homebrew

[covert karma]

Question: I'm currently making an item and am trying to reference 2024 items and spells using the [spell]SpellName[/spell] system and it's not working. I figure the answer would be on the forums but they are down atm.

[cerulean seal]

Try #ddb-support

[dapper tiger]

I can. One moment

Wondrous Item, uncommon (requires attunement by a wearing the gauntlets for the full duration of a short rest.)
While wearing both gauntlets, you may use a bonus action to choose a target within 30 feet of you to make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw. If it fails, it is unable to avert its gaze from you for one round. Usable once per short rest.

[tall hill]

I think the issue is the item usage is a bit too loose... the item is design for the target unable to look away from you. this doesnt really mean much when you can still punch left or right of you for targets. I recommand maybe change fails thing to a spell effect like Compelled Duel instead.

[frank leaf]

Ye, BA clutter avoidance was the reason for that being the trigger

Also, its only 3 options, not whatever they wamt

Dash, Disengage, or Hide

it's just there to say you're imitating magic you lost with the fragments you have left

I tried to make all 3 of them unique but distinctly remeniscent in use case

Eldritch blast and Fighting style feat are the only things you're getting that you're getting that are normally unique to the options and there are easier ways to get those

[shrewd moat]

I have an a sub class I want to make, I have years of experience with D&D and many other TTRPGs but I am not great with D&D beyond. Where would I go to learn? Please direct message me if you can help me do this, it is kind of an in-depth sub class changing the stat used for certain checks.

[glossy sparrow]

Guys, how do I make a hybrid. Like half human-half giant in dnd beyond

[frank berry]

Are you asking what kind of features to give them, or how to use Beyond's homebrew tool to make it? For the latter you should try asking #ddb-support

[nova basin]

Thats a goliath

Not quite half human, but thats what it would mechanically end up as

[nova basin]

#ddb-support

[plush geyser]

Is this the right place to ask for feedback on a homebrew spell?

[frank berry]

Yep, it's the homebrew channel! So all things homebrew

[plush geyser]

awesome!

https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/VmufIvDPf3j8

This is inspired by one of my players, who is fond of high-charisma characters. I'm wondering if it's maybe too volatile?

[frank berry]

Is there a reason not to immediately end the ruse right off the bat to maximize the damage? Seems like the targets remain charmed even if you do, so there's really no reason not to

[plush geyser]

the targets are not meant to remain charmed! how should I make that more clear?

[frank berry]

Maybe just "You may use your action to end the ruse, ending the charmed condition on all creatures"

Wait actually no, since the next sentence includes creatures still charmed by you

[plush geyser]

The idea is that the damage increases the longer they are charmed. If you end the ruse the first turn its available, you will do a maximum of 1d8 damage. Should a creature fail the save again, the damage increases to 2d8.

[plush geyser]

that was my goal with "Afterwards, the spell ends." maybe it should be "Afterwards, the spell ends, ending the Charmed condition on all creatures"

[frank berry]

That is definitely not clear from how the spell is written

Maybe something like "When you end the ruse, each creature that was still charmed by you takes 1d8 Psychic damage for every save they failed against the spell"

[plush geyser]

I think this is fine actually, because I did include "Charmed for the duration"

[plush geyser]

yeah "for each save" sounds clearer

[frank berry]

Because yeah the earlier text gave the implication that they'd continue taking damage for the rest of the duration, and it even fit the flavor of leaving the story unfinished for the duration 😛

You might also wanna include "creatures that can hear and understand you" to the text, maybe even include that each creature that understands the language you choose to tell the story in, otherwise it's gonna be a bit weird telling a story to monsters that don't even know a language 😛

[plush geyser]

that's a good point! I was taking inspiration from Enthrall, which interestingly does not include that stipulation

[frank berry]

Fair enough, and in fairness it IS magic, so it was more of a suggestion 😛

[plush geyser]

the part i was worried about is that the spell feels so swingy. In combat, you might wait too long and do no damage- but there is also the potential to last the full minute and nuke a tavern full of commoners

I wonder if it might be better as a 3rd level spell with a cap of 6d8 on the damage

[frank berry]

Yeah it's definitely a spell that's gonna be better the longer it lasts, and the charm part is definitely the strongest part of it. The damage is kind of low and more of a small bonus

Like tha major part of this spell is a mass charm on any creature type. That's gonna be strong in combat

I actually kinda liked the previous version I thought the spell was, which actually would lead it to be a spell with a choice for the caster, either charmed for the duration, or you could end the charm to swap it to just dealing consistent damage

[plush geyser]

that would be neat... maybe I need a v2

[hazy iron]

Can someone tell me if my homebrewed statblock of Vecna for my Eve of Ruin final session is good for a party of four level twentys? One of my players has the hand and eye of Vecna and the sword of kas and I'm gonna have him take wisdom checks as Vecna and Kas try to take his control. How's that sound? Anyways, here's the statblock: https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/6086774-vecna-the-undying-king

[indigo escarp]

head Hunters with a Anti magic sphere

[peak latch]

Quick question for experienced homebrewers uhhhh so as a new dm I’m trying to make new creatures so is there any good tips and tricks to know for when I make some????

[lament meadow]

Sorry for the very late response. When you're trying to make a creature, the first thing you should consider is "does DnD have a creature similar to the one I'm trying to make?" if the answer is yes, just change some aspects of the creature and you're golden

Always consider damage resistances and immunities and condition immunities. They can make a creature deceptively tanky.

Consider what the creature can do in 1 turn. A CR 10 creature should not hit the party for an average of 90 damage, for example. Creatures that have versatile spell list is generally quite dangerous and must be used with care.

Consider a creature's gimmick. Some creatures, who can restrain, stun or save-or-suck the players can be exceedingly dangerous even with low damage/health. Be careful with stat-drain gimmicks and insta-kill mechanics because those can feel cheap.

[nova basin]

Also consider the creature's tactics

Look up The Monsters Know What They're Doing, its a blog with great reaources for tactical philosophy and how to run engaging fights with base game monsters

[queen egret]

i wonder if i should make a "space" sorcerer to match the time one i made here

[worn current]

Ugh I so wanna do stranger things run

[lament meadow]

First of all, this is probably the wrong channel to ask this in, but I'll give my feedback as much as possible.

I find it hard to believe that a sprawling underground metropolis is so casually dismissed as mere "myths," especially with criminals running around the tunnels

[cerulean seal]

No Ai allowed on the server. Its in the rules. 🙂

[sturdy knoll]

Cleaning up the AI post - please remember server rules folks. We don’t permit ai-generated work to be posted on our server.

[mossy viper]

Oh right, sorry I was unsure if a small ai summary was alright or not, I will make sure not to do it again, once again VERY SORRY

[cerulean seal]

All good. I will say though, if you are needing some feedback on your world building and campaign setting in general. #dm-world-building May be better spot. This channel is more for like, designing mechanical stuff like subclasses and magic items or monsters

[mossy viper]

Oh right that makes much more sense, I must have missed that channel, thanks

[umbral dust]

what kind of CR would a level 5 PC be considered? i'm using the battle master character guide to create a statblock for an npc in my campaign

not sure what CR to give it

my assumption is 5, but i know level and cr are two very different things

[lament meadow]

Probably CR 4 or 3

[umbral dust]

alright, thanks

[void jewel]

Way more

A PC is vastly stronger than a monster of a similar CR

[mortal nexus]

Thoughts of making the Coded Sword from Elden Ring?
I was thinking since…for those that don’t know game or weapon…it’s sticky a holly based weapon….soooo
1d6 radiant, no slashing.
And maybe a once a day ability,
You slash out in front of you in a cone like area dealing 1d6 to anything in that cone?

[void jewel]

A beholder is far less dangerous for example than a level 13 spellcasting PC

[umbral dust]

i can't imagine a single level 5 character taking out a chimera (cr5) though

[void jewel]

Really? I can think of many ways to default kill it

If the PC is poorly optimized they may be less though (like if bad choices are made intentionally)

Like, a wizard PC who selects bad spells will be much, much worse than one with good spell selection

[cerulean seal]

Probably has a number of charges to do the cone thing. With a dex save

[analog oak]

"Gauntlet of Stone"
Magic Item
Very Rare

• Requires Attunement by a Monk or Barbarian

Your Unarmed Strikes deal an Additional 2d4 Bludgeoning Damage on hit.
Your Unarmed Strikes deal double damage to Objects and Structures.

[void jewel]

(Though not with a battle master admittedly)

[umbral dust]

yeah i assume for wizards their effective cr would be higher - but in the context of a 5th-level battle master

i kind of think cr 3 or 4 is fine for my purposes

[void jewel]

Yeah depends on its equipment

You'd expect a standard level 5 battle master to have 20AC

If this monster does, it most likely isn't CR3-4

[umbral dust]

was thinking of going half-plate for an ac of 17 with dex included

[void jewel]

Yeah intentionally not using a shield keeps it more reasonable

And not taking protection fighting style

[umbral dust]

dual wielder i think is best

guy has dual swords

so 18AC total

[mortal nexus]

That sounds good, like a proficiency bonus or shoot maybe whatever your spell casting mod is?

[cerulean seal]

You mean for the DC or attack roll?

[mortal nexus]

Ehhh more so how many times you could….slash/side swipe ability a day

[cerulean seal]

Oh, magic items usually have their own set number of charges. Probably depending on its rarity and power of the ability

[mortal nexus]

True true

[cerulean seal]

I would probably make it like, two or three times a day

Depending on your parties level

[umbral dust]

3 charges, regains 1d4-1 per day?

depends how strong the attack actually is i suppose

[cerulean seal]

1d6 radiant in a cone

[umbral dust]

oh right

[cerulean seal]

with dex save

[umbral dust]

that doesn't sound much stronger than thunderclap

which is a 5ft radius CON save or 1d6 thunder

[cerulean seal]

Honestly if you do a dex save could probably make the damage like a 1d8 or 1d10 instead

[umbral dust]

agreed

what level is your party? @mortal nexus

[mortal nexus]

Well I mean I was just thinking about something for a new campaign but we are all lvl10…..I think we might end it at like lvl17

[umbral dust]

oh right, the sword wouldn't be particularly strong then

[cerulean seal]

Bump the damage then or give some other things you can spend the charges on

[umbral dust]

if it's for lower levels, 2d8 may be a better contender (thunderwave's damage which is similar to what you want)

[mortal nexus]

Yeahhh just trying to spitball an idea for how to make this weapon within a dnd realm and make it fair/useful/fun

[mortal nexus]

But like strictly for the ability right?

[umbral dust]

sword melee attacks are normal, maybe you add 1d4 radiant or something, but yeah the ability would be 2d8

[mortal nexus]

Alrighty then, thank you

[umbral dust]

however for a higher level campaign (10th) they'll have access to pretty strong spells, so maybe 6d8 to keep up

max of 3 charges, regains 1d4-1 per day. 15-foot cone, dex save, 6d8 radiant damage on a failed save or half on a success? a little weaker than cone of cold (8d8) but can be used multiple times a day

depends on the level you want your party to get it at

[merry steppe]

I cant find one dnd game that doesnt require someone older than 18

[void jewel]

Consider making one IRL

If you are still in grade school, you likely can find people

[cerulean seal]

Best time to make a DnD club at school

[merry steppe]

dnd is so irrelevant in my country

[warped stratus]

Ok Trying to make a magic bow for a Swarmkeeper... Concept it to more thematically incorporate the swarm into they attacks and increase in power. Level 6 Toon... Trying not to make it too powerful but... It is a rewqrd from a quest.

SwarmBow

Range 180/700

This Bow is made from Ashwood with carvings or insect swarms inlaid into the length. When you draw the bow back your swarm coalesces into the form of an arrow.

This item gains a +1 to attack.

This bow can be fired without a physical arrow, using just the power of the swarm itself to for the projectile.

Damage 2d6 Magic Piecing

While firing without an arrow 3 times per day you can make a swarming attack. The swarm formed projectile will split into a swarm of missiles. 20 foot radius AOE attack. Dex Saving Throw DC 12 for half damage. 2d6 piercing.

If you choose to use a physical arrow the Swarm will imbue the arrow with 1d6 spirit damage in addition to the arrows damage for all attacks. Once per round this can be increased to 2d6 extra damage.

Thoughts ?

[frank leaf]

You might need to explain "Spirit damage", and saying it runs on 3 charges and regains 3 charges at Dawn is better terminology.

Other than that, the fact that it deals 2d6 per normal attack is the only real balance issue (I think that is supposed to be what that last portion is trying to explain? Or does it mean when you fire normal arrows it deals 3d6 per shot and another 1d6 per round?)

[fast cove]

Arkhan’s Hungering Blade
3rd level Sanguinomancy
Duration: Concentration, 1 minute
Range: Self
Components: V, M (a bladed silver weapon)
You pierce your flesh with the weapon used for the spell, taking (1d10 piercing damage). Your ichor imbues the blade with necrotic magic. When you hit with the weapon, you deal an additional 1d8 necrotic damage and regain hit points equal to the necrotic damage dealt. The spell ends when it has dealt necrotic damage equal to twice the hit points expended to cast the spell.

Thoughts on the balance of this spell?

[warped stratus]

Ya I realized I need to clean up the charges terminology. Swarmkeepers already get to add 1d6 to their damage once per round so it would effevtively add 1d6 to their damage profiile

And give them an AOE option

[frank leaf]

The rmg of how many times you can use it kills it, what's the action economy? It doesn't say.

[frank leaf]

Ok, so it's just an extra 1d6 per round and an AOE option thrice per day? That sounds perfectly balanced for a quest reward.

In fact maybe give it a few more charges?

And a second way to spend them?

Just to add to the tactical feel Swarmkeeper has of getting multiple options

How hard was the quest?

[warped stratus]

It was a christmas one shot... nearly killed a party of 7 🙂 took about 7 hours

At the end of the day it is giving the option of firing an energy based swarm arrow at 2d6 damage... the AOE attack option or adding 1d6 damage to any physical arrow all the time and adding 2d6 once per round to said physical arrow...

[warped stratus]

Probably better wording

This item gains a +1 to attack.

This bow can be fired without a physical arrow, using just the power of the swarm itself to for the projectile.
Damage when firing without an arrow is 2d6 magical Force

While firing without an arrow 5 times per day you can make a swarming attack. The swarm formed projectile will split into a swarm of missiles. 20 foot radius AOE attack. Dex Saving Throw DC 12 for half damage. 2d6 piercing. Charges Regenerate at Dawn each day.

If you choose to use a physical arrow the Swarm will imbue the arrow with an additional 1d6 magical Force damage in for all attacks. Once per round this can be increased to 2d6 magical force.

[fast cove]

mb
it's a bonus action

[frank leaf]

So, if you want a cool second option, making a Swarm into Heavily Obscured cloud of insects would be cool. If you have a Rogue, they'd love you for it.

[warped stratus]

was actually trying to think of another option for a unility effect

[frank leaf]

It's definitely underpowered. Consider a low roll of taking 2 damage and only getting 1d8 damage for a third level spell, or even just 4d8 for a full roll over 2 to 3 rounds.

[frank leaf]

Is heavy obscurement not Utility?

Or did you smth closer to a Familiar?

[warped stratus]

oohh ya definitly... I was thinking it was a good idea ...s orry if that wasn't clear 🙂

[frank leaf]

Nah, it's fine, just wondering what you intend for the utility

[warped stratus]

Could be a choice option... if you target friendlies it is obscurment... if you target enemies it is the equivilet of a smoke bomb

[frank leaf]

So thoughts on boosting its power. What abt making the Material component a Silvered weapon worth 500gp used in the spells casting? (Normal cost of silvering a weapon lol). That way you can feel very comfortable making it on the strong side even with healing in it

[ocean star]

Is there a good reference sheet or page for all tooltip blocks when making custom homebrew item/monsters/etc? I cannot seem to find what advantage should fall under

[warped stratus]

@frank leaf
Fire the swarm into an area. The swarm disperses in 15 feet in all directions from the impact site. The area covered by the swarm acts as a heavily obscured area to hostile creatures. The swarm can be dispersed as a bonus action during the wielders turn. While the swarm is deployed in this way it can not be used to fire arrows or increase damage from fires arrows. 3 charges per day charges regenerate at dawn each day.

[frank leaf]

Charges are shared between features on a magic item (why I suggested increasing the charge count, so they could pick and choose)

Otherwise looks good

[warped stratus]

aahh ya that makes sense

Thanks!

[bleak lava]

Im new to dnd and I build my own system and creatures and some unique species off the bat like a night dwelling hunchback that wears back armor and loves peace with long floppy ears and full black eyes and droopy face.Idk if it works as a species for players to choose though.

[fast cove]

dnd races have tangible abilities when they are chosen like a dragonborn's breath weapon and a dwarf's stonecunning
you have to design those for your species if you want them to be usable by players

[bleak lava]

(My notes on it)

🌿 Dwalkie Beast-Kin (Nocturnal, Peace-Aligned)
Stat Modifiers
+2 WIS
+1 SOUL
+1 CON
−1 STR
Traits
Nocturnal; functions best at night
Darkvision (excellent in low or no light)
Resistant to soul overload and mana sickness
Poor at direct violence and destructive magic
Instinctive healing knowledge
Physical Traits
Height: Short
Skin: Earthy green tones
Eyes: Large, fully black
Ears: Long, floppy
Limbs: Stubby
Hands: 4 digits
Feet: 2 toes
Posture: Naturally slouched
Gear: Wears large hard back-plate for protection
Clothing: Always clothed; shoes are standard
Magic Flavor
Healing and restoration
Protection and barrier magic
Emotional calming and stabilization
Pain reduction and damage dampening
Notes
Harmful magic costs additional focus
Emotional stress may trigger automatic shielding
Back-plate reduces damage from behind
Settlements favor clay huts with straw or leaf roofs
Underground structures resemble rounded, dwarven-style stone halls

[fast cove]

while the idea is good this clearly wasn't made to be DnD compatible so it wouldn't be right to judge it as such

[bleak lava]

Oh

Oops

[fast cove]

constructively -
soul(?) isnt a thing in dnd
your race cant decide your starting gear
your race cant decide what type of magic you use (this race seemingly prevents a player from picking warlock/evocation wizard/sorcerer)

this seems to be written more like a monster for the player to interact with than a playable race

[bleak lava]

I built a custom system and world. I always thought dnd was a rp storytelling with players

There is magic too but limited via race somewhat.

Most of my players like my soul magic traits. They reveal based on player actions

[frank leaf]

Did you need help converting this to smth DnD standard?

In terms of mechanics/integration

[bleak lava]

Maybe im learning the ropes

[dapper tiger]

This doesn't seem similar enough to D&D for me to have an opinion without a lot more information about whatever system/setting this race is designed for

[fast cove]

seems to just be open RP with some guidelines

[bleak lava]

I have like a month of work on this. And 6 years of ideas. But it might be cool to dnd translation .

[cerulean seal]

Species in DnD are pretty simple. They get some flavor, a size and some real simple features that are usually unique to them.
Species in DnD are not used to define the kind of character or play style a player can be because players can make those choices for themselves. If someone wants to play a wizard orc then they are welcome to.

You can always give a species some extra spells they can cast if you feel specific spells are flavorful for that species though

[bleak lava]

Healing oriented i know.

[cerulean seal]

I would look at the players handbook to look at what official species can do and mimic that 😁

[bleak lava]

Oh yeah I never read that

[cerulean seal]

100% should read that. That’s all your basic standard rules

[coral delta]

I think this particular part is the important part of your message.

DnD isn't just 'any roleplay'. DnD is specifically a set of rules on how to dictate a roleplay game.

Think of it like this:
DnD is roleplay like Minecraft is a video game.

There's plenty of other roleplay games, and what you seem to be talking about is just another one of those. It's not DnD.

[cerulean seal]

#learn-to-play

[bleak lava]

Honestly all I've got only the basic rules read rn

[cerulean seal]

Then 100% I would take some
Time to read the players handbook, it’s full of useful information you can pull from and design around

[fast cove]

you dont need to read all the books/rules
i learnt dnd from a youtube video and played a whole campaign before ever purchasing the phb

but the best way to learn is just by having experienced players guide you

[bleak lava]

I do a lot of dice rolls when I play but I hear that most people do way more rolls and im stuck hear thinking. "What are they rolling so much for?"

[cerulean seal]

I mean, the dungeon masters guide and players handbook gives some good guidance on when and why to roll. You really only need to roll for checks in which a player character feasible may or may not succeed at an action

Or saving throws of course

[bleak lava]

Yeah that's what I do

Or they do technically

I usually narrate the enemy mind in my head.

Be it a boulder rat a giant rabbit or a bad guy.

[spring tusk]

What's the quickest way to write up an AoE that only hugs the ground, or is a 2d shape

Like a line that can only drag along the ground

Or an emanation that only effects creatures on the ground

Or a cone that's wider than 45°

[coral delta]

"All creatures in contact with the ground in a _ must make a Dexterity saving throw." Maybe?

[spring tusk]

That could work

I'm trying to write up an example for the blasphemous blade AoE from Elden Ring

[fast cove]

is it a spell or just an ability?

[spring tusk]

I'm thinking a dex save, "first creature within a 30-foot Line that isn't flying, swimming, or burrowing"

[spring tusk]

An ability attached to a magic item

Cause the attack deals a bunch of damage and heals you for a percentage of the damage dealt

[fast cove]

i've played elden ring lol

[rare creek]

Blasphemous blade aoe is tricky

[fast cove]

Taker's Flame. The blade causes flames to erupt from the ground in a 30 foot line. All creatures within the area in contact with the ground take 4d6 fire damage. When you use this ability, roll (3d6). You heal for the result of this roll.

seems balanced enough

definitely make the ability an x amount of times per long rest thing

[spring tusk]

4d6 is way too little imo

[fast cove]

you could potentially hit 4 creatures in your 30 foot line for a total 16d6 damage

[spring tusk]

Also "in contact with the ground" counts underground creatures

[spring tusk]

Well the thing about the blas blade AoE is it stops at the first person it hits

And still, it's meant to be minimum a very-rare item

[fast cove]

i dont think that's true

i distinctly remember killing like 20 trash mobs with it

[fast cove]

no one's stopping you from increasing the damage
i dont know your table or what level your players are at

[spring tusk]

I know that? I'm just saying, 4d6 seems so little, you made an argument against the concept of 4d6 being so little so

Was just- nevermind

[frank leaf]

We could totally help with translation once you have a handle on how the game plays

[bleak lava]

Yeah just need money for that handbook.

[fast cove]

Corpse Plague
3rd level Sanguinomancy
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: Concentration, 1 minute
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S, M (a corpse that isn’t completely decayed)
You cause a corpse within range to radiate deadly contagion in a 15 foot radius. All creatures within the area must roll a Constitution saving throw.
On a successful save, the creature takes 4d6 poison damage. On a failed save, the creature takes 4d6 poison damage and becomes afflicted by the plague. Such creatures grow lesions on their skin, becoming vulnerable to Bludgeoning, Slashing and Piercing damage and taking 2d6 necrotic damage at the start of each of their turns (while the spell is active).
The plague can be removed by a Greater Restoration or Remove Curse spell.

Thoughts on balance? i know it's pretty strong but also requires a corpse as material component + constitution saving throw

[frank leaf]

Vulnerability is very busted, doubly so with 3 of them that are so common. Corpse can easily be cheesed since it doesn't cost GP.

Rolling a 1d4 to randomize the vulnerability and a GP Material Component is my suggestion

[fast cove]

vulnerability i understand but what are the chances of someone hauling around a semi-fresh corpse

[frank leaf]

College of Creation Bard

Corpses are non magical objects

Anything that can make those can prob cheese it

Or call in to question pedantics of it

If you can avoid needing DM fiat to make smth not abusable , I suggest you do.

But that's my opinion, if you're cool with just saying "nah, doesn't count", there's no issues with the component

[fast cove]

I dont believe creation bards can make organic objects

[frank leaf]

But since it has no gold cost a Magic Focus can ignore Material components

They just get to say Nuh uh

[fast cove]

fair enough

[frank leaf]

If you still want the flavor, making it a finely dressed corpse worth 300 GP could be hilarious

[nova basin]

You're both missing the fact that you get the material component for free during combat

[frank leaf]

Yes, but there's prob reasons that would sometimes not be ideal, nonlethal combats for example

I like my context

I don't have too much here

[hidden delta]

With how this is written the cater will always be effected by the spell unless there’s at least 2 corpses

[nova basin]

You're using a spell called corpse plague I dont think you gaf about nonlethal

[frank leaf]

Actually that's kinda funny too lmao

Except Sorcerer

With far spell metamagic

[fast cove]

I dont mind that because that requires the party to strategise and take down a creature in a suitable area before casting the spell

also the spell does friendly fire

[nova basin]

There's also nothing stopping you from moving the trigger corpse

[cerulean seal]

I for one think it should have a domino effect where it causes other corpses or new corpses made by the spell to also spew the poison

[frank leaf]

Yeah, why I suggested maximum one vulnerability you can't choose among four randomized

[nova basin]

Ie. Barbarian grabs a goblin, kills it, throws it at the other goblins

Caster ready action casts this on the flying corpse

Inbound chemical warfare

[frank leaf]

That's actually creative. I like that aspect

[fast cove]

I approve
requires teamwork

[nova basin]

Yeah its cool

[cerulean seal]

Could you imagine using this in a crypt

[frank leaf]

Vro you're arguing against yourself 😭

[nova basin]

I would rework this to be more in tune with the death trigger though

[frank leaf]

WAIT

[nova basin]

Reaction to cast, different material component but probably not worth any gp

[cerulean seal]

Does it work on Vampires?

[fast cove]

how does that work

[cerulean seal]

Since they are undead

[frank leaf]

UPCASTING MAKES TARGETS THAT DIE REPEAT THE PLAGUE BURST

[nova basin]

Take away the vulnerabilities, rework the damage a bit

[frank leaf]

That would be SO sick

[cerulean seal]

Can I target zombies with this spell?

[nova basin]

Given the effect of the plague with constant damage and some sort of defensive nerf, I would make it a higher level spell

[fast cove]

that would actually be hilarious to have a spell combo where you cast Corpse Plague then animate dead and reanimate the corpse as a plague zombie

[hidden delta]

You have to be touching a matieral component

[frank leaf]

Nah, has to be a corpse, as in an object

If it's a zombie it becomes a creature

[cerulean seal]

Maybe need to specify an inanimate corpse

[nova basin]

I think the intent was to target a corpse in range as the material component

[fast cove]

this is correct

[frank leaf]

Also, again, gold cost. Otherwise Spell focus just ignores it.

[hidden delta]

I assume so as well just thought it was funny to point out

[nova basin]

Lemme rebuild this and see what you think one sec

[fast cove]

will work that in

[frank leaf]

In what?

[fast cove]

the GP cost as a component

[frank leaf]

Just say a "finely dressed corpse worth X". Suddenly the party needs to explain why they need an expensive suit fitted/jewelry for a corpse.

[fast cove]

if a spell needs to target a particular object i just add that as a component for the sake of convenience but yeah

[frank leaf]

NGL this spell has so much meme potential

Old Warlock would have a field day with letting people throw their own corpse

[cerulean seal]

The party storing corpses to use as bombs for the barbarian to throw. 😭

This is an evil spell

[frank leaf]

Sorcerer with Far spell metamagic suddenly becoming a war criminal

Well

More of a war criminal

Let's not doubt players

[cerulean seal]

Bro imagine you are at a vigil or a funeral

[fast cove]

intended to be such

[cerulean seal]

THE ENEMY WIZARD ISES THIS ON YOUR DEAD ALLY

[frank leaf]

Plays whimsical and joyous music as caskets explode in rows

[cerulean seal]

Bro I’m so scared of this spell

[frank leaf]

OH GOD REVIVIFY WOULD NO LONGER WORK SINCE THERE'S NO BODY

[cerulean seal]

The local litch just killed Sprungle your parties Goblin mascot. Your party grieves as they then whispers and poison gas begins to pour out of your buddy

[nova basin]

Corpse plague
4th level necromancy
Casting time: 1 reaction, which you take when a creature (other than a construct or a creature without a physical form) dies within 60 feet of you
Duration: Concentration, 1 minute
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S, M (a rotting body part adorned with a fine ring worth at least 100 gp)
You cause a corpse within range to radiate deadly contagion in a 15 foot radius. All creatures within the area must roll a Constitution saving throw or take 5d6 poison damage and be afflicted with the plague, only taking half damage on a success. Creatures with the plague grow lesions on their skin, becoming vulnerable to the first attack that hits them before the start of their turn and taking 2d6 necrotic damage at the start of each of their turns (while the spell is active). If a creature dies from the poison or necrotic damage from this spell, it becomes another conduit for the plague and the initial effect of this spell happens again from its position.
The plague can be removed by a Greater Restoration or Remove Curse spell.

@fast cove thoughts

[fast cove]

I like it
less chance of abusing it (although its usually me as the DM tormenting my players with stuff like this)

[hidden delta]

Great now put this on a team with a celestial warlock and your fighter is a walking bomb

[frank leaf]

This implies you need to find out whether or not your target is wearing an expensive ring before you kill them, which is very funny.

The GP cost is usually relative to spell level btw (300GP is prob a better cost for how strong this is).

[fast cove]

I think it implies you use a rotting body part with a ring as a material component yourself, while targeting a corpse that died in the same round for the spell

[nova basin]

No I mean you have like a rotted finger with a pretty ring as the material component which you then use to target the corpse

[frank leaf]

Reread, ic

[nova basin]

As for material component gp costs

I have no idea

I just figured putting an arbitrarily high number was good enough

[frank leaf]

Ah, well 300 is prob the right price range

Maybe 350 - 450

But that's up to them

[nova basin]

Wdym

[hidden delta]

The fighter died, wizard casts this then warlock revives them causing another explosion

[fast cove]

casting this on your teammate for damage optimisation is EVIL

[nova basin]

Why fighter

Do this on zealot barb

You could build a whole thematic team around this

[frank leaf]

He thinks he's chosen by Gods instantly rebirth in death of poison and a revival of fire

[nova basin]

No like

That is his goal

[frank leaf]

He

[nova basin]

Reborn zealot barb in service of a death god

[frank leaf]

So deadpool

[nova basin]

Free rezz spells on zealots

Yeah basically

You could make a team of 3 aspects of the death god and send them out to do his bidding

[frank leaf]

Lmao, I love it

[nova basin]

Lioe a full themed campaign

[frank leaf]

Imagine their goal is to save life so the cycle of death can continue

[nova basin]

Maybe an evil campaign but I'm sure someone is smart enough to find a plot that makes them not abject villains

[frank leaf]

Adventure time style

Somebody wants to kill everything, but that means no more death, which Death does not want to happen or he's put out of a job

[nova basin]

Zealot barb, death cleric, undead lock/shadow sorc/spore druid

[frank maple]

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F5kqU6CAUk-Ya1Wl-ixHSIwnumjLxVhOPn_pCgz-slA/edit?usp=drivesdk

... yet another sorcerer subclass from me. I wanted to make something bladesinger adjacent that still has a unique identity as a sorcerer. This is intended for use in 2014 campaigns but could easily be adapted for 2024 - the Sorcerous Amplification was inspired by Innate Sorcery (which I find awesome in theory but kind of boring in practice).

[frank leaf]

(like Cleric's Channel Divinity, it's mostly for subclass options for the devs, so ofc Innate Sorcery falls flat by itself)

[frank maple]

I totally agree however they didn't really implement any unique effects for innate sorcery with the new subclasses. Thats sort of where my disappointment with it lies. I would have loved if every subclass had a unique effect tied to innate sorcery, similar to barbarian rages and a lot of their subclasses.

[ember valve]

Heyo 👋🏻 what's the easiest way to import a homebrew character into bed? If any

[void jewel]

Probably candles, wine, and a nice dinner

And a go to attitude

[sturdy knoll]

Let's also keep this discussion appropriate for this server.

[ember valve]

Lol whoops... I meant ddb 😝

[barren sand]

Hey chat
If the main character from the hollow knight game were to be in dnd what sentient creature would it be in the DND world?

[frank maple]

Its not really something you can just do. You'd need to create the homebrew species/subclass etc in dndbeyond before you could make it as a character

[void jewel]

I'd advise using not dnbd for that. Dndb is a flawed system and one of its major flaws is homebrew

[ember valve]

So no way to just import any time of file for easy peasy

[void jewel]

I'd use a more robust software like roll20

[sturdy knoll]

I'll be honest, DnDBeyond is not the easiest tool to make a homebrew character (e.g. homebrew race/species, homebrew subclass, homebrew background, etc.) You may find it easier to use just a Google Docs

Yeah no there is no data import or data export

[ember valve]

I do have Roll20 pro

[frank maple]

Unfortunately no

[ember valve]

Are there ways to access other people's ready in <insert system> for character creation? Like if I wanted to play a necromancer

[sturdy knoll]

On DnDBeyond if you have an active subscription you can add other folks homebrew into your Hombrew Collection and use it.

Please note that DnDBeyond is not responsible for if that homebrew actually mechanically works or is actually usable.

It's community created and thus can be... uneven at the best of times.

[umbral dust]

could someone let me know what they think of my rules for eating during travel?

Creatures can go a number of days without eating equal to 1+CON mod.

A creature that does not eat regularly becomes starving and must succeed on a CON save at the start of each day equal to 10+ the number of days they have been starving, and gain one point of exhaustion on a failure. Starving creatures also do not regain hit dice on long rests, and their exhaustion is not reduced.

Players have a d6 amount equivalent to the amount of rations they possess, called ration dice. At the end of each day of travel, players roll all their ration dice and remove each one that is a 1.

any tips for improvement would be appreciated

running a travel heavy campaign, so i want eating to feel more fun than tallying numbers

[hidden delta]

I think it looks cool, it is con total not mod right?

[umbral dust]

constitution modifier yeah sorry

so for a 16 con, they could go 1+3 days without eating

which sounds reasonable to me

i'd be hungry after 4 days

[hidden delta]

Most people don’t start starving for 8-21 days so that feels like an underestimation i’d use con stat

[frank leaf]

Like how you can go Con mod minutes without breathing

That way it's intuitive

Higher Con mod = moar life

More HP, more days without eating, more time without breathing

[umbral dust]

i kind of feel like for the purposes of adventuring, you'd need to eat properly at least once a week

like with all the heavy exercise involved, you'd be expending a lot more energy than most people

[frank leaf]

Exactly, so even with Barb +7 con they only get a week without food

[umbral dust]

which makes sense to me as barbarians usually fight all day

not sure, should i make rations more valuable and have characters able to go longer without them?

or stick with what i have now, but food is more abundant

[frank leaf]

Stick with what you got now. Con mod is intuitive, would mean party members who can go longer without it get to roleplay doting on teammates by helping them hunt

[umbral dust]

Alright thank you

[frank leaf]

Alr, so, now that I have more time rn, someone mind helping me with my Rogue subclass?

Called Promise Keeper

(I threw a lil of it here yesterday but while I was waiting for some thoughts I went and did smth)

[umbral dust]

I'm happy to look through your ideas

[frank leaf]

So the premise Oathbreaker Paladin, but it makes sense because you aren't a Paladin anymore (I also lump in Druids who commit Anathemas or Warlocks that betray their patron).

At level 3 you get 2 features. The first feature is just half caster Pact Magic. It scales as slow as it sounds. The only difference is that you get to choose between Paladin, Warlock, or Druid Spell list, which determines your option from the second feature. Wisdom is the casting stat.

[umbral dust]

Sounds cool, so it's a bit of a mix between caster & traditional rogue?

I'm not sure what arcane trickster is like, but it sounds similar

[frank leaf]

(copy and pasting the second feature):
The options are:

• -# Nature's Will: If you chose the Druid spell list, whenever you expend a Pact Magic slot, you can choose to make minor changes to your anatomy in imitation of Wildshape, replacing an Ability score of your choice with your Wisdom Score. This lasts until you finish a long rest or use this feature again. Additionally, you gain a Climb and a Swim Speed equal to your walk speed, and can gain a Fly speed equal to your walk speed whenever you take a Cunning Action, for one Minute. After you gain the flight speed, you can use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
• -# Embodiment of Tenets: If you chose the Paladin spell list, whenever you expend a Pact Magic slot, you can infuse an attack with divine energy, in imitation of a Divine Smite. Until you finish a Short or Long rest, when you deal damage with Sneak Attack you can choose to increase its Sneak attack Dice d12s. Once you do, you can't use this feature again until you expend another Pact Magic spell slot. Additionally, choose a fighting style feat, which you can replace whenever you gain a Rogue level.
• -# Patron’s Disciple: If you chose the Warlock spell list: Whenever you expend a Pact Magic slot, for 1 minute, if a creature fails a saving throw with disadvantage against a spell you cast, or you land a hit on a creature with a spell attack roll with Advantage, you can deal additional damage equal to your Sneak Attack Dice. Additionally, you learn the Eldritch Blast cantrip.

The idea is for level three to give you imitations of the magic you used to hold. Shreds of power you get that rear their head when use up some of the shallow magic you have left

[umbral dust]

I like the warlock one a lot, giving sneak attack to spells

[frank leaf]

Smth people begged Arcane Trickster to have, but I felt Warlock being viewed a lil more cruel light makes it fit better

[umbral dust]

Also the paladin one confuses me a little - it lasts a full day, but only costs one slot?

[frank leaf]

Basically, you get a one time Pseudo smite. Use it or lose it.

In exchange I gave them a better passive benefit of the Fighting Style

[umbral dust]

Oh right, okay, that needs clarifying. The way I'm reading it is that once you use it, you have d12 sneak attack for the rest of the day

[frank leaf]

(also it means you can wait for a Crit to use it)

[frank leaf]

That's what the "once you use this feature, you can't use it again until" is for

[umbral dust]

"Until you finish a short or long rest, when you deal damage you can choose to increase sneak attack dice d12s" makes it sound like you just have the ability all day.

I would reword it to be more explicit on it being a single-use attack

[frank leaf]

Does saying "Once", before the "until you finish a short or long rest" fix it?

I'm tryna think of wording to make it lost upon a rest but also gone when you use it

[umbral dust]

"You can choose to expend a Pact Magic slot to prepare a divine variant of your Sneak Attack. This becomes prepared for the rest of the day, and you can expend it at any time but is lost if you take a short or long rest.

You can use your prepared divine sneak attack in place of a regular sneak attack, and all d6s are replaced with d12s."

Maybe clean that up a little

But that works

You prepare it beforehand, and lose the opportunity to use it if you take a long rest

[frank leaf]

This mostly works, thx

[umbral dust]

I do personally think it should be d8s, as doubling the damage of a sneak attack seems a little strong unless obviously you dont have many Pact Magic slots

[frank leaf]

As I just said, you RLY don't. 1/2 caster Pact Magic means you only gain Slots/slot level every other level a Warlock would

Meaning you start with 2 level 1 spell slots

And get level 2 slots at character level 7

[umbral dust]

Ohh right okay

May have misread/misunderstood

Looks pretty good

[frank leaf]

Balancing wise? Under/overpowered?

[umbral dust]

I think it's on the stronger side but doesn't overshadow any other class. Definitely some strong aspects of it but i think you have it well-tempered

[cerulean seal]

Okay so big ask.
I need assistance looking at subclasses for a homebrew class I made.
It's a big ask because that requires someone to read over the main class and subclasses but I'm looking for anyone who's willing.
I need some balancing/feed back on the subclasses, not necessarily the main class now unless there is some glaring issue
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jrVXS-PFn0lv4tJYuS1nSC4SCdK7ksh9N5HBfK04V5A/edit?usp=sharing

[frank leaf]

I'm totally down to look at this tomorrow. Optional suggestion: would you like to look at my homebrew Ranger while I look over your doc? (Tmrrw, don't have my phone rn lol)

[cerulean seal]

I'm down to review your ranger!

[austere mango]

I need help, I need to homebrew a cr6 flying beast creature, I've not made stat blocks before, ideally it should have good dex and a bite attack.

[cerulean seal]

Out of curiosity, why do you need to homebrew one instead of just pulling one from the monster manual?

[austere mango]

Because there isn't one in the mm

[cerulean seal]

2014 or 2024?

Let me check

[austere mango]

I wouldn't ask if I couldn't find what I was looking for

[cerulean seal]

Does it just need to be a single beast or can be it a number of beasts that equal to CR6?

[austere mango]

Single beast. By itself

Can't exactly wildshape into a swarm

[cerulean seal]

Ah I see.

[hidden delta]

Ok I read through it, looks mostly balanced. But 2 main things 1. Angle level 7 needs rewording mechanically sound but wording is odd. 2. Spirit’s spirit strikes seem way stronger than the other subclass strikes which are generally more utility, pixie has a great speed drop on con save but spirit’s fear is free just feels unfair.

[cerulean seal]

Dang you said beast...

[austere mango]

Yeah, my DM has made me super powerful. But now I've hit a ceiling so I need to push on the ceiling

[cerulean seal]

Because I'm seeing Vyverns, young brass dragon, and young white dragon

Vrocks

[austere mango]

Well, there is a loop hole with monstrosities because of the owlbear

[cerulean seal]

Chasme and Chimeras

[cerulean seal]

Chimera is a monstrosity

CR6

60ft fly speed

[austere mango]

I'll look into it

[cerulean seal]

I have the block if you need it. Or I can just send you the Cr6 creatures if you want to look through the list

[austere mango]

DM it to me

[cerulean seal]

Sent

[cerulean seal]

• What about the Angel is odd?
• Do you think I should make the fear effect a wis save?

[hidden delta]

Just wording feels long especially the added damage. And yeah a save could be good, the damage or area could possibly be reduced for the other effect

[spring tusk]

Okay so, level 18 moon druid?

CR 6 flying beast, hm

[austere mango]

Sure, let's go with that

[spring tusk]

Well druid can't wild shape into a creature higher than CR 1 unless they're a moon druid, which Max's wild shape CR at druid level / 3

So minimum, you'd have to be a level 18 moon druid to be able to turn into a CR 6 anything

[austere mango]

...unless the DM says you can wildshape into beasts with a challenge rating equal to your druid level.

[spring tusk]

Why would you even need to be that big anyway, like what purpose does that serve, that can help us help you

[austere mango]

Uhm.....

[spring tusk]

That's- hefty, but I guess as long as this DM is aware of the insane balancing complications that can come with that

[austere mango]

Picture cod zombies

[spring tusk]

Never played cod

[cerulean seal]

Man he's going to be dealing with some crazy stuff later

[spring tusk]

Gotcha

[cerulean seal]

Especially if he allows monstrosities

[austere mango]

We finished wave ten and it was brutal.

[spring tusk]

RAW druid can't turn into an owlbear that's wholly a bg3 thing as far as I know, but still owlbear wild shapes are pretty cool

[austere mango]

Most of his monsters or monstrosities, but then he never updates their challenge rating so all of them are 1. Yes their all custom monsters

[austere mango]

True, indeed

[spring tusk]

Interesting

Hm, I might have something

One second

[austere mango]

It's crazy, he has the big bosses every ten levels, and I'm technically allowed to wildshape into them. It's very weird stuff

[spring tusk]

Alrighty

https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/AWF4CZv1TZ40

This is a Vulture Bee

It's CR 5

You could probably start here and boost it up

Trigona Hypogea

[austere mango]

Nice.

[cerulean seal]

Giant Ape gonna go crazy for you at 7th level then

[austere mango]

Yeah, so my bite attacks also deal thunder damage. And another bonus I have on my character is that I effectively have trample. My hit box does 2d10 damage. Prerequisite; I have to be one size larger than the creature, and I have to roll to hit. This does count as an attack action however. But.... If I could fly, can bite/swallow, then fly and spit out for falling damage. Oh now we cooking

[cerulean seal]

Oh yeah, Chimera is perfect then

Chimera has a big strength score so you can carry a lot of stuff

And a breath attack

[cerulean seal]

Do you think I should find a way to combine the last two bullets on the Angel feature?

[austere mango]

As cool as a breath attack is, I do have one problem. In a party of 5, I'm the devotee one man army.

[hidden delta]

Yeah would probably help with readability

[arctic thorn]

hey yall, i made this druid subclass and id love some feedback on it

Circle of the Storm:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lM70_nJtGW4rsEmS3cR6oZbbm4Bp_y6rAMWNn24S2Ok/edit?usp=sharing

[mellow galleon]

Hey what cr would you put a Dao lord that is litteraly the size of a mountain

[fallow phoenix]

this is super cool! i love storm themed subclasses! i would say the protection of the cloud ability could probably be put in at an earlier level

[arctic thorn]

tried to not make it so similar to the sea druid because the sea has to do with alotta storm type stuff too but i agree with you

[cerulean seal]

Probably pretty high. I think nearly all gargantuan or larger creatures are at least CR 20 or higher

[mellow galleon]

Isnt a roc like cr 11 thoe?

[cerulean seal]

Hmm, true. That’s CR11

Still high. But I guess depends on what else they can do

[mellow galleon]

Hurls house sized fist and tendrils at the party

[cerulean seal]

Is a ROC the size of a mountain though?

I know DnD only goes up to Gargantuan

Damn the Dragon Turtle is only CR17??

I thought it was at least 20

[mellow galleon]

Dao lord but given its mental stat in this form it more of a over grown earth elemental

[cerulean seal]

In the 2024 monster manual/dungeon master guide they literally show the Dragon Turtle carrying a whole civilization on its back.

[mellow galleon]

I used the Roc as an example of a low cr gargantuan

[mellow galleon]

Basically the Dao lord at this point used a item grew to the size of a mountain but its mental stat became kinda incoherant leading to it losing it spell casting and just throwing its massive woeght around

[solid crane]

How much world building is needed before starting a campaign

[native veldt]

Running Curse of Strahd and added in a homebrew item I'm calling Paste of Silvering
Uses: 10 per vial
Effect: weapon the paste is applied to is now silvered. Roll 1d4 with each successful attack, on a 1, the weapon is no longer silvered
Question; is 10 uses per vial too much and do i make it an action or bonus action to apply?

[cerulean seal]

Up to your desire. Probably best to check #dm-world-building

[solid crane]

Ooo tysmmmm

[frank berry]

Number of uses is gonna be purely subjective to how many of these vials they are gonna find. An easy alternative would be starting off with a vial of less uses, so you can test how quickly the players use them, and have them find more later when necessary

And as for the applying, I think an Action sounds fair, considering you can just have it applied between encounters, so you'd never start an encounter without it, but can then reapply it as an Action when necessary

[lament meadow]

Homebrewers, is a creature that can drain spell slots and then deals damage based on the number of missing spell slot is too harsh for spellcasters?

(p.s. that creature has a different tactic for martial classes)

[sudden rapids]

I think the creature is a high pressure mechanic then, but whether it’s too harsh depends on how you scale the action economy. If the drain is a guaranteed effect on a hit, it can feel punishing or annoying, but if it’s tied to a wisdom or charisma saving throw it becomes a fair tactical hurdle. For the damage scaling, I would suggest using 1d6 or 1d8 per level of the slot drained, rather than total missing slots, to avoid the death of a low resource caster who was already out of juice. If you do go with damage per missing slot keep the dice size small, example using a d4 so the caster still has a chance to survive and to stay upright allowing them to use their remaining utility.

But it genuinely depends on the players experience if it’s a newbie then it might seem too harsh if it is a player who is up for a challenge or someone who has played multiple times before then I guess it will only be tough to a certain extent

[hollow siren]

as a bit of a medium hot take, i feel like mark of sentinel should have given mage armor instead of shield, and vice versa

mark of sentinel is very martial/gish coded flavor-wise.

and the feature should have been that regardless of whether you cast mage armor with a slot or not, you can cast it even while wearing light or medium armor without a shield equipped. the armor then gains a +2 bonus (upgraded to +3 with greater mark of sentinel), as mage armor sets your base AC to 13 (which is equivalent to a base AC of 10 with a +3 bonus)

in turn mark of warding giving shield and either mage armor or alarm works (i have heard the latter is kinda meh and it feels like mark of warding was designed to synnergize with and make the abjuration wizard, 2014 or 2024 notwithstanding, to be the local man is hecking invincible meme)

alternatively, because sentinel gets 3 benefits, mark of warding could have also included a special ward ability that made shield able to be cast against saving throws too

[peak inlet]

Shield is pretty big for non-casters

I wanna allow for Magic Weapon and Elemental Weapon to activate on magical weapons

[peak inlet]

but this still makes no sense

[hollow siren]

lol, apologies, i miswrote my original proposition. edited for clarity, my b

my brain was like 5 steps ahead of my fingers

[hollow siren]

right, i agree. that being said, mark of sentinel still grants it so im not overly concerned about two shield granting feats

[hollow siren]

how would this work? kind of a cool idea

relatedly to all this: i found a neat nerf to the shield spell too: setting an upper AC limit. the one i found set it at 21, personally I would set it to 22 but that's a subjective quibble

i guess even 23 or 24 is fine too, the conundrum therein though is to nerf the "heavy armor EK fighter casts shield and achieves an AC of 26 to 30 somehow" or any other DM faceslap in exasperation moments, without inadvertently making draconic sorcerers (2024) get much less mileage out of the spell, e.g. 10 base AC + 5 charisma + 3 dexterity is 18, and adding another 5 to that puts you over the upper limit allowed (i guess you could argue a 2 dex is more likely, however that still puts you over the proposed upper limit of 21 and meet the limit i proposed of 22 respectively). but then again being a martial is nerf enough sadly lol

(this is to address the reasons put forward for the nerf in the blog post, which is that shield is intended to protect glass cannons but ends up with obscene levels of AC)

as you may be able to tell, i am on an abjuration focus rn with my homebrewing

[peak inlet]

nah, it doesn’t need to be nerfed

[peak inlet]

it sets the bonus to the one of the spell if it’s higher

gives more value to something like Vicious Weapons

[hollow siren]

i dont think so either, tbh, even with some of their issues with shield basically destroying an encounter. however, i think it is an interesting variant

[hollow siren]

oh i like this! cool idea

what if the bonus on the weapon is higher?

[native gale]

You're welcome to play by whatever rules are fun for you and your table, but its one of my personal biggest pet peeves when a DM nerfs something that's completely within the bounds of the normal rules. Like, I get it if its a weird edge case rule like coffeelock or something, but just stopping a heavy armor fighter from casting shield is a very unnecessary nerf in my opinion. I would probably walk away from a table that implemented this rule

[peak inlet]

doesn’t do anything

it just doesn’t trigger the spell

like being counterspelled

[hollow siren]

oh i do completely agree, for the record. i just thought it was unique

frankly, the only reason to nerf shield in this way is if you are also rewriting shield to be used against Saving Throws too.

[hollow siren]

ahhh i see. interesting, that may make it fall off then at higher levels. however, i also dont see an issue with that tbh

[peak inlet]

it doesn’t really fall off later

your magic weapons can always be ones with lower bonuses if you know you have reliable Magic Weapon

[peak inlet]

I would actually retract this

it would still activate

so you can use it with something like Defender

and now it’s a plain +3 AC for a level 6 slot

[hollow siren]

ahhh i see. good point

[peak inlet]

although I do increase the level of the upcast to level 4/6 instead of 3/6

and Greater Mark of Making now upcasts to level 4

[hollow siren]

i like that idea a lot

[eternal berry]

Yall I'm trying to make a four armed orc

What would you give them? I wanted to give them multiattack because of their four arms

[fast cove]

i'd give them four arms personally

[peak inlet]

don’t give them Multiattack

is this a Species or a Monster?

Monster would depend on CR

Species don’t get to give extra attack

[eternal berry]

Basically the idea is Goro from mortal combat so I would guess monster?

Not really planned for it to be a species of four armed creatures

[fast cove]

you could give them a unique move that allows them to grapple a creature with two arms and then use its other two arms to pummel them
make the creature take high damage until they succeed a strength save to escape

[eternal berry]

I like that

I have already planned to give them a special move called liver shot, because they are a unarmed combat fighter

[peak inlet]

what they get depends on what CR you’re making them

[tacit leaf]

are you looking for a boss monster (legendary or not) or something to use multiple of in a group?

[peak inlet]

making monsters does tend to expect you to know where you’re deploying it

[eternal berry]

Mmm I'll look into how to determine CR

[tacit leaf]

also ditto in the CR question, what level party is it going up against and if its more a specific party that's good info too

[fast cove]

i return once again to ask your opinions on whether my evil ass spell is balanced or not

Flesh Puppet
*4th level Sanguinomancy *
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: Concentration, 1 minutes
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S
You carve a dark sigil into your flesh, taking (2d6 necrotic damage) and targeting a medium or smaller creature within range that you can see. The target must succeed an Intelligence saving throw or have the sigil seared into its flesh as well. While the sigil is on its body, it is unable to move.
It makes an attack of opportunity against any creatures that leave its range. On your turn, you may spend a bonus action to move your puppet upto its movement speed. If it ends its movement within 5 feet of a creature, it makes an attack against that creature. On its turns, it can make a Constitution saving throw, ending the spell on a success.

[eternal berry]

Do you choose what the creature attacks with?

The weapon it is currently holding?

[tacit leaf]

is this 2014 or 2024?

[hidden delta]

Should probably specify if the target can take actions and if they can make multiple opportunity attacks

[peak inlet]

wouldn’t this effect be a Charisma save? also, gaining full control of a creature like that is a 9th or 8th level spell

this is pretty close to Dominate Monster

you might wanna look at Antagonize

[eternal berry]

Yeah I was about to point out it being weird having it be on Intelligence

[peak inlet]

for a lower level version comp

I would use this on my Rogue, and now it has infinite attacks per round

[tacit leaf]

If you remove the incapacitated condition, you gain a lot more breathing room for the control aspect which is imo more interesting

[hidden delta]

I was thinking of that or other similar strats

[peak inlet]

even a 9th level spell can’t do that

in fact, there’s not a single way I could find for someone to make attacks on more than 2 turns per round

[fast cove]

explain

[hidden delta]

Wording implies infinite number of opportunity attacks

[fast cove]

intends only one, my bad.

[peak inlet]

you didn’t say that the affected creature uses its Reaction

[peak inlet]

you should make the spell Instantaneous instead

at 4th level, that’s kind of all you can do

it would be a controlled Dissonant Whisper + Antagonize

which means that you can force the creature to trigger Opportunity attacks

[umbral dust]

my party is going to a city-sized farming village next session i think it would be really funny if they fought a bread elemental

might have to get on that

[oak parrot]

just go full on candyland. Forget bread elementals, attack them with Gingerbread elementals!

Attack with licorice spears!

[void jewel]

Pretty bad. All it does is some forced movement (good) and a single opportunity attack per turn (bad damage) for a fourth level spell that is easy to escape.

Like, it doesn't actually disable the creature at all

And it's also a single target save or suck that costs you 7hp

[eternal berry]

Dehydrated grapes as throwing rocks

[fast cove]

everyone and their mother told me the spell was drastically overtuned...

[void jewel]

I mean, think about it. Sure, it forces movement (good) but likely only for one or two turns. You know what also does? Command. A first level spell

And sure, it can be used to provoke OAs, but so can command

And they'll probably escape quickly

And it doesn't force them to do much damage against their allies. They only have one reaction to make attacks against them with, so they will only ever make one per round

Its concentration on top of that, too

The only redeeming factor is that the initial save is INT, but eh. With the rest of the downsides, not worthwhile

Again, it doesn't even remove their turn. They can still act normally on their turn. And I'd like to remind you that command deletes their entire turn

And is a first level spell

[eternal berry]

I guess this one offers more movement freedom

[fast cove]

it does though

[void jewel]

Extremely marginal benefit for massive cost and downside

[void jewel]

Where does it say it does? It doesn't as written

What is the text that causes them to skip their turn

It says it cannot move, but that's it

It just gets no movement. It still gets actions, bonus actions, and reactions

[fast cove]

"while the sigil is on its body, it is unable to move"
bad wording im aware but the intention was a skipped turn

[lean crow]

"Incapacitated" is the word you're looking for, I think.

[void jewel]

Yeah that in the game's language just means no physically moving

[fast cove]

adressed the poor wording, moving on
this isnt the final version of the spell im jst brainstorming ideas

[lean crow]

Of course, being incapacitated means you can't do reactions, so you'd need to rewrite how the target makes attacks of opportunity

[fast cove]

not incapacitated since it still uses its reactions
rather "on a failed constitution save, it skips its turn"

[lean crow]

Skips its turn is best

[void jewel]

As a reminder, now it allows you to control movement slightly more than command and have them opportunity attack something. And maybe sometimes have multiple turns. At the cost of your concentration and a fourth level slot.

Command does most of this effect at first level and without concentration.

Command is like 80% of the value at a tiny fraction of the cost

[lean crow]

Except the target is allowed to repeat the save...with Constitution? Why is the initial saving throw Intelligence but the follow-up saves are Constitution?

[fast cove]

firstly so its easy to get out of secondly it leans into the flavor of "sigil being branded into your flesh" and sanguine blood magic

[lean crow]

Then why is the first save Int?

[void jewel]

Single target repeat save concentration spells need to be really good to justify existing. Hold person is a famous bait spell, and that one applies paralyzed, the best condition outside of dead and petrified, and is a second level spell

[scenic dew]

I will try my luck here.
How do y'all feel about homebrew weapon expansions ? Like Sabre, cestus, katana. I think Wizards cheaped out on the weapons and adding weapons even if there isn't much of difference between them is different kind of homebrew.

[void jewel]

They're fine, but also extremely easy to accomplish with flavor

You can just call a longsword a katana and move on with your day, rather than spending time and effort home brewing

[hollow siren]

i like these generally even if easy to accomplish with flavor. i would, however, urge you to be careful if you arent just repackaging a longsword without the versatile property into katana

katana actually strikes me as a 1d8 slashing finesse weapon

[scenic dew]

I don't think we should put that much pressure on "flavor". I don't think there's anything wrong with having Sabre that's just Rapier with Slashing damage.

Personally I would make Katana as 1d10 slashing damage, two-handed, finesse

[void jewel]

I don't think any caution is required, there is zero downside.

Flavor has literally no issues and takes next to no effort

[hollow siren]

guys i need ideas for names: as was discussed in multiple playtest preview forums, the idea of a lightning psion (like storm for xmen) seemed to have appealed to many. i have the bones of an idea in mind mechanically, i just need to draft it. the name, however, escapes me

[void jewel]

Can add it pretty readily. You could make a melee weapon a 2d8 and martials still wouldn't be too powerful. Lots of room to experiment tbh

Doesn't take too much effort to add new weapons and weapon attacks are quite underpowered as is in the game

[scenic dew]

Masteries help out, I would say, but I think Wizards just cheaped out on weapons tried to make most of them unique. Weapons is something they should've made with "quantity over quality" mindset in this rare case.

[void jewel]

If you want to add a nonmagical melee weapon, go ham, really. Near impossible to break the game's class balance with a nonmagical melee weapon

[hollow siren]

i meant caution insofar as making new item blocks that differ slightly from an existing block

for instance the arming sword weapon block i drafted is fine (it does 1d8 slashing damage as a finesse weapon but lacks the versatile property of a longsword), however making a greatsword a finesse 2 handed weapon and calling it a dancing axe or something

the latter of which is silly

obviously, epitaph probably didnt have something like THAT in mind

my point is more that it is easy to get carried away lol

[fast cove]

another iteration of the spell

Flesh Puppet
*4th level Sanguinomancy *
Casting Time: 1 action
Duration: Concentration, 1 minute
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (a doll of yarn with a pin pierced through it)
You carve a dark sigil into your flesh, taking (2d6 necrotic damage) and targeting a medium or smaller creature within range that you can see. The target must make a Charisma saving throw. On a success, it takes 2d6 necrotic damage with no other effects, while on a failure it takes 4d6 necrotic damage and becomes puppeteered by you.
On subsequent turns, you can use your Bonus Action to command a puppet to move upto 20 feet and spend its reaction to attack a creature of your choice. If it is unable to attack the creature (due to a lack of movement speed, or because its reaction is unavailable), the target instead has disadvantage on all attack rolls on its next turn.

[hollow siren]

for instance, the arming sword idea started out first as 1d10 then 2d4 to be unique but frankly that felt unbalanced and too different

[scenic dew]

Static Psion ?

[hollow siren]

interesting, i have admittedly neglected the use of static in naming stuff. but thats the idea kinda

my other alternative was to rework psykinetic to be blastery and get a few fire and lightning spells (the flavor text supports this but the subclass direction overall does not support psykinetic as a blaster) and i went meh, a unique subclass might be cool

[fast cove]

@void jewel (excuse the ping)

[void jewel]

Still need to define it as unable to take its own turn

[hollow siren]

esp. because destructive thoughts is frankly too criminally underusable

[scenic dew]

True, my goal is for the weapon to best reflect it's real capacity. Katana is most used with 2 hands, but it requires finesse so that's why I thought about making it two-handed finesse weapon with damage like longsword.

[void jewel]

Puppeteered isn't a game term

Possessed is though

[hollow siren]

oh right, it is

ok, finesse two handed weapon might be cool!

[void jewel]

But that's different

[hollow siren]

katana as a finesse 2 handed 1d10 might be cool

[fast cove]

im aware, it was intended as flavortext
is skipping its own turn necessary or would this be a fine spell if i downgraded it to 3rd level?

cause other people said full incapacitation is too strong

[void jewel]

Oh without skipping its turn it goes from pretty unimpressive to laughably bad

Even at third level I'd never consider casting that

[hollow siren]

this makes me almost want to give it a feature that modifies synaptic static to make literal lightning/static effects purely for the pun. almost

[scenic dew]

I also aim to make more finesse weapons since let's be honest. Current strength = melee, Dex = range is simple, but stupid. Most swords in general benefit from Dexterity and finesse rather than raw strength.

[void jewel]

At current, this is a fourth level slot and your concentration for 4d6 save for half damage and 20 feet of forced movement per turn. The lack of repeat save is better, but the effect is now much worse

[hollow siren]

i settled for the 14th level feature increasing the radius of destructive wave when you spend 4 psionic energy die and keying off the 10th level feature by letting you add your modifier to the other 5d6 rolls. the 10th level feature would let you choose from lightning or radiant, necrotic, instead of the synaptic static pun idea

[void jewel]

It just isn't worth the resources or your concentration at this level

[scenic dew]

I mean...why not ? Go for it

[void jewel]

The opp. Attack thing is whatever

Deleting reactions is nice, but is not enough to make it worth it

[hollow siren]

i may draft it for giggles now, tbh

[fast cove]

and would incapacitation make it a worthwhile spell?
seems to me like a single target, direct upgrade to Hypnotic Pattern which is pretty scary

[hollow siren]

actually let me review Synaptic Static really quick, i might have an idea

[scenic dew]

Bioelectricity in brain having use ? Time has finally come.

[hollow siren]

thats the idea

ok let me think, i think this might be a cooler feature lol

[scenic dew]

I'm giving you a chance to cook, don't let me starve.

[peak inlet]

monster attacks could be pretty nasty

I would still prefer for it to be Instantaneous, no concentration

currently it’s either unusable or too strong

it’s also deadly for the players if you give it to an enemy

just all around difficult to play around with

[fast cove]

i kind of nerfed the possibility of a powerful monster attack because it doesnt affect creatures of large or greater size

[hollow siren]

ok so i think the level 10 feature will basically be when you cast synaptic static, you deal an additional 2d6 lightning damage. IN ADDITION:
you can expend one psionic energy die to 1) increase the spell's radius to 30 feet, and the targets cannot take reaction actions or bonus actions. not only do they subtract d6 from attack rolls and Ability Checks, but they also take 1d6 damage each turn for the duration. This will change the saving throw to be a con saving throw for all effects

contemplating making successive damage for the minute duration to be 1d6+int mod but i am not sure if that is too bloated a feature

honestly, this is so much better than what i had come up with

might need to trim it for balance

[scenic dew]

You can't use reaction, (bonus) action or who ?

[hollow siren]

(fun fact, synaptic static does not scale as you upcast it)

[hollow siren]

as part of the action to cast it i think

OH

oh no i see what youre saying

derp

the Target cannot take reactions or bonus actions

but im contemplating removing bonus action part

ok actually i am pumped to draft this subclass now, ive had this idea before people raised the idea of playing storm as a psion but have procrastinated due to some complicated life crap

[scenic dew]

Pretty strong tbh. You could remove the saving throw for enemies and instead add the incapacitation to yourself. So basically you cannot do much and in exchange you give 1d6 debuff for most enemy rolls within 30 feet radius.

[hollow siren]

my only concern with this cool feature is that this psion subclass will have synaptic static AND destructive wave as part of their expanded spell lists. those are two wave spells

[hollow siren]

oh the 1d6 debuff is in the spell already

as its printed too

[void jewel]

On some mobs yeah, though most that do multi attacks won't really care too much

Which from my experience is lots of em at that level, but ymmv

[hollow siren]

i do agree, the feature needs to be trimmed i think

[scenic dew]

I mean the psionic die adds range right ? So you could like make yourself too focused and expand the range so you can catch multiple opponents at once and your comrades beat the shit out of them.

[hollow siren]

yeah, but only 10 additional feat

hmmm

but good point lol
i mean tbf tho you could already do that anyway with it and other spells

[scenic dew]

I see it as sorta boosted, sure hit Bane

[hollow siren]

true, i guess

[scenic dew]

You could theoretically if you're willing to make yourself lose actions add to it boost for allies and combine Bane and Bless. Enemies in range are weakened, allies in range are boosted and you can't do much, but you're doing a lot at same time.

And to balance it out more for the sure hit effect, it may not apply to undead and constructs since they are animated by magic not biology.

[hollow siren]

oh good catch!

[hollow siren]

interestingly, in 2014 this could have been the case because the spell was incapable of effecting a target with an int of 2 or lower. in 2024, they removed this

also the actual spell does not stipulate constructs are unaffected

but i think most constructs have psychic resistance/immunity

[hollow siren]

this may also be worth exploring

perhaps make it so you choose which to apply, or you can choose to apply both and be immobilized for an entire turn and only be able to cast cantrips?

that may make the feature bloated as heck BUT it would also be super cool

[scenic dew]

You would sorta become ward. You can't act, but you boost your allies, weaken your enemies and allies have to protect you because you're valuable as hell.

Or if you don't necessarily want to lose all actions you can do it as:

Concentration + action each round to keep the effect active which leaves you still with bonus action and reaction

Depends how you want to play it, but I could see some tactical value in having ability like that in roster.

Well I will try and figure out more weapons that should be in DnD and aren't.

[drifting skiff]

yea, and by balanced i mean the options, not the power they bring. I thought it was obvious only whose good enough at creating monsters of high level could playtest it, (of course i changed a bit of combat and etc., but it's still near 5e

i can detail them out but i don't have that much time

[hollow siren]

sorry, im back lol

anyway

When you cast Synaptic Static, the spell deals an additional 2d6 Lightning damage to all targets as part of the same damage roll. In addition, when you cast Synaptic Static, you can expend one psionic energy die to modify the spell so to increase the spell's radius from 20 feet to 30 feet. In addition to the normal effects of the spell, for the duration of the spell while a target has muddled thoughts, the target also takes Lightning damage equal to 1d6 plus the number rolled on your Psionic energy die at the beginning of their turn. This effect lasts until the spell ends or the target succeeds on the Intelligence saving throw necessary to overcome the additional effects of Synaptic Static.

^^^that is the 10th level feature i came up with and ended up drafting

[restive tusk]

This seems fine and fun, I like subclass features that upgrade thematic spells

[restive tusk]

That’s sort of the vague wording that makes it hard to judge its quality 😅.

Just saying the options are balanced doesn’t mean much. I could say a sword that does 2d100 is balanced for high level play, but that’s doesn’t mean it actually is balanced. It’s especially hard to make a judgement or give feedback when the option descriptions are also vague with little to no mechanical detail. Option 7 for example doesn’t detail any spell enhancements.

It’s also not “obvious” that only those proficient in creating high level monsters can utilize this, because that is also vague. That could mean anything from creating Tier 4 opponents to creating a custom scaling system for CR31+. It’s a bit of a nothing burger to say “a DM who can create high level opponents can playtest it” because then that’s just balancing homebrew with homebrew, which means you’re both moving away from 5e’s balance framework and you’re necessitating a secondary homebrew system to handle your options

[rugged olive]

hey, anyone good with doing adv with factorials? Based on using a playing deck of cards

[restive tusk]

I might be able to help later but why don’t you post the mechanics here and if someone can help sooner they can reply

[rugged olive]

mk, so cardistry feature is as follows: when you would use a d20 for a roll, you can instead draw a card from a 52 deck of playing cards (removing Jokers), and use the value associated in the cardistry table for the roll. After you draw a card, you place the card in a discard pile, which can be shuffled back into the deck on a short or Long Rest.

[hollow siren]

thanks!

i plan to finish drafting it tonight at some point

[rugged olive]

Cardistry Table: black suits are equal to their value with ace being 1, and black J, Q, and K also being nat 1s, and red suits being the value of the card +10, so 10, J, Q, and K are all nat 20s

Also, what do we think of this feat?

Dumb Luck:
Prerequisite: Intelligence of 9 or lower

• Reduce your Intelligence score by 1, to a minimum of 1.
• You lose proficiency with any one skill, tool, or weapon of your choice
• When you roll a 1 on a d20 for an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw that doesn't add your proficiency bonus to the roll, you can reroll the die and treat any result higher than your intelligence score as a 20

[queen egret]

that is really funny and i think my barb already has it

[restive tusk]

Mathematically it’s worth to draw from the deck only when there are less “low cards” (<=10) than high cards, or when the average value of a card draw beats the average value of a d20 roll. The starting full deck has the same average result as a d20, but has a relatively higher chance of a nat20 and nat 1.

I’m curious as to strategies to “game the deck”. I’m sure you could burn some useless checks to try to eke out some lower cards. I think something interesting is that the text as is applies to any d20 roll, not just d20 Tests. I can’t think of any examples where this would work off the top of my head, but I assume there’s at least 1 d20 table out there that could be interesting to use the deck on.

[scenic dew]

Historians and Armorers of DnD Server, I call upon tee hee hee ! Please grant me the knowledge of defensive capabilities of Lamellar Armor and it's closets DnD comparison.🙏

Okay I think I have dumb idea, but hear me out. Buff armors by giving every armor some kind of damage resistance. Padded Armor ? You get non-magical bludgeoning damage resistance. Plate ? Piercing resistance, chain ? Slashing resistance (non magical)

[void jewel]

That's pretty extreme tbh

[scenic dew]

It is...but it's not like it wouldn't make that much sense. It makes armors more unique and more attractive than natural armor and unarmored defense

It also wouldn't be just about AC anymore

[void jewel]

Sense isn't really compatible with dnd

[void jewel]

Correct, but the decision would still be very linear and obvious

[wheat linden]

So uh, my monster's portrait won't show up even though it's 256 pixels.

Would anyone happen to know of any potential solutions?

[scenic dew]

Could be, but you couldn't just replace them with level 1 spell anymore. Would it make that much difference?

[void jewel]

Not at all, because mage armor isn't a powerful option to begin with

Any caster relying on mage armor wants to dip for armor anyways

Mage armor isn't relevant in terms of power to the game because only suboptimal builds use it. So you don't balance around it.

Mage armor isn't a replacement for armor and shields, it's a coping mechanism for lacking them

Even with 16 dex with mage armor you only have 16AC which is far from good

[weary lodge]

So I got a homebrew warforged sub species it's nano bots and they all work together to protect the king and or queen drone

[scenic dew]

Cope Armor is the new name for mage armor, I guess.

But would buffing actual armors kick such a hole in to balancing considering it's 1 resistance per armor and only for non-magical damage ?

[lean crow]

Armor with a single elemental resistance is a rare magic item.

Bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing are all more common than any of those damage types.

It is, in fact, a bit of a balance changer to hand out rare magic items as starter kit.

[frank leaf]

@cerulean seal almost forgor lol.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U9m-25tCTTENTyBGNCMvTZxqQ6gQElF7E0E8XzAUZsU/edit?usp=drivesdk
Here's my Ranger, I'll look over yours now.

[cerulean seal]

Nice! I’m grabbing some food right now so I’ll look over this in a minute

[frank leaf]

So, base class so far, level 6 could just be a modified Borrowed Knowledge spell, without expending a spell slot or needing material components the first use. Maybe even letting it become the Skill Empowerment spell later on would also be intuitive at that. Very balanced so far.

Spell list is very small though, could use at the very least more homebrew spells besides Backlash

(also I'm salty it gets Steel Wind Slash, but I have no legitimate reason it shouldn't, so ignore me)

[cerulean seal]

I’m making some homebrew spells currently so those will get added

[frank leaf]

Alright so Sunshot and Prayer of Elegance on Angel subclass are a little uninspired to me, as of now they feel too safe and similar to other divine subclasses.
Jubilation falls short a little, but I think that has rly nice potential, with. I LOVE heavenly bind though, if you leaned even more into the whole "divine imprisonment" thing I think it could be an amazing feature.

The features could prob stand to be a little stronger with Angel and Monstrosity as of now

Uncanny Prowl could also give a swim speed and increased Jump height (I say this here btw because it being capstone ain't too alluring, and this subclass's niche isn't very clear), and Frenzied Hunt . . . Is almost good.
I get it's a toned down SWS, but the self damage/friendly fire def feels too punishing.

Good, but too awkward to consistently use

Flesh Offering making the randomness irrelevant makes it questionable why it was there in the first place

[scenic dew]

Isn't really elemental. You're not getting fireproof jacket. Most of the resistances are pretty much Piercing and Slashing with so far only 1 Bludgeoning example that being Padded armor.
Also it only applies to non-magical.

[frank leaf]

Pixie almost perfect, SWS though comes a lil early, I'm not gonna say it's so much that it needs a complete rework, just keep in mind it's pretty strong for that level

Ack. Be back later

[cerulean seal]

Alright just got home. Looking at your Ranger and feedback now

[teal yew]

I don’t have a ton of experience working on Homebrew items, but I’m making rings for a plot line in my current campaign. Are there good resources or videos to watch regarding making a balanced magic item?

[frank leaf]

Alright, so last critique, Spirit.
Shadow Phase needs a small nerf, not sure how, but it's almost just right.
Phantom Phase should also include Psychic/Force damage, and instead being 100% reduction, let it be smth just obscenely high like reduce the damage equal to 6 times your Bonded level. Very few single instances will be higher than that.

Very balanced as a whole, would totally allow at my table.

[cerulean seal]

Opinions on the flavor of the class as a whole?

I'm taking your opinion seriously. I really appreciate all your input and will look into making those changes

[glass glade]

I have made my own D&D Homebrew Race, I worked on it for some time and got it edited by a friend. I haven’t submitted it to D&D Beyond because I actually wanted to test it out and see how balanced it is in a One-Shot campaign.

[opaque ginkgo]

What is it?

[cerulean seal]

Looking over this now.

Primal connections is interesting. I don't hate it however from a character design perspective, spells are often pretty core part of a players customization process when designing a charcter. While I think the chosen spells do feel Ranger like, weather those define a character a player might want to play is up for debate. I think rather than giving a specific list of spells they always have prepared, I would just add these to their spell list and then just bump the number of spells the class can have prepared if you want to do that.

Hunter Mark: A lot of 2024 ranger rides on this so lets see... 1d4 seems a little light. Might be better starting at a 1d6.
I would specify here that the refocusing the target as a BA doesn't expend another use of this feature. The spell version doesn't do this because it's baked into the spell but as a feature you'll probably want to clarify. Unless you specifically do want this to cost an charge.

The scaling of this dice isn't great imo. I would maybe jump from 1d6 to 1d10, and then at 15th level to 2d10 maybe considering just how high the power ceiling is around this level.

Reflex Strike: I get what you are going for, you are hitting a target thats trying to run or something. I don't know if logically it makes much sense for you to be able to hit a target because they are dashing rather than just walking. I also think making it flying but not including swimming is a little odd. I think this feature is probably fine if you adjusted the conditions.

Hunter mark (Level 9): I think this is fine. The week long thing probably doesn't work since you get more are restoring uses of hunters mark. I would maybe instead create a secondary "special" hunter mark they can do like once per day or something that lets you mark a target for a week or longer or something. I also don't know how often that would come up, and maybe even a DM would be annoyed by it if you marked the big bad.

Pt. 2 -

[glass glade]

It’s a Polar Bear race called Ursalanas

[opaque ginkgo]

Nicee

[glass glade]

N-ICE. ❄️🙃🧊

[cerulean seal]

Tireless: Is there a feature I'm missing where you can expend hit die to do something here? Or do you just mean when you take damage and such? I think we need some clarity here. If its strictly just when you get to use a spell or feature that expends hit dice I rarely see this every coming up if anything.

Feral Sense: May be a bit early to give this considering both 2014 and 2024 version gives it at 18th level. I would maybe bump it later.

True Resolve: Ah here is the expending hit die. I think something like this where you get to expend hit die needs to come sooner than an ability that is actively solving that problem. I think the ability to expend hit die shouldn't be so late if its going to be a core class feature potentially.

Hunters Presence: Same thing I said earlier about the hunters mark thing.

Primal Conduit: Unlimited castings of these spells is pretty wild. I would instead allow the user to cast each of these spells maybe once per long rest without expending a spell slot each if you are going to do something like this.

Predatory Technique: Don't make this "half your movement." Just make it a flat rate maybe like 15ft of 30ft. I think just make it so you can move towards your mark without triggering opportunity attacks is cool. Kinda encourages you to be more melee focused though if that matters.

Power Word hunt: This is level 20 so you can kinda be nutty as you wish. But I would still probably make getting to cast those spells that way like once per long rest maybe

[rancid basalt]

Magic item idea, first draft:

Tongue Bug
Wondrous Item, Uncommon

To use this magic item, you must hold it in your mouth for at least 10 minutes, allowing it to painlessly bind with your tongue. Once attached, you can speak Deep Speech, and it cannot be removed against your will.

Additional property
Option 1: Some kinda poison tongue lick ability idk

Option 2: Like a prehensile frog tongue, maybe an attack?

Curse: The bug consumes and replaces your natural tongue after a while, if you remove it, you have no tongue

[glad veldt]

What would be a good name for the subclasses of a hag class? (Besides Covin as that is already a mechanic)

[glad veldt]

Personally I think of that one fish parasite that replaces a fish's tongue. But that's just me.

Might be a good cursed variation, like the bag of holding vs the bag of devouring.

[cerulean seal]

What class?

[glad veldt]

Homebrew Hag class based on hexes, curses, and potions.

I was thinking "Lore" or "Craft"

[cerulean seal]

Witch? Apothecary? Green Witch?

[glad veldt]

Yeah.

Every witch in the 2014 rule set

Volo's guide, monster manual, the works.

[cerulean seal]

I mean for the names

[glad veldt]

So;
-Green
-Sea
-Night
-Bhur
-Annis

[cerulean seal]

I’m suggesting what I listed

[glad veldt]

Huh

Honestly really good point

Thanks!

I guess the question becomes "What does each subclass do?"

[cerulean seal]

Depends on what the core class does but I imagine varying forms of curses or potions they make. There are different types of witchery if you look at like Wiccan beliefs irl. So you could take inspiration from what

[frank leaf]

Primal connections is just so later on you get all those spells to cast at will (or as you suggested with Primal conduit, once per long rest, but most are utility spells that can't be shared too well anyway). The lower base 1d4 for Hunter mark is to make up for the improved Invis feature since it basically lasts 2 rounds, so for combat use gets Advantage very often, and so I can be a little more liberal with subclass damage.

(Sent early whoops)

[frank leaf]

The logic with reflex is mostly just a sort of pounce, smth move fast = I attack it. How should I adjust the proc conditions? Swimming/Climbing also is what I think you're saying? (Also, the rly long Hunter's Mark thing is for more intrigue games where giving up damage for a very good narrative bonus to checks involving the BBEG is smth the DM might enjoy)

[wraith mortar]

hi i gotta question!

[cerulean seal]

You can just send your question 😁

[frank leaf]

Tireless includes when you expend dice on a short rest, so basically 2x hit dice (which I should think is very strong all that our of combat healing, no?), and also don't forget the Durable feat becomes very viable with it. You think I should swap Feral Sense and Primal Conduit and nerf Conduit to that version where you get a free cast of each spell instead of at will?

[wraith mortar]

wnna know what yall think about these homebrew spells

[torn fjord]

I personally have a text wall of a thing, and I expect it'd be a bit of a discussion, so idk if I should post it now or wait for others to finish

[cerulean seal]

You can just post it

[cerulean seal]

Probably stick them into a google doc and share the doc here. 😁

[wraith mortar]

This spell creates an undead servant. Choose a pile of bones or a corpse of a Medium or Small humanoid within range. Your spell imbues the target with a foul mimicry of life, raising it as an undead creature. The target becomes a skeleton if you chose bones or a zombie if you chose a corpse (the GM has the creature's game statistics).

Roll a d10: On an even number, the undead servant obeys your commands for the duration. On an odd number, it is hostile to all other creatures for the duration.

On each of your turns, you can use a bonus action to mentally command any creature you made with this spell if the creature is within 60 feet of you (if you control multiple creatures, you can command any or all of them at the same time, issuing the same command to each one). You decide what action the creature will take and where it will move during its next turn, or you can issue a general command, such as to guard a particular chamber or corridor. If you issue no commands, the creature only defends itself against hostile creatures. Once given an order, the creature continues to follow it until its task is complete.

The creature is under your control for 1 minute, after which it stops obeying any command you've given it and becomes hostile to all living creatures.

1 action instead of 1 minute

1st level weak animate dead

[frank leaf]

Predatory movement to 15ft is a good idea ye. It technically can be defensive if you're actively runnning from your Mark, or utility if you burn Mark uses for sort of movement beacons (particularly if your Hunter subclass who gets Horde Hunter and makes several creatures movement proccer). Finally, as for capstone, I threw in the twice per short rest kinda as a meme, does one spell per short rest sound better?

[torn fjord]

...I can't see anyone spending even a 1st level spell slot on a spell that has a 50% chance of creating a hostile creature instead of a friendly one

[wraith mortar]

its criminal that there is no zombie spells for 1st or 2nf leel

2nd lvl

[torn fjord]

even so, a 50% chance of the summoned creature being hostile is terrible

[wraith mortar]

i think its flavorful, and as long as the bad guys are closer its fine

[torn fjord]

that's a 50% chance of your spell actively harming your party and being a completely wasted spell slot

[frank leaf]

Maybe on a 10?

That way it happens enough to be funny

But isn't so often its not worth ever casting

[torn fjord]

personally, if I ever saw a spell that had a 50% chance of doing nothing, or worse, a 50% chance of being actively harmful to my allies, I would simply never use it

[lean crow]

The bad guys aren't waiting a full minute for you to raise a zombie

[wraith mortar]

thats why its not a minute

[frank leaf]

1 action, they corrected

[wheat linden]

Is there a way to bring monsters from CritterDB to DNDBeyond without manually copying everything? I imagine not...

[torn fjord]

that doesn't much feel like a homebrew question

[lean crow]

1 action should bring it back to 3rd level, in my opinion

[wheat linden]

I mean, they're my homebrew creatures...

It directly involves homebrew stuff...

[wraith mortar]

i want this spell to cost a lot because youre bringing a full zombie into level 1 combat. and as a novice necromancer it makes sense to me

[wheat linden]

Not like it would get answered even if it was

[wraith mortar]

3rd level is 1 minute

[frank leaf]

i mean if there's still a chance to fail and a short range before it auto fails, and when the spell ends there's literally more threats, 1st isn't outrageous, but 2nd is more fitting prob.

[lean crow]

A level 1 summon should be CR 0

Like find familiar is

[torn fjord]

I understand you're trying to make a weaker version of a 3rd level spell to justify it being discounted to a 1st level spell, but a 50% chance of being harmful to your allies is the worst way to do that

[wheat linden]

Figured if anyone would know how to do it, it would be people hanging around in the homebrew channel... But whatever ig

[torn fjord]

no one would want to use it even if it could be helpful in combat

the risk is simply too high for the cost

[cerulean seal]

Try #ddb-support

[frank leaf]

50% I agree, but 10% and guaranteed if alive when the spell ends? maybe alright.

[cerulean seal]

They might k ow better

[wraith mortar]

yea and it lasts a minute, so either it dies in combat or outlasts the bad guys and you have to kill it anyway

[lean crow]

If you feel a great need for level 1 necromancy summons, check out the Grasping Hand statblock.

[wraith mortar]

6 or higher it obeys?

[lean crow]

Or Grasping Claw, sorry.

[torn fjord]

yeah, using a weaker undead statblock is better than giving it a chance to be hostile to the party

[wraith mortar]

i dont want it to be weaker or a familiar. i want messing around with necromancy at such a low leel to be dangerous

[lean crow]

Kay...

[torn fjord]

spending a spell slot and doing nothing but creating an enemy for your party to fight would feel awful

[wraith mortar]

its not that big of a threat anyway

[torn fjord]

even if it isn't a big threat, it's still spending a resource to do nothing beneficial

[wraith mortar]

but it just needs to be closer to the bad guys

[lean crow]

I'd never take a spell that has coin toss odds of using one of my two spell slots only to make the encounter harder.

[wraith mortar]

yea we're talking about lowering the odds of hostility

i just dont want to make it work eerytime

[frank leaf]

Counterpoint: Jim's magic missile.

[torn fjord]

i personally wouldn't take a spell that even had a 5% chance of creating a hostile creature

[torn fjord]

another level 1 spell I would never take

[frank leaf]

having spells that aren't technically good because of a funny drawback is an entirely fair thing to homebrew

[wraith mortar]

like summon lesser demons?

[lean crow]

I wouldn't ever give my players something that, except on a 5% chance, lets them quick-cast a level 3 spell with a level 1 slot.

[wraith mortar]

dude you did it!..... bro?? whyy is it coming toward US????

nuke you would neer use summon lesser demons?

[lean crow]

Personally? No, I probably wouldn't.

[torn fjord]

what's being said is that he would never give a player a 1st level spell that, aside from a 5% chance of backfiring, works exactly the same as a 3rd level spell

[wraith mortar]

because summon lesser demons is 100% chance of hostility and its canon

[frank leaf]

I think it's fine in concept, just drop the chances to smth that makes it more of rare drop chance player almost look forward to just because it makes things different once in a blue moon.

[lean crow]

But that has a range of 60 feet, making it quite viable to force the demons to attack the enemy and not your party.

[wraith mortar]

it doesnt work exactly the same at all

[lean crow]

Summon lesser demons is approximately 0% chance of attacking your party

[wraith mortar]

so daho you think 6 or lower is fair?

sorry 5 or lower

[lean crow]

You treat it like a fireball. Don't cast it over your allies and you'll be fine.

[wraith mortar]

you are ery wrong

very

[frank leaf]

I'd say fair is 2 or lower goes berserk, 3 if you rly just wanna see it often, but I think that's when you might need to ask party members if it's okay per time you use it.

[torn fjord]

you're comparing it to the 3rd level spell Animate Dead, but yours is a 1st level option

[wraith mortar]

it says yoyu can protect ONLY yoyurself from the demons and they attack eerything in sight

[lean crow]

No, they attack the nearest non-demon

[wraith mortar]

yes but it doesnt allow 24 hours of zombbie control, much less renewing control of up to 4

[lean crow]

So don't cast it over your party.

[wraith mortar]

and when the bad gusy are dead?

[frank leaf]

RQ, what's cast range for your spell?

ik ends if it gets past 60, so is that cast range?

[lean crow]

If the bad guys are about to die, why are you using a 3rd level spell to bring in summons?

[wraith mortar]

just drop concentration i guess

keep it 10 feet i guess

summon lesser demons is way more dangerous to the party than 1 zombie

[cerulean seal]

Doesn’t Infernal Calling also attack you and is 5th level?

[frank leaf]

Having a low level version for hilarity sake imo is due

not that it's even deadly

its a skeleton or a zombie

[wraith mortar]

im cool with lowering the hostilityy chance since they are fighting it anyway if theyy win combat and it survives

also glad theres no mechanic where zombies make more zombies

[torn fjord]

...I mean, there is an undead that creates zombies with every humanoid it kills

[wraith mortar]

yea we aint summoning that one lol

until core rules says you can

[torn fjord]

okay, reading back over your spell and comparing it to Animate Dead, and completely ignoring the chance of immediate hostility

1 action cast time vs 1 minute cast time (your spell is better)
1 minute of control vs 24 hours of control (yours is not as good)
The animated creature immediately becomes hostile vs The animated creature stops obeying commands (yours is not as good)

[wraith mortar]

if it ever does

hostil and not obeying is synonymous

[torn fjord]

...no, not necessarily

[frank leaf]

Solid tradeoff being lower level

[wraith mortar]

how could you tell a zombie not to attack you

[torn fjord]

yeah, that's what I was gonna say, the reduced duration and guaranteed hostility after the spell ends is already enough to justify it being lower than 3rd level

[wraith mortar]

it wants brains full stop

[torn fjord]

dunno if it's enough to justify being only 1st level, but it's definitely lower than the 3rd level version

[wraith mortar]

it just becomes a normal zombie. so effectiely, summon meat shield leel 1

level

plus u gotta kill a guy to een use it

even

[frank leaf]

Honestly, since it also has the become hostile past 60 ft, definitely

[spring tusk]

What rarity would y'all apply to a magic pair of gauntlets that (with attunement) allows you to store equipment and call them out without spending free obj interaction or action to swap between?

[torn fjord]

honestly, if you want to justify it being 1st level, I'd make it concentration up to 1 minute, rather than just a duration, and rather than immediately becoming a corpse again, the zombie becomes hostile immediately when concentration ends

[frank leaf]

@wraith mortar I think if you reduce it to 2 or lower become hostile it's pretty good.

[frank leaf]

unlimited object interaction makes Nick always optimal, weapon jugglers would love it. Rare if it's unlimited uses, if it's on Charges Uncommon.

[spring tusk]

Not unlimited free object interaction, just unlimited swapping of already pre equipped weapons

[torn fjord]

anyway, gonna drop my text wall now

So, I'm trying to homebrew something for a pair of pistols for one of my players, with the names of those pistols being Redemption and Judgement

the ideology the player has said he wants the character to demonstrate with these pistols is "You can't face Judgement until you've had a chance at Redemption"

currently, the weapons have no magical effects, but I want to have them gain magical properties later on, once the right conditions are met, which will be sometime between levels 6 and 8 for that player character.

I've got a simple effect for each one, but I'm not sure if they really works

The effect I came up with for Redemption is as follows, but I feel it needs to do something more than this, even if the only other thing it does is give a +1 to attack and damage rolls.
||Mark for Judgement: This weapon has X charges. Once per turn, when you hit a creature with this weapon, you may expend a charge to mark them as a target for Judgement until the end of your next turn.||

Meanwhile, this is the effect I've come up with for Judgement. Frankly, this doesn't really feel that interesting to me, and only barely fits the vibes I'm trying to go for. Chances are I need to have it do something different, but this is the only idea I have currently.
||Pass Judgement: Once per turn, when you use this weapon to hit a creature that has been marked by the effect of Redemption, you deal an additional 1d10 force damage to that creature.||

spoilered the effects in case the player happens to peek in this channel

[wraith mortar]

i like the idea of concentration to keep it under control, i thought about the briefly and for some reason completely forgot when i sat to write the spell

[frank leaf]

Oh, so like hotkeys? unlimited weapon swapping for example between A dagger and a Bow for example?

[torn fjord]

I've seen plenty of DMs just handwave swapping between two weapons before

so giving out a magic item that justifies doing that feels unnecessary to me

[frank leaf]

||What about making Redemption force a saving throw or change the creatures alignment one stage lol? Once a creature succeeds, their immune to it thereafter. Extremely cool roleplay material, a gun that shoots out the bad in someone. Bonus damage could be to creatures immune to the effect.||

[torn fjord]

now, if the item functions as a pocket dimension or something for storing weapons, and would allow the player to feign being unarmed while using the item, right up until they need the weapon and no longer care about pretending to be unarmed, then it could be a useful item

but just swapping from a dagger to a bow without spending an action is meh

[frank leaf]

Its still useful for weapon juggling, with nick. That's niche tho.

[torn fjord]

that's assuming 1, that the item is for use with '24 rules, and 2, that the player character who would use it can make use of weapon masteries (very few classes can)

[torn fjord]

||Making either Redemption or Judgement do something based on the alignment of the target would be amazing for flavor purposes, but outright changing the alignment and removing the target from the fight would only really be interesting the first couple times, then it would become just a constant tool to reduce difficulty in challenging encounters||

[frank leaf]

||I will point out it is only one stage, so it would only apply to enemies that you put htere that are already less evil than the rest of the people around them. It'd basically just make talk more no jutsu better against people you put there who are susceptible to it anyway.||

[wraith mortar]

why are they all greyed oput

out

[torn fjord]

||the biggest problem with letting it change the target's alignment and potentially make them unwilling to continue the fight is that it would absolutely be aimed at the strongest opponent in the fight every time, once that's known to be an option. the boss being immediately taken out of the fight with a single saving throw would be increadibly anticlimactic||

[frank leaf]

Alr, gtg

[torn fjord]

it's spoilered, you can click on it to read it

[wraith mortar]

for who though

[torn fjord]

as mentioned, I spoilered the text in case the player who would use the weapon happens to peek in this channel

I would prefer they not find out about the effect before I give it to them

[spring tusk]

Yaya

[wraith mortar]

ok Drol here is what i got for the 1st lvl, the 2nd lvl needs a lot of tweaking now

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l53-mcLKgYQSkFmV8JluiU7mU19bBpAPt7AyNTttEks/edit?usp=sharing

also thank you all

[spring tusk]

What about

Arsenal Gauntlets

Wondrous Item, Rare (Requires Attunement)

You can choose from a list of up to 5 items stores in a demiplane within the gauntlets, and have those items appear to your hand(s) without the use of an object interaction.

You can spend a short rest to attune or unattune up to two items to the demiplane at a time.

[wraith mortar]

they should be called the go, go, gadget gauntlets

[torn fjord]

eh, I'd personally make it so that you can store weapons within the demiplane during any short or long rest, up to the maximum of five stored weapons

no need for additional limitation on how many can be put in the demiplane during the rest, so long as it doesn't go beyond the limit of 5 total stored weapons

[queen egret]

got some pretty harsh but fair criticism on my homebrew stuff, back to the drawing board

what sort of SLA would y'all like to see in a time-themed sorcerer?

[wraith mortar]

how do we reconcile with the super technical people why 5 halberds and 5 darts take up the same amount of demiplane

[torn fjord]

I'd also make it so that if you choose to have a weapon appear in your hand, you can choose to have it replace a weapon you're already holding, with the previously held weapon entering the plane

[spring tusk]

What if I add on a "once per short rest if you have a shield attuned to the demiplane you can use your reaction to swap the gear in one of your current hands to that shield in response to an attack that would hit you"

[torn fjord]

#DealWithIt

[spring tusk]

It's kinda like equipment slots

[wraith mortar]

i guess 5 demiplanes with space for a single object and shared access

[torn fjord]

nah, that's getting too technical

[wraith mortar]

lol thats if they say hey why cant i blahblahblah

[torn fjord]

also, saying each demiplane has space for a single object still leaves room to question why it can store an entire halberd, but can't fit anything more than a single dart within the same space

there's no real way to explain it without just saying "That's just how it works, deal with it"

[wraith mortar]

well it can be an infinite space for an object thats molecularly bound to itself, and so if there is two objects there is a break in the structure and it doesnt allow another???

idk lmao then it could be a ship

yea deal with it or give the gogogadget gauntlets back

[queen egret]

So what do we think about this lv6 trait for a timey sorc?

Temporal Stasis

(Once per long rest, or by spending 5 sorcery points)

As an action, choose one creature you can see within 18m(60ft).
The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be placed in temporal stasis until the end of your next turn.

While in stasis, the creature is incapacitated, has a speed of 0, and is immune to damage and forced movement.

When the effect ends, the creature immediately takes force damage equal to twice your sorcerer level.

i think this has more lv14 energy nvm

[torn fjord]

...I mean, I'd argue it'd be better to just let them cast Hold Person once a day without concentration, but the spell only lasts until the end of their next turn

basically the same thing but it has actual use beyond taking the enemy out of the fight

[brave yarrow]

Hi everyone, i'm actually running a homebrew DnD campaign, and my players are going to meet a young black dragon soon.
I'm just kinda confused because, ik young dragon are less powerful than adults, but he seem kinda basic asf ?

My 5th level party consist on a World Tree Barb, a evoker Wizard, a Great old one Warlock, Circle of Moon Druid, Assassin Rogue and Life domain cleric.

I was wondering if there's anyway to homebrew a bit the stat block so he feels more "cinematic" or dangerous, or maybe a battlefield mechanic ? Idk any help would be great

(Here the stat block I'm currently using https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/17067-young-black-dragon)

Sorry if my English is bad, its not my native language and its pretty late where I am

[queen egret]

i'm looking for something more unique, and i'm willing to buff the effect for it. currently its glaring advantage is that it's not specific to enemy type (humanoid)

[wraith mortar]

ok i added the 2nd level one lmk what you think

[torn fjord]

maybe buff it to be Hold Monster, instead of Hold Person, but that'd require waiting until a higher level in the class to be balanced

[wraith mortar]

one think i really like that the Dungeon Dudes do is allow the bosses in their worlds to take a turn between each players turn

[brave yarrow]

Damn, a turn between every player ?? I'll have 6 players, so a dragon having 6 turn seems kinda strong for my players

[wraith mortar]

maybe an action or movement or bonus but not all between each? idk

idk exactly how they do it but im sure they have a video on it

[torn fjord]

Okay, so I've decided that I'm going to treat Redemption and Judgement as one single magic item, rather than two separate items, given the way the effects I've come up with actually work. This is what I've got so far, and what will be on the handout given to the player.

||Paired weapons, require Attunement. The weapons share one attunement slot.

You have a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with these magic weapons, but may only use the following properties when wielding both weapons.

Mark for Judgement: The pistol Redemption has 6 charges, and regains 1d6 charges each dawn. Once per turn, when you hit a creature with Redemption, you may expend a charge to mark them as a target for Pass Judgement until the end of your next turn.

Pass Judgement: Once per turn, when you use the pistol Judgement to hit a creature that has been marked by the effect of Redemption, you deal an additional 1d10 force damage to that creature. In addition, if the marked creature is of an Evil alignment, [INSERT SECONDARY EFFECT HERE].||

[wraith mortar]

https://youtu.be/i8bx7crRiqA?si=Ty6HU4QjPFFaG11J

homebrew rules for epic boss monsters

[brave yarrow]

Thx bro 👋

[wraith mortar]

i would add a little blurb "when wielding both weapons" for anything to work

[wraith mortar]

the dungeon dudes are great

oooooohohhhhhhhh

redemption gives the chance, if evil, to be charmed, if the target saves, (stays evil,) becomes marked for judgement, and enables an immediate extra attack (nick style) with judgement that can proc the mark and extra damage

then redemption actually has a redemptive quality

so "found guilty" (saved against charm) extra attack and bonus damage
or
"Redeemed" (failed against charm) is Remorseful, prevents from reactions or some other thing that could be harmful idk

[torn fjord]

not a terrible idea, but not quite as useful as you think - if all it does is a Charm effect, that doesn't actually make the creature stop fighting, it just prevents them being able to attack the creature who Charmed them (in this case, the user of Redemption)

[wraith mortar]

yea its kinda backwards that if he SAVES the player gets extra damage

but i think it fits the flavor

idk what to do if he fails, charm is just a placeholder

[torn fjord]

it fits for flavor, sure, but doesn't do much mechanically

[wraith mortar]

but remorse could be psychic damage or something

[torn fjord]

eh, Psychic damage, Force damage, basically the same result (almost nothing resists it)

[wraith mortar]

psychic and it still marks?

[torn fjord]

anyway, ||I'm considering one of the following for the secondary effect of Pass Judgement||

||- the target cannot regain hitpoints until the end of your next turn

• the target has disadvantage on all attack rolls until the end of your next turn
• the first attack against the target before the end of your next turn has advantage||

might be too much, might be too little, might not make sense at all, idk

I'm just wanting to add a tiny bit more, specifically when the target is Evil

I'm gonna go ahead and go to bed now, actually, and just figure it out tomorrow

[severe trellis]

Idea I just had not sure what it's gonna do

Weapon of Redemption
Rare-Very Rare
Requires attunement by a Paladin or Cleric

This weapon has a fiend or undead soul sealed within it who wishes to achieve an adventure into a divine being. By using its powers to assist and help commit heroic acts and save people.

Will probably let you use your Spell casting Modifier instead of Strength or Dexterity for weapon attacks

Maybe let you get extra spell slots or cast some demonic flavored spells based on its rarity and other flavorful stuff

[icy lichen]

I need some ideas for homebrew stuff, my friend is doing a very homebrewed dnd campaign where im proficient in blood and trickery schools (blood being i use my hp as my "Mana" and trickery being general illusions and stealth stuff ig) and he leaves it very open ended to what you can do as a move, like if i want to send sharp slashes of blood out (kinda like dismantle and cleave from sukuna in jjk i can) or stuff like that, i wanna see if anyone can give me some more creative ideas on how to use my blood moves (so far ive tried sending blood thru the ground to spike thru someone, the slashes, and if i can touch them i can use there blood, so ive done things like exploding limbs and such) any neat ideas would be cool

[severe trellis]

Ok wording is here and maybe real rough

Weapon of Redemption
Rare-Very Rare
Requires attunement by a Paladin or Cleric

This weapon has a fiend or dammed soul sealed within it who wishes to achieve an ascension into a divine being. By using its powers to assist and help commit heroic acts and save people.

When you make an attack with this weapon, you can use your Spellcasting Modifier instead of Strength or Dexterity. In addition you have a bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls made with this weapon. The bonus is determined by the weapon's rarity and when you have slain 10 Fiends with this weapon, any necrotic damage it deals becomes radiant.

This weapon has 6 charges and regains 1d4+2 Charges at dawn.
As a Magic action you can expend a charge to either regain a spell slot of 3rd level or lower or cast one of the following spells without expending a spell slot. The DC of the Spell is determines by this weapon’s Rarity.

Rare Bonuses and DC:15, +1 to hit and damage and 1d6 Necrotic Damage

Very Rare Bonuses and DC:17, +2 to hit and damage and 2d6 Necrotic Damage

[west tangle]

The wording on this could be tweaked, especially grammar and sentence structure, but generally speaking:

• This first feature is pretty meaningless for a paladin. Generally paladins don't want to use their charisma for attacks because their strength is higher anyways. For a cleric it's a bit better, but ultimately still feels meaningless since by those higher levels where rare and very rare items come into play, they're usually not doing a ton of melee combat.
• The slaying 10 fiends part is pretty awkward imo. For starters, a lot of campaigns go by where you might not see a fiend for many many sessions, and certainly not kill one. Imo it could also reward some inconsiderate play. By saying "you need to kill 10 fiends", I can imagine a player trying to kill-steal their friends solely to increase the counter, or even outright picking fights with fiends where it might not be in the interest of the party.
• The second feature is really strong on a paladin. For starters, what spells can you cast with it? You don't seem to specify anything. But more importantly, for a paladin, potentially gaining 6 additional third level spell slots a day (at minimum, three) is very very strong. Even for a cleric, three extra third level spell slots is never unwanted.

[severe trellis]

I have not determined the spells yet thats something I am working on currently

[west tangle]

do you have an approximate even just level of spell in mind?

are these first level spells, third level spells, something else?

[severe trellis]

Hmm... I think first to third level spells, but none on the Cleric or Paladin Spell list

Maybe throw in Summon Fiend as a bonus I'll need to check what level that spell is

[west tangle]

5th from memory

nope, 6th level