dnd-discussion

[hollow estuary]

like thats what inferno of the star mounts did, essentially instead of studying other forms of elements, he simply studied fire, and got so good at fire he became a CR 97 or something insane.

[crimson gulch]

not in mine either, i have 31 PC kills this year

[barren badger]

I honestly think it can be difficult for DMs to challenge players.

And I also think (some) players kind of bully DMs into getting what they want. It can be difficult to tell an excited player "no"

[twilit shell]

They are 8 int for the average adult white dragon, thats not really particularly smart if the average is 10 for a commoner

[hollow estuary]

a dragon using innate sorcery to increase the DC of their breath weapon is actually badass though

[crimson gulch]

it can be difficult, it takes skill to do it properly, im writing a book on the topic

[severe rampart]

I've only had 5 so far in my DMing career

[severe rampart]

Well... 11 actually if you count oneshots

[rough basalt]

I wonder if my ability to get my tabletop creativity going will reignite after my session tomorrow night.

[twilit shell]

I had a stretch where I had 2.5 tpks in a row across different parties and had to really reevaluate my DMing style a few years back lol

[hollow estuary]

I mostly run ebberon so I have 27

[severe rampart]

So what'd you do?

[sturdy niche]

i feel you are looking more to pure mechanics than anything

[barren badger]

I think players are legitimately difficult to kill if the players are good players

[severe rampart]

Wait what's half a TPK

[crimson gulch]

ah, i dont run any ebberon

[hollow estuary]

Yeah its seriously difficult.

[severe rampart]

My players are all either new or unlucky

[sturdy niche]

given what that stands for wouldn't it be an HPK?

[twilit shell]

Well, this is really more on the players than me. One party ran into a mountain during a blizzard to hunt a yeti...in a blizzard. The other party ran facefirst into a KNOWN drow defensive position with zero prep or planning and just got gunned down in a hallway with evard's black tentacles holding them.

[barren badger]

White dragons are definitely more feral and animalistic than other dragons.

[hot marlin]

The intelligence stat does not represent all kinds of intelligence. That is why charisma and wisdom exist

[crimson gulch]

anything is challanging if you want it to be, just gotta use the EXP budget properly and restrict rests and pack those days with action

[sturdy niche]

yeah, but that is the important part most people don't bother to remember, it is compared to other true dragons

[twilit shell]

Yep and adult white drags have a whopping 12 wisdom as well

[severe rampart]

Well if you outlined the consequences then it ain't your fault

[hot marlin]

Which is above average.

[hollow estuary]

Right on!

[barren badger]

I think creating a full adventuring day is what most DMs struggle with

[twilit shell]

I did not telegraph it as well as I certainly could have tbh, 60-40 comparative fault I'd say. I learned to be a lot more clear and direct in clarifying threat

[hollow estuary]

I mean all my players are smart and chose passage or storm, so I commend them for that.

[sturdy niche]

like if you go into a white dragon's territory, it will far more likely have you in a kill zone of it's own making before you you can even try to outwit it

[severe rampart]

This session actually my party will be pulled all around the town trying to save as many people as possible and draining hp and resources quickly

[severe rampart]

It doesn't help that they didn't take a long rest last session so they're already half empty

[hollow estuary]

this dragon has dispell magic right?

[pseudo moat]

It's not actually all that hard. The problem is that most DMs run encounters that are too massive and therefore too long. Instead of 1 encounter per day, split up the monsters and put them in different areas so they become 4 encounters, and add two trap sections.

[little stream]

Why didnt they rest on that start? Before continue

[twilit shell]

Oh yeah for sure, just not more than a standard deviation. Its like having 115 iq, a bit smarter than average but not anything to really write home about. I play white dragons as a lot more naturalistic and instinctual, in tune with their physical/magical prowess and lair/environment and certainly capable of using that to its fullest potential. But as far as in-depth planning and preparation, not so much

[cerulean monolith]

I’ve recently undertaken rewriting Phandelver and Below, and I really would like to know what blood-thirsty freaks they hired for early 2014 modules. They were trying to kill the characters at every turn

[hollow estuary]

In my games difficult encounters are a sign your on the right path.

[severe rampart]

Custom effect I made
||"Curse of Strahd. - The {Insert Name} can dispel a magical effect of third level or lower, such as daylight"||

[severe rampart]

They just got back from a boss fight + it wasn't a new day yet, so RAW they couldn't rest

[pseudo moat]

It's THE Curse of Strahd woah

[barren badger]

I'm currently DMing curse of strahd and I kind struggle to fit in a full adventuring day while also moving the plot along.

I could just throw random encounters in, but I dont think it really helps with the actual storytelling that's happening in my game.

There arent a lot of "dungeons" in curse of strahd

[severe rampart]

I love puns. I find puns delightful.

[sturdy niche]

why would there be?

[cerulean monolith]

||Death House, the Amber Temple, Argynvostholt, and Castle Ravenloft.|| that’s really it

[sturdy niche]

curse of strahd is a specific kind of story and adventure, dnd may be able to do many things, but even it can focus when putting out published stuff

[hollow estuary]

Kas vs Strahd who wins

[severe rampart]

||Depending on how you run it, WoW is also a dungeon crawl||

[twilit shell]

Ah shoot you know what, I just remembered this was followed by a 3rd TPK because the party just got terminally unlucky and died to gremishka 💀

[barren badger]

Looking back, i think COS might actually be a good candidate for modified rest times.

[sturdy niche]

assuming Strahd is in his domain. since he can't leave, i'd presume Strahd

[barren badger]

He is Ancient. He is the land.

[severe rampart]

Hm, really? I have about 3-5 encounters per day in my game

[severe rampart]

4th encounter will be their second encounter with Strahd :)

[barren badger]

We have been stuck in vallaki for a while and I feel like we havent had many encounters there. A LOT of social encounters

but we're FINALLY done there

[severe rampart]

Spoilers go in #1029842470810439810

[pseudo moat]

Whenever you have an encounter, just move the monsters into formations. If you would have the party fight twelve of something, have them fight groups of three, then three, then six. That counts as three different encounters.

The purpose of the adventuring day isn't to do six encounters, it's to get the players to spend encounters. Also not all encounters have to be fights. ANYTHING that spends resources - HP, spell slots, etc. - count as encounters.

[severe rampart]

I find my players failing social interaction often either because of circumstance or bad rolls

[sturdy niche]

Kas may be formidable in his own right, but a dark lord in their domain is comparable to a god like entity in many ways, and usually can't even die, the dark powers will not be denied their fuel so easily

[pseudo moat]

You honestly shouldn't make them roll for most of their stuff.

[severe rampart]

I don't. But they flirted with a merchant in front of his wife man!

[barren badger]

wifeman!

[icy bone]

Imagine creating a character who's deaf but in reality they just wearing earbuds throughout the entire story session of course they csn read lips and sign language just in case

[barren badger]

[hollow estuary]

Hold person on a wereraven and then grapple it and use a action to drive its beak into your arm and willingly fail the save!

(Oh dont worry about allignment changes that dosent happen with wereravens)

Now you got regeneration (1 less resource to worry about!)

[pseudo moat]

That's more of a player action issue than a roll issue lmao.

[icy bone]

Lol

[pseudo moat]

So true.

[severe rampart]

They found someone spying on them and said "take us to your boss", they complied then they got into a boss fight early

Boss fight (luckily) didn't kill them

[sturdy niche]

like i feel kas would only really be able to win against strahd if we are strictly talking about the initial combat encounter, but in the long run, strahd definitely would win

[severe rampart]

But fighting in the middle of town really destroys your reputation

[icy bone]

Unless you are wearing a mask or a disguise

[little stream]

Oh, make sense

[pseudo moat]

Strahd doesn't really win anything in the long run. The purpose of the Dark Powers is to torture the darklords.

[severe rampart]

Spoilers.

Don't ruin others' fun

[little stream]

In publics eye in general is just bad...

[pseudo moat]

That's basic Ravenloft facts that have existed for like 60 years lmao. It's not a Strahd thing, it's the entire setting thing.

[sturdy niche]

yeah, by not letting them have the one thing they truly desire and reminding them of their horrible deeds, does not mean they can't fight

[severe rampart]

They were in broad daylight

[twilit shell]

Strahd actually became a senior consultant at McKinsey and takes 14 weeks of paid vacation per year now

[hollow estuary]

Mithril powder is really frikin good

[barren badger]

daylight?

[hollow estuary]

like kinda op actually

[severe rampart]

Daylight

[barren badger]

yeah tbh you should probably delete this

[pseudo moat]

?? How is it a spoiler it's a setting fact

It's like saying Devils are evil and torture people

[barren badger]

my players are unaware of that detail.

[pseudo moat]

Many players are unaware Tyr came from Earth.

[sturdy niche]

it is not a spoiler at all, it is common knowledge that has been in the public knowledge for a long time

[hollow estuary]

(tyr came from ysgard)

which BTW ysgard is my favorite plane

[pseudo moat]

Earth deity, but eh semantics.

[barren badger]

i think for someone playing through the campaign without prior knowledge of strahd, it would be a spoiler. I had no idea what was going on with strahd the first time I played.

[sturdy niche]

now if you went into the specifics of how if he is made to eternally suffer in detail, *that *would be a spoiler

[pseudo moat]

He came to the Realms during the Procession of Justice.

[hollow estuary]

That would mean zaphkiel came from earth too LOL

😭

[pseudo moat]

Okay here's a better example 😭 the entire Mulhorandi race is descended from actual ancient Egyptians from actual Earth.

[sturdy niche]

yeah, an ancient magical empire of toril literally kidnapped humans from earth and put up a ward to keep their gods from getting them back easily

[hollow estuary]

comes from earth too 😭

[twilit shell]

How about barbarian being based on a perjorative term for foreigners that the greeks used

[left tartan]

guys I hate micro greens

[hollow estuary]

also if yall dont know who zaphkiel is he rules mount celestia

[left tartan]

oh wrong chat oops

[sturdy niche]

like tiamat and and several others deities, or at least heir aspects came to toril from earth via the astral plane, and the rest is a bit of a long story and more a lore thing

[pseudo moat]

That's linguistic. English is a stand-in for the Common Tongue and people that speak the Common Tongue don't speak English.

[severe rampart]

What? 🥲

[hollow estuary]

yeah tiamat is mesopotamian

and originally a goddess of the sea

[pseudo moat]

Also Elminster canonically drank Dr. Pepper

[left tartan]

wrong chat 😔😭 sorry

[twilit shell]

All words are linguistic!

[severe rampart]

So you hate us micro greens

[barren badger]

bar bar bar

[twilit shell]

stop it, lawyers scare me!

[sturdy niche]

yeah eventually she wound up with to aspects on toril do to this stuff, back when those people were taken from earth

[hollow estuary]

Common is a stand in for whatever language the table speaks.

as in the common language, or a language common to hear in everyday life

[left tartan]

NO NO NO I HATE THE WEIRD ARUGLA TASTING HERB THINGS THAT ARE PUT ON SIMPLE DISHES THAT MAKE THEM SOMEHOW MORE AVANTGUARD

[severe rampart]

What has the conversation devolved to😭

[pseudo moat]

avant garde

[sturdy niche]

and waterdeep was the first place in the realms to experience polka music, and is so funny how it wound up there, including a group of adventurers stealing a mini bus while on earth, flooring it through a gate spell and accidently running a wizard over, injuring him a lot but not killing him, if you wanna know more ed greenwood has a video about it on his youtube channel XD

[hollow estuary]

Law firms catching strays.

Tyr Aviv impressed.

[twilit shell]

Idk, this is my sign to go hop on the treadmill for an hour and stop brainrotting lmao

[left tartan]

yes thank you I am a minor who can’t spell for the life of me, much how my default warlock move is eldritch blast

[barren badger]

dont be afraid, lawyers arent real. they cant hurt you

[pseudo moat]

Funniest pun I've ever heard in my entire life I'm using this

[hollow estuary]

Yall is sune in this chat, why are their so many hearts.

[pseudo moat]

Sune is canonically a yandere deity btw

[left tartan]

*there?

[pseudo moat]

She is the deity of ALL forms of love in whatever form, even the most obsessive and toxic forms

[hollow estuary]

your cool as hell, friend request?

[pseudo moat]

Go ahead

[left tartan]

I could add more hearts

[severe rampart]

Would that also mean she's a tsundere?

[hollow estuary]

I seriously wish DND 5e had benefits for worshipping a specific diety beyond just their domains

[sturdy niche]

technically as per her portfolio "Love, beauty, and passion"

[pseudo moat]

...yeah

[hollow estuary]

Like for example worshipping sune would make your charisma 15 unless it was already higher

[twilit shell]

Just hold your DM at sledgehammer point until they add benefits

[severe rampart]

Right where do I sign up to become a paladin of hers

[woven flint]

Glorp.
Hello folks

[left tartan]

THAT WOULD BE CRAZY

[severe rampart]

Schlep.
Greetings, Tokii

[left tartan]

Hallo!

[woven flint]

Don't Schlep at ME, peasant!

[hollow estuary]

Cause currently the only diety specific benefit I know off is selune because she always responds to prayers from her clerics.

[sturdy niche]

i know some stuff like that exists in the newer dmg and prior to that there was a 3rd party content adapting theros' piety system to the forgotten relams and it's gods

[hollow estuary]

No. that dosent mean she will grant your prayers but she WILL hear you out

[woven flint]

Salutations

[severe rampart]

You've hit oil, stop digging, where do I sign up

[left tartan]

wait she’d be the patron listening to her paladins go “HERE ME OUT, THE DRAGON?”

[pseudo moat]

Sisters and Brothers of the Ruby Rose, but I don't know if they're still around.

[hollow estuary]

No you need to be a twilight or life cleric

[left tartan]

aww poo

[hollow estuary]

though in reality you need to be a twilight cleric

because thats her domain

[pseudo moat]

Deities have multiple domains

[severe rampart]

Tsundure Drow Twilight Cleric... yes... it's all coming together...

[hollow estuary]

Actually makes sense, a cleric who uses the light of selune to guide those lost in the underdark

selune probably approves ✅

[severe rampart]

Exactly!

But also Sune, Male Drow feeling love for the first time

[pseudo moat]

Male drow have plenty of love

[hollow estuary]

also if your dms okay with it if you use guidance on someone it would probably make sense to have them shine bright light within 15 feet and dim light for another 15 as the moonlight guides them

[buoyant hull]

Correct me if I'm wrong but, per the timeline, wasn't there supposed to be "player-facing" info about the new organized play last week?

[severe rampart]

Can you actually kill someone with the power of love? Here, at mythbusters...

[pseudo moat]

You can cast light and guidance at the same time I think

[pseudo moat]

Sunite Cleric Guiding Bolt

[sturdy niche]

honestly for a drow, i feel Eilistraee is more fitting, but that might just be me

[left tartan]

wait but don’t clerics heal? I don’t wanna heal…

[severe rampart]

Eilistraee is good, I know, but Sune though...

[pseudo moat]

Since 3.5e clerics have been "do whatever you want" classes.

Cleric healing is a "break glass in case of catastrophe" situation.

[left tartan]

YAY

[severe rampart]

Eilistraee IIRC is still a matriarch, she knows it's wrong though

[hollow estuary]

Have you not seen the class art for a cleric

its literally a dwarf with a hammer

they are "Preistly champions in service of a higher power"

[severe rampart]

Classes aren't restricted to one thing

[severe rampart]

Could also say the same for Paladins and Warlocks

[pseudo moat]

Paladins yes, Warlocks no. Warlocks aren't priestly or champions. They're contract workers.

[severe rampart]

I remember a conversation here, emo Bard is just Warlock, emo cleric is just warlock, emo ranger is just warlock, emo druid is just warlock, emo wizard is just warlock

[sturdy niche]

honestly given their sibling's relationship with one another, Shar and Vhaeraun over the whole shadow weave and what not, i would not be surprised is Selune or her clergy had some unfair bias towards drow, much like the mortals of the surface since the majority think of or encounter the lolth devoted kind of drow and assume all drow are like them

[hollow estuary]

now that I think about it the 1e rules were WILD

[severe rampart]

Depends on the warlock and the patron

[hollow estuary]

*just depends on the patron

[sturdy niche]

and the warlock

[buoyant hull]

Is there a channel for the season of horrors?

[hollow estuary]

Okay I suppose if your warlock sucks you arent a champion but you are in service of a higher power

[left tartan]

not the new ones :( I’m horribly outdated bcs I’ve been using a book from either the 90s or the 2000s…I think? It only had 5 classes in it. No multiclassing.

[pseudo moat]

???

[sturdy niche]

some great old one warlocks just steal a sliver of eldritch power and are lucky it is so minuscule that the entity rarely notices

[pseudo moat]

What game are you PLAYING bro we've had multiclassing since AD&D 2e

[hollow estuary]

Pathfinder 0e 😭

[left tartan]

it’s old 💀 it’s from when my uncle was a child I think?

[pseudo moat]

3.5e D&D's biggest appeal is the multiclassing rework

[sturdy niche]

as the game has gone on dnd's rules have been improved, including becoming less strict

[hollow estuary]

werebear lycanthropy has no downsides really

[pseudo moat]

Written by the GOATgax himself.

[hollow estuary]

You become NG and gain two attacks and immunities

[left tartan]

LMAO

[hollow estuary]

DND mesopotamian clay tablet edition 💀

[left tartan]

PFFT

[sturdy niche]

except the one common to all lycanthropes, if you fight against the nature of the beast inside you, basically fighting the change of alignment for lack of a better way of putting it

[left tartan]

no i have 0 clue about the updates because my brother is hogging our shared NEW dm book rn

[hollow estuary]

if you embrace the change you become neutral good

[sturdy niche]

yeah, key word if

[woven flint]

You've no idea how much I cringed at this

[sturdy niche]

is a minor downside but still a downside, especially if you were say, a follower of Bhaal for example

[hollow estuary]

written by the gaxter blaster himself 🤑

[left tartan]

i'm so new to this that i have 0 clue who tf that is

[hollow estuary]

Gary gygax made DND.

[left tartan]

ohhhhhh

[barren badger]

Do you all think it is unethical for vampires to consume human blood? or are they just acting as any other predator?

[limber trail]

You become a werebear under the DM’s control. So you lose your character. There’s that downside. (Based on the updated rules)

[hushed mason]

It is unethical to consume sapient species.

[pseudo moat]

Is it unethical? The existence of a vampire is Evil and unethical.

[hollow estuary]

Right okay 2024 rules got it

Your allowed to play AL with 2014 rules right?

[barren badger]

But if a vampire didnt consent to becoming a vampire, its not their fault

[hushed mason]

It's fine if they consume donated blood.

[barren badger]

should they just throw themselves into the sunlight?

Is the tiger unethical for hunting its prey? Vampire are just doing what they need to do to survive

[sturdy niche]

i think it is irrelevant really XD given it is to my knowledge even to this day unclear if the vampire is actually the person they were in life all be it twisted or something else using the body and memories of the individual to get close to their prey

[hushed mason]

My impression of D&D vampires is that they don't care about the ethics of it.

[barren badger]

There are a few that try to fight the curse

[hushed mason]

Are they, though? Are they certain they need sapient blood? A goat wouldn't suffice?

[barren badger]

Hm, you know im not sure about this

[hushed mason]

Have they tried asking for a donation?

[left tartan]

depends on who you are and what you believe? i think that the act is unethical, but tis the circle of life?

[pseudo moat]

A tiger is a natural creature of the earth whose existence is blessed by the Earthmother. A vampire is a vile creature of evil created by evil.

[hushed mason]

Undead are inherently unnatural.

[sturdy niche]

or at more accurately stay sane, cuz they basically go threw withdrawal, kind of like an addict, if they don't drink at least 1 pint of blood each night or 2, getting worse the longer they go without feeding, at least historically in the lore

[hushed mason]

So you can't use the 'it's nature' argument.

[pseudo moat]

^^

[hollow estuary]

the 2014 bugbear statblock has its melee attacks listed as 5ft range 😭

whole point of bugbear bro

[barren badger]

So apparently there is a story about a person being converted into a vampire spawn and then being sealed into a crypt. And they live for years without feasting.

So maybe its just a hunger

[pseudo moat]

Bugbear
Not a bug
Not a bear
I bet his pants are on fire.

[barren badger]

brute is a big part of bugbear too. Scary big attack

[sturdy niche]

like i said, is a compulsion to survive and more so keep their sanity, like i said at least historically in the lore if they go without properly feeding for like more than 2 nights, they start suffering from withdrawal esc declines in their mental health

[hollow estuary]

if you really look at bugbear it seems like the perfect barb race

powerfull build, more melee reach, advantage against charmed,

[barren badger]

poor vampires :[

@pseudo moat is right. we need to destroy them

[sturdy niche]

bugbears are used as shock troops in goblin armies, especially under Maglubiyet, being strong, tuff, and surprisingly stealthy

though when not in combat they also tend to be rather lazy, which i find funny

[twilit sail]

as a warlock i think its my directive, my sole reason for existence to cast eldritch blast as many times as possible per session

[hollow estuary]

werebear bugbear barbarian is one of my favorite builds

really funny and really good

[empty thicket]

Sort of, can cast hypnotic pattern or many of the other spells it have

[twilit sail]

shshshsh

[empty thicket]

and depending of your patron you have pretty solid options ngl

if im not wrong the most "offensive" is fey patron

[twilit sail]

is having both fear and hypnotic pattern redundant

[empty thicket]

some creatures cant be frighten, others cant be charmed

some cant be both, others can be both

i would say chose one and change the another

[ornate rapids]

In the context of having a spell that shuts down combat, they can be redundant, but each one has its specific use cases
Hypnotic Pattern is great for an ambush, because it basically stunlocks creatures in place, and you can just leave them be or target each one one at a time
Fear will drive creatures away from an area but they are still aware of things

[little stream]

Dosnt fear would like stunlocked you, like yknow...fight or flight. Which everyone have

[ornate rapids]

Fear forces creatures to flee, so they have to move if they get effected by the spell (so long as they can move)

[twilit shell]

Nah. Some people don't have it, like Strahd, Vecna, and Me.

[hushed mason]

It's fight, flight, freeze, or fawn, anyway.

[twilit shell]

And the lesser known 5th f of flop, nervous system sometimes just depressurizes instead of freezing with strong overwhelm

[twilit sail]

did they just make true strike shillelagh ?

thats kind of boring

[humble cairn]

No?

[twilit sail]

isnt it just hitting stuff with your spell mod

[ornate rapids]

2024's True Strike is one part of the revisions I like quite a lot
the only part it shares with Shillelagh is using your spellcasting ability for the melee attack

[humble cairn]

It's a blade cantrip, so it's closer to Booming Blade or Green flame Blade.

[humble cairn]

And a scaling radiant damage buff.

[twilit sail]

ok

[woven flint]

The even lesser known f of flip

Where you do a front or backflip for no apparent reason

[blissful ibex]

Replace attack and damage with spell mod
optional radiant damage
add 1d6 additiona lradiant damage on 5th, 11th, and 17th level

[empty thicket]

Why cloud of daggers cant be bigger?

[ornate rapids]

True Strike does extra damage as it scales, does different damage types, and doesn't require you to use a staff/quarterstaff/club

[humble cairn]

One of the most improved spells.

[humble cairn]

It can with Circle Casting.

[blissful ibex]

it already covers 4 tiles, why would it need to be bigger?
It's only second level and a lot of AoEs at that level are that same size

[twilit sail]

just remove the original concept entirely lmao

[humble cairn]

Why, it's actually useful now.

[ornate rapids]

also True Strike can only hit once but Shillelagh works with multi-attack

[empty thicket]

I heard that name and i expected something like big, not like in Adventure time that they literally got A RAIN OF DAGGERs. But something.... bigger

[twilit sail]

no im just saying its basically an entirely new spell

[humble cairn]

Sure and the original version was useless so no point to keep it around.

[empty thicket]

5ft cube isnt one square only?

[blissful ibex]

https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/sae/sage-advice-compendium#SAC-Spells-CloudofDaggers1

it's centered on a point, overlap rules apply

[twilit shell]

Raw a aoe only has to cover half of a square that a creature occupies IIRC? so 5foot cube could very much affect 4 squares if you place it centrally

[blissful ibex]

yes, but there's a special cutout for cloud of daggers because otherwise it would have 0 area of effect

Create Bonfire is another special case because it doesn't state it has to be centered on a point, only that it be on the ground; but that can only cover ~2 RAW

[twilit shell]

Is it a special cutout? I don't think thats any different than the general AOE rules

[blissful ibex]

It would only cover 1/4th of 4 square the way the spell is written

[twilit shell]

I mean its a 5foot cube, 5foot/2=2.5 which is half of a square right? you just put it in between like any other AOE. Perhaps I just have ruled it that way anyways for so long I am not even sure what the rule is that this overrides

[empty thicket]

so it can be a 3x3 square or any of that kind of shapeS?

[blissful ibex]

it has to be centered on the point due to it's rulestext

a point is defined as the intersection of two lines for square grid battlemaps

[empty thicket]

Oh man... welp, maybe house rule of each upcast of it add 1 square or smt idk

[blissful ibex]

so RAW the spell does nothing; hence the SAC on it

[empty thicket]

or maybe i kill all the casters

mmmmmm..... decisions decisions

[twilit shell]

Yeah, so the point here would put that cube in the middle of 4 squares? even without the SAC? I feel dense here lol

If the 5foot cube is perfectly centered its 2.5feet into all 4 squares

[blissful ibex]

they changed the how much of a square has to be covered for it to be effected foing from 5e to 5.5e

[empty thicket]

i get the point, the "Square" can be divided in sections, can make the "square" be in the middle of 4 squares affecting them

[blissful ibex]

in 5e any coverage was fine if it wasn't a circular AoE

in 5.5e you have to cover at least half the square

a 5' cube centered on a point will cover exactly 1/4th of 4 squares

[twilit shell]

Hold on let me get my gridlines out..

[blissful ibex]

hence it will do nothing without that SAC >.>

[ornate rapids]

didn't know that about square coverage in 5.5
our table just goes by 'if the effect touches you at all, you're effected'

[empty thicket]

wait, one sec, "Sac"?

[blissful ibex]

Sage Advice Column https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/sae/sage-advice-compendium#SAC-Spells-CloudofDaggers1

[empty thicket]

oh, okey okey

[twilit shell]

OH! I see what I am misunderstanding lmao

[empty thicket]

welp, kinda...disappointing

[twilit shell]

it is half the distance into the square, but it does not cover half the square lmao

[blissful ibex]

It's the step below an Errata; where WotC gives guidance on vague rules

[twilit shell]

Sorry meabhy you explained it very clearly but I am brain lagged until I got the visual up haha

[empty thicket]

yeah, it help ngl but still.... feel...meh

[blissful ibex]

here's the relevant text from the DMG concerning AoE placement

-2024 DMG, pg. 44: "Areas of Effect"

An area of effect must be translated onto squares or hexes to determine which potential targets are in the area. If the area has a point of origin, choose an intersection of squares or hexes to be the point of origin, then follow its rules as normal. If an area of effect covers at least half a square or hex, the entire square or hex is affected.
Emphasis mine

[twilit shell]

Even with that SAC though it looks like you can only do two squares right? You can place the square anywhere but still has to cover half of the tile

[blissful ibex]

Depends on dm ruling
Most are fine with 4, but if someone is real strict on the rules they might limit it to two

[twilit shell]

Yeah I'd probably be fine with 4 unless my caster is trying to blender people with the shove through strat lol

[humble cairn]

Cloud of Daggers is no save damage that scales quite well. Under rated spell I think.

[twilit shell]

And if you get people with lightning lure / thorn whip / compelled movement / grapple you can just reapply it every single turn with no downside

[blissful ibex]

it's AoE/Concentration Magic Missile

it's very nice

[barren badger]

https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/sae/sage-advice-compendium#SAC-Combat22
Your target has Half Cover if another creature is between you and the target.

how many of you all follow this

[hollow estuary]

sul khatesh can be rather easily beat by a monk

[twilit shell]

Almost always, I encourage active and thoughtful positioning

[thick rose]

Hey really quick I can’t find how to make a thing where I’m looking for a dungeon master can someone help me out?

[hollow estuary]

Lets say you have half cover behind a storm giant and your subjected to a lightning AOE attack coming, I would give you resistance

I encourage positioning too

[barren badger]

Whatcha looking for

[twilit shell]

#looking-for-players

[thick rose]

Me and my friend are looking for a dm so we can play but I dunno how to make a looking for dm thread

[barren badger]

#looking-for-dm

[hollow estuary]

I can probably dm a session or two for ua

What time you guys play.

[thick rose]

I dm a sessions on Saturday so Sunday would be great

And would it be js us or is there more players?

We’re both still pretty new btw so fair warning, and we’re hoping for a long campaign is another thing

[hollow estuary]

Naw just you guys

I can get something set up

[thick rose]

Nah it’s okay then thank you tho good luck on finding players

[wooden ore]

Alr yall I NEVER DM and my friend really wants me to run a one shot, any ideas???

[twilit shell]

Wolves of Welton or Krenko's Way if you want a prefabbed

[wooden ore]

Nahh imma think up something of my own

Just mostly like asking for tips and stuff

[twilit shell]

Ah! Fair. I think something that'll help a lot is get some maps, I think a lot of DMs get lost trying to run a game theatre of the mind style thinking its easier than a map. It isnt. It never is. Use a map.

As far as keeping the game running its truly just a game of yes and improv, try not to get too rigid about how things ought to go. Whatever happens, happens

[wooden ore]

Sweeeeeeeeeet

[rough basalt]

Very true.

[civic bramble]

I seem to be having extreme character trouble.

[rough basalt]

Theater of the Mind is great, but it's not for all dms.

[civic bramble]

Creating one, I mean.

[rough basalt]

How so?

[civic bramble]

I can’t come up with a good backstory.

[severe rampart]

You don't have to make a backstory right now.

[hushed mason]

Your backstory doesn't have to be an opera.

[rough basalt]

What do you think a good backstory is?

[severe rampart]

You can let your character be a blank slate.

[civic bramble]

I don’t know.

[severe rampart]

My player only made their backstory after 10 sessions in the game

[hushed mason]

A good backstory has some relationships in it.

[rough basalt]

It's subjective. A person who makes a 5 page backstory can be flat as a character, where as someone with a paragraph is the most compelling one.

[twilit shell]

I would recommend owlbear rodeo in particular for the easiest, free VTT. Taking the extra 10 minutes to find some monsters that look cool, grabbing their art, and making actual rounded tokens (token stamp website google it) is gonna go a long way to make you feel more confident and also look more competent

[severe rampart]

It doesn't matter if your backstory is a shakesperean masterpiece if you can't play the part in game

[indigo wing]

whats spellblade

[civic bramble]

I guess, but I am fresh out of ideas.

[severe rampart]

Here's a character of mine's backstory:

He was raised by a loving family on a farm, the farm was struggling so he decided to pick up a job as an adventurer

[civic bramble]

I have Wood Elf Eldritch Knight fighter.

[indigo wing]

Whats the spellblade class?

[hushed mason]

Okay... so why did the wood elf leave Elfville to hang out with non-elves?

[twilit shell]

I tend to always collaboratively develop my backstory as a player and do the same for my party as a DM. Much more fun to collaboratively craft a narrative. I hit maybe a few major story beats and then fill in the rest through whatever seems fitting throughout conversations. Someone asks my char what god he worships? Well shoot, I guess the goddess of luck has always been it huh...

[severe rampart]

Sure, the backstory isn't complex, but I roleplayed so hard in game the DM gave everyone in the party a heroic inspiration

[civic bramble]

I’m a bit weak in terms of both.

Even though I’ e been doing this for three years.

[severe rampart]

Then make it simpler. What is your character's PBIF?

Personality, Bonds, Ideals, Flaws.

[civic bramble]

PBIF????

[twilit shell]

Nation of origin, job before adventuring and reason to start adventuring, religion if any, and perspective on killing is really the only must haves I tend to start with

[severe rampart]

Here's an NPC of mine's

Personality (How I act)
Life is a gift from the gods. I do my best to live a long and happy life at any cost.

Bonds (What I care about)
The village's safety, including my own, above all else.

Ideals (What I believe)
I am a warrior of the mind. I believe everything can be resolved with decisiveness, no matter how cruel.

Flaws (What causes me trouble)
I am hotheaded and easily angered. It makes some respect and fear me.

[civic bramble]

That’s the thing. I don’t know if I want him to be the wise and intelligent but non socially active kind or if I want him to be smart and charismatic but not know a damn thing about people.

[severe rampart]

Ah. Okay. Here's what you do.

Play a session, see how you act in the spur of the moment.

Then base the PBIF and backstory off of that

[civic bramble]

This is for a westmarch.

A PBP one.

[severe rampart]

Okay. Do what DMs do. Talk to yourself.

[peak pecan]

So? You can still get character development from that. Just slower, is all

[civic bramble]

Not saying it’s a bad thing.

[rough basalt]

Like my Rogues backstory is.
Part of a criminal organization, wooed a goody two shoes politician into marriage who was causing problems to get inside info on his plans, fell for the guy, ran away with him to protect him, he died, she kills her old comrades then goes west to the sword coast becoming renowned a bit under her alias "Rowan" then adventure started. (It was Eve of Ruin so a level 10 start allows for more room.)

[civic bramble]

I’m just facing fatigue.

[rough basalt]

No names or details, just how that's written.

[civic bramble]

I had the name Caspian Greyroot

[rough basalt]

Other than it being Bane that gave her the power to kill her former comrades, and her former comrades being who killed the guy.

[severe rampart]

I want 5 seasons and a movie bout the political marriage then the rogue slowly falling in love

[rough basalt]

Wasn't that gradual. It was pretty immediate once she realized it.

[severe rampart]

Also good!

[civic bramble]

I think I want my character to not be that wise.

[rough basalt]

Like gullible?

[civic bramble]

Yes.

[rough basalt]

Gullible PCs can be fun to have around.

Especially as a DM.

[civic bramble]

I assume wisdom lowest stat?

[rough basalt]

Stats shouldnt replicate RP

It's a somewhat common pitfall

People will make a Barbarian with 8 int and play him like he's completely helplessly dumb

[severe rampart]

Oh I play a gullible PC, same PC I got my entire party inspiration for roleplaying well

[rough basalt]

When 8 int is just has some trouble with average stuff, but isn't incapable

[civic bramble]

I guess. But then where could I place my lowest rolled stat? I admittedly got good rules for a Gish.

[severe rampart]

Int? Probably, never dump Cha

[rough basalt]

Dumping wisdom is a path to death

Where as Int the only danger is Illithids

[ornate rapids]

CHA tends to be my most common dump stat and I haven't ever made a character where a sub-10 INT score made sense

[mint monolith]

I've found my current character's oldest sheet. Probably the first version ever
He changed a lot lmao
He used to have a lot of empathy towards goblins and now 2/3 of the party, including him, wants to wipe them out no matter what

[severe rampart]

Depends, I dumped Int, then my DM bombarded me with Vampiric Mind Flayers, Mind Goblins, etc.

[rough basalt]

Like my rogue has 9 wis so i had -1 wis saves until level 15 lol

[hollow edge]

I need help I wanna play the unofficial class channeler but I've only used DND beyond before to make character and I don't have a PC to make life easier

[civic bramble]

Eldritch Knight.

[rough basalt]

Cha is a good dump then

[severe rampart]

Then Cha

[civic bramble]

Ok

[severe rampart]

Oh yeah, I reworked a lot of my old characters

First was an Eladrin Fiendlock who worshipped a primordial snake, now they're a Yuan Ti Wild Magic Sorcerer who worship Sseth the Sibilant Death

[hushed mason]

Sseth the sleepy.

[civic bramble]

Why is the creation process tiring?

How do I make this feel easier?

[hushed mason]

It's not. You need to take a break.

You're overthinking things at this point.

[peak pecan]

You can look for a homebrew of it on Beyond, or head to a library or somewhere with public PCs to print a physical sheet

[hollow edge]

There's no homebrew I've found on beyond but I didn't think of a public library that's smart but silly enough I don't know how to fill out a sheet in general

[severe rampart]

If you don't have experience with D&D you shouldn't jump into an unofficial class

[twilit shell]

I have run a few characters with 5 int before, god's favored children are those who are unable to read or form complex thoughts

[hushed mason]

After a player made a character with 4 Cha, I set a rule that no stat can be lower than 6. Anything lower is significantly impaired to the point that adventuring is not likely possible.

[ornate rapids]

I've only ever done things via Point Buy so nothing of mine's ever dipped below 8
anything less would be fine for a oneshot probably but I wouldn't want to play long-term with any stat lower than that

[twilit shell]

Oh absolutely there is some significant impairment. I just found the old char sheet, this was in a ruleset that allowed for a lot more minmaxing than it ought to have. 18 str 18 dex 18 con 4 int 4 wis 12 cha

He was incapable of reading, writing, speaking at a normal volume, understanding words with more than four syllables...

[hollow edge]

I've played for about a year but only used DND beyond before and I wanna do something more exciting for my next campaign

[hushed mason]

Someone with stats like that is the Village Idiot, not an adventurer, IMO.

[twilit shell]

He was a half hill giant goliath barbarian that served in the "Valuable enough to be a meatshield, not capable of much more" platoon for the Boros Legion

I do not really disagree, truly barely capable of any significant form of functioning. Barely any smarter than a literal wild dog

[empty thicket]

im thinking of doing some sort of Walter white backstory for some future rogue
"I knew it was bad what i was doing but god damn i was good on it" kind of thing

[spice crane]

What kind of things are you thinking about for your next campaign?

[errant whale]

-# dump wisdommmm do ittttt

Wisdom is for the weak

[hollow edge]

Im not the Dm just a player but he has it were lizard folks are JoJo characters with the channeler class

[twilit shell]

and not astral self monk? 😔

[hollow edge]

I haven't heard of that

[twilit shell]

You basically just grow astral arms and punch with your physical and spiritual fists

halfway to a stand

[glass granite]

Echo knight could work

[errant whale]

Yeah it isnt like a separate entity from yourself but you can aura farm while your stand punches things

Like a true jojo character

[lavish flame]

We had a really cool moment where an Astral Monk PC used her Astral Arms' extended reach to pull another PC out of a Ankheg's pincers/grab. It felt like that moment from Captain America 2 where he holds back an escaping helicopter with his arms.

super cool subclass. very worth checking out

[hollow edge]

My character is built around the lizard folk bone weapon crafting because my channel makes spiritual weapons of what I'm holding and he attacks a second after me kinda like divergent fist from jjk

[twilit shell]

I had looked at that homebrew at one point but didnt really investigate, it seems neat

[woven flint]

I think I had insane amount of out of combat Aura this last session I played

I convinced one of the other player characters that was slowly being mentally enslaved by Blackrazor that his whole crusade to get souls for blackrazor was foolish because it's harming his world more than it was helping the character himself

It was incredibly gratifying to watch the character try to defend his actions only to realize I was right.. and it's gonna be more gratifying helping him break free

We both agreed that
"An endless void can't be satiated."

I think Blackrazors gonna have it out for me lol

[lime silo]

that's pretty cool we had a moment where a roc swooped in and picked up one of the other players in our group all he had was a dagger that could paralyze the odds of him hitting the rocs AC plus magic resistance was really unlikely but he got a success at disadvantage the roc dropped out the sky of the edge of a cliff our player dropped out and our wizard jumped down off the cliff dimension doored and landed him to safety apart from a lil bludgeoning damage

he was an artificer so literally no dex

[hollow edge]

My Dm is very flexible there's a npc who's also a bbeg he's just deo he stop's time

[spice crane]

Okay yeah that already sounds insane! JoJo style lizardfolk channelers are definitely more exciting than a normal campaign. What are you thinking of doing though like a wild character concept, weird multiclass, chaotic RP or something else?

[hollow edge]

I try to tie my characters into the story directly to help the Dm and for what it's worth he's crazy ngl but I still need to make the character sheet to even play this week

[spice crane]

That’s honestly really cool for a beginner player, but yeah you should probably finish the character sheet before this week lol.
What is your character in this campaign?

[hollow edge]

What do you mean by that, he's a player character. Or do you wanna know what and who he is because I love writing lore and will tell his story

[fossil hollow]

#character-discussion

[spice crane]

Ohhh okay! Yeah now I definitely wanna hear the lore. What’s his story?

[spiral fox]

is search action like a sonar where you try and look around you and find all hidden enemies, or their general positions? or do you need to mention a place you are looking at?

cuz DND characters have 360° vision. and the rules say using "all senses"

[fossil hollow]

the search action is when youre actively looking for hidden creatures, objects, or clues

[severe rampart]

It's when you're in initiative, to see if some enemies passed their stealth roll vs the party's passive perception

It does consume an action, though

[lavish isle]

am I allowed to change the appearance of a magic item to more accurately fit my character?

[lime silo]

unless you have tremor sense/blindfighting/true sight right?

[lavish flame]

no. and if you try to, you'll be blown to smithereens.

yeah u totally can. the art for some magic items is goofy, their descriptions often are too. do what you want. I once had a monk who's Winged Boots were wooden sandals with bird wings shooting out of them. Your aesthetic is yours

[fossil hollow]

ive honestly never seen winged boots any other way

[lavish isle]

the main reason I was asking is because (no offense to the artist) the robe of eyes is a bit of an eyesore (get it)

[lavish flame]

the art has them as Straight Up Boots, like all the way up your calf

[fossil hollow]

i refuse that reality, and sbstitute my own

but ig im too Percy Jackson coded

[hot gate]

If the dm doesn't already describe them a certain way, that sounds like completely reasonable flavor

[fossil hollow]

if magic items can resize to fit their wearer, its not much of a stretch to say they can also change some aesthetics

[severe rampart]

Anyone here actually use circle magic?

[fossil hollow]

yeap

[barren badger]

For my Druid, I think I’d ask my DM if we could reflavor winged boots as little flying lily pads that’s she could step on

[fossil hollow]

used it to... expand a spell, cant remember what spell it was though

[barren badger]

As written in combat? I personally do not allow it at my table

[lavish flame]

aw thats so sick. its like Mordo's shoes from Dr Strange

[flint ledge]

Good Timezone everyone

[fossil hollow]

in my next sunday session, im going to have empyrean iotas circle casting bless to make them all concentrate on it so they can buff their Empyrean sibling

so you gotta kill/end concentration on all 5 first to end bless

[severe rampart]

Oh no, I'm the DM, planning to have the enemies use it against PCs

Night Hag shenanigans

[barren badger]

I had my night hags use it :]

[fossil hollow]

use a lot of cultists, they tend to be really expendable and have decent spell level coverage, especially if you add in the spells from the fiend cults

[fossil hollow]

OH! It was an expanded Synaptic static! I was combining 2014 hag coven spells with circle casting!

[severe rampart]

And cultists!

Thank you, Ti

[fossil hollow]

if yer using the hag, i reccomend slapping on the 2014 coven magic on them

makes it sliiiightly better to mentally track for some reason for me

[woven flint]

Timothy

[barren badger]

The 2024 coven magic is really disappointing

[severe rampart]

Fear not, between 2014 and 2024 I choose the one with the more difficult enemy to face off against

[fossil hollow]

what do you want

[woven flint]

Stare

[fossil hollow]

hows your epic boon

[woven flint]

Mid /half-joking

Gives me something tondo with my bonus action and is constant free temp hp
Not that bad
But now I'm a very bright individual

[fossil hollow]

you drew the celestial card, thats the one that made sense for me

[severe rampart]

Deck of Many Things?

[fossil hollow]

yeah, but i gave them epic boons instead of the normal card result

[woven flint]

I know
I'm just not a big fan of that one personally lol
Not that I won't use it, I don't have many bonus actions anyway

It's interesting because I can just..
Do it
No rests in between

Boom, I'm a light source and I infinitely produce temp hp on my turn without any actions so everyone's slightly more annoying to kill

I was really looking forward to the celestial deal though tbh 😔

[fossil hollow]

the other one was exalte radiance, but you ont deal radiant

[sinful crater]

wassup chat whats going?

[woven flint]

I probably would've asked for my airship to be invulnerable to damage tbh 💀

[fossil hollow]

hehehe

still needs to be fixed, speaking of which. hopefully no dragons attack

[woven flint]

There's also.. Boon of Blazing Dawn
But you wouldn't want me to be immune to Radiant damage for the upcoming fight anyway 😔

[fossil hollow]

fun fact, their main weapons wont deal radiant

[woven flint]

I don't think that'd fit him tbh

He'd be able to turn his damage into Radiant Damage
But wd know he prefers lightning

[fossil hollow]

also, im not a fan of that one

[woven flint]

All the Sun/Radiant Boons are kinda ass imo

The one you gave me was definitely the best out of the options
If anything it makes EVERYONE a little more durable

[nocturne turret]

guys

i’m so scared

[paper portal]

im so green

[little stream]

Hye I'm so scared, meet green

[sinful crater]

Whats happened

[nocturne turret]

my first dnd

[sinful crater]

Oh how is it going yet?

[nocturne turret]

it’s later today at 3pm

[sinful crater]

Don't be scared, I hope everything goes well for you best of luck

[sinful crater]

whats makes you scared?

[nocturne turret]

never done this before

[reef tundra]

It’s okay, you got this. It’s gonna be fun

How do you think of the group so far?

[humble cairn]

It's ok to be nervous, but remember it's supposed to be fun! Everyone is there to have fun so don't pressure yourself too much.

[nocturne turret]

nobody has said a word

[reef tundra]

Oh? No pre-campaign excited chatter?

[nocturne turret]

No 💔

[reef tundra]

Hmm, that’s a first for me

Ah well, I’m sure it’s still gonna go smoothly

[jolly canyon]

Are they friends of yours? Or people you found for the game

[nocturne turret]

new group from here

[jolly canyon]

Hmm that is strange. Usually people going out of their way to find ppl to play with online are excited. Well hopefully that changes! Was there a session 0 yet?

[sinful crater]

Not a big deal just enjoy the game and try to make a good bond with other players so everyone will enjoy the game

[nocturne turret]

noo thats whats coming up

[jolly canyon]

Ohh! OK yee they'll be excited after session 0 I bet

[sinful crater]

How many players are there?

[jolly canyon]

There is the "man I hope I vibe with these ppl" nervousness I assume. Hopefully that melts away after a good sesh 0

[nocturne turret]

i’ve never used foundry befote

[severe rampart]

Are you the player or the DM

[nocturne turret]

player!

[severe rampart]

the DM will help ya don't worry

[spiral fox]

say there are 2 assassins that i am fighting that are both hidden. if i take the Search action, and say i rolled 28 and beat both of their stealth checks, do i reveal both of their locations as long as they are in my vision range?

[fossil hollow]

as long as they are not behind total cover yes

[mighty pulsar]

Can you stack stuff like crusher and tavern brawler?

[spiral fox]

but not being behind total cover, would reveal them anyway

[fossil hollow]

you can push them more than 5 ft yes

[spiral fox]

yes. fling them up in the air

1d6 more damage

[fossil hollow]

half cover and 3/4 cover are also a thing

[mighty pulsar]

Not allowed

[spiral fox]

mhmm that too

[fossil hollow]

they fall immediately after the 1st instance

[mighty pulsar]

So I can push with tavern brawler and then push with crusher from one unarmed strike?

[fossil hollow]

cant Shin-Sho-Shoryuken them

[fossil hollow]

for a total of 10 ft moved aye

[mighty pulsar]

• flurry of blows

[spiral fox]

how i see stelth being those kinds of cover is them trying to crouch and hide behind them

[mighty pulsar]

Amazing

[fossil hollow]

thats. basically it yeah

[spiral fox]

it's so annoying to explain 2024 hiding to new players, even though i love it

[spiral fox]

what happens when i try to search for an actually invisible creature?

can i hear their footsteps and know their general vicinity?

[still plover]

I feel saying it makes you "count as" invisible helps convey the meaning - that you've become undetected, not that you've successfully activated your personal Predator cloak. (Regarding hiding)

[fossil hollow]

you dont see them, but become aware of their position

[spiral fox]

i see

[quasi talon]

He became aware "we see you" type shit

[fossil hollow]

youre essentially looking for footsteps and footprints, and othr disturbances

[reef tundra]

I hate it when people run invisibility as being completely undetectable. Because holy hell it is so annoying to just straight up be unable to damage or find an invisible enemy

[still plover]

It's got specific benefits. The major one (aside from general advantage/ disadvantage) is being immune to spells that require you to see the target.

https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/br-2024/rules-glossary#InvisibleCondition

[sinful crater]

Which class do you decide to play with?

[flint ledge]

I mean I get why someone would and I do think at certain distances someone wouldn't be detectable but if someone just turned invisible in front of you it's quite ridiculous

[remote wadi]

Would blindsight counter invisibility?

[reef tundra]

It would

[reef tundra]

Yeah, from afar I would justify not being able to sense an invisible person, but up close, definitely not

[hot gate]

-# at least partially

[reef tundra]

It would within range of blindsight, wouldn’t it?

[hot gate]

Well, due to how it is worded, many benefits of invisibility would still be in effect

[reef tundra]

Because they can see them as long as they are not behind total cover, and the effects of invisibility do not work if a creature can somehow see them

[hot gate]

You can see it, but adv/disadv would still be there

[reef tundra]

Didn’t 5.5e fix that?

[hot gate]

oh actually, it did yeah

Forgot that it's listed in Invisbility and not Blindsight

[flint ledge]

I mean what you kinda gotta remember about those things is technically it goes both ways which I guess is somewhat better (still wouldn't run it that way)

[reef tundra]

What?

Oh wait you mean for player and DM

I was so confused for a moment I thought you were implying the invisible person can’t see a visible person

[narrow moss]

i'm still confused, how can anyone see an invisible person normally

without magic.

[humble cairn]

If this is about the 2024 Hiding rules, don't worry, they are unclear and need clarification from the devs as to what they intended.

[flint ledge]

It's not seeing them, sight isn't your only sense after all, you can hear, smell or touch them still to locate them

[narrow moss]

yes but we're talking about seeing

i'm aware of the other senses.

and you'd still distrupt stuff like, idk, smoke

[flint ledge]

But you don't see them?

[narrow moss]

it was just something someone in here said is all

and that's the point of being invisible. To not be seen

it won't cover for your stupidity though

so i'm probs missing context here but if even the hiding rules are unclear then who knows

[hot gate]

The difference is being able to see and knowing that someone's there. Invisbility doesn't prevent the latter.

[narrow moss]

ah okie so it's a matter of doing it after.

yeah that makes more sense.

[vast saddle]

Guys, two party members of mine have been arguing because one of them used Darkness in combat. How do you actually use Darkness effectively in combat?

[reef tundra]

Shout out to the guy who said being unable to see an enemy should give them full cover.
One of the worst takes I’ve seen about dnd

[severe rampart]

Does someone have devil's sight or other senses?

[reef tundra]

Cover from spells that target creatures you can see, giving disadvantage to ranged attacks, and if someone has blindsight, devil sight, tremor sense, or true sight, they get advantage on attacks against creatures in the darkness that lack that

[severe rampart]

If not, well, the only way I could think of using it is like Fog Cloud

[humble cairn]

I suggest casting it on a small, enclosable object like a stone inside a locket. A coin held between the teeth will do, in a pinch. Close your lips and the darkness goes away, smile … and the Darkness leaks out to cover you. This way you can control it both by moving it and by shutting it off when you need to not block your allies.

[severe rampart]

walk inside walk outside, attack walk back inside so enemies have disadvantage on attacks against you

[flint ledge]

I will try and believe no one has ever said this and you're spreading deception

[reef tundra]

I often pick it as a Ranger and take blind fighting style to cast the area, dive in, and take out enemies within

[reef tundra]

I promise you I am not

[severe rampart]

Infernal Pact

[reef tundra]

I had to tell them the story of when I fought in a pitch black room

[severe rampart]

... Genius

Hm, I should use that for my Wild Magic Sorcerer

[flint ledge]

Ah yes full cover to everyone in the room

[humble cairn]

Great way to run without OAs, most effective when you can see through it in some way.

[reef tundra]

The guy I hit would disagree /lhj

[severe rampart]

yep, my wild magic sorcerer is a Yuan Ti with the Infernal Pact (DDB Drops)

120ft of dark vision that can see through magical darkness

plus poison and fire resistance which is nice

[humble cairn]

Well then you're golden.

[severe rampart]

I already planned to use darkness anywho, but that is a cool way to use it

and fits with the evil serpent theme

perhaps you have even more tips? 🤔

[sinful crater]

2026 dnd roadmap is actually kinda huge

[iron sedge]

The pain, I will always be the forever DM

😭

[sinful crater]

How long you have been into dnd

[iron sedge]

Since I was 16, so three years. I just asked my group if anyone else was interested in DMing and EVERYONE SAID NO😭 😭 😭

[sinful crater]

So why you dont want to be dm more?

[sinful crater]

it means you are 19 now

[limber trail]

i mean not everyone is into DMing and that's fine

[iron sedge]

I do, but I wanna play too bruh

[humble cairn]

For Darkness, specifically?

[limber trail]

its valid to wanna play

[severe rampart]

the DM and player role is very different.

They like DMing but they also want to play as a player

[severe rampart]

Other spells perhaps

[iron sedge]

Nice math bro

[humble cairn]

Theming your spells as phantasmal serpents is a favorite of mine, perhaps you can tell by my screen name.

[sinful crater]

yeah you are right I just thought maybe he is surviving with some problem as dm

[severe rampart]

I am playing a Yuan Ti

[sinful crater]

hehe not in actual

[vast saddle]

So, basically...you use Darkness to cloak your allies instead of cloaking your opponent?

[iron sedge]

No I love DMing, but the problem is that I've only ONCE actually played a character. Not counting online play, which I don't like

[severe rampart]

Current spells are Spellfire Flare, Blur, Darkness, Hold Person, Mirror Image, Scorching Ray, Fireball and Hynotic Pattern

Though, with the new Darkness idea, I think I could replace Blur and Mirror Image

[reef tundra]

Both. It can be pretty effective to cast it on a caster enemy and order the barbarian or fighter to grapple them and keep them inside the darkness area

[humble cairn]

That breaks ally line of sight as well, and can be a difficulty, so you have to be considerate of allies. Putting an enemy inside Darkness can make it hard for allies to hit that enemy for a whole round.

[reef tundra]

Alternatively consider using it as a wall of sorts and keep your team behind it as opposed to inside

[vast saddle]

This is why my party members have been arguing. They're Sorcerer and Monk

[severe rampart]

You need to use it at the right time, though I don't know if you can smile on someone else's turn

[humble cairn]

Again, my suggestion is here: #dnd-discussion message

[severe rampart]

Does no one in this party have dark vision that can see through magical darkness?

[humble cairn]

What subclass for each of them? Because both of those have a subclass that can see through the Darkness spell in some way.

[sinful crater]

Oh I understand which class you played as a player?

[vast saddle]

Shadow Magic and Warrior of Elements

[humble cairn]

Give my suggestion to the Shadow Sorcerer: #dnd-discussion message

[severe rampart]

The problem is you can only smile on your turn

I think.

[humble cairn]

That's why it's good that it can be controlled in two ways: covering it and/or moving it.

[severe rampart]

I think that also means you can only turn it off on your turn

[vast saddle]

Actually, this is way smarter than using it on any open surface

[humble cairn]

If the DM is strict about object interactions yes, but that's a limitation to be planned around rather than a problem with the tactic.

As a ranged attacker the Sorcerer should more likely keep it on themselves and move off to the side of combat away from both allies and enemies.

[severe rampart]

Would it also be technically free advantage?

[iron sedge]

Sorcerer

[severe rampart]

Unseen Attacker, and then close your mouth, they can't see you, but you can see them

[humble cairn]

That way you get Advantage on attacking enemies, enemies get Disadvantage against attacking you, and you can freely move away from enemies without provoking opportunity attacks.

[severe rampart]

That's a free blur

[humble cairn]

If you cover it, then everyone can see you.

[severe rampart]

Sorry I mean open your mouth* 😭

[humble cairn]

Unless the enemy has Truesight, Blindsight, See Invisible or the like.

Devil Sight, etc

Yes, it's both Disadvantage from enemies and Advantage against them unless they can see through your Darkness.

[humble cairn]

And more considerate of allies.

[severe rampart]

Would still be happy if that were the case , information is a powerful tool

[sinful crater]

Nice but why did you choose sorcerer among all

[severe rampart]

Does there need to be a reason?

[sinful crater]

yeah special thing he liked about it
like my fav is wizard because it feels rewarding the more creative I get with spells instead of just hitting things harder every fight

[severe rampart]

Arguably the same thing applies to every spellcasting class

[iron sedge]

Because Metamagic is awesome

[sinful crater]

fair good

[humble cairn]

I wonder when Sorcerers will become more known for Innate Sorcery than Metamagic.

[severe rampart]

Don't know, but Innate Sorcery is a pretty nice buff

[neon salmon]

Is innate sorcery like Magical Cunning for Warlocks?

Ik the whole draw to sorcerror’s is they dont need a spellcasting focus as their kinda born with magic

[severe rampart]

Innate Sorcery gives you advantage on all sorcerer spells to hit for 1 minute

and the DC of your spells increase by 1

[flint ledge]

I mean they do still need an arcane focus

[severe rampart]

for Material Components

[neon salmon]

Right okay

Ill have to keep that in mind for when i eventually try out a Sorceror

[flint ledge]

Speaking of spells I think scrolls and enspelled items make no freaking sense, how come anyone can use an enspelled sword for example to cast a spell but to cast from a scroll you need to be a spellcaster AND have the spell on your spell list already

[severe rampart]

I don't know, but maybe it's because enspelled items have charges?

I'm not complaining about it, I love my Hunter's Mark Shortsword

[flint ledge]

I mean my problem isn't the enspelled items moreso the scrolls, they're already expensive as hell might as well let everyone use it

[neon salmon]

I think its also depending on who’s dm’ing you can mess around with certain item requirements for stuff like scrolls so its not as Niche for people using it

[twilit sail]

Kaioken

[severe rampart]

I just wish Innate Sorcerery had custom effects for different subclasses

[flint ledge]

I mean yeah but it's a RAW thing I'm confused about

[neon salmon]

Ik what you mean

Im playing warlock atm and im kinda a bit bored with my subclass feature if i go into lvl 6

[severe rampart]

Not what I meant

that's your own thing and should maybe talk to your DM about

[twilit sail]

What subclass r u

[neon salmon]

Haunted one

[severe rampart]

That's... not a subclass, that's a background

[flint ledge]

I was about to say

[severe rampart]

I do have a Hexblade Warlock player with the Haunted One background

[twilit sail]

My dude what is ur patron

[neon salmon]

Oh crap, My bad

Warlock of undead

[severe rampart]

Now I remember something, they have a 2014 Background but the others have 2024 backgrounds so... hm... should I let him get background ASIs

[twilit sail]

You should talk w your patroms other warlocks and unionize

[flint ledge]

You know as funny as that idea always sounds unionizing doesn’t work very well when your patron owns your soul

[autumn goblet]

How old is considered "Old" for Elven standards?

[severe rampart]

800+ I'd say?

[flint ledge]

Well according to the 2024 PHB they get around 750 years old

[severe rampart]

Oh sorry I'm thinking of Yuan Ti

What Somebody said^

[autumn goblet]

So like 600 would be "im getting old" for an elf

[severe rampart]

having been lived 80% of their life? sure why not

[flint ledge]

Yeah probably

[tame kelp]

What is Swarm rules?

[fair summit]

Likely various homebrew rules made to more easily run bigger swarms of enemies

Unless I'm forgetting an actual rule

[ripe nimbus]

there are Swarm statblocks at the end of the MM

in the animals chapter/appendix

[still plover]

Here's an example: https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/17032-swarm-of-rats

Swarm. The swarm can occupy another creature's space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening large enough for a Tiny rat. The swarm can't regain hit points or gain temporary hit points.

Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 0 ft., one target in the swarm's space. Hit: 7 (2d6) piercing damage, or 3 (1d6) piercing damage if the swarm has half of its hit points or fewer.

[hot gate]

Not to be confused with mob rules, which have their own rules section in the DMG.

[thorn osprey]

How do you usually deal with players who wanna metagame their characters, even if it makes no sense in narrative/story wise?

Do you simply let them, or try to "enforce" what is correct upon them?

For an example: One of my players wants to start the game as a Cleric, who is fairly closed down on himself due to some problems with his family.

Then, he'll swap into a warlock for lore reasons. He wants to have two different stat lineups, or start with maxxed out Warlock stats instead? Like, am I crazy or neither of these "make sense"

[next solar]

what do you mean by 2 different stat lineups and maxed out warlock stats?

[thorn osprey]

Basically min-maxxed stats, like going for the most optimal Warlock stats.

And the other option that he he wanted a lineup of stats while being a Cleric, then he changes it once he becomes a Warlock? But that's like, not how this works?

[flint ledge]

You mean he wants to switch out classes mid campaign and has that already fully planned before it's near happening?

[humble cairn]

That's not metagaming, that's just not playing by the rules.

[thorn osprey]

He wants to swap near the start, so it's not THAT bad.

But, he wants me to give him freedom to change his character's statline however he wants even if it'll make no sense narratively.

[next solar]

i dont see anything wrong with min maxing stats. thats being said, changing classes mid campaign usually doesn't happen. if you want to change a class, play a diffrrent character

i personally would not allow them to do so

[limber trail]

I posted in DM discussion but I'll post here too for the sake of the conversation:

I would probably tell them they can pick one or the other but they deal with it. Ideally cleric.

Neither DnD players nor DMs should pre-write their character's journey. By deciding they're multiclassing into warlock ahead of time, they rob the game of it's fun.

More importantly: DnD is not a game which really allows respecs. I'd ask them to follow those rules when making a character. If they want to play a warlock they can choose to multiclass of course, but not swap class entirely - that's not how levelling works. Especially, if they want to multiclass into warlock, they are required to have at least a 13 wis and a 13 cha

Essentially: Enforce the rules of the game.

[flint ledge]

Uhm... Say no... If he wants to switch near the start he can just put that into his backstory instead

[humble cairn]

This sounds like he wants to play out some backstory, but do it during game time, which can be disruptive to the flow of the game and take away from other player's fun. I would personally suggest that they start the game as mechanically the class they mean to play for the rest of the game and describe this change of heart as part of their backstory.

[limber trail]

He should really start as a warlock or accept that he'll always have some cleric levels.

Players who want to have a secret plot twist class usually end up being kinda disruptive and usually want to just play out their singular vision of the situation

[thorn osprey]

Alright then, by the MAJORITY opinion it seems like it'll be best to simply tell him to decide on which of the two he'll be using?

The plan he had in mind was mainly to skip on a single adventure from the group, but seeing this from the group it's making me change my mind on wanting to agree on this lmao

[limber trail]

@thorn osprey I'm posting this here to have the conversation all be in one place but in response to your message from DM discussion:

This sounds like a lot of stuff that would be easier to handle in the backstory. Maybe the character starts as a warlock fresh off of the back of losing their cleric abilities, and the other players can find that out over time or something.

The reason I'd advocate for doing it in the backstory is that it skips over all of the predetermined stuff and it means you don't need to shove a demon into the game 5 sessions in for this scripted plot point. It also moves this person forward to where they can immediately start making choices and role playing instead of following their predetermined path. and it makes the mechanics much easier.

[golden mantle]

hi

[next solar]

from what im hearing, your players want to play out their character "losing faith". if i was the one playing the character, i would start out as cleric and multiclass into a warlock after i had lose my faith. if the players wanted a single class however, i would ask him to play warlock and simply make their lost of faith part of their backstory

[limber trail]

The thing to remember is by putting it in the backstory, it's more fun for the player too! They don't need to try force this deal to happen! They get to jump right to the interesting stuff - discovering over time the story of these characters

You can make characters with events that have happened - that's their backstory - and they can have events that they want to happen - that's their goals of course - but I would never encourage anyone to make a DnD character who's decided on an event that will happen.

Because that's just not how the game works (which includes you as a DM)

[thorn osprey]

Even if this event will mainly be for the character alone, not including anyone else in the party with him?

Just a solo session between me and the player, and a quick one at that

[limber trail]

I mean you can run that as a solo session that's from their backstory. I've done that before, and it's awesome. But yes - I would say just keep things easier for everyone and ask them to start essentially as or right after they made the pact.

[remote wadi]

One thing I want to try in case I ever become a DM

[vernal owl]

How is everyone

[remote wadi]

If a significant amount of player's can't make it to a session, make the campaign either a one shot surrounding a character's backstory or based off something fun from media

[vernal owl]

Oo sounds like a good idea but would need tons of improv right?

[limber trail]

You can work around it. I could see a world where you prepare a few one shots to pull out and run at any time

I’ve thought about the idea of running one shots where I roll an environment, a monster, and figure out the rest.

[next solar]

I always run my sessions as long as all the available players agree to play, even if its a single person

[limber trail]

I schedule my sessions around players timetables and just push a session back to the next available day if we can’t play a given day

[next solar]

In our previous campaign my previous DM refuses to run if there are less then 3 players

and we skipped sessions more then we played

[limber trail]

I kinda thing the answer to groups like that who can’t consistently make one given time is just to be more flexible with session times

[next solar]

We were only available at Saturdays

[limber trail]

There’s a great video by mystic arts which advocates for doing away with strict schedules. Instead everyone marks the days they can play in a given month, and sessions are played on the days that work - no need to stick to a given day of the week.

[next solar]

And we did previously try to push the sessions, however it made us even less consistent because there is no set routine

[next solar]

I do not expect my players to fill in a form, let alone a timetable every month

And sometimes the DM just cancels last minute due to working overtime or events

[next solar]

That's why I have decided on this system when it was my time to run a campaign

[sinful crater]

lowkey one of the biggest threats to any campaign is just everyone being free at the same time and what about how long has your current campaign managed to stay running?

[ornate copper]

Do you create your character by yourself?

[sinful crater]

same happened with me and my friend we make party and then dm refused to run because he is saying total of 6 players but we are 4

[sinful crater]

Yeah I made by myself and wby

[vernal owl]

In my current campaigns that i play in, one has been running for 7-8 months meanwhile the other one was paused after like 5 months and we started playing curse of strahd (10 sessions in)

[next solar]

yeah, its really annoying when we have cleared our schedules to play and waited, just for the game to be cancelled due to the fault of the person who cant even be bothered to come

the game should be decided by the people that actually are available to play

[ornate copper]

That's good

I make it by myself

[ornate copper]

How many members are in your campaigns?

[vernal owl]

6 and 4

[wicked mulch]

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

Your party has no Cleric. According to the balanced party guidance, which classes could fill a similar party role?

[twilit sail]

Divine soul sorceter

Circle of life druid

Theres prob a paladin one too

[uncut zenith]

Bard or Druid

[twilit sail]

I meant dfeams not life

[limber trail]

bard or druid

[feral fulcrum]

Paladin can Lay on Hands which is all you really need.

[twilit sail]

Lore bard

[limber trail]

(although yeah paladins and certain sorcerers and warlocks can also help out, and even a purpose-built wizard)

[twilit sail]

I was tryna think of specific subclasses

Wooo magic initiate

I wouldnt run support warlock

Personally

[limber trail]

i don't think it's a great idea but it can be done

[uncut zenith]

DC is asking specifically in regards to the sidebar in the 2034 PHB that advises what classes work to replace the “main four”, which doesn’t include subclasses

[feral fulcrum]

Warlocks just DO NOT have the stamina to do anything support wise.

[twilit sail]

Artificers can be healers

[twilit sail]

You can take guidance w magic initiate

[feral fulcrum]

Yeah but that's one measly cantrip, that absolutely should never be used in combat.

[uncut zenith]

Per the sidebar, Cleric can be replaced with Bard and Druid, Fighter with Barbarian, Monk, Paladin or Ranger, Rogue with Bard and Ranger, and Wizard with Bard, Sorcerer or Warlock.

[feral fulcrum]

And can be taken by anyone else.

[limber trail]

healing light is a decent bonus action healing option similar to lay on hands which can be used to keep players up. Not perfect maybe but it'll work alright enough

not perfect by any means but it's a decent replacement that doesn't rely on spell slots

[flint ledge]

Technically you can use it for athletics or acrobatics for grappling (Although I would never do that mid combat)

[twilit sail]

Healer barb?

Replied to wrong tbing

[full widget]

anyone down to look at some homebrew things I made, see if they are too broken or not lol

[next solar]

im down

[full widget]

permission to dm?

[next solar]

sure thing

[humble cairn]

There's also the entire #homebrew channel

[royal juniper]

Circle of Stars Druid!

[crystal tendon]

hey everyone

[flint ledge]

Hey hey

[crystal tendon]

what do you guys think about new horror one update and 2026 road map

[crystal tendon]

wassap?

[flint ledge]

You mean the ravenloft book?

[crystal tendon]

yeah

[flint ledge]

Wassap, I am doing fine

[crystal tendon]

good to know,how long have you been into dnd

[uncut zenith]

I’m a huge fan of Ravenloft, so I’m excited about it

I already have Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft, but the more Ravenloft I can get the better

[flint ledge]

It's interesting, from what I hear it's sort of gonna be like the Faerun books from last year. I'm excited to see it

[normal junco]

i have a feeling that the new Ravenloft book is going to bring in stuff from Curse of Strahd, Van Richten's, as well as stuff from previous editions and updating that to 5.5e

[flint ledge]

Hard to say, I've been interested for quite a few years, started playing like uhhhh 6-8 months ago?

[normal junco]

that, and i think it would make sense subdividing CoS into a series of leveled adventures you could run in sequence to make CoS or run individually.

but who knows

[crystal tendon]

thats awesome ravenloft has such a rich gothic horror vibe if you already loved van richtens guide youre definitely going to enjoy diving even deeper into the domains of dread the lore just keeps getting darker and more interesting the more you explore it

[crystal tendon]

yeah i get the same feeling and honestly that would be the best way to do it bringing together curse of strahd van richtens guide and older ravenloft lore into 55e could make it the definitive ravenloft book theres so much classic material they could modernize and bring back

[limber trail]

I'd be surprised (and disappointed) if it spent much time reworking an existing, already really solid module. I'd of course like a compendium of interesting DM and Player options from that module but I'd rather the word count go towards being a guide for new adventures in the setting and not a rehash of an existing adventure.

[crystal tendon]

honestly that would be such a smart move it would let people experience curse of strahd in smaller arcs while still connecting into one big campaign and it would make replaying ravenloft stuff way easier too now im really curious what direction theyll take with it

[normal junco]

i don't think it will be everything. that's just way too much. likely as much Barovia and Strahd specific stuff

[flint ledge]

@crystal tendon forgot to ask but what about you?

[crystal tendon]

thats fair honestly id love a balance between both give us some updated tools and modular stuff for curse of strahd but mostly focus on expanding ravenloft with new domains adventures and horror mechanics theres way too much potential in the setting to spend the whole book retreading barovia again

[crystal tendon]

its been a 5 months almost

[crystal tendon]

what is your favourite class?

[uncut zenith]

Well it’s gonna be a pretty big book, i just hope it’s not gonna be mostly a reprint of VRGTR

[limber trail]

What I'd really love is actually a focus on other non-barovia dread domains, and especially more dread lords w/ some awesome stat blocks to go along with

[uncut zenith]

We know we’re at least getting one brand new domain

[limber trail]

Because there's already so much content for barovia (which rules, it's an awesome setting, but diversify it a little)

[crystal tendon]

same honestly ravenloft is so much bigger than just barovia id love to see domains like darkon dementlieu or bluetspur get a bigger spotlight and updated dread lords with modern 55e stat blocks could be insanely cool

[uncut zenith]

Yeah even VRGTR didn’t give us a lot of new info on Barovia/Strahd because a lot of it is already in Curse of Strahd

[normal junco]

well, there's the other carnival which relates back to Witchlight. There's the domain that contains Strahd's rival. other than Barovia, those might be the two most well related domains to flesh out. are there any other important ones that connect up to recent stuff?

[uncut zenith]

All of them are important, even if they’re not all popular or fully fleshed out. Especially since Ravenloft is all about traveling between a bunch of different domains.

[normal junco]

but directly to recent stuff, like 5e and 5.5e

[crystal tendon]

yeah those feel like the most likely ones to expand on and i could also see darkon getting attention because of azalin since he is such a major ravenloft figure plus harakir or lamordia could connect really well with the newer horror style theyve been leaning into lately

[flint ledge]

Well I haven't had the joy of actually playing as a player outside of one shots but probably wizard. What about you

[crystal tendon]

are you thinking about running a ravenloft campaign yourself if this book ends up going in that direction

[uncut zenith]

I’m curious about how they portray Innsmouth

[normal junco]

not likely. i tapped out at the end of 5e. but sometimes i like to live vicariously through others.

[uncut zenith]

I always get a little hesitant when people try to adapt Lovecraft stuff, so hopefully it’s handled with care

[crystal tendon]

ah wizard is a solid choice especially in ravenloft where knowledge and utility magic can really shine i usually lean toward cleric or warlock depending on the tone because they fit the gothic horror vibe really well what kind of wizard are you thinking of playing

[limber trail]

I'd actually like if they fleshed out the non-important ones and made them important. To me what's more valuable isn't deepening an already decently deep well, but it's creating some new wells to draw from. These source books imo, just as much as they should be tools to flesh out existing adventures, it'd be great if there was a focus on prompting new campaigns and campaign settings and ideas.

[crystal tendon]

i mostly like cleric

[normal junco]

we have to consider the structure that WotC is moving into with their seasons. they want to have enough encapsulated content to embody that, where people can run with it. but not so much that people just don't bother being interested and latching on to the following season's stuff.

[crystal tendon]

thats honestly a really fun way to stay connected to it especially with how different tables can make the same setting feel completely new ravenloft is one of those worlds where even just hearing other peoples stories feels like its own experience

[flint ledge]

Clerics are also great

[crystal tendon]

so is anyone here working on a campaign right now what’s the story idea or theme like if you have one yet

[crystal tendon]

why do you like playing a wizard like what made you choose it

[uncut zenith]

Wizards are versatile as heck. They can do a little bit of everything, except take a hit lol

[normal junco]

its all different flavours of the same thing. i just went full in and drank the kool-aide for Tales of the Valiant. that, and there's actions of this company that i'm not comfortable with. but that's an entirely different topic for a different place. so much has gone over back and forth in that regards.
but anyways, the 5e offshoots are all more or less the same thing with a set of tweaks that differentiate them. none are better, but each does different things better.
i mean, i do play in a 5e game that's testing out running the book by 5.5e rules, but i don't have any of the books. i'm not an edition snob.

[limber trail]

I've been toying around the idea of a slightly lower fantasy campaign. The idea is that there's a giant scar on the world - a cursed place called the blightlands, hundreds of miles across, growing slowly week by week. There in the heart of darkness, the dead wake and roam anew, crawling ever outward to claim the souls of the living. Across decades, bastions have been built and fallen to watch over the growth of the blightlands, and venture into the dark to stop the growth of the blightlands. The party would play as soldiers from one such bastion, charged with protecting the living beyond their fortress, and eventually finding a way to end this curse once and for all. A sort of fusion of death stranding, attack on titan, and baldur's gate 3 act 2.

[lusty tendon]

So im messing with the new weapon mastery mechanics and nick mixed with vex plus hunters mark is really good

Like 32 average damage output on the turn you used hunters mark

[normal junco]

at level 8 with a barbarian berserker charger i'm getting something like that per turn too

[crystal tendon]

thats actually a really healthy way to look at it at the end of the day its all about what works best for the table and the experience rather than which edition is better and it sounds like you are just enjoying the game in whatever form it takes which is really what matters most

[lusty tendon]

This is with a str of +3 at 5th level

[normal junco]

it does get confusing though. not as confusing as when i was trying to learn MtG and the Pokemon TCG at the same time. more of a "wait, which spell version is this?"

[flint ledge]

Honestly the versatility mechanics wise, having the biggest spell list and being able to learn spells from scrolls always feels great. And flavor wise being someone traveling around thee world collecting arcane secrets is awesome. (also I really love necromancers)

[crystal tendon]

which phase are you in right now are you actively playing or just planning stuff

[limber trail]

That campaign is in very early planning stages while I run my current campaign

[subtle cliff]

Im trying to run that campaign
My first time DMing

Curse of Strahd

[lusty tendon]

this is on a fighter so, i can even action surge to get extra damage to make it roughly around a 54 ave damage, again lv 5

[crystal tendon]

what are your future plans for it are you thinking of running it as a long campaign or a short one shot style story and which classes do you think would fit best for it

[crystal tendon]

that is a great first campaign to run curse of strahd is challenging but super rewarding as a dm especially because ravenloft really teaches you pacing atmosphere and player tension you are going to learn a lot from it and your blightlands idea could even evolve from that experience

[subtle cliff]

Good thing they are new players, won't know if I did a bad job

[limber trail]

I mean I'd say any class would be pretty fitting. I haven't got long term plans yet. The idea of maybe tying it into the book of vile darkness and doing some vecna stuff could be cool eventually. Currently the long term isn't my focus. It'll most likely be another long campaign though - I basically only run 100 session odysseys, they're what I have the most fun with. (for ideas of this length anyways)

[empty thicket]

yeah, its their thing mostly

before 24 adding tactical mind, fighter only purpose was damage so...

[paper portal]

hunters mark on a fighter?

[normal junco]

as for campaign, i'm a bit stuck running one-shots. my monthly game at a neighbourhood association get together most likely has randoms or a few repeat players so i can't exactly make anything procedural.

[empty thicket]

can be enspelled weapon

[subtle cliff]

I changed the start to sunless citadel,

[crystal tendon]

how much work have you already done on this idea and what other elements or features are you planning to include in it

[subtle cliff]

When they will destroy the tree, Strahd will rise, will thank them with a bow, and then leave flying in bat form...
When they get out of ravine,
They are in Barovia

[limber trail]

Not a lot of work. Just an idea I'm toying around - collecting some art, making some playlists. Early stage stuff.

[crystal tendon]

that is a really solid start sunless citadel is perfect for setting tone early because it has that mix of exploration mystery and creeping danger it could also naturally feed into your larger blightlands idea if you decide to expand it later

[crystal tendon]

where are you collecting the art from like online

or somone is making for you

[subtle cliff]

Elwin, are u a DM?

[crystal tendon]

i also made a character for that campaign and get it done digitally but the dm later said no and the campaign didnt end up happening

[crystal tendon]

hope so in future right now just playing as an player

[limber trail]

I use Artstation for collecting art, it has some really high quality concept art which is industry-level and has good anti-ai filters

[normal junco]

like the painted contept art from various game art books that come with special editions and whatnot? those are books are pretty sweet to source ideas from. hence why they are made for those games in the first place.

[limber trail]

yeah a lot of that sort of art is freely available in very high quality on artstation

[crystal tendon]

would it be better to just get someone to make it for you something custom for your campaign i feel like that would look more professional than just gathering existing art its my dm mindset

[normal junco]

i just assumed he was getting ideas and mood and theme rather than directly applying concept art

[limber trail]

I gather art for myself as a DM, not for my players. This is concept art - it's to find ideas and get a better sense of the environment

[crystal tendon]

that's why i made a character digitally for my campaign by an artist

[limber trail]

I could pay for art I guess, but it'd be a wild misuse of so much money to do not what I need. The point of the art is to find ideas, not to present ideas

I honestly don't think many DnD campaigns need commissioned art

[crystal tendon]

but unfortunately

[crystal tendon]

i feel most of needs i feel like this

because now people are making campaign and selling that campaign after sometimes

[subtle cliff]

For me, It's expensive to commision arts from where I stand

[normal junco]

i remember an addition to murphy's laws that stated once you had a mini printed for your character, they were likely to die. i wonder if that applied to character art as well.

[limber trail]

(I'm gonna be honest as a DM - sometimes players who come to me with tons of art of their character can throw me off of them. It shows that they're a player with tons of preplanned ideas for that character. That can be good to a point, but it does reach a point where it's at the detriment of a campaign - I've had a few players I didn't end up bringing into my campaigns because they were too invested in a character.)

[crystal tendon]

yeah you are right same happened with me that myn dm said to me to made character digitally but i dont have money but after it one of my friend refer me a artsit whos rates are budget friendly so i commissioned him and pay in installments

[limber trail]

Better to make a character, fall in love with them, and then get art once you're playing with them

[subtle cliff]

That's fortunate, good for ya...

And I mostly played pbp, so never really experienced even an online game...

[crystal tendon]

Yeah and now I liked my character hope so use that character in any campaign in future and when I saw campaign

[subtle cliff]

So, making an art never really crossed my mind...

[limber trail]

It can be a difficult conversation when a player has a character in mind, has their art, and then it turns out that character isn't very fitting for the campaign for whatever reason. It's one of the reasons why I dislike premade characters as a DM - make someone to fit the setting.

[crystal tendon]

May I show you my class characetr art?

[normal junco]

i often draw stupid sketches of my character when he gets new equipment that makes him look more ridiculous. tha quality is pretty bleh, but it just adds to the Temu quality of my character.

[limber trail]

i mean sure you can always chuck it in #dnd-arts-and-crafts

[crystal tendon]

Alright its allow there?

[flint ledge]

I would always rather get more things to add to the digital pile. (And also I have a table artist to bribe)

[limber trail]

oh sure it can be cool. Just not a need.

[flint ledge]

Yeah it's cool but really not a need unless you're like a big public dnd game (Aka games being uploaded or streamed live)

[subtle cliff]

Anybody here experienced with pbp campaigns?

[still plover]

Sure, just not D&D. But what would you like to know?

[pseudo moat]

Yup! Running one right now.

[subtle cliff]

Nothing specific, just curious,
Not much people play pbp

[crystal tendon]

yeah i posted check my character

[subtle cliff]

Wow, nice

[pseudo moat]

Well, I'm recruiting for one lol. I haven't started the campaign yet. Made the post in looking-for-players a few hours ago.

[subtle cliff]

Im also planning to run one, gathered 4 players for now, 3 of them are new

[pseudo moat]

I generally don't like getting new players in my pbp games haha. At least not players new to pbp. New D&D players are fine, but I very rarely accept players new to text RPs.

It's much harder to teach someone RP literacy than it is to reach them D&D.

[subtle cliff]

Well, they are new to DnD,

And I, myself never played in actual campaign before

So Im not confident myself...

I just wanted to bring some people Ik to DnD,
They said they won't try it if Im not the DM

[crystal tendon]

If you have a confident on yourself so everything goes well for you I bet

[subtle cliff]

Going something according to plan in a rare occurrence, but we all try 😂

Btw, Elwin the character art is fire...

[empty thicket]

"overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer" /jk

[crystal tendon]

Oh thankyou so much credit goes to my artist i only have idea and he bring my character to life

[empty thicket]

But be aware of something important, things might not go like you want.
Be ready for the failure

[subtle cliff]

I respect people, who go out if their way to commision an art for their idea...

[last flume]

You should tag them in the art channel

[crystal tendon]

No its not allowed maybe in this server is am i right?

[cinder magnet]

Hey i have a question about a species i really want to add into a campaign but I can't find much on them does anyone know much on the thri-kreen

[last flume]

It's pretty easy to look up no x)?

[woven flint]

They typically live in deserts
Their lifespan is so short that they don't really care for religion or hierarchical structure
They're hunter-gatherer societies

[viral mason]

guys a bit of an dumb qoustion i am pretty new to dnd why do some people demand money for sessions like dont you do it for fun

not money

[last flume]

What do you wanna know?

[woven flint]

Thri-kreen typically live like.. 20-40 years

[last flume]

I don't see why you shouldn't put the artist who actually mad that nice piece in the title

[cinder magnet]

Thank you do you know if any of the recent books have them in it just so I can actually look at there stats

[woven flint]

None of the recent books do. You can find them in spelljammer

[still plover]

Books cost money. Services used for games too. Plus, your own time is valuable. Why not put a price on it?

[cinder magnet]

There stats mostly like there unique traits abd stuff its hard to find solid information on them

[last flume]

Google DnD thri-kreen and click the first link, you'll find the player race there (but you didn't hear this from me)

[flint ledge]

Looks absolutely gorgeous

[crystal tendon]

Because everyone will thought I am promoting him thats why well this is his id
night_furry21

[bronze canopy]

Some people like to get paid to have fun. Others treat it like a job that they can enjoy. I don’t get paid for my DMing, but I sure wouldn’t mind it if it meant playing even more

[crystal tendon]

Oh thankyou so much now I am going to get my pfp soon

[cinder magnet]

I tried that but if I look anywhere else to see if anyone has made them as a playable character its very confusing

[woven flint]

They're in spelljammer

[cinder magnet]

Thank you ill try there

[woven flint]

You can find them as a playable species there

[woven flint]

Specifically;

"Spelljammer: Adventures in Space - Astral Adventurer's Guide"

[flint ledge]

I mean sure, in a way I would want to be paid, but in another way I also wouldn't want to, because it puts certain expectations on you as a DM

[cinder magnet]

Your a star thank you

[undone rain]

Thats not much

[woven flint]

Yeah, which is why they don't do a lot of nornal societal stuff like Religion

They live and die as quickly as they live, so they're pretty basic, but they're still super interesting

[flint ledge]

Well it's in true bug fashion

Speaking of lifespans which of the playable species has the shortest one?

[undone rain]

Thri-kreen and aarakockra i think

[twilit shell]

Poor Thri-Keen 😔

[undone rain]

Even kenkus live longer