dnd-discussion

[reef tundra]

My players did that

It was supposed to be a heist session. Became a full campaign after they destroyed the entire building and everyone inside

[gleaming gale]

i think by starting a new campaign, or one shot to campaign, i'll at least be able to avoid the same pitfalls from before, though I fear i've been spoiled with some players going above and beyond during the time

[hot gate]

One shots are great for finding just such players

[ornate copper]

How many players are in your campaigns?

[gleaming gale]

were, but I had like 5 at its prime, 4 later on, to 2, and then none

[ornate copper]

That's good

Well, where did you create your campaign's characters

[crystal wing]

Just had a player tell me that they were incredibly happy and engaged with my campaign as a first time dm who's relatively new to playing in general

[knotty vine]

Absoute legenadry action

[gleaming gale]

Wdym

[dim flicker]

im proud of you!!

[ornate copper]

I mean, do you have any specific website to design your character?

[lyric viper]

Are you asking for an app or website for character sheets?

[still plover]

D&D Beyond is a popular choice. You can also download fillable PDF sheets there.

[ornate copper]

Oh that's nice

[hollow turret]

I see we're no longer pretending 2024 isn't 5.5

[gleaming gale]

oh i've mostly just used dndbeyond to get like the basic stuff in, and add my own stuff.

Sometimes i'd have to homebrew due to some enemies being unique, but a friend gave me some good advice to always simplify stuff

a lot of it though past 'arc 3' and well into arc 5 have been my own

[flint ledge]

I doubt we actually stopped only dnd beyond uses the term

[deft lily]

i think game is dying

like few years ago you put a sign say hey i'll play and games would just apparate out of thin air

[gusty charm]

The game is huge. Even if there are less new members, it’s no going anywhere anytime soon

[deft lily]

when did this become a social media dating site

i'm looking at group finder atm

[humble cairn]

Finding a D&D group has always been like dating.

[deft lily]

its just a social networking site

i don't think I can be bothered

[humble cairn]

It's an inherently social game and finding the right group is difficult, like any other kind of relationship building.

[gusty charm]

Yes having friends that play is such a blessing. Finding a group can be work

And ofc integrating into it as well

[deft lily]

screw taht people are usually just rude a-holes anyway

[gusty charm]

Nice attitude to have

[humble cairn]

Not everyone, which makes finding the right group that much better and more worth it.

[still plover]

Run up a one-shot or two. Set the schedule for what you can regularly make. Do some games, meet some folk, see if there's a campaign they'd like to do together.

[undone rain]

I highly doubt this games dyin, dnds a big thing thats still talked of 50+ years later

And when bg3 dropped even more people got interested into dnd

[limber trail]

I mean generally the group-dating method is used to avoid rude a holes

[blissful zodiac]

Its where I mostly got interested

[ornate copper]

That’s good advice overcomplicating statblocks usually just makes encounters harder to run instead of more interesting

[gleaming gale]

yeh, i try to generally follow lair rules when i want to give some interesting skills, so stuff that only works because of where they are.

like being able to yell out "Oh, Merrymen!" and suddenly a bunch of rogues appear with crossbows, and stuff

homebrewing is very fun.

[green mirage]

idk much about tabletop design but it's definitely different from video games in the sense that someone has to mentally keep track of all the mechanics

maybe if you want to complicate stat blocks you can simplify enemy behavior

[gleaming gale]

yeah you always have to sacrifice something, to put emphasis on the other.

[green mirage]

i was looking for advice on where to take this character

after suffering from a purposefully underpowered multiclass for 9 levels i decided to go hexadin, now i find myself with 6 levels of paladin and 5 of hexblade, but i don't know where to take the guy next, any suggestions?

it's oath of vengeance btw

[still plover]

#optimization maybe?

[minor cargo]

A small thing I've been thinking about

• I think comparing finding a D&D group to speed dating excludes folks who are aro/ace. Also younger players who aren't into dating. It can also put a lot of pressure on people where dating is a source of anxiety.
• Is there another hobby or analogy we can use for D&D LFG? Like...
  • Inviting people over to dinner / potluck
  • Forming a band
  • Picking people for your baseball/football/hockey team
  • ...?

[fluid tinsel]

Hii

[crimson gulch]

It's doing better than ever, the new books are selling so very well

[glass granite]

Finding a favourite song? Don’t choose the first one you find, generally you’ll have a style you prefer, and even when at first it might sound good something later might ruin it (or vice versa, might grow on you)

[knotty vine]

https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/165539188 I love the custom options

[blazing lark]

so if prestidigitation (idk if i spelt it right) can heat smth up, to what extent can it do that? like can i just melt a bar of steel?

[knotty vine]

No

Not even heat metal can melt steel

[blazing lark]

damn

so can prestidigitation just like, warm a drink or smth

[paper portal]

heat metal can't melt steel beams?

[still plover]

Sure. Or your clothes, if you're in a cold place. It's got a range of applications, but it is just a cantrip.

[knotty vine]

No only just heat it

one thing I find strange is that warforged arent immune to exterme cold/heat Im sure that theres a reason

Same with autognomes

[uncut zenith]

Yep, spells only do what they say they do. And Heat Metal only heats metal. Doesn’t melt it

[feral fulcrum]

IT does exactly what it says it do.

[knotty vine]

Theres only one instances of fire that melt metal/steel and thats hellfire from Fierna

[feral fulcrum]

And she's the Archdevil of the Heart of Flame (Ie, Phlethegos), so...kind of says something.

I think she also bypasses fire immunity?

[knotty vine]

She does

1 of only 2 monsters that can bypass immunity

It also weirdly enough does double damage to creatures vulnerable to fire or necrotic

Wait theres no cr 29 monsters?

[feral fulcrum]

I'm not surprised, that high up, statblocks get pretty scarce

[knotty vine]

True

Just a little weird that theres a gap between 28 and 30

Im gonna miss mythic actions

[flint ledge]

Just add mythic actions on top of legendary and lair actions

[paper cedar]

Is there a reason why tieflings are such a common player choice?

Among various other races, many people choose tiefling.

[knotty vine]

They arent a thing in 2024

[minor cargo]

I think a lot of players resonate with the idea of being seen as "touched by evil" or "born wrong". There's a lot going on in the world where it's easy to find people who will demonize you immediately. 😔

[feral fulcrum]

Because people like edgy devilish people.

[knotty vine]

Fire resistnce

[paper cedar]

This is a good one

[feral fulcrum]

It's definitely more then mechanical.

[flint ledge]

I know... But I like to think it would be funny that you rig solo boss fights to have insane action economy by just stacking features

[feral fulcrum]

The vast majority of Tiefling enjoyers pick em purely for style points.

[knotty vine]

I know I just wanted to do the equivalent of "because bread taste better then key"

[paper cedar]

Hmmmm key 😋

[cedar bane]

colourful skin and cool horns are cool

[harsh hinge]

Besides what others have said, there's a lot of flavor potential: horns, skin color, tail, etc. Tieflings have a less codified popular image, which makes them a bit more mutable than elves or dwarves (for some, anyway!).

[cedar bane]

yeppers

[fringe blaze]

Is Eberron part of this server's discussions, or this is strictly Toril?

[harsh hinge]

Eberron does come up!

[humble cairn]

Eberron and all other D&D settings welcome in discussion.

[fringe blaze]

Thanks.

[flint ledge]

(Although the exploring eberron books are a topic for #third-party )

[fringe blaze]

So, if I want to discuss the Eberron setting I have to use third party channel?

[humble cairn]

No

[still plover]

For specific mechanical content, that might be best. Just talking about the setting is fine wherever.

[knotty vine]

Sorry we only talk about Abeir here

[humble cairn]

This wasn't really relevant to the question and confused someone.

[knotty vine]

Wheres my semi automatic pistol

[flint ledge]

My apologies I didn't know they weren't aware of the extra books

[minor cargo]

DMG. Also here. https://www.dndbeyond.com/equipment/67-semiautomatic-pistol
/lh

[knotty vine]

Dude

Hell yes

[undone rain]

Exactly, it would take alot for dnd to die out

[keen valve]

I'm making an adventure and found this about the city of Mirabar, where it starts.

Making maps of the city was illegal for security purposes...
I'll have to use this excuse for whenever I don't want to make a map for a city.

[empty thicket]

For the players....

If not just separate it in sections and each section have something

in text, section 1 have church and all religious of the city
2, merchants and blacksmiths
3, wizards, libraries, etc.

stuff like that

[keen valve]

Whar? No, it's not a problem. It's just something funny I found. The players won't even be there for that long, they're just leaving from there.

[hot marlin]

Fun fact: This may sound crazy but it has happened in real life! During the Cold War, the Soviet Union took map security to an almost absurd level. While they had incredibly accurate maps for military use, the maps available to the public were deliberately distorted to mislead potential invasions

China is the most prominent modern example where unauthorized mapmaking is strictly illegal. Under the Surveying and Mapping Law, performing any mapping or GPS data collection without a government license is a crime.

Most other examples are from the colonization age. 15th and 16th century especially and relating to the trade routes to the indies or the coast of Brazil.

So yeah, this is actually realistic! That's cool

[empty thicket]

im not surprised china is that strict with that ngl...

[feral fulcrum]

All things D&D, this included Eberron.

[keen valve]

The reason they had listed was to do with the fact that Luskan was their enemy.

Luskan sucks, so I get it.

[hot marlin]

Luskan doesn't need to suck for such a policy. The country just needs to be afraid of a military assault

[keen valve]

No, as in Luskan is dangerous and is literally ruled by criminals.

Mirabar also isn't a country. It's a city.

[empty thicket]

(hope its being talked about DND and not irl)

[hot marlin]

It's a city-state. A country

City states are countries

[keen valve]

I get what you mean.

[hot marlin]

And yeah whether or not their enemy is ruled by criminals, that doesn't change the fact that they have an incentive to obscure their geography to that enemy

Doesn't matter if they're saints. You do not want them able to cut off your water sources, or know where the military garrison are, or about the secret passages or where the mechanism to control the city gates are

[keen valve]

Ok, that's cool don't get me wrong, but the whole point of this is that I found it slightly funny.

The players aren't gonna be here but for a quarter of a session.

[hot marlin]

Yeah sorry. History nerd here. I get a bit overboard when D&D does something unusual but actually accurate

[empty thicket]

the problem would be, info is going to be get yes or yes, that always happen and in a world with magic a lot mroe
Sometimes is better to be ready for counter the attack or have ways to stop it

[keen valve]

Apparently it has virtually no crime? That's from the bit where I found out about the maps.
Something about that tells me this place is probably a bit of a nightmare.

[sudden comet]

im gona be dm'ing my first session in a bit- how do you guys manage all the enemies and what attacks they have ?

[hot marlin]

Of course the truth comes out. But for that, here's a trick: Make fakes. Lots and lots of fakes. What does it matter if the truth is out if your enemies can't find it amidst all the lies?

[empty thicket]

tricky but there is always a pattern

The truth have patterns, if follow those you can find it
Can change them too

but someone will do a mistake or someone will sell the truth

[hot marlin]

It doesn't matter if the truth is out because all the fakes are also out. And the truth doesn't look meaningfully different from all the fakes

So yeah. You have sixty maps of the city in front of you. One is real. The others are all in different ways inaccurate.

How do you find the real one?

Answer? You need to survey the city. At which point the maps are unecessary in the first place

[empty thicket]

find the pattern, but all that would be if im attacking the town

such thing would be a war act or worse

[hot marlin]

Which pattern? You keep using that word, I don't think it means what you think it means

Just looking at the maps there is no way you can find the accurate one, if the fakes are well made

Now sure, there is magic. A lot of casting of arcane eye and weeks of work would give you an accurate map.

For that, there are magic defenses

[thorn abyss]

So a silly thing. I was listening to a role play podcast and I realised something.

Role play, dice the entire concept to DND. A lot of that could apply to many an aesthetic. Like a sci fi campaign or something similar

[hot marlin]

What? There are already plenty of sci fi TTRPGs

[empty thicket]

the one that they must use, for example having some positions one too far to each other is too risky or pointless
Merchants positions
You wont see the fish market far from the harbor
The hospital close to another position that if its attacked do a big damage, etc. etc

[hot marlin]

I am really trying to get it but what you're saying is just not making sense to me.

[humble cairn]

Yes, roleplaying games come in all sorts of genres, not just D&D's fantasy genre.

[thorn abyss]

Right, I’ve watched dnd from afair and it always seems to be magic and elves and stuff.

While I’m here there’s a setting aesthetic I wish to share. Felt ya’ll would find it near

[hot marlin]

Yeah because D&D is about magic and elves and stuff. There are other RPGs

[thorn abyss]

Right right. Silly me

[empty thicket]

You dont put the military camp beside of the castle, you put them in the outsides to be the first in react to attacks
You dont put the principal castle in the outsides, its where a king and other important people is, they would be in the center or most secure spot of the town
Hospitals positions, merchants, etc. etc.

[hot marlin]

That still doesn't help. "The military camp is outside the castle" means nothing because the entire universe is also outside the castle. That's a lot of possible places it could be in

[south prawn]

Any setting is valid for D&D though, it’s literally whatever you want it to be and there’s no right or wrong. All settings exist in the multiverse

[empty thicket]

Would you put the libraries and stuff like that beside the harbor? or the Market where they can get their stuff from the ships and the fish from the sea?

[hot marlin]

You know that cities tend to grow organically? Libraries go where there is space, like everything else.

[keen valve]

They can also grow inorganically too, mind.

[hot marlin]

True but that's rarer.

[empty thicket]

That "grow organically" is the pattern im saying.

[keen valve]

It's a really good way to show how totalitarian a government is, imo.
"Wow! Look at all these pretty buildings!"
"Wow! Look how no one is on the streets, or in the buildings, or... well... anywhere close to here, really."

[empty thicket]

They grew in a way, they have the thing settled in a way

Unless liek you said, they dont but that is rarer

[hot marlin]

That still doesn't help you figure out which map is the real one and which ones are fake

Because all the fake maps will look plausible.

[keen valve]

Did you mean as in sci-fi, or did you have something special on your mind?

[empty thicket]

some will have the "details" but at this point just nuke it with a fireball at lvl20 and that it is

(JK, i know the max is lvl 9.)

[craggy summit]

Take a picture of their statblocks on your phone to see their HP, AC, actions etc etc

Then use notes (either on your phone or on paper) to track hit points aswell as any conditions

Example

Skeleton 1: HP 6, paralyzed

Skeleton 2: HP 8, vicious mockery'd

[thorn abyss]

Ahh damn. I wanted to share a picture. It was a ven diagram showing different setting aesthetics.

[keen valve]

Ah, dang.

On that note, as I'm going through more D&D lore... there is so many weird places.

The Methwood was a large and hot forest is filled with cypress, date palms, cedar, juniper, and mulberry trees, with lots of vine growth

I refuse to believe someone wasn't trolling with this one.

[humble cairn]

When the whole thing burns to the ground and you get to start over it can be a lot more planned. I'm from Chicago.

[hot marlin]

That is true! Also I am very sorry to hear that.

[humble cairn]

It was a long time ago, way before I was born.

Hey wait

I love my hometown, I'll have you know!

[hot marlin]

Wait, I like Chicago. It actually was the reason I got into TTRPGs

[humble cairn]

Oh? How so?

[hot marlin]

Vampire the Masquerade: Chicago by Night. To this day still one of the finest roleplaying books of all time.

[humble cairn]

I miss it now that I'm on the other side of the globe.

[humble cairn]

Ahh yes, a classic.

I've played a WOD campaign set in Chicago, it was great.

[tame kelp]

What spell can target mutiple creatures that seem like some of kind of bullets like Magic Missile, Scorching Ray?

[hot marlin]

Indeed. Taught me about the history of the city like nothing else. And encouraged me to learn more. To this day I still maintain that the history of Chicago is the history of the US.

[hot marlin]

Eldritch blast

[still plover]

Feel free to pop a link to the pic (with description) in #non-dnd-topics , maybe we can find a game that matches what you have in mind.

[lean wigeon]

i love the smell of rat piss

the parking under cloud gate is horrendous

[tame kelp]

Damn sadly I am a Wizard lvl 5

Order of Scribe.

Nvm let's move on to AoE spell...

FIREBALL

[humble cairn]

We locals call it The Bean.

[tame kelp]

The only most powerful spell for Wizard.

[empty thicket]

Yes, eldritch blast at higher levels too

if not AOE spells but those most of the time have Dext Saves

[bronze canopy]

Who doesn’t call it The Bean?

[humble cairn]

All parking downtown is horrendous. Park outside downtown and take the L in.

[empty thicket]

and if the enemy is able, they will be Evade (receive 0 damage if saved the dext saves)

[humble cairn]

The pretentious artist who made it.

[paper portal]

Beat me to it

[lean wigeon]

idk why it's even calleld cloud gate
it looks like neither of those things

[bronze canopy]

Makes you think about that in a dnd setting. All these glorious names can exist for landmarks and places, but the people might as well call it “that weird swirly portal thing”

[lean wigeon]

chicago outside of downtown was great though

hung out with my friends and ate some deep dish pizza

[empty thicket]

Yes.
Love that people SLANG it in many ways

[humble cairn]

"Y'hear that, friends? She wants directions to 'The Nexus of the Voooooiiiid'! Yeah just take left past the jakes and you'll get to The Hole."

[empty thicket]

But everybody say right the tavern that EVERYONE love,
"YEah, that is Jericko tavern. The best beer and spicy ribs of the continent, damn now i want some.
I bet i can eat more than you all party, they are the best"

[bronze canopy]

“Excuse me, I’m looking for the statue of the god Silenko”

“There’s a lot of statues around here of different gods”

“There’s statue should show him heaving a great stone with one hand”

“Oh you mean the bowling boy! He’s across the street from the Packrat’s Rat Pack Tavern which sells the best rat on a stick (with ketchup) that you’ll ever have! I’ll take you there now”

[tame kelp]

I wonder what's the best 3rd level spell beside Fireball as I am a wizard..

🤔

[bronze canopy]

Fly, Dispel Magic, and Counterspell can be useful fairly often

[paper portal]

Fireball isn't even the best 3rd level spell tbh

[tame kelp]

OH REALLY?

DUDE 8d6 is HUGE!!

[paper portal]

Phantom steed, sleet storm, conjure animals (not a wizard spell but still very very good), spirit guardians

[empty thicket]

lighting bolt is one unit damage

[tame kelp]

2014 taught me that Wizard MUST always cast Fireball XDDDDDD

[tame kelp]

What do you think about Hypnotic Pattern?

[paper portal]

oh yeah that should also be on the list hypatt is great

[limber trail]

I've seen dispel magic get some really solid uses when used tactically. I've seen ridiculous things done with lightning bolt.

[limber trail]

fight-winner on its own

[quiet jay]

What is this outlander doing in the heartchamber is blood Nerevar?

[paper portal]

in terms of pure damage spirit guardians is definitely the best 3rd level spell if not best spell full stop

[humble cairn]

The Resplendent Golden Ewer was installed in the Queen's Park, but it was only called it's proper name for a year before the unfortunate placement of another statue nearby branded it forever "The Loo" to the public as the statue of Lord Farrington with his signature hip thrust made it look like he was relieving himself in the previous installation.

[limber trail]

it does require a lot of smart positioning and some decent mobility to get full value

Great spell though 100%

[humble cairn]

A mount helps with this.

[limber trail]

also very true

it's drawbacks are very easily minimized

[paper portal]

Well it's kinda just "be close to as many enemies as possible" but you can also abuse the speed penalty in the right positions yeah

Anyways just checked and 9th level spirit guardians has to be up for 4 turns in order to outdo meteor swarm so that's pretty cool

[limber trail]

I just will emphasize, it's a spell with tons of potential (I'd probably agree it's at least top 3 3rd level spells) but it does require just a little bit more tactical thought

[paper portal]

My top 3 would probably be sleet storm phantom steed and plant growth

Spirit guardians is fantastic though and definitely one of my favourites

[severe rampart]

Spirit Guardians didn't change from 2014 to 2024, yeah

I let my players lawnmower using it

the monk held up the cleric by their feet

[paper portal]

It did get a bit of a wording change iirc so you can't double dip with forced movement anymore

[severe rampart]

You can now

Oh nevermind

but that's boring, I'll allow my players to keep using it

"On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage. A creature makes this save only once per turn."

[paper portal]

Oh you still can actually it just needs to be someone other than you doing it

[severe rampart]

Yeah that's what I meant

[paper portal]

Oh in fact you can double dip by yourself it's just more difficult

[severe rampart]

my druid and cleric players are double teaming with Conjure Animals and Spirit Guardians

[last flume]

Tiny hut should also be mentioned, guarantees a longrest against anything that can't dispel magic, so beasts and other non magical beings just get shut off completly.
It's also a Ritual Spell

[pliant nebula]

hello

I think I've been here before and probably left cuz back then I feel sorta out of place, so I went back after having some considerations, I love DnD still, I think(?) and I'm looking forward to join probably a game or two....though my bare minimum of knowledge is from Jocat's Crap Guide to DnD

[sturdy niche]

after reading the new free comic on dnd beyond, "Magefall", if elminster is often compared to gandolf, mordenkainen is like wise to doctor strange from marvel comics, dude especially in the artwork of the comic gave me serious doctor strange vibes, like the most simplified description i can think of mordenkainen now is "dnd's version of doctor strange", like is not entirely accurate but is not that far off i feel, that connection forever shall now exist in my mind 😛

[severe rampart]

Huh, I actually understood all those words

[last flume]

I don't know a lot about those two but their both Wizards, they just differ in their Alignment, Elminster is more good while Mordenkainen is Neutral Grey

[dim flicker]

hii fellow uma enjoyer!!

[delicate owl]

Somehow ba the spell or on next turn, move into space and out, ready action, move up to your speed once turn starts back up into space and back, and now its prepped for them to walk into it again, 3 times a round just with your interactions

[pliant nebula]

oh howdy! thanks for the welcome, I'm looking forward to being here more often (let's move to newcomers)

[bitter minnow]

Anyone want to discuss campaign ideas? You can dm me if you don’t want to talk here

[sturdy niche]

i suggest you check out the comic, especially given it is free, as it sets up an interesting situation for the oerthian mage

[undone rain]

Not bad how adventurers can carry pikes for miles on end. Those things are not the most comfy to hold

[dim flicker]

they dont really run games here cos this is more of just a place for talking abt dnd & stuff, but check out #looking-for-players & #looking-for-community for that

[paper portal]

Damn the 5.5 wording is really stupid you can just triple dip 😭 yeah spirit guardians is the best damage spell by a mile then

[severe rampart]

the average damage of spirit guardians is just 10.5 it's fine

[last flume]

I thought it can only damage people once per turn?

[severe rampart]

Well, you can probably quadruple dip too

[paper portal]

once per turn, not round

[delicate owl]

Its mostly the speed reduction and free damage from a decently large emanation imo.

[severe rampart]

Once per turn, once on your turn, second, third, fourth on not your turn

[sturdy niche]

downside is it's damage is tied to your alignment, and the effect only takes up a range of 15ft

[pliant nebula]

praying for a SEA timezone based group lmao

[delicate owl]

Huh? How can you get the fourth one with none of your reliance

[severe rampart]

Oh I meant you can get a fourth one if an ally grapples and moves you

[empty thicket]

anything on mind?

[delicate owl]

Oh well we meant just how many you can do yourself

[dim flicker]

im in a sea one!! i could message you if you're down for that

[paper portal]

with triple dipping spirit guardians you deal almost 1.5x fireball's damage in ONE ROUND

[sturdy niche]

well, one per creature given the wording, the implication seems each individual creature only has to make the save once per turn "whenever the Emanation enters a creature’s space and whenever a creature enters the Emanation or ends its turn there, the creature must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 3d8 Radiant damage (if you are good or neutral) or 3d8 Necrotic damage (if you are evil). On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage. A creature makes this save only once per turn." end quote

[severe rampart]

Ah so it's
Action - Spirit Guardians
Movement - First hit
Hasted Hold Action - Sprint then move back - Second hit
Stay, assuming the enemy is going near you for the third hit

[paper portal]

also RAW would "a creature ending its turn" not make it the next creature's turn thus allowing it to trigger a fourth time (not that i would ever allow this lol)

[severe rampart]

I wouldn't say it's three, many creatures have ranged attacks and it's not a gurantee they're going near you.

[sturdy niche]

and enemy magic users can give the wizard special ie fireball, usually

[paper portal]

with good positioning you can make the 3rd hit much more likely by backing them into a corner or just being in their way but its not guaranteed yeah

[severe rampart]

if a DM is playing enemies smartly they're not willingly going to walk into spirit guardians

[pliant nebula]

oh heck yeah!

[paper portal]

sometimes they dont have a choice

thats when the movement penalty comes in handy

[sturdy niche]

depending on the enemies, if the person casting it is living, they are likely to rush in unless commanded otherwise by a master if they are fighting zombies, not all enemies are equally intelligent

but most will learn once they get hit even on a simple level "danger"

[severe rampart]

Exactly my point, depending on the enemies, so the third hit isn't guranteed

[sturdy niche]

plus some creatures like an owlbear if playing them to the nature of their lore and how they behave, the likes of an owlbear will not care, if they are willing to fight stronger and larger creatures like dragons, i doubt they will care about some ghostly things

plus as per the wording of the spell, the save and thus the damage only happens once per turn

[severe rampart]

the 2 dips are guranteed, the third one is a maybe, the fourth one (with the ally) is also a gurantee

[sturdy niche]

so you can't stack it, at least by RAW on the same target in a single turn

[severe rampart]

That's what we said

[bitter minnow]

Yeah, actually a few ideas. I’m so not a DM but I always thought of playing a campaign where it’s like a Colosseum run by a lord, controlled by artificer technology, where your body is connected to a tube and a headset where your consciousness gets transferred to a slime that molds into your body and it’s supposed to be a no risk fight or entertainment, but all hell breaks loose when a custom spell goes berserk and causes mass chaos in the Colosseum, such as slimes constantly producing bodies randomly the artificer is plugged into his own wall held against his. Will you must keep your body safe while you control the slime mold of yourself and eventually the big bad is actually the Lord, who made a deal with a demon for blood and chaos so he could return his master to the living world

[paper portal]

If you assume 65% likeliness to get in a third hit that still puts it above fireball's damage after a single round which is ridiculous

[paper portal]

2.65(3(4.5)0.65+3/2(4.5)0.35) = ~29.51 for those wondering

[severe rampart]

and what's better is those pesky wizards can't get it

[sturdy niche]

honestly the spell is more so ment as a deterrent or countermeasure to make sure that just getting close to you risk damage they may not be able to take, so unless they can take you out quick enough, they run the risk of you finishing them off if you survive their attacks, to my knowledge it is not really used as a primary source of damage

[severe rampart]

okay okay let's not turn general into optimization

[paper portal]

fun police

[reef tundra]

I always keep a few in my back pocket for my setting

[tame kelp]

Oh nice, maybe Order of Scribe can cast that spell instantly.

[reef tundra]

Police police

[paper portal]

hi am :3

[severe rampart]

I dunno, so far I feel like 2024 monster have a lot of ranged options

[reef tundra]

Hi Ja

[reef tundra]

That is true. The 2024 MM added a lot of consistent ranged attacks to monsters that previously lacked them

[paper portal]

anyways all this to say the wording changes to spirit guardians made it the best damage spell even in tier 4

[sturdy niche]

and? having a ranged option does not mean you are likely to hit, plus players have access to things like shields, armor, an even cover

[sleek flax]

Yo popping in with an unrelated question: Are there any spells that allow a player to send visions to people? Particularly flashbacks?

[bitter minnow]

I’d love to hear a few

[reef tundra]

Hmm this really does seem like we’re dipping into optimisation

Although I just hopped in so idk the full convo

[severe rampart]

but having a ranged option means you don't have to get up close or be useless

[delicate owl]

Its 3 if they are melee and need to go past you. We are assuming somewhat optimal positioning.

[tame kelp]

This is funny to ask as I am Level 5 Wizard

What spells are really good against enemies who have guns, grenades, flash bang, so many piercing damage due to guns!!!

[sturdy niche]

plus there are some items and abilities that make ranged attacks unwise, such as a monk's deflect missile and i am aware of at least 1 magical item that does something similar, can't recall the exact name, is definitely not gunna help in all situations, but is there as an option

[paper portal]

probably a little it started out as us talking about the best 3rd level spells and ended up realising that new spirit guardians is hella broken lol

[last flume]

Dream spells allowes to control the dreams of other people

[sleek flax]

Which classes would have access to dream spells?

[severe rampart]

Now we're taking magic items into account? it feels like we're shifting goalposts here

[sturdy niche]

you still have to hit, else it is kind of useless

[last flume]

like, appear in them as messenger, there is also a nightmare ability which makes that the target can't get the benefits of a longrest

[last flume]

Bard, Warlock, Wizard

[jolly canyon]

happy cleric noises

[sturdy niche]

point is the enemy having ranged options does not invalid the spell's usage for what it is desgined for

[sleek flax]

Thank you, thats perfect

[reef tundra]

I got one that’s about stopping a plot to try to stop death by killing an aspect of the goddess of death.

In my setting’s lore, long ago, some people killed thousands of animals for sport and piled their skulls together, but such a disgrace of the dead angered an aspect of the goddess of death so much she personally arrived in the material plane to slaughter the hunters.

The campaign idea is that the party finds a group of people who are trying to do this again, but this time in an attempt to kill the aspect of the goddess of death, with the intent to stop death

[severe rampart]

I'm not trying to invalidate it, you can still double dip by yourself but it's not a gurantee they'll come running into the emanation after two turns of 3d6 radiant

[paper portal]

i like clerics but this is kinda stupid ngl 😭 we're talking like 89 dpr at level 5

[severe rampart]

plus they can magic missile you, since you used your hold action/reaction to do the second hit

[reef tundra]

Might be a hot take but I find a lot of optimisation talk is on paper, I rarely ever see anyone talk about stories in game where stuff like this actually happens.

[sturdy niche]

or you don't try to use it as your main source of damage, which to my understanding is how the spell is stypically used or at least intended, just because you can do something does not always mean you should

[last flume]

Cold Take

[reef tundra]

I feel much better if it is

[severe rampart]

That isnt the point of the discussion, we're talking about how many times you can dip spirit guardians to have the most bang for your buck, it is a 3rd level spell slot

[sturdy niche]

yeah, a lot of things that seem powerful on paper are not nearly as so in practice, rng is something many seem to not account for, not to mention other factors that can change things

[paper portal]

you do see a lot of stuff on paper but thats because anecdotal evidence is kinda meaningless in a game as varied as this so we try to make the paper as applicable as possible

[jolly canyon]

At the WM I'm in its pretty casual so I won't deliberately attempt to proc it 3 times but if happens then 😎

[reef tundra]

So optimisers have been slandering people’s favourite classes and causing arguments over things that aren’t true? 😭

[severe rampart]

basically

[empty thicket]

WOW OKEY, if its your first time dming i would say go for something less... ambitious.
The colliseum idea is good, can help you to settle moments more controlled and easier for you
There is the fight moment, resting and RP moment or exploration.
Story wise would be easy, you are trapped and forced to fight. You have a magic sigil/rune that if you deny fighting you would get a lot of pain but at the same time that sigil//rune protect you from dying so you can be used for fun.
Easier in general
The whole break, escape, etc. etc. Would be avaible but i would advice dont go too deep into a made up story.
The human//player factor is there

[reef tundra]

Damn, and I gave them the benefit of the doubt

[paper portal]

nah we do run tables and stuff to actually play the theory in practice and see if it works out

but everything starts from theory

[severe rampart]

You only slander classes on wednesdays, fridays it's game time!

[bitter minnow]

I like that idea that sounds awesome

[paper portal]

i love my slander i dont pause for game time

[reef tundra]

Well that’s comforting at least

[bitter minnow]

I thought about playing it but I’m a shitty dm lol

[severe rampart]

Potential spell "Spirit Guardians" if, when but never is /ref

[reef tundra]

I will now be extra harsh on getting optimisers in the right place now that I know all of this is in their heads /hj

[paper portal]

if you ever wanna know optimization stuff ill be happy to answer!!!

[severe rampart]

How much do you know about magic items

[paper portal]

not as much as i should

[warm meadow]

Hi

[atomic kayak]

There's a reason a lot of optimization makes a lot of assumptions, typically of fairly niche scenarios being very common

[empty thicket]

Dont be harsh with yourself. You can improve like anyone else.
You wont start and be a perfect dm, it will take time, bad experiences, understanding of things and more.
But the important is, starting with something easy for yourself, oneshots to understand how things kinda work
A module to feel how is a story and understand it better and finally do your idea of campaign

[paper portal]

we make assumptions because you need some sort of standard table to work off for any consistency of comparisons and ideas

[atomic kayak]

This is not contradictory with what I said

[paper portal]

its not too difficult to adapt stuff to different tables once you have the idea though ngl

[tame kelp]

Tiny Huts cannot protect people from firearms?

[atomic kayak]

There is of course, always the white room (or adjacent) assumptions that comes from optimization stuff as well (ex: enemies being specific distances away, enemies being clumped in certain ways/assumed # of enemies in an aoe at once, lack of terrain/obstacles, etc)

[valid geyser]

i think it is just always gonna be common to have dissonance between d&d in conversation/our heads, and d&d in play. We think of combats being much faster in our heads

[paper portal]

well d&d combat in lore is much faster than it plays out as well

[atomic kayak]

A lot of common optimization stuff falls apart under the scrutiny of "things are slightly spread out" or "theres furniture in the room" or similar

[paper portal]

what? lol

[atomic kayak]

Furniture (and other obstacles) affect aoes, and a lot of optimization is based on a lot of assumptions about aoes

[paper portal]

What ideas would fall apart if enemies are spread out we generally assume they are

Only ability I can think of that needs them to be that close is horde breaker which is so random and niche

[atomic kayak]

Idk who this "we" is specifically but ive spoken with quite a number of optimizers who often assume all enemies are within 30 to 60 feet of one another

[paper portal]

That's a pretty fair assumption to make but it's better for you if they aren't anyways

[undone rain]

Isnt a round like 6 seconds

[paper portal]

Yep

[undone rain]

Lol definetly not irl. Takes like 5 minutes sometimes i swear😭

[atomic kayak]

Assumptions about being able to hit all (or most) enemies with stuff like hypnotic pattern, sleet storm, etc. All of the classic """encounter ender""" optimization stuff.

While also assuming nothing exists which blocks spread of aoes

[paper portal]

Yeah especially with newer players at the table lol

[undone rain]

Oh yeah, but we were like that once too

[paper portal]

Speak for yourself I've always been the fastest and smartest at the table /silly

[undone rain]

With all those spells your bound to get tangled up

[undone rain]

Lmfao

[solemn fiber]

Hello!
I just wanted to know if it's normal that finding a campaign takes time?

[atomic kayak]

Its not unusual

[undone rain]

Yeah it can take a lil while to find the right fit and thats okay

[wintry spindle]

Slow as a player fast as a dm

[solemn fiber]

Uh huh
Thank you!

[undone rain]

Np

[charred saddle]

@undone rain that is a dapper Gale you have as an avitar

[undone rain]

Aye thank you thank you

[crimson gulch]

Agreed, they dont play much it seems

[reef tundra]

And they act like they’re better, Psshht /hj

[runic wharf]

What if Versatile weapons, while two handed, increased the die by two increments instead of one?

• d6 -> d10
• d8 -> d12

[crimson gulch]

i had some really funny interactions with a few of them

[reef tundra]

Oooh do tell

[reef tundra]

That would just make it so that heavy weapons have no reason to be chosen, since you can get the same damage dice with weapons that lack the heavy property

[solemn fiber]

I'm back!
Honestly I'm just searching for a game to get to know DND, that's all!

[warm meadow]

That sounds cool on paper, but d6 → d10 and d8 → d12 is a pretty huge jump. Versatile weapons would start overshadowing actual two-handed weapons really fast

[crimson gulch]

somone had said that they were able to cheat the fortunes wheel casino with mage hand, and do all of Decent into avernus without a long rest. and i was like oh, your DM just throws softballs and does not run challanging enconters

[reef tundra]

Unless they’re being chosen for the weapon mastery properties

[valid geyser]

It'd probably be fine. Wouldn't make dedicated two hand weapons obsolete but weapon system is so simple its hard to really break it unless you go out of your way to do so

[crimson gulch]

why? when you could just use the bigger weapon and get its mastery?

[valid geyser]

i think mastery plays into it being fine. also 2d6 usually just being better than d12

[reef tundra]

They do often tell on themselves that they have bad DMs

[runic wharf]

Yeah, it just screws with me brain a little how switching from one to two hands gives you an average dmg increase of 1.

[celest spire]

May is almost half over and they still haven't fixed the D&D beyond market place...

[crimson gulch]

oh yeah, esspecialy with great weapon fighting, minimum 6 on the damage dice with 2d6

[valid geyser]

and if theyre not dedicated heavy weapons there isnt synergy with stuff like great weapon master

[reef tundra]

Actually yeah that’s true

[opaque copper]

can we just stop using dnd and beyond I know Ive personally gotten to where I dont wanna join games that use it

[reef tundra]

Amen

I own my books physically and I will die before I do otherwise

[opaque copper]

Quest Portal is way better and if youve never heard of it you should def try it out its free to use and way more user friendly

[crimson gulch]

Yeha it's an optional tool

[sleek flax]

Its an easy way to make a sheet, share it online, and it’s widely used. I don’t think theres any problem with using it, I do like physical books but it being an easy option for character building has it’s merits

[solemn fiber]

I'm trying more "beginner-friendly" games

[sleek flax]

I just realized the person I replied to is really pushing for quest because they sent a very similar opinion in #homebrew

[opaque copper]

because quest is easier and better and the more people I can get on it instead the less I have to deal with dnd and beyond once you start using it you'll see why

[sleek flax]

Your relentless advertisement of it is really putting me off, sorry

[dim flicker]

i know friends who enjoy questportal, but as with all things, being tactless about it is the fastest way to discourage people from actually trying it, so same with forest bunny

[crimson gulch]

nah, manual sheets are better than any digital system for dnd

[lean wigeon]

went to quest portal and the first thing i get greeted with is a chatbot

[crimson gulch]

endlessly accessable to everyone, use your own books, easy table content share

[sleek flax]

Yep, not using that

[lean wigeon]

tspmo

[opaque copper]

its not relentless its being helpful but if you would rather use dnd and beyond go for it

[opaque copper]

it has manual sheets

[dim flicker]

if we're talking pure enjoyment, im team warforged

[atomic kayak]

I imagine that if its "free to use" for everything (which note: ddb is also for the basics) it may also not be something to be promoted on the server

[reef tundra]

Paper is my bae

[sleek flax]

What about it makes it the best for you? I’m interested

[dim flicker]

oops meant to reply to the warforged vs autognome msg

[atomic kayak]

Anyway OneNote character sheets/paper for me

[sleek flax]

Paper will never be topped

[normal canyon]

I like Google Docs better

[dim flicker]

above being a bit sturdier, there's endless roleplay options for random buttons & levers & compartments on my character, so it enables the Make Stuff Up As I Go strat

[sleek flax]

Thank you for the insight :)

[wintry spindle]

I once saw someone who filled out the example charachter sheet in thr phb with their pc

[crimson gulch]

not gonna lie i love that

[lavish flame]

I've recently been filling out a Form Fillable 2024 character sheet. I think just think the paper sheet is better than every alternative

[lean wigeon]

im a spreadsheet guy

[crimson gulch]

yep, paper is best even for online play

[humble cairn]

There are other tools, but personally I have had a great time playing on Beyond using both the sheets and Maps.

[wintry spindle]

But for my dm notes i use onenote but when i play i use paper

I love analog when possible

[solemn fiber]

i dont know what specifics to look for besides it being 18- !

[sleek flax]

And your enjoyment, and your party/players enjoyment, is the priority in playing so if this works for you, great!

[humble cairn]

I've used other VTTs before and Beyond's Maps so far has been the easiest and most intuitive one I've used.

[sleek flax]

I’m just a basic roll20 and sometimes owlbear user lol

[severe rampart]

I love owlbear

[crimson gulch]

i cant stand beyond maps because its tied into the content of dnd beyond and i cant drag and drop custom tokens in, thats why i use owlbear rodeo for maps

[jolly canyon]

I don't have an issue with online but I can't wait to DM in person. So excited to use my DM screen and roll physical dice and take more physical notes(I take physical notes online too at times)

[dim flicker]

team owlbear as well

[wintry spindle]

Whats owlbeat

[sleek flax]

Thats gonna be awesome, I need to get an in person group sometime soon—if I can

[opaque copper]

its just too sandboxed for my liking where you put in everything manually on quest portal makes it more freely to add what you need

[solemn fiber]

qhould there be any other ones??

[reef tundra]

I am still eternally searching for a VTT my smooth brain can use

[sleek flax]

Virtual Tabletop, one of many

[reef tundra]

There are, I used to play before I was 18

[wintry spindle]

Ah i never play online

[lean wigeon]

i love foundry
i say this as my laptop fans start turning like a jet turbine

[severe rampart]

I'd buy Foundry, unfortunately currency issues

[jolly canyon]

Yes! It's gonna be with my wife and cousins. Can't wait I'm beyond excited. I'll have a online group and in person. Woo!

[sleek flax]

Maybe this is a controversial opinion but putting in things manually is one of the best parts of sheet creation?? So is it being a sandbox??

[solemn fiber]

srry i didnt mean to say that im srry

[dim flicker]

dming in person is so fun!! your players actually see what you're doing (& no, open cameras cant compare to the real thing), you get to share snacks, you get to hear the click clacking of dice... it's just wins upon wins upon wins

[reef tundra]

What? You didn’t say anything offensive. I also just realised I misread your original message

[solemn fiber]

nono i wrote it wrongly im srry im extremly srry

[reef tundra]

Hey its not a big deal you don’t need to apologise

[solemn fiber]

i still feel like i do

[lean wigeon]

my issue with digital sheets is that it's prescriptive and doesn't leave you with alot of degree of control

this is less of an issue for some TTRPGs, particularly the ones with extensive character creation options like pathfinder, but for 5e it feels more like a limiter

[sleek flax]

I wanna use my dice irl so baddd I’m so excited

[dim flicker]

wishing you lotsa crits buddy!!

[severe rampart]

critical fails

[dim flicker]

aw snap the monkeys paw curled

[severe rampart]

Hi, I'm the monkey's paw

[sleek flax]

I understand yeah, thats what I meant earlier by sandbox/manual being a plus in character creation—not a downside, the more customizable the better!

[dim flicker]

whoops i forgor to specify which crit

[reef tundra]

Well you don’t,you just typed something wrong, everyone does that

[keen valve]

Could you elaborate on what limitations there are?

[severe rampart]

Doing great, just being bored out of my mind before my birthday

[sleek flax]

I am also bored

[paper portal]

real

[sleek flax]

I have a session 0 in hours but… I don’t have high hopes for it

[paper portal]

why is it suddenly everyone's birthday lol mine is tomorrow

[empty thicket]

its one time buy tho but yeah, its not easy most of the time

[solemn fiber]

Advanced happy birthday!

I always forget about birthdays

Never got it

[severe rampart]

I can pay for it just fine, it just doesn't translate from USD to PHP for me

[sleek flax]

What?? Ugh, pain

[empty thicket]

oh true, asian... and change of coins.... pain

[severe rampart]

Oh hey, it's your birthday for me right now, happy birthday! (it's the 13th here)

[sleek flax]

I had a similar issue with a game I play, only accepted another country’s cash type

[paper portal]

hey it's the 13th here too what kinda early ass timezone are you in

[severe rampart]

GMT+8, Asians represent

[jolly canyon]

Happy birthday incase I miss it or you're too busy! Hope you have a good time!!

[paper portal]

i come from a land down under

[empty thicket]

i remember my familiar bubble birthdays and some important friend, but i feel you too

[empty thicket]

please we try to dont doxe, let it the most open possible.

Continent is enough

[minor cargo]

One more thing on paper sheets, one thing that you can do that a lot of my players do is make their own custom character sheets. For example, if you're a fighter, you might want your attacks to be more at the top. You can even draw in swords or axes to "contain" the text.

It doesn't affect yoru game play of course, but it can be a fun little project!

[jolly canyon]

Happy Birthday to you as well! In case you're not around tomorrow if you're busy! Hope you also have a good time!

[sleek flax]

I see! That makes a lot of sense

[paper portal]

No I'll definitely be around tomorrow I have no life

[solemn fiber]

I like it more on paper
I can draw the character on the back while waiting lolz

[humble cairn]

GMT +7 here! Yeah Asia!

[crimson gulch]

Yes, i have some incredably dedicated players that craft their own and its wonderful

[lavish flame]

doodles in the margins of a character sheet is D&D culture

[paper portal]

being gmt+11 sure is an experience

[solemn fiber]

I especially like to draw my dwarf mining

Never get the hands (or poses in general) right but I love it

[sleek flax]

I feel like the DM is either lying to me or is too hopeful because I swear two players out of four aren’t active

[keen valve]

They could be far more active in private, that happens a lot.

Takes some time for people to get confident and talkative, yk?

[solemn fiber]

I always try to get at meetups at the exact minute they start

[paper portal]

Yeah I'm always so awkward starting out with a new group 😭

[sleek flax]

I’m hoping thats it, like really hoping

One of them has never shown as online, joined the server months ago, has never spoke, and their character sheet was blank last I checked

[keen valve]

Hopeful thinking: maybe they work on an oil rig, and this is the only time they're available.

[sleek flax]

LOL

[sleek flax]

Maybe they really are Chris Hemsworth!

[keen valve]

Mayhaps. What matters most is to do your best.

[sleek flax]

Tbh if the two players I think are actually not active don’t show up to session 0 I’m quitting the campaign lol, he originally said he had enough people, later said people actually rejected due to being locked into homebrew classes, then this

What sucks is I love my character and aspects of the world so I’m trying to give this a chance

[glossy otter]

I feel that

[keen valve]

Locked into homebrew classes?

Like they were being made to do homebrew?

[sleek flax]

Yes

[glossy otter]

I mean there is a bit of fairness in not wanting to be locked into homebrew

[sleek flax]

Which I didnt have a problem with, which was why I was the first to bite

[keen valve]

Yes, but I'm a little bit more curious on that now.

Like, were there no traditional classes to use?

[sleek flax]

Yep

Originally he set it up so only homebrew classes were usable

[keen valve]

What exactly are these classes?

[sleek flax]

Uhh lemme see

[humble cairn]

Was that made obvious from the description of the posting? Because I would have passed on that if I knew about it beforehand.

[sleek flax]

I think it may have been in the doc he shared somewhere

[sleek flax]

Okay so we got basically a light themed cleric, rallier (name makes it kinda obvious but like… a leader), a guard type that can “hold the line”, magic users centered around shadows, spellcasters born with magic, and people good at traveling

[keen valve]

The issue with this is that it severely messes up the dichotomy of the classes. They are set up in such a way to each fill an individual role that is distinguishable enough to warrant their existence.

[lean wigeon]

this wanna makes me want to read the google doc

[severe rampart]

spending time with family, and playing D&D with my players

[keen valve]

The specifically themed cleric sounds like it could've just been a regular cleric restricted to life and light. Guard type is just fighter. Traveller type is just ranger. The magic users could've just been limited to necromancer wizards and sorcerers.

[sleek flax]

There was a public doc they put in the post

Didnt have all the details but info for sure

[keen valve]

I feel like maybe they should've tried a different system.

[sleek flax]

I mean it basically is just cleric with a few extra details about a light-type magic system

[keen valve]

FATE would be great for this, I think.

[sleek flax]

Like the game?

[keen valve]

No, the ttrpg system.

[sleek flax]

Sorry, unfamiliar, why would it be more suitable?

[dim flicker]

i think so too

[paper portal]

I can be trusted with homebrew and will not abuse it at all

[keen valve]

It's more general and allows for a lot of flexibility in what's allowed. Moreso than what D&D allows for.

[lean wigeon]

i love Fate

[sleek flax]

Oh nice

[lean wigeon]

but i think it's something alot of people here would bounce off of

[keen valve]

Not a lot of limit-heavy ttrpg players would be into free-form stuff, I think.

[lean wigeon]

if Urizt knew what Fate was he'd probably rank it as one of the worst ttrpg systems knowing his preferences lol

[keen valve]

Lol.

[keen valve]

I do want to note, I sparked a curiosity once when I floated the idea of asking players questions about the scene, and what they see instead of myself describing it.

[dim flicker]

my players love this

[steel gale]

Anybody know of any Backrooms based campaigns? In one rn and with the knowledge that mr DM ain't making another one.

I so want to join a new one if possible.

Anybody with a campaign like that? Also because I am having SOOOO much damn fun with the campaign.

[sleek flax]

Pretty interesting, sometimes I like the idea of asking players what they think will happen and kinda playing off of that

[steel gale]

Also why exactly do people not like Ranger? I played Ranger a few times and he is pretty okay.

[sleek flax]

Try fishing in #looking-for-dm ? Follow rules in #find-a-game

[keen valve]

There's a ttrpg for backrooms type games, actually. I'll mention it in #non-dnd-topics if I find it.

[severe rampart]

oh hey Dane, it's because they don't like people having fun /j

[steel gale]

I searched and they were all like 6+ months ago and are already full 😔.

Oh hiya :D.

[severe rampart]

All classes are fun, just play whatever you want and don't listen to the haters

[lean wigeon]

Fate is probably one of the best TTRPGs for this kind of play

[sleek flax]

I like ranger :)

[steel gale]

Okay I am tempted to make my own backrooms campaign at this point after that campaign ends. My only weakness is my negative skills in voice acting. IE all my characters sound the same.

And I have zero vocal range.

[sleek flax]

Vocal range does not equal good voice acting, acting equals good voice acting

I say that with a large range

[steel gale]

Ranger player ftw.

[severe rampart]

Curse of Strahd and Phandelver and Below

[sleek flax]

No matter how cutesy i can make a fairy sound or gruff I can make an orc, if I play them with the wrong personality it doesn’t matter

What matters is just… playing them

[steel gale]

Like. The DM in our campaign can sound so differently at times, he can imitate non human/digital and environmental sounds really well. And that one time I got to be a DM my attempts failed spectacularly.

He can even do girls really well! Like damn bro.

[severe rampart]

Orc who sounds scary but is soft and gentle

[keen valve]

I agree, which is why I want to slowly feed it into my D&D games so as to indoctrinate more players.
(Joking.)

[steel gale]

That's fair sir. I am just worried that all the orcs sounding like a 16 year old kid. Those orcs also sounding exactly the same as every other commoner and NPC in existence.

[bitter minnow]

Are there games over discord?

[sleek flax]

It never comes down to vocal range for making players engaged with characters, it can help but a bunch of pro DMs do not have range.

[lean wigeon]

i think that's a bad idea

[paper portal]

Yeah plenty

Most of them are, even

[lavish flame]

I only play via Discord now tbh

[paper portal]

Most of them are, even /silly

[keen valve]

Sorry, that was meant to be humorous. Not serious.

Please don't secretly swap ttrpg types mid-game.

[paper portal]

Well my table has started using this really cool house rule where instead of action, bonus action and movement you just get 3 actions you can spend on anything

[last flume]

NOOOO

[humble cairn]

Fate is probably my favorite system.

[severe rampart]

I mean, they haven't left yet

[last flume]

You silly goober that's Pathfinder

[humble cairn]

Over hyped internet memes, don't listen to them. Ranger is great!

[paper portal]

No no it's this really cool houserule my dm came up with /silly

[sleek flax]

Rage is louder than positivity, particularly on the internet because strong emotion = posting = social media companies making bank

Anger is the easiest strong emotion to solicit

So thats why I listen to dnd horror stories lol

[minor cargo]

Full serious though, you can get a lot of value out of using other TTRPGs to enhance a D&D game!

For example, using The Quiet Year (collaborative map making game) to build the starting area of a D&D game works GREAT.

I’ve used lyrical games as part of a Session 0 (maybe technically S1?) to flesh out the relationships between PCs that we’re all the same family.

[steel gale]

Hahahah knew it. Rangers are pretty good "halfcasters"? I think that is what they are called? I played one and it was pretty fun. Idk why my teammates didn't like me starting/playing as one.

[sleek flax]

Oh they should never knock you for a class choice, thats so evil!

Reminds me that people expect all my bards to act a certain way and when they don’t people get confused -.- Internet memes are so annoying (disclaimer: sometimes)

[rough basalt]

Daggerheart has really good guidance for GMs for Session 0 and other out of game stuff I've found to be helpful that can be easily applied to other systems

[keen valve]

A game where the party is a family through weirdly connected bonds sounds funny to me.

I actually know about the quiet year. Isn't that a BOB (Belonging Outside Belonging) game? I would've never figured to use it for area making.

[reef tundra]

Every class is fine in the majority of games and in all regular games. Don’t let power gamers or internet people tell you otherwise. Play the game how you like with whatever class you like

[keen valve]

Most games are not hardcore stats games that run themselves like a meat grinder.

[reef tundra]

Now I wanna play in a campaign where the entire party are half-siblings to one parent and are meeting each other for the first time.

[sleek flax]

Thats amazing oh my god

[still plover]

+2 in your two main stats and Con at 10 or higher is generally fine.

[keen valve]

Personally, I just wanna see a weird family connection between a drow, a dragonborn, a halfling, and a githyanki.

[steel gale]

"just choose fighter instead."

"Why not druid if you want an animal".

I want an animal companion and A fighter won't be a Seal Hunter.

[paper portal]

Wasn't I just telling you about how much rangers got nerfed /silly

[sleek flax]

Go for it mate

[steel gale]

Like. My character is an Antarctic seal hunter. What other class could be that lmao.

[limber trail]

Plus, most importantly of all: rangers are awesome. They rule.

[severe rampart]

get a party with 5 rangers, call em the power rangers

[still plover]

Barbarian. Warlock. Ranger. Fighter. Rogue, even.

[sleek flax]

My first character was a ranger, I have a little softspot

[rough basalt]

Ive had a lot of people dump con or put 10 in con in my games

[severe rampart]

my first character was a Bard

but the first character I played was a Ranger

[glossy otter]

Ngl I did underestimate it until I realized it's importance in later characters

[rough basalt]

they make up a lot of my graveyard.

[keen valve]

Always remember. At least they're not Bloodhunters... Bloodhunters are just emo rangers.
(Not serious.)

[reef tundra]

You can take away 10 from 110, but it’s still 100 at the end of the day 💯 😎

[paper portal]

Yeah con is the most important stat overall

[glossy otter]

Trying not to make an MTG Joke

[reef tundra]

I am a blood hunter lover. And I agree with this statement

[severe rampart]

I was trying not to make a Yu Gi Oh joke

[sleek flax]

Yeah people told me it would be easier to play as a newbie and that spellcasters were much harder

I very quickly switched to druid upon realizing I could just read spells lol

[reef tundra]

We need more emo versions of classes

[rough basalt]

I use Monster Reborn to bring back one of my dead players PCs from my graveyard

and then I summon pot of greed to draw two additional monsters from my monster manual

[keen valve]

It's the most important in that I love and fantasize playing a character with a heart condition, with a con score of 17.
(That was supposed to be 7, but that's also funny.)

[severe rampart]

Warlocks

[limber trail]

Emo cleric is warlock, emo wizard is warlock, emo sorcerer is warlock, emo fighter is somehow warlock…. Hey wait a second

[severe rampart]

Knome, you and I are the same

[steel gale]

I thought Dump means you dump your excess points in there. So they would have alotta Con actually?

[limber trail]

We really are

[rough basalt]

No dump means making it your lowest score

[limber trail]

Ranger is emo Druid??? Does that work???

[severe rampart]

No, Emo Druid is Warlock

[limber trail]

My bad

[steel gale]

Also, Diabolical character stats I always do.

Bulky af spellcaster.

Wizard with 16/17 Con and +2 in strength.

[keen valve]

I was going to actually say emo druids are shifters.

[rough basalt]

I once had a wizard player in one of my games that had 9hp at level 4

[severe rampart]

Don't dump your wisdom

I dumped my intelligence. My DMs have been throwing int saves at me non stop.

[sleek flax]

Emo druids are obviouslyyyy paladins for sure

[severe rampart]

I never expected fighting this many Mind Goblins(not a joke, actual species they made), Vampiric Mind Flayers, and Bone Knights

[keen valve]

That's just not mathematically possible unless you gave them a stat that was like 6 or something.

[sleek flax]

Oh thats painful

[steel gale]

My Wizard loves fistfighting the enemy spellcaster and bragging about my muscled form hidden in a big robe.

I bit the throat of a fellow wizard and broke both of his arms so he couldn't cast spells 😭.

[rough basalt]

his stat spread was 8/8/8/17/16/16

[severe rampart]

Emo Paladin is Warlock

[steel gale]

My dump stat is generally charisma.

[rough basalt]

Cause he used his feat on a Cha ASI feat

[empty thicket]

Aberrant mind sorc
Undead warlock
Necromancy wizard
oathbreaker or vengance paladin
Circle of moon and it stay in wolf shape all the time
Artificer artillerist

[sleek flax]

I could never I love my charisma too much TwT

[severe rampart]

I'm a Charisma caster, so...

[rough basalt]

It was a rolled hp game thats how he had so little hp

[keen valve]

That's still not lowering your health to 9. Were they rolling health?

[empty thicket]

in fighter im between eldritch knight or rune knight

[reef tundra]

Ah ah ah not emo subclasses, but emo classes. Warlock and my blood hunter babies are the only ones I have rn

[keen valve]

Ah, the nightmare child of D&D.

[empty thicket]

Rogue in general

[steel gale]

One time we were allowed custom points and stuff. I got 2 Charisma to get like a 20 on CON.

[empty thicket]

rogue wont be emo?

[rough basalt]

He had 5hp to start then rolled a 2 for 1 at level 2 then a 3 for 2 at level 3 then a 2 for 1 at level 4

[keen valve]

Yeah, I don't think you can blame him.

[reef tundra]

Oh wait! Yes, rogue too

[severe rampart]

vargouille would love you

[rough basalt]

I can, i told him it was a rolled hp harder game and he made a wizard with 9AC 5hp and no defensive spells

Or offensive spells for that matter

[empty thicket]

So, warlock, blood hunter (dont know if count it) and rogue.
We need an extra martial and something else

[keen valve]

He can't really predict the dice landing on a bad streak.

[severe rampart]

was he a new player?

[steel gale]

My wizard was the bulkiest wizard known to man. Strength of a barb with the durability of a fighter. None could match my physical ability enhanced with devastating magic.

[rough basalt]

Nope he wanted to see how fast he'd die

[severe rampart]

I've never had a character of mine die

[keen valve]

Why'd you let him do that?

[severe rampart]

Lmao based

[empty thicket]

Bro fr took the idea of Glass cannon to another point

[steel gale]

Until I dramatically failed a Dex save and fell 400ft to my death.

[severe rampart]

not even a cannon

he's a silver mirror

[empty thicket]

Broo......

[rough basalt]

Cause I didnt internalize yet that the dm needs to protect players from themselves

[craggy summit]

I had a player who was playing a wizard with a 21 in strength

[steel gale]

Heights are weakness apperantly. That was also the first Time I ever took fall damage.

[empty thicket]

Objective, have adventures with the wizard
Obstacle: the wizard.

[rough basalt]

Or rather I believed I shouldnt protect them and let their actions have consequences

[empty thicket]

Let it die.

[severe rampart]

Now hold on

[keen valve]

Nah, I mean I think you should've stood up for yourself.

[steel gale]

If only I had survived long enough to get a Magic item that enhanced my strength even further

[empty thicket]

Darwin scientific method. If he dont adapt he die.

[rough basalt]

True, I eventually removed them cause their con dump troll pcs kept ruining the game for me and others

[craggy summit]

"now to go even further beyond"

[keen valve]

It, to me, sounds like he was kind of taking your game forgranted, and thus made a bit of a mockery of it by purposely failing.

[rough basalt]

Funny enough he survived 9 sessions

[severe rampart]

Yikes

[rough basalt]

Course he was gone for 3 of them

[keen valve]

I'm sorry you had to deal with that.

[minor cargo]

It is, yes!!

I think The Quiet Year is actually great because the game ends with a 2nd apocalypse happening. This means it naturally seeds a bunch of ruins on your map that can be explored. Then based on your time jump, players will find a number of things they remember from the time playing The Quiet Year - plus some neat surprises as time has marched on.

I think it hits the "exploration" pillar in two very, very fun ways.

[severe rampart]

I mean personally, I love playing games where I have lower stats for a harder game but I'd never intentionally harm the party's progress by purposefully dumping con

[rough basalt]

The rest of the party built to protect the wizard and it was pretty funny

[sleek flax]

Wizards are squishy

[keen valve]

I can't recall, but it feels ominous to say the 2nd apocalypse, because it implies that, during the experience, there is mention of the first apocalypse which, if it was called such, would immediately raise red flags.

[severe rampart]

not anymore

[rough basalt]

Yeah but they're not that squishy in 5e

[dense nacelle]

Pffft, only if you let them be

[sleek flax]

Awww

[severe rampart]

Man the urge to play Sorcerer

[glossy otter]

Lets test that, send the most martial creature we got jkjk

[sleek flax]

My generalization, its broken ;-;

[stray atlas]

question

[dense nacelle]

Wait until you can tell your dm a 24 doesn’t hit as a wizard

[stray atlas]

is there a higher level version of mage armor that lets you apply it to multiple people at once?

[sleek cloud]

No

[dense nacelle]

No

[fair plinth]

Do aasimar happen because they have a celestial ancestor, sort of like how tieflings have demonic ancestry?

[severe rampart]

No

[bitter minnow]

Your dm allows one power or weapon related to your character what would it be

[rough basalt]

Thats one way

[sleek flax]

Yes

[stray atlas]

damn.

[keen valve]

Is this a player asking or a dm asking?

[severe rampart]

Depends on the character

[keen valve]

Only asking, because it'd be funny if a player was lying about that.

[fair plinth]

Are there other ways?

[sleek flax]

Fr

[stray atlas]

technically a dm

[rough basalt]

Being planetouched by celestial energy or something

[stray atlas]

I'm trying to figure out an encounter

[keen valve]

Oh! You can just make it up as a custom spell for your creature, if you need it to be that way.

[stray atlas]

thinking of having this one npc give the players mage armor at the start of combat to help out

[bitter minnow]

Take your favorite character for example

[keen valve]

You don't actually need to follow bar for bar the in-game restrictions.

[umbral girder]

Just give them an enspelled item.

Gives 7 mage armors a day

[rough basalt]

My aasimar was from a family descended from a guy named Rick Fullmoon who rizzed up the Full moon herself

[umbral girder]

Unless it's 2014 where Enspelled items arent a thing

[dense nacelle]

I do wish mage armor had a sense of scaling, maybe like a 3rd and 6th level versions of it that increases the ac

[keen valve]

Then you just make an item that does the same thing.

[sleek flax]

I just made an aasimar last week I LOVE THEM I wish they had a more defined look + were more played

[stray atlas]

I prefer to whenever using npcs explicitly designed to be one of the player classes

[dense nacelle]

Keep in mind mage armor automatically goes away if someone dons any sort of armor, including shields.

[bitter minnow]

Can’t you just make one by adding it to your character background

[rough basalt]

I've been playing a lot of humans lately

[dense nacelle]

What

[severe rampart]

because Humans are the GOAT!

[keen valve]

That's fine, I'm probably not gonna be great for advice then. I'm very pro Rule of Cool.
RULES ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN! DOWN WITH THE MONARCHY! RAHHH!

[sleek flax]

My newest is a human and I really like him but I’m really worried that this session 0 isn’t gonna work out—then I’ll need to repurpose him

[limber trail]

To be honest most classes would gain no benefit from mage armour since they’re already wearing armour or they have a better form of AC

[bitter minnow]

Can’t you make armor that scales with your character

[fair plinth]

Very cool

[sturdy niche]

no, clearly that is saytrs, they even got the horns and hoofs 😛

[dense nacelle]

If you homebrew yeah, but not like RAW

[rough basalt]

i've been turned off the more fantastical species

[limber trail]

I cannot think of a class that doesn’t have mage armour, that wants mage armour

[empty thicket]

yeah... its hard to not

[severe rampart]

Speaking of bad stats I remember my cleric who rolled for stats in my Phandelver game
7 Strength, 7 Dex, 7 Con, 8 Int, 17 Wis, 10 Charisma

[stray atlas]

ok for context

[dense nacelle]

If you know how to build a wizard the wizard doesn’t even want mage armor

[keen valve]

I get what you mean. I feel like it's a cycle. "Big bombastic fantasy folks" and then eventually over a month it's "John Human, the Human."

[empty thicket]

that extra feat and how flexible they are sometimes...

[sleek flax]

I tend to go with characters who are human-like cause I’m just basic

[stray atlas]

this is like the first encounter and they're all level one

[rough basalt]

I fear joining the table where people think the only species that are people are Humans, Elves, Dwarves and Tieflings.

[severe rampart]

Surprisingly enough they've only come close to death once

[sturdy niche]

mage armor is mainly ment to provide protection to mages who normally tend to not have the benefit of armor for their AC

[rough basalt]

Cause they get really weird about most of the other species

[sleek flax]

My aasimar ;-; my genasi ;-;

[limber trail]

That’s true even at level one. They still probably have armour equipped as their starting equipment

[rough basalt]

Seen too many people ask how to turn kobolds and dragonborn into gear

[stray atlas]

I'm typing out the rest

[minor cargo]

Unconventional, but it's an interesting spell to cast on non-adventurers. So let's say the city is under attack and you're helping several survivors make it to the underground safeways; giving them all mage armour won't guarantee their safety, but it might make the difference for someone.

But you're also right about PCs not really needing it if they don't already have access to it. That's just kind of how 5E is designed.

[sleek cloud]

Mage armor stops really mattering after a certain level when enemies have such a high bonus to hit that it wouldn’t make enough difference

[dense nacelle]

The only class I think genuinely loves mage armor entirely is rogues

[glossy otter]

Tbh it's gonna be strange seeing different races in Lamordia, as isn't it mostly humans and other common folk?

[rough basalt]

99% humans

[sleek flax]

Someone said my aasimar character was probably a mary sue (I was literally forced to be one because the place my character is from is full of aasimar, and I wanted him to be native)

[sturdy niche]

honestly for the purpose it is intended and the fact it is 8 hours no concentration, i feel it is fine as it is, granted spells have been built apon in the lore and sometimes in the game, but to my knowledge this has not been done to mage armor to make a "better version" of the spell

[stray atlas]

they're meant to be starting out as civilians and not as people prepared to fight

[dense nacelle]

Essentially a +1 studded leather

[keen valve]

I've never met anyone who actually played an aasimar. To me, they're essentially unplayed altogether, what are they like?

[south prawn]

If they aren’t wearing armor, it works

[glossy otter]

they all start aweing at the one exotic race of the party

[rough basalt]

Given what Lamordia is, they might try to capture you for experiments

[sturdy niche]

not as weird as you think, besides even with that and the fact people from all over the multiverse get pulled into the domains of dread is not that odd, humans will stake make up the vast majority of the population

[stray atlas]

so the majority of them have no armor

[sturdy niche]

like any non human would be in the 1% of the population which is historically just listed as "other" so basically any non human

[sleek flax]

So they’re like reverse tieflings, medium or small, they have resistance to necrotic and radiant damage, they have darkvision, have a small healing ability + light cantrip

They also have a like… dream advisor angel that can give prophecies, advice, or missions but thats hard to explain

Also I considered not even having one of those, had to talk with my DM to get an idea for that

[keen valve]

OH. Honestly, calling em celestial tieflings might cover up the misunderstanding a lot.

[sleek flax]

Its basically that yes

People kinda assume they’re good just like people assume tieflings are bad, lore wise

[sturdy niche]

they are the celestial counterpart to the plane touched tieflings, they are touched by the upper planes where as tieflings are touched by the lower planes, be that via a biological ancestor, magic, or exposure to the plane's energies in some way

[south prawn]

Does that make Tieflings Hellish Aasimars?

[dense nacelle]

One of the best feats in the game, war caster, has part of it sullied by mage armors stipulations, so just get proficiency with medium armor and shields through other means (multiclassing maybe), and then you can have a tanky wizard

[sturdy niche]

not really

there are many kinds of plane touched historically, tieflings are just one of the most prominent

[keen valve]

Yes.

There are emo aasimar, iirc.

[sturdy niche]

no

[south prawn]

I was just playing along with the context of them calling Aasimars Celestial Tieflings

[sleek flax]

Yes, fallen

[sturdy niche]

you are likely thinking of a stereotype of those who use a fallen asaimar

[keen valve]

Emo aasimar. Too late. That's what it is officially now.

[sleek flax]

Defo not going that route with mine, too emo for him and I want him to have white wings

[sturdy niche]

tieflings and asaimar have no actual relation, they are both planetouched but that is where the similarities end

[sleek flax]

I think fallen have… skeleton wings?

[keen valve]

I would've expected bat wings.

[crimson gulch]

they both originaly came from planescape materials

[sleek flax]

Nah thats more hellish

[keen valve]

Well, yeah, they fell down.

I was gonna make a life alert joke, but I forgot it.

[sturdy niche]

originally that was the example given, the 2024 version you can cycle through one of 3 options each one representing what was originally a subrace
"Heavenly Wings. Two spectral wings sprout from your back temporarily. Until the transformation ends, you have a Fly Speed equal to your Speed.

Inner Radiance. Searing light temporarily radiates from your eyes and mouth. For the duration, you shed Bright Light in a 10-foot radius and Dim Light for an additional 10 feet, and at the end of each of your turns, each creature within 10 feet of you takes Radiant damage equal to your Proficiency Bonus.

Necrotic Shroud. Your eyes briefly become pools of darkness, and flightless wings sprout from your back temporarily. Creatures other than your allies within 10 feet of you must succeed on a Charisma saving throw (DC 8 plus your Charisma modifier and Proficiency Bonus) or have the Frightened condition until the end of your next turn." end quote

[sleek flax]

But wings from an aasimar don’t really have that ability to turn into bat wings, they can likely uh… burn up? Idk I’m trying here

[sturdy niche]

so they can be skeletal technically, flavor is free and no specific description other than "spectral" is given, if using the latest setting agnostic one

[sleek flax]

Arent these the three different options, not just fallen?

[sturdy niche]

the old 2014 one i believe did specify skeletal

[sleek flax]

“Flightless wings”

[keen valve]

That sounds like a cool featherless wing backstory.

All Alouette, je te plumerai and such.
(Lark, I will pluck you.)

[sleek flax]

Awesome quote

[sturdy niche]

yes the 2014 versions were each distinct subraces of aasimar, the 2024 version possibly do to being setting agnostic, rolled them all into one, which to a degree makes sense to be able to change between them as an aasimar can both become fallen and rise again at least to my knowledge

[charred saddle]

The profile changes too much, but a one handed that has 2 D4… now we are talking!

I miss the old school bastard sword.

But a normal long sword actually fits it better, for realistic(ish) logic of what it is supposed to be.

[sleek flax]

Bleh

[sturdy niche]

both are 5e, so as long as your dm does not say otherwise, you can always use the more limited but dedicated subrace version from 2014, if that is your preference

[sleek flax]

I’m gonna think about it

Thanks for clearing that up

[buoyant oar]

An easier official distinction is now 5e and 5.5e.

[twilit ibex]

I'm making a magic item that takes a Barbarian's Rage and swaps every Strength bonus to a Dexterity bonus, as well as swapping their Strength and Dexterity scores. It's a ridiculous little math experiment.

[buoyant oar]

5.5 is anything after the 2024 PHB release.

[sturdy niche]

5.5e is basically just a revised and polished update to much 5e content, where they made the wording a lot more clear, made creatures able to more consistently hit their CRs, and in other cases buffed some things that felt underpowered

the reason they were probably unwilling to call it 5.5e initially is because the intent that both versions could be used along side each other as they were intended to be backwards compatible

like a player using the 2014 character options and one using the 2024 options could both participate in the same 5e game

[buoyant oar]

TBH the change is not as drastic as 3e and v3.5.

It felt like the backwards compatibility thing was added in a near panic at the large 5e fan base that was going through their first rules shift.

[sturdy niche]

might be better to ask and brainstorm in #homebrew

[buoyant oar]

Because IIRC its.

Yes you can have a Cleric using 5e OG rules. But if its a 5.5 table you must use the new spiritual weapon

[sturdy niche]

fair, especially with people talking about a hypethetical 6e at the time

[charred saddle]

Basic, yes, but when you get more advanced it is Power Creep 2.0 cash farm milking us dry and we all say yes daddy, more, more…

[sturdy niche]

not really, cuz nobody is forcing you to buy it or use it

[twilit ibex]

Oh, I just was saying what I was doing in a general discussion format. I didn't mean to steer the convo. Thank you tho!

[hot reef]

In 5.5e, you’re supposed to use 5.5e content instead of 5e whenever possible

[charred saddle]

I am forcing me to do it

[sturdy niche]

then it is not their fault, it is by your own admission, your fault if anyone's

[buoyant oar]

Another contender for the reasoning is the internet memed 5.5e partially because here. There was a time the moderation staff in DnDspaces was so insistent on not calling it 5.5e many people did out of spite alone.

[charred saddle]

It hurts my wallet so good!!! Hurt me more WorC! I like it

[viral kraken]

hey what the heck! it's your fault the books cost money i'm just now hearing!?

[twilit ibex]

5.5e first, Legacy second.

[bitter minnow]

Can’t you use anything from any addition

[craggy summit]

Well you can't use 2e content in 5e

[hot reef]

If a certain number of tables move to the new rules, then it does split the player base
It’s even worse if the dm doesn’t allow 2014 content at all (which some will, to avoid having to deal with conversions)

[sturdy niche]

them making and selling new content is not automatically a bad thing, they have people to pay so they can pay their bills, bills of their own, and such, it does become a problem if the product is clearly lazily put together and or poorly made, which is a sperate matter

[craggy summit]

But if you're talking about 5e vs 5.5, it's like what herambe said where you're supposed to use 5.5 unless the content you wanna use isn't in 5.5 yet

[charred saddle]

I do

[buoyant oar]

And TBH 5e was already the second longest running edition in the game. It needed the update.

[sturdy niche]

well given the hobby servived it before with 3e and technically pathfinder, i feel 5e will survive it too

[craggy summit]

you madman. im in

[sturdy niche]

plus much of the updating was looking back and fixing flaws and clarifying wording

[hot reef]

It’ll survive, but this is a valid critique of updating an edition

[buoyant oar]

We are so far removed from the Launch of 5e, that we are as far away from the start of COVID as COVID was from 5e's launch.

[sturdy niche]

well what your dm does or does not allow is more a dm issue than anything else if you ask me

[viral kraken]

ya 5e outlasts the third and fourth world war if my memory of history class serves

[buoyant oar]

3e 2000
v3.5 2003
4e 2008
5e 2014

[sturdy niche]

tables always have and likely always will do what the dm and players want and if it is not to your liking, you are usually ment to look else where or not play at that table with that group, if you force yourself to, then that is your choice

[hot reef]

WotC content influencing DMs still has an impact on things. You can’t blame trends on individual DMs

[sturdy niche]

who said i am?

[charred saddle]

Yeah, alot can be translated across editions without issue.

Spell Lists I expand and rather than exp as a cost for epic spells and stuff like that like item creation, I put it on number of bastion turns with the right facilities in place.

[bitter minnow]

Got it so the editions are like server updates

[buoyant oar]

Ehhh more like releases in the same series.

[sturdy niche]

the dm i play with currently does his own homebrew and has little to no influence from wizard of the coast sources regardless what they put out even when i mention it, he keeps making creatures and the world he and the rest of the table want, just cuz some are influenced does not mean all are, i am not trying to blame anyone to be clear

[buoyant oar]

Assassins Creed Games are all Assassins Creed Games. But they all play very different.

[charred saddle]

Except 4th edition. That is the one we dont talk about…

(I like how easy to dm it is, and took a few rules to run 5E)

[sturdy niche]

heck we long had broken the published 5e powerscaling on both the npcs/monsters and player sides of things and that is just part of his dm style XD

[charred saddle]

CR is only there for exp calculation

[bitter minnow]

Yeah it’s a lot but it’s getting easier to understand but I am excited to finally play I’m looking for my first game someone helped me make a character now I just need to use him

[charred saddle]

I just use what ever fits the story.

[sturdy niche]

nope, it is a vague gague for combat difficulty, one many people tend to not fully understand, but my point is 5e has it's reasons for not having any creatures above cr 30

does not stop my dm from making foes that are above what a 5e player is expected to actually stand a chance at beating in a traditional combat encounter

[charred saddle]

Maybe if you are playing with “normies”

[sturdy niche]

there are no "normies" especially these days

all dnd players are dnd players, regardless of their preferences and if they use homebrew or not

[lime plume]

I'm new to the game. Will be playing for the first time later this month. I'm a Drow Warlock.

[sturdy niche]

there is no point in making an artificial divide for literally no reason, at least in my opinion

[severe rampart]

Aye, a good pick a good pick

[charred saddle]

Dude I live in Norway, after moving from California, THE NORMIES ARE REAL!

[sturdy niche]

-_-

[bitter minnow]

I made a paladin raised were wolf barbarian that subclasses to zealot

[sturdy niche]

i currently play a goblin path of the beast barbarian, who is also the son of the god of murder in a homebrew setting and relatively freshly awakened demigod of slaughter, who also has established a small nation of goblins

[charred saddle]

Some people are just bad at bordgames or like to drink and hang out more than play the game, not the worst kind of person you can play with if they are a friend, but being into something because you like it (or are obsessed with it) will make a large devide of need for hand holding from one player to the other. Thus more need for tools like CR.

[bitter minnow]

That’s hardcore

[charred saddle]

That IS actually really cool

[torpid hound]

Why can't Fighters gain proficiency in Stealth?

[sturdy niche]

yeah was hot off my latest replay of a durge run of bg3 when we started what was suppose to be an evil campaign but quickly spiraled into more moral grey stuff

[charred saddle]

They can.

[torpid hound]

Without outside sources

[lavish flame]

not really the fantasy they're looking for

[sturdy niche]

they can, just not from simply taking the class, least to my knowledge, there are feats, magical items, spells, and good old fashion training

[crimson gulch]

they sure can, many backrounds can grant that

[torpid hound]

Then why do Dexterity Fighters exist?

[sturdy niche]

yeah and with 2024 backgrounds are another option right at character creation

[torpid hound]

That's an outside source

[lavish flame]

Dexterity and Stealth are different

[lime plume]

I'll be the 6th in-person player for the group. There is another that plays over Discord (I think)

[sturdy niche]

just because dexterity is associated with stealth does not mean you are proficent with every dex related skill, that is just not how dnd mechanics work, to my knowledge that has never been the case in any edition

[lavish flame]

You're a weapon master, some weapons need dexterity. Weapon masters don't really need Stealth

[torpid hound]

But Fighters would definitely be able to ambush their opponents

The Battle Master even has a Maneuver for that

[sturdy niche]

dext is used for things like ranged weapon attacks often, so a dex fighter would potentially invest in dex not only for higher AC depending on armor but for better accuracy if using the likes of a bow and arrow, crossbow, or firearms or similar ranged weaponry

[torpid hound]

I wouldn't say they should be able to gain proficiency in Sleigh of Hand, what does that have to do with Fighters?

[buoyant oar]

One of the things I have noticed more so about the 5.5e transition is there is a mixture of misinformation, miscommunication (which have been part of every DND update since 1979) but this go around there has been active disinformation.

One WotC contract artist uses gen AI in one picture in 2023. And I overhear a group at a game store picking up the new PHB "Oh yea this is the new AI generated rule books I heard about it on youtube."

[sturdy niche]

just because it is a possibility does not mean you automatically get it regardless of your choices, else why have the rogue class?

or the ranger, and so on

[charred saddle]

Does a dude in heavy clanking armor use stealth? Maybe an archer build, but cover mechanics do that playstyle much better. Stealth is not being seen when you are in plain view.

In medevil combat, you want your guys to see where and who you are much more than the hostels not seeing you when you are not even in cover in the first place.

[torpid hound]

A Fighter with proficiency in Stealth has nothing to do with Rogues or Rangers

[hot marlin]

They are able to ambush their opponents

[sturdy niche]

nothing is stopping you from getting stealth proficiency as a fighter, you just have to take the options to get it, you are not gunna get it just from having a level in fighter

[torpid hound]

Then they should be able to gain proficiency in Stealth without a background specifically for that

[hot marlin]

This entire conversation stems from one false idea that needs to be adressed and dismissed:
Fighters can be proficient in stealth. Fighters can ambush their opponents.

[crimson gulch]

oh yeah, whenever i have a new player at the table i usualy have a few misconceptions to correct

[torpid hound]

I'm saying Fighters SHOULD be able to be proficient in Stealth

[lavish flame]

Fielding active misinformation about 5.5 is maybe the worst part about enjoying it

[vapid ore]

why is my party so stupid

[hot marlin]

They are able to gain proficiency in stealth without a background specifically for that. First off because there is no such thing as a background specifically for a skill. Secondly because there are plenty of ways to get proficiency in stealth without using a background

[torpid hound]

Everyone dumped Intelligence?

[sturdy niche]

they can, it is just not automatic from getting a single level in the class

[vapid ore]

i gave the right awnser 50 minutes ago and theyre still debating if it is right

even the dm doesnt know

[buoyant oar]

Think of someone of average intelligence and realize 50% of the population is dumber than that.

[vapid ore]

i mean irl

[lime plume]

My DM is using 2014 rules. Is that still 5E?

[crimson gulch]

they can, there are many ways

[sturdy niche]

if you can't understand that, then you should fresh up on the mechanics and how things work and the average archetype of each class

[vapid ore]

yes

[crimson gulch]

yes

[buoyant oar]

2014 is 5e. 2024 is 5.5

[bitter minnow]

Don’t fighters enjoy the fight what would be the point in stealth if they seek combat

[buoyant oar]

Who says they enjoy it

[sturdy niche]

there are many different kind of figthters just as there are many different warriors or kinds of people

[hot marlin]

That is nonsense. Whether or not someone "enjoys" the fight has nothing to do with their class, whether or not someone enjoys the fight says nothing about whether or not they would use stealth.

[sturdy niche]

there is an "average" and there there are more precise kinds

besides joys and desires are more so a personality thing dependent on the individual, a classic example, barbarians are not the only ones who can be angry

[torpid hound]

If you grabbed proficiency in Stealth from your Human species then you're not able to ambush opponents because you're a Fighter, you're able to ambush them because you're a Human

[charred saddle]

Skills can be trained, but the default fighter? Nah, it is strength focus by default, just not how I would see a melee handling it.

As for if a dex build… I would think the rules just have that cover mechanism working so well that it is so off the rails for them to have it.

[hot marlin]

Oh also an ambush does not necessarily require stealth proficiency

[sturdy niche]

no, it's because your were stealthy enough to get the jump on them

[bitter minnow]

Gotcha gotcha ok I understand

[hot marlin]

Yeah we should have started with that. Since you didn't know: You can still roll a skill you don't have proficiency in

[crimson gulch]

yeah anyone can try and hide

[buoyant oar]

A fighter can be a gladiator who enjoys the thrill, a fighter can be a spartan hoplite keeping the helots in their place, a fighter can be a grizzled commander who has never lost a man because he plays it safe. A fighter can be a boxer, a fighter can be a hitman, a fighter can be a tyrant

[lean wigeon]

do you not get skill profs from your background and from the skilled feat

[charred saddle]

Yes this exactly. Speed is much more effective at surprise than stealth.

[lean wigeon]

why not just
do that

[torpid hound]

Absolutely none of the features are centered towards Strength Fighters except Strength save proficiency, but that's because no class is proficient in 2 common saves (Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom)

[sturdy niche]

yeah you can easily ambush someone if their awareness of their surroundings is super low to the point they ain't gunna notice unless you make the effort to be noticed

[hot marlin]

Or a fighter can be a guy who was forcefully recruited in the army when he was 13 and the soldiers burned his home and killed his elderly relative and trained him.

Not sure that guy woud "enjoy" fighting

[crimson gulch]

i feel like every fighter i have had in the last 3 campaigns all took stealth proficiency

[wintry spindle]

they did?

Were they dex based?

[crimson gulch]

yes

[charred saddle]

Those were the only saves in older editions.

[lavish flame]

at least anecdotally, I've got a STR Fighter with Stealth proficiency

[torpid hound]

That's certainly a word

[lavish flame]

anecdote?

[torpid hound]

Weren't you trying to say accidentally?

[lavish flame]

no, anecdotally

[torpid hound]

I have to Google what that means

[south prawn]

Disadvantage on stealth is baked right into the armor they choose to wear. Otherwise why couldn’t a trained fighter be stealthy?

[lean wigeon]

dnd players are never beating the allegations

[lavish flame]

its a personal experience of mine

[crimson gulch]

it really is

[still plover]

Referring to a personal or incidental experience, rather than claiming a fact based on broader data.

[lean wigeon]

i also wonder why you couldn't just pick up a background with stealth prof or take the skilled feat later on as a fighter

[charred saddle]

It is good. But would you train a random footman in stealth if you know for a fact you only need him to stand in a shield wall? Like from a general perspective of his men

[fathom gate]

I cast silvery barbs

[south prawn]

“Fighter” is not one size fits all. There are infinite flavors of Fighters

[thorn wedge]

Can you don’t

[bitter minnow]

Or what about an ex rogue turned fighter

[lean wigeon]

or skill expert or whatever it's called

[lime plume]

Being my first time playing, what should I expect? Will they go easy on me being a new player? I know the basics but this in depth stuff is beyond me right now.

[lavish flame]

I figure that'd be represented by Fighter Class, Criminal Background