/5eg/ D&D Fifth Edition General

>>>49010379
>Maegera is only CR 23. I would just say it's on the weaker end of the Primordials. Kossuth the Lord of Fire is much more powerful. Gods and other powerful beings very greatly in power. Primordials likely do as well.

>>49010892
>Favourites
Drow, Deathknight, Giants (of all sorts), Gith/Githyanki, Hags, Hobgoblins
>Least Favorites
Xorns.

>>49010952
The other explanation is of course that Primordials are 4E original fluff created for Nentir Vale and then shoved into Faerun (like how they shoved Nentir Vale stuff into every setting they could do people weren't "confused" about different settings) and then when 4E ended and all of the 4E retcons and changes were themselves retconned and ignored so therefore Primordials are now way weaker because they were only thing put in there by editorial demand anyway.

You should see the unbelievably shit "guidelines" they had for creating adventures in Faerun and elsewhere for 4E.

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>>49010892
Currently my players are fighting some drow. Which are having a more and more prominent place in the campaign.

Related question: One of my players slew a high'ish level drow priest as she attempted to flee the in the last sessions. Long range shot, disadvantage, still dropped her just before she got away.

What I would like to do is 'power up' her bow. Rather than having her find a magic bow, instead make this one gain a bit of magical ability related to this (somewhat) great accomplishment.

What could be some enhancements for the bow? I'd like to stay away from increased to hit, she is already good enough.

Character is a wood elf ranger, 7th level. Has no other magic items.

>>49011123
Race?

>>49011107
The background for Primordials and the early Faerunian cosmology (creation mythology, Abeir/Toril split) were great, since that stuff was almost never touched on before.
The redo of all the various Planes was retarded.

>>49011123
Give her an Oathbow.
Obviously.
>>49011136
Wood elf, like he said.

>>49010892
>favs
Otyughs, displacement beasts, dragons
>least favorite
Anything with gaze attacks, they're a hassle to run

>>49010892
Favourites
>Drow, Demigorgon, other lesser elves
Hated
>Fucking Duergar man

>>49010892
>favourite
Most kinds of fey
>least
almost everything from the underdark

what's the differences between the Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms settings? all i've seen is that Greyhawk is less detailed and more open, while Forgotten Realms is a very fleshed-out setting

>>49011142
The early Faerunian cosmology and creation myth WERE explained. I don't care if you aren't aware of it, that doesn't mean it never existed.
While it was a good way to explain the Abeir part of Abeir-Toril, a better one is the one Ed Greenwood himself gave on Candlekeep's forums; when writing the FR Encyclopedia TSR wanted Toril to be the first alphabetical entry so he changed it to Abeir-Toril, though it was referred to as just "Toril" still by almost everything written for the setting ever since.

The planes redo WAS retarded.
4E's development mindset was "thought is hard, depth is boring, make everything as homogenous as possible".
That's so close to the writing guidelines for FR4e adventures folks were given that it's almost absurd.

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Favs: truly unexpected mimics, creative troll encounters, killing kobolds when party members have kobold-boners

Least favs: rust monsters, invisible motherfuckers

Question: Do you guys use the firearm rules in the DMG? Either they are overcosted or underpowered. A musket has a fraction of the range of a heavy crossbow, and costs 450 gp more, all just for 1d12 piercing damage instead of 1d10. Rules as written even require an action spent reloading. None of the PHB weapons have this attribute, even crossbows, which doesn't really make sense.

>>49011270
You are both correct and incorrect.
Faerun has more "ground-level" detail in it's cultures then Greyhawk, but was designed by Greenwood to have lots of "empty space" for you to fill out yourself.
That's why the original box sex opens with the words "make these Realms thine own" way back before I (and likely you) were even born yet.

Greyhawk has less detail in SOME parts but actually has a very extensive history much like FR does.
The only reason it stopped going into detail was because basically who "owned" Greyhawk between Gygax and TSR was kinda in dispute (there were all kinds of legal problems back then with D&D), so they slowly shifted focus to the setting that TSR for sure 100% owner, namely FR.

That said, FR shares much of the cosmological framework of Greyhawk.

>>49011317
I'm aware of it, but it was fucking boring in comparison. And that's still with just about everything about the God-Primordial conflict glossed over, so it was even more snooze-worthy.

>Favorite Monster?
Liches. They get bitches. And they're all around 'fuck you' style of wizards.

>Least Favorite Monster?
Depends if you count humanoid NPCs as monsters. If so, cultists. If not, intellect devourers.

>>49011394

cool, thanks for the info. i'm starting a new campaign and wanted to be able to explain the setting (if they ask)

>>49011136
Wood Elf (female) Ranger, seventh level. Has no other magical items.

The other notable thing that happened to the character during this (rather hard, near TPK) fight was that she got caught up in close combat, had to drop her bow and take up her two short swords. Taking the bow back up to make the shot on the Drow Priest after melee combat cleared out.

Spent a lot of time below 1/3 hp during the fight - as everyone did.


>>49011155
Oathbow just seems a little powerful...and punitive. Though I really like the idea of being tied to killing the target. That sort of fits the character. Maybe a lesser version?

Would 1d6 etra damage instead? Maybe make it -1 to hit instead of disadvantage against others? The disadvantage just seems a bit heavy if it lasts for 7 days because a bad guy escapes.

Other suggestions?

Dex-based Eldritch Knight. 16dex/14con/14int/12wis/10str/8cha.
We're starting at level 1, and I'm going with variant human.

Lucky seems to be one of the strongest feats I could take at level 1. I'm considering taking the magic initiate feat to get two warlock cantrips and hex, the cantrips won't rely on charisma. Level 4 feat is going to be warcaster of course.

Is there anything I'm doing wrong, besides playing eldritch knight?

>>49011442
If they've played even ONE traditional fantasy RPG video game then they know FR by default since a lot of them copy D&D, which was most popular in the 1980's which was exactly when D&D started getting hugely popular and they started pushing FR over Greyhawk.

The Realms has (had, I guess) a LOT of tiny details about the history and cultures, but most of the people in the Realms don't know fuck-all about it. They know about some really common basic ideas but not about the details, and even the basic details they tend to get my pretty wrong a lot of the time.

>>49011467
are you Duel wield or Sword 'n' Board?

>>49011467

Eldritch Knight is fine, just more defensively oriented than the other fighter paths. If you want to be near-untouchable EK is the way to go. That said, Lucky is always a strong feat but you might consider going High Elf instead for a free cantrip and great stat synergy if you're going to be a dex knight.

>>49011462
>Maybe a lesser version?
If you want.
I prefer to walk in straight lines myself, but if you want to redesign the thing then go right ahead; it IS your campaign.

What is a good feat for a Human Illusionist? The only thing I can see would be Resilient (CON) and that's no fun.

>>49011442
Evil is also much more powerful in Greyhawk then FR. Half the map is controlled by evil forces. An evil Demigod rules an empire just across a small sea from the City of Greyhawk.

>>49011530
Actor or Observant.

>>49011558

interesting i'll have to check out the maps

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>>49011512
Of course. Just looking for additional input/suggestions. I really appreciate the idea.

How about something for a barbarian who took down a (lesser) fey noble with his great axe?

>>49011364
>Question: Do you guys use the firearm rules in the DMG?

I do. Actually, in my campaign I pretty much just replaced crossbows entirely with firearms, and made a Firearms Mastery feat that does the same thing as Crossbow Mastery. But my campaign is set in a time period similar to the 1700's, so crossbows are more or less obsolete except unless they're being used for stealth.

Also, by RAW early firearms like muskets don't require an action to reload. The Loading property just means they can only be used once per round.

>>49011494
Sword and board. AC17 at level 1 which is OK.
>>49011498
I did consider high elf, especially since it would grant me access to the bladesinger class.

I feel that my role is going to be tanking, which is fine, one thing I'm on the fence about is whether to take the fighting style that gives +2 damage or the one that lets me impose disadvantage on an enemy attack roll with my reaction.

>>49011558
Yeah, Iuz was basically Sauron, while most threats in FR tend to come from power-hungry people of different races.

Greenwood and Gygax were interested in different sorts of things; Greenwood was obviously much more into cultures and people and the things they do, while Gygax was into big cosmological stories and Good vs Evil vs Neutrality type stuff and so you see a lot of major demons and shit in his world.

Amusingly, both had mysterious collectives of secretive evil scarlet-robed Wizards in the East, which tells you a bit about the era in which both settings were made, heh.

>>49011364
>Question: Do you guys use the firearm rules in the DMG? Either they are overcosted or underpowered. A musket has a fraction of the range of a heavy crossbow, and costs 450 gp more, all just for 1d12 piercing damage instead of 1d10. Rules as written even require an action spent reloading. None of the PHB weapons have this attribute, even crossbows, which doesn't really make sense.

>an action spent reloading
Really? As far as the DMG RENAISSANCE firearms go, they have the loading attribute like crossbows do, so there's no 'action spent reloading', you're just limited to a single attack on a turn. You're thinking of modern+ weapons which have a Reload attribute.

I think muskets aren't a great adventuring weapon, but if they enter the campaign, they'd be a preferred weapon of groups or factions, as it takes little training to point and shoot.

>>49011394
I don't know about any ownership disputes, but Greyhawk was made the default setting for 3.5. As the default, they took out a lot of the details, streamlining it to make it function as more a framework that you could use as a starting point for your own setting. They did the same thing with the points of light/nentir vale setting that was the new default for 4e.

>>49011656

The elf requirement is just a fluffy thing, not a mechanical guard. A EK/Bladesinger gish can get the highest AC in the game pretty much at high levels.

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>>49011626
Here a small section of the map.

>>49011758
>Greyhawk was made the default setting for 3.5
And look how that turned out, ho ho.

And now we're seeing the detail removal in 5E's FR because they sure as fuck haven't described anything outside of the Sword Coast, and even there they barely skim the books of established lore from editions past. This is a setting where you should never be at a loss for what's going on where and at what point, but if you're a player who is new to D&D you're simply not going to find this shit without Google. It's not in any of the 5E books and they don't even point you at old texts like Faiths and Avatars.

>>49011841
Do the Furries live in Furyondy?

>>49011841
It's slightly outdated as iuz conquered the Shield Lands.

>>49011841

hehe that helps

>>49011871
No it's just the main good guy kingdom.

>>49011843
There is so much stuff out there for FR though. Just a mountain from 2e alone.

Personally I don't think we need any setting books for the major settings. Just stuff that gives rules for those settings, races and classes sort of thing.

Just let people buy stuff from previous editions until the publishers can catch up with the rules stuff. Heck, I'd rather the adventures be as generically located as possible anyhow.

>>49011843
>And look how that turned out, ho ho.
I don't really know what you mean?

You don't really need an entire planet for adventures, anon. And the old books are there if you want them. And there's been no detail removal, they simply haven't filled in all the details yet. FR is not actually the default setting of 5e. The PHB and DMG talk about a default cosmology, the D&D multiverse, but the world is not specific. It's pretty much how it was in AD&D. There are no default gods, just a bunch of example pantheons with no details. the adventures have a setting, because adventures need to have a setting, though it only really needs to be big enough for the adventure to happen in. Indeed, the first D&D settings grew out of adventure modules. Mystara evolved out all the Basic D&D adventures, Greyhawk out of the AD&D adventures.

>>49011929
It wouldn't kill them to devote 20 pages in something to a BRIEF overview of all the countries and deities.

Instead, we've got a single page that just says
>Lathander, god of birth and renewal, symbol is a road leading into a sunrise
Which is really skipping over the Amaunator connection, his whole deal with joy / athleticism / THE SUN, or his monastic and knightly orders.
Some of the other gods who get mentioned in later books get even less description to them
>Kossuth, god of fire, symbol is fire
This doesn't tell you that he's an elemental or rules from the Plane of Fire or that Thay is his #1 fan, that his symbol is actually a flame twining around itself (seriously, they have an enormous blank space on that line where they could have elaborated on the historical symbol, but left it as "fire" or "flame" or some shit), or his whole schtick about suffering and self-improvement.

This leaves a lot of space for players and DMs to insert whatever they want, sure, but it also provides much fewer ideas (and a lot of people need that help) and makes the setting look barebones. And it's not like players need a LACK of information as permission to do whatever they want with something. Pulling this out of my ass, I'd say the majority of players and DMs have an understanding of established realmlore that goes against what is, you know, established, or at least play outside of that because they like their own version better.

>>49012023
>I don't really know what you mean?
They made Greyhawk the default setting and then stamped FORGOTTEN REALMS on everything. Ask someone who got into the hobby in 3X what the major setting of the edition was and they'll tell you it's FR, because that's overwhelmingly what they dealt with.

scanbros got dat Storm King's Thunder yet? it's been out for 12 hours ffs and no one even talkin bout it

i mean im not gonna run it but i will enjoy laughing at the shitawful writing and adventure design

I just got kicked out of d&d.

>>49012124
You missed out, shit for it was posted last thread. Search the net harder

>If a wizard casts a spell like fireball during a surprise round, do the enemies get disadvantage on their saving throw?
>Being surprised has no effect on saves. If you’re surprised, you can’t move or take an action on your first turn of the combat and you can’t take a reaction until that turn ends (PH, 189).
http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/rules-answers-july-2016

If you can't move how can you succeed on a dexterity saving throw?

>>49012156
That'll learn you for playing a CN Elven Rogue/Bard.

>>49012200
>Trying to argue semantics
Just deal with it.

>>49012200
"Move", as in moving feet of distance, and "reaction" as in the "reaction (action)" are distinct from waving your arms and legs around or gasping in surprise (which is a reaction).

If creatures were literally paralyzed or stuck in time during a surprise round, how would anyone ever fail to hit them short of rolling a 1 and missing themselves?
>5% chance for trained swordsman to swing over an immobilized halfling's head while he's in no danger

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>>49012057
>his whole schtick about suffering and self-improvement

I ran an NPC for my group once that was basically this guy but with Kossuth instead of his own setting's fire deity.

>>49012209
Nope,I was a half orc fighter

>>49011629
How do you go about giving your characters magic items? Do they find it in a pile of loot or does their weapon sort of take on properties as they do things with them?

>>49012301
Well, storytime you fuck

>>49012301
How'd you fuck that up?

>>49011670
>>49011647

Sorry honored fiends, but the DMG firearms DO NOT have the loading property, they have the much stupider, DMG-exclusive *reload* property:

"A limited number of shots can be made with a weapon that has the reload property. A character must then reload it using an action or a bonus action (the character's choice)."

>>49012408
No, the pistol and musket have Loading.

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>>49012408
Read that page again friendo, unless you've got a different DMG from me.

What is a good premise for an adventure set in Icewind Dale? If possible, i'd like to leave out any mention to the Crystal Shard.

Bonus points if it involves Giants, you know, to set the scene for STK...

>>49011364
>Favs: truly unexpected mimics
>my PC's once came across an empty room with a chest in the middle - a ray of light shining down on it from the ceiling.
>the players deliberate for a few minutes, talking deciding whether or not they should avoid it in case it's a mimic. the sorcerer wants nothing to do with this chest, doesn't want to chance it, goes for the exit door
>paladin says fuck it and opens the chest
>some health potions and a magical flail
>everythingwentbetterthanexpected.jpg
>sorcerer gets mauled by the door as soon as he grabs the handle

there better be kobold PC write up rules in the Volo guide or i'll be pissed

>>49012571
10/10

A group of my friends is pressuring me to DM a roll20 campaign for them, the problem is I'm in the middle of a RL campaign with a different group of friends.

I'm considering buying The Storm King's Thunder on roll20 as an easy campaign to run, with all the work done for me (more or less).

Does anyone have any experience with the official WotC adventures on roll20? Anyone have any opinions on Storm King's Thunder as of yet? I know there are a few early copies floating around out there...

>>49012646

Copies are basically out now. I haven't read through it since I'm trying to avoid spoilers though it does have a pretty rad artifact your players can get. Looks solid enough and should be a fun adventure for your friends. Otherwise run Strahd.

I wanna run a quick little game with someone who's never played before. Basically he arrives to a scarcely populated little town at the border of a "grass-sea" a region overgrown with this tall as fuck, sharp as fuck grass in which you need to ride this little sailboat type thing mounted on a big wheel to cross to where he needs to go. I just need some suggestions on which kind of creatures would leave in this place, only thing I have so far is giant snakes with thick hides. Much appreciated if you have any ideas.

>>49012783

I'm already running Strahd with the other group, so in order to mix things up a bit (and not confuse myself between each game) I figured I'd run something different.

Last night a guy was posting some images from his early copy. He mainly posted magic items and there was some cool shit in there.

>>49012789
Bulettes

>>49012789
Large ground dwelling birds that nest on trampled down sections of the plains. (Giant eagles with altered fluff)

>>49011123
>+1 bow

And then any number of below with attunement:
>1/short rest dispels magical darkness as an action by shooting and arrow into it
>doesn't require ammo
>deals and extra 1d8 damage to spiders and worshippers of Lolth
>1/short rest true strike as a bonus action
>fires arrows that shed light like the light cantrip
>lets you magically travel to the area the arrow strikes
>creatures slain by the bow can speak to its weilder for 24 hours

>>49012945
I like the idea of a tele-bow that doesn't require ammo, it just fires nearly intangible arrows that allow the user to teleport to them at will. Maybe have a max of 3 active at once, requires line of sight or they dissipate.

First time DM here

I'm getting ready to run my first campaign. I'm going to set it loosely in the Forgotten Realms, but I want to learn as much about the important parts of the world (major events, factions, places, the magic system, the pantheon, etc) as possible before I do. Is there a Forgotten Realms 101 resource or something I can cram?

>>49013064
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

>>49012789
>>49012913
Underrated suggestion.

Their armored hides make it easy for them to traverse the sharp grass. They regularly hunt these sailboats with wheels. Other than that I'm not sure. Seems pretty uninhabitable.

>>49011462
I´m new to this conversation, but do note that the disadvantage isn´t against other targets, it´s if she attacks with other weapons. And 1d6 extra damage would be too little to be compensate for a possible drawback. Consider just adding 1d6 of some other sort of damage instead, to all her attacks. Maybe even poison, since they were fighting drow? It´s a small bonus, even more considering poison is one of the most resisted damages, but if she has no magical items she will probably appreciate it anyhow.

Weirdly enough, the oathbow is the only magical bow I can find in the DMG. Huh. Maybe you could spend some time to brew up a unique bow for her? Consider giving it charges to cast some low level spell, and/or once per day she can make one of the arrows fired into an Arrow of Slaying. Tie it to her Favored Enemies. If she choose big, powerful enemies, make it a once per day arrow of (favored enemy) slaying, if she choose humanoid races, make it a once per day arrow volley in a large area.

Maybe give her both options, but she can only do one each day.

>>49012890

Honestly I think your players will like it. Doesn't seem that awful from what I do know about it. Lots of giants, ancient burial grounds, a tale of ancient wars, traveling around the country. Good adventure that feels like an epic D&D crawl.

>>49012504
The Crystal Shard literally happened a 120 years ago as of modern D&D edition, so it's pretty easy to forget.
Especially since you consider how it was basically treated in-universe as "oh, it was that thing that happened that one time" and life went on regardless.

>>49013289
>so it's pretty easy to forget
>not even middle age for some races

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How do you guys feel about accessories at the table like cards, tokens, etc.?

I like to have everything laid out neatly in front of me when I'm running encounters, so being able to condense a monster group's stats and gear down to a small set of playing cards really appeals to me. Item cards are another fun addon I like to play with. It might just be a description of the item and a name, maybe even a picture, but it gives you something physical to hand to the player and say "Here's that Artifact your character picked up" rather than just have them write a line on their sheet.

Monster, character, and trap tokens are just nice because they're dirt cheap compared to minis, and I've got bills to pay.

>>49013134
Ankhegs. Purple worms. Just about anything that's armored and can dig.

Roll20 GMs, any tips you can give me?

How to filter out bad players from good players etc, things you've learned about the UI and stuff from GMing etc

gonna GM on Roll20 soonish and while I got most stuff figured out, some advice would be appreciated.

Main thing I'm nervous about is players. Played enough on Roll20 to know that 70% of the people there suck.

>>49013740
Okay; if you're one of the older dwarves living in the Icewind Dale, you might remember or have fought in it.
But actually the most recent thing to have happened to Icewind Dale (like, less then 20 years ago) was that the Chosen of Auril (the Ice goddess) invaded with a shitload of Giants and stuff off the Great Glacier.

That situation lasted all of 4e and didn't happen over the course of like five days like Crystal Shard did.

Leveling up a 19th Level Rogue. I find that I'm generally a hard pick for monsters but am always forced to save CON. So do I use this feat/ASI defensively or offensively

+2 to CON (slightly better save, +40 HP)
Resiliant for Constitution (add +7 proficiency to Con save)
Lucky (Rerolls when I inevitably fail)
Inspiring Leader (Boosts temp HP at least?)

>>49012789
>>49012942

Same anon.

Termites the size of baseballs that feed on the grass and create giant mounds and clear sections in the grass.

>>49013954
The really bad players are obvious, from mentally ill furfags to maximum edge they're easy to spot. Talk with people, ask about what kind of player they are or what they want out of the game, what kind of interest they have in TRPGs/D&D, what other hobbies they have and what they like about/in those hobbies (good to know what kind of entertainment they like to make the game more enjoyable, and it can help detect problems of course). As long as you have enough applicants you should always do quite detailed questionnaires/interviews (if using voice, do the interviews in voice so you know if you should expect bad mic quality etc).

>>49011462

A good mindset to keep when trying to make your 5e campaign fun is not to match your PCs to the challenge, but rather to match the challenge to the PCs.

If you're worried that something is overpowered give it to them and make them fight more numerous or powerful enemies. Don't gimp cool shit, let your players feel like they came up on some amazing treasure.

>>49013954
Make a lengthy advertisement for your game, and end it with "And add X to your application so I know you've read through it in full" and recruit only newbies.
It's how I got a most enjoyable group, even if there is a trans in it.

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>>49013954
See these guys?
Avoid these guys.

>>49014083
>>49014108
>>49014134

I'm doing all that

going to interview a few potentials here soon.

I just don't wanna end up with the guy who's breathing heavily into his mic and doesn't understand the concept of "push-to-talk", or the dude who talks over everyone, the dude who only talks in combat etc

I guess the voice interview will do alot to weed those people out.

on the topic of mimics

>PCs in a dungeon with will saves every few hours
>See things, hear things
>not sure if failures cause hallucinations, or successes allow you to see invisible enemies
>Characters are getting paranoid
>We're not even sure if our xp totals are accurate any more
>find two chests inna comfy room, complete with fireplace and bookshelves
>in the middle of a fucking cave
>also a gibbering mouther
>ambient music is a bunch of zombie sounds from various games piled together
>it slowly gets louder and more ridiculous
>players laugh
>sounds continues to grow and multiply
>gibbering mouther blinds and deafens half the party
>players are no longer laughing
>mouther is finally put down down by a point-blank shot of the dorf's pilfered shotgun
>flamboyant (pyromaniac) elf bard demands that fighter (who doesn't know how to use guns) turn the shotgun over to the bard (because he does know firearms)
"Get yer mitts off it!"
"But its VALubleeee!"
"I found it - those chests might be - and it's mine - mimics!"
>dimwitted but loyal paladin reloads his crossbow and aims at the chests
"Should I shoot it?"
>GM gets up to remove miniatures from this fight and previous, draws in more debris
>Druid heals those that were hurt
>will saves
>paladin and druid see one chest wiggle ever so slightly
>Dorf and bard continue to argue over the shotgun
"You're wasting the ammunition!"
"Ya cannae even spell ammunition, ya nancy git!"
"M-maybe I should shoot the chest, just to be sure."
>This back-and-forth continues for a long while
>a while too long, in someone's opinion
>GM casually nudges one of the chests
"FOCKIN! ELVES!"
"Hey GM, you bumped the one chest."
"You're hurting meeeee!"
"Oh, no. The chest is ten feet closer."
>...
"I shoot the chest! I SHOOT THE FUCKING CHEST!"

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>>49014383
Sounds like a good time

>>49012789
Bullettes, large worms, anything with a tough hide. Technically a dinosaur could live in it, but I don't know if your setting allows for one.

>>49013871
Personally I like them, but I would only use it as a player to keep easy track of spells available to me, or as a DM when I give out magic items. Otherwise I print it on either basic paper or a decent card stock and cut it out myself.

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>Total Cost per Day. The cost includes everything it takes to maintain the property
and keep things running smoothly, including the salaries of hirelings. If the property earns money that can offset maintenance costs (by charging fees, collecting tithes or donations, or selling goods), that is taken into account in the table.

Am I understanding this correctly and every property is a huge money pit? Shops lose 2 gold per day?

>>49014808
I think you're paying 2gp for the property and having 1 person work at the shop. It says in parenthesis that the shop can offset the costs by selling goods meaning you'd probably be making gold for owning a shop that is successful.

>>49014808

It's probably adjusted for 'adventurer coin' and assumes that any property PCs run is probably relatively nice because they can afford it. An NPC shop might only have a fraction of the underlings they need to keep it spic and span and those they do have are all untrained.

>>49013064
Look in the Adventurers League Players Guide(free on WotC website). In the back around P. 20 they list books from previous editions they recommend to bone up on Forgotten Realms. Inside SCAG they have a list of source materials used in writing that book.

I want to play as a bard who isn't music-based. I want to be a painter, and channel my magic through my paint and brushes. Think Okami.

Any suggestions?

>>49015115
If your GM allows the concept to work just make literally any regular Bard.
Because basically you're just fluffing musical inspiration as art instead and otherwise nothing else changes based on your description.

Do they ever actually stat out the Ring of Winter? Got to the part where the giants thought it was.

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What abilities or spells can be used to play a 'puppetmaster' or 'swarm controller' before Animate Objects? The only things I can think of are refluffing conjurations like Find Familiar and Conjure X.

The store password for SKT's AL stuff has leaked.

http://dndadventurersleague.org/adventures/
Password: hekatonsmight

It contains the intro adventure, which is basically the entire first chapter of Storm King's Thunder. I'll be uploading it to the Mega shortly.

>>49012913
>>49012942
>>49013134
>>49014074
>>49014652
>>49013939

These are all great suggestions, thanks. Got my imagination running now.

>>49011467
Get spell sniper instead and be an archer.

>>49015232
Probably anything that has multiple attacks, you could fluff as conjured, temporary attackers. Eldritch Blast, Magic Missile, Scorching Rays, and similar spells.

>>49015323
Might as well just upload SKT, then.

>>49015103
Thanks, much appreciated

So how viable is a lvl10 Barbarian/ lvl10 Monk, who is also taking feats to have a bunch of cleric spells?

>>49012057
SCAG covers a lot of this. the base book only has brief statements and i supposed to be rather generic. SCAG is all about FR, so the FR gods get a paragraph or two. it isn't deities and demigods or the older 2e stuff, but it is more than you're giving it credit for.

>>49015323
Thanks senpai.

Playing my second game of 5th tomorrow, and I need to make a char tonight. They need something with actual range, so I'm going Sorcerer.

Is it possible to play a drow in a non edgy fashion? I like the Charisma bonus, and figured I could go with the folk hero background. Maybe he works as a grave digger or something because he's and drow with dragon scales or something (not like there are many options for origins). Then, some monsters/bad things attack, he does his thing, and drives them off and it takes off from there.

Maybe he was exiles from whenever those drow are because reasons? Black scales from his dragon blood? Idk.

The party has been going for awhile, and they're level 5, which is what I'll be starting as.

>>49016475
that's not a bad idea. Black dragon from the underdark.

I've been told that the thief can make an effective healer, can anyone help me with how to do this?

>>49016489
Take the Healer feat. You can heal as a bonus action using Fast Hands.

>>49016501
Oh, is that all there is to it?
Any tips for the thief in general then? They seem a little deficient compared to the other archetypes when it comes to combat.

>>49015232
Animate Dead?

>>49016575
When you're not dashing or disengaging, use your bonus action to throw down caltrops or ball bearings for some battlefield control.

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Mentioned a few threads ago that I was working up a Kensai archetype based off the old 1e/2e Class Kit for Fighter, only making it a monk.
Posting it here for shits and giggles because it's near a hundred degrees despite it being 11:04PM here.

>Kensai

>Signature Weapon:
>Monks are trained in many weapons, but Kensai focus on mastery of just one. Starting at 3rd level, pick any melee weapon (Simple or Martial) as your Signature Weapon. You gain proficiency in this weapon and it becomes a Monk weapon with the listed benefits in the Martial Arts feature. If the weapon breaks or is lost or needs to be replaced, the Kensai can create a new Signature Weapon by finding a replacement weapon of the same type and spending one hour of uninterrupted meditation with it. A Kensai can only have one Signature Weapon at any time.

>Blade Arts: The Kensai has mastered his weapon until it is an extension of himself. A Kensai can select a Blade Art at 3rd, 7th, and 11th levels.
>-Killing Edge: You gain +2 bonus to damage rolls with your Signature Weapon.
>-Iaido: During combat spend 1 Ki Point as a Reaction to take your turn before any other combatants.
>-Flexible Technique: When you score a hit with your Signature Weapon, you can decide weather it deals Bludgeoning, Piercing, or Slashing damage.
>-Kamaitachi: During your turn spend 1 Ki Point to turn attacks with your Signature Weapon into Ranged attacks with a 80/320 range limit.
>-Strike With Soul: Your Signature Weapon is considered magical for the purposes of damage reduction

>Kai Strike:
>The Kensai can drive his will behind a strike to hit with absolute perfection. At 6th level a Kensai can 2 Ki Points before an attack is made to ensure that if the attack hits it deals it's maximum possible damage. If the attack misses these Ki Points are still spent.

Continued next post.

>>49010892
>Favorite
Giants, bulettes, organized orc warbands, also modrons
>Least favorite
shit man I don't know, anything with a gaze attack i guess, and fucking stirges

>>49016591
Thanks, that sounds really cool

>>49016485

Yea, I thought it would give a good reason for him to be out of the underworld.

They need ranged stuff, so I'm not sure what spells to take that would be appropriate for a Drow Black Dragon Sorcerer.

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>>49016644
>Kiai!
>A Kensai can shout with such force that it startles their foes! At 11th level, as an action a Kensai can spend 2 Ki Points to force all enemies for 30ft around you to make a Wisdom saving throw. If they fail this saving throw they become Frightened of the Kensai until 1 minute has elapsed or until they take damage from any source.

>Banzai!
>Your skill and technique inspires your allies. At 17th level as an action you can spend 3 Ki Points to give all allies within 30ft of you Advantage on attack rolls, saving throws, and immunity to Fear effects for 5 rounds. Once you use this feature you must finish a Long Rest before you can use it again.

Okay done.
I think I'll slowly transition to a liquid state now.

Probably a stupid question, but monks can make an attack 2-handing a quarterstaff and then use bonus action to make an unarmed strike, right?

>>49016763
Sure. Same with using a spear too actually.
Kicking people in the face while dramatically vaulting off of your polearm is totally a Monk thing.

>>49016644
>Any weapon can be used as a monk weapon
>You can choose what kind of damage the weapon does

I'll be rolling up a monk with a slashing maul as his signature weapon then, thank you.

>>49016793
Yep, that's totally a legit thing to do.
Or a Bludgeoning greatsword.
Or a piercing whip.

>>49016644
>Kamaitachi
What the hell does this mean?

>>49016793
if you swing anything hard enough, it can cut

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>>49016836
It's actually a pun or play on words in Japanese, but it basically means "Scything/Sword Wind".
You know, the classic fantasy-samurai razorblade wind slash thingy from Ninja Scroll.

>>49016781

Cool, I figured that was the case. Thanks for answering.

>>49016836

Kamaitachi is a pretty good wrestler

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Anyone have a stat block for a Bull? Would it be a viable option for Find Steed (assuming appropriate deity)?

Maybe a slightly tankier Elk?

"You can use your action to sing. Every humanoid and giant, including your allies, within 30 feet of you that can hear your song must make a Wisdom saving throw. The DC is 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus, but no higher than 14. On a failed save, the creature is charmed until the song ends. You must continue to use your action on your subsequent turns to continue singing. You can stop singing at any time. The song ends if you are incapacitated.

While charmed by a harpy, a target is incapacitated. If the charmed target is more than 5 feet away from you, the target can take the Dash action to move towards you. It doesn't avoid opportunity attacks, but can repeat the saving throw before moving into dangerous terrain or after taking damage. It doesn't avoid opportunity attacks. A creature can also repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns. If a creature's saving throw is successful, the effect ends on it.

You can use this feature again after a long rest."


Is this balanced for a PC? And if not, would it be overpowered if it also gave advantage on attacks on the charmed individual?

>>49016644
>>49016739
I like it. I feel like for Banzai you could just up the ki cost and drop the long rest part though. Also I feel like 5 rounds is kind of a weird amount of time in 5e class features, but that's not necessarily really a problem

>>49016963
The Kensai already has a fairly large number of abilities (especially taking into account the standard ones) that already cost Ki though.
Maybe I'll just do the Long Rest thing alone and no Ki Point cost.
The original time was for 1 minute, but I wasn't sure if giving everyone Advantage to Everything and immunity to Fear for 10 whole rounds was totally fair...not that anyone really will be playing this class until 17th level anyway.

>>49016644
>>49016739
I get the other Japanese references right away (Kiai, Banzai, Kamataichi), but what's up with Kai Strike?

>>49017014
Oh that.
It's basically literally a reference to the original Fighter Kit version of the Kensai. It had this Smite Evil type thing where it used it and then the next attack did maximum damage no matter what.
The original Kensai class was sort of a glass canon by design; it couldn't wear armor (but featured REALLY slow natural AC improvements) or even magical bracers to increase armor but had Fighter-range hit point gain and abilities that basically let it Alpha Strike any opponent it wanted, giving a high percentage of obliterating it before it could even hit back.

As to the name, I'm pretty sure the Kai Strike was someone mispelling Ki or Kiai way back in the late 80's but I kept it because it was a nice 1e/2e reference, which of course was the entire point of the archetype anyway.

>>49016918
Where to start...

I would say the ability to charm humanoids is literally the exact opposite of what harpies are about, lorewise, and the feature lends itself very readily to abuse at low levels. Giving a player the ability to take control of their character away from other players is something that should not be introduced to the game unless everyone is alright with it. The fact that the song lasts until the player decides to stop singing means any encounters where all the enemies fail their save (which is entirely probable at low levels) can be ended immediately. This is assuming the harpy has any extra movement that would allow them to pied piper enemies off a cliff, into a pit, etc. or their allies see it coming and block their ears. If a target is incapacitated, it cannot move..not sure what you were aiming for with that portion by following up with targets being able to dash.

I'm rambling at this point. Long story short I would never give an ability like that to a PC, and it is way more clunky and out of the normal realm of power than racial features should be. If your last statement was meant to say "charmed targets have advantage on attack rolls against the singing character" then it would make no sense. Charmed creatures cannot attack the creature that has charmed them..that's one of the main points of how/why charming is a thing.

>>49016998
It's probably not as impressive if there's an ancients paladin, but it's still insanely good. You could just have it be a reaction and last for a much shorter duration. Maybe even going as far as 3 ki, reaction, 1 round. That probably comes off a lot more defensive than intended though

>>49016912
theres quite a few missing monsters this time around, and even some obvious suggestions to "make" a new one
iirc, cow was suggested as bison, but bison dont exist now. iv read giant goat as an acceptable replacement for "bison", so that might be a bull option as well

>>49017077
It's definitely supposed to be an offensive ability.
ALL of the abilities are by design offensive in nature, much as the original Class Kit it was inspired by was all about focusing on pure offense.

>>49016644
>>49016739
Why any weapon at all? Why not just focus on the longsword, which is basically this edition's katana mechanically if you re-fluff it?

>>49017117
Mostly because I wanted to allow some flexibility for customization and visual preference on the part of the player.
Thematically you could also use a Rapier and fluff it as a jian (Chinese one-handed flexible piercing sword) and despite the Japanese names it would still be thematically spot on, as martial arts masters who focus purely on the sword are a fairly common thing in wuxia, including doing shit like quick-drawing and firing "sword waves" from their weapon and junk.

Plus this also allows for people who wanted to downplay the "Asian-ness" of the Kensai to use the class simply by having a different weapon be the focus.

>>49017117
I was going to say the same thing, but even if it's a bit gamey I think the idea of a glaive, maul, or even greatsword using kensai is kind of cool. It's kind of bad how much it encourages using those sorts of weapons over others, but I can't think of a clean way to suggest changing it aside from just turning it into a short list of weapon types to pick from

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>>49017074
>I would say the ability to charm humanoids is literally the exact opposite of what harpies are about, lorewise
do you know harpies in 5e?

also, I meant "if so" not "if not"
as in, "if it IS balanced, how unbalanced would it be to give allies advantage on the incapacitated"
You're also technically wrong on the
>If a target is incapacitated, it cannot move
because the exact rules of incapacitation are
>it can not take actions or reactions
and then you key in the specific over general rule

Also, I think I meant to type "the target must, if possible, take the dash action to move towards you"

I cut around the thing a lot, so there are some typos. Sorry.

ALTHOUGH, you are right on the taking control of other player characters, but that was a weird concept a friend recommended to me as a balancing, as to not make it a "fuck it, I'll just sing lol" since you could also fuck over your friends if you're not careful

What are some good warlock homebrews?

>>49017180
Kensaiguy here.
I actually had some difficulty with it too because logically the smartest thing to do would be to pick the most powerful weapon you could and make that the Signature Weapon. I tried to limit it a bit by saying "pick one weapon, and even if you loose it you can only replace it with a weapon of the same type" when my original idea was just "replace it with any other weapon" and do the attunement thing.

I ended up just leaving it in because ultimately this is just some idea I had because I love how 2e-like 5e feels and wanted to do a throwback to the Kensai kit and so far nobody at all gives a toss about playing the archetype anyway.

Felt rather like trying to repair and optimize a motorcycle you plan to just lock in your garage and never use it even once in your entire life without even bothering to clean it off or start it up.

>>49012789
Ironhide wolves (standard wolves with 18 AC and Hp), Bovine-stakes etc.
Basically take a real life eco system of savvanahs and plains then adapt the animals to your required environment (basically everything has either thick hides/strong fur/sturdy scales or oozes slime to protect th selves from the grass, it's basically stakes and oozes the game).

>>49017246
Well there's sloppy things you could do like "If the weapon isn't heavy or two handed it has +1 damage, but I think you're pretty much down to the honor system if you don't want to change anything
I would just do it more like bladelock or eldritch knight with a sort of similar to attuning thing myself and just say to hell with the one weapon type to keep things simple. If someone really wants to be the rapier guy he'll probably only use rapiers anyway unless he sees a particularly good magic weapon, and his DM hasn't thrown him a bone
Alternatively you could also just find the middle ground and say "pick three weapon types. These now count as monk weapons for you"

>>49014073
Resilient Con is always better.
Having the saving throw will save you from most harmfull spells even if they do hit you (seeing as most require Dex , Wis or Con saves)

>>49016475
New guy at the table wanting to play drow can sometimes piss people off. If you want to do that bring two characters...a common race and your drow snowflake then ask the DM and group is anybody minds if you try out a drow.

>>49017349

These are friends I've known for years now, but if Drow doesn't work, I can switch to Half Elf.

>>49017335
>but I think you're pretty much down to the honor system if you don't want to change anything
Yeah, seeing as the people most likely to use this Archetype are my table and we kicked out the power-gamers and guys who DON'T use the honor system well out years ago, I kind of fall back on that most of the time I suppose.

We're more about doing what sounds thematically correct and cool then trying to build the best class to we can Win At D&D.
>>49017364
If they don't let you do drow, a drow half-elf is a solid compromise I think and next you a similar kind of thing. Interesting backstory potential there too.

>>49016475
Play a half elf and don't be a fag that brings an evil race to the table.

>>49017364
Cool. I've seen people completely ruin their first impression by walking in and wanting to play a rare/exotic race out of the gate with an established group and sometimes the resentment never completely goes away if that player becomes a regular member of the game group.

>>49016666
Also dip a monk level if you are getting high Wis for the Medicine(Wis) proficiency.
You get free AC from it as well as unarmed strikes which is nice to have in an emergency.

>>49017433
What's the fluff logic for that?

>>49017409

Yea, afaik they have a half Goliath or something already, so idk that a Drow would be so out of place.

>>49017400
I have no intention of being evil. More than likely, he was raised away from drow society. I was thinking of having him being treated like a dark elf refugee in skyrim or something.

>>49017388
Half Drow would really fit with the idea, actually. Would be a good reason to have been exiled from drow country and separate from the town. At the same time, having a full drow Work I h the graveyard as a night watch is pretty neat, too.

>>49017520
Picked up some tricks to survive and was taught by a senior from his guild who's a runaway monk.

Or

Your character was a novice monk who focused on medicine who went into hiding after his monastery was destroyed by "DM plot device". He picked up thievery to survive and investigate what happened/who was responsible for the destruction of his monastery.

There.

Now enjoy that extra survivability and the superior Str saves since Ing saves are almost always irrelevant.

>>49017603
>Now enjoy that extra survivability and the superior Str saves since Ing saves are almost always irrelevant.

I guess that kinda answers what table you play at anyway.
Ah well, to each their own.

>>49017400
Alternatively, play a drow and don't be a fag that thinks generic = playable.

All your favorite media and adventure stories are about the most special and unique snowflakes, including the original D&D party in LOTR - Frodo the brave and adventuresome hobbit, descended from a great hobbit adventurer, of a rare bloodline of hobbits that play against racial norms, Gandalf the archangel who wears a robe, gets high, and wanders around being mysterious, and Aragorn...the legendary king-by-right who is now a dark and menacing edgelord the "locals" call Strider.

Playing evil races, bizarre combinations, and unique occurrences with special places in the history of the setting is what every good story runs on. If you're a fucking town guard swept up into the adventure by accident, you're not a protagonist, you're comic relief.

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>>49017654
>If you're a fucking town guard swept up into the adventure by accident, you're not a protagonist, you're comic relief.

Not even him but one of our current party is actually that guy, the Fighter.
He said he was making a "Generic Human Male Champion Fighter" and we thought he was being lazy or facetious (since he comes up with great characters usually) and he ended up making this guy basically; the most boring possible city watchman from Waterdeep who accidentally became an adventurer who wears a red sash over his original uniform (his idea of "adding an adventurer's flair") but otherwise being the most astoundingly normal guy ever who is constantly expecting to die every single adventure.

So far it's honestly one of the funner characters he's made in awhile.

>>49013064
Can I ask, why do you want to run a game in Forgotten Realms?

>>49017654

Its not generic. New players should be better acquainted before they insist on playing things that will make shit harder on the group. They will be doing enough teaching the newbie the basics without having someone who is rolling a character that has issues with daylight or who is going to piss off the local NPCs by just existing.

So I am gonna be a player for Storm King's Thunder at my lfgs but now my friends on roll20 are really excited for this campaign and have asked me to DM for it. If it's as open ended as it clams to be I know I will have fun DMing it but am concerned about doing that while being a player for another group. Has anyone ever had experience with this and some advice?

Of course I would inform my DM that I am hosting this game with another group of friends, and I do trust myself enough to not cheat/meta game.

>>49017940

don't

>>49017940
>Of course I would inform my DM that I am hosting this game with another group of friends, and I do trust myself enough to not cheat/meta game.
If you really trust yourself don't tell your DM. He'll get paranoid really fast, and will be suspicious of you the whole time, even if it's just on the back of his mind.

Do tell him that you've already played it a bit with another group and that you hope it wont be repetitive. That'll push him to change a few things here and there.

But yeah, if you can avoid that situation altogether, just DM Out of the Abyss or Curse of Strahd. Or your very own giant jamboree.

>>49018185
Good point on the telling the DM part.

I'll think on it for now. Will just see who is gonna DM for me in the game I am being a player for. It tends to be very hit or miss in the games I am in at my lfgs. Last DM I had just seemed to care about the numbers and math, literally put no effort in RPing or bringing life to any of the characters.

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What's taking so long for Storm King's Thunder to be scanned?

/tg/, can I get a hand with something? Back in 4th ed, there was an enchanted weapon called the Flesh Grinder, which was basically a Warhammer-style chain-weapon with the serial numbers filed off. Its powers were boosted criticals (+D10 damage per "Plus" on a critical hit) and the ability to target Fortitude instead of AC once per day. I'm a big fan of science fantasy and dungeonpunk settings, so I want to update this enchantment for use in my games. Do folks think the following looks balanced?

Crunch: A Flesh Grinder is a technological item that can enhance any Melee Weapon that does not have the Finesse weapons trait, much like how magical weapons are handled. Flesh Grinders can deal a Critical Hit on an attack roll of 18 or higher (instead of only critical hitting on an attack roll of 20) and triple their base damage before adding modifications (instead of doubling it). Flesh Grinders count as mundane sources of Slashing damage unless enchanted; an Enchanted Flesh Grinder counts as Magical for the purpose of piercing Damage Reduction, but gains no further benefits.

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I finally convinced one of my players to try their hand at DMing, so I've decided to play a halfling bard in their game. Going for college of Lore for skillmonkey shenanigans.

I'm thinking of taking the Actor feat, which gives me advantage to try to pass myself off as another person. As a halfling, is this completely stupid, or funny? I wouldn't think I'd be able to successfully impersonate a human or another tall race, but according to the rules I would?

Also having a hard time picking cantrips. As a lore bard, do I just want to be buffing my party and debuffing the monsters? Minor Illusion seems cool but I'm not sure how creative I would be with it.... same goes for Mage Hand.

Is it possible to have some offensive spells and use a rapier? I got lucky with rolls and have 18 dex and charisma (we are starting at level 4).

>>49017824
Playing a half-dragon drow inheritor of a lost empire of Eilistraee or however it's spelled, for a player with no setting knowledge or roleplaying experience, will not make things any harder than it was going to be if they played a generic human fighter from a small village who hates orcs because they killed his dad.

This fucking whole perspective is so toxic and retarded. I know we're still recovering as a community from shit like the Pathfinder Society and waiting for the original grognards to die, but how the fuck do you not look at what you're writing and think "wait, does it really work like that?"

What was YOUR first game like? Let me take a WILD GANDER and say that pretty much every time the party rolled into a town there were shenanigans, people stealing for no reason, flipping off important NPCs, arguing with gods, misuse of artifacts, drastic plot misinterpretations leading to to-the-DM-inexplicable moments of chaos and mayhem, NORMAL PC THINGS.

It doesn't fucking matter if PCs have to be nocturnal or if the guards are prejudiced (although how much more one drow even attracts attention compared to a group of disparate strangers of martial and arcane proficiency is subject to debate, especially given that drow are hated because of their association with giant spider-riding raiding parties - one drow with a bunch of other humanoids is obviously some kind of anomaly) that's basically par for the course anyway. It's the same shit the rogue and the sorcerer end up fomenting anyway.

It's not "harder." Almost nothing about this game is hard except remembering the goddamn grappling rules without looking them up. A human of average intelligence should be able to play a complex and interesting character without fucking it up - it's the MECHANICS that take some knowing and thinking, roleplaying either comes naturally or from monkey-see-monkey-do and in both cases the particulars of your background aren't a big deal.

>>49018320
Your impatience is extending the process. Every time, the team gets annoyed and ask whether it's time for a beer and CS break.

Spoiler: yup

It'll be done by November. You can bug us then if it's still not up.

>>49018351
The fact that you're asking if it's "funny" means it's probably going to be stupid.

You can impersonate anything the rules say you can impersonate. Alter Self can change your height, but a good disguise check and some short stilts should do in a pinch. Probably there's disadvantage involved though. Good thing you get advantage in the first place.

>Minor Illusion seems cool but I'm not sure how creative I would be with it
Holy shit, this is hurting me. You're going to play the most powerful and versatile caster in the game and you don't know if you can be creative with a literal license to write your own props, scenery, and special effects. Y- fuck, you're the guy who should be Generic Male Human Fighter.

As a lore bard, you can debuff as a reaction and buff as a bonus action. Everything else you do with your spells is up to you. If you take a SCAG battle cantrip (but you don't get any by being a bard, you need to either dip, feat it, or burn a secret) you can be good with a rapier but you'll never be superlative. Bards are naturally good with enchantment and illusion but you can pick up things like Fireball, Find Familiar, Aura of Vitality, Animate Dead, whatever you want to do.

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>>49018397
I'm sure it makes your dick hard too

>>49018397
I'm new to this hobby so please forgive my ignorance, but why does it take that long when it's coming out this upcoming month? If you're just scanning the pages it shouldn't take nearly that long unless I'm missing something very important to the process.

>>49016475 Here

Doing stats, decided to go with Half-Elf/Drow, who was a gravedigger before starting his heroic journey.

I rolled 16, 16, 15, 14, 9, 7, and I'm trying to figure out where to put them. Obviously 16 cha, probably use the +1 to bump the 15 to a 16.

He was a grave digger, so high Str/Con makes sense, and being half elf, a good dex wouldn't be unheard of. I'm not afraid of a low Int/Wis, but that's dipping into min/max.

what do you guys think?

>>49018440
I typically play a martial when I get a chance to play (pretty much a forver DM). I like to hit stuff hard. I'm trying something new. I am fairly creative (kind of have to be as a DM) but I am just not totally sure how to effectively use some spells.

Say I do take Minor Illusion, it's very dependent on the DM to rule, no? It seems like Prestidigitation could be better.

Our party is small. Besides myself there is a fighter and a cleric. I want to be as useful as possible.

>>49018478
There's two ways to scan the book. First, you break the binding on it entirely and scan each individual page so it's flat and clean for the scanner to pick up. Requires little editing (mainly just making sure it looks legible while not being a fuck-huge file size), compile it in any old program to link images together into a PDF, and it's done. It's also more expensive, as you basically ruin the book in the process, so not many go that route unless they're full of money.

The second and more tedious option is to scan each page individually while still in the book. Some of the PDFs in the Mega are like this; you see some words get darker on the left or right side of the page, because that's where the page bends to where the binding is at. Takes longer to do (harder to align pages for scanning while they're still together plus the hardcover taking up space) but preserves the book for you to use still.

Honestly, I don't mind waiting. I'd rather it be done right (even if it takes longer) and not have some anon ruin their book for us freeloaders. Plus, one or two threads prior we got all the magic item pages, and I think the first AL related to SKT (which, from what we've been told, is basically Ch. 1 of the book) is either in this thread or in the Mega by now.

>>49018478
Yes, you're missing the beer and CS breaks. There's no reason to scan anything when there are disgusting boosted animals out there, noobcannons in hand, just begging for the sweet touch of Our Lady Effin' F7.

>>49018502
Prestidigitation is worthwhile, but Minor Illusion is much more powerful and shouldn't be at all dependent on DM rules. If you can fit it into a 5-foot cube, it works. If someone fails their save, they believe in it.

It's a contender for the most potent cantrip in the game because of how much influence it can have on an encounter if you're clever with it.

>>49018524
>>49018531
This is a good contrast. A+ stuff.

>>49018493
>what do you guys think?
Rolling is degenerate and inherently broken. I wouldn't trust my girlfriend to a slot machine outcome, why would I trust something that I actually put effort into, spend time with, and is actually real?

Seriously - rip up the sheet, tell the DM there's no place for that kind of dumb shit among friends (you are playing with friends in real life, right?) and institute a strict system of point-buy so that everyone is given equal opportunity to shine and play characters that they enjoy, rather than being dependent on arbitrary and uncontrollable factors.

>>49018524
True, I agree with you there. I personally would be the type willing to break my book and scan it for people, but I can respect people for wanting to save money as well.

>>49018531
That's right, I was forgetting the most important parts. Thanks for the reminder.

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here's the magic items from storm king thing

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>>49018574

Here's your (you)

Anyway, I actually like rolling stats, so you can continue to be triggered while I enjoy it.

>>49018493
never have low wis
seriously, magic will fuck you up otherwise

>>49018644

Yea, that's a pretty good point. Not sure what physical ailment then. Maybe the scales affect his dex or something

>>49018692

I mentioned Sorcerer in my first post, sorry.

>>49018667
if you're a sorcerer then you need Dex for AC, or else you'll die because you'll have no AC. Str is only good for a sorcerer who uses greenfire blade/booming blade cantrips with a greatsword, and even then you'd want to multiclass into paladin/fighter so you could get armor and some bonuses to greatsword like rerolling 1s/2s on damage die

>>49018735

I guess crippled strength, then. Not befitting a grave digger. Maybe he uses acid to dig?

>>49018629
full scan when?

>>49018749
There are cantrips that do acid damage, there's also a cantrip or something that moves dirt, don't remember the name of it
For RP purposes you can have bad wis/dex/whatever, just I think of things from a min/max because of harsh DMs

>>49018762
It's someone else's scan from the last thread, I just pieced together all the magic items into one picture

>>49018811

Actually, I was just looking at PHB stuff, but looking at other stuff from Elemental Evil, there are a lot of earth based spells. I think that would make a lot of sense for the character. Primarily use Earth/Acid spells with the black dragon orgin

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So, Im making a character that is a former crewmember of a spelljammer (or at least, he thinks he is, he has abused enchantments for recreational use in the past and his memories might be suspect) He longs to return home.

What would be the most viable class for a swashbuckling adventurer who seeks to create a spelljammer ship? or at least a bunch of cool magic items. I was thinking arcane trickster, but wasnt sure if they could learn to create magic items.

>>49014808

Yes thisnis correct. Then you use the other chart on running a business on pg 129 of the DMG to determine if you break even, profit or find yourself at a loss.

This isnt meant to make lots of money either. Most businesses now let alone pre-capitalism, broke even or found themselves at a loss and were to make a day to day living not to get rich. So it's just a fun thing on the side.

>>49018898
Master Craftsman allows any class to create magic arms and armor or create wonders.

Arcane Trickster is an actual spellcasting class so as long as they qualify for the caster level requirement, they can take the crafting feats.

Is it wrong that I have the overwhelming urge to run Strahd as !DIO?

>>49018972

Awesome, Now I just have to figure out what would be required to make a spelljammer ship...

>>49018997
Yes, Strahd is a very different character with different motivations. If you want to have Dio, just use fucking Dio and don't name it Strahd

>>49019028
That, sadly, is GM fiat territory.

>>49011123
Just give it a property where it doesn't get disadvantage on long range hits.
Done.

>>49019091

I would probably have to get a wizard to help with some of the spells, seeing as Arcane Tricksters only get up to level 4 spells.

>>49014073
If you had a paladin I would suggest you become more buddy buddy with them thanks to their aura.

But yeah resilient in con can do you wonders for your problem.

>>49015979
You can only take magic initiate once.

>>49016912
Boar or giant boar, I think.

>>49010892
Favorite - flying creatures.
Least favorite - MF'ing ankhegs. I literally cannot count the number of low level characters I've lost from an ankheg grabbing them and dragging them underground to get eaten.

>>49018329
no

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Would you want/allow a Tressym as a familiar?

>>49018493

From an optimization stand point, 9 Strength 16 Dex 16 Con 7 Int 14 Wis 16 Charisma.

If you want some strength then you really should dump Wisdom over Dexterity, which is going to be your AC and hugely important.

>>49016644

I think I'd make the weapon non-heavy because otehrwise the best choice is to just grab a great sword with great weapon master and shit out damage incredibly early on.

Iaido is dumb too.

>>49013211

I think bows are just expected to fall under "Weapon, +1, +2, or +3" and "Ammunition, +1, +2, or +3"

Personally I would make a custom trait for it: "Backshot: A ranged weapon that with this blessing/enchantment disregards disadvantage on ranged attacks against a creature that took the dash or disengage action on its last turn. This permits advantage on ranged attacks that would normally be cancelled by one or more disadvantages."

No base to-hit increase, keeps the damage the same, but grants a specific and powerful-but-limited bonus should the same situation occur. And I just hate goblins and monks*

*I don't actually hate goblins or monks. I just like emergent effects.

>>49019883
Not using Find Familiar, its so much better than any other familiar

special reward only

>>49017364

the advantage to playing half elf is that you get to add a +1 to your strength score for your back story without dumping mechanically better stats.

>>49014073

Resilient (Con) is an excellent pick for Rogues because it allows them to have proficiency in all 3 strong saving throws (which no other class can do).

Kind of a bummer if your Con score ends up Odd but still worth it.

>>49019922

It has some upsides to the Owl but the Owl gives you advantage on two senses and has flyby with more speed. I wouldn't say it's strictly better than the Tressym but the Tressym is really cool too.

>>49019981
PP 15, see invis and sense poison

Who gives a shit about flyby are you high?

>>49019993

Flyby is important because if your familiar doesn't hit with whatever touch attack you use them for they can just die outright to an opportunity attack.

It's something I didn't think I'd find relevant but having used my familiar to deliver life saving invisibility spells or shocking grasps to flame resistant enemies I'm thankful for it constantly.

>>49019981
>>49019993
He's not high he's just a fucking idiot that wants his broken ass familiar

>>49018632
To be fair, I roll stats as DM and give everyone the array I rolled. Then I know the rolls weren't cheated and no one has to feel slighted over having lower ability scores.

>>49019883
I'd allow it.

>>49020051
Just use a firebolt

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>>49020057
And you lose out on the only reason to roll which is to have fun with your friends "rolling characters" and coming up with a party at Season 0.

Your way of doing is just strictly worse than point buy, and you should feel bad.

>>49020072

Fire is the most commonly resisted element in the game. The creatures we were fighting were outright immune to it and most of my spells aren't damaging. If I wanted to contribute (damage) to the fight I either had to run up in melee range my self or send my speedy 60 feet flying speed a round owl out like a yo-yo with Shocking Grasp.

That invisibility spell really saved our asses too, since we were getting beat on by a guy who was way too strong to fight. Everybody else could run away fine, but our Fighter was locked into melee with him and could just be gunned down before he could run away. The fact that my owl can fly in and deliver the spell and get out without getting killed was a huge boon.

>>49020084
Nope.

My group enjoyed the 16 16 16 15 10 9 spread.

>>49020122
So the reason you feel strongly about your method being good is because you gave your players a broken array?

Wow.

>>49020121
The thing is, even if Owls were just as good as Tressyms... You can change the form your familiar takes everytime you cast Find Familiar. So if your owl is situationally good, that has nothing to do with your initial question.

I agree that Flyby seems to be overlooked by people in general, but the question was: would you allow Tressyms as familiars.
And the answer is: no, or at least not one Find Familiar would grant, because it is too strong.

Does a wildshaped druid uses its own proficiency bonus with the animal's ability scores to determine attack roll bonus, or do you use exactly what's printed in the stat block?

The Crag Cat in SKT looks like a nifty wildshape form. Not really high damage but the nondetection and spell turning traits seem like they could be useful.

>>49018493
What I would do is Half Elf, arranging stats like this:
STR 7
DEX 16
CON 16
INT 10
WIS 14
CHA 18

All in all those are fucking great stats for a sorcerer. Maybe switch Int and Wis, depending on the character you want to play, if they're more learned and knowledgeable or more down to earth and practical. Don't forget to take Melf's Acid Arrow and, later on, Vitriolic Sphere, and you'll be good.

>>49020166
They liked it. Is there a better judge of what works than whether your gaming group is satisfied?

>>49020166

If you want to take it down a notch just nerf the see invisibility, since that's what's so "OP". Maybe it's better at detecting invisible creatures than normal. I'd also argue however that seeing invisible creatures, while really strong, is incredibly situational.

I also think the idea of a wizard having a flying cat familiar is pretty cool. I also think that not letting a wizard have a familiar that was created out of animals by wizards to make great familiars is silly.

>>49020178

You use your proficiency bonus I believe.

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>>49017654
LOTR characters are special and legendary because they are high level, except maybe Frodo, who probably starts at level 1, an adventuring party starting at lvl 1 shouldn't model themselves after the fellowship

it's the difference between your character earning knighthood, nobility, and stuff like that over multiple sessions and starting the campaign with them

"my level 1 character is a knight lord who owns an entire county and is undefeated in combat and the bards tell tales of my heroic victories against the elder dragons of the darklands"
"okay, the goblin hits you for 3 damage, your dead"

its completely normal for the party to eventually become special snowflakes, with divine boons, crazy scars, ancient magical artifacts, secrets revealed like maybe your the bastard son of the king, but starting with that shit is retarded

actually, modeling any adventure after LOTR is retarded, the classes aren't balanced, there is like 1 encounter per month, and they keep splitting the party, what is this, 3.5?

>>49020195
>>49020178
Pretty sure you use the higher of the two

>>49020310

I don't think wanting to play as a non-evil drow is special snow flake. Maybe your Drow is one of the smart ones who realizes how retarded Drow society is and just wants something better for their self.

Fuck that could even just be a neutral character.

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I got a Dwarf wizard with a mole familiar.What could the possibilities be if I enlarge it while it is underneath enemies?

>>49020355

wasting a spell slot on a creature that can't attack i guess.

maybe mole sausage will burst through the cracks as it tries to expand into a space that can't fit it at all causing the creatures above to be sickened.

>>49018329
Holy fuck no. It's the champion's signature effect, several levels worth of it at that, plus a bunch of extra damage. To add bad to worse, there's nothing even vaguely interesting about it; it's a less tasteful +1 sword of sharpness.

Whats the FUNNEST fighter build?
I'm thinking of rolling a fighter after my sorcerer dies, but i have to make a backround etc.
Whats a good backround story for champion, EK, Battle master.
Thanks in advance guys, this is my favorite General.

>>49020388
Point taken, I forgot it will only be Medium sized.

Anyways what the best uses you have seen of the Enlarge spell?

>>49020556

I haven't, really. Enlarge isn't my style of spell.

I guess you can shit post about how using it on yourself makes the fighter and barbarian feel invalidated as characters and to solve any confidence problems you had in your manhood?

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Class Concept:
Spellslinger, a dex based spellcaster who uses wands filled with cantrips as a weapon, behaves more like a martial class.

>>49020556
Not that guy, but Enlarge is quite useful for making your Fighter/Barbarian/other grappler large enough to grapple things like dragons and giants.

>>49020779
Concept of the day:
fuck off.

>>49020779
>dex based spellcaster
eh, alright. making the best stat better for little reason
>wands with cantrips
just fluff
>more like a martial
warlock

>>49020790
Great contribution.
It's people like you who keep these threads truly alive.

>>49020556
Baneposting

>>49020532
Tavern Brawler + Sharpshooter + Great Weapon Fighting lets you club people with a longbow for 1d4 + 20 + STR damage, although you also have - 10 to the attack roll (8 with Archery Fighting Style)

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ses

Trying to make a gun-ranger sort of dealio.
The Spell-less ranger gets the battlemaster abilities, would an equivalent swap be to use the DMG gunslinger martial archetype?

>>49021457
What, like the Matt Mercer one?
I guess that'd probably work.

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>>49012495

I think he's confusing "loading" with "reloading."

Loading is for muskets and flintlocks, reloading is a property for futuristic and modern weapons.

>>49020351

and enjoy getting fucked in the sunlight because drow suck!

>>49021902
>not running night raids
Take a look at this casual.

Could you cast counterspell against power word: kill if you were the target?

Power word: Kill -
>guy utters a word
>that's literally it
>you die INSTANTLY
>casting time is an action, though what you use that action for is kind of unknown. Mentally preparing yourself?

Counterspell, on the other hand -
>somatic component only
>reaction to cast
>the reaction can only be taken if you see a creature casting a spell

So, in theory, by the time you notice the creature casting Power Word: Kill, they'll probably have cast it before you can raise your hand to object it.
If they manage to utter that one word, you are dead. You cannot stop it once that happens.
The only component is verbal, and it specifies you only use one word, so how would you know they're casting a spell before it's too late?

>>49021913

>limiting yourself to only operating at night

Alright, after you raid the things at night a few times dudes wise up and operate during the day. Go have fun having disadvantage for existing outside of the Underdark.

Drow suck.

>>49021962

It's a really, really, really long word.

RAW yes and RAI yes you can counterspell it.

>>49022022
You can't, by RAW, if you cannot see their mouth.

>you can hear them casting it, but cannot SEE them casting it, which is what counterspell requires.

RAI definitely would say you can.

If you don't think that qualifies for RAW, what about a guy in a robe of eyes so bulky you can't properly see the person inside?
You can cast power word: kill through walls.

>>49021962
Yes, you can Counterspell it. Are you literally retarded or just pretending to be?

>>49020310
They're level 5 at most. Except Gandalf who is something like a CR 20 angel but who is bound to not use his full powers.

>>49022143
There is no way to tell someone is casting a spell with only a short verbal component and nothing else if you cannot hear the words and cannot see the lips to lipread.

You cannot counterspell a spell you do not know is occuring.

Simple.

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>>49022196
>Short
Says who?
It's a ninth level spell and probably some long forgotten cursed demon's name or avada kedevera shit.
Also, you can see them casting the spell if you can see their mouth.
>>49022083
You need to see the target of Power Word Kill.

>>49022311
>*Also, you can see them casting the spell even if you can't see their mouth.
I'm just jumping the gun today.

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4e had Epic Destinies and went to 30.

Is there any homebrew material that adds the same things to 5e? I think it could be kind of fun to play as an avatar of death or a god-hunter or something.

>>49017145
Even so, I'd limit their chosen weapon to non-heavy.

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you guys keep track of food and rations?

what's a good/simple way of doing so?

I ask because I agree with the Angry GM that D&D is a game of attrition, slowly whittling away at the players resources. So how do you do this, or at least handwave it?

>>49018898
My PC is this! I'm using a wizard with a focus on melee cantrips who builds using Fabricate. Rather than the dashing swordsman, he is more like the snarky pirate who is always one step ahead of his opponent through using his environment.

>>49019883
Yes, so much yes. Of course, my PC is an off-worlder and so tends to assume anything that he can't identify is just some form of giant space hamster, so he is not a standard fantasy denizen.

>>49022523
Yeah, like I said; it was something I did for fun while being unable to sleep due to absurd heat at night rather then having anyone who would or wanted to use it.

I don't ever go into for theorycrafting nonsense usually, but dehydration and sleep deprivation I guess make me want to things to try and stay sane.

>>49022572

I guess the simplest way would be to just have Rations: X days worth, and tick off one per day that passes.

If you want to be nittier and make it harder to survive, you could probably cut it up into Meat, Green, and Water, forcing them to forage for all 3 separately, meaning that even if they find a nice deer to eat and a river, they still might get sick from lack of greens.

>>49021629

Except all of Matt Mercer's are total shit

>>49017699
If he's actually trying to be him, tell him to get the lucky feat. Being stupid lucky was one of the characters gimmicks.

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>>49022572
>>49022721

there's this thing, but I'd rather have a party tracking one than an individual one.

>>49022778
He did get Lucky at first level but he likes the feat in a general sense and often takes it, so I'm not sure if it was a deliberate reference or not.

>>49020321
I can find reference to using the animal's proficiency if higher but not to using the druid's proficiency if higher.

>>49023114
One implies the other

The DMG says that as a variant you can have players find magic item formulas

But sadly in 5e fashion it doesn't give you any rules as to how to do that.

So what are some ideas on how magic item formulas should work? Should players just need to pay for x gold of generic components? Or should they need to quest for a specific items? If so what would be appropriate for each item? And how to make them cool and memorable without being a chore?

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Would a kitsune (not PF) be better portrayed as a fiend or fey?

>>49023142
That's how I've been ruling it. It just occurred to me reviewing the druid rules that it never explicitly says that's what you do.

>>49023152
Questing for some of the components is good, but every single item shouldn't be a campaign arc. Figure a portion of the item cost as a quest reward, and some of it as gold. The real benefit to questing for items should be that you save even more time than is represented by straight up cash.

Give us an item and maybe we can sort out a quest idea for it.

>>49023177
Definitely fey. Youkai are not demons in the western sense.

>>49023193
It really shouldn't have to.

>>49023231
Sure I'll give a handful I've randomly pocked for the wizard to craft.

Pearl of Power

Periapt of Wound Closure

Sentinel Shield

Wand of the War Mage

Mariners Armour

>>49023249
Yeah I kind of agree. That first bullet point on wildshape has some shitty wording though. It should say something like, "Your Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution are replaced by the animal's scores."

"Game statistics" is poorly-defined and leaves room for an asshole DM to say you have to use the beast's proficiency. Not that I'd ever do that to someone.

>Out of the Abyss
>demons invade everything
>angels don't do a fucking thing

>Princes of the Apocalypse
>evil elemental cults invade everything
>good elemental churches don't do a fucking thing

>Storm King's Thunder
>giants invading everything
>???????????
So now that the book's out, how heavily do DWARVES and DRAGONS feature? You know, the guys with vested interests in shitting all over giants.

College of Lore or College of Valor?

>>49022398
There's epic boons, but no real mechanical progression past 20.

>>49023496
The first chapter was put out as an AL intro, it features dwarves and dragons attacking a cloud giant's tower.

>>49018632
The guy isn't trolling you; in a game where ability score increases are class features and each stat has a cap, rolled ability scores have the potential to create a huge disparity between same level characters.

So yeah, if you're willing to allow a level 4 character to join your party of level ones then rolled stats are fine. Otherwise everyone should start from the same point.

>>49011629
There's an item in LMoP that does max damage against plants and plant creatures, but makes the wielder uncomfortable in the wilderness/the target of any fey attacks.

>>49020051
Then let it die, it's 10 gold and a 10 minute ritual to bring it back. And in dying it ate someone's reaction.

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So I'm making a Cleric of Light for an upcoming game (OotA) and wondering what would be a good feat to take (variant human) but I was kind of hoping for the robed priest deal who doesn't use weapons. But I'm willing to compromise.

>>49023496
>>Out of the Abyss
>>demons invade everything
>>angels don't do a fucking thing
Well in this case the Demon Princes sort of accidentally show up because Lolth manages to screw up an archmage's spell just to have the Abyss to herself for a few months.
The while thing doesn't last very long (several months at the most) and the damage is largely contained to the Underdark and that isn't even ALL of the Demon Princes, just the most notable ones, and they only show up in the Underdark of ONE world anyway.

My guess is the High Celestials didn't even notice.

>>Princes of the Apocalypse
>>evil elemental cults invade everything
>>good elemental churches don't do a fucking thing
There are no "good" elemental churches in Faerun; the Elemental deities of Faerun are extremely hands-off deities who have both good and bad priests, and only Kossuth's church has any serious influence in Faerun, and not even in the region where PotA takes place.

Faerun adventures are usually of the Baldur's Gate sort; an impressive journey focusing on a small local region which if the villains win the consequences COULD be catastrophic for the region as a whole or even Faerun itself, but they never DO succeed because heroes always stop them and so the damage is relatively contained.
Okay, maybe Baldur's Gate is a bad example since apparently Bhaal's plan ended up working out eventually, it just took 120 years.

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>>49023682
u should take dual wielder

or maybe u should quit bother us with ever little thing m8, for you get hurt

>>49023694
>High Celestials
Who are these guys anyway?
You hear a lot about the Demon Princes and the Infernal Dukes, but never about these guys.

>>49023293
>Pearl of Power
That's sorta easy, you need to go pearl diving! What makes that pearl special though... let's say it needs to be born of certain sands from a remote area, and the oyster is only opened during a certain ritual on the full moon. Sea beasties abound.

>Periapt of Wound Closure
The specially prepared charm must first be thrust into to the open wound of a troll, allowed to heal around it and remain there for a week while the troll lives. Troll wrangling is a special kind of fun.

>Sentinel Shield
Bathed in a mash of giant bird eyes. Exactly the species could vary, but the more powerful the creature the less you need.

>Wand of the War Mage
Must be formed of a wood from a tree that has survived a powerful natural lightning bolt. Will need to enlist druids/rangers and explore dangerous woods.

>Mariners Armour
Forged of metal tempered with a core piece of a giant living coral obtained with minimal harm to the reef. Again, sea monsters and a bit of engineering to get the piece.

>want to do finesse sword and board build for a fighter
>only decent finesse weapon for one handing is a rapier
>katana is on some online sources but not others

Is there a 1d8 slashing finesse weapon in the game yet?

>>49023682
You could take magic initiate and grab mage armor and two utility/flavor cantrips. That way you can be robed but not completely defenseless. Going full caster with no weapons or armor is viable, but may leave you vulnerable.

>>49023807
Why would you want to make dex better than it already is? Just accept your 1d6.

>>49023807
Not that I'm aware of, I suggest just asking permission to have such an item and fluff it however you want. It's not like slashing is worth more than piercing, anyway.

>>49023754
They're called Celestial Paragons actually, and they're less numberous then the Dukes of Hell and Demon Princes but correspondingly have more power, and they also have the advantage of genuinely cooperating instead of constantly feuding like the Demon Princes do or cooperating with their teeth clenched because they're knuckling under a greste power like the Infernal Dukes are.

They don't really interfere with the Prime Material Plane that much, and honestly the Infernal Dukes and nearly ALL of the Demon Princes stay out and focus on either the Blood War or their multiversal conflicts.
The Demon Princes in OotA are kind of the ones that spend the most time screwing around in the Material Plane, and of them only Orcus has any real experience on Faerun proper rather then Oerth.

>>49023682
You could maybe make a light domain theurge. It's clearly OP but it won't break the game or anything.

>>49023807
I did the same thing for my Valor Bard and just fluffed a rapier as a saber and gave it identical stats since the only thing that changed was it's damage type.

>>49013954
When you do start it up, I'd love to get in on it if you'll have me. I'm pretty new to Roll20 itself but I think I'm pretty agreeable.

>>49023694
>the events of OotA take place over a few months at most.

Idk about other groups but my group has been dealing with the demon scourge for a month or two over an in game year already and are still not done yet. We are collecting ingredients and still need two more things.

>>49022311
With the robe of eyes, you can essentially see from the robes. It doesn't specifically state that, but it is heavily inferred.

You can see someone without being seen yourself, it is possible.

There is no somatic or material component.
The caster of the spell can cast the spell even if completely bound, provided they can still speak.

If they couldn't cast the spell while completely bound and it had the somatic component, it might be more obvious.

If you can't hear them speak or see them speaking, you probably won't notice them spellcasting until it's too late and you're already under the symptoms of the spell and can't counterspell.

I think the entire premise of 'power word: kill' is that the verbal component is just supposed to be the word. The strength of the spell is that you can kill with just a word, rather than it being a full-on superspell like meteor swarms.

Of course, the spell still costs an action for balance's sake, and if anyone ever has to counterspell you might as well assume they have to recite something over those four/five/six seconds before they say the word.

>>49022572
A small recommendation is that I'd make sure the party has a party inventory of food and drink, and can choose to consume less for some penalties.

>>49023152
The DMG already lists suggested costs for items and how they're crafted (use common sense, if a player wants a mundane item as part of the creation such as plate armour, the plate armour costs 1,500 and then you add magical costs after)

If you want to go entirely by DMG, the only thing in question is how to deliver those formulas. Probably as loot drops and rewards.

Of course, how exactly you do things depends on your campaign.
On a low-magic campaign, creating a magic item may be very difficult, time-consuming and may result in many errors creating a double-edged-sword if not properly researched.

High magic campaigns you can probably pull out an orb and cast spells at it all day long.

My DM is looking like an autist and I don't know what to do about it.

Most of us have good imagination, but we also like playing with maps, a combat system and as if it were a tabletop game. My current DM is looking like he will half-ass his map making and encounter designing in favor of heavy-handed, ham-fisted roleplay and circumstantial success in combat. What do?

>>49023848
>>49023807
To be honest, a 1d8 slashing weapon is ever so slightly stronger than a 1d8 piercing weapon.

I need to find that resistances chart again, but there's a few more monsters resistant to piercing, most notably skeletons.
Skeletons are pretty common.


... Yes, it barely matters.

>>49023905
After you collect the ingredients you're basically done and all you need to do is the finale, assuming you have the info you need to use them.
So basically what I'm hearing is that you're more then halfway done and it hasn't even been two months in-universe.

>>49024038
Get one of your friends to DM instead.

Always play as gnome wizards with big negatives to your con modifier and slowly bring the campaign to its knees by way of gnomitude.

>>49023694
There are good counterparts to the elemental leaders and they also have cults which are just slightly less numerous.

Worship of the elemental deities is also much more widespread than they're commonly given credit for and Kossuth in particular has one of the largest clergies of any deity, even if you discount all of Thay (not to mention a more militant, knightly/crusading arm of the church, a whopping THREE monastic orders, and a crazy cult of assassins). Clerics of Istishia and Akadi also go absolutely everywhere, with the latter having a very itinerant clergy by design. The reason you don't see much hubbub about any of them is because they (the deities at least) are, as you noted, very hands-off; their followers aren't necessarily.

>>49023496
Well be a bit shit if the players just watched npcs win all the battles??

I make sense of this in my worlds by essentially making the forces either ones nobody is aware of or believe that the players need to fight or make it so the area is under constant onslaught so resources are stretched super thin.

And actually in Out of the Abyss the players literally need to quest to ask seperate factions to help against the femon threat and the party get the services of archmages etc.

>>49024044
DMs who don't give custom resistances / vulnerabilities to a much wider variety of creatures than the MM dictates are the fucking w o r s t .

D&D is best played like it's fucking Pokemon.

>>49024101
I think the idea is that one of those groups would replace or supplement the existing factions that aid the players. The player party would also continue to be the tipping point of the conflict. If demons invade and angels move to stop them, they should be about evenly-matched. The players are what finally allows good to triumph.

actually even if you pit 1000 demons against 1000 equally-powered angels, the demons are probably going to win just because the angels are hamstrung by the fact that they're good guys and can't resort to dishonorable bullshit, and will be using a portion of their manpower to clean up the mess the demons are creating. good always has a harder time by design

>>49024122
D&D or pokemon, poison is still useless.

>>49024158
Angels aren't "honor bound" to play fair, just follow specific set of laws and rules. Especially not since many have a Chaotic alignment.

In the Abyss the collateral damage from such a battle would be fairly minimal, but you are correct about in a populated area they would be trying to save people. I think the demons might win mostly because stats-wise they seem to be a little bit stronger though.

>>49024045
It's been a year and two months in universe. But we are almost done.

>>49024270
Poison's generally bad on offense but it has good defensive typing, its weaknesses are seldom seen, Toxic is great, and Fairies kind of got out of hand which really gave the offensive power of Poison a boost.

But yeah, in D&D it's trash. I've always thought the old stat damage effects of poison in past editions was terrible, but the current situation of being slightly more damaging but resisted by everything is also shitty. I use it as a low-powered DOT thing in the games I run.

>>49024270
Poison should have been super effective to normal types. In d&d, make humanoids and beasts vulnerable.

>>49024293
Why even bother? Let the demons fuck everything in the Underdark. They'll probably be easier to get rid of than Drow. Fuck Drow.

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>My life? Let me just throw it away so I can hang out with dudes with wispy mustaches and belt clip dice bags.

>>49024293
A year is not much time, especially for "Literally Hell Shows Up In Your Basement".
>>49024340
The drow are dangerous but also perhaps the most ridiculously unambitious people in the world; Lolth has turned the entire culture into her personal ant farm where they live, die, breed, and torment each other while accomplishing nothing and worshipping her all the while even though she basically turned them into a self-sustaining prayer battery that is too stupid to realize their goddess doesn't give a shit about them at all.
It's especially notable in Faerun when more then one human Wizard managed to accomplish more lasting damage on ACCIDENT then the entire civilization of Lolth-worshipping drow have in their 3000-odd years of civilization.

It's why Vhaeraun hates his mum so much; for all that he's an evil deity he actually personally cares about the drow people and wants them to actually get off their asses and DO something. His drow are the ones that care about conquering the surface and "retaking their place" as rightful masters of the world.
He's also a lot less racist; encourages the creation of half-drow (so they can adapt to the sunlight better) and interbreeding with other elves, though he still considers them his enemies. Also has a tendency to align with other races if he thinks it's a good idea, whereas Lolthian drow are huge xenophobes with an inflated sense of self-importance.

>>49024541
Vhaeraun overthrowing his mother would be a hell of a plotline and a hell of a threat.

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>>49024586
>he hasn't already explored this years ago in his bi-weekly live game
uh ok bro

>>49023820
>>49023871
Thanks, this was really helpful.

>>49024586
He tried once actually.
Funny thing, he worked with Eliastraee to do it; he gets along well enough with her because they're kind of in the same boat, trying to free the drow from Lolth's oppression, even if both have completely different goals in mind.

New thread folks
>>49024280

>>49024338

I think it should be good vs water types.

Those cocky fish Pokemon deserve it. Also Water starters (although not stat wise) by base have an advantage, since they only have 2 weaknessses (compared to Fire's 3 and Grass' 5 holy fucking shit) and are good against some of the best types in the game (Fire, Ground, Rock) with good resistances too.

Grass shouldn't be weak to so much bullshit too god damn.

>>49020474
Alright. What would be a more balanced way to handle it? I've mentioned what the 4e version did, so how can I translate that into 5th edition?

>>49024663
>>49023820
id double suggest magic initiate. your cantrip is obviously going to be your main damage dealer, and clerics is somewhat of a mixed bag of quality, so even with potent spellcasting, you might think of picking up a wizard or lock one.
even if you dont get another damage cantrip, the extra utility cantrips, and one spell are going to help out alot.
failing that, lucky is always good, doubly so since you can double down with warding flare

>>49019883
only for warlocks