/5eg/ - Fifth Edition General

Tell us about the most clever or interesting trap you've designed or encountered in D&D 5E. Hard mode: no monsters.

>>53809722
>No question
REEEE

>>53809722
You know, we only ever had a pit trap once.
Most of us succeeded the obvious spot check and saves, except for ironically the halfling, who managed to save for not getting impaled in spikes just barely and ended up only mildly hurt.

The explanation ended up being that he totally fell down the pit as planned but because the trap designer was such a cheapass he skimped on the spikes and so there were wide gaps between them. The halfling just missed them and so he didn't take any significant damage at all.

>>53809755
I had a posthumous glyph of warding go off on on of my players. The Killer Queen was already touching that cloak after all.

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>>53809711
That's just Jiraiya. THIS is Kenichi Smith.
>his transformation device is a fucking hamburger
I dunno what it is with toku shows and casting cowboys as ninjas.

I'm making a 6th level multiclassed character (3 Rogue, 3 Monk) and I'm wondering about some of the bonuses. I'll use Expertise as an example. It says at 6th level I get to choose two more skills for double proficiency. This is meaning 6th level Rogue, not 6th level overall right? How do I distinguish between the two for future reference?

>>53809755

My PC had a penis but acted like a woman.

>>53810023
you gain class features based on your level for the class. the two exceptions are proficiency bonus (which is based on your character level) and spellcasting (read it yourself if youre going to multiclass a caster).

>>53809755

The players enter a room that is totally empty except for a button on a pedestal in the middle. As the players walk in, the door shuts behind them and magically locks itself.

A mechanical whirring is heard and a clock-like structure on the pedestal begins to count down from ten. The room shakes more intensely as it gets closer to zero. When the players push the button, the clock spins back and resets.

The only way to get through the room is to let the countdown finish so the doors can re-open. The shaking is harmless.

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>>53809755
>traps
>clever
>interesting

No. Traps are neither clever, nor are they interesting. Also are basically a lazy GMs way of saying "I am too lazy to come up with a real challenge so here you go faggots." Traps are a worthless vestige of Gygaxian dungeons. Gygax was shit at running games outside of his contrived dungeon crawl bullshit so he has to add things to make the game last as long as possible. Thus traps were added, despite being impractical and barely any use on their own, expensive as fuck, might as well build a fucking golden instead of spending that much cash. Like alignment and Armor Class, they remain in the game for nostalgia purposes only. Any DM who unironically uses traps to any degree of commonality is a piece of shit who needs to be gassed.

*golem not golden

>>53810023
>How do I distinguish between the two for future reference?
By not being retarded. If you're unable to remember mentally, write it down on your sheet like Rogue3/Monk3

>>53810102
>Like alignment and Armor Class, they remain in the game for nostalgia purposes only.
How would you play without AC? Honest question

>>53810140
I think you misinterpreted my question. I wasn't asking about that, I meant when I'm supposed to use class level vs character level. Maybe try not being so hostile?

>>53810174
I'm sorry for assuming the worst. You'd already demonstrated an inability to read the book so I decided not to take any chances.

>>53810192
What the fuck did I not read, exactly?

>>53810159
>attack rolls versus dexterity score
>armor as DR

Also would max out at 4, with much steeper penalties for wearing heavy armor. Try wearing a real full plate suit one day and tell me how easy it is to fight. You should auto fail any stealth or jump check you make while wearing armor. It is quite literally impossible to sneak in armor, my friends and I tested it.

>>53810102
Imagine being this dude

For a Cleric, does casting a domain spell use up a spell slot, or is it a free spell?

>>53810352
Trying, but I can't exactly undo my "I've moved past my edgy teenager phase".

>>53810382
It costs a spell slot.

>>53810247
Every class has a table that lists what you get at the corresponding level for that class. Any feature based off total level will say it is. Any feature based off of class level will say that it is. All you have to do is read.

>>53810382
>Do spells cost spell slots
Yes

>>53810102
>WIS is always my dump stat: the person
You suck, shut up

>>53810102
>Shittiest taste on the entire thread

>>53810258
>Try wearing a real full plate suit one day and tell me how easy it is to fight
This must be bait

>>53810247
Read the first paragraph the Multiclassing section of Chapter 6 of the PHB, page 163. If you've the reading comprehension of an 8th grader, you should be able to piece together an answer to your question.

Again, this is assuming you aren't too autistic to figure it out and need to have it spelled out to you explicitly.

>>53810555
By this point I usually see things along the lines of 'shut up Virt'.

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>>53810258
>Try wearing a real full plate suit one day and tell me how easy it is to fight
Holy fucking shit

>>53810258
You can easily do things like jumping jacks or cartwheels on a full suit of plate armor. Maille was often more cumbersome because it was unevenly distributed unlike plate

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>new player wants to be a ninja and insists on it
>ask him if he wants to make a homebrew
>"no, too much work"
>ok. let me think of something
>tell him to make a thief or assassin
>says he wants to be a ninja not a rogue
>ask him what the difference is
>says that he doesn't steal things and wants ninjutsu
>tell him to make a monk since they have ki points
>says that he hates the very idea of monks
>running out of options for this guy
>ask him what he wants to use as a weapon
>says he wants to dual wield two scimitars
>suggest fighter with a dip into rogue for the sneaking proficiency's
>pauses and reads over fighter
>decides to make a barbarian instead
I don't know what to feel.

>>53810102
/thread

>>53810715
Maybe stop being a lil bitch and allow your player, who has legitimate interest in playing the game, to play the game?

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>>53810748
wh-what? I was trying to get him what he wanted

I mean I'm happy that he's happy that he's a barbarian now but it was a weird journey to go from ninja with "ninjutsu" to barbarian.

b-but okay anon

>>53810715
>new player wants to be a ninja and insists on it
>says that he hates the very idea of monks
Does he have brain problems?

>>53810564
"THE COMBINATION Of ABILITY SCORES, RACE, class, and background defines your character's capabilities in the game, and the personal details you create set your character apart from every other character. Even within your class and race, you have options to fine-tune what your character can do. But this chapter is for players who -with the DM's permission- want to go a step further. This chapter defines two optional sets of rules for customizing your character: multiclassing and feats. Multiclassing lets you combine classes together, and feats are special options you can choose instead."

"Multiclassing allows you to gain levels in multiple classes. Doing so lets you mix the abilities of those classes to realize a character concept that might not be reflected in one of the standard class options. With this role, you have the option of gaining a level in a new class whenever you advance in level, instead of gaining a leveI in your current class. Your levels in all your classes are added together to determine your character leveI. For example, if you have three leveIs in wizard and two in fighter, you're a 5th-level character. As you advance in levels, you might primarily remain a member of your original class with just a few levels in another class, or you might change course entirely, never looking back at the class you left behind. You might even start progressing in a third or fourth class. Compared to a single-class character of the same level, you'lI sacrifice some focus in exchange for versatility."

First two paragraphs of the multiclass chapter copied straight from the PHB. Where does it specify what I was asking? Expertise did not say whether it was Rogue level or character level. All I did was ask for clarification on something that isn't explicitly stated. There was literally no reason for you to be such an asshole.

>>53810102
I mean, if I wanted to stop guys from finding my phylactery in a dungeon, I'd just put a bunch of walls in the way rather than traps guarding the passage. Have a whole dungeon that just goes all over the place and then there's 500 feet of fucking wall until you find one little chamber where my special item is and there's no fucking way in there, ever, without casting Teleport to a known location. And I'm not leaving scrolls of Teleport around or a note in my fucking lich journal about it.

>>53810095
This is such an obvious trick and I'm pretty sure I've seen it written about a thousand times across the internet.
Not only did you not come up with it yourself, I don't believe anyone is dumb enough to actually fall for it after pressing the button once.

10 seconds is far to short an interval and doesn't even make sense in the context of 5e where a round is 6 seconds.
A properly implemented version of this trap would require players to roll initiative and have the timer be a minute long. Giving them ample time to think and fail to come up with multiple failed escapes.
That is, unless the timer doesn't count down in seconds, but in rounds. Still, what an odd design that would be for a timer if thought about in anyway outside the context of initiative.

Also, it would be proper to add multiple red herrings, ones that potentially hurt the players if they go too all-in on one of those solutions.

>Going on 10 day vacation
>to yellowstone
>no D&D anywhere near me
Fucking kill me I know I should enjoy my vacation and all but I will go insane without any D&D, what should I do

>>53810818
Everything below Class Features is based on the class level.
Whoever replied to you managed to not understand your first post and somehow thought Rogue/Monk is a spellcasting multiclass.

>>53810861
Stay on /5eg/ and shitpost all day.

>>53810258
>You should auto fail any stealth or jump check you make while wearing armor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzTwBQniLSc
>these are just overweight white suburban white dudes who work at desks for a living and not hardened medieval soldiers or even modern military
Shit, son, modern infantrymen wear BACKPACKS that alone way more than an entire suit of plate, and they're running fucking miles in those.

>>53810874
Thats the plan at the moment

>>53810102
Traps in combination with puzzles are the best way to go about them imo.
A simple "did you see the trap? No? Oh, you take 10 points of damage" is kind of lame and encourages dumb stuff like hyper inflating perception, as well as slows down the game when a player feels like they have to constantly say "I wanna check for traps, DM!"

>>53810861
Convince a bear to play D&D with you, it'll have the same understanding of the rules as an average player. Same social graces and concept of personal hygiene too

>>53810715
Ask him why he hates Monks.
If he says "Asian stuff", point out he's playing a fucking ninja.
If he says "makes no sense", point out he wants to play a fucking ninja.
If he says "I don't like the implied monastic lifestyle", point out that there IS no implied monastic lifestyle anymore, just training in esoteric martial arts secrets.

>>53810715
>wears light / no armor
>enters NINJITSU MEDITATION to deal +2 damage each hit but not really since he's dex-based
>takes reduced damage because he teleports logs in front of every blow that would strike him while Meditating
>keenly aware of all traps
>recklessly puts his life on the line to complete his ninja mission
>always gets the drop on enemies with his keen ninja instinct

>>53810923
Why would someone waste their time trying to figure someone else's brain when they pick Barbarian instead of Assassin Rogue because OP said "Thief" on the same phrase?

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>>53810913
>bear makes a druid
>wild shape into a bear in-game
>is a real bro and helps your PC get laid by pretending to do circus tricks and be tame
>the villain sneaks up on you and is about to finish you off
>the bear runs up and takes the hit, sacrificing his wild shape for you
>gets back up
>wild shape's again back into a bear
>nods knowingly at your PC in a moment of solidarity
>bear playing a bear druid PC is your best bro ever

>>53809755
It's not the most clever thing.
But I liked it.

>players are entering a temple seeking ancient treasure
>they enter a main chamber that splits off two different ways
>they go right
>they enter a room with low burning lamps and at the far end of the room, coming out of the back wall is a golden snake statue with large gems for eyes
>player notices pressure plate in front of the snake statue
>"Don't step on that!"
>Players immediately get greedy and try to take the gems
>The gems crumble into dust which then ignite into a small fireball as the dust hits the lamps
>they say let's try the other passage
>it's the exact same room, but gems still in the eyes of the snake
>one player thinks "oooh..."
>pulls the snake statue forward in both rooms to rest on the pressure plates
>opens up hidden door in the main chamber

It went pretty well.

>>53811005
Shouldn't a bear druid have to wild-shape into a humanoid?

>>53811060
I think the rules somewhere state that you can't start as an animal PC but I could be wrong

>>53811039
I feel like my parties are way too tuned in to common dungeon tropes.
>come across loot in the dungeon
>just a bunch of gold or some spell scrolls or things that need to be sold
>ignore em
>find some more loot later
>it's a +1 sword
>there's already enough magic weapons floating around in the party
>ignore it
>kill everything and the boss
>go back through the dungeon and pick up all the loot on the way out
>don't give a shit about traps because if someone gets seriously injured you've already completed your main objective

>>53811090
Why are you giving your party so much irrelevant loot? If the loot excited them they sure as hell would have picked it up.

>>53811083
>Let me just explain these rules to a fucking bear.
Hmm...

>>53810937
>keenly aware of traps
This would have saved my human paladin that fell in love with a cleric of Lathander

>>53811123
It doesn't matter what the loot is if it's not immediately relevant to improving their combat or problem-solving capabilities in the dungeon. If they don't need it NOW, they don't pick it up until they're done.

>>53811090
There was no boss in this dungeon. They were all level 1, so the treasure was the prime objective.
The only creatures they encountered were after the same treasure who they had to clear before entering the temple, and then a couple appeared afterward when the party was weakened.

I don't give out much loot in my games because I want them to remain meaningful. Gold/treasure is often used to make more mundane purchases to enhance rollplaying.
>Hey DM can we get some better canons for our ship?
Fuck yes you can. How much you got?

To solve your specific problem, just deviate from common tropes.

>>53811151
Funny, my human paladin really wouldn't have minded.
Then again, he was a follower of Sune and Liira with the Performer background who specialized in parties.

>>53811175
So instead of having them find a magic weapon, why not give that crazy hammer of the thunder god to your big bad at the end of the dungeon?

>>53810974
>>53810715
Eh, I can see it:
Katana -> Greatsword
Rage -> Ninja battle trance
Anti-traps
Anti-surprise
Huge Crits
Decent unarmored defense

just like >>53810937 says

Totem has some decent scouting stuff
Zealot is literally Ichigo
Storm Herald has some DBZ shit going on

Hell, literally anything is better than the Assassin.

>>53811215
Ah, so a paladin of Weimar

>>53811242
...I might need an explanation of that one.

>>53811228
>Anti-traps
Ninjas don't typically mind

>>53811090
have their be a rogue NPC that stalks the party, picking up any loot they leave behind. dungeons have tons of loot but are dangerous. have the adventurers clear it out then take whatever they leave behind for yourself!

>>53811175
Yeah, so give loot that does help them get through the dungeon so it's not just
>quest complete +1000 gold.

>>53811183
>No boss
>level 1
Did you even read his post?

>>53811228
Not any of those guys, but just started DMing a game for a guy who is using ancestors barb to play a samurai. It's bretty fun, actually.

>>53811228
>Hell, literally anything is better than the Assassin.
An ironica statement, considering the "ninja" that guy was thinking of was probably best represented by Wot4E monk.

>>53810818
>With this role, you have the option of gaining a level in a new class (pg. 163)

>When your character gains a level, his or her class often grants additional features, as detailed in the class description (pg. 15).

I know it's too much to ask of you to remember information from two different pages so I took the liberty of putting it there for you. With the two sentences I highlighted there, it's rather easy to see that you get features for the class you have a level in, and so on.

I'd like to remind you that you are either too autistic to deduce this from the information present or just didn't read the book. Your choice, but all of this was easily preventable.

>>53809722
speaking of traps I had an idea about a pc that pretend to be a girl to get out of getting conscripted into a king's war and is now in too deep to stop now or is that too magic realm?

>>53811314
I'd let it pass.

>>53811282
>Ninjas don't typically mind
That's only when the ninja's ARE the traps...

>>53811301
Maybe you could have shown him the mystic, for similar anime shenanigans?

>>53811294
>>53811226
There is loot in the dungeon that'll help.
I'm just saying that when they do come across loot that's not on some creature and could conceivably be trapped but isn't necessary, they just pass on by.

>>53811294
>Did you even read his post?
I think you seriously misunderstood my post.
I was talking about MY game. Explaining why they didn't have to worry about bosses and why loot was the primary objective, and that's why there was no ignoring of said loot as was the case with his group.

>>53811314
Some Like It Hot was one of the greatest movies of all time, anon. Embrace it.

>>53811333
>Male Kunoichi
I'll be in my bunk.

>>53811314
It depends on the execution.
Do they keep pretending to be a girl even when around trusted party members?
Perhaps could lead to funny shit when they reveal they've got a dick.
And then after that they only act like a girl when around city officials or others who might be tied to the crown.
Maybe the king is kind of tyrannical and it could be a plot hook as to why he should be taken down.
Imagine, a dude with five o'clock shadow in a dress cutting the throat of the big bad.

>>53810541

Not an argument.

>>53810503
You find traps using intellect, numbnuts. Unless that's another think Mearls fucked up in D&D 5e.

>>53810831
Those arent traps though, you stupid nigger, they are just normal magical defenses and countermeasures.

>>53811426
>not using common sense to know that this featureless hallway is where every architect would put a trap

>His game doesn't have save or die traps
where's the fun?

>>53811426
Perception to see/realize there's something amiss, Investigation for figuring out the mechanisms/setting the disarm DC, Sleight of Hand/Thieves Tools for disarming it.

>>53811443
>posts are about not even bothering with traps when other things protect things better
>REEE THAT'S NOT A TRAP
that's the point?

>>53811426
Perception is used in 5e, which is tied to wis.
Often investigation is when discerning how a trap works/if it can disarmed.
Some DMs use both for both. It really just depends.

I use passive perception a lot in my games for just about everything. But the traps I use are often obvious, or hiding in plain sight. No amount perception reveals much more than what is plainly visible. But a proper investigation might.

>>53811314
Tangentially related, I've been wanting to play either an incredibly gender-ambiguous kobold, or a human male turned into a kobold and slowly shifts towards being a female kobold.

The latter is notably more my magical realm.

>>53811469
From my experience, DMing games get a lot more fun once the cleric gets Raise Dead but is a cleric of the Raven Queen and a good roleplayer so he hesitates to use it.
I may unironically have some of the best players around.

>>53810902
>Traps in combination with puzzles are the best
>"traps" and "best" in same sentence that isn't "anyone who thinks traps are the best should be forced to masturbate to his own daughter being raped and if he can't come to it she gets shot in the head
>thinking traps are anything but the most pleb- tier dungeon design.

Stopped reading here.

>>53811499
Valuable input. Here's a (you)

>>53811471
>five different skills for basically the same fucking thing

Wow Mearls and his dev team are fucking retards. This is considered a well designed RPG?

I visited the 40k general. I thought you morons were autistic, but now I've truly seen.

>>53811499
And yet somehow, thanks to that image, you're now the worst person in this thread. Funny how that works.

>>53811493
Female gnoll with penis or something

>>53811519
>these three completely different things are the same thing
Wow. Did you dump int as well?

If you roll to check traps you are doing it wrong. Players should use their own intellect to avoid traps, they should discover the patterns and act carefully while dungeon crawling

>>53811526
Hyena pseudopenis is overdone and you should feel ashamed.

It's literally only one kind of hyena.

>>53811520
Ha, wait 'till you visit /ppg/. At least the 40kids can post pictures that aren't directly related to their fetishes.

>>53811535
I DO feel ashamed, hence the spoiler.

>>53811519
Can't tell if you're baiting it retarded.

Spotting something, figuring out how it works, and actually disarming it are like three completely different things anon.

>>53811520
But anon, there are a dozen different 40k generals clogging up /tg/.

>>53811526
What image? I didnt upload an image....

>>53811530
I agree to an extent.
DMs should offer good enough descriptions and player's should be on their A-game to discern if a trap is present by interacting with/looking closer at those elements that were described.
Not by saying "ayyo DM hol up I wanna check for traps." and then rolling the dice on their own volition. "Are there any traps here dawg, I rolled a natural 20?"

I made it clear to my players that you'll never find anything like a trap by just saying "I roll for traps." The most you'll get is a "cool."

>>53811555
>>53811529
Yeah, and climbing running and swimming are 3 different things but they are all covered under athletics skill because, like a stopped clock, D&D does something competent once or twice per edition. Usually only when nine other RPGs have done it first, though.

>>53811588
>these things are all based on athletic ability
>these other things are based on different abilities, so we tied them to different abilities.

Wow. Amazing.

>>53811564
"Image" in the sense of "description." You fucking sicko.

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>>53811588

>>53811602
Anon probably wants a "traps" skill based on dexterity so his rogue can be awesome at all these abilities with practically zero investment.

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Want to make a War Cleric based off pic related. Based more off his ideals and personality rather than recreate the character mechanically. Could it work? How should I build him?

>>53811305
You're a worthless cunt, I hope you understand that. I feel sorry that your group has to put up with your arrogant, full of yourself personality. I'm sure they despise you but feel bad because you have literally no other friends.

>>53811588
How long do you think til DnD gets a nonbinary resolution mechanic?

>>53811633
This will never happen, and I would never buy an edition that does this

>>53811632
He's not wrong, though. People literally just don't read the book.
Just read the book, anon.

>>53811621
>Anon probably wants a "traps" skill based on dexterity so his rogue can be awesome at all these abilities with practically zero investment

That's exactly what you are doing by taking the athletics skill. Running, climbing, and jumping require different abilities yet are listed under a single skill. But traps needs three different skills so it can take up as much space in the game as possible (going back to what I said earlier about Gygax & how he was a garbage DM)

>>53811605
Lol if you think that's bad you are sheltered as he'll. Grow up.

>>53811641
What do you have against it, besides the D20 being a sacred cow?

>>53811633
Apparently later than nonbinary genders :^)
Although technically speaking, critical success/failure makes attacks have nonbinary resolutions.

>>53811671
>You must be sheltered if you think being forced into masturbating to your own raped daughter to save her life is a terrible image
Have you considered cyanide?

>>53811671
>Running, climbing, and jumping require different abilities yet are listed under a single skill.
You think so?
Care to give alternative skills you think would better encompass these actions as a whole?

>>53811641
3.5 had some provision for them. Yes, even in the RAW. That said, if you want nonbinary success, play dungeon world. It's a much better game than d&d anyway, it's got a more elegant mechanic, better combat, better flow, the rules are fast and pro- role play instead of pro- rollplay.

Last session of Dungeon World i played, my fighter wrapped a vampire in a bear hug and wrestled him out a window. Resolved in one simple easy roll. In D&D you need to spend like 10 minutes rolling and drawing a map to do anything interesting like that

>>53811632
>I have no argument and therefore need to insult a guy who outlined how retarded I was. Yeah, that'll definitely make me feel better.

You haven't proven me wrong btw, but whatever helps you sleep at night.

And I'm still not the idiot who doesn't understand how multiclassing works, so your opinion of me isn't all that important to begin with.

>>53811704
>Although technically speaking, critical success/failure makes attacks have nonbinary resolutions.

I see your point, but that's not quite what I want, and that's not an official rule anyways. Critical Success/Critical Failure is still just flavors of success/failure. I'd like to see a resolution system that does the following at least:

Success
Success with a bad consequence
Failure with a good consequence
Failure

>>53811722
Hey man, rogues are complicated class :^)

>>53811728
>I'd like to see a resolution system that does the following at least:
Go play another game and stop trying to force your shit taste on D&D

>>53811649
Good fucking god I did read it and I was just asking for clarification on a rule, for fuck's sake I didn't even do anything rude and that faggot just starts acting like an arrogant cunt.

>>53811714
No because athletics works fine as a single skill. Just like trapfjnding would be just fine as a single skill. But Metals and his crew had to make it 3 different skills for the sake of "diversity". Pathetic.

>>53811704
Yes you are sheltered. That shit happens on this planet on an hourly basis. I've had it happen in my campaigns where in one of the players was a 17 year old. You are less mature than a 17 year old. Think of that while you grow a sack.

>>53811745
refer to: >>53811682

>>53811728
>and that's not an official rule anyways.
It is if you count attack rolls.

>
Do you perhaps mean partial success/partial failure?
You can still do that easily if you think of two different DC's in your mind. Or, if you just want to make it easier on yourself and say "if they pass by 5 or more, or fail by 5 or more etc etc"

>>53811761
But trap finding is a single skill.
It's called perception.

>>53811682
>>53811762
>buzzword
If don't like the D&D system, go play something else

>>53811776
Partial Failure/Success is a way of thinking of it I suppose. And yes, I could homebrew up a system. But I'd like official rules that state it, because that makes it easier for people I play with to believe it is fair and acceptable.

It also seems to be the trend with most RPGs these days, so if past DnD behavior is any indication, it's gonna happen.

>>53811756
You don't have to do anything for people to be cunts.

>>53811796
Okay, I'll try it again without buzzwords technically, I've already failed, since buzzword is basically a buzzword these days.

What do you dislike about nonbinary central mechanics?

>>53811756
Alright fair enough, people are assholes. Look where you are.
Don't take it personally. I have people sperg on me too. You got your answer in the end, right? That's the goal, after all.

I once glossed over a line that would've clarified a question I had once and got lots of shit for it. Never even got an answer. Better place for answers is the book first, if not there/confused, try google. Then here, but preface it with "I may be fucking retarded, but help me understand x..."

>>53811792
Amd investigtion apparently. Where is running climbing and jumping are all one skill because that's all that they need to be

>>53811631
To be honest, if you're just basing the character's ideals and personality on him, you could play him as any class.

However, War Cleric is an interesting choice. He might speak Orc or Goblin, or take the Noble background and have translators. A group of orcs/goblins/bandits ambushing your party are something to be cowed with your god's might and refined into something modern and deadly, and only worthy of slaughter if they won't see reason and surrender to you.

He would oppose any sort of governmental authority, but he wouldn't be stupid about it. He would understand his strengths and weaknesses, working through proxies and only striking when the moment was right, without anyone knowing he was behind it at all.

in the end he would seek to kill the gods of war without usurping their positions, forcing War as a domain to be permanently weakened and forcing every man to fight his own wars. After all, he uses war as a business to end war as a business

>>53811804
If you're the DM you never have to tell your players this is the system you're using. For all they know, this is the only type of success possible. Or the only type of failure possible.

What you tell them is what they get.
Myself, when I DM I will often give out information even on shitty knowledge rolls, especially if it will create more interest in the current situation/plot. But I won't tell them much beyond what I think is basics. Or I'll give them a vague idea or hint.
If they roll super low though, I'll say "you have no fucking clue." If they knock it out of the park, I'll be like "here's the fucking lore book." Well, not always to that extent. But I'm using hyperbole to illustrate what I mean.

>>53811671
>lift for days to get /fit/ and get dat 20 strength
>jump like a madman from my strongass legs
>climb easy as hell cause my legs never get tired and i do ~1000 pullups a day
>swim easy as hell cause i am so fuckin jacked

As opposed to
>see wierd marks on the tiles (perception)
>shit could there be a pattern? Could these be the same ones that were shooting darts earlier? Lemme try *uses 10ft pole to push down on it* (investigating using ma head)
>oh its a spike trap with a light touch i can clip the wire holding it w/o tripping it (slieght of hand)

Cause seeing something, realizes what you are seeing and how it works and actually turning it off are the same thing.
Its why you can be a mechanical engineer w/o being a mechanic

>>53811839
Investigation if you want to understand how the trap works.
I can see a bear trap with my perception. But I might not know how it works, exactly. Other than "don't step on it." Investigating it might help me learn.

>>53811761
Hopefully you're baiting and you're not an actual retard.

>>53811858
Yeah, I suppose that's true, but I'm pretty open with my players about how things go, and honestly, I'd hate to be playing with someone, and casually mention to them how I run the game, and get this reaction >>53811745

Taking the opportunity, how would YOU guys make a ninja in 5e?
Naruto/Final Fantasy Tactics ninja: Wot4E Monk?
Shamefur dispray ninja: Rogue?

My character just shaved the skin off his forehead. What does a scar like that look like?

>>53811761
Hey, it's Virtualoptim! Did your ban expire, or are you evading it again?

>>53811817
>What do you dislike about nonbinary central mechanics?
It's not a D&D™ thing*

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>>53811904
Probably something like this

>>53811886
Ignore that person.
I mean, again. If the only success/failure is what you tell them they get, then that's what they end up with.
There is precedent with certain effects in the game.
The one that comes to mind is certain poisons which state "a failure of 5 or more" or something like that, and you also fall unconscious. That basically leaves you with a true failure, or a lesser failure.
And again, if you're doing this mainly to your players BENEFIT they will have no reason to complain.

Warlock/Bard. How should I do this?

>>53811915
But hypothetically, it could be! Would your opinion change if it got WotC's seal of approval? Or would you move on to another RPG? Are you one of those guys who unironically hates 4e?

>>53811756
The last time I saw someone this buttblasted on the internet was the Asa Akira video where she accommodated two men at once. Also, vulgarity is no substitute for wit, anon.

>>53811944
>Would your opinion change if it got WotC's seal of approval?
No, it needs TSR seal of approval

>>53811943
Those two classes don't really work well together.

>>53811933
What? That just looks like a swastika.

>>53811944
>Are you one of those guys who unironically hates 4e?
4e should have been called D&D Tactics

What are some of the most fun multiclasses? I know Barbarogue is popular but I'm more talking less common ones. I'm planning on playing as an Assassin Rogue / Shadow Monk and it so far looks very fun. Lots of different ways to approach combat. I think I'll grab 1 level of Shadow Sorcerer for darkvision through m magical darkness eventually too.

>>53811943
great old one
The Music of Erich Zann

fey pact
just play a fucking panflute and be like a satyr

fiend
Johnny rasin up your bow and play your fiddle hard

>>53811951
>Defunct 1997

Why are you here?

>>53811971
>D&D Tactics
So, D&D?

>>53811971
Possibly. It would have offended less people.

I've played it quite a bit, and I greatly enjoyed it. I think most of the criticisms come from people not understanding the rules (which is a definite flaw with the edition, since the rules were not communicated effectively).

>>53811975
because I play 5e?

>>53811974
I was more thinking mechanically, I'm starting with Warlock for level 1 because it makes more sense fluffwise.

I'm going Fiend and Warlock just doesn't seem to have much past 2-3. So I was thinking 2 Warlock, 5 Bard, 1 Warlock and the rest in Bard.

>>53811971
4e would've been amazing as a skirmish game. I like it for Dungeon Crawls and more combat focused game, if you're playing a lighter more story focused one then I prefer 5e by miles though.

>>53811997
But 5e can't possibly have the TSR seal of approval. Are you going against your ideals?

>>53811973
Monk open hand/druid of grassland
You had a dream about the new king to be (maybe he's Chad the fighter) and you wish to accompany him/be his spiritual guide

Also, your name is Rafiki.

Wanting to play some sort of Bard multiclass, any suggestions?

>>53812015
then go ahead and take expertise in deception/persuasion, the friend cantrip
As for invocations - mask of many faces will be your go to ability from day 1

>>53812021

>>53811974
Warlock/Bard who served in the Fey Court as an entertainer. His blank, creative and realistic view on the world was considered incredibly funny to the Fey.

>>53812018
5e was the first edition I played and what my DM likes

>>53812015
>I'm going Fiend and Warlock just doesn't seem to have much past 2-3. So I was thinking 2 Warlock, 5 Bard, 1 Warlock and the rest in Bard.

All they need to do is add good invocations at higher levels, and warlock would be fixed.

As for your question: bard is undoubtedly the best class in the game. But consider, that with the level 6 feature, the Dark One's Own luck, combined with the Bard's expertise, you can have basically guaranteed skill checks.

Stop multiclassing.

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how do I play a yuan-ti pureblood that gets along with the party without going full drizzt? my reasoning Idk snake people are cool, I played a Setitie in Vtm and always a Stygian in Conan stuff

>>53812058
stop telling people how to play their own games

>>53812048
Are you the same person that posted: >>53811951

Because it seems odd that you would need TSR's seal of approval, when it hasn't ever been relevant for any version of DnD that you've played. Unless you're just deliberately shitposting.

>>53811974
>great old one = lovecraft, no exceptions
Just stop.

>>53811888
Shadow Monk naturally.
Ranger is also a rather good fit. They are the only martial that can throw a fan of blades and they get some utility and elemental attacks. Horizon Walker for all your "nothing personnel" needs and Deepstalker for added trickery and DARKNESS.

>>53812058
But anon I'm only doing it because I made an weaker character who was focused on fun more then power, and the rest of the table are retarded minmaxers so I have to keep up.

>>53812066
Avatar Mystic, he studied Psionics for years but the sadly gave him empathy. Now he still wants to be loyal to his kind and powerful, but always has a little bit of conscious telling him to be nice.

>>53812068
I just like old school D&D (and D&D in general), and I intend to DM it some time soon

>>53812018
On July 15, 2014, Gary Gygax briefly crossed the barrier between life and death, gave his undying support to the Fifth Edition of Dungeons and Dragons, and then passed into somnolence

>>53812058
Can I multiclass just a little bit?

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Which nation in Faerun should my Fighter hail from? He's got a lot of Roman Legionary influence, so I'm leaning towards Cormyr. Then again, Chessenta sounds like a better option, but it's too far from the Sword Coast.

>>53812058
No. Fuck you.
I'll do whatever I want and I hope it makes you angry.

Stop taking feats

>>53812076
>this is what upsets the autist

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Stop multiclassing.

As an Archery Fighter, is it mechanically better to use Dual-Wielding as my back up melee option?

Aside from the drawing crap it does out damage single weapon but I don't get a Shield to use.

>>53812091
I have the opposite problem.
Usually min/maxing you DON'T want to multiclass because it sets you behind the powercurve except for in a few specific combinations.

Meanwhile I play with retards that couldn't min/max their way out of a 1 foot hole, so I take the opportunity to multiclass to fulfill a character concept I wouldn't normally get to play.

>>53810842

look at this autistic fucking psycho and be thankful you are not him

>>53812187
It's better to just take a few steps back and shrug off the AoO and fire your shots. Or if you don't want to ever deal with disadvantage, take crossbow master. And now you never need a backup plan.

>>53812095
Have you played old school DnD?
Have you played other RPGs, that do things differently from any variant of DnD?

>>53812197
>Meanwhile I play with retards that couldn't min/max their way out of a 1 foot hole, so I take the opportunity to multiclass to fulfill a character concept I wouldn't normally get to play.

Best tables, you can play wacky shit like an Elf Barbarian without ever falling too hard behind everyone.

>>53812211
>I like to pretend I had a clever trap idea that I took from reddit but the only (you) I got was from a guy calling me a faggot

>>53810787
don't you let him hurt you, anon

I'm new to GMing and I was planning on running a Tomb of Horrors game, but this thread gave me second tgouhts.

Should I go for it?

>>53812211
What's wrong with it?
They made suggestions on how to take the idea and do it better?
Is that really your measure for autism?
Or is it that they said they read it elsewhere? I've also seen it posted places. It's not really unique.

>>53812251
Yes, but White Plume Mountain is better

>>53812251
Do it. Ignore the guy being a grouchy edgemaster and have fun with your game.

>>53812251
Go for it, but let your players know they're probably gonna fucking die and that you'll probably make mistakes too. And that they may or may not die as a result of your mistakes.

Just have fun with it.

>>53812257
>>53812258
>>53812269
Thanks, I might still consider White Plume Mountain as it seems more traditional.

I had picked Curse of Strahd had it not been so long. I'd like to play a short one to test the waters.

>>53812298
You do you.
Personally I'm a strong advocate of homebrewing adventures as it makes the game more personal in a way prewritten adventures don't. Plus, you have more freedom to fuck-up and improvise without ruining a story.
Although, I've never played with randoms and I don't know if your group is with friends or not. But with friends homebrew is the best imo.

Introduced a flumph npc today. When's the last time you used a flumph, /5eg/?

>>53812091
fuck that's good DM banned Psions until l they get an update. I'm going with the twinges of emotion thing maybe a christian bale in equilibrium schtick

I'm writing a sidequest for an encounter with the Order of the Kraken. Mostly because one of our players is away for a few weeks.

Basically its lategame SKT, and I want them to have a real threatening encounter with the Kraken's agents to foster some antagonism.

I'm thinking a spooky fishing village full of hooded figures that obviously turn out to be fish people led by a deep sea priest.

The twist being the priest is an NPC they used to trust who disappeared months ago.

Any more ideas?

>>53811175
A thief blunders into the dungeon behind the party and picks up everything they decline to take and is gone before they return for the goods.

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Anyone following the new Nerd Poker podcast?

I loved the 1st one (before they switched DMs)

Just saw they are doing new episodes.. worth listening to?

>>53812469
Pic related is how I play the Flesh Golem in the Hidden Shrine of Temoachan my players loved him. Immediately died.

>>53812328
I'm playing with friends who've all played before. I actually have a homebrewed campain ready but I want timo get used to GMing so I wont fuck it up so much.

Published adventures feel like a safe bet.

>>53809722
>Mearls: Hexblade is my favorite UA
>Guts everything good about it
What did he mean by this?

>>53812595
It's his favorite flavor, anon. :^)

>>53812595
>Guts everything good about it
like what?

>>53812595
Probably Crawford's doing.

>>53812624
Warlock smite got moved from being a part of patron specific flavored weapon invocations to being a non-patron specific one for any weapon. That's the only thing that's changed since Hexblade hasn't been released in a revised form yet. Word on the street is Curse Bringer which was their patron specific smite weapon is getting moved to just being a subclass feature but I haven't seen any facts to back it up.

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>>53812181

>>53812624
50% damage cut on smites so they are a trap option now, along with pact specific weapons getting the axe so flavor flat out died(funny considering he says their flavor is the best) and removal of Cursebringer and it's features to move your Hex around.

>>53812624
Basically made it the best Eldritch blast spammer you can be while turning all melee options into blatant trap picks.

>>53812666
Satan knows what's up.

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Best way to RP Siegfried turning into Nightmare?

Paladin until 3, take oathbreaker. Then multiclass into warlock 3 going hexblade and getting the pact blade.

What do next?

>>53811888
2e Ninjas would be best translated as 5e Arcane Tricksters, I think

>>53810715
You should be doubtful on whether or not the player will actually be a good player. You did your best to help him and he seemed to just bitch about it. Also, you should be ashamed that you offered to let the player homebrew a class. Never let your players use homebrews, they will literally screw you over for giving them such freedoms 11 out of 10 times.

As for his quip with rogues, you should of explained that not all rogues are thieves. Some are spies, some are thieves, some are assassins, and some are just commoners and street urchins who know how to fight dirty.

>>53812181
desu I don't care when others multiclass but I personally dislike the thought of multiclassing and would never do it unless i had an immensely good reason in character to do it.

Anybody have a .pdf of that adventure that came with the D&D movie DVD?

I want it for reasons.

>>53812257
I have loved DMing through White Plume Mountain. I love the simple dungeon layout, the dungeon hazards are quite interesting, and the encounters are all over the place in terms of enemy type and encounter layout so it keeps the party on their toes.

My party is about to fight Sir Bluto and his allies, and I am quite positive that the Oni they have recruited into their party is going to make the fight a lot rougher for them.

>>53812214
>It's better to just take a few steps back and shrug off the AoO and fire your shots
It's mostly just for fluff, I know there's only like 1 or 2 times I'll ever really need to use a melee weapon. Once or twice though I might if it makes sense in the conditions just for fun. I did consider taking a Greatsword and just living with the slightly lower attack then a Finesse Weapon for fun.

>crossbow master
Actually brings up another thing, does it make sense for a Vampire Hunting Wood Elf to use a Crossbow or a Longbow? Both seem a bit odd for me to use.

>>53811499

Found the murder hobo.

some of us like to RP and play the game beyond "kill things and take their shit"

>>53811888
Assassin for your regular ninjas.
Shadow Monk for your supernatural ninjas.

>>53811499
Depends. Ancient Ruin full of cultists has an arrow trap in the main hallway, completely shit tier. Scoobydoo level dungeon with locking doors and shit are awesome though.

Also having minor traps in combat with Kobolds, Goblins and stuff are basically required for tactical play when you're in rusty dagger shank town.

>>53810831
There are spells to bypass that, like Passwall.

>>53810102
>, expensive as fuck, might as well build a fucking golden instead of spending that much cash.

How is a pit with spikes that expensive? It's just a hole in the ground, inside a dungeon, which is just a larger hole in the ground.

>>53813097
I mean, crossbows were more "in fashion" in the time period of settings that vampires appear in, sort of late Renaissance to pre-Victorian. Think of Van Helsing and like all the more modern media that features vampires.

>>53813211
Good luck knowing the room's even there to begin with and casting so many Passwalls that you're tunneling 20 feet at a time until you reach it.

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Homebrew me some DBZ shit with 5e and then kill me for my blasphemy.

I want to run a one-shot with some of my younger brothers for the hell of it.

>be me
>genuinely want to read about some funny and clever traps
>see a few fun ones
>mostly encounter toxic autists fighting over stupid shit
>disappointment ensues

hit me with some fun and clever traps

>>53810715
Copy paste the monk chapter and replace all instances of monk with "ninja" and all instances of chi with "chakra"

>>53813232
Bruh, look up the cost of a dungeon with a sunken basement vs. one without.
Yeah, sure, your dungeon saves on heating and cooling costs due to geothermal equilibrium, but now you need ventilation, radon detectors, water- and rotproofing, sump pumps, foundation supports, another fire exit, and tons of other regulations. It adds up. And do you think digging a hole is free? Don't think you can write off a golem workforce as zero cost, either.

>>53810715
>>new player wants to be a ninja and insists on it
>>ask him if he wants to make a homebrew
>>"no, too much work"
>>ok. let me think of something
>>tell him to make a thief or assassin
>>says he wants to be a ninja not a rogue
>>ask him what the difference is
>>says that he doesn't steal things and wants ninjutsu
>>tell him to make a monk since they have ki points
The way of shadow is the freaking ninja of this edition

>>53813311
>OSHA and the County Lair Inspectors visit Vecna's Tombs
No safety rails and warning stripes around your orb of annihilation, eh? Critical violation.

>>53813325
>>53810715

my friend wanted to play a ninja so I had him make a monk and told him to follow the way of the shadow

basically all we had to do was rename everything ninja names and we were good to go

>>53813327

Now I want a fucking party of adventurers whose task is simply seek out and explore dungeons and make all the BBEGs (ugh) lurking in them comply with safety regulations.

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>>53813279
Here you go!

>>53813365
I've run that, but for my players. They renovated a keep they reclaimed from some bandits, then Dwarven Occupational Safety showed up to give them an inspection and the PCs had to distract them from various violations or hastily fix them.

They got a yellow. Passable, but needs improvement; re-walk in one month.

What sort of creature or person would I seek out to have a magical weapon reforged into a different form?

>>53813401
perfect ( -.-)b

>>53813428
Dwarven Transmutation Wizard or Forge Cleric.

Ya'll, does a Way of the Kensei monk with a whip have potential?

>>53813275
i would highly recommend trying another system. theres already an RPG out there for DBZ, although idk what it's called. if you're so determined, maybe try them all playing at least level 3 WOT4E monks?

>>53813428
What are you turning into what?

>>53813279
Final room of the dungeon. Large 50 ft by 50 ft by 100 ft room with a shrine in the middle, and a large treasure chest sitting before it. The entirety of the room is also covered in skeletons of varying adventures who died in this room. The floor is disguised to look like there are dozens of "hidden" pressure plates that are actually easy to detect and would trigger some form of trap, but this is a red herring. The chest is bolted to the floor and also has a false trap that is easy to detect. the real trap is a Glyph of Warding placed on the chest. When it is opened. the whole room is affected by a reverse gravity spell. Only those close to the entrance or close to the shine or chest will be able to grab onto something as the spell flings them into the ceiling. The ceiling is also covered in spikes, but this will only be noticeable by people with 120 ft darkvision or people with bulls-eye lanterns who actually point it at the ceiling. This would probably be a trap intended for high tier adventurers, at least level 12 if not 15+.

>>53813449
dang

I'm adding this to my collection

>>53813442
if you multiclass figher for two weapon fighting and grab the feat probably. bugbear for extra hilarity. stun enemies from 15 ft away. only issue is FOB is kinda wasted

>>53813442
Not much point using a finesse weapon when Kensais are mostly Strength
Not much point in a one-hander with reach if you need to be making non-reach melee attacks too
There are ways to work around it, but there sure as shit isn't much synergy to start

>>53813471
Glad I could be of service.

>>53813445
A magic scimitar that can absorb the power of other magic weapons, into a greatsword.

>>53813485
Bolt it onto the side of the Greatsword's blade.

My new group expects me to write up a character bio about his past and personality.

Can someone give tips on how to write this for someone who dropped out of school?

>>53813492
The character wielding it is a little bit dumb and pretty whimsical, I was thinking of fastening it to the end of a pole and using it like a glaive.

>>53813477
>Kensais are mostly Strength
?? is there a build I haven't heard about or something?

>>53813513
I don't know much about swords, but most have the Tang thing going on where the blade comes out right? Wouldn't it make pretty good sense to just take the blade out and have a haft made to fit it in?

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>tfw my dumb half orc keeps getting BTFO by sneaky enemy tiefling
>casts darkness and has me run face first into a black pudding
>downs me with glyph of warding on her door and carves a dick on my forehead with a dagger

>>53813477
What ARE you speaking of?
Kensai (it's own plural BTW) are Dex-based just like all Monks.

>>53813305
Ninjas didn't use chakra, or even believe in it because it's an INDIAN spiritual belief and an Indian word too.
That's a Naruto-specific thing because the author wanted to use ki but didn't want to say ki or any variation of it the same way everyone else does in manga.

It's amazing how often so many mangaka will struggle to come up with new and original ways to say "internal energy bullshit" in an effort to be original and then have them all work exactly the fucking same in everything.

>>53813642
Out of curiosity, what WOULD ninja religion be like anyway?

>>53813670
Like Shintoism

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>>53813557
Have you tried looting and pillaging her ass?

>>53813670
Depends on which kinda ninja I guess.
In real life shinobi (the proper Japanese word for ninja) wasn't a class of people, it was just a job description, so their religion would likely be the majority religion at the time, so Shinto and later a syncretic of Shinto and Zen Buddhism.

It's word noting that the oft-used "ninja chant" ("Rin! Pyou! Tou! Sho! Kai! Chin! Retsu! Zai! Zen!") in fiction are actually a Buddhist thing, the "nine syllables".

Should I try playing a Samurai or Monster Hunter Fighter? I'm also trying to give a shot at playing a more exotic race, too.

Or rather, fluff aside, which of them is more fun?
Everything I've played are humans or close to them. 2 humans, a Half-Elf, Goliath,
and Aasimar.

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>>53813715
SAMURAI DWARF!

>>53813715
samurai seems much more mechanically interesting. it's capstone is also one of the most badass things in 5e. maybe try a bugbear samurai?

>>53813715
>monster hunter fighter
>play a young tabaxi
>become the palico

What are some things I can do as the GM to help make my games more immersive?

Aight so I'm setting up to DM a Curse of Strahd game, I'm having the players all being pulled to Barovia from different timelines. (though now it's 4 new characters, I liked the idea so i kept it, I don't care if it's dumb). Basically each character is writing their own backstory and I'm giving a short intro of how they end up in Barovia to meet on the road from the fog. However, I'm trying to give each player some sort of quest hook in their intro, and possibly hidden details/relations to other characters. What I've got so far is:

Drow Diviner: Some royal fortune teller, she has a dream where Madam Eva, tells her that her fate and those of many others is trapped, and that she needs to defeat a great evil if she ever wants to return. She then tells the PC to come find her, who awakens in the forest near the road.
I'm considering having her possibly be a distant relative of Eva? Which would make her related to Strahd Is this a bad idea?

Human Fighter: Pretty edgy, is NE and says he has some sort of "corruption". He receives the letter from Kolyan, only slightly edited to say that she has been corrupted instead, so he is interested in investigating. Though, its a trap as Strahd looks for someone to succeed him. Strahd will probably communicate with this player alot and attempt to turn him. If he can seduce him with the dark powers and turn him against the party, he will then betray the player and turn him into a vampire spawn.

>cont

>>53813754
Basic things:
>call your players by their character names and only by their character names for the entire session
>speak directly to them as NPCs
>don't break character until after encounters with that NPC are over

>>53813763
She'd have to be a seriously fuckin' distant relative of Eva seeing as she's a drow and Eva is...well, kind of human?
The Vistini are basically a human subrace, especially due to the weird powers they get.

>>53813754
make magic loot harder to find and make it have a purpose. don't put a magic weapon in just to reward your players, give that weapon a background or a story behind it. the magic sword is there for reason X, not just conveniently placed at the end of a dungeon to reward the players.

>>53813763
Human Bard: The weeb in the group, she's actually from a low magic, modern day type era and is an Idol (the players fine though, wont make it cringy.). I had her receive an invitation to play at the Blue Water Inn from a "Colourfully dressed man". (Yes, I know how dumb this sounds, but it seems like a fun idea) Basically, she's being driven to where this place is supposed to be, the fog engulfs them and they crash. She wakes up near the road, her driver has been dragged off. I'm thinking of making her a distant relative of vistani? though if I do the relative of Eva thing, that makes this less special I guess as she already is one.
I dont want to do reincarnation of Tatyana, I don't want to direct that at the players. What else could be a fun connection?

Human Barb: An actual tribal caveman-type. (which honestly will go hilarious with a modern character). Was just going to have him chase a wolf into forest, end up in the fog but I want him to have a quest hook as well. Was considering something with the werewolves? Like i don't know, maybe his tribe is a distant forefather to the current tribe of werewolves with Kiril? Not sure on that.
>>53813782
Yeah, i thought of that but at the same time it's a different timeline thing, so she would be a very distant relative. Maybe a reincarnation/changed soul type thing? Haven't fully fleshed it out yet.

>>53813751
I'm not sure I understand the reference here
>>53813734
For any reason other than that image?
>>53813740
That could be fun, and the ASI that the Bugbears have would fit it pretty well too.
Only other thing I could think of was a Warforged.

>>53811083
Citation or stfu

>>53813800
>playing an idol
>in strahd
Hope she dies

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>>53813808
>I'm not sure I understand the reference here
monster hunter

>>53813815
Honestly it was more the idea of the modern character being brought in that appealed to me. Sounds interesting enough and I know the player is actually good enough to make it not cringy.

>>53813823
Oh, I didn't know about the Palico. Never played one of the games unfortunately

>>53813815
>>53813808
>>53813832
She needs to sing everything and do all of the dance moves.

>>53813715
Samurai works best in a game with cities and politics because of their Charisma skill boost.

Monster Hunter works better in an investigation or horror game. Also Martial Adept gives you more combat options if you want one.

Really I'd go Monster Hunter. Samurai Dwarf actually does have a good reason for existing though, it's pretty similar to something a Dwarven Defender from the Forgotten Realms would be.

>>53813841
They're basically sidekicks you have that help you hunt

>>53813847
>>53813832
>I know the player is actually good enough to make it not cringy.
I like the Idol idea purely because that also makes it a spoilt rich kid in a fucking horror show.

>>53813808
>For any reason other than that image?
Stocky, physically strong, armored, high Con and Str, poison resistant, honorable, and stubborn, are all good samurai traits.

>>53813863
>I like the Idol idea purely because that also makes it a spoilt rich kid in a fucking horror show.
If they played it this way, I'd be cool with having it at my table.

Anyway. Never done Strahd, is it really spooky? I would like to play a spooky game sometime.

>>53813891
>Never done Strahd, is it really spooky?
Largely depends on the DM, really.
It's got some spooky moments, but if the DM is shit at atmosphere then they'll fall flat.

My players weren't precisely shitting themselves when I GMed it but they ended up being haggered and paranoid about everything by the time they actually reached Castle Ravenloft itself.
The final showdown with him was some of the most satisfying GMing I've ever gotten done in my many years of it because the players were eager as hell to take him down and seriously wary of everything he could do.

The dramatic setting really helped.

>>53813919
How is the adventure overall? Any strengths and weaknesses of the adventure? Everything needing change or what did you modify for the better?

>>53813444
http://forum.chaos-project.com/index.php/topic,11765.0.html

Found some autistic version here but looks like it could be good fun for a bunch of kids.

Need to clean it up and simplify it.

>>53809755
We encountered a "wheel of fortune" type thing in the dungeon that you could spin, and it had about an equal chance of a positive or negative effect.Our party made a point of going to spin it the maximum amount of times (three times per week I think).

After a few times, with effects ranging from 'you lose all your prepared spells for today' to 'you gain this or that benefit for the next 24h', our druid had to make an INT save.

He failed it, so he died instantly.

>>53813949
>How is the adventure overall?
It's great, but it's extremely decentralized and reliant on both player initiative and good DMing to do right; the players need to think and plan for themselves and the DM needs to use Strahd appropriately both in awareness of his abilities AND his limitations.
A good thing I did was mentally keep note of whenever Strahd was at any given time and what he was doing, and never have him "cheat" to be in a location he wasn't already at just so he could show up. The DM has to play him like GMPC who's ultimate function is to loose, basically, though not without a serious fight.
>Any strengths and weaknesses of the adventure?
The strengths are also it's weaknesses; shitty DM's or players who don't think for themselves and don't take the initiative and only follow bread crumb trails the DM leaves for them are going to have a less fun time.
>Everything needing change or what did you modify for the better?
Nothing needed changing, though one thing I did that the book suggested was NOT give them experience for encounters and the like and instead had them gain levels at plot-appropriate moments and when they completed objectives.
This prevented them from getting too powerful too quickly and kept many fights challenging and forced them to not think of every fight as XP waiting to happen; they ran sometimes because they didn't want to blow resources on a fight they gained nothing from.

After mystic and artificer what other classes would like them to add to 5ed? Me, Oriental adventures 3ed Shammy and Warlord from 4th ed.

>>53813919
>The dramatic setting really helped.
Where did the fate draw end up putting him for your party?

>>53814010
Yeah I'd like to see a proper shaman.
But usually people just say to refluff druid or cleric.

>>53813856
Huh. Neat, I guess. I need to get in to the series at some point.
>>53813854
In this case I guess I'd expect something very heavily combat-focused, myself.
Samurai+Heavy Armor Master sounds hilarious too. They both sound fun, but fuck if I know which to pick.
>>53813886
All fair enough. If I don't go with something more exotic, a Dwarf could always be fun.

So many options
So much lack of decisiveness on my part

Thinking of hosting a 5e game soon, I've only ever played RAW or close to.

Are there any alternate rule sets or house rules you strongly recommend?

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>>53814011
The high balcony overlooking all of Barovia. Of course I had it be night time with a gigantic full moon at his back during the fight for maximum Castlevania effect.

I also changed him up slightly; instead of fighting unarmed like his stats show I had him armed with a longsword to show he was officially DONE fucking around with them and gave him some awesome finale lines during the fight, only one of which I even had to steal from other media thankfully, and they didn't even get that one.

>>53814047
I always suck at villain "voices" so to speak, what did he say at the end?

>>53813097
Crossbow bolts are more stake-like than arrows and more likely to pierce through the vampire's chest into his cold black heart

>>53814047
Sounds pretty hype.

>>53809722
If someone does fall into this, how the fuck do you get them out without killing them?

>>53814054
Just before the fight when he drew his sword (this was after they thwarted him the entire adventure and he was pretty pissed at them) he said;
>"You want Barovia? Come then...TAKE IT FROM ME!!"

When his "buffer" health was destroyed and they started really hurting him and he began blasting away with magic he used the borrowed line;
>"If any of you acknowledge any gods, START PRAYING NOW!"

>>53813275
Assimar
Sun-soul
Monks
Then play it as getsalt sunsoul monks and something else

Make assimar sayians and let them use their supersayian type ability more often
Leave humans as humans (maybe offer a limited flight as a feat)
Make bugbears/golaiths or halforcs into namikeans

>>53814058
The hype game from the nearly two months of gaming sessions building up to the fight, really. Without that it wouldn't have been as effective.

>>53813537
I think he meant they mostly grab str based weapons since they make them !not!finesse anyways.
Eventhough the latest reprint of them ruined my dex gwm ss cbe stunning strike dreamemes

>rogue druid circle threatening a city that is developing too rapidly
>each member focuses on a specific element
>when the players corner them they collectively summon a powerful elemental
>BY YOUR POWERS COMBINED

Then they have to kill captain planet.
Sound stupid enough to be fun for a one-off?

>>53814018
I wouldn't mind a shaman redo with spirit and hexing/incurring type stuff.

>>53809755
>Room is pitch black
>Rogue sneaks in
>Crawls through fireplace
>Door locks behind him
>Starts screaming for help
>A series of tubes cast his voice in different places
>Two pcs follow his voice into deadly spike traps
>Last two pcs flee
>Rogue starves to death on a pile of gold

>>53814149
A Cleric subclass that's actually a Shaman could be cool.

Similar to Nature Cleric but maybe gets a Channel Divinity ghost summon that they can use attacks through. Also some summon spells and speak with dead and stuff.

>>53814043
In terms of overarching game rules, the Multiclass and Feat options are always present with a little tuning.

1. Keep the stupid feats like Lucky, GWM, SS, CBE, and PAM away from the Variant Human 1st level feat.
2. Use the most recent Revised Ranger UA instead of the PHB option, especially if someone wants to play the Beastmaster archetype.
3. Make multiclassing have a story-driven motive. Random MC for the purpose of optimization is annoying.

General rules like not telling players about DCs apart from a ballpark "you almost succeed/fail", intelligently playing intelligent enemies, just general things to make the game run better.

Also, some random weapon things like spears being d8/d10 versatile, estoc being a 2d6 piercing heavy 2-handed weapon, and a lucerne hammer for the d10 reach bludgeoning weapon.

>>53814168
could just fluff spiritual weapon as a ghost, spirit guardians as summons. They already kind of work for it.

>>53814197
>Random MC for the purpose of optimization is annoying.
Doesn't even need a good reason, just a reason. Nothing fucks me off more then when a player can't even be assed to say "Oh he spent the last few weeks reading some books on magic he had, that's why he's taking Wizard levels". It's not hard to at least put something in there.

>>53814199
I agree and personally would just play a Knowledge Cleric for a Shaman, people always seem unhappy until there's an actual option for stuff however.

>>53811090
You need to chase your players out of the dungeon more often, or make complex dungeons where enemies can get to the rooms the players have cleared.

>>53811314
If the setting enforces conscription it's fine, but that begs the question, why were the other players not conscripted?

>You're not in the country anymore
Why keep up the act?
>Adventurers get a free pass
Are you not an adventurer?

This is the biggest problem I have with the trope (which I have seen in play twice, once female->male and once male->female). Why do they keep up the act?

>>53812712
>you are no longer forced into very specific pact weapons
>flavour is gone
What the fuck are you talking about. The issue was specifically that Fey was practically mandatory because of the bow being bullshit good, Old one was uber shit and pointless.

Now you have free choice.

I just realised my Kobold Warlock's in the perfect position to be a Sorcerer/Warlock because his patron's a hideously powerful Dragon who effectively gave a small blood transfusion to some of his Kobold warriors.

Should I actually do it? Is there any tips for it other then start Warlock?

>>53814261
Only take 2 warlock levels. The pacts are tempting, but you won't use them much... unless you want shillelagh for melee backup, which is kinda fun with Undying Light warlock + Fire dragon Sorc using GFB. Would be even cooler if your DM allowed you to get one of the warlock smites.

>>53814295
I was thinking 2 and then somewhere down the line another 1 just to up those two slots to 2nd level. Probably not until I have 3rd level spells though.

>>53814304
Yeah, that works. It's really not a difficult thing to build.

>>53813670
A ninja is a literal spy. It is usually farmers or servants passing off as peasants, who generally had some degree of training with small blades and poisons.

They weren't sneaky, they blended in. They didn't mission-impossible in to steal or kill someone, they were ignored because it was literally just one of the regular servants working there.

It is ironic how much the backgrounds help make an actual ninja. I ran game with a way of shadow noble, who was high on money and drugs, acted like a stuck up and spoiled bitch, and only had respect because he had money and contacts in the right places. He was the party face despite his super shit charisma. Got several enemies through his bad attitude and antagonizing demeanour.

But when some faggot with a shiv thought they could take him alone in a dark alley in the middle of the night, it turned out he wasn't actually relying *that* much on his barbarian, fighter and wizard friends

It just works so well in an adventuring group, to have some around that seems like a legitimate idiot and coward.

>>53814321
Only problem I have is a chose a pretty shitty pact for it already (Fiend), but it's a powerful blaster anyway so that shouldn't matter much. Plus there's worse things then a few temp HP each kill.

How the fuck do I run Castle Ravenloft itself? Theres like 80 fucking parts to it and they all interconnect. Are there any labelled 2d maps out there to make things simpler?

>>53813856
Or actual playable characters in the latest games.

Pretty cool to play, and relies a lot on tricks to take down the larger monsters. Which honestly fits very well with monster Hunter.

It also helps that they feel faster to play with, so Tabaxi speed is actually quite appropriate.

>>53814208
>Doesn't even need a good reason
My point exactly. I don't care what it is so long as you can justify it through character backstory or the actions that were taken in previous sessions.

>>53814335
It's not easy and you have to really get a mental feel of how the rooms fit together.

>>53814168
>>53814149
>>53814018
>>53814010
I would like to see a shammy class or subclass as well. Oh well I just play as a druid in the meantime.

>"hey onii-chan, our cousins want to play DnD, can we play tonight?"
>me: okay

I have 2 hours left and having not played DnD in 6 months, I've got SHIT.

Need a one-shot idea, lads. Gimme your best that doesn't involve getting ambushed by a goblin raid or saving the blacksmith's umpteenth daughter from bandits.

>>53814539
Are they experienced with D&D?

>>53814539
Check out drunkens and dragons, molok or any of the dark fantasy room designs

>>53814539
The blacksmith's daughter got ambushed by goblin bandits, PCs have to save her again.

>>53814539
Just run most potent brew?

>>53814636

My siblings are, just the one cousin who is gonna be all doe-eyed and new on the thing.

>>53814658

Huh, I should've thought of that. Thanks, lad.

>>53814539
Man that waa the most fun I ever tried.
>21 years old
>2 twin sisters 13 year old wants to try all this "Dragon stuff" I am doing regularly.
>invites two friends
>doesn't even ask me if I want to GM, just expects me to.
>I am very worried, expecting constant obnoxious screams and bitch fighting
>they are completely into it, roleplays better than the usual 30 year old neckbeards i play with
>Makes fun and interesting characters, very light on the snowflake
>spend the entire Saturday and sunday playing
>ended up playing a 60 session campaign through
It was a joy playing with them. They started playing by themselves, unfortunately because one of the parents was "worried" about me being "alone" with their daughter.

Your daughter would have to be more than a 2/10 to be worth taking the bait for, stupid woman.

[Spoiler]I am also gay, so she really didn't have anything to worry about, even if her daughter honestly looked more like an ugly dude. [/spoiler]

>>53814741
For future reference you can Ctrl+S while highlighting to spoiler around it.

>>53809755

I made a large room with an invisible floor, made to look like a giant gaping fire pit via illusion magic. The party spent a dimension door, wild shape and a fly spell on it when they could've just tossed a rock or something 'into' the pit and seen that it was solid. They found out after they got chased back through the dungeon by a clay golem who walked over it.

How often should the players go to Ravenloft before actually killing Strahd? Should they go at all before being ready to do so? There's quite a few events that rely on them having been there.

Trying to make a character for Out of the Abyss, what do?

>>53814925
More information needed, you retard.

>>53814925
Shadow monk.
I'd stay away from anything that has sunlight sensitivity if you plan to play a melee character

Dumping dex on barbarians, y/n?

>>53814998
Dex is still pretty important, it governs initiative, saves and skills.

>>53814925
Goblin Deepstalker with the Skulker feat.

Hide anywhere, any time.

>>53814998
Because Barbarians have armour on CON, Health, ADV on DEX saves and ADV on Intitave... PRobably a safe 10-12. 14 would be the best option, but you gotta have something low.

>>53815020
>but you gotta have something low

>He doesn't play a regular human Monk/Paladin/Wizard

>>53814998
You want 14 for reasonable AC. Less is bad, but not completely awful.

>>53814998
Never dump dex on any class ever.

>>53815080
You're saying I shouldn't be a dwarven fighter with 8 dex?

>>53815087
Yes.

>>53815080
but monks dont need it

>>53815101
You might be clinically retarded, might want to get that checked out.

>>53815106
theres 3 pillars of the game and only ones combat and u spend way more time doing social and enviro encounters then combat lol

ur better off dumping dex and rasing things that make you better at social and enviro at the same time

u should no its roleplay not rollplay lol

>>53815118
Yeah I think we can safely confirm that you are indeed clinically retarded.

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>>53815118
>>53815101

>>53815128
Pretending to be an idiot is not baiting.