/5eg/ D&D 5e General

>>49376427
WTF, how did he get transparency and not blocky images in Homebrewery? What is this sorcery? Caster supremacy at play?

http://media.wizards.com/2016/dnd/downloads/SKTPreview_map.jpg

The hi-res map of the North from SKT has been released.

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> Want to play unarmored cleric and be a plague doctor n shit
> DM is an ass, won't let me trade my proficiencies for monk's unarmored defense
> Have to go variant human and pick up mage armor with a feat
> Have 18 AC now, but still feel dissatisfied.

Everything my players have done have been pretty mundane in terms of adventure. What's a good fantastical journey / quest / adventure my players should go through next?

10th level, large balanced party with a bevy of decent magical items (Berserker, Lore master, Life Cleric, Hunter, Arcane Trickster, Wild Mage, Moon Druid).

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Asking again. Would you have objections to someone playing a monk that was very round, heavy, and jolly, despite having high dexterity and getting movement bonuses?

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>>49376619
Y'know, funnily enough, while I wrote this intending it to be used to generate background stuff, it's probably useful for what you need, too.

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>>49376657
Not at all. Sammo Hung is my boy.

>>49376657
Yes. No fun allowed.

>>49376493
I think he cheated and used the "Print" option, that's why the Print dialogue opens when you first load that page.

Any tips to start DMing Out of the Abyss?

My D&D group is going to start podcasting our games. Any suggestions on how to make it an entertaining experience?

> inb4 voices

We're not wanting to make a radio drama, just broadcasting our game because most D&D podcasts suck and we're pretty sure ours is just as bad if not better than most.

>>49376704
Explain it like I'm an idiot....

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>>49375069
Bumping request from previous thread. Hoping someone can share a pdf of the Planar Bestiary.

>>49376719
dont do it, its cringey as fuck

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>>49376718
The NPC fellow prisoners from the beginning? Stat them out as proper characters, then distribute them amongst the party to run. This'll help train them to deal with the larger force they'll be bringing into the Underdark later on in what we'll call Part II, and also allows them to develop them. You keep running them in terms of personality, but they run them in terms of mechanics. Just make sure that you give NPCs with "secrets" (like Buppido or Sarith) to players whom you know can keep secrets.

Here ya go, full write-ups that you can hand out with character sheets to the players. I took some liberties with assuming the classes they'll be part of.

>>49376719
If it's IRL: make sure you have a proper audio setup for it, and test audio and work out all kinks before the first session.

If it's online: use OBS and Roll20 with overlays and shit to make it an alright viewing experience.

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>>49376443
>What is you favorite D&D or Fantasy Art?

DEFINITELY Larry Elmore.
Clyde Caldwell is great too, but all of his stuff looks like it's about thirty seconds away from being a softcore porno while Elmore actually can draw a woman who is sexy AND fully clothed.

There's a REASON they got him to draw those old Everquest box art things.

>>49376719
High-quality microphones with pop filters for everyone. Seriously, the mic built into a laptop is not what you want and it'll make your podcast physically hard to listen to.

>>49376657
Me? Fuck no dude.
Fat Monk is one of my favorite character archetypes in kungfu stuff!

>>49376666
A tarrasque is the equivalent of 3,100 wolves. Wolves should be a standard.

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Is there are third party bard college that lets you control animals?

>>49376746
Print has nothing to do with it. There are two ways to manage the "trick". First, you can use images with actual transparency. I used this trick in my diopsid homebrew
http://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/ryUtCn6

What this guy did was replace the entire background page with his pre-formated image. The first page of the Arcanist for example. http://i.imgur.com/Opi8DdE.jpg

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>>49376830
>Clyde Caldwell
When Clyde Caldwell goes to a KFC, he only ever orders two things; breasts and thighs.

>>49376821
That's awesome.

>>49376881
They are for me. 50 xp is a nice round number that's easy to calculate around, not to mention something that most people can appreciate in real life since most people are at least passingly familiar with wolves, or at least big scary dogs.

>>49376657
I can think of zero reasons why this would be bad. Even if you're going for 'realism', just handwave it with Ki and have fun.

>>49376829
IRL at a table. We've tested sound on our last 3~4 sessions, making improvements each time. Our newest setup has Directional Mics for each player and DM,and I think we're about ready to go live. Trying to do as minimal editing as possible for an organic experience.

>>49376769
I know. But all my players are pretty sure that it's not as bad as the dozen or so we've researched (ie: listened to) so far, and they've been hyping me up.

>>49376684
This.

In fact that's one of the few monks that wouldn't earn instant cringe status. The others being

>Shaw brothers LE beardomancer
>old man CG or true N drunken boxer (debatable)
>LG boxing Catholic priest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAidqFI3P00

anything else you can come up with might as well be a barbarian or fighter

>>49376830
>Everquest box art things.
THATS why his style looks so familiar. Thank you.

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>>49376997
I actually think it might be Keith Parkinson, but the box art quite clearly evoked Elmore's style.

They both painted their arts. With like, actual paint. Not some paint program.

>>49377055
Dayum, that barbarian chick has some serious DAT ASS going on.

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>>49377055
>Keith Parkinson
HNNNGGGHHH


I just want to be 14 and play Everquest again. Can we make this happen?

>>49376617
>won't let me trade my proficiencies for monk's unarmored defense

Why would he?

>>49376963
> Trying to do as minimal editing as possible for an organic experience.
Danger! You will never believe how much pointless filler is in a typical game session until you listen to one from the outside. If you're going to even try doing this with minimal editing, you need to train the players hard to avoid stammering, talking over each other, derailing a conversation, looking up what their own spells and abilities do in the middle of their turns, or ever arguing about the rules. You need to frontload all of your setup time so it doesn't happen during the podcast. Things like changing maps, looking up monster stat blocks, and tracking initiative have to take practically no time as they're happening. Train the players to be ready when their turns come around so each turn takes 20 seconds or less.

There's no such thing as too much editing. I've even considered doing the reality show thing where you cut away to a segment of one player in a different recording session talking about what just happened, maybe with some light background music to indicate a cutaway in an audio-only format.

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>>49377093
No, I'm afraid not.
That said, I GM ALL my games classic-style and try to evoke classic D&D art's feel.

The modern WoW-inspired style of
Objective>Dungeon>Hit Shit>Reward>Repeat
is extremely unappealing to me and so I focus on a mix of narrative, character focus, travel, adventure, and I most ESPECIALLY try not to make combat repetitive, instead treating combat as a general potential outcome for encounters rather then an assumed inevitability.

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>>49377093

>>49377115
Not him but it is a fair trade, doesn't break anything (you'll generally have *lower* AC than your armored counterparts), and is supported by the devs as an appropriate houserule?

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>>49377093
>>49377055
This kind of fantasy art always cracks me up. Look how much shit is happening and how no part of it relates to any other part of it. My favorite is how Mr. Bighead and the dragon have just taken a time-out from the battle to admire the eye candy.

Pic related isn't so bad because at least you can assume that the monsters are on the same side of a great battle, but even then there's still goofy townsfolk going about everyday business and looking out the window without a care in the world as though there isn't a battle going on all around them.

>>49377217
With Everquest at least it's because it was kind of a spread with each part on a different section of the box with Elftits McNotingame on the front cover.

>>49377183
This guy rides like a faggot. Or he was just galloping at full speed and recently stopped.

>>49377217
I like that though. It speaks volumes about the setting and has so much to say about not just what's happening in the picture, but an idea of that world / setting as a whole.

>>49377302
>I like that though. It speaks volumes about the setting and has so much to say about not just what's happening in the picture, but an idea of that world / setting as a whole.

>"The Demonlizard Army is attacking again."
>"Aye? Must be Thursday."

I want to run a Jack London wilderness survival campaign, but at the same time I don't want it to be a highly abstract hexcrawl. My plan is to make city scale maps of wilderness regions but use "dungeon map scale", populate it with interesting sites that are relevant to the setting and let my players loose. I realize this approach works so well for dungeons because it is a confined space that bottlenecks where the players can go. Is my best choice then, to simply describe visible landmarks, see where the party goes and then describe what they would see as they arrive to their destination?

>>49377372
How do you deal with one of your players picking Ranger?

>>49377302
What does it say? That this town gets attacks by giants and dragons so often that it isn't even a big deal anymore? That nothing is really at stake? That's usually the kind of thing you want to make players forget about when selling an MMO.

>>49377391
That at least isn't an MMO picture.

>>49377385
Or druid? My party doesn't even carry food anymore since the druid learned Goodberry.

>>49377167
I want to play with you.

>>49377217
That dragon looks some sort of Hollywood reimagining of Trogdor the Burninator.

>>49377401
It is, though. It's for Ultima Online.

>>49376885
There's a first party bard called the bard that has magical secrets to pick up dominate beast.

>>49377424
Trogdor wishes he had abs like that.

Anyone know what adventure league module drops the magic shield of advantage on initiative?

>>49377446
No, and neither does your character. No cheating.

>>49377419
Got two games ongoing now IRL.
Trying to figure out all the fiddly bits of r20 though just in case I ever need to/want to use it
>>49377424
But it's daytime.
And Trogdor comes in the night.

>>49377385
>>49377409
Presumably those characters (and perhaps the Outlander background) are not options in such a campaign.

Also, while goodberry makes you not need to eat, it's probably a shitty way to live for long periods of time. Joyless and spartan.

>>49377482
A survival adventure is about survival. An adventure about gourmet cooking and high living sounds cozy as fuck and I'd play it, but that's not really a wilderness survival adventure.

>>49377217
see Bruegel the Elder

>>49377385
I would personally use the optional rules in the DMG to give greater consequences to rash actions, impose advantage/disadvantage for clever thinking, preparation, etc.

>>49377466
Fuck off, I'm one of the regular DMs and want a magic item for the occasional time I play.

I got dicked out of any magic item worth a damn for my last character because I was walking around with fucking +1 studded leather and eyes of charming. This time I'm playing extra sessions to keep my guy on par.

>>49377115
My DM let our Assassin rogue take the swashbuckler rakish audacity at level 4 instead of ability score improvement or feat because it fit his character

>>49377505
That's a false dichotomy. There's more options than "a berry, so now I won't starve to death" and a Michelin-star meal.

And just because the characters have more things to worry about when they're afield doesn't mean they can't or won't take some time to eat better when they can afford it.
In fact, in many stories about survival those sorts of times can be what keeps someone going.

>>49377505
>An adventure about gourmet cooking and high living sounds cozy as fuck and I'd play it

We totally cribbed that shit from Dragon's Crown in our last campaign.
My Monk had Chef's Tools proficiency and if I made a successful check anyone who had a short rest eating the delicious meal gained extra HD to spend on healing, and in one case even recovered spell slots!

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>>49377511
He's like my favorite painter, though, because when he paints a painting full of shit it all makes some kind of sense. Either it's a single moment where all those things really would be happening at the same time and place, or it's an encyclopedic display of every single children's game he could find or something like that.

MMO box art is more like a Bosch painting, where it's just whatever the fuck.

>>49377482
Yeah, after two weeks of eating nothing but goodberries, I'd probably call for a Will to live save or something.

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>>49377217
>Wake up
>Get my cart of goods for the market
>Waking into town
>Say hey to the invading lizard people and adventurers, ask them how the battle for the realm goes, the usual small talk to not seem rude
>After some small talk go on my way, they resume murdering each other
>Reach the main gate
>Just one dragon and troll today, nice weather it seems
>Walk through their fight with the usual "excuse me, pardon me, coming through"
>Jackasses can't even have the decency to kill each other off the stairs
>Get to the market and sell wares
This town really went to shit ever since Adventurers started moving in, I guess it's helping the local economy a lot though.

How do you run politics successfully?

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>>49377726
>wake up
>due to receive important foreign dignitaries today
>the main castle is temporarily on fire, so we have to redirect them to the other castle
>"Welcome! Please don't mind the dragon and the giant and the harpies and the lizardmen."
>I think they weren't impressed
>fuck

>>49377813
Explain in more detail and I'll tell you.

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>>49376443

Hey /tg/, my friends invited me to play a game on 5eg D&D online with them. It'll be our first game, for both the dm and the players. I'm playing as a tiefling rogue/cleric of Balthazar who lives in a temple with his parents and reformed people/races who are victims of prejudice and wanders the streets, trying to investigate crimes, make sinners and repent and generally be a purifier and redeemer (Think bringing young tiefling urchins in, helping drunkard and addicts and investigating murders). What directions could I take this in? What are some good roleplaying oportunities? My character hates evil and demons/devils (Even though he seeks to purify evil and get evil creatures to turn a new leaf) but there's a warlock in our party. Should I try to convert him, or any other characters? I speak Abyssal and infernal anyways, so I could try to talk to whatever he summons. I could post my character sheet if you want (well, post the information but not a pic or a document)

Thank you

>>49377813
Strong NPC's

https://youtu.be/C1SfZ2Fp_BQ

Layers of intrigue

And most importantly, self-directed players that would be interested in playing a campaign like that in the first place.

>>49377885
You need to focus on characters, a LOT.
The PC's also need to have the actual motivation to get involved in that shit and not wait for you to hand them an objective; you can't do intrigue like a WoW quest, that's kind of the exact opposite of the whole thing.

In figuring out plots, always remember that people resort to intrigue and deception because direct violence is not possible or not acceptable; think of other ways that they'd try to pull the task off.

>>49377124
Thanks for the tips! Will definitely keep all this in mind.

>>49376493

Pretty easily if you know your way around acrobat and photoshop.

where in the book are the stats on a weapon of warning?

>>49378206
DMG near the end of the magical items section.

>>49377446
Sword of selfaril, you're welcome

>>49378223
>weapon of warning
Thank you anon

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Playing first barbarian in 5e, almost level 4 and thinking of taking the greater weapon mastery feat. Is it worth getting over stats?

-5 to hit for 10 damage is a very steep cost. I only get +5 to hit normaly so that would bring it to just a straight roll... cleave is nice...

Or I can up my strength and dex by one each and upgrade each modifier thus incresing offence and defence.

Really divided on the choices here and would like some outside imput.

>>49378337
GWM is easier to take early as a barbarian because you can mitigate that -5 to-hit with Reckless Attack.

Both GWM or stat increases are viable, solid options for you. Go with what feels better.

>>49377947
Can I just let the PCs start with a magic item, then have an NPC take it from them? Somebody told me that always motivates npcs.

>>49378337
>>49378337
Depends on the average AC you're expecting to encounter

>>49378372
It doesn't have to be the theft of a magic item. It can be the theft of anything at all. PCs will move mountains and cross oceans to get back a stolen copper piece.

>>49377627
>Yeah, after two weeks of eating nothing but ramen, I'd probably call for a Will to live save or something.
that shit wont even kill you in the real world, and goodberries are better for you than fried salt lick noodles

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>>49376493
>caster supremacy

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>dm rolls for random magic item
>player finds the book of vile darkness
>on a generic bugbear bandit on the middle of a populated trade road
>our faces when

We just kinda left it there and continued on

>>49378527
You left the source of evil? On the side of a trade road?
If your DM doesn't lose that later then shame on him.

>>49377482
>>49377627
The current character I'm playing survives mainly off Goodberries because they're already carrying a ridiculous amount of gear and extra rations are heavy, and not having to worry about food is one less thing for someone on the road to keep track of.

That said I play Goodberries as being like a super-multivitamin. It gives you a boost of energy (+1 hp), all the nutrition you need to go on, and suppresses appetite but if someone puts a steak in your face and you haven't eaten anything with substance in a few days it's going to be damn tempting.

>>49378552
Isn't the book of vile darkness just a mundane book with evil shit written in it?

>>49378580
Imagine it being like the bible. Except there's only like 7 copies in the world.

Money is on someone somewhere in the world REALLY wanting that copy.

>>49378580
It's a book with basically instruction manuals on every evil thing you could want to do.

>>49378552
none of us wanted to fuck with it out of character because we had good alignments and knew if you read it you take a shit ton of necrotic damage, we were level 4

>>49378580
"This is a work of ineffable evil"
I'd say source is over playing it but it's definitely not just mundane random evil. It really boosts an evil casters xp and wisdom, while hurting good at the mere touch of it's pages. A less madness driven necronomicon.

>>49378633
Wear gloves? No, do a whole deal with not touching it but storing it. Take that to the nearest good aligned church and let them go about getting rid of it. Although to destroy it you have to end all evil.

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Are Archliches a thing in 5e rules anywhere?

>>49377627
fuck you, goodberries are goddamn delicious!

>>49378605
>>49378606
I wonder if there are any recipes in there.

>>49378527
There's literally no way to do this in the DMG, your DM just did it for jollies.

A bugbear can have up to 3pp and their horde might have a rare magic item if you are absurdly lucky.

>>49378448
It'd be like living off of vitamin pills exclusively if it was possible. It would fuck up your digestive system from lack or use for sure.

>>49378785
What if that bugbear was really evil?

>>49378337
Upgrading your Str and Dex will probably help you more often than taking GWM will. As appealing as feats seem, I find its usually better to take the ability score increases the first couple of times at least.

>>49378827
Oooh like he was actually transporting it to some Bigger Eviler bad.

>>49378859
Yeah. Just a harmless, evil messenger. Like, how else are you going to transport the Book of Vile Darkness? They'd expect a legion of undead.

>>49378875
They have a fake book. Classic diversion tactic.

>>49378337

You can negate it mostly with reckless attack and the damage boost is huge. Both are probably fine though.

>>49378882
Or THERE'S MORE THAN ONE

>>49378448

As someone who's had to do this before, it REALLY, really sucks. I think penalty from poor eating makes sense.

>>49378941
>>49378800
well yeah, a penalty is one thing, but dying from it is another

in my head, i always imagined goodberries like those little sponge pills, or wadded up bread fed to fish, and since party size usually isn't 10, you occasionally get TWO! sponge t-rex bombs in your belly

>>49376719
I recommend you not do a podcast but if there is no stopping you then make sure to record proper clean audio and mix it correctly

5e rap
http://vocaroo.com/i/s0wxnN4mC2Z1

>>49378684
You mean the not-exactly-evil kind of lich?
No, but really, what do you actually NEED except the stats to a Lich and rather then make him Evil make him Good?

>>49379042
YES this fucking redneck is back.

What are your thoughts on running a D&D podcast (IE: we record our game audio, clean it up, and upload it).

PS. We're located in a SE state, and half my players sound worse than you.

>>49379102
I dunno, just figured I'd see if there was an already existing template before making my own.

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>>49378990
>this is what goodberries really are
i can dig it

>>49379116
dude i play in a live game, my dm got arrested
google "nolan potter oklahoma"
this nigga was real
but hes in jail until like 2030
http://vocaroo.com/i/s076qSmLDQSk
i dont know if i can do it again

>>49379283
and there's my activism
>>>/pol/89130632

>>49379283
>>49379318
Oh shiiii

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>>49379318
>doesn't like Kirino Mosaic

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0Bzi4BwGaFe03NEhEZVMzNGxDR0E?usp=sharing

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>>49376443
>What is you favorite D&D or Fantasy Art?
I like Yoshida's stuff a whole lot.

Going to be making a Ranger soon. What would be a good animal companion for a dungeon crawl? It's a fairly lethal game, so I don't expect to be keeping it for long.

>>49379629
Wolves are the mechanically strongest of the base options from the UA revised ranger.

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how would you run in your setting the firefight scene from heat, /5eg/?

>>49379650
The wolf sounds like a solid option, but how about some of the more exotic animals? Aren't the only restrictions (besides DM approval) that it can't be bigger than Medium and it needs to be below a certain CR? Pretty sure I read that somewhere.

>>49379283
axe me anything
at all
ill reply

>>49377915

Anyone? I can provide some more backstory, if need be.

>>49379739
There aren't really great options in printed material. Giant crab is decent, due to the fact that it starts with a high AC, auto-grapples, and has an odd-numbered Con and Str score that you can double boost to even scores with the level 4 ASI.
Tbh giant crab and wolf are my two favorite options - the rest are pretty lack-luster.

>>49379774
Giant crab or wolf? Dammit, I can't decide.

>>49376821
You is fucking nice. You should "publish" it somewhere.

>>49379788
Wolf will deal more damage. Crab will be tankier for 95% of the game and more disruptive due to auto-grapple.

>>49377093
Everquest Next :^)

>>49379884
Eh, I'll figure it out when my current Swashbuckler Rogue dies horribly.

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just listened to Daddy Never Was The Cadillac Kind
im about to pass out
bless you lads

>>49379574
Yoshida's an amazeballs artist.

>>49379774
I like Raven for an intrigue type campaign. It makes an excellent spy.

>>49380378
It also makes you irrelevant, since all of a revised beast-master's combat strength comes from your companion, and a raven hasnostats.

Character art is hard to find.

What homebrew do you allow in your games?

>>49380447
Depends on the campaign's tone and such.

I usually allow my expanded weapons homebrew and offer up some other homebrew I've made. Anything else, including UA, is on a per-case basis.

>>49380426
The only thing the Raven is missing is a damage dice. Iirc it does maybe four less damage than anything else in the default list.

>>49380508
Oh, also it's easy easier to protect, since it can fly and mount you.

>>49380508
>>49380547
A raven does 1 damage, and has 1 hit point.

>>49380447
I just allowed a feat that is pretty much new Favored Enemy lite. I homebrewed a few additional archetypes for NPCs and enemies. I also usually have variant rules that are more in favor of the players and then up the CR levels of enemies to give more entertaining fights.

>>49380682
The Raven gets hit die every level, and adds proficiency to damage if it's a nuBM companion. Read nigga.

Should classes be getting archetypes at an earlier level?

>>49380719
Its hit die is a d4 and it has -1 con score. It's going to get 2 HP, 3 HP max per level if your DM allows you to roll for it.

>>49380378

maybe a murder of crows would be a better choice

>>49380737
Luckily is still more survivable by virtue of mounting the beast master and flight.

>>49380726
No. People can't wait until 3?

Hey guys, I'm new to D&D, and I'm playing with a guy that is making his character literally Guts from Berzerk (as a fighter)


Like

Is this a thing? I heard its a thing

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>>49380440

>my table have the kind of people that like to have me, the DM, give them a rough image of the NPCs they meet
>it has gotten to the point where they want a portrait for every NPC
>been using the Infinity Engine game portraits for this
>now i've gotten to the point where I'm now using ANIME weeb art to show the NPCs they meet since the table like their anime
>mfw now my party wants nothing more but to waifu them

Wow, anime really IS a mistake.

>>49380779

I guess it complicates things for multiclassing.

>>49380793

You can be anyone you want in DnD.

If the guy wants to be Guts, then let him be the blacked swordsman.

>>49380719

Trust me, this is a TERRIBLE idea. Gaining 2-3 HP every level means it's going to have less than 50 HP at max level. It will die to literally one AOE spell, and ALL of your features are about using this thing to it's fullest. That means leaving it in melee range so it can make reaction attacks during your turn, which means leaving it vulnerable.

Don't pick a Raven.

>>49376443
>That pic
did Gygax just straight up drink buttermilk?
cause like that seemed wrong, like eating butter

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>>49380794
>giving weebs an inch

Oh god I'm trying to watch Dice Camera Action because I love Perkins but shit if I have to listen to these PCs any more

Question for DMs-
My players have found themselves in the lair of a dragon who is basically god's IT tech. They also leveled up on a quest and returned there to rest.

I decided that, being in the place where all knowledge is stored/generated, I'd allow them either a skill or tool proficiency, or the spellcasters could replace one of their lists spells with one from any list, at a level they could learn. One's a wizard, one's a druid, the wizard it won't be so great for because they learn most or all spells anyway but I thought it would be nice for the druid. They're level 7 by the way, so third level spells.

But all the players reacted like I gave them all free access to time stop. It didn't seem that bad to me. Are they overreacting or did I overlook something serious?

>>49380794
Ha. Had a similar experience.

And the little shit wonder why I have a hard divide between anything anime and (Non-j) RPGs.

>>49380879
I know, shit sucks. He's a great storyteller and I like his GMing, but the PCs combined with the audio quality makes for a rough watch.

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My party are going to be part of a big chase scene across the wilderness on their wagon (Being pulled by two horses) with mounted hobgoblins on wolves chasing them. Their goal is to reach the nearby town before the hobgoblins either all die or retreat.

I need ideas how to go about this cleanly. While I'm all for the narrative flair of it, my players like the crunch so I wanna provide a good balance. I've read up on chase rules on the DMG but I'm not quite feeling it. I also have to keep in check the crazy shit my players will do. This is the group that had their halfling rogue tell the barb to fling him to a dragon's head so he can stab its eyes. I am expecting pic related to happen.

Anyone of you got some good chase houserules that fit the scenario I'm doing? I have some ideas to keep it structured.

>>49380879
ive been enjoying the Adventure Zone but ive been afraid to mention if for fear that peeps here would hate it

>>49380944

I really feel like a lot of people in DnD in a podcast setting try to force goofy shit for laughs and it just doesn't work. A group I follow really closely has their own DnD 5e campaign going with about 24 episodes but I couldn't make it pass the first because a guy was playing a female character with just awful traits, there was repeated unfunny shenanigans, and the DM frequently gave the rules a pass and allowed the characters to do absurd things.

I mean I get it - if you're making a production and want other people to keep watching, there has to be a hook. But forcing goofy humor all the time takes me out of the world (especially when Perkins is the DM with an official adventure like this, the PCs are absolutely ruining the atmosphere) and allowing rule-bending "amazing" things to happen falls flat when it keeps happening.

>>49380970

My brother told me to check that out. I got six or seven episodes in before I stopped, mostly because the way the characters played became repetitive to me. Definitely not the worst I've seen, and I think the world they were building was cool.

>>49377627
A goodberry can be in the form of any berry you choose. That results in a lot of variety. When you want something bulky you can have watermelon, and when you want something savory you can have tomatoes, eggplants, and cucumbers.

>>49380906

That seems like a cool idea to me. Getting prof in another set of tools or a skill isn't something you can't just do with downtime (well, maybe not a skill, but tools for sure).

Getting a spell that isn't on your list - I mean, Warlocks do that with Rituals and cantrips all the time anyways. And third level spells... that's not really game breaking as far as I can tell.

>>49376617
Unarmored Cleric is best done by Theurgist.

>>49380906
you gave them a great boon indeed, but it's always good when they think what you gave them is better than it actually is, they were excited right?
what's bad is when you give them something very powerful (making DMing harder) and they don't care

Is watching Acquisitions Incorporated ok, or does it have any spoilers for a new D&D player?

Also, where should one start?

>>49378337
Human Variant always solve this trouble for me
But honestly, GWM is one of my favorite feats simply because it lets me use my Bonus Action on a regular basis since I'm the group's "sealer of deals" when it comes to kills.

>>49381020
>or does it have any spoilers for a new D&D player?

I'm not sure what there is to spoil for a new player given how DnD works. Perkins is probably the greatest DM you'll find online, and Pig and Bald are honestly pretty funny in AI.

If you don't know where to start you can go with their newest youtube series, which just had it's PAX finale. Or if you want, you can find other PAX games that are earlier.

The only downside to starting on their newest adventure is missing out on some inside jokes.

So how big is DnD as a whole currently? Cause I dunno if it's just me but I feel there's a boom in DnD in my area. FLGS are more DnD-centered than the usual MtG stuff that dominated these places. I've met people who are very interested in the game and the people I've known for years are now coming out saying they are DnD fans and they've been playing on roll20 until now where they find it easier to get a table going since of the general interest skyrocketing in my town. And let's not get started with the amount of Youtube channels and Twitch streams giving DnD content now.

It's weird but nice. Still, can't shake the feeling of how sudden it was and wondered if WotC succeeded in what the set out to do. It feels like the AD&D boom but more open? Dunno the right word. Like I can feel a surge but it's not as shunned as it was back in the day esp before the Satanist scare hit the franchise esp now I see it being more accepted.

>>49380953
idk, if your going for any sorta realism a wagon going through the wilderness would be incredibly slow, and might get stuck after a mile or so

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>>49381020
>D&D
>Spoilers
wut?

On the "where to start" Watch the PAX games and just use the intros to each game as a method to catch up instead of trying to listen to the podcasts unless you really want to dig through the archives to get them.
(Though the first Podcast with Viari was fucking awesome)

I agree with >>49381045
Perkins is what all DMs strive to be when he's on point. Sometimes there's some cringe (the Baulder's Gate episode was kinda shit and was made of cringe, but they ended up making the episode fun still)
Jerry(Bald) is one of my absolute favorites.

>>49381115

The only thing wrong with AI is Pat not finishing his fucking third book

I read Wise Man's Fear over five years ago, god damn it

>>49381004
Ok, that was pretty much my reasoning too. Just wanted some extra opinions because as it was, the reactions were pretty much 50/50.
>>49381018
A couple were excited, the chill guy and the powergamer guy (of course, and he's the wizard) but the ones who weren't were the guy who doesn't like the powergamer (the druid) and the group's other 5e dm, who's a player in this campaign. I pretty much told them to get over it and take the damn boon and have fun, but it still planted some doubt in my mind.

Any good character sheets? I mean, the WotC ones are serviceable but I was wondering if some anons are using other kinds with some QoL features.

>>49379568
Nice

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>>49381058
It's pretty big.

5e's PHB has already exceeded the individual lifetime sales of the 3e, 3.5e, and 4e PHBs, confirmed by Mearls. Roll20 has made it accessible to those whose schedules and location would otherwise make it impossible. YouTube series like Critical Role have opened it up to people that might have never considered playing it before. And the lack of extraneous books make 5e more approachable for new players, especially those on a budget.

It's a great time for the hobby for sure.

>>49380906
>They're level 7 by the way, so third level spells.
Fourth level spells.

The Wizard is going to take Conjure Woodland Beings if he thinks you won't use the emergency !not errata to let the DM screw over the player by giving him a bunch of trash. 8 Fairies.

Or if he knows that all DMs have a lock on conjure spells there's Aura of Life. Additionally there's Haste for the Druid if he's not of that one Circle that gets it. There's also Revivify to undo any future heroic sacrifice.

Does anyone have any fun Monk builds or homebrewed improvements that make him more fun to play?

I interested in making a Monk with the mage slayer feat, flavoring it as him hitting the chi points in his opposition. I'd like a build that's hard to hit and lockdown/crowd control-ish.

>>49381158

It's weird, the DnD bug hit my country because of Stranger Things. Like my friends knew I DM'd for DnD. It's been 2 years since 5e has been released but after Stranger Things boom in my country, suddenly my friends are going "HEY ANON, THAT WAS THAT D&D THING YOU PLAY, RIGHT? THAT LOOKED FUN! CAN WE PLAY?!"

It's been a month and a half since they've started and are currently wrestling with an Owlbear at Cragmaw Castle. Problem is, they keep asking about the god damn Demogorgon. Whenever they hear the Black Spider, they keep going "That must be a Demogorgon, guys!" and shit. I'm all happy for their enthusiasm but damn, they do NOT want to encounter the prince.

And I'm gonna give it to them when they reach Wave Echo Caves.

>>49381045
>I'm not sure what there is to spoil for a new player given how DnD works

You know, if they're running something like Out of the Abyss or Curse of Stradh.

Sometimes I hear recurring references like "The Rod of Seven Parts" and I go "uh oh"
>>49381115
>On the "where to start" Watch the PAX games
Thanks.

>>49381239
>You know, if they're running something like Out of the Abyss or Curse of Stradh.

That's actually the only caveat I took into mind, but most everything online is homebrewed. Or so I thought? Other than Dice Camera Action.

I wouldn't say you'd run a big risk getting spoiled, and most shows would probably say "We're running _____ " if they are doing an official adventure.

So I want to build an alchemist.
What's the best way I can build an alchemist?

I want to use things like alchemist fire in combat as well, but try to do so effectively.
I was thinking of reflavoring barb rage to be a kind of "drinking rage potion." Thoughts?

>>49380825
With a flight speed of 50 feet, it should never be in an aoe to begin with, if that's a risk.

Also giant Badgers are cool, burrow speed is fun.

>>49380906

It's half a bard Aditional Magical Secrets

It's big, really big, but not gamechanging, since the go to spells at that level are Hex, Bless, Haste, Counterspell, Aura of Vitality Find Familiar and Eldritch Blast

>want to make an adventure
>want it organized
>see all these well made PDFs of peoples' adventure modules online
>get motivated to start one
>suddenly chicken scratch notes
>it just ends there

It's been two decades and I'll always be a fucking mess when I DM.

>>49377482
Goodberry isn't a kind of berry, it's a conjured berry with goodberry magic in it. The berry itself can be of any kind, so there is some small variety in diet.

>>49381232

give them what they want man. Just nameswap Orcus with Demogorgon, or go "The Demogorgon, Avatar of Orcus" and moveon.com

>>49380953
How long is the chase going to be? Miles, or a few hundred yards? If it's the latter, I'd be tempted to keep to initiative order for the whole scene.

I'd make a table of setbacks, 20 or so results, and roll at the top of initiative order each round. I don't remember all the chase rules off the top of my head, but I'm fairly certain there's stuff there you could lift/take inspiration from.

Wagon wheels busting, speed is reduced and somebody could use an action to shift cargo/make a check to reduce the penalty, or more than one person/more than one action. Ranger could be taking potshots at goblins on his turn. Soldier background(?) Gets proficiency with land vehicles so the fighter is probably driving. People could be attempting to grapple goblins and drag them onto the cart to stab them. Somebody might try to jump on a wolf and kill the rider. Throwing stuff off the back of the wagon tp hit somebody or go faster. Goblins trying to kill the horses. Facilitate these things, bring in reinforcements if the party is more effective than you thought, and the very nature of the scenario will cause them to consider initiative and turn order in a different light.

Wagon gets stuck in mud- one or two players make athletics checks to get it unstuck, the rest keep goblins at bay. Low hanging branches, dex checks or get knocked off- be sure to have some gobbos surround the fallen player so they can steal a warg and catch up. Cross a wooden bridge over a creek- they may want to light it on fire which will slow the goblins down as they climb the ditch. Member thinks they have pretty good animal handling, they might want to take the wagon off-road into some trees the goblins will run into. A herd of cattle running perpendicular to the chase, causing a race to cross before the herd does.

>>49381260

Most everything on the Dungeons and Dragons channel seems to be official material

>>49381272

Alchemist is a proficiency, not a class.

Mix it with your actual class for maximum effect. My Mad Scientist i.e. Transmutation Wiz got a lot of mileage out of Prestidigitation and Alchemy proficiency and minor transmutations, because I convinced the DM in allowing my spells to produce more complicated concoctions

>Wolves are ravaging a cart
>Can't distract them obviously or their minders will notice
>Prestidigitate Wolf Pheromones away from the cart

>Guy is stable unconscious.
>You don't know healing spells
>You need him up now
>You get him back to 1hp by prestidigitating smelling salts

>Locked in a cage
>Minor Transmutate the iron lock into a crummier iron lock

>>49380953
A short chase should have rolls make people temporarily faster in a sprint.

A long chase should have rolls for tracking time wasted, and exhaustion.

>>49381306

wasn't there a guy whose DM fucked with their party by mandating Goodberries to be Melons?

>Technically berries

>>49381395
>Most everything on the Dungeons and Dragons channel seems to be official material

Oh. Whoops. Ironically I haven't seen anything on there other than AI which I already knew wasn't official stuff. I was just going off of the assumption that a foray into watching / listening to DnD would lead to the better shows, most of which afaik aren't hosted on the DnD channel.

>>49381462

What are common recommendations?

>>49381475

The best one is easily Acquisitions Incorporated. At least, in my opinion - the later stuff is really good because the group has been together for a while, their characters are established, stuff like that. And Perkins is a god.

I know Critical Role is pretty popular, and I've just started looking into that. An anon mentioned Adventure Zone, which is alright - one of the PCs is the father of the rest, who are brothers. I used to listen to one other that was a Podcast - I can't remember the name, but they kept splicing in actual sound effects and it was really unsettling.

>>49381282

The problem is if your companion isn't in melee range then you're not benefiting from your 5th level feature ever because he'll never be able to use his reaction to make an attack on your turn.

So what are the general rules for cohorts. I want to give one of my players one, but english is a second language and I'm not quite I understand the wording of what I found so far

>>49381538
They just have to see you, I thought.
>>49381567
For a simple, clear example of NPCs of that sort, I recommend looking at the noble background, which has a "retainer" varient. They may carry shit or perform simple errands, but they don't follow the player into hostile environments.

I'm assuming your players want to hire a little battle buddy though, so I'd recommend use something like bandit stats, have the party buy all his equipment (armor, weapon) and a daily fee of 1 gold or so.

>>49381371
>How long is the chase going to be?

Yards. In game time, I say if it went through and the players survived, it should last roughly around an hour? Unless something horrible happens and it keeps going. I might have to settle for exhaustion tracking like what this anon suggested >>49381399

But damn, anon that's a lot of good advice. I'll keep those in check. Though for speed checks, should I make the driver make a check every round to know how fast he's going vs. the gobbos? This new guy in the table is a Soldier Cleric who has the vehicle (land) proficiency so I'm thinking of applying that so he can feel awesome if he realizes that he's important with the skill. Though I dunno how to juggle that with Animal Handling since I always tied that skill to handling this kind of thing. That said, it wouldn't matter cause him being a Cleric, his Wisdom is at a good spot.

>>49377915
For the first few sessions just let him do his thing. He may also be a Fey or Great Old One Warlock, which aren't necessarily evil. It's always a good idea to see how everyone else's character works before you decide to respond to them.

>>49381637

They do have to see you. They also have to be in attacking range, which for a bird is probably in melee range unless you teach your bird how to shoot with a bow I guess.

YOU don't have to be in melee range, but your bird sure as hell does.

>>49378337
If you can upgrade 2 modifiers it is probably better to do that this time. After that you can grab GWM. As others have said, it is really good on a Barbarian, with their reckless attack.

Has anyone played with the proficiency dice variant?

I wonder how adding half like Jack of all trades works, just halve the result? Seems fiddly

>>49381637

He's basically frankensteining a guy. I'm letting him do it because he's been super convincing with the concept, borrowing a plausible little bit from almost every adventure leading up to this going back six months.

>>49381688
The bird has to be in melee range, because to use its reaction attack, it has to use a melee attack. But it can be in melee range of the caster looking types, or the archer looking types, because of the enormously flexible flight speed.

>>49381694

>Jack of All Trades

It'd work like adding a proficiency die. There's a minimum of one, so until level ten, it'd remain unchanged
Then you roll d4's and divide by two, rounding up, and by the time you get to prof 6 you roll a d6, divided by two

You ever come up with the perfect backstory to a setting, that perfectly meshes all the themes you want to pursue in the campaign?

I just did.

>>49381765

And wherever it is, it will be in a range where any character can walk up to it and strike it once sending it straight to bird hell.

>>49381784
Except it gets to add your prof to its ac and saving throws. It's super tanky.

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>>49376443
What would be some good treasure for a young adult dragon to have? This would be a green dragon. Looking for some nifty stuff other than just gold coins.

Already including an alchemist NPC that was held prisoner that might, with much assistance and minor adventure gathering, be able to make some minor potions.

Also, what would be some cool stuff that could be done with the dragon corpse? Nothing too powerful, players are only 6th level. But stuff that might be interesting.

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Novice DM here, is it poor form to put a limitation on how many players can use the same class?

I secretly wish my three players go Fighter / Rogue / Wizard.

>>49381784
Honestly, the Dm would be metagaming as fuck if he had any enemy but the victims of the Raven prioritize killing it over anything else.

>>49381845
I wouldn't. But then I like the idea of an all 'x' party.

>Moved to a new city
>Want to play D&D

How do I find a group to play with me? I'm not one for online D&D.

>>49381874

Play online.

>>49381845
I might if it's going to step on someone's toes a bit too much. Like if someone was the ebin Barbarian everyone loves, then someone else was going to come in and compete.

I usually only have that kind of feeling after a game has already started. When people are all starting at the same time it's like they're Barbarian buddies, or rivals or something.

>>49381845
if you're an absolute novice and only want to learn the rules for a few classes, yes
consider limiting them to the choices in the Basic Rules and telling them to pick different classes (they'd be stupid not to, to be honest)

>>49381874
Find a local game store

>>49381661
I would keep the speeds consistent, with the wagon ~40 or 50 to be faster in a round than a character on foot, but the wolves ~60 so they can maneuver around the cart. I'm picturing something more like the cart chase in Willow, with more fighting/dealing with shit on the cart as opposed to trying to outrun the wolves.
If this doesn't fit what you're picturing for the chase then I would do something like, at certain moments (terrain changes, tight curves, etc) ask for str (land vehicles) and interpret that check as a modifier to the cart's speed, maybe take the number rolled total, round it to the closest five-foot interval, and add that to the cart's speed.

As far as balancing vehicle checks and animal handling checks, determine if the cart or horses are being affected. A goblin throwing a grenade in front of the horses would require an animal handling check to make sure they don't freak out too much, or trying for a desperate dash action would require a DC 15 check, meanwhile avoiding a blast near or in the cart, goblins trying to attack the wheels or push the cart over, or navigating through trees would require land vehicle checks.

The other party members might want to climb out to where the horses hitch to the cart (the yoke?) to more effectively protect them from goblins, or steal a goblin's wolf and ride it, and those would be animal handling as well. I can't think of what kind of land vehicle checks the other party members would need to make, but they may not need to. They might be focused on attack rolls and similar stuff. Maybe trying to repair stuff on the fly could require an int check?

>>49381874
Gameshops are a good way to find people. You can also see if there is a campus' anywhere. They usually have a bunch of tabletop nerds.

>>49381835

And this is super great when your familiar isn't based off of a CR 0 piece of shit, but when you choose a raven instead of something with real base stats it doesn't matter because any hit will kill it.

You could fireball it, have the bird make it's saving throw and STILL DIE if you roll decent.

>>49381850

Anybody can manage this because the bird has no HP. It is a terrible choice for a magical beast companion. It doesn't need the entire group to fight it, the caster just has to get irritated at it and cast burning hands to turn the entire point of your subclass into flaming carcass. It's not a good choice, no matter how you try to look at it.

Great familiar. Terrible animal bond.

>>49381836

Loot the corpse for really cool conversation starters with people across the land.
Like, it's a poison dragon right? It's got to have a mighty crazy bezoar in its stomach

Someone who swallows it is now immune to poison can speak draconic

>>49381976
>Great familiar

All familiars are mechanically garbage next to the owl.

>>49382073

If you're playing a race with dark vision, it doesn't really matter either way. I personally use the owl but if someone wanted to use a raven for flying + concept then more power to you.

If someone at my table said they were going to use a raven as their 3rd level ranger pet, I would strongly, strongly, strongly advise them to take something different and likely to die to anything.

>>49381836
Looked at the loot tables in the DMG? They have tables for art objects, gems, blah blah... That's still basically gold coins, except the coins have a funny shape and are worth 25 gold.

Other stuff I've put in my games as loot are small ancient artifacts (bronze statues, etc) that the players can take to their counterfeiter friend. Blueprints to weird and useless gadgets that associated information-gathering institutes may like. Clothes (fancy sashes, robes, lambskin gloves, jeweled codpieces, etc) that aren't worth much but may fit the character's theme or just a nice ribbon for the character. Journals, diaries, textbooks, etc that with time devoted to studying may lead to obscure proficiencies or quest leads. Caches of seeds. Vials of liquids that make plants grow really fast. Artisan's tools and toolkits, but not described as such ("a wooden box with a strap has fallen off a shelf. Nearby lie a mortar and pestle, small scissors, empty vials, blah blah". If they gather all the pieces up, they've got an herbalists' kit now). 150 feet of silken rope. A spyglass.

What I'm getting at is, if you don't just want to give them money in different shapes, give them more obscure items off the item list in the PHB, or make up something that fits with the theme of the place they're in. If a dragon has these, they may be fancy gilded versions of those things.

As far as a dragon corpse, skin the face and put it on a shield for advantage on intimidation. Make a cloak out of its wings for +1 AC against ranged attacks. Make a scabbord that keeps the sword especially clean and shiny, and after quite a bit of time (another 3/4 levels) maybe the sword gets +1 against dragons. Make a drinking horn out of its horn. Dragon-skin gloves that act like oven mitts. Or give them a quest to find a guy who wants the corpse and just sell it.

>>49381931

Hmm sounds reasonable.

Anyway, I'll take all these posts in and write something up for tonight's session. Huge help, anon. I'm both nervous and excited for the chase. It's the first time I've DM'd an encounter too. Gonna need all the resources I can get esp since my players are so flashy.

Gonna bring the Mad Max soundtrack into it too. Wish me luck, anon. Maybe after I'm done I'll report what will happen tonight.

>>49382073
>If you're playing a race with dark vision, it doesn't really matter either way.

Fly By, Darkvision and advantage on Perception Rolls count pretty high

>>49382140
>Make a scabbord that keeps the sword especially clean and shiny, and after quite a bit of time (another 3/4 levels) maybe the sword gets +1 against dragons

A dagger scabbard that after a few levels becomes a dagger of venom

>>49381417
Why does that fuck the party? I'd say mandating Goodberries to be belladonna fruit is worse.

What's your least favorite "character archetype"?

By that I mean like, I hate the "big dumb strong barbarian" character that people think is so funny to play.

played with three characters like that and they were the same boring shit every time. Offered nothing out of combat except for the occasional intimidation roll that generally just made the situation worse

>>49382149
Good luck, anon. Don't be afraid to hold back, either, I promise your players and their characters are a lot more capable than you think they are. Also, try to be general with how you imagine you'll handle certain things, i.e. animal handling for the horse related stuff and land vehicle for cart related stuff, because I guarantee they're gonna do some wacky ass shit you did not think of and you don't want to get stuck because you don't have the specific ruling written down.

Also remember the help action- someone can spend their action to "help" another character, giving them advantage. The person with the higher score is gonna be the one who makes the check, so probably the cleric soldier will make checks while the other members occasionally give help- there may even be somebody who spends the whole time just helping the cleric, which would be boring, but they might still do it. Just be super clear on the rulings for the help action.

>>49382223

Not fuck the party, fuck "with" the party. Mess around, that's all

Makes carrying them around a chore at least

>>49382179
Or a quiver that turns arrows into poison arrows, or gas arrows ala thief. Or spend some time nailing the teeth into a club to give it a small amount of poison damage.

If they're close to town they could start butchering it and making dragon-based sausage.

>>49382241
the guy with a mysterious past

>>49382303
Ok, it depends. The Man with No Name with a background left open for the DM to use is fine, the edgy waif with giant weapon who abandoned their attachments is not.

Basically, Jack Reacher is fine.

>>49382241
I have a dumb barbarian in my group, can't read, superstitious, makes bad decisions, etc... Fortunately the rest of the party sets him straight. The part that really redeems it is he's not just a dumb barbarian, but he's a dumb barbarian sailor, and the sailing stuff comes up often enough to really give him some facets. Makes hammocks out of ropes and knots, built a fucking boat, etc.

Can't say I have a least favorite archetype, but play in an evil campaign set in ravenloft (started pre-CoS) and all our characters are self-serving assholes, and while we have a good time playing that can be fucking exhausting.

>>49382140
Also, use the magic item quirks and history tables. My player has a bow that helps him float in water easily and is impossibly light - but it also feels repulsive in his hand and he's always thinking about just abandoning his +1 longbow.

>>49382369
See, that's not precisely a dumb barbarian; it's an UNEDUCATED barbarian who in his element is quite knowledgable and clever.
Him being superstitious and making poor life decisions is also just a sailor thing too, hah.

Just died on a caracter I really enjoyed, what op caracter could I make with these stats ? I'd start at lvl 3

11/10/18/11/15/14

>>49382241
>played with three characters like that and they were the same boring shit every time. Offered nothing out of combat except for the occasional intimidation roll that generally just made the situation worse

It's that way not because of the archetype but because PC's who take it thinking that if they do they won't have to do anything or pay attention outside of combat.
Force them to RP outside of combat anyway.

>>49382245
>don't be afraid to hold back
wait, no, don't hold back is what I meant. And/or don't be afraid to fuck 'em up.

>>49381232
Did you ever explain what Demogorgon actually IS?

>>49382551
Make something MAD like a monk or pally, pick a race with a good +2 +1 and be boss. Wood elf monk with 20 dex and 18 wis with your ASI next level, or even a max-con barb. I think mountain dwarf has +2 con?

>>49380906
That is majour... Like as mentioned before 1/2 a class feature majour. The only thing I'd say is that to make it even for non-casters make it any two of skills, tools, or vehicles. It should be fine that the others grab a spell though.

>>49382153

>Fly By

I think this is relevant sometimes but only when you're using your familiar to deliver touch spells. Otherwise why would you even put your familiar into a range where it can be useful?

>Dark vision

You already have it, who cares?

>advantage on perception

this is big but if your perception bonus is big enough you might as well just use your own bonus since owls only get a +3. you're not gimping your character if you take a raven over an owl. If you take a raven over a higher CR beast companion you are gimping yourself.

>>49382241

Scam artist arcane trickster trying to find more out of life than tricking stupid people out of their money.

>>49382763
>>49382241

Oh, I misread. I actually like what I posted.

My least favorite by far is amoral murder hobo who kills people for fun or because they said something mildly mean.

>>49382733
>I think this is relevant sometimes but only when you're using your familiar to deliver touch spells. Otherwise why would you even put your familiar into a range where it can be useful?

Fly the owl in to take the "Help" action, give an ally advantage on an attack against an enemy 5ft from them and the owl, then fly out without any risk

>>49382791

Sure. You're still not gimping yourself by taking a non-owl familiar. My point is that if you're taking a non-owl familiar, it's not going to make your character total garbage because most likely half your features aren't about your familiar.

If your a beast master taking a familiar tier animal companion, you're gimping yourself. It's damage will be bad and it will die very easily, and it dying is awful because you need money and time (things you might not always have) in order to bring it back, and until you do you will attack for worse than a wizard's cantrips making you feel totally, totally useless.

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>>49382241
I play a retarded barbarian with brain damage, and sometimes I feel like I'm trapped inside my own body as the party does massively retarded shit, and I hatch plans to get them to do the intelligent thing without breaking character.

How the new revised Ranger ?

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>>49382834
It good.

Has anyone used the modern UA variants?

>>49382834
it really good.

>>49382791
>familiar taking help action to give someone advantage
I actually never thought of that. Could an Arcane Trickster take summon familiar and abuse that?

>>49382886

Yes although it becomes mostly obsolete by level 13/14 (I forget which one specifically) when your invisible mage hand can do it as a bonus action.

>>49376443
which of the 3rd party stuff is worth looking into?

>>49382886
Yup.

it'll be annoying for the other players and the DM to always take into account your familiar in combat however.

I was an Eknight who had magic initiate at lvl 1, took find familiar. Had a snow owl who was a massive help all the time, but everyone else in the party got sick of it because of how much it provided

like, say goodbye to delving into a dark dungeon. I just send my familiar in there, he scouts it out, maybe he dies but whatever, I'll just resummon him in an hour.

>>49382140
>Looked at the loot tables in the DMG?
Sure, but anons input is always nice. Appreciate the response.

>>49382913
Tome of Beasts from Kobold Press has some decent monster stats. Some are really out there and suffer from the obvious conversion from a 3.PF mindset but they're generally usable for a little non-MM variety.

>>49382241
I made a battlerager (pls no bully) and play him like a typical, lawful good, thrifty, savvy dwarf. Barbarians seem to be sort of skill poor outside of combat regardless but I'm doing my best to be useful and not a drooling retard out of combat.

>>49382913
Thule is a great setting if you're bored of (Easily) Forgotten Realms

>>49382913
Another awesome setting is Lost Lands from Frog God Games, if you're really into the old-school feel, and don't mind having to parse all the deep and surprisingly good lore tidbits from across several of the books.

>>49382847
>>49382861

Cool thanks!
So, let's meta a little. I'm making this caracter to play storm king's thunder, what favored enemy should I pick ?

>>49382551
Druid. Get 100+ life per day for doing nothing special.

Go to Sorcerer 3 right now, and deal with the next 2 levels going for Warlock to become the Sorclock. Quicken Eldritch Blasts.

Old Ranger, pick a Pteranodon to mount. Be a halfling and fly around with 20 dex shooting shit from the sky. At 4th pick Sharpshooter and nuke from space.

>>49383005
Well first off, is your DM allowing the UA ranger?

It's a playtest thing, not official material. I'd say most probably wouldn't allow it at their table, especially since it's really strong and not like, just a archetype for a class. It's a straight up replacement to the PHB ranger that is just better in every way

Jesus why are Half-elves racials shit?

>>49383058
half elves are probably the best race for any cha-based class, what's wrong with them?

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>>49383064
>+2 to cha/+1 to two others
>Darkvision
>advantage against being charmed
>immunity to sleep magic
>two skill proficiencies
>Elvish + another language of your choice

They are the best overall race save for specific instances of variant human.

>>49383064

ok now that you put it that way

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>>49382834
vary goud

>>49383034
He's the one who recommended it to me

>>49383109
oh, ok

In that case I'd say Humanoids. I assume Giants are included within Humanoids, because they're... humanoids

and then you also get it against all the other humanoids, like orcs, gobbos etc

>>49383141
Giants are a later level pick.

>>49383155
got me there.

Still, I'd say humanoids. Or beasts, maybe?

So after volos guide rumors are we are getting something big that will give more options for players..

>>49383190
I wouldn't bet on the big "mechanical expansion" book til next fall.

>>49383190
phb 2 with mystic, revised ranger, an some stuff like the archetypes from kits of old or something

>>49383205
>potential for more Warlock options, some of which might not be ass
Please bring back dark discorporation. I want my spooky spooksters to spook so hard he turns into birds.

>>49383205
>phb 2 with mystic, revised ranger,
I would be happy with I'll get to play a remake of my old 4ed Psion.

>>49382886
A thing to remember is that familiars obey spoken commands and send telepathic images; you don't remote-control their every movement. So if you want it to help you in combat, you have to phrase that request in a way that makes sense, since it can't attack and it knows it. "Help me attack that monster" is likely to elicit blank stares and head-tilts.

>>49383313
'Distract it!' would count at my table.

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I just had the most bullshit event happen in the game I'm running and I need homebrew rules on how to make sure this shit doesn't happen again.

>players finally made it to 17th level
>let them enjoy being walking gods
>suddenly there's a massive invasion at the core of the capital city of the empire
>some evil fuckers got off a ramped-up Gate spell to open a portal to the Nine Hells and demons are pouring out
>they're being marshaled by a barbarian NPC we made that our one caster banished to the Nine Hells using an artifact from a high-level cleric we befriended three years ago in game time
>they go to stop it, getting fucked because the NPCs can't do shit against the horde because the Gate is being sustained by an amulet on the barbarian leading them, meaning they just keep pouring out
>as the other players evacuate the city our one caster ends up isolated and having to fight this barbarian
>it's a close battle but finally our sorcerer is too exhausted
>goes to cast a spell, the barbarian crushes his windpipe, shutting off all vocal abilities
>barbarian starts giving his monologue about how much he hates our sorcerer for putting him in the Hells
>sorcerer interrupts my badass dialogue
>"I'd like to use metamagic"
>okay, what for?
>"I want to cast Wish subtly."
>... okay... and what do you Wish?
>"I Wish that two minutes after I die our cleric friend is Gated to my corpse and immediately casts True Resurrection on my body."
>mfw I can't find a way to corrupt his Wish
>mfw he convinces everyone at the table he's not in a weakened state from casting the Wish because the Resurrection put him back at max
>mfw he also points out all of his spell slots are back, including his 9th level
>mfw a fucking caster stopped what was supposed to be a fully-fledged month-long campaign in one night

>>49383388

First of all, you can't learn Wish until level 18. Second of all, any wish that's not for a spell means there's a chance it just doesn't happen at all. The reality altering is ENTIRELY up to DM fiat.

>>49383418
... So I'm my own worst enemy in my own campaign?

>>49383418
>>49383426
Sort of? Wishing for the Gate should probably work, but forcing the cleric to True Rez might have incurred a failure.

>>49383426
Yep

>>49383388
so you're butthurt because you had your ebic monologue interrupted

You let them have shit like wish m8, you should have expected some bullshit to happen eventually.

You also allowed for his wish to play out exactly as he worded it, which is a big no-no. You also didn't take into account that, since he wished for more than just another spell (and a fucking LOT more than just another spell), as per the rules of Wish there was a large chance nothing would happen

also your player seems I don't know, a bit that-guyish. Wanting all that for a wish and then rules-lawyering all that shit after getting away with all the bullshit that his wish was

>>49383418
full casters get a 9th level slot at level 17

>>49383442
>>49383443
Well.
Time for me to take a break from D&D, then. Thanks.

I'm about to play my first game of D&D. A bard seems like a fun choice, but is it all support? And does a tiefling bard even make sense from a lore standpoint in game?

>>49383456

if its really just one caster in the group then that guy is DEFINITELY that guy

>>49383442

He didn't wish for a spell, he wished for a gate to bring the cleric straight to him in two minutes time where the cleric then true resurrects him (though I would have just wished for a gate then let the cleric do that shit on his own). That's not casting a gate.

>>49383426

Seriously, read the spell. You have tons of DM Fiat with it, you can say that even though he was resurrected the stress still made him sick and he suffers the downsides of Wish (necrotic damage taken from casting and having 3 strength for a few days) even though he was resurrected because you are the DM. You could have simply made it fail, and you still get to roll the dice to see if he ever gets to wish again.

>>49383456

I cannot remember where, but I do remember that it says SOMEWHERE that you cannot learn Wish until you find magical secrets or some such at level 18. I swear this is a thing, but I cannot remember where it is right now. Maybe it's a product of some kind of fevered dream though, who knows.

>>49383418
>>49383442
How would you guys have twisted this around. I'm not the guy that posted it but I want to get a better idea of how you guys would handle it.

>>49383489
Bards are mostly support, yeah.

And tiefling bards can make sense easily. Traveling around, rejected by most, singing songs to get by, and discovering the music in the songs you sing and stories you tell. That's just one example.

>>49383388
The resurrection thing doesn't have anything to do with the wish weakness part, and that was clearly beyond the scope of a normal wish. In fact I'm pretty sure it specifically says nothing can do anything to it

That said your time to argue with it was when it was brought up, and you should have just held your ground. Going back on that shit just complicates everything

>>49383506

If you can't think of something, just have the spell fail.

>>49383489
1) Before you pick a class and race, make sure you know what kind of a campaign setting your DM is running; if it's going to be about a lot of battles, a bard might not be the best choice, but if you're going to be doing a lot of intrigue, a bard is an excellent choice.
2) Yes, tieflings make sense as bards. If you're just a guy (female) trying to make ends meet while picking pockets and discovering you have a talent with music, you have a character right there.

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>>49383388
I love it. As a DM, I'd be applauding.

>>49383523
I probably will but I feel like the monkeys paw resolution in that case would be so much more satisfying. Like maybe the barbarian sent him to the 9th hell for revenge so the cleric gets gated there, casts res then is stuck there with him.

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>>49383388
>"I Wish that two minutes after I die our cleric friend is Gated to my corpse and immediately casts True Resurrection on my body."
oh fuck please tell me he planned that from the very beginning

>>49383526
>>49383510
It's with a group of all first timers, so we're playing the Storm King's Thunder module. I don't know what kind of campaign it is, but I know I'm playing with a paladin, ranger, and barbarian, so I figured we needed a caster of some sort.

Do bards need to necessarily be musical in nature? Or can I be more like a story teller character, similar to the historical Homer?

>>49383581
It's a good idea to have an instrument of some sort as a bard, but that doesn't have to be your focus.

>>49383526

>>49383581

Bards are fine in combat, unless you like to be the big star of the show who finishes off all the enemies. They're not great at that, but they will hold their own with a nice blend of utility, support, and some offensive spells. They're great out of combat as well.

>>49383388
For the record casting true resurrection takes an hour and wouldn't heal the wish weakened state. In what way was the campaign derailed though? It mostly just seems like he got around dying

>>49383581
Bards are largely about singing, and Homer himself was a singer when it came to his epics.

>>49383581
As a bard, you are specifically proficient with musical instruments as a spellcasting focus. So not by RAW.

THAT SAID, Perform (Oratory) was a perfectly acceptable (even optimal) in previous editions, and storytelling bards were probably more common than musical ones historically. So ask your DM if you can have a book of legends or stories as a focus - provided it takes up your hands, it's mechanically no different than an instrument.

>>49383581
bard's a solid choice.

A Bard or a Cleric would fit that party best. Bard's are great in and out of combat, Clerics are more combat centric IMO and have more offensive options.

You really can never go wrong with an archer valor bard

>>49383623
Had no idea. Good to know. I suppose I can just wing it when it comes to singing.

>>49383604
>>49383638
Would a warhorn count as a musical instrument? Or not because it can only play one note?
Does the spell casting focus/musical instrument need to take up both hands? Or can it be offhanded with a melee weapon?

>>49383736
Is a valor bard as good out of combat? And how does a lore bard compare? From the cursory research I've done a lot of people call them the bast caster class in game, but that seems ridiculous.

>>49383840
valor bard's probably a bit worse out of combat, as you don't get as many skill proficiencies, but the difference won't be too big.

as for your focus, I really wouldn't worry about it. I've never had a GM require someone to actually account for their focus like that, just having one on your person is enough. You can just pull it out with a free hand when you need to cast.

>>49383840
I'm pretty sure those were more for signalling things than any sort of performance, and it would probably get kind of annoying if you think about it. You could probably talk a DM into it if they really like Monster Hunter I guess

>>49383840
A warhorn would make a lot of sense for a valor bard. I'd allow it.

>>49376881
Now I am imagining a wolf-batting cage where adventurers desperate for XP but without any big bads to fight pay hard-earned treasure to take swings at wolves, fired out of a cannon, one after the other, for as long as they can stand it.

With acid immunity rings and that one amulet hat lets you adapt to any environment breathing-wise, how viable is it for a party to camp inside of a tarrasque? Would you, as a DM, allow it? Would you allow them to crudely direct it with a few internal stabs?

>>49384032
You'd survive the acid and suffication, but I imagine the environment would still be pretty hostile, what with muscular action and all.

>>49384032
If it can't digest them, it would most likely attempt to expel them via the oral orifice. Even more so If they stab it.

>>49384049
Ah yes, the stomach muscles.

>>49384049
Yeah, I imagine a lot of crushing. Maybe with rope trick or something you could get a little more time out of it, but even in a wacky campaign that's kind of pushing it for me

>>49384071
What if we teleport in the supplies and build an adamantine shell/frame around the interior of the stomach to prevent contraction?

>>49384071
Can someone explain the "catch" to rope trick. It seems so good for a level 2 spell.

>>49384071
Actually, that could be a viable escape plan. After all, when you cast Rope Trick, you can pull the rope up with you so nothing hangs out in the material plane. If the Tarrasque then moved, nothing says the space would move with it, so you can just let the Tarrasque fuck off and climb out.

>join a group with a friend
>first meeting to make characters is pushed back once, only a week, but still
>we're going to meet something like once a month apparently
>this was like 4 months ago
>we havent met since because of scheduling
>some of the people in the group still havent done their characters apparently
well that was a fun game, glad i made a detailed backstory

>>49384107
Reuse it for another game
Write a book, make a webcomic, write a movie script
Don't let other people waste your effort

>>49384095
If you used it in a bad spot there might be a horde of angry short rested monsters waiting for you. Other than that it's just good to have
>>49384100
I guess I didn't think about it that way, but that's a good point. Using rope trick on a boat is like a death sentence

>>49384092
>>49384052
Unless you bolted it down to the inside of his stomach.

>>49384092
Look, if you can hold the tarrasque down long enough to cut a chunk out and shove a metal compartment into it you've probably earned it, but that doesn't exactly seem like something that will end well as it doesn't really address the controlling the tarrasque part. I imagine it would just result in a permanently berserk tarrasque or it just clawing out the compartment as much as it could. I'm not saying it's impossible, so much as there's at least a few extra steps to make something like that work

>>49384092
Hell, why stop there? Adamantine framework, pumps to redirect acid as soon as it comes up down to the intestines. Install some ventilation with drilling and quick placement of adamantine ventilation shafts/ports with debris shielding. Install some metal flooring, walls, ceiling. Layer wood on interior for aesthetic, preferrably magic wood. Cast permanent air freshening spell, temperature control spell, and light spells. Bolt furniture into place for luxury.

>A dwarven scouting squad is devoured by the tarrasque
>They are greeted by the sight of an oak bar inside the tarrasque
>a hefty-chested female barbarian behind the counter
>a monk in the back pounding dough and meat for cooking
>wizard reading a book in front of the fireplace
>bard playing serene but jovial tunes

>>49383203

I wouldn't bet on anything big till late 2018 to 2019.

They just confirmed on the Extra Life that flail snails will be in Volo's Guide.

Which means expect all of this shit Chris Perkins tweeted about a whole year ago in there, as well: https://twitter.com/chrisperkinsdnd/status/640347984861921280

Anyone else having troubles downloading the Tome of Beasts from the 5e megatrove? Fucker keeps erroring out on me

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>>49384410
I'm having the same issue. I've removed it and am uploading a much smaller optimized PDF of it (54 MB vs. 180 MB). Check back in like 10 minutes and try downloading the new one.

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question:

i am currently playing a 5th level orc fighter with the bounty hunter background, and I was thinking of taking 3 levels in ranger to get an animal companion. the beastmaster ranger entry states:

"For each level you gain after 3rd, your animal companion gains additional hit die and increases its hit points accordingly."

does this mean only ranger levels, or will its hp continue to increase if i go back to fighter levels?

pic related

>>49384579
It likely means ranger levels only.

>>49376885
what is a druid?

>>49383388
Teleporting the cleric is fine, forcing him to cast true resurrection was unnecessary as wouldn't the cleric do that anyway?

and no true resurrection wouldn't restore the ill effects of wish

>>49383388
also true rez doesn't restore spell slots