dnd-discussion

[glass granite]

Like the spell, or fake one?

[timid ember]

like a spell

[narrow moss]

define "fabricate"

[barren pagoda]

That’s uncle Larry, please excuse him

[glass granite]

Then now that they’re adventuring, why don’t they just go back to the empire?

[paper portal]

thats my next pc

[timid ember]

i mean to create a fully functional magic scroll with a spell on it

[fresh laurel]

flayer maxxing

[timid ember]

be it fireball/firebolt/magic missile etc

[narrow moss]

as long as they know the spell they could make a scroll i assume

[olive storm]

He keeps grunting as he benches boulders.

[fresh laurel]

😝

[narrow moss]

would be a time and material cost along with dc checks tho

[paper portal]

yeah its different between 5e and 5.5 but both versions have rules for making scrolls

[narrow moss]

maybe.

so in short, answer is yes?

[fresh laurel]

how strong is level 20 bard

[glass granite]

Yeah there are rules for making spell scrolls. I thought you were talking about the spell Fabricate, in which you can’t.

[glass granite]

Very

[narrow moss]

as strong as any lvl 20 char.

[timid ember]

ohh okay

[narrow moss]

max level even.

[olive storm]

I forget what the exact numbers are but a level 20 Eloquence Bard cannot roll below a 25 on Persuasion.

[paper portal]

some level 20 characters are definitely stronger than others

[timid ember]

do u happen to know the implications of making one?

[narrow moss]

most campaigns end at 10-12, maybe 14 tho

[barren pagoda]

Technically a discord server being an advanced elder brain makes a proper sense and story

[fresh laurel]

DAYUM

level 20s are insane

[narrow moss]

yep

[glass granite]

It just costs a bit of gold and time, no major implications.

[timid ember]

i mean how much xp or milestones does a character need to go from 1 to 20

[narrow moss]

...so much

[timid ember]

seems kinda broken, nice

[barren pagoda]

🙂

[narrow moss]

a lot.

[fresh laurel]

19

[severe rampart]

Just cast meteor swarm against my party (they're level 6)

[glass granite]

Well, “a bit” might be an understatement, I don’t remember the specific rules

[paper portal]

its not really broken but definitely a good use of downtime yeah

[glass granite]

What makes it broken to you?

[barren pagoda]

So you see there’s coughing baby and there’s a nuke

[narrow moss]

assuming you even survive, level 20 is a lot of time

[olive storm]

It hot.

Am hot.

[narrow moss]

you will not hit that in a few sessions.

[fresh laurel]

:3

[olive storm]

Guys help me cool off.

[fresh laurel]

🤤😝

[paper portal]

true

[timid ember]

exactly

[olive storm]

I drunk a whole ice cold sweet tea and I'm still positively roasting.

[narrow moss]

drops ice cube in back of your shirt

[barren pagoda]

Ao was feeling like a punk rock dude and decided to intervene and level up that party within the first 5 minutes

[olive storm]

[narrow moss]

bleps

[barren pagoda]

Ao: “watch me”

[paper portal]

simply live in a colder place its like 20 degrees here rn

[olive storm]

I am not looking forward to this weekend. We gotta buy and install an air conditioner.

[fresh laurel]

whats the average peoples age i would face if i find a campaign from find-a-game section?
i see most peoples here are older than me

[narrow moss]

oh man idk.

[fresh laurel]

uncs fr

[olive storm]

Most of the people on here are elves so about 200 for most.

Not me though. I'm the goat.

[narrow moss]

more for dm's.

[paper portal]

yeah my parents are really annoying about using ac lol even when its like 40 degrees

[fresh laurel]

the elves messes up the statistics really

[timid ember]

there are a lot of flavors tbh, i have seen many that ask for +18 other that straight up say they are over 30 and other that say they are under 17

[fresh laurel]

for sure

[timid ember]

maybe half (?)

[barren pagoda]

I’m a newborn mindflayer, those brain thingy

[fresh laurel]

18-25 contains like 70 percent of the population i suppose

[narrow moss]

the intellect devourers?

[barren pagoda]

Yes that

[glass granite]

There are some minors on the server tho, certainly

[barren pagoda]

I’m newborn so idk the term yet

[narrow moss]

well they're a diff monster but yeah

[timid ember]

the tentacle heads?

[narrow moss]

the walking brains

[timid ember]

with a big ass eye and mouth? or is that a different one

[narrow moss]

man idk

[barren pagoda]

They’re honestly cool imo
I wonder if they can be made good

[narrow moss]

they aren't mindflayers tho

[ornate rapids]

a walking brain that isn't an intellect devourer...
a brain golem

[narrow moss]

uh not what i said.

[barren pagoda]

I see, I thought they were baby mindflayers or newborns but fair

[narrow moss]

well the mindflayers I know about use a parasitic worm to transform people into mindflayers.

idk why they can make intellect devourers but they do.

[ornate rapids]

well they are brain dogs and everyone loves dogs

[narrow moss]

lol i hate that you're technically correct.

[barren pagoda]

My guess is, intellect Devourers are what happens when a body dies before ceremorphosis completes or the brain/tadpole needs to part way from the body before the process completes

[ornate rapids]

mindflayers use them for hunting
they are pets and servants alike

[barren pagoda]

Would be nice if we could use one and use it as a pet

[narrow moss]

they are servant of mindflayers that eat your brain and replace it

using your body as a meat mech.

[barren pagoda]

Yeah but so does wild cats

[narrow moss]

they are very dangerous.

[barren pagoda]

So are cats

[ornate rapids]

in one of the campaigns i'm in, we came across an intellect devourer in a cage and one of the party kept it as a pet

[barren pagoda]

Absolute madlad

[narrow moss]

what i am saying is they are not mindflayers

they are psionic aberrations though.

[barren pagoda]

Ah fair. I’m joking mostly, just thought it’d be cool to have one be used as a pet by a party

[ornate rapids]

it's "domesticated" in that it didn't immediately try to kill us when let out of the cage for a brief time
it stays in the cage though

[barren pagoda]

What does that mean?

[narrow moss]

just that.

[ornate rapids]

psionic, in that they have psychic powers

aberrations, in that they are aberrant creatures

[narrow moss]

and aberration is a type of creature yeah

[ornate rapids]

basically alien-like beings that aren't originally native to material planes, nor the inner nor outer planes

[narrow moss]

so i guess they're mindflayer adjacent but they aren't in the same species.

[barren pagoda]

I see

[narrow moss]

brain dogs.

[barren pagoda]

So like from the same world but different species

[ornate rapids]

they are related to mindflayers in that mindflayers use them and they both occupy the same areas (typically underdark)

they are also related in that if you fail your INT saves, you're going to have a bad time

[narrow moss]

better hope you got protection from good and evil on you

[barren pagoda]

Fair

[narrow moss]

anyway a "baby" mindflayer would be their tadpoles.

it's an eye-opening experience, i hear.

[ornate rapids]

a mind-blowing one too

[narrow moss]

kinda like a person with a dog. So yes.

it's just these specific ones want to eat your brain.

[barren pagoda]

Yes yes yes, it begins with fever and memory loss. Soon, the infected mind begins to fracture, hallucinations taking hold as the parasite consumes the host from within. Hair falls away, blood seeps from every orifice, and the bones begin to twist into a new and unnatural shape. The jaw splits open to make room for four writhing tentacles, while the old skin sloughs away like gore, revealing the flesh of something no longer mortal. When the transformation is complete, the person who once lived in that body is gone. What remains is ghaik: a mind flayer, born from the ruin of its host.

[narrow moss]

lol

[barren pagoda]

I’ve been told this… at least 20 times

[narrow moss]

tbh the brain dogs scare me more after what i read.

[barren pagoda]

I only know two, they both said I was “so beautiful”

That’s all I care for

[narrow moss]

I've never recruited Us to be fair.

[barren pagoda]

Really? That scene with Us is what got me hooked in the game. The game went 50-500 for me

[narrow moss]

either i play someone very not okay with evil brains or i'm playing Durge.

just has not come up

[barren pagoda]

I play as a very “let me first observe before I make a choice” character tbh

My friend on her solo run killed everything without having 90% of dialogues

I mostly only fight with unskippable fights

[narrow moss]

does your friend even like rpg's?

[barren pagoda]

They’re a completionist

[narrow moss]

ah.

[barren pagoda]

Assassin Ranger with paladin sorcerer

Sneak attack smite

[narrow moss]

that combo is hurting my brain.

[barren pagoda]

If it wasn’t for me, they’d not know Yurgir can talk

[narrow moss]

remind me who Yurgir is

[barren pagoda]

Act 2, Raphael sends you to kill a devil

[narrow moss]

yeah i thought it was him

you can talk to his pet too

[barren pagoda]

Yup, they liked the pet and was sad it wasn’t recruitable

[narrow moss]

aw

[barren pagoda]

Or saveable

Then I played with them and well the cat is saved

[narrow moss]

i used that guy's crossbows for my Asterion in my embrace durge run

i had 3 party members only

well 4 if you count Minthara but i don't.

[barren pagoda]

Basically I am not against killing or combat but in a weird way, I play with making as many allies as possible

[narrow moss]

5 if you count Gale giving me a hand.

[barren pagoda]

I see, yeah he drops that legendary crossbow

[narrow moss]

my asterion did ranged sneak attacks with two hand crossbows

it worked really well tbh

[barren pagoda]

Yeah so my friend usually plays with Astarion alone, so you can guess how it goes

They ambush and kill everyone

Goblins were dead before my friend even entered Druid grove

[narrow moss]

lol

i have considered doing things in that order.

[barren pagoda]

It prevents a lot of quests

All the inside quests are gone

[narrow moss]

oh i know

but i have considered it.

[barren pagoda]

I do feel the game punishes me more than my friend cause a lot of time I can’t fully do what I want

[narrow moss]

crpg's always have that issue.

[barren pagoda]

I can’t broker peace between goblins and tieflings

And most importantly, I can’t happily play as a double agent which is my natural position

I prefer the enemy to think I’m a friend so I’ll often tell them worse shits

But in bg3, all your companions believe in what you say

[narrow moss]

the grove thought i was on their side until the final fight.

shame i was already on the wall

[barren pagoda]

Nah I can’t do that

[timid ember]

guys as a monk if u use a enhanced or enchanted quarterstaff does it stop counting as a monk weapon?

[ornate rapids]

No

as long as it's a weapon that qualifies
which in 2024 rules, is a melee simple or melee martial 'light' weapon

[sinful crater]

Hey chats dnd is expanding more into shows and live play content similar to shows like Critical Role

[hot gate]

Is that a statement or a question?

Overall though, there are plenty of live play shows for sure.

[timber holly]

Hi
Is there a spell to make heeled boots and high heels practical footwear

[barren pagoda]

How long till DND becomes public property tho? Hasbro is railing it to the ground

[hot gate]

It's doing just fine

[glass granite]

Fly could work lol

Technically, you can wear whatever if you don’t have to stand on the ground

[hot gate]

Nothing prevents you from simply flavoring your footwear as high heels

There's nothing in the rules that punishes you for having somewhat impractical clothes, just look at the class visuals examples in the PHB

[little stream]

Oh it's slay and slaying time boys

[timber holly]

PHB?

[timber holly]

?

[hot gate]

it stands for Player's Handbook

[timber holly]

Are the outfits bad?

[hot gate]

No, they're quite fun, just not always very practical looking!

My point was, looking practical isn't a requirement

[hard dew]

Impractical clothing are so fun
Like yes my rogue is wearing a cloak that isn't very good for stealth
But he's cute so idc

[timber holly]

What's the cloak like

[sinful crater]

Yeah, it's a statement

What do you think about it

[hot gate]

I think the community certainly is yeah

[barren pagoda]

Outfits can also be glamoured, like cast magic to change appearance while keeping stats. So you can wear anything and everything you want really

[timber holly]

Neat

[tame kelp]

What spell has the LONGEST description?

[opaque dragon]

I made my newest character Peppino from pizza tower. Barbarian human artisan

[opaque dragon]

What are we, Google?

[tame kelp]

Well, it's debatable so I'm not sure.

[timber holly]

I think it's prismatic wall

[limber trail]

Wish potentially?

[tame kelp]

Bro, on Merlin's beard sake.

Why they don't just make the description simple.

"Ask to get anything from DM."

Done

[paper portal]

i wonder why they wouldnt allow that

[limber trail]

No I’m very on board with wish being long

It’s wish. It should have limitations

Not a lot but some

[tame kelp]

I "wish" for someone to love me. 🥀

Anyway

On to the next weird question.

[hard dew]

It was a devil looking cloak
I made it when I was 14 so it's a bit edgy I know

[timber holly]

I mean
You were 14
Everyone was edgy at that age

[hard dew]

Ofc lol

Also rogues are a bit edgier by default anyway

[tawdry sentinel]

I made some 2024 spell cards and I think Wish is across 3. 😅

[tame kelp]

Urgh I wish Vortex Warp can also capable of warping objects so that I can disarm enemies.

It can only target creature smh.

[last flume]

Telekinesis fixes that

[tame kelp]

4th level magic?

[last flume]

5th

[tame kelp]

DAMN IT

My scribe wizard is only lvl 6

[narrow moss]

can you warp someone without their possessions or is that a no

[last flume]

The spell doesn't say so, so no

[blazing ravine]

Haven't played DND in like 6 months are the Psion's still just UA

[sleek cloud]

yes

[limber trail]

I'd assume not

[celest holly]

I need dnd beyond help with a character before next Friday.

[sleek cloud]

alright, lets go to character discussion

[celest holly]

I don’t have access to harengon on my own.

[uncut zenith]

Gotta buy it, or join a campaign where someone has it and can share it

[idle oar]

Hey just a note that it's against the server rules and D&DBeyond's terms of service to solicit for content access

[celest holly]

Last session there was TPK previous Harengon pc was only makable through a friend that use to have content sharing.

[uncut zenith]

But per terms of service, you have to join that campaign specifically with the purpose of playing in it. Not just for access to content you didn’t pay for.

[idle oar]

You could homebrew the harengon species from your previous character using the homebrew tools - just don't publish it.

[steel storm]

Just checking what my name is?

Nope it's the same , huh

[idle oar]

Silly Vanilly

[sleek cloud]

silliard vanilliard

[steel storm]

I got some notification about a server name

[idle oar]

Yes - can't use non-standard fonts, symbols, characters, etc. - see server rules

[steel storm]

Ohhhh, it's changed my font. Gotcha

[idle oar]

Moderation may change it for you and send you a notification via Dyno

[steel storm]

Yeah that's what happened. Cool

[modern scroll]

hello !

[idle oar]

Welcome to the official D&D Discord server ran by Wizards of the Coast.

[modern scroll]

My best friend just asked me to join a game he wants to gm , however , I feel like im forcing myself because his style of GMing doesnt sit with me at all . How do i say no

[uncut zenith]

Just say “no thanks”

[idle oar]

Well first have a discussion about what is not so fun with their DM style and see if you can reach an understanding

[modern scroll]

Weve played in the past and i just wasnt having fun and no hate to him lol , just not my cup of tea

[hard dew]

Harengon mentioned
My favourite race

[steel storm]

Join a different one and say you're busy lol

[uncut zenith]

If you’re uncomfortable with being honestly about how you don’t think their style of GMing doesn’t fit what you’re looking for in a campaign, just come up with a white-lie excuse like “Sorry, I’m busy”

[modern scroll]

I am gming one and in one at the time but i wont use that as an excuse , i gotta find a way to politely decline

[celest holly]

Only one other player besides myself used dnd beyond. Everyone else dm includedl used physical

[uncut zenith]

Not all friends make good D&D friends

[idle oar]

"Thanks but I'm not interested in playing right now"...

[shy stirrup]

Tell him just that. No DM should take offense if somebody tells them there's a style mismatch. If I run combat-heavy, serious political campagains, and you say, naw, I prefer whimsical RP focused games, then you do you, and I'll do me.

[idle oar]

You do know you can use the D&DBeyond homebrew tools to recreate things from shared physical books? Just don't publish them.

[hard dew]

I had the same problem and one of my fellow players just shared harengon with me (in the app)

[modern scroll]

yk what i might do that

[uncut zenith]

Yeah, it helps if you make it clear that it’s not the DM’s fault and that they’re not “doing it wrong”, there’s just a mismatch in expectations and style

[celest holly]

In hindsight perhaps after archiving my dead character as a pdf on my phone I should have just edited the sheet heavily on dnd beyond into a new character.

[steel storm]

I don't get to play dnd long enough for one of my characters to die, heck I've only ever been downed once

[idle oar]

Just use the D&DBeyond homebrew tools and recreate the Harengon species for your own personal use.

[torpid hound]

"The Fighter is good at using any weapon"
Laughs in Loading

[idle oar]

Welcome to game balance mechanics

[celest holly]

Death by ghouls

Level 11 character

I’m making my new character’s build something that can do lots of radiant damage.

[halcyon forum]

to be fair, the fighter can afford the the feat to ignore loading more easily than other classes

[torpid hound]

Which one?

[hard dew]

Seeing people play together irl makes me so jealous lowkey
I live in the middle of basically no where so I don't have anyone to play with

[halcyon forum]

crossbow expert or gunner

[torpid hound]

What the heck is Gunner?

[halcyon forum]

gunner is a feat from tashas cauldron of everything

[feral fulcrum]

A Feat

[torpid hound]

Doesn't the Heavy Crossbow miss out on the dual wielding feature of Crossbow Expert?

[halcyon forum]

sure

you can use great weapon master with it to compensate the damage though

[feral fulcrum]

That's not them being not good at Guns/Crossbows...that's just the nature of non-magical ranged weapons? You need magic weapons in order to automagically spawn bullets in your gun/arrows in your crossbow.

[torpid hound]

They suffer from Loading harder than any other class because they have 3 Extra Attacks

[uncut zenith]

Yeah cuz heavy crossbows are two-handed, so you wouldn’t really be capable of dual wielding if you’re wielding one anyways

[feral fulcrum]

Well, yes? But that's not them being bad at it?

[halcyon forum]

if you build a fighter with a heavy crossbow, you get the feat.

its not that complicated

[idle oar]

Again game balance mechanics... that's the, IMO, pretty obvious reason why this is so

[earnest berry]

Greetings

[hard dew]

Hi!

[tepid radish]

In theory it's meant to be balanced in the sense that you are having early higher power, requiring more investment to get full use out of the weapon with dual wielding/extra attack
-# If it's actually necessary balance is an entirely separate discussion

[celest holly]

The only survivors was the half orc bard that left the village out of sheer obliviousness, and another player who couldn’t attend the session. Because the ghouls never found out the bard had disguise self. Second dumbest character in the party. First place goes to the warforged that kept trying to steal things while being jumped by wood golems. Black Dragonborn Ranger went down succeeded death saves, went down a second time, and died.

My character was the smartest one in the party many sessions ago even found a tome for bumping up my character’s wisdom score by 2

The build was Monk 4 (Kensei)/Barbarian 5(Path of the giant)/Fighter

max hp was 130. And I had the tough feat…

[shy stirrup]

There's always a bigger fish.
Or, ghoul, in this example.

[celest holly]

Should have tied up the six sleeping ghouls before burning the council hut down.

[shy stirrup]

Coulda, shoulda woulda

Oh wells

[celest holly]

Also forgot to pair rabbit hop with step of the wind

How fast are ghouls?

Yeah Windchaser is the surname. And I will use this nickname Until I decide a name for my new PC.

[glad arch]

Average, 30ft/round

[mighty wharf]

Let me tell you all a funny story; there was this one time the DM decided to bait us into a dramatic fight scene with a bunch of guards leaving off on a cliffhanger, so the next session we were all super paranoid and trying to find a way to escape. I, having a broom of flying, decide to mount it and fly out the window, but roll immensely low on perception so I don't even notice there is actually glass there, and get stuck in the window with my broom, having to spend a turn dislodging it. I'm upset because "who doesn't notice a window" remembered I rolled low and I'm playing a robot, and realized that it was actually funny asf so I just take the L and laugh it off.

Anyways thank you for story time bye

Off to fly into a window

[celest holly]

I’m annoyed my char died because of my unfulfilled goals of no bracers of defense, no boots of speed no taking fighter initiate feat at barbarian 6 to have a second fighting style.

[mighty wharf]

Barbarian 6?

My friend this uh sounds like a kind of terrible plan ngl

Not a bad plan as much as like just not really actionable or realistic

Not a SMART goal yk? The acronym.

Why level 6 and not level 4 or 8? Multiclassing?

[idle oar]

I think they mean take barbarian at level 6 - but also it's their game and character

[celest holly]

The build was Monk 4 (Kensei)/Barbarian 5(Path of the giant)/Fighter 2

max hp was 130. And I had the tough feat… 100ft dash

[idle oar]

Ah I see

[uncut zenith]

Also worth noting that unexpected character deaths is part of the game. All those things are rewards you get for character progression, but if your character dies, you don’t get those things.

[limber trail]

I mean, that's not necessarily something you're guaranteed to get. There's no expectation you have to get items like bracers of defence or boots of speed.

Sometimes characters die. That happens.

[mighty wharf]

Yeah and these are MY thoughts, nothing wrong with barbarian just don't know how you're taking a feat at barbarian 6 even multiclassing. Feats are determined by individual class level not character level. And relying on the DM giving you super specific magic items just doesn't seem like a good plan to me.

It's not the character it's the plan

[celest holly]

Who remembers when the highest difficulty on dnd beyond encounter builder was “this was would kill Tiamat”?

[gleaming loom]

Does GOO inherently have a voice?

Like I know it uses Telepathy but does that Telepathy have some defining sound

[halcyon forum]

telepathy, by definition, is talking inside your heads, no sounds

[gleaming loom]

Yea but like, how can I know GOO is the one talking, Is there any defining trait?

I don't like the "You just know" explanation

[fair plinth]

Maybe make the voice in your head unsettling and weird, as eldritch as possible

[idle oar]

There really isn't a defining game mechanical trait

So decribe it however you want that makes sense for the D&D game you're playing

[gleaming loom]

Also, Can you do minor illusion voice with a language I don't know?

[idle oar]

Probably not

[gleaming loom]

What if like, I try to mimic the language, Like trying to speak Italian but none of the words is real

[fair plinth]

I mean, if you remember words from that language but you dont know what they mean you could string together nonsense sentences

[idle oar]

DM could decide it's possible but if I were your DM I would require your character to know about the things you're making a minor illusion of

Otherwise what's to prevent the character manifesting a small nuclear weapon? 😉

[gleaming loom]

Minor Illusion + Unseen Servant to make them sound like GOO (However they can even be described)

[idle oar]

Check with your DM - thay may allow it but ultimately it's up to them to decide if it makes sense for their game.

[gleaming loom]

I mean It's probably an intimidation check

Not exactly game breaking

[idle oar]

Or persuasion or performance

[gleaming loom]

performance?

[idle oar]

Lots of ways the DM may decide to handle it

[gleaming loom]

Hol on whats performance

[uncut zenith]

It’s a charisma-based skill

Charisma-based by default, at least

[idle oar]

You're putting on a performance to convince someone that they are being spoken to by this outside of normal reality being

[gleaming loom]

I guess so..

[twilit sail]

Its when you perform

[idle oar]

But something the DM would need to decide if this is permitted and what checks are needed

[uncut zenith]

Yeah, by default, the DM decides on what the appropriate skill check is. Unless there’s a specific feature that tells you what to roll.

[gleaming loom]

I mean, Minor Illusion is usually Investigation check

[idle oar]

But you're using it to try and "convince" someone else - so the DM may decide a different skill check is needed (or even a combination of skill checks)

[gleaming loom]

Also is it bad for me to use GOO and still have 4 Language

GOO already kinda gives you access to all language with Awakened Mind right

[idle oar]

It's only bad if it's not fun or negatively impacts others having fun at your game.

[gleaming loom]

B-But minmax..

[idle oar]

This channel isn't #optimization.
And anyway I focus more on the fact we're playing a game and the point of games like D&D is to have fun together with others.

[gleaming loom]

Did not know that channel exist

[idle oar]

Check out id:browse to see all our many channels for specific D&D topics!

[lime plume]

G'morning all

Today is the day. My foray into D&D after decades being away. I'm nervous. 🙂

[idle oar]

Have fun! Focus on making sure you and everyone you're playing with feels safe and is having fun together!

You got this!

[vast saddle]

I think I will not touch fighter for a very long time. I feel like Homelander in the last episode every time I play as a fighter

Willing to do dirty deeds just to get admitted to a party as one

[blazing ravine]

What's the general consensus on chain pacts in 5.5e?

[celest holly]

My issue would be so much simpler to resolve if importing character sheet PDFs was a feature dnd beyond had.

[blissful ibex]

Chainpact is decent early on, but it falls off hard
can also just grab Find Familiar via Tome Pact (though without the cool extra forms, add-on invocations, or 1 action cast time)

[blazing ravine]

They fall off even with the tome pact invocations?

[blissful ibex]

Chain pact falls off even including the invocations that branch off of it, ye

likely fine through tier 2 though, which is where most games play anyway

[gleaming loom]

I saw some people say Awakened Mind is one way but I feel like the description is closer to two way, which one is true?

[blissful ibex]

issue is that the familiars really don't scale at all, and you reach a point where they get blown away by the first AoE to hit the party; which is commonly the opening move of whatever you're fighting, especially if you're low on init

[blazing ravine]

Aw damn

Thanks for responding

[blissful ibex]

Like I said, generally going to be fine into like mid to late tier 2, which is where most campaigns end, but if going past that I'd stick with EBARB(with or without tomepact) or Bladepact

[blissful ibex]

no problem c:

[barren pagoda]

I hope in the coming days they make it such that Shadow Blade is a one time ritual spell, no concentration and Barbarian rage just adds +2 damage and reduce damage by +2 instead of scaling off str alone

[rough basalt]

What

[blissful ibex]

changes to a key class feature that drastic is something that wouldn't be happening until the next edition of the core rules (likely a good 6~10 years from now)

[serene jolt]

Tmw your entire subclass is reliant on having frontliners with no good use for their reactions and you are in a Westmarch so your party varies. But when you have those types of people in your game, you are laughing maniacally.

Or on the other side of the coin, you are stuck with a bunch of spellcasters and sobbing inside

[blissful ibex]

the trick is to have plans set up for either scenario

[rough basalt]

Barbarian only getting +2 and -2 would just be like just kill the class at that point.

[serene jolt]

Either way I'm still a bard so I have other things I can do. But my subclass features are pretty reliant on frontliners.

[empty thicket]

Yep

But later you have Summons soo....

Summon undead, fey, aberration, Fiend and finally Dominate Monster

[blissful ibex]

which none of the Chainpact invocations interact with

would be a nice way to keep them relevant though, if they did

[empty thicket]

YEp, sadly they dont. But that would be for a Summoner warlock, idk if such thing exist

[blissful ibex]

UA Vestige Patron warlock is sort of a summoner

[empty thicket]

Cant find it but yeah, maybe make Pact of Chain give a bonus to summons in general would be nice

or a third upgrade of such thing

[blissful ibex]

Mystic Subclasses UA, the one that had the Gish monk and spellthief rogue and throatpunch counterspell pally
https://media.dndbeyond.com/compendium-images/ua/mystic-subclasses/mrF6k4xf0yYFJL2m/UA2026-MysticSubclasses.pdf

[empty thicket]

like Pact of blade do

[rough basalt]

Not looking forward to when I get my hands on my ravenloft

Cause ik it's gonna make wanna run a game I currently can't.

[blissful ibex]

They beefed up Hollow Warden

the long deserved really nice ranger subclass

[empty thicket]

yeah seems to be deep summoner but in one type of creature, the "Vestige"

[rough basalt]

Tho the dopamine of getting my hands on yet another 5.5e W will be good

[fossil hollow]

wait, did they show any changes since the ua?

[blissful ibex]

from the thing I saw; aura causes fear now; uses Favored Enemy uses instead of needing to conc on HM, reduced to 1 minute duration, and they have some sort of reaction attack or something IIRC

basically Bladesinger Ranger

[fossil hollow]

wait, not reliant on HM? daaaaaamn

expending uses of hm for another effect but smaller duration is an interesting choice actually

ranger borrowing from druid (again) lmao

[rough basalt]

I like that idea

I feel for certain subs using HM itself can be good while others should be uses HM uses like druid uses WS charges for subs

Which reminds me, i wanna play a Winter Walker Ranger at some point

[bitter garden]

Anyone who has seen The legend of Vox Machina, its very good, def recommended

[barren badger]

has it released?

[narrow moss]

i mean ranger always seemed to me to be a more martial druid in a way

i know that isn't accurate but it the vibe i get sometimes lol

[timid anvil]

I mean, Ranger is ment to be to druid what Paladin is ment to be to Cleric so a more Martial focused version of it so the comparison isn't far of^^

[narrow moss]

true

[blissful ibex]

another 3 weeks or so IIRC

2026-06-16ish

[barren badger]

oh okay, it sounded as if someone had seen the finalized subclasses

[blissful ibex]

there was apparently a leak of the prebuilt characters for thje included module, so we have partial, unconfirmed info on the level 3 features of a few of thje subclasses

[fossil hollow]

Early access and LGS book release is in the 2nd of June

[barren badger]

ah, okay! that makese sense

[rare epoch]

I honestly see that

[onyx lark]

does anyone have a game a can join?

[cosmic roost]

Ready to play Dungeons & Dragons?

Visit #find-a-game for everything you need to start your search, including:

• Instructions for finding a game here on the server (including how to post in our #looking-for channels).
• Suggestions for finding a game outside of this server.
• Basic advice to help you in your hunt.

[onyx lark]

i am new to dnd

[idle oar]

Please use the Looking For Game channels to find a game - it's off-topic to solicit/organize games outside of the LFG channels.

Read #find-a-game to learn how to use the LFG channels

[onyx lark]

ok :p

[feral fulcrum]

The one that really felt like a Copy Paste of Undead Warlock to be frank.

[sly crest]

Question. I know the Defiler sorcerer is a throwback, but how do they get their powers?

[feral fulcrum]

The same way any other Sorcerer gets their stuff. A couple dozen different possible ways that mostly boil down to "Make something up that makes sense to you and your DM"

[blissful ibex]

still one of the best ranger subclasses yet printed

[sly crest]

you’re no fun I imagine someone running over a squirrel and them being endowed with powers of death and decay

[fossil hollow]

Your innate power siphons life essence from the
surrounding world. At your command, creatures
grow sick and plants wither to husks. You draw
power from the corruption of life it

Its just a part of arcane magic in Athas

[feral fulcrum]

It definitely feels a little over-tuned to me. But eh, let Ranger have nice things. They deserve a heavily combat focused Subclass

[sly crest]

Yeah, I remember that Wizards are called Defilers on Athas, but what about the FR?

[fossil hollow]

there isnt really anything like them in FR

That UA is just Dark Sun stuff

[sly crest]

So I heard. It seemed out of place

[blissful ibex]

I mean, The Druid and the fighter at least are pretty setting agnostic

also the Psion to an extent

[feral fulcrum]

You've could also just flavor it as it functionally being powered from like the Shadowfell or Negative Energy Plane. Because both love sucking the life out of everything.

[sly crest]

I’m actually super pumped to envision a world with both psions and magic

[feral fulcrum]

Psychic Basically Wizards and Actually Wizards.

[cobalt escarp]

me too, some of my favorite characters has been psi warriors or soul knifes

[sly crest]

Tell me about the psi warriors! I've had trouble synthesizing the two ideas

soulknife would make an excellent spy

[lavish flame]

you ever see a little indie movie called Star Wars?

[sly crest]

force = psionics

haven't seen it, no, I don't care for movies much

[shy stirrup]

Psionics was notorious in 1e, hopefully the 5.5 playtesting gets different results

[feral fulcrum]

I don't remember any DND Psychics having Thought Lightning

[sly crest]

for some reason I imagine Psi Warriors being more lightly armored, because I imagine they rely more on mobility than face tanking hits

I do like the idea of infusing your weapon, that's a fun mechanic

[uncut zenith]

Yeah, they’re quite literally Jedi without lightsabers

Though they can eventually get magic weapons that act similar to lightsabers, like a sun sword

[rotund thunder]

This is such a niche complaint but for all the things I enjoy about 2024 rules, I'm also annoyed by certain minor ribbon features being removed, especially for monk and paladin

[atomic kayak]

Psionics are a part of most settings to some degree, and even then if they arent specifically... psionics is just magic.

[rotund thunder]

For example, why does ancients paladin go from living forever to a feature that only prevents visibly aging. It had one of the only features that prevented aging already, and now it's only a visible aging that but you still die at the normal time for your species

Same with various monk ribbon features

[sly crest]

that is bs, man

[rotund thunder]

the class is way better to play now, but losing fun things like speaking every language is such a weird removal

[sly crest]

how are you supposed to join the ancients now?

[rotund thunder]

Mind you, the druid kept their ribbon feature to extend their lifespan by 10 times

but ancients paladin and monk got features regarding aging removed for kinda random reasons

[sly crest]

so you can turn into a bear 10 times more often!

[rotund thunder]

And also, to be fair, 2014 monks only had the visible aging thing, and I believe a few other features did similar things, but why can't a level 15 monk live forever, why is it only a visual thing that still lets you die of old age despite being immune to diseases and pretty much everything that would actually kill someone from aging IRL?

[sly crest]

IIRC there's technically no such thing as dying from natural causes

Does the body ever go "I've had enough" in the abscence of disease or injury?

[rotund thunder]

I kinda wish there were more official ways to live forever, but instead the designers insist on removing those, or only letting those features be a visible aging thing so you still die at the normal age you just never look old

[sly crest]

apparently immortality is something only bad guys want 🙄

[narrow moss]

yeah that is a random thing to remove.

I never even knew that about Ancients

I just wanted to play one because the flavor text

[sly crest]

excellent reason to play one

[narrow moss]

being a light in the darkness because you want joy in a dark world is better than "my god commands it"

[rotund thunder]

When the classes and subclasses were getting changed for the 2024 content, I was really hoping they would change the annoying weird ribbon features that only caused you to visibly age but didn't prevent death by old age, rather than making it harder

Also, ancients paladin is pretty blatantly based on the immortal green knight

[narrow moss]

oh obviously

but i mean rangers are also a thing cuz lotr.

[feral fulcrum]

I think the intention with things like that is to push the narrative of "Only the Undead can be immortal, at every living things expense" sort of mindset. " Well, at the same time of ignoring all the powerful Fey, Gods, and other Immortal beings that don't need to be soul-slurping Wizard Zombies, or Vampires.

[rotund thunder]

Angels are immortal, why can't a champion of good be? it's such a weird thing

[narrow moss]

idk

because they're players that society would not want to shun?

[feral fulcrum]

5E is kind of a poor system to chase such fantasies anyway IMO

Because it's fairly limited in scope

[rotund thunder]

I don't know, it's a reasonable goal for a character to want to live forever or at least not die of old age

especially by level 15 and beyond

[sly crest]

Have toyed with the idea of a lich that doesn't slurp souls, at the cost of being kind of useless in combat. But combat is less important than research or, more importantly, remembering history and atrocities so the world will never forget

[rotund thunder]

And it's incredibly odd that monks and ancients paladins got their ribbon features removed or tweaked, but druids keep their anti-aging feature because uhhhhh reasons I guess lmao

doesn't even need to live forever, living much longer like the archdruid feature allows would also work for the fantasy

[sly crest]

someone on the team is a druid main 100%

[sly crest]

ye

[narrow moss]

tbh i would stay pure cleric

[feral fulcrum]

I can see why Monk's thing got removed, because it was fairly Stereotypical, and they were trying to move away from stereotypes

[narrow moss]

you don't want to mc in general unless you have a very specific reason for why

[rotund thunder]

I do understand getting away from the eastern martial artist stereotype for monk as a class

[feral fulcrum]

It was the Ye Olde Hyper Ancient Monk On A Mountain trope stuff

[rotund thunder]

but also speaking every language was a cool feature that I miss dearly, could've even replaced it with telepathy or something since that would be a neat utility and telepathy by default already works no matter the languages (as long as the target speaks at least one language)

Also worth noting due to the existence of the clone spell, all classes with access to clone (or wish to cast clone through it) can make clones and be young and immortal forever, no evil necromancy required, and that bypasses not just death by old age, but all forms of death

[sly crest]

Monk flavor is tricky for me. I know Beau from CR exists but I don't, like, ever picture monks as anything but male.

[narrow moss]

Keres is requesting your location

[twilit sail]

#optimization

[rotund thunder]

Ty Lee from avatar is a go to example for me

[narrow moss]

def

[rotund thunder]

She even does stunning strikes

[narrow moss]

performer bg even

[rotund thunder]

For clarity, cleric (due to accessing wish at level 20 with divine intervention in 5.5), bard, wizard, and sorcerer all get to live eternally thanks to the clone spell if they want

druid doesn't quite get immortality but their remaining lifespan is increased by 10 times for each 1 year they would've lived so they'll still live a very long time, with an elf, dwarf, gnome, or other long lived species living well into their thousands if they become an archdruid

[fossil hollow]

Theres a myriad of kung fu movies with female martial artists

[narrow moss]

glad i read clone because it was disturbing me to think about.

[rotund thunder]

What was disturbing you? It's just some light necromancy

[narrow moss]

the idea it would be conscious

[fossil hollow]

With clone, its your soul transferring to a new body

[narrow moss]

but nah it doesn't work that way

[fossil hollow]

Simulacrum is the one that makes a seperate copy of the person

[narrow moss]

i just read it so I know now

wouldn't want an Alters situation lol

[rotund thunder]

This isn't SOMA, fortunately, and in a world where souls objectively exist clone is just a flesh vessel, it's not a separate entity from you with any kind of Ship of Theseus problem

[narrow moss]

just saying what my first impression was before i just read it

[fossil hollow]

Alters situation?

[narrow moss]

game. The Alters.

[rotund thunder]

All good, though funny enough I do believe in older editions it had a chance to backfire and the clones could actually wake up on their own sometimes

[fossil hollow]

Like, Fate Alters?

[glossy otter]

I mean....looks at the Manshoon

[narrow moss]

You clone yourself to survive.

[sly crest]

Oh, absolutely. Mortal Kombat is inspired by wuxia movies, and Kitana and Mileena are iconic. There's Toph and Korra, among others.

[rotund thunder]

Manshoon did have an incident where all his clones/simulacrums rebelled and fought with each other and now there's just a few left in various lands

[sly crest]

Crane Kung Fu was developed by a young woman trying to shoo a crane away.

idk if any of them were monks, though

[rotund thunder]

A more recent example of this kind of plotline is Subnautica 2, funny enough

[glossy otter]

That does create an interesting question, what happens if the simulacrum is activated when the original exists?

[narrow moss]

yeah the reprinting

[rotund thunder]

Though in Subnautica's case there's never more than one of you at a time

[narrow moss]

but are you still you?

did you ever really exist?

[rotund thunder]

The company encourages you not to worry about it, and the same is true in DND, don't worry about it!

[narrow moss]

all you are told is you were stored digitally and sent to colonize a planet

lol

[sly crest]

Scratch that, I would consider Korra a monk

[rotund thunder]

A lot of avatar characters would 100% be monks

[glossy otter]

I mean that's just way of the four elements

[halcyon forum]

arent all Benders monks in a way?

[narrow moss]

not always

[twilit sail]

I would say all benders are monks

[rotund thunder]

I haven't seen it, but the girl from Kill Bill is someone I could've sworn has been called a monk before as a comparison

[sly crest]

Kensei?

[halcyon forum]

they all do crazy acrobatic stuff while perfoming martial arts

i guess earth and metalbenders can sort of wear armor sometimes

[twilit sail]

Zuko would have some levels of fighyer

[narrow moss]

or a rogue

[fossil hollow]

Yeah, earthbenders usually encase themselves with rocks. Toph also does metal several times

[halcyon forum]

but yeah, multiclassing with monk as main class does fit a lot of characters too

[twilit sail]

Sokka would be fighter artifiver hybrid

[halcyon forum]

well not usually, I dont think we see the technique uses a lot

[narrow moss]

tbh i was thinking recently if a character of mine might benefit from monk levels

[sly crest]

Ty Lee is definitely a monk

[narrow moss]

yeah she is

[fossil hollow]

i could have sworn there were multiple instances of earthbenders encasing themselves in rocks

Are those all just Toph?

[halcyon forum]

its mostly toph I think

[narrow moss]

Bumi and Aang do it.

most the time they all just throw rock or rock wall stuff tho

[halcyon forum]

yeah randos usually only do basic stuff

[barren badger]

That's a rock fact!

[narrow moss]

to be fair it is a grounded fighting style.

hides

[fossil hollow]

death

[lavish flame]

in some fairness, we don't follow many other earthbenders

[barren badger]

Whats the most effective way to throw (or propel via magical or non-magical means) a rock at an enemy in dnd?

[narrow moss]

Catapult?

the spell.

[barren badger]

thats the strongest way you could do it?

[lavish flame]

Catapult (1st level spell) or Catapult (Siege Equipment)

[narrow moss]

idk but it fun to rip a brick off a wall and go "die"

[lavish flame]

If you consider a meteor a Rock, then Meteor Swarm should work

[narrow moss]

true

[barren badger]

Interesting

[shy stirrup]

Strongest? The party is in a valley. Giants appear above, huck rocks at them.

[humble cairn]

Fully encasing themselves? I think Bumi might have done a bit of that, but most Earthbenders leave an opening for their eyes. Toph was OP, she didn't need that.

[barren badger]

Could you make a Simulacrum of a giant and throw the rock?

[lavish flame]

i think Simulacrum is limited to Beasts and Humanoids

[barren badger]

sad

[narrow moss]

you'd think giants would also be humanoid

[shy stirrup]

Type: Really Big Humanoid

[narrow moss]

big hoojanoid

[fossil hollow]

humanoid isnt really about the body shape

[barren badger]

goblins arent even humanoid anymore

[narrow moss]

i know but still

[glossy otter]

Whys is that giving me an idea for a stone giant who made essentially simulacrums but found a way for them to not kill each other and thus made a society of themself

[barren badger]

Completely unrelated, could you True Polymorph a bat familiar into an actual bat?

[rotund thunder]

A peaceful society of one person is a neat idea, and I think there's at least a few examples in fiction of it

[fossil hollow]

yeah, you can

[rotund thunder]

None come to mind at the moment, but why a stone giant?

[narrow moss]

because?

[barren badger]

That sounds like a nice plot for an adventure. A familiar that wants to be a real animal

[glossy otter]

I think it's because he'd make the simulacrums out of stones, that and because they are the crafters amongst the giants

[narrow moss]

makes sense

[fossil hollow]

Fire Giants are more likely to make constructs and other metal stuff

[barren badger]

I think they're made out of ice or snow

[narrow moss]

welp time to homebrew

[glossy otter]

Eh, this is just flavour stuff for why they'd exist

[lavish flame]

I wouldve figured Cloud tbh

[rotund thunder]

Makes enough sense to me, sounds like a cool NPC idea

[glossy otter]

oddly enough I could see a cloud giant doing it too

[narrow moss]

yeah but stone giants rock.

[barren badger]

I do find it a little interesting that the Simulacrum specifies ice or snow.

Like, do you need to have ice or snow?

Its not in the spell components

[narrow moss]

dodges death

my guess is because snowmen?

[barren badger]

You create a simulacrum of one Beast or Humanoid that is within 10 feet of you for the entire casting of the spell. You finish the casting by touching both the creature and a pile of ice or snow that is the same size as that creature, and the pile turns into the simulacrum, which is a creature.

[lavish flame]

it used to be part of the spell components, it isnt anymore

its still part of the fiction though

[glossy otter]

Why could I see it that the cloud giant was a narcissist, so he made simulacrums of themselves because they can only trust themself

[narrow moss]

because they go to the cloud district often.

[rotund thunder]

Not sure why but maybe it has something to do with building a "snowman" like a fake person out of snow, or it might be a reference to something? No idea what though

[narrow moss]

that's what i suggested.

easy to reflavor to mud or clay tbh

[glossy otter]

Now I'm just thinking of a simulacrum made of flesh and bone but that's just because I'm working on a lamordia campaign rn

[narrow moss]

oh no that's a whole diff beast

[feral fulcrum]

I'm pretty sure we just all those Children.

[glossy otter]

wait wha

[narrow moss]

tbh the snow could also be a reference to Frosty

a snowman who came to life.

but idk

[junior python]

I JUST HAD THE BEST IDEA EVER

TWO WORDS: GANGSTER WIZARD

lemme know what you think

[narrow moss]

tattoos for the tome.

[shy stirrup]

They love casting spells

[junior python]

“These new gens have never been in the tower”

[narrow moss]

honestly if an 8 int baker can be a wizard anyone can.

[vast iris]

Speaking of low int characters, how whould you think its apropriate to role play a 5-6 int (druid) character? I don't think the dump dump character that most people use for barbarians is fitting

[placid sand]

Mayybee book dumb, survival smart.

[warm meadow]

True, it does give off that I'm the only reliable one kind of mentality

[sharp forge]

Hey guys I made this dnd class and made sure it was organized by useing ai to organize it and simplify it to make it not confusing so intermediate and beginner players can pick it up who wants to check it out

It’s called soul shot it’s a spiritual gun based class

[flint vortex]

dnd goliaths are 280 to 340lbs at 7 to 8 feet tall. at that height, would that not be pretty skinny?

it doesnt make a lot of sense

[uncut zenith]

I wouldn’t rely on AI to tell you anything about balance in D&D

[scenic zinc]

No. That wouldn't be skinny.

[fossil hollow]

i think youre underestimating the weight there

[humble cairn]

Mafioso Mage, huh? I like it.

[minor cargo]

Oh that’s rad! You can share that in #homebrew

Keep in mind that AI content (like stuff made primarily with AI) isn’t allowed. But that doesn’t sound like your case.

That said, AI tends to be (generally) super bad at writing about D&D haha.

[flint vortex]

the square cube law tho, i think a muscluar 8 foot goliath would be more like 600lbs not 340

[fossil hollow]

what

[sharp forge]

Nah I write all of the info everything and just organized it and had ai to simplify and make it balanced in dnd standards which I understand why it’s looked down upon ect

[uncut zenith]

Right, but AI is generally very bad at understanding the rules and balance of D&D

[flint vortex]

i think it would be tho

[scenic zinc]

AI isn't going to be able to balance it.

[sharp forge]

And also understand ai doesn’t do the best at balancing

[fossil hollow]

you might want to compare it to actual people weights rather than square cube law

[scenic zinc]

Okay, but you're wrong though.

[narrow moss]

average is around 8 to 10.

[uncut zenith]

A lot of them, like ChatGPT, kinda just word jumbles what it “understands” about D&D and spits it back out at you, but historically it’s very bad at balancing and confirming that what you’ve made is balanced

[sharp forge]

The damage is d6 is that good cause it used to be d10

[torpid trout]

very excited, I picked up Goodman Games' Into The Borderlands. a few days ago for my new campaign

[narrow moss]

idk if int is tied to literacy anymore

[fossil hollow]

it aint

[minor cargo]

I’ll also mention that failing at balancing something (like with your own hands) is a really valuable experience. You can learn a lot - especially with a community giving you that kind of feedback.

If you’re asking the community to give feedback to AI stuff, you’ll get a lot less out of it. And at worst, folks might get upset if they feel like you misled them.

[flint vortex]

i did, Sultan Kösen is 8 foot 2 and 370lbs, and he looks skinny

[scenic zinc]

There are people in real life who are 7 feet tall. This is something you can Google.

[narrow moss]

I am a hundred feet tall

[sharp forge]

I know a dude 7 foot tall or 6’10 and like 250pounds around there or bigger he’s strong

[barren badger]

i dont think so.

[fossil hollow]

100 foot tall purple platypus bear

[flint vortex]

Jean-Joseph Brice was 8 foot 5 and 500lbs, still looks pretty thin

[narrow moss]

Kroger actually

Evil Alien Conquerors is such a weird movie.

[scenic zinc]

Just looked that person up... your perception of what's skinny is rather interesting.

[minor cargo]

I’ll also add that “skinny” isn’t an exact thing you can measure. Take two people that are the same height and same weight and one might be skinny… but maybe not. Bodies are actually pretty cool that way.

What’s the reason you’re asking? Maybe that’s a better place to start?

[warm meadow]

Yeah lol, book smart is nice until something sneezes on you and you're gone

[fickle field]

Hi, how's it going gang?

[scenic zinc]

Like 280 is a good athletic weight for someone in the 7 foot range

[flint vortex]

if you wanna look like victor wembanyana

[fickle field]

Dude, I'm so excited for my DND campaign session today.

[flint vortex]

not a freaking jacked goliath at least

[warm meadow]

Hey gang, all good, how's it going with you

[scenic zinc]

What do looks have anything to do with it? It's a good athletic weight. That actual real life athletes who are rather muscular weigh.

[torpid hound]

Kat from Gen¹³ is like that one player who rolled high on every stat

[barren badger]

What is gen13

[fickle field]

I'm doing lit bay fam bruh! Ya boy has a DND session today and I have plan for my character.

[scenic zinc]

I think you're confusing muscular for bulky.

[flint vortex]

mass scales fast

[torpid hound]

Superhero comic

[placid sand]

Facts lol

[flint vortex]

both, a goliath is supposed to be both

[minor cargo]

I’m sure some are. But they’re also a whole people who probably have a huge spectrum of body types, yeah?

[scenic zinc]

A) to you, perhaps
B) in real life you generally train for function or looks, not both.

They're very different training regimens

[ornate rapids]

I do think Goliaths would usually trend on the heavier side, not just because of their size but because of their giant ancestry
stone giant goliaths for instance might be way heavier because of their thickened heavy stone-like skin

but it could be inconvenient at times to have such a heavy player character

[minor cargo]

I like that idea a lot. They’re a fantasy people so there could be more going on than just blood and bone like we know it.

[scenic zinc]

This is what it comes down to, in my opinion. There might be averages, sure... but not all Goliaths are going to be the same.

[olive storm]

We live in the era where some kid will try and play an op homebrew because "chatgpt said it was fine."

[placid sand]

Random question. None one here says hi on the main chat? Just continues the convo?

-# new here so I'm just trying to get acclimated

[fossil hollow]

we just jump in at this point

[olive storm]

Hi!

[barren badger]

hi!

[idle oar]

Folks can say hi but we're mostly here to chat D&D

[barren badger]

The chat is ALWAYS going, so theres no real need to say hi

[olive storm]

What's your favorite race and why is it satyrs?

[scenic zinc]

No one is preventing anyone from saying hello.

[uncut zenith]

Especially now in the 2024 rules where they’re more aligned with giants and the elements they represent

[barren badger]

Undying noob, your bio is so wholesome but your pfp is spooky

[fossil hollow]

what do you mean? Isnt it making a heart with thier hands?

[barren badger]

oh i missed that part

[idle oar]

But the delerium dredge is making a heart sign!
(Dungeons of Drakkenheim)

[barren badger]

we should not let the zombies know that we trust anything that makes a heart sign

[uncut zenith]

Like I can imagine a headcanon where the cloud goliaths are on average lighter than the other goliaths just by virtue of being aligned with cloud giants, while hill and stone are heavier and denser regardless of height

[olive storm]

They didn't tell me their favorite D&D race.

[minor cargo]

Perfect opportunity to talk about weight vs mass. 👀

[scenic zinc]

Clouds weigh quite a lot though

[idle oar]

They may need a bit of space to think and figure out which one to share...

[barren badger]

But not very dense!

[hexed comet]

My favorite race is dwarves, ez

[olive storm]

Rock and stone!

[uncut zenith]

True, but we both know D&D doesn’t care for that degree of scientific accuracy

[hexed comet]

i like being a grump y lil guy

[narrow moss]

Did I hear a Rock and Stone?

[scenic zinc]

Which is why dragons can fly

[last flume]

Pretty sure they fly because of innate magic shenanigans

[hexed comet]

i thought they flew bcuz big strong

[ornate rapids]

why not both

[scenic zinc]

Yes, that's what I was alluding to

[narrow moss]

i would love a world where dragons exist because of the spell that lets you make creatures real

[vast iris]

Dragons always have the fly spell on, trust

[fossil hollow]

realistically speaking strength alone isnt enough to fly

[olive storm]

My brother is arguing with a D&D player about a technical definition of a bone. Some things they have clarified:

• Necromancy cannot affect items.
• Bones are items.
• The soul is not stored in the bones but in the meat, muscle and fat.
• A spell to make a big skeletal hand to punch with should apparently be enchantment, not necromancy.

[hexed comet]

So you can break concentration? 👀

[narrow moss]

maybe dragons have hollow bones

[hexed comet]

it is if you believe

[olive storm]

Everyone can fly once.

[vast iris]

You can try but most have cons of 26+ usually and probably have advantage on con saves

[fossil hollow]

No Bubs

[narrow moss]

Okay Bubs.

[olive storm]

Aww.

[scenic zinc]

Well, looks like they're wrong. Necromancy can definitely effect bones.

[placid sand]

Lol Idk if u were asking me, but def elves

[narrow moss]

finger guns at Just

[barren badger]

But everyone can go on a magical minecart ride

[minor cargo]

Dragons flying was covered by MinuteEarth a few years back!

I think it’s a fun one. Less than 5 minutes.

https://youtu.be/3n1DC_Q-2Ng?si=6wuv6oNXbB1v3Kj6

[ornate rapids]

there's necromancy spells that specifically state they effect bones

[flint vortex]

muscle is muscle, more muscles is more strength. its pretty simple

[olive storm]

Uhh... Grass and... Wraithbone? Aw crap wrong game.

[vast iris]

A fellow elven apreciator

[barren badger]

Elves make the best cookies :]

[narrow moss]

reminds me of that anime where the guy is so strong he fakes magic

[hexed comet]

have you ever had gnome cookies

[olive storm]

You guys won't believe what my favorite race is.

[vast iris]

Musle

[ornate rapids]

bugbear

it's bugbear

[minor cargo]

This is actually a really common misconception! I’m not sure if this is the right channel, but at the crux of it is how we measure or define “strength”.

For example, lifting a weight over your head from the ground is WAY different than pushing something really heavy. Edit: and both are way different than constantly pulling your body.

[scenic zinc]

That's not true.

[olive storm]

Dang, this guy's good.

[woven flint]

My favorite Species is Minotaur

[flint vortex]

muscluar force outpput

[placid sand]

Heck yes 💪🏽 pointy ears for lyfo

[narrow moss]

There is a reason you lift with your knees

[flint vortex]

there are other factors, but muscle size is the biggest factor

[vast iris]

What's your fav kind of elf? Mine is high elfs

[scenic zinc]

It certainly isn't. I'm sorry.

[lapis panther]

mine too

[narrow moss]

size?

[flint vortex]

tell me, if you put on 40lbs of pure muscle, do youy think you would get stronger?

[narrow moss]

size is for show with muscle

a lot of big bodybuilders are fairly weak when it matters.

[ornate rapids]

my favorite elves are Eladrin

[scenic zinc]

Large muscles are for show. Dense muscles are for function.

[placid sand]

Mashle!!!!

[flint vortex]

muscles are expensive tissue, elephants, rhinos or hippos would not evolve large muscles if they were not important

[hybrid dune]

hello every1!!! im new here

[narrow moss]

yes that was it Ish.

[flint vortex]

muscle density i pretty musch identical amongst all animals

[hexed comet]

this chat: erm actually

[narrow moss]

give me a power lifter over a bodybuilder

hunks, the lot of them

[fossil hollow]

welcome to what happens when nerds comes to argue about the minute details

[narrow moss]

lol

[scenic zinc]

I have personal experience in this. What you're saying is factually incorrect.

[hexed comet]

lmao

[vast iris]

Hippos are actually some of the strongest animals, their muscles are so dense (also they are kidna fat) that they pretty much walk/jump on the bottom of the rivers Instead of swimming

[narrow moss]

Someone is wrong on the internet.

[minor cargo]

Hmm. Okay, cards on the table, like I am a lifter. I focus on olympic lifting, but obviously power lifting is part of my overall training because, like you're saying, raw power output is part of the lift.

However, in my particular sport, my agility and the resiliency of my nervous system are extremely important - and training that is also part of my regime. Edit: I think it's clear that "nervous system" is not something you can see in my muscles by looking at me.

You're right that putting on 40 pounds of muscle is going to let you move more things. Mass moves mass, for sure.

But let's maybe go back a bit? We're talking about how a body looks: skinny, bulky, whatever. What I'm trying to say here is that it's not so easy as "the scale says X, therefore you're skinny/bulky/fat/etc."

Maybe we should go back and reset a bit? You started this conversation but I don't think you ever dug into the why or the background?

[hexed comet]

well that's enough discord for the day. enjoy arguing

[vast iris]

Arguing is fun

[idle oar]

Moderators 2 cents: Be civil and be open to learning

[narrow moss]

i wrote a fast dwarf once.

[twilit sail]

Im a dnd player i cant learn

[narrow moss]

enemies were surprised he could catch up

[vast iris]

Was he a monk?

[narrow moss]

think i wrote him like a rogue ranger type? a scout

grew up in my world's version of an underdark

[flint vortex]

levrage, neural drive and efficeicy, and muscles. those are the biggest factors, saying muscle is not important is stupid.

[narrow moss]

he never skips leg day

[minor cargo]

Also correct, mmm hmm.

But I don't think people are saying muscles aren't important. They're saying what you just did: it's not the whole story.

[vast iris]

Well, after all dwarfs are natural sprinters, build to run long distanses (pls get the reference someone)

[narrow moss]

lol

[minor cargo]

(Give us like 5 more minutes on this lmao I'm so close to plugging my D&D workout book in a relevant way! 🤞🏽 /lh /hj)

[scenic zinc]

I never said muscles aren't important. I did say that large muscles aren't the same as functional muscles.

Bulky and muscular aren't the same thing.

[twilit sail]

Steve what is ur CR

[crimson gulch]

Strongest person I ever met was a farmer, guy has to handle cows and hay 40kg at a time.

That's why I love the farmer backround in dnd because I remember that guy

[minor cargo]

0

[narrow moss]

farmers are stronk bois

[minor cargo]

I won't fight you. It's not a challenge. You'll find no XP here, adventurer.

[narrow moss]

or gals.

[vast iris]

What about milestone lvl ups?

[narrow moss]

how do you do a reverse level up

[minor cargo]

Oh, then yes. Meeting me is a milestone. 🙂‍↕️
/lh

[scenic zinc]

-# unfortunately the way milestone is written in the books is just a large block of xp

[flint vortex]

saying bodybuilders are weak is also stupid

[placid sand]

High elves are awesome! I honestly variate from half elf all the way to drows. They are all awesome .
-# and the only race I have knowledge

[narrow moss]

oh now don't start that again

[woven flint]

Having a nice meal at a bar with the homies in Termalaine after getting jumped by Will-ò-Wisps

[scenic zinc]

Not how I like doing milestones, though

[narrow moss]

anf i said "weak where it matters"

[scenic zinc]

No one is saying that.

[minor cargo]

➕ #dnd-discussion message

[placid sand]

It's aweesoomee!! Lol

[scenic zinc]

And there's no reason to be throwing insults in.

[narrow moss]

i never said theu were weak overall

[vast iris]

I guess we kinda similar in that. On my dnd table at this point when we making new characters they ask me what kind of elf you playing instead of what character 😂

[narrow moss]

but dense muscle is stronger

you can train for mass or for strength

[minor cargo]

You know, I asked a few times for you to maybe restate or restart the conversation so we could progress. But it doesn't sound like you're interested in that. It almost feels like you just want to argue with us. I hope that's not the case. 😅

[idle oar]

No worries - my statement was meant more for general advice to folks discussing and disagreeing on things.

[scenic zinc]

I suppose you can try to do both... but at that point it becomes your entire life.

[narrow moss]

anyway phone dying so gonna take a break cya

[narrow moss]

yep. it a lifestyle.

[scenic zinc]

And adventurers aren't living at the gym lol

[vast iris]

Also the aren't eating effectively to gain big muscles

[flint vortex]

1.055 g/mL is muscle on avrage

[minor cargo]

Anyways, I'll move the conversation towards something that I harp on that's maybe a lukewarm take.

And it's that all of the ability scores (strength included) are pretty abstract. Like strength by the rules is how much you push or lift. But it's also the damage you do with a melee weapon. Those two things aren't necessarily related, though there are so overlap (of course).

It's one of those weird, funny, quirky things about D&D. It's nice because having ability scores that are almost totally abstract means you can play almost whatever you want. But it's rough because when you don't think of them that way, you can get stuck in weird situations (e.g. skinny vs fat).

[blissful ibex]

What's the macros on Goodberry?

[vast iris]

The average dnd player either never mentions eating or eats whatever weird stuff they find, nothing in between

[flint vortex]

dense muscle might be like 1.06

denser than that is not really possible

[placid sand]

Same!!! 🤣 And I don't want to try another race because I will take long reading while is my turn and It will give me anxiety 🤭

[vast iris]

I whould assume it has no proteins?

[flint vortex]

you are probably talking about myofibular and sarcoplasmic hyertrophy

[scenic zinc]

Paradox, you're missing the point.

[flint vortex]

what is the point?

[blissful ibex]

You'd think that, but it very well might XD

the berry provides enough nourishment to sustain a creature for one day.

[timid ember]

guys imma play a oneshot today later and in the settings we rolled for our stats and i got this is this good or bad for a monk?
1: 15
2: 16
3: 16
4: 9
5: 14
6: 9

[idle oar]

D&D is a game and not a physics simulator so I wouldn't be trying to equate D&D rules to real world

[novel moth]

Decent.

[blissful ibex]

Also funny because it perfectly sates a flea just as much as it does a dragon with the same volume of berry

But yeah, it's all magic shenanigans

[vast iris]

That's up to the interpretation. It either means you gain enough nutrients to survive or the ideal amount of Calories macros etc

I think the first one makes more sence

[minor cargo]

These are great!
In the 2024 PHB, you'll see that monks (like all classes) have 2 primary abilities: Dexterity and Wisdom.

You have two 16s, which means you can put that 15 and 14 in two other ability scores that you think will matter for your character (e.g. constitution is a really popular one).

[novel moth]

I’ve always interpreted it as the nutrients not necessarily the calories. So it’s great short term but you couldn’t sustain yourself indefinitely

[vast iris]

Yea I feel you. Anything exept my average stuff makes me way too anxious

[timid ember]

thanks !

[scenic zinc]

That you just seem to have a very particular perception of things. Which you're certainly allowed to do.

At the same time, a 280 pound Goliath is not a thin Goliath. They're athletic. If you view athletic and skinny as the same, that's an opinion you're allowed to have. But athletic doesn't mean weak, and more muscle mass doesn't always make a given person stronger.

[vast iris]

Also are firbolgs supposed to be bigger than goliaths?

[fossil hollow]

theyr roughly the same size

[vast iris]

But accordin to the wiki the average firbolg is 10-11 feet and like 350-400 pounds

[scenic zinc]

Considering they both have powerful build, yeah

[scenic zinc]

No idea what wiki you're talking about, but it's certainly not an official source

[novel moth]

frirbolgs are definitely larger.

Though that may or may not be due to their magic making them appear so

[glad ferry]

Has anyone actually used a bugbear?

[humble cairn]

Species usually doesn't impact your turn very much.

[ornate rapids]

firbolgs are half-giants like goliaths and are roughly the same size usually

[loud tendon]

I have, yes.. I had a barbarian and a way of shadows monk

[glad ferry]

Are they any fun?

Ive been curious about making onw

[loud tendon]

I really enjoyed both of mine.. any species can be fun, the species is just one part of what makes a good character..

[ornate rapids]

while i havent played them, bugbear sounds fun on a weapon user just for their longer reach alone
but they have other fun features too

not to mention the fun you might get from playing a gruff looking hairy creature in a world of humanoid commoners

[jolly canyon]

Session 1 in 30m let's go

[glad ferry]

Ive used dragonborn, halfling, yuan ti, and elf

Not very many elves though

[ornate rapids]

my first character was a tiefling
then a rock gnome
then a high elf
and now currently an eladrin in one campaign, and a 'special' human in another

i have a shelf of unused characters of varying races but not a bugbear
i should make one for fun sometime

[sleek cloud]

So far a half elf, tiefling, and a human

[glad ferry]

And tiefling. Mine was a dragom born barbarian

[blissful ibex]

Plasmoid, Hadozee, Tiefling, Woodelf, Kenku, Dragonborn

[glad ferry]

Eladrin is so much fun

[sleek cloud]

At the moment my next ones either a gnome abjurer wizard, a halfling open hand monk, or an eladrin wild magic sorcerer

[ornate rapids]

indeed I'm really loving Eladrin

[placid sand]

👀 I'm soo curious to play that .. they are sooo pretty

[ornate rapids]

he's changed season many times in the campaign and also may change outside of a long rest when he transforms into an elemental

[errant crag]

I've played one from 1 to 12

[ornate rapids]

i have it sort of homebrewed in that when he shifts into an elemental, he pops out as the season best representing that element when the transformation ends
so water for spring, fire for summer, earth for autumn, and wind for winter

[barren badger]

Are there any species that are not fun to play?

[blissful ibex]

Kender /j

[ornate rapids]

2014 standard, non-variant human

[blissful ibex]

not me with the 4e meme q_q

[barren badger]

i mean, it can still be fun?

[vast iris]

As an Npc, enemy or character?

[ornate rapids]

it probably still can be, just not as fun as variant

[barren badger]

i actually actively chose a non-variant human once

but that was because i rolled stats that were all odd

[vast iris]

They used to get that extra feet back in 2014

Now pretty much everyone does due to backround

[blissful ibex]

also 5.5e Human is just reworked 5e Variant Human

[vast iris]

True

[blissful ibex]

more restricted feat selection but you start every day with Heroic (dm) Inspiration

[vast iris]

Also they get heroic ispirations for free so my characters can forget to use them 😂

[ornate rapids]

the human i play as now is a reflavored 'mark of passage' human (reflavored in that his 'mark' is the mark of a deity's favor and has nothing to do with actual dragonmarks)

[barren badger]

loll, i was about to say

you cant choose a dragonmark as an origin feat

[blissful ibex]

I'll take one Find Steed please
Into the Ring of Spell Storing it goes XD

[ornate rapids]

it was part of his backstory to be saved from dying at birth by Selune so that's where it comes from

[placid sand]

You really think so? My friends encourage me to try something different but it just gives me anxiety to think they have to wait for me. They have wayy more knowledge of DND than me so I guess It just makes me feel a lil on the spot lol theyr are the best though...

[blissful ibex]

at least with 5.5e Mark of Passage
I want that spell to the point where I'm willing to track down a Ruby Weave Gem for it XD

[blissful ibex]

as long as you're not taking like 5+ minute turns; you're fine

~2 minutes is prefered but 5 is reasonable for newer players or when the field shifts so thuroughly right before your turn to completely throw off your plans q_q

I play "warlock" so my turns are like 15 seconds XD

[ornate rapids]

i cast eldritch blast
next!

[blissful ibex]

yep

generally it's
EB, Tentacle of the Deeps, and maybe Conjure Animals

[sleek cloud]

The amount of times I’ve had to remind our groups human barb that they get heroic inspiration on long rests is..a lot

[ornate rapids]

i try to spend a good 10 minutes or so before sessions going over my features & spells so I take less time using stuff in combats

[blissful ibex]

but if we're below level 6, it's very, very quick

[ornate rapids]

really the character with the most choices to make is typically my moon druid because i decide over a vast list of options to turn into

[barren badger]

any heroic inspiration NOT used by the party will be collected by the DM to use against them

[blissful ibex]

Just borrow the 5.5e Wildshape rules
"prepare" a list of like 6~8 forms you're most likely to use and choose off of those

[ornate rapids]

nah i use the older ones and like them better

[dusky sonnet]

Does anyone know of any places you can play dnd online? I have nowhere to play irl sadly

[barren badger]

You can find a group here

#find-a-game

[ornate rapids]

i just mean i have a lot of extra sources to draw shape forms from and have an item that lets me also turn into plant type creatures

[blissful ibex]

Still use the old ones; just prep a shortlist and know what those do instead of literally every potential form because you're not using a good 90% of those anyway

[dusky sonnet]

Thanks, I will give it a try

[barren badger]

as a DM, in 5E i would ask my druid players to tell me ahead of time which forms they wanted to use

[blazing ravine]

do warlocks take the tome pact in 2024?

[buoyant hull]

you say that like it isn't being immediately used every session on inconsequential conversational checks only to roll low a second time

[ornate rapids]

in one of our campaigns the dm lets us keep & stack them and during a multi-stage, difficult fight against a lich, i burned through all 6 of mine on INT saves

definitely glad i had those or i wouldve been cooked

[lavish flame]

they can, but they dont have to

your level 3 Pact Boon feature was removed, all the Pact Boons are now Invocation options

[blissful ibex]

I do for my level 1 invocation c:

[placid sand]

You have helped me so much today, here and in the other channel. Thank you

[ornate rapids]

you can have all three pacts if you want
i probably would only take the two and not tome

[blazing ravine]

why whats wrong with tome?

[blissful ibex]

I'd take tome over chain >.>
but my view on that is skewed due to access to Wild Companion

[ornate rapids]

there's nothing wrong with it per se, it's just my style of warlocks would probably not use it

if i ever played one that is

blade is the absolute best and chain is my personal favorite because the imp/quasit familiars are so good

[blissful ibex]

The Eldritch Invocations that branch off of it are somewhat weak
though I personally rather like Aspect of the Moon (and forward-portin Book of Ancient Secrets with DM approval)

the level 9 one is actually really decent but it feels kinda lackluster >.>

[ornate rapids]

Tome doesn't have nearly as many options that depend on it and they're pretty middling ones at that

if you are going to be a warlock that doesn't melee though and want to focus on having more spells, Tome is definitely fine

[blissful ibex]

still, 3 Cantrips and 2 1st level rit spells which can swap on a SR is a rather nice utility option

[ornate rapids]

Tome on Warlock probably shines best if your party lacks a Wizard and has few others willing to prepare or use Ritual spells

[blazing ravine]

oh so tome isnt that good for dmg then?

[ornate rapids]

where as Blade and Chain are useful pretty much all of the time

[blissful ibex]

Aspect of the Moon is nice if you're going to be making scrolls, or just to have a second party member on watch

[blissful ibex]

You're taking Eldritch Blast + Repelling & Agonizing blast for damage
Tome is for having additional options

[narrow moss]

rituals can be powerful tools but are situational

like, idk, someone DIES.

lol that is an extreme example tho

[blissful ibex]

2 of either Comprehend Language, Detect Magic, Identify and Tenser's Disk are all extremely solid picks to leave things on generally, and then just swap as needed

[narrow moss]

yeah you use time instead of spell slots

[blissful ibex]

Unseen Servant is good as well, but I find myself reaching for Tensers more often

[narrow moss]

i played a one shot where someone used Unseen Servant as a butler while he reclined in a chair and occasionally EB'd

[ornate rapids]

2024 really only has one invocation that requires Tome, and that's Gift of the Protectors
which can let you keep a party member from dropping to 0hp once, and then that feature stops working til you finish a long rest

[narrow moss]

he crit once so he blasted half a tree along with the archer

i was okay with it after that

[blissful ibex]

Generally you'll also have access to the Tasha's and Xanathar's options unless your DM is a hardass

[ornate rapids]

true that, I just mean 2024 didn't really do anything for that pact which is unfortunate

Aspect of the Moon is certainly an interesting one

[blissful ibex]

both Chain and Tome got next to nothing in 5.5e
hoping we get more in september with the caster book

[blazing ravine]

oh whats happening in september?

[blissful ibex]

New Expansion book with a bunch of caster stuff

[ornate rapids]

oh I love to hear that

[blissful ibex]

Arcana Unleashed

[blazing ravine]

do we know if that spellcaster monk is in that book?

[lavish flame]

in Fall we get Arcana Unleashed and the updated character builder

[ornate rapids]

oh right that's probably full of Unearthed Arcana content that makes it past inspection

[lavish flame]

no confirmation but we can assume

[blazing ravine]

nice, that subclass is so damn cool

[blissful ibex]

Decent chance at it; definitely has an entire chapter full of spells and all the missing wizard spell-school subclasses though

[ornate rapids]

Mystic Monk's capstone feature was completely useless so if they do include it hopefully they fixed that

[safe thistle]

isnt there a playable slime-like race?

[blissful ibex]

Presumably they will have XD; I ran with the assumption it was meant to be donne as a part of Flury of Blows but they never got around to actually editing the text they coppied from EK or there was an accidental revision or something

[ornate rapids]

even with how exciting the new third-caster monk is, the venom monk still excites me more to play if i ever play monk

[blissful ibex]

Plasmoid! Out of the Astral Adventurers guide

it's my favoite species c:

[safe thistle]

ty, helping a friend out thx

[blissful ibex]

I have one queued up for a friend's game; though she only hits level 6 in it

[blazing ravine]

dnd 2024 doesnt have a way to cope with a unique race right? like your guy isnt of any of the listed races

[blissful ibex]

use the Custom Lineage species from Tasha's or reflavor an existing option

[ornate rapids]

Heliana's Guide to Monster Hunting also has a slime-like race called the Oozekin but that's partnered content

[warm meadow]

Oh nice, Oozekin sounds fun, but yeah, partnered stuff is always kinda separate rules-wise

[errant crag]

The ooze kin are cool. Plasmoids are mostly just ooze-like but I think Oozekins are actually oozes

[blissful ibex]

Plasmoids are literally oozes
Creature type wise and in that you can have them be amorphous blobs

no blindsight though q_q

[hot reef]

They are part of the Spelljammer setting, so not all tables may allow Plasmoids

[blazing ravine]

in the general world of dnd, do you think a human with butterfly like features such as their nails looking like butterfly wings and their tongue looking like a cucoon would fit?

[vast iris]

I had a guy in my table playing a plasmoid Monk, he had no armor so he whould fit through any door or small space needed

[terse adder]

I love plasmoids :3