner]

wont hunters mark just end?

[uncut zenith]

Hunter’s Mark and its effects would drop immediately when you cast another concentration spell

[empty thicket]

Yep, sadly its like that...

i would want it to be upgraded through levels of the ranger but that... is not possible at all

and they wont just break it off and make it an unique feature for the class.
Because Vengance paladin use HM too

[uncut zenith]

If it were up to me, I would’ve designed 2024 Ranger to allow non-con HM PB times per LR (consuming spell slots), but otherwise 2024 Ranger is still pretty good

[dim schooner]

im gonna ask my dm to do this

[humble cairn]

Have you tried just .. playing Ranger as it is?

[lean wigeon]

please don't shorten concentration like that

[humble cairn]

Ranger's pretty fun as is.

[dim schooner]

ye but why not ask u know

[uncut zenith]

I just figure if they’re gonna double down on making HM a staple for all Rangers, they might as well make it a little more accessible

[paper portal]

yeah hm is still pretty sad in 24 ngl

[umbral girder]

You can just play Ranger as is

[lean wigeon]

no i mean
non-con, as a term
has very very bad connotations

[empty thicket]

what you mean with the "Non-con" thing?

[uncut zenith]

Non-concentration

[severe rampart]

Non concentration

[empty thicket]

okey okey, thought it was something else

[severe rampart]

This is about D&D, sir

[paper portal]

get your brains out of the gutter you guys

[empty thicket]

Too much things going on.

But yeah, wish HM wasnt conc too

[umbral girder]

Busted change to do to HM.

[empty thicket]

Mage armor is such goated thing that give lots of AC but HM is concentration.

[uncut zenith]

In fairness, those who have access to Mage Armor typically need it

[paper portal]

honestly just making hm straight up non conc wouldnt be an issue but i get not wanting to do that

[empty thicket]

In a Way, yes.
In another, HM is a feature of a whole class.

its enough that upcasting it wont upgrade the damage, not even to a 1d8 // 1d10 // 1d12 // 1d16.

[humble cairn]

It's something that was playtested multiple times over the years and never tested well.

[turbid vessel]

when i was in a one shot that houseruled it, it was "once per short rest, non-concentration HM"

[empty thicket]

in which way?

[humble cairn]

I don't know, since they didn't really share the results of the public playtests. It just never tested well.

[empty thicket]

oh, so it can be a "it was too broken" or a "we didnt like the way it ended being"

[turbid vessel]

definetly not my top 10 favorite things about the dnd playtest methods, i wish they were more transparent with the playtest results

[empty thicket]

Yep, justify me a bit the "it just never tested well" for the players

Because it can be

1. Players used it and used other spells doing tons of damage per round
   2- Even with the change the players didnt used it
   3] The spell itself isnt good enough and the result is still bad with such change

[humble cairn]

I mean, I can't justify any of that. I know they had public playtesting, and I know they never implemented it, but there has been little to no explanation of the feedback that led to that.

[uncut zenith]

My biggest issue with playtest over the past couple UAs is that it feels less like material they want us to try and more like material they’re planning on publishing regardless and they just want to preview it and ask for some fine tuning

[empty thicket]

not you buddy, i mean the wizards

you arent the one i would point out because you already justified yourself, you dont know and its oeky

[uncut zenith]

Like “you’re getting this whether you like it or not, just tell us how you want it fixed”

[umbral girder]

Bright side is we don’t get playtest where 80% of it just doesn’t happen

[crimson gulch]

i hope we dont get Psion, we dont need another class

[uncut zenith]

I’m sure we’re gonna get it either way

People have been begging for a dedicated psionic class for years

[umbral girder]

I wouldn’t mind it

[turbid vessel]

it's been many a year since we've gotten a new dnd class. i'm not opposed to it

and dedicated psion is a fairly substantial niche that could be fufilling to fill

[lavish flame]

Admittedly I prefer this approach

[atomic kayak]

I do want Psion for a few reasons

[umbral girder]

Yeah it’s a lot more preferable with this UA.

[cursive fjord]

Ive never like the idea of Psion

[reef tundra]

This might be a skill issue on my end but I just can’t see too big a difference between the fantasy and theme of psion from sorcerer. We even have a psionic sorcerer subclass

[minor cargo]

I'm torn because I like the idea of a psionic class(es) when they're complete strange and new and alien and, specifically, not magic.

But the issue with this kind of design is it makes the game that much more complicated and hard to learn. 😬

[umbral girder]

I’d like it to do my Silver the Hedgehog build /jk

[limber trail]

I can't say I've got much interest in psion either. To me the issue is it feels like a class that's already existent through a bunch of other subclasses. I dislike it as an idea for the same reason that I dislike the idea of a true gish class

[uncut zenith]

Yeah my issue with psionics in general in 5E is that they don’t feel different enough

[umbral girder]

Show the BBEG that it’s no use.

[reef tundra]

I mean don’t get me wrong I am not against having new classes, I just like to be able to clearly feel a difference between their themes and vibes. Although “themed and vibes” is very arbitrary on my end

[uncut zenith]

It should feel like a sort of subsystem, but as of right now it just feels like a different flavor of spellcasting

[reef tundra]

Same here! Pointy Hat’s video explains it well, the latest psion UA had only one ability that felt like its own thing

[minor cargo]

Oh! So this I actually have strong feels about lol.

So back in 3.5E, where I thought psionics were done best, a sorcerer existed as we know: there's something inherently magical about your blood/lineage/spirit/etc. So you have this untapped power that is really attuned to the magic of the world.

A psion ("wilder" if you don't study psionics) is someone who has something inherently alien about them. You have an untapped power and almost nobody knows how it works or why or, perhaps most dangerously, how to stop you.

Anti-magic fields? No effect. Spell resistances? No effect.

Heck, your powers don't even require somatic components. You just think and suddenly someone is on fire.

It causes fear both in the players, but also as part of the world.

[lavish flame]

Yeah. I kinda figure I'd want a whole other system (maybe one involving a Spell Points-like pool of resources) for Psionics to feel distinct.

[reef tundra]

Now that’s pretty badass

[uncut zenith]

As much as I’m not a big fan of lot of his design, I actually really liked how Colville portrayed psionics (specifically with gem dragons) in his S&F book. Where it’s a pool of points that regenerate throughout initiative

[minor cargo]

In 3.5E they were called "power points" or PP, which had the added benefit of making you feel like a Pokemon.

[halcyon forum]

another game where you gotta manage your PP carefully

[crimson gulch]

haha, i had an enemy use an iron flask last night like a pokeball

[halcyon forum]

oh yeah, iron flasks as pokeballs are a classic

[atomic kayak]

Incidentally that's one of the reasons I want it.

It would very directly and obviously make it clear for people that 5e treats psionics as "just more magic" (which it has always done, just more obliquely).

Ik why there are all the different viewpoints of psionics but more often than not in the history of dnd psionics have been some kind of magic

[halcyon forum]

there is a character in a one shot I was running who caught a Thunderboar in one

[turbid vessel]

would a marut be immune to an iron flask?

[atomic kayak]

5e (both in the psion and monsters and subclasses and more) has always had psionics be "magic"

Said magic has sometimes been represented by spells, sometimes by other magical abilities (ex: mind blast), and other times via non mechanically magical things

[minor cargo]

If I can wax a bit more about 3.5E for a second haha.

Psionics being "new and alien" and magic being "old and well understood" was also naturally a great tension point in the overall world. It set you up for this kind of xianxia type of drama where you had "orthodox vs unorthodox".

And this is why I think something like Incarnum (still in 3.5E) just didn't work. For me and my friends, it fell super flat. Incarnum is supposed to be older than magic which... doesn't really work. Edit: Doesn't work and doesn't really add any fun tension or conflict from our POV.

[atomic kayak]

Frankly I think one of the biggest (and imo weirdest) things people do when discussing "magic" in regards to dnd is boiling it down to exclusively being spells (and sometimes more specifically, spell slots). Which has never been true.

You also see this all the time when people describe other classes as being non magical (like monk or barbarian) despite them objectively being magical. Either mechanically or just narratively.

[crimson gulch]

immutable form would grant that i would say yes

[vast saddle]

I guess in the end.....nobody wanna talks about Artifacts

[rough basalt]

Psionics in old editions were complicated but 5e Psion is primarily just purple sorc.

[vast saddle]

I guess mechanic is more important than anything

[atomic kayak]

They both were and were not complicated. It highly depends on what edition you are talking about

[crimson gulch]

i love artifacts

[vast saddle]

Is it because Artifacts don't exist in 5.5e?

[reef tundra]

To me, mechanics is just a way to back up the most important part to me, which is the story and just having an excuse to roleplay

[rough basalt]

I think 2e is my main ref.

[uncut zenith]

They do

[reef tundra]

??
They do exist

[rough basalt]

Where they were a completely different system.

[lavish flame]

theres actually more Artifacts in the 5.5 DMG than in the 5e DMG

[rough basalt]

Where as 4e Psionics was the same principle as 4e design just instead of a billion powers you got a billion augments for a handful of powers.

[vast saddle]

But why is it rarely spoken?

[turbid vessel]

cause probably like 90 percent of the faerun population don't even know they exist

[rough basalt]

Because artifacts aren't really that much to talk about.

[uncut zenith]

Likely because they tend to be Macguffins that entire adventures are built/designed around

[atomic kayak]

Psionics has been a separate system, a subtype of magic related to regular casting, a subtype of magic unrelated to regular casting, and more.

Its been. Highly highly inconsistent in terms of how it is done mechanically.

Overall, it has (relatively) consistently been magic in some form

[rough basalt]

Yeah, Psionics is weird to put it easily lol.

[uncut zenith]

Artifacts don’t just show up randomly in an adventure like other magic items do, they’re typically there for plot-related reasons.

[vast saddle]

I was waiting for 4 hours

[rough basalt]

Idk why you're waiting for a hyper niche topic to talk about.

[lavish flame]

theyre super rare, so they're basically plot devices whenever they get used. they dont really fit in most plots, so they rarely get used, so they're rarely talked about

[turbid vessel]

it's like asking how many people in the star wars galaxy know what the death star was. certainly everyone on screen. not 99 percent of the entire galaxy population

[vast saddle]

Curiosity and debate

[uncut zenith]

Right. In the Star Wars universe, almost nobody knows about the Death Star. And when they learn about it, it’s typically the hard way.

[vast saddle]

Because my DM didn't allow me to use Ring of Winter for my PC's background

[rough basalt]

Makes sense

[uncut zenith]

Yeah artifacts aren’t typically starting items

[rough basalt]

Why would they let you have an artifact as a starting item

[vast saddle]

And NOW I HAVE TO SCRAP THEM THANKS TO THAT 4-HOUR WAITING!!!!

[lavish flame]

thats a reasonable restriction imo

[vast saddle]

Now I'm stuck with generic and dull PC's background

[limber trail]

reasonable

[rough basalt]

Sounds like a you problem if your characters generic and dull

[vast saddle]

I wanna read something tragic, but it sucks without cursed Artifacts

[turbid vessel]

heartbreaking: tabletop player has to face mild and reasonable restriction. more at 5

[lavish flame]

the Ring of Winter is pretty powerful, so starting with it might rob your party of the experience of adventuring to get it

[severe rampart]

You don't need a cursed artifact to have a tragic story

[vast saddle]

Is it better than no background at all?

[reef tundra]

Background doesn’t automatically make a character interesting

[turbid vessel]

i know for a fact it's possible to make very impactful and gripping backgrounds without using an artifact

[reef tundra]

Characters can be interesting without a background, and characters can be boring even if they Gae a background

[limber trail]

I mean I think a generic background is infinitely better than a bad background, which starting with an artifact is usually a sign of a bad background

[severe rampart]

Lmao I just read it, you want a legendary artifact as a starting item?

[vast saddle]

Even the dullest background can be good if I roleplay it well?

[rough basalt]

Naturally.

[reef tundra]

Yes

[turbid vessel]

indeed

[lavish flame]

yeah dawg

[reef tundra]

A bad sculptor blames their tools

[vast saddle]

I have no legit reason why my Chara is emotionally death

[severe rampart]

Why not?

[limber trail]

My hottest take is that people overcomplicating backstories makes for harder RP and worst characters. Keep things simple. The point is not your character's backstory, the point is that they're about to embark on the real story

the campaign should be the most interesting thing that ever happens to your PC by far

[lavish flame]

throw ur own lil spin on being a Noble or Artisan or Urchin. The cool stuff comes from ur head.

[severe rampart]

Emotionally dead? Maybe something happened that they cannot speak about, maybe them speaking out or letting their emotions get over them hurt them in the psat

[turbid vessel]

especially for lower level characters. less is more. start small. leave room for foam.

[reef tundra]

I have a character who struggles to feel emotions properly, and I never gave him any reason why

[vast saddle]

This is the exact copy I use for my chara

[turbid vessel]

heavens forbid you develop a character trait more as the game goes on. certainly you wouldn't be allowed to figure things out later in the game, right?

[severe rampart]

So... why do you need a legendary artifact?

[limber trail]

I actually think you should start characters as a lil bit of a blank slate, and then develop backstory a few sessions into the game.

Or rather, I think you should be comfortable to continue developing your backstory well into the campaign

[prisma prairie]

Wym* clearly characters don’t grow as people through out stories, silly billy* ☠️ they’re supposed to be one note throughout smh smh

[empty thicket]

Yeah, its kinda part of a problem when i want to adapt characters from other games to DnD

[severe rampart]

I pull stuff out of my ass during sessions because I think "Oh yeah that makes sense that's why he's like that"

[humble cairn]

Honestly don't try to make your character backstory too cool. A backstory should be the seeds for potential coolness.

[limber trail]

some of my best players pull nonsense out mid-session and invent major character lore on the fly. it rules.

[cursive fjord]

Depends on the campign I've played in lots of Sandboxes where the backstory became the campaign but we knew that going in

[humble cairn]

The most interesting things about your character should happen after your backstory, in actual play.

[prisma prairie]

I keep a bullet point of "why character would do something/act a way"
For my characters

[severe rampart]

and the little things "We planted a tree when we were young, now that's the tree where our ma and pa are buried under"

[empty thicket]

Like, there is one that perfectly fit for Monk poison.
But in his story he literally fought death for staying half dead and alive so....
He didnt killed it, just won that time and got away. The story is from Darkest dungeon 2, the flagellant

[vast saddle]

Screw it

[humble cairn]

That's basically what PBIF (Personality, Bonds, Ideals, Flaws) is for.

[prisma prairie]

Yeeeep

[vast saddle]

I'll be John Doe doing John Doe thing

[uncut zenith]

I like to do “bullet point” backstories personally. I don’t need a full autobiography that restricts the player’s RP, I just need to know some of the formative background aspects that define who the character is “today”.

[turbid vessel]

not to pull out the golden gopher again, but, matt mercer. one of his players Liam mentioned a great trait of his where a player can go "hey matt, i love what you're writing in the game rn, and i think it would be interesting if insert story beat here had to do with my characters backstory," and matt mercer will just go "love it!" and then proceed to wait around the corner with a spiked baseball bat, ready to make you wish you never asked

[humble cairn]

Knife theory!

[limber trail]

I run a campaign where I would say 50% of the content is directly inspired by or expanding upon seeds in player backstories and every single player character has had significant amounts of backstory added well into the campaign. One player gave me their full written backstory in like session 18, it didn't impact our ability to RP with it at all.

[vast saddle]

So, being John Doe is good

[reef tundra]

Knife theory mentioned

[vast saddle]

As long as I don't screw up?

[reef tundra]

The goat

[severe rampart]

yep that's a tick off the bingo card

[limber trail]

yup