/5eg/ D&D Fifth Edition General

>>49429822

True. I like the idea that the doll takes on the target's AC and such; I'll try to work with that.

I want to do this
>>49427382

What would be a cool way for my players to come across it?

>>49429885

Hope it works out for you! I love when players put spins on things.

I'm about to start a campaign and my Warlock wanted to have his Focus be tattoos on his body. I told him that he can't because a focus needs to be a physical object (that I can take away from him or he can lose) and that ink in D&D, while it can have magical properties, tends to be temporary what with spell scrolls disappearing on use and whatever. Instead I told him that he can have tattoos on his body the represent his spell slots, and he prepares each day by refreshing his tattoos. It also lets him feel a noticeable cosmetic change when he levels and gets access to new spell slots. Flavorful, unique, but doesn't circumvent any design balances.

>>49429826

Darwinist Octopoid/Nautilus people who are masters of bio-crafting/flesh sculpting magic. When they met humans for the first time they reshaped their shells and muscles to give them humanoid like forms so they could walk on land to learn more about magic with and from humans.

>>49429900
The borders between planes are thinner here; your arcana check tells you the rift is over that next hill...

I'm running princes of the Apocalypse, and my level 3 party just successfully hunted the manticore with the feathergale knights, and were approached, asking if they will consider joining their order.

Where do I go from here? The book really doesn't give any next steps for when the party navigates the spire peacefully like this.

repost.

>>49429685
Yeah. It works, but it's kind of a big kick in the nuts for the mobility classes when their gap-closing ability doesn't matter anymore.
It's not a big deal, but it definitely wouldn't ever be a core ruling without some class re-balancing.

File: DemiFiendFight.jpg (107KB, 943x573px) Image search: [Google]

107KB, 943x573px

I'm going to be playing in a Forgotten Realms 5e game coming up, and I'd really like to play something like pic related. Demon fueled asshole that can go toe-to-toe with assholes twice his size in fisticuffs because reasons.

Is there a class that'd fit that vague description? Haven't touched 5e at all yet, so I don't know what all is available outside the staple classes I'm sure they carried over from the last two editions.

>>49430100
The only class really good with unarmed and unarmored combat are monks. Their flavor is usually about mystic energy and meditation and shit but you could talk with your DM to adjust that.

>>49430100
Those... things on the middle and right look like spouse/sub levels of hotness.

I wonder if I could get in on 5e and get a good eugenics program to make an entire race in their likeness.

>>49430100
Warlock fits the fiend-bound flavor, and they have a melee archetype - but it's not unarmed and is largely considered bad.

You could go Monk and be able to throw down with fists, but your demonic flavor would be just flavor with no mechanics to back it up.

If you're feeling lucky, ask your DM if you can be a Warlock with Pact of the Blade, but with the Monk's Martial Arts feature and/or scaling unarmed damage instead of a magical weapon. All things considered, it wouldn't really be that powerful.

>>49430100
1. Dont play your weeaboo fag shit, for the sake of your group... fuck...

2. When you inevitably ignore 1, you should probably go monk/warlock (which will be MAD as fuck) or just straight warlock.

What would be the best way to make a strength-based monk?

>>49429826
I made the oceans an absolutely vileplace to cross.

Cross-ocean exploration is extremely limited, and if you're lucky you might make a one-way trip.

There's tales of a group on a continent nearing destruction making a great stone arc to escape, a great iron dwarf ship that travels the world when it's not down for maintainence and families who've been shipwrecked in foreign lands.

In the deep (not shelf) ocean, vision of the stars becomes distorted, with ever-shifting patterns of ethereal lights dotting the sky. Some say they can see another moon, and this is all when you're lucky enough to actually be able to see the sky.
Turbulent storms and winds frequently wrack any ocean-goers, and currents often set sailors off-course, causing problems due to the lack of decent navigation.

And, lastly, unsurprisingly, there are nasties out at the ocean from woodworm to large, tentacular boat-raping beasts.

Maybe I overdid it a little, but it means that every continent is pretty well isolated and quite unique.

>>49430156
For what purpose?

I was trying to come up with a decent replacement to the Wot4E monk and came up with this. Can I get some opinions? I'm iffy on the level 11 and 17 abilities.

Monk Tradition: Enlightened Fist
Spellcasting: Starting when you choose this tradition at 3rd level, you gain the ability to cast spells. You gain cantrips and spells known as an Eldritch Knight (see PHB 75), though you gain no spell slots. Wisdom is your spellcasting modifier, and you choose spells from the Sorcerer list. You spend Ki to cast your spells of 1st level and higher; it costs 2 points for a first level spell. At 7th level, you can spend 3 points to cast a 2nd level spell (including casting a 1st level spell with a 2nd level slot). At 13th level, you can spend 4 points to cast a 3rd level spell, and at 19th level you can spend 5 points to cast a 4th level spell.

Resurgent Ki: At 6th level, you can regain Ki through meditation. Once per day when you finish a short rest, you can regain a number of Ki points equal to half your class level, rounded down. This cannot grant you more Ki than your maximum.

Abundant Step: At 11th level, you add Misty Step to your spells known (or another spell from the Sorcerer list if you already know it). Once per short rest, you can spend 3 Ki points to cast Misty Step rather than taking normal movement on your turn; this does not take an action.

Rend the Air: At 17th level, you can infuse your unarmed strikes with Ki and attack at range. You may spend 3 Ki points on your turn; doing so increases your unarmed reach to 30 feet until the beginning of your next turn. If you strike a target more than 5 feet away, you deal force damage rather than your normal damage type.

>>49430100
You sound like you're going a really dangerous route of trying to be 'that guy' who wants to be more powerful than their level dictates.

Warlock provides 'demon power' from a pact with a higher being, but your DM 'might' be nice to you and let you have the pact with a devil or demon for some other reason that somehow doesn't fuck you over despite being whatever level you are. Pact magic is usually with a being so strong you wouldn't even fight them at level 20.

Tiefling can provide some level of 'demon power' by racial.

Monk can viably punch things to death.

Barbarians can punch things to death and still be viable, but it's sub-optimal to do that instead of use a weapon. Their rage can also be refluffed as a 'WOW I'M ANGRY NOW I'M GOING TO USE MY EDGY DEMON POWERS' ability.

>>49430154
>megaten
>weeaboo fag shit

Woah there internet hardass, eat a bag of dicks.

I just want to punch angels.

>>49429826
I had the ocean at the southern coast plagued by an eldritch mass on tendrils, blanketing the sea floor.

Any ships that traveled this way for trade were sunk and the crews absorbed to add to its power.

>>49429826
Well I like to mirror the ecosystem on land and fill those niches first.
Geography that has impact on climate and sea currents.
Small under and above-water settlements.
Tings like boat cities that are black-market hubs.
Temple islands dedicated to deities.
Floating wizard academies.

Basically "One piece" standard fantasy edition.

>>49430184
I just wanted to make an unarmed character that, instead of being a quick guy that hits people with a flurry of weak strikes, is a kung fu powerhouse that caves in people's torsos with a dropkick.

>>49430100
Just play a long death-monk , they have e ought of a spooky flavour to them.

Otherwise Hex-monk is a go.
Basically multiclass Monk/Warlock and use your unarmed strikes for hex shenanigans.

>>49430189
I'm sorry, but unless I'm misunderstanding something you don't know what you're doing.

>level 6 ability
Monks regain all their ki on a short rest with at least 30 minutes of meditation.

This feature is completely, utterly redundant.

You're not fixing the real problem this type of monk is considered to have: It just gives the monk more ways to spend their ki resource.

>finally gather enough people to play for the first time
>get so excited, I even buy a hotglue gun and do some homemade cardboard figurines
>one session later, 2 of them say they can't keep up with the schedule
>the other 2 guys are waiting impatiently to the next sunday session

Welp. So, now what do I do? Should I use one of the missing person's character as an NPC to help them? Because I feel like a party of 2 might complicate things for them a lot.
It's my first time doing this, so I'm pretty confused on how to react.

>>49430254
Well shit, apparently I didn't read the fucking manual, I thought Ki was a long rest thing.

Back to the drawing board.

>>49430197
This is a bad mentality to get into a game with unless you're starting at level 15-20 or so.

Monk does give you magical fists, though, so you're gonna have to be that, really.

And then you won't be fighting angels until the very later levels unless your DM has their own unique set up where there are much lesser angels and devils around.

If you want to play a power fantasy, 5e isn't really the D&D edition for it unless your DM spices up things a lot. It's lower-powered than other D&Ds.

>>49430196
Not entirely sure where you're getting that first point. DnD's always been a game where the PCs often go into melee against demons and giants.

But, might try going tiefling monk, see about refluffing a little. I'll have to look.

>>49430238
This is more or less, mechanically, what I'm looking to do.

>>49430156
There is no way to make it viable currently as you miss out on your AC and you need at least 13 Dex and Wis to even take the class.

Just play a barbarian with tavern brawler.
Bear totem all the way.
Then once you go past lvl 7 MC into fighter and go battlemaster for the maneouvers.

>>49430189
Wot4E works just fine if you give them more fucking ki.

The real question is how much to give. 2x Wis mod?

>>49430267
Our DM has the missing person be sick and following along but in an invisible sort of state. The party can make specific requests for them to do something, but he generally keeps the missing person out of fights so the party doesn't get them killed while the person is gone.

File: Way of Four Elements.pdf (1B, 486x500px)

1B, 486x500px

>>49430270
Yeah. So, oddly, they can cast fireball more often than a warlock can at a certain point.

You could have a look at one popular fix for the wrath of the four elements monk and draw inspiration for that if it's not up your alley.

>>49430267
Have you tried rescheduling? Maybe the five of you can come to a compromise.

Otherwise, try to find at least one new player. Using one of the PCs that left as a DMPC is probably a good idea- either that, or lower the difficulty of encounters so that two people can handle it.

>>49430189
Replace lvl 6 with bonus action unarmed strike/FOB after casting a spell.

Ki recovery replaces lvl 11 feature.

Lvl 18: Pick one lvl 2 and two lvl 1 spells from the sorcerer spell lists that you know.
You can cast them at their lowest level for free.

>>49430318
Honestly, I'll probably just give them EK casting based on wisdom and some supporting abilities at 6/11/17 and call it a day. You could also port over the 3.5 Sacred Fist by drawing from the Cleric list instead of Sorcerer.

The only real question is what the other features should be.

>>49430362
An unarmed-only War Magic could work, but Ki Recovery is useless, and that capstone is flat-out better than the Wizard capstone, which isn't good for a gish class. I actually kinda like the Rend the Air feature but I'm not sure it's appropriate for a gish class.

As a new DM, how difficult is it to come up with a world/setting?
Thinking of government, religion, military, social structure, etc seems quite daunting.

I don't consider my imagination to be strong, so any cheat sheets or to-do lists would be nice.

>>49430304
The thing is, the missing people won't be able to play anymore. At least not with me as a GM.
>>49430324
I can't due to work only giving me sunday as my day off. The people who can't play work on sunday, but they thought they would be able to handle the times to play before going to work. Seems it's not the case.
I might end up using a character, but what should I do to avoid compromising my game plans, like ambushes, traps, hidden doors, etc.?

>>49430417
When doing a custom setting for a game, always start small. Come up with the name of the town they start in, some surrounding environments (woods, desert, etc.), thinks that go on in them, and maybe the smallest rumors of what's beyond them. Then build the setting as the players go.

Alternatively you could pick one of D&D's premade settings (Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Eberron, etc.), read up on it, and use your imagination to fill in the blanks instead of creating the whole thing.

>>49430384
Be careful with what sorts of spells they get. Not all archetypes are the same on power levels.

The rogue spellcasting is mostly utility as they can't really use the spells for combat. The other rogue archetypes aren't exactly powerful, though.
The fighter spellcasting is instead of other scaling-with-fighter-level-abilities and gives him some major boosts with things such as 'shield' and 'absorb elements'.

A monk that has 'shield' and 'absorb elements' on spell slots might be more powerful than intended. I'd say fighter archetypes are more powerful than monk archetypes, and monk archetypes are more powerful than rogue archetypes.

File: house_336_ built4ever.jpg (2MB, 3696x2304px) Image search: [Google]

2MB, 3696x2304px

Hey guys, Innistrad anon that's been shitting up the general over the last few weeks, I might just get a chance to finally DM a game set in the township I've been designing, and I have what should be an engaging first adventure set up for the players, but I would like to discuss what I plan and see if any anons have suggestions for me.

Everyone is starting at Fifth level

The party is gathered at the funeral of an NPC that is well known in their township, and was an on and off friend of the pcs. As teh ceremony proceeds, the players, and the funeral procession, are attacked by a group of Undead that have burst out of a mausoleum deeper in the cemetery, and must fight them off. After a brief investigation, the players find that the mausoleum they came from is from a section of the cemetery near one Siegfried Jokof's mansion; a scholarly wizard that has taken up residence in the town some years back and has been considered an odd if well meaning man by the townfolk's reckoning. The party will find that the Mausoleum is empty, and that the Mansion in question has been broken into by a horde of the Undead, but won't understand why at first. They'll have to search through the mansion, and find Sigfried himself, before finding any answers to that.

I'm planning on throwing Undead at the players, along with Pic Related - Siegfried's mansion, as their first adventure into the setting. I think it'll be pretty light as far as what a fifth-level party will be able to handle, and I was wondering what you anons think. It'll be my first time DM'ing, but so far I have in place a high-level cleric as one of the better known inhabitants of this town in case I make the encounters too difficult, and I have a few traps set up in Siegfried's mansion that will make sure they don't throw caution to the wind without consequences.

Would this be too light as a beginning to a larger adventure for a level 5 party, say four or five pcs?

>>49430417
First, go small scale; it's easier to design a city than a country, and easier to design a country than a world. If your campaign starts in a particular area, you don't need to know the complete socio-economic happenings of the world at large, you need to know about whats going on in the small scale.

Second, let your players help. Have them come up with where they're from, what the community is like, what the religion in the area is like, and use that as a jumping off point.

>>49430417

I'm starting my very first campaign this Saturday. Homebrewing it all, and at first it was very overwhelming. I decided to start small and in a bubble, so my players are gonna get #rekt on a boat and revived on a small island inhabited by two warring Goblin tribes. No pressure to create a real city in a classical sense. Don't have to worry about them deciding to leave the city or inquiring about the next town overs Innkeeps 2nd favorite flower or some bullshit like that.

>>49430417
It is very intimidating, IMO, but you can get help. There's often a worldbuilding general on /tg/, and while the thread's slow, they tend to give decent advice.

I've made a few settings of my own, and I think the hardest part is just getting started on a setting. There's a few ways I've heard of setting stuff like that up:

One, you build your world based on symbolism, towards a common theme. Focus on making each nation, each figure, push towards a message or some meaning. I thought this was the far more difficult of the two.

Two, the way I tend to do it, is start small. Come up with a concept for one nation, develop it, flesh it out. Then, if you get stuck, start on another.

Three, start with the map itself. I've done this before, but i'm not very good at making maps. It might give you plenty of ideas, like, "Hey, what lives over here on this random peninsula I drew?"

You should definitely consult your (potential) players and see what they want to play. Might even want to have them help out with the worldbuilding. They might have some cool ideas.

>>49430445
You could have your players control multiple characters, though that makes it a little more game-y, IMO. If you do end up controlling a character, just roleplay the character. Is it an extremely perceptive rogue who likes searching for things? Well, you're probably going to end up finding a lot of stuff. You don't have to use that PC.

You could even make a DMPC, HOWEVER(big flashing warning lights and flags here): if you're going to do that, you have to do it right. DMPCs are not meant to hold the spotlight. They are not the Big Fucking Heroes, your players are. DMPCs are best made and played as supporting characters; they might not be the best at combat, but they can provide a few buffs or heals, or serve some function that the party is lacking.

>>49430445
You could either NPC a player who left, or bring in NPCs who want to be involved in the situation to help them slightly on the quest. I'd try to find a 3rd player for the long term.

>>49430384
Let's do it this way:

Lvl 3 spell casting:

You learn spells from sorcerer and Cleric spell lists.

Wis is your casting stat.

Ki save DC=Spell save DC

You don't need material components for your spells as you fuel them with ki.

You learn 2 Sorcerer cantrips , 2 lvl 1 and one lvl 2 spell of your choice.

Instead of spell slots you expend ki points to cast:

Lvl 1 Spell: 1ki
Lvl 2 Spell: 3ki
Lvl 3 Spell: 4ki
Lvl 4 Spell: 5ki
Lvl 5 Spell: 7ki

You learn 2 New cantrips each time you take The monastic tradition feature.

You learn new spells by meditating with a spell scroll for spell level+8hours.

At lvl 6 you can use your bonus action to execute an unarmed strike or expend 1 ki to FOB after casting a spell.

At lvl 11 you gain an additional Wis mod ki points.

At lvl 18 you pick one lvl 1 spell from any spell list and can cast it at will.

>>49430456
>>49430463
>>49430546
>>49430552
Thanks for that, I'd have tried a whole country for sure.
I've been running games just on PHB knowledge, so how good is the info in the DMG for worldbuilding?
I know there's a section on random dungeons, seemed interesting.

>>49430629

Honestly? Not super great. I've been listening to podcasts. Dungeon Masters Block has a few episodes on starting a campaign, worldbuilding re: creation stories and worldbuilding re: overall theme that are really good.

>>49430552
>>49430580
I see. I'm gonna use a new NPC to help them, until I can find another player, the. Thanks.

To the point of the thread question, how can I make it fun for my players to have control of a ship? Does anyone know any subsystems that make navigating & charting courses an interesting activity? I don't want it to turn into a purple prose storybook.

>>49430646
I'll check it out, glad I didn't start going through the DMG, making some shit setting.
I know my first will probably suck, but I at least want to prep with decent tools and information.

>>49430696
My party has a servant NPC helping us with a few things that are non-combat. Just make sure the party doesn't overly rely on him for things outside of his intended use.

>>49430596
>monks casting 'bless' for one ki

Broken as fuck.

Normally the progression is:
>2 points for level 1
>3 points for level 2
>5 points for level 3
>7 points for level 4
>level 5 spells don't happen

Of course, if you followed that (and the original four elements did let you do things like fireball for 4 ki) it wouldn't be balanced because it spends ki, which the monk needs for other monk features. AT/EK doesn't use the class feature to fuel it.


I'd think learning spells from, say, the druid spell list might work better.

Level 6 isn't so bad, but honestly if you're casting a spell you might not even be in melee or something. Otherwise the monk should probably be using normal attacks.

That might change, however, as at level 17 some cantrips will surpass the monk's damage capabilities, probably.
EK has this balanced by the fact they also have multiattack (2) and later (3).
AT has this balanced because they don't get sneak attack.

You'd have to think about the connotations of letting a monk replace their normal fighting with cantrip casting. It might be alright, though.

Level 11 is nice in a way, but also a bit.. Bland. It is very, VERY unusual for a path to say 'You get more spells/rages/sorcery points/pact magic spells/etc. However, it's probably balanced anyway.

>level 18
Holy-fucking-broken.
At-will healing?
At-will shield for permanent +5 AC?
at-will create water

Wizards get this, but they're fucking wizards, and only get wizard spells.

>>49431040
>>49430596
I think I need to explain one or two things a little more.

Alright, so it seems casting spells for (pointsvalue-1) ki is normal. However, this is only when given a very limited selection of spells (Say, from way of the shadow)

If you grant them a really wide range of spells, it might warrant it costing (pointsvalue) instead.

Bless is broken simply because it's a powerful concentration buff that maybe your party cleric can't upkeep because they have to focus on other things.

You're a monk. You don't have anything to concentrate on. Thus, there is little downside to it for only 1 ki. Normally you'd have to magic initiate it or multiclass into cleric or something.

At level 20, being able to cast 20 level 1 spells from a list every should rest would be a little ridiculous, even if they're mostly minor things by that point.

Anyway, moving along.

At-will shield is kind of broken because you already have good AC, and you're taking one of the monk's most powerful features and..
Okay, to be honest, the capstone path features are all pretty powerful. But I think they should be powerful in some other way, really. At least limit the spell selection.

A lot of fun could be had with things like 'create/destroy water' at will if it wasn't overshadowed by 'shield'.
Oh, I forgot to mention, wizards already have the shield spell anyway and a load of spell slots to cast it with. The monk doesn't.

At-will healing is just a no-no or very limited in 5e, for.. Reasons.

>>49430055

My party did the exact same thing, The spire assholes slapped them on their ass and then sent them on the way to the elemental earth temple, after a party. That's the trick, if the party isn't investigating hardcore at the tower, it is very likely that the tower gets away unmolested. You don't have to send them after the earth temple, its just well established there is bad blood and was used by the spire to explain away the battle scene that heros can run across. you could always set up one of the other groups as well.

That almost ended in a TPK, but they learned tactical retreats are a good thing after being put through the Duergar grinder through a couple of rooms.

Question: if my barbarian tries to cut his hand for 1 damage to prolong a rage, but uses a Vorpal Sword, is there a 1-in-20 chance i decapitate myself?

>>49431268
http://www.sageadvice.eu/2016/07/22/can-a-barbarian-hit-himself-to-keep-his-rage-going/

File: 1431974990532.jpg (50KB, 358x362px) Image search: [Google]

50KB, 358x362px

>>49431268
>>49431281
But hey, if you try and roll athletics REALLY HARD maybe you can jump 10 feet in the air and take 1d6 (resisted) fall damage.

>>49430704
I wish I knew. I used to sail with my dad when I was younger and I've always wanted to incorporate that knowledge into a D&D campaign but it's essentially useless when none of the players know what I'm talking about.

File: Xt3MEBl.png (274KB, 301x452px) Image search: [Google]

274KB, 301x452px

What's the best use of magic initiate? I'm playing a warlock that has a history as a cultist, so I was thinking about picking thautmaturgy, guidance, and shield of faith from the cleric list. Is there a better selection to go for?

>>49429826
The ocean in my homebrew setting is often neglected because it's fucking scary. There are Gods down there, shit that a mortal in a boat can't annoy enough to so much as illicit a reaction.

Even an elephant being bit on the ass by a mosquito will whips its tail at the thing. What does it mean if we, as a species, are incapable of impacting the existence below enough to even be considered a nuisance? Something that doesn't care you exist isn't going to bother giving you time to get out of the way when it comes up for air.

So mortals make deals with the things that will hear them, travel as close to land as possible, and never venture too far out into the deep. Krakens? We can kill those. Aboleths? We have deals with things that can kill those. Shit from the True Deep? Fuck that noise, I'm staying home.

There are similar cases in the truly ancient forests and deserts and mountains of the world, but the ocean is the single most prohibitively frightening place in the setting.

>>49431335
>What's the best use of magic initiate?
Be a rogue and take Green-Flame Blade, Booming Blade, and Find Familiar.

>>49431289
Folks in the industry call this "Doing the Mario"

>>49431357
Let me specify. Best use for a warlock.

>>49431335
Whatever you do, pick buff spells unless the class you're pulling from is a Charisma caster - your Intelligence and Wisdom are unlikely to be high enough to do will with attack rolls or saves.

>>49431357
>booming blade
I might be wrong, but a spell that encourages your target to stay close to you seems like a bad choice for a fragile class like Rogue or Warlock. Care to enlighten me on why it would be a better choice than a ranged cantrip?

>>49431405
Ranged cantrips can't proc sneak attack, so they're basically useless for a rogue. You're better off having a thrown or ranged weapon on-hand.

As for Booming Blade: rogues can disengage as a bonus action and move away from the one they hit with it, thus encouraging the one they hit with BB to move towards them--and thus eat that extra thunder damage. BB and GFB are both extra d8s on their attacks after 5th level, and the only thing you give up for it is the chance to TWF. If you also grab Mobile you can instead bonus action dash and be even farther away.

>>49431426
That's actually a good point for the Rogue. I think I'd still stay away from BB as a Warlock, though but then again, if your're a bladelock your cantrip choices should be GFB and eldritch blast.

We traveled an ocean that was pure acid. We were attacked by huge whales that almost caused us to sink.

>>49430238

Thanks to the nature of the class it's not actually going to matter: your melee attack and damage mod will be whichever is highest of STR and DEX, so a +3 is a +3 is a +3.

DEX is a great save in its own right and boosts your AC whereas STR is only good for athletics/grappling. Monk is already MAD so it doesn't make much sense to split the two so DEX it is. STR is for grappling builds and two-handers and monks are surprisingly poor at both.

>>49429826
There's a merchant fleet that lives on the water using water mills and farming ships, it's like skymart but on the ocean.

>>49430629

It's okay. The advice is better than the tables, although the tables are nice to have if you need to slam something together in a hurry. I get a lot of use out of it.

>>49431289

Not gonna work, PHB182 shows it's a flat 3 + STR for a running high jump and half that for a standing one. You won't be able to make a 10 foot clearance until level 20 when Primal Champion kicks in, and at that point you'll already have unlimited rages.

File: fullretard.jpg (62KB, 589x662px) Image search: [Google]

62KB, 589x662px

Alright which one of you autists were doing this

File: korbl.png (17KB, 525x136px) Image search: [Google]

17KB, 525x136px

>>49431544
Just some angry 3aboo.

>>49430460
Tell you what, I'm not familiar that that particular setting/module/what have you but something I have come across while DMing- start small with the encounters, and work your way up. And I mean mid-fight. They killed your zombie hoard in two rounds? Oh shit, here's another and this one has a banshee. Play it off right and they'll shit their pants and think you're amazing. The zombies were drawn by the sound of battle, something like that.

You should pretty quickly get and feel for what the party is capable of, as far as damage per round and just exactly how hard it is to hit 18 ac. Figure out what saves they suck with and throw a monster at them that causes those saves. They're likely gonna be far more capable than you think.

>>49429826
>what sets your ocean apart
Well, it's less mysterious-murderous than some mentioned in this thread because it's an island hopping campaign, so that I suppose. But the thing that really sets it apart is the kaiju with legendary actions that the players will eventually get to control in a huge showdown

>>49431587
>that profile pic

Jesus fuck the cringe I feel. It's times like this I wish I could take the sympathetic embarrassment I feel looking at shit like this and reflect it back on the person responsible.

>>49429826
Lord Kraken and his aboleth slaves/masters

>>49431405
>fragile class like rogue
>a class that typically ends up in melee combat because groups can't tactics
Rogues have evasion, which allows them to completely negate some of the most dangerous damaging attacks.
They also have uncanny dodge to halve the damage they'd take when getting hit.

They also, if they get to 20 dex, end up with an AC of 17, which isn't half-bad. Could be better, but it's good compared to a caster that isn't a cleric.

Also, rogues have 'cunning action' and can thus dash or disengage or hide about.

>>49431335
For a warlock, 'bless' might be a good use instead of shield of faith.

It requires concentration, which you may sometimes require as a warlock. However, warlocks have less concentration usage than other classes.

Bless is a really nice spell, even if you'll only be able to cast it at level 1.
Heck, you could even multiclass into cleric instead so you can cast bless on your entire team, get better armour, ge a shield and also get to heal every short rest. And maybe a level 1 cleric feature like tempest's reaction attack.

Still, you really don't need magic initiate on a warlock. Getting skill-ups to 20 is the most important usually.
Magic initiate works best for a fighter, so that they can grab hex or something. Hex uses a bonus action, and fighters may often have plenty of spare bonus actions, and they get multi-attack to maximize hex damage.

>>49431587
I want to go to the Chris guy and apologize for him having to put up with this... This thing.

>>49431731

>the Chris guy

"[Chris Perikins] became the editor in chief of Wizards periodicals. He later became the senior producer for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, leading the team of designers, developers, and editors who produce D&D RPG products"

Could you imagine having the gall to argue over the basics of DM agency and rules with the guy who leads most aspect of D&D right now?

>>49431405
Booming blade is used with Swashbuckler rogues and they usually get it by dipping into Dragon Sorcerer.

>>49431040
>>49431109
Capstone features are supposed to be powerful.
Don't mention the fact that you cast that one spell (only one spell) at its lowest level.
So mostly you'd use it for Hex or Shield anyway or Cheap backup healing which alltho useful becomes relatively minor at higher levels.

I do appreciate the critics and think limiting the subclass to sorcerer spells (besides the capstone feature) is allright.

Spell ki price also needs rework.

The best formula would be (Spell level+1)=ki cost and let it go up to lvl 5 with the spells you can know/cast.

What's the best way to create a character focused around telekinesis and other such invisible forces? I know wizards get Bigby's hand and Telekinesis but is there a better way?

>>49431842

use the Psionics Unearthed Arcana

>>49431842
Arcane trickster is the mage hand specialist, but the never get over the weight limit of it, so I think you're kind of stuck with wizard with bigby spells for the most part for that. I haven't looked at the psionics UA stuff any time recently, so I don't really know what they can do, but that's usually something up their alley

>>49431839
There is absolutely nothing except for maybe some theurgist dickery which isn't intended at all that gives at-will healing. If you give them at-will healing, you completely destroy the need for any sort of healing out of combat. Within the space of about half a minute, everybody can be completely healed.
You could take healing word and literally walk down the street healing every single person you see and pretty much demolish any sense of 'getting injured is bad', because anybody injured will just walk by the magical healing monk.

Yes, the wizard's 'spell mastery' also gives them a level 2 spell, but that's not really as relevant, aside from perhaps mirror image or A CC spell.
Also, wizards can only use it with spells they could cast anyway.

The monk would only be supposed to be about a 1/3 caster, and a feature that the level 18 high-tier wizards get that isn't an archetype feature isnt really suitable, even if it's dumbed down a bit.

I think it's definitely wrong to say 'capstone features are supposed to be powerful'. This is not always the case. However, monk capstone abilities are pretty powerful.

I'd suggest limiting it to certain spells, but keeping the at-will. Flavour it more towards the four elements.
'Create/destroy water' would be a fun and creative option. Maybe make a list of spells that could be cast at-will to choose from, that feels less 'how hard can you break the game with level 1 spells' and more 'you gain at-will magical elemental control'.

Anyone have experience with th Death Domain Cleric?

Any good? Str vs Dex builds? Multiclass?

I "want" it to be a decent class but i'm just not seeing it's potential.

>DM is allowing me the whole neutral alignment, using empty shells not souls evil twist

>>49431912
Been reading through the capstone features for just about everything.

Actually, I'll admit that while there still exist some capstone features that are a bit 'meh' the features do all tend to be pretty neat, actually.

There are many 'have more resources' capstone features, like 'infinite rages!' 'infinite wildshape!' 'get sorcerery points on short rest!' or 'get superiority dice on intiative!' or 'get ki on initiative!'

There're more good capstone abilities than I remember. Maybe about 60% are actually really quite nice, 25% are really quite nice but might apply less to some people due to situations and 15% are kind of meh.

Something like 'perfect self' is kind of awkward because you want to save your points anyway for the big fights that always come later.

New thread, asking again

>>49427099

Any advice?

>>49432031
Honestly go to a toy shop and find some miniture knights and such. The more obscure something is the more likely you are to need to buy some overpriced shit.

The d&d board games come with a ton I think.

>>49430152
>not the thing on the right and the middle/left

>>49431983
Well the base Cleric features seem to work counter to the Death domain, since Turn undead doesn't specify friend or foe - just each undead, and they must make a save so you can't exclude them. Your DM will probably let you spare your minions, though.

As far as your other choices, you have medium armor and shields, so with a 14 dex you can get an AC of about 19, which is respectable. Or you could use a two-handed weapon get a glaive and call it a scythe since the death domain gets you martial weapon proficiency. Your free necromancy cantrip is likely to be Chill Touch, since I don't think there are any others, but at least you can use it on multiple targets I guess?

My advice is to go finesse and stick with medium armor until studded leather + dex would be better. Use a shield and a rapier, since you can paint a holy symbol on a shield by RAW. Use Chill Touch for range, stab things with bonus necrotic damage in melee, use zombies to keep other enemies occupied, and throw out a vampiric touch when you need to heal yourself, rather than using cure.

Even if it goes against your flavor, Healing Touch should be on your spell list because it's a good OH SHIT button.

>>49431714
>end up with an AC of 17
Actually, if you have studded leather armor you can get up to 18 AC.

>>49432063
Are you adding in a feat or something?

Shouldn't it be 12 (studded leather) + 5 (dex mod)?

>>49432063
I've theorycrafted enough warlocks to know that studded leather is only 12 + dex. You can get up to 18 if you burn an invocation on Armor of Shadows - it's up to you if an additional 5% chance to dodge any given attack is worth it.

>>49432052
>The d&d board games come with a ton I think.
That might be a good shout then, toy shops in my town don't really stock that kinda thing beyond army men.

I'll see how much I could pick up the board games for.

>>49432074
They're a bit pricey I think but it does double as a board game so I think that it could be worth it.

is roll20 worth using? Been using TTS for most of my games and wanting to switch to something a bit easier to use.

>>49432080
Not only that each game comes with quite a few minis even.

>>49430152
>Ardavians
>+2 Con, +1 Cha
>You gain +1 HP per level
>You have advantage on saves to avoid being grappled or restrained, and you don't have disadvantage to Dexterity saves when restrained
>You have advantage on Persuasion and Deception checks when you are restrained
>You have proficiency with Thieves' Tools and in either Performance or Sleight of Hand
>After a short rest if you've spent hit dice to recover, you can add those hit dice to the damage of a single damage roll you make. You can't use this ability again until you spend more hit dice after another rest.

Which AS do you refer to for carpentry/building?

>>49432168
DEX or STR depending on the task. If it's a considerably planned construction maybe an INT check for advantage on the DEX/STR check.

>>49432159
Just to title all of those too:
>Used to Abuse
>Willing Participant
>Born Submissive
>Intricate Artifice
>Power through Pain

>>49432168
DEX is typically used for tools.

All strength really does is help you pick up heavy objects, so strength might make a job go faster. Con might help in endurance to do a job in a shorter space of time, too.

Dexterity handles fine work and craftsmanship in general, usually. Would apply to most tasks - lining up a nail properly, sawing wood in the right place, painting evenly.

Intellect covers knowledge of the subjectof construction, and may provide knowledge of tools and techniques.
Int and a tiny dash of wisdom may then help with panning. Wisdom is mostly for noticing when something is going wrong so it can be fixed.

Charisma is mostly to command a taskforce.

Short answer: Dexterity. If planning is involved, Intellect.

>>49432159
In before level 20 barbarians adding 20d12+140 damage on.
Also weird that they have advantage on saves against grapples, but not against regular grapples.

>>49432230
You're right, it should be grapples and saves vs. being grappled and restrained. It should also be Ardarvian. I don't really see the level 20 Barbarian thing as a big deal because level 20, and it means they have to have spent all their hit dice already.

>>49432240
Though it could be half the spent hit dice if you're really concerned.

File: Planar Bestiary 5e.jpg (274KB, 612x792px) Image search: [Google]

274KB, 612x792px

Does anyone have a pdf they can share of the Planar Bestiary on DM's Guild?

http://www.dmsguild.com/product/193100/Planar-Bestiary?hot60=1&src=hottest_filtered&filters=45469

>>49432168
STR isn't used in irl building. You have to use the hammer right not just hit like a bulldozer.

>>49432247
>>49432240
The real issue is it's automatic, unavoidable damage that comes all in one large burst.

Something like the half-orc's 'get an extra damage die on a crit' is unpredictible, and may overkill opponents since it might trigger on a 1 HP enemy.
If the hitdie's constitution modifier isn't added, which it probably isn't/probably shouldn't be, the wad of burst damage for a potential +1d12 eveyr level still seems a bit much compared to a sneak attack which is +1d6 every two levels.
Of course, it'd only be usable once a day, but I can see people fucking up a boss or two with that.
Maybe if it was less burstey.

>>49432318
I definitely wasn't intending it would add constitution modifier. I can understand the concerns about burst damage but if we say it's half the hit dice is that really an unmanageable burst at level 20 - +65 damage average on one damage roll for one class between long rests?

And to actually use it like that you have to game the system in a way that's easily exploitable by the DM - not using ANY of your hit dice to recover until the rest before the final confrontation with the boss.

It is maybe too active an ability for a racial ability.

>>49432281
"hitting the hammer right" is STR

>>49432318
>>49432343
I guess the alternative version would be
>Once between short rests you can choose to deal 1 extra die of damage on an attack against a creature that has injured you

What do you guys think of this feat I made?
Improvisational Tinkering
You gain +1 Intelligence or Dexterity
Choose two Artisan's Tools, if you do not have those tools on you, you may create a makeshift set of those tools out of what you have on you, and what you see around you. All checks made with these makeshift tools are at disadvantage.
You may also improvise materials out of what surrounds you, when crafting something using improvised materials the item takes only 10 minutes to craft, but has 0 Hardness and 1 HP. Additionally all rolls with the item are at disadvantage, deal 1/2 damage if applicable, and the item breaks(if multiple use) after your Intelligence modifier uses.

>>49432343
Half the dice is probably alright.
That's still very powerful, dealing about the same damage a likely in-game a recklessly attacking GWF bearbarian will deal on average in a round with a +10 damage, -5 to hit and half-orc extra crit dice along with potential extra bonus attack will deal at levels 10 or so and beyond.
Which is about 40 damage in a round on average. Just to put things comparitively.

I figure a lot of the DMs I've had have been bad at poor rest-pacing, but hitdice often end up being 'spend them while you can, you're not likely to see more than one short rest a day'. And, I guess, the DM could bully you a bit unless you had someone that can heal you every short rest.

>>49432398
I don't know, that sounds a bit lackluster, scaling poorly.
Not bad if it wasn't one of the main features of the race, anyway.

Maybe being able to add some portion of the damage taken to the next attack, with a limit. On a short rest.
When hit by any individual attack, you can declare you'll return it on your turn.
The ability is used, and the next time within a minute or so you hit the thing that injured you you can add the damage the attack dealt to you to the roll, for up to (Player level + Con mod) damage, or something.

Hopefully that's not too fiddley, but I don't know. Might be alright, and should hopefully be stronger than just an extra weapon damage die.

>>49432446
Sounds fun, actually. Would be good with a rough guide to things that could and couldn't be crafted.

49427646
>Anon, you can't argue intent with spergs.
RAI and RAW doesn't work, fucking read the errata and the intent in sage advice.

>>49432270
I'd like a copy too.

>>49430318
>Yeah. So, oddly, they can cast fireball more often than a warlock can at a certain point.
At the level they get fireball, and knowing how much it costs. No, a warlock can cast it more ofter and being more useful.

>>49432459
Yeah, the damage returning was something I thought about but it does seem fiddly I'm not really satisfied with either option. Still, for a magical realm bondage-themed race on /tg/ I'm not too fussed.

>>49431912
>theurgist dickery
If I remember correctly, even the theurge doesn't allow that. They get cleric spells, but they are still considered such and you can't apply that ability.

>>49432560
Normal monks can get fireball at level 11 and cast it for 4 ki.

A warlock can get up to 4 spell slots that recharge on a short rest. This gives them up to four casts of fireball, though likely upcasted.
At exactly level 20, however, warlocks can once a day regain their pact magic spell slots, however. Though in an endurance all-day 'let's shoot fireballs endlessly' they'd still lose in terms of quantity.

The monk has ki equal to their monk level, which gives them up to 5 casts of fireball. They get their ki back on a short rest.

>>49432578
Yeah, I wasn't so sure. Kind of glad it isn't, because a wizard with at-will 'healing word' with the life path features would just be hellish.

>>49432612
Warlocks cast fireball at 5th level spell slot
Monks cast fireball at 3rd level spell slot, unless they spend more ki casting less fireballs

>>49432446
>>49432459
What I meant was, it's still a little vague to DMs as to the limitations.

I think a clause like 'You can improvize anything you would normally be able to craft.'
and
'If any special or unusual items are needed, they must be found and supplied' so people are free to find scrap metal or whatever whereever, but aren't free to find healing potion materialsjust anywhere.

Probably put a (minimum of 1) after the [int modifier] uses.

>>49432640
Yes.

But the monk is still casting more fireballs, ultimately. Which was the original point.

>>49432574
As long as it's not too complicated or clearly overpowered it should be fine.

What's a good 1st level Warlock spell to take with Magic Initiate for my Gunslinger? I was thinking Arms of Hadar or Hellish Rebuke, as my CON is pretty abysmal and it would be good to have either a close range crowd control or a way to tag back people who hurt me. Definitely taking Blade Ward as a cantrip.

>>49432729
I'd go hex, myself

>>49432729
Blade ward isn't really a 'definite get'. It's pretty situational, to be honest.
There aren't a lot of 'must-have' cantrips for you, though, so you've free reign to pick whatever really.

Hex is probably your best bet. Hellish rebuke isn't worth taking magic initiate for when you could be doing other things.

Hex, however, is a classic pick for fighters. It only uses your bonus action with fighters don't really need, it can be reapplied to other enemies whenever the targeted enemy dies, it can be used for a bit of utility in 'making the enemy fuck up at a certain attribute skill' and it scales with your extra attack feature.

>>49432653
Okay cool, how does this look as a second draft then?
Improvisational Tinkering
You gain +1 Intelligence or Dexterity
Choose two Artisan's Tools, if you do not have those tools on you, you may create a makeshift set of those tools out of what you have on you, and what you see around you. All checks made with these makeshift tools are at disadvantage.
You may also improvise materials to craft something you know how to quickly out of what surrounds you, when crafting something using improvised materials the item takes only 10 minutes to craft, but has 0 Hardness and 1 HP. Additionally all rolls with the item are at disadvantage, deal 1/2 damage if applicable, and the item breaks(if multiple use) after your Intelligence modifier uses(minimum 1) or 1 hour, whichever is sooner. Special materials that cannot be replaced(Ex: healing herbs, gunpowder, mithril) must still be provided unless a less potent substitute is available or could be made available(such a fuel and an oxidizer to create an explosive similar to gunpowder).

>>49431405
Booming blade is used with Swashbuckler rogues and they usually get it by dipping into Dragon Sorcerer.

>>49431040
>>49431109
Capstone features are supposed to be powerful.
Don't mention the fact that you cast that one spell (only one spell) at its lowest level.
So mostly you'd use it for Hex or Shield anyway or Cheap backup healing which alltho useful becomes relatively minor at higher levels.

I do appreciate the critics and think limiting the subclass to sorcerer spells (besides the capstone feature) is allright.

Spell ki price also needs rework.

The best formula would be (Spell level+1)=ki cost and let it go up to lvl 5 with the spells you can know/cast.

Don't imitate AT or EK and their limits.
It isn't worth it if you are already not using spell slots but ki.

Another option is to go in the same direction as them but using ki as sorcery points for metamagic instead.
Limit the list of metamagic so it doesn't include twinned/quickened spells and keep the ki/Sorcerer point rate 1 : 1 to let it have some value.

I take it if I take Wizard levels before taking levels of Arcane Trickster or Eldritch Knight I just add on the latter to my Wizard levels for spellcasting, right?

So if I am a Wizard 2 Rogue 3 with Arcane Trickster I have the same spell slots as a Wizard 3, right? But not the same spells known.

I feel like magic and cantrips dull the game. Too often do players just ignore blockages or get past a problem by waving their hand and fixing the situation. Never does it take critical thinking or skill checks when my players know they have the ability to fly over a downed bridge or create a dome to hide in.

Also, 4chan told me I was banned for making a post on September 2nd till September 5th about Kino. I have no idea what is going on.

>>49432883
Shield is a straight-up +5 AC.
That's a lot, especially on a class that can use the 'dodge' action as a bonus action.

Healing word at-will is still extremely effective later on in the game.
It can heal 75 HP every minute.
In only three to ten minutes, you can heal your entire party using only bonus actions, and the party can be on the move the entire time.
If anybody in your party ever goes down, you can get them up again as only a bonus action.

It trumps other healers completely. A Cleric must use a spell slot that only recharges on a long rest every time they want to heal or get someone up from unconscious.
A cleric must use spell slots to heal the party between fights, or the party must take a full hour to use a limited supply of hitdice.

If you're ever going to give infintie healing, give it to a healer. Give it to a Cleric or something. Don't give it as a path feature to a martial class.

It would honestly be more powerful than the wizard's feature, because:

a) Wizards aren't front-line fighters. They don't need AC as much.
b) Wizards already have 20-22 spell slots to cast 'shield' with by then. The monk doesn't even get 'shield' normally.
c) Wizards have a lower AC.
d) Wizards can't pick from any spell list.
e) While 2nd level spells at-will is nice, wizards can still cast them anyway.


I'll have to make another post to address the other stuff now, sec.

>>49432883
For every rogue actually, swashbuckler can't twf with them though so is not like you're going to use your bonus action on anything but cunning action

>>49432883
>>49433070
I'm not sure about the ki costs myself. I don't have much to comment on that.

It's not bad to try to imitate EK or AT. The fighter's archetype choice is probably more significant than the monk's archetype choice, and it still only goes up to 4.
There's not really any reason for a path choice to turn a non-spellcaster into a half spellcaster.

But, I still think completely seperating from the 'you use ki to cast spells' system might be good.
Ki works quite a bit differently, since it recharges on a short rest. It's more like pact magic on a point system.

Rather than making up for having to use ki by giving higher level spell slots which in turn use even more ki, I think it might be better to just simply give the monk spell slots. It's a little less interesting than having another short-rest spellcaster, but it'd be less intrusive.
I'm still thinking that druid is a better idea than sorcerer. A sorcerer-based monk would spam 'shield' a lot and not really feel four-elements like.
A druid-based monk would at least have more nature-like spells.
Both spell lists offer some utility, and it's mostly utility as with Arcane Trickster the monk should be aiming for. Utility and combat Utility. It's fighter that needs a straight-up combat upgrade from its archetype with battlemaster/champion/EK. Monk instead obtains things like pushing enemies or teleporting to shadows.

There should probably still be one or two path features that use ki, though.

>when the enemies know the meta of a mechanic
>"don't shot the barbarian he'll lose his rage, and it's his las one! "
Fuck my current GM, not going to return for the session

What're the best classes?

>>49433141
Cunning action works well with booming blade.
The swashbuckler can use it to dash away from the target after using booming blade, and since they make a melee weapon attack they don't provoke opportunity.
The victim of the booming blade must now hit the rogue from ~60ft away, and if they move in the attempt to do that they suffer damage.

>>49431405
Also, booming blade doesn't encourage targets to stay close.
It encourages targets to not move.

A rogue can simply disengage or run or whatever after using booming blade.

>>49433167
Bard.
Wizard.
Paladin.
Barbarian-rogue.

>>49433167
bard, wizard and druid, in that order

>>49433146
>let's make wot4e even worse
SKR, go to sleep

>>49433163
It's not hard to understand that calming a raging barbarian down might make them easier to deal with.
However, 'run away, point and laugh' doesn't constitute 'calming him down'.
The barbarian can always throw something to keep their rage, however.

A wisened and intelligent wizard could probably metagame a bit.

But yes, they were probably a douche by the sounds of it, but I could never tell from that alone.

>>49433171
>since they make a melee weapon attack they don't provoke opportunity.
Maybe I'm an idiot, but where is this in the rules?

>>49433163
I know that feel
>I can do this all day, baby [intimidate]
>No, you can't, you're out of ki
With a fucking random mook

>>49433197
It'd be practically an upgrade to say 'you don't spend ki on spells, you now have spell slots AND ki!'

>>49433227
If you have the mobility feat or you are a swashbuckler (SCAG, level 3 feature), that's how it works.

>>49433206
I've had a group of soldiers almost ignore a barbarian to calm him.

There's backstory but long story short the group of battle hardened soldiers had been defending their town from barbarian attacks for years. The barbarian in the party had a disadvantage against them because of it.

>>49433247
Ah, k. I thought I'd missed something big there. I don't have the Swashbuckler rules.

>>49433249
That GM detected

>>49433274
Why is it so hard to believe soldiers who are apart of an army which exclusively defends from barbarian attacks would know how to deal with their tactics. It's not like they knew the specifics, but they knew to be defensive and focus on the back line peppering them with arrows.

>>49433249
You seem pretty shit. What else did you have in your games?

>>49433336
Not them but
>"I had some guards who actually have a backstory in my game"
>you seem pretty shit

I don't really get the reasoning here.

>>49433249
Perhaps a tad forced that the enemy are specialized precisely against the PC. As long as its not a recurring thing I'd say its ok.

>>49433249
1. Rage mechanically works like that, yes, ingame it doesn't, is a supernatural power fueled by being angry, ignoring him would work mechanically but not lorewise speaking
2. Barbs can still attack which still maintains their rage
3. They can hurt themselves which still maintains their rage

Your tactics don't even work ingame because they're several easy options to bypass it

>>49433351
For all we know the barbarian was from the clan that attacked this village, and thus it was completely logical they might end up in a fight with said guards at some point.

I wouldn't say 'I'd say it's okay' either. It's good.
It's good to occasionally throw enemies that break up the party's routine to the party.

Otherwise, things get routine, the party won't be challenged and even if you do pull out a stronger creature the party will still be in the same routine.

Of course, the enemy has to actually have a reason for being there. Not just 'fuck you, barbarian.'
And, of course, they shouldn't be overused. Not only does it become less credible but the player will feel singled out as some of their features become useless.

The bearbarian won't come across very many psychic enemies, but when they do, they'll have to rethink 'Oh, maybe I should just charge straight in and get all the attention' for once. Maybe there are some enemies better fought at range, and the party fighter should consider using a ranged weapon instead until they get too close, even if it is less effective.

What's a good level to start your players?

>>49433394
I thought according to the sage advice earlier barbarians can't simply hurt themself in order to keep raging. They'd have to do something like climb up a wall and jump off.

People do seem to be forgetting that barbarians still keep their rage if they make an attack, though.

>>49433412
3. Always start at 3.

>>49433403
>It's good to occasionally throw enemies that break up the party's routine to the party.
Sure, but don't use metagame, don't use mechanics as explanation of how things work in the game. Don't go "well, they're 4th level group therefore their monk has 4 ki points, once he make 4 flurry of blows he'll be out", in game people can't know that, that's something players and GM knows, because those are the mechanics of the game but not how the world works.

>>49433412
Newbies: 1, level fairly quickly.
Normally: 3. Most characters are properly defined by this point.
One-shots: 5 or more, probably. Or 3 or 4. 5 is the major powerspike.

And then there are other cases where you might want to start at high levels, because veterans are bored of getting in a ton of level 1 campaigns which end before level 5 and want to play higher levels for once.

>>49433412
Always 1st level, make them write at least 5 pages of backstory so it's more sweet when their character dies literally in the first encounter and they realize they have wasted all that time and bonded with that PC for nothing.

>>49433431
Of course. But it's completely plausible to have characters that know about the players somewhat.

Enemies that have spied on or have encountered the players before.
Enemies that have fought similar characters to the players before.
Enemies that are very similar to the characters.
Or just really, really smart fuckers.

As long as it can be explained.
A very, very wise character may be able to spot that the monk has run out of ki after the fourth flurry of blows. He could sense that the monk is running low on his energy reserves.
Of course, we're talking a very wise character in that case, not just any old mook. And if you let a 20 wisdom enemy roughly gauge your energy supplies, you deserve to let your wiser players roughly gauge enemy energy supplies too.

And then maybe Mr. Wise Guy can convey that information to the allies.

Ninety nine times out of a hundred though, there is no wise guy.

>>49433336
Was able to entertain for a year until someone had to drop out because of school. We wrapped up the adventure and moved on.

The tribe of barbarians had a large totem stolen from them and sold to a noble in a nearby city. Being a wealthy man, the noble was a head political figure in the town and essentially used the town as a stronghold to protect his shit. The guards essentially protected the totem thinking the attacks were random and just the tribe trying to pillage. It went on for years and then my party ran into the tribe. Since we had a barbarian they got along and asked for help. They asked if they could reclaim the totem from the noble and In return the barbarian in our party would receive training from the tribe.

Essentially in the end the soldiers attempting to be as defensive as possible backfired. Their attempts to protect themselves against the barbarian actually made it easy for our rogue to sneak around and fuck them.

It was one of my party's favourite fights and the barbarian got to learn some silly ability he wanted. It was a win win.

The soldiers were essentially trying to stall and defend themselves until his rage tired him out.

>>49433463
>>49433431
Well, I could have made that all shorter with a simple point:

If you wouldn't tell your players that information, you wouldn't tell your monsters that information about your players.

The players have every right to ask 'How fucked up does this guy look?' and get a vague answer back.
In the same sense, a monster should be able to roughly tell how fucked up a player is looking.

File: Hingle.jpg (177KB, 630x720px) Image search: [Google]

177KB, 630x720px

Whats the best spells to take as a wizard that started off as a simple farmhand?

I figure his spellbook is a "Farmers Almanac" of sorts given to him by a retired necromancer that settled down on a farm and only used his magic sparingly to get a few extra hands during a big harvest. So for damage-y spells I'll probably get Chill Touch and probably even make Necromancy my Arcane Tradition.

But aside from that, what would be some good spells to take?

Pic Related: Its Hingle McCringleberry the farmboy wizard.

>>49430055
I remember when i played my cjaracter got offered a spot and i was about to accept until the GM had a "right of passage" that invovled my character pushing a restrained earth cultist off the tower.

He refused after that (lawful good dwarf fighter afterall) and we ran like hell. Not sure if that was planned but it might help.

>>49431983
I actually just built one for my game this week (my paladin bought it like a chump last week).

I just pumped WIS, and used the variant human feat to get magic initiate and pick up shillelagh for if I ever end up in melee range. The reaper ability also seems useful, so I'll probably be casting chill touch a lot.

Had an argument with our DM that Moon Circle druid is OP because of the HP that is granted by the form. Can anyone weigh in on that?

>>49433807
Is pretty strong at low levels, then it loses its edge from 4th and beyond
Becomes pretty powerful again at 20th level with wildshape at will

Unless your martial players are mentally handicapped you shouldn't have a problem

>>49431839
Just curious, why would a swashbuckler dip into Dragon Sorcerer instead of, say, Warlock?

A single lock level lets you pick up Booming blade/GFB as well, and while you get one less spell slot, it recharges during short rests (along with Hex). You also get an aoe charm/fear if you go fey or at-will telepathy from GOO, for example.

What does a sorcerer dip have to offer over lock, other than maybe a couple more cantrips and not having to wear any armor until you find that studded leather+1?

>>49433807
A DM arguing that is an idiot who doesn't know how to create challenges that aren't HP damage.

A player arguing that is "That Guy No Fun Haver"

>>49433872
Hex doesn't mean a lot when you only hit once per turn.

Sorcerer gives 13+Dex AC with no armor and a better spell list to choose from.

So I've played about two sessions of the starter set adventure for 5e (as a rogue) and our DM is busy next week and said I can take over (Which I want to do).

I've got myself the Player and DM handbooks, a copy of the adventure, a DM screen, the whole shebang but what else can I do to prepare myself for DM-ing for the first time?

How did you guys familiarize yourself with the rules for every, or at least the basics? How did your first time DM-ing go? I'm not expecting it to go smoothly but I want to minimize pausing to look up how things work.

It'll be me and 4 players, 3 close friends and my bro

>>49433807
Regaining spell slots is much better long term.

>>49434030
If you know how to play a PC, you know how to run encounters. The Player's Handbook has all the relevant information for ruling on combat and social interactions. Focus on chapters 7, 8, 9, and appendix A.

Use something to mark where in the books monster stat blocks are, as well as those sections of the PHB I just listed.

>>49433006
The party wizard took all blast spells so my group does not have this problem.

>>49434066
Will do, thanks for the tips

I'm getting tired of only having Sharpshooter and Greatweapon Master.

What are the minimum number of missing damage feats?

>>49434110
They're pretty good feats at all levels. At high levels and thanks to the melee cantrips you can make nice combos that are comparable to those feats, but it takes some thinking and be medium-high level and this is the problem with those feats, they're an easy way, not the only way but the easiest to deal damage as a non caster and come online literally at 1st level

>>49434030
I played a total of 4 sesions when I started DMing, mostly becouse I couldn't find anyone willing to play IRL and finding Spanish groups online was difficult at the time.

My best advice for someone in a similar situation, is to being able to make things up as they go. No matter how prepared you are for something, chances are that your players will be doing something else entirely or handle your challenges with something unexpected.

>>49433605
Hmm, does he still have an inkling for his farmer's ways or are you planning on having him embrace the necromancer lifestyle here?

>>49434273

Mostly inspired by that "Good necromancer" greentext thread. If he embraces necromancy, chances are he'll only use it on willing souls, wont use it for evil, etc In fact I was even thinking of taking fire bolt instead of chill touch since necrotic damage would probably look pretty bad in his eyes.

File: image.png (40KB, 469x491px) Image search: [Google]

40KB, 469x491px

As a player, what is an effective strategy for controlling two characters at once?

>>49434335
Beastmaster

>>49434335

Dominate one of your opponents 'til they like it.

Worked with Bigby

>>49434352
>>49434342
I ask because I wanted to do a duo of gnomes (or other short race) that stood upon each others shoulders for added capability. But other times they could separate depending on the situation

>>49434136
But what about all the types of attacks that don't have this option?

>>49434385
That's retarded.

>>49434385
>>49434335
Pretty easy, be 3 players in a party with 4 PCs, play two PCs.

>>49430156
Go Dex and get a good giant's belt.

>>49431475
>surprisingly poor at both
Specially at maneuvers, it makes no fucking sense, martial artist should be pretty fucking good at those

>>49433006
Give magic a price, make it underground, and persecuted as well. The price can't be "1 hit point per spell level" or some other codified shit either, it has to be some kind of cosmic gamble. Every life saved is a life ruined elsewhere, or something.

This requires a setting built around it, though.

>>49433807
But he's right. 2nd level 100+ HP is dumb, and you're a full caster, and the only way to shut down the power of summon spells is to be a faggot, and give the player 8 squirrels.

Just because you can design the campaign around it doesn't mean it doesn't have the numbers.

>>49433819
>>49433957
>>49434037
okay

>>49434680
But the new party starts at lvl 5. I can see the OP argumnt at lvl 2 since you outpace other martials by a large mile HP and attack wise and still be a full caster.

>>49434680
>2nd level 100+ HP is dumb
Show me your math because the creature with highest HP is bear and has like 31, so two bears is 62 and your druid doesn't have 39 HPs at level 2 to make 100+ HPs at 2nd level.

File: 1361861241327.jpg (104KB, 600x397px) Image search: [Google]

104KB, 600x397px

I am going to have session 0 for a campaign I am DMing soon, and I have been wondering about what is the best way to roll chars.

What rolling system has been most fun for you? Is point buy just the best way to go? I would love some stories but mostly I am wondering what is most fun as a player.

>>49434335
Make at least one of the characters very simple combat wise, and make their personalities complementary (but not identical - it's good to have one be optimistic and the other sarcastic, for example)
Know what your characters' standard actions will be, so under time pressure you can act quickly.
Probably colour code their sheets (and dice maybe!) to keep them distinct on the table.

>>49434705
Level 2 is a training wheels level that's not even meant to be played by experienced players. Levels 1 and 2 are there for newbie players to learn how to play the game, not to be seriously challenged.

>>49434738
Wild Regeneration
16 Con

Lvl 1: 8+3 = 11 HP
Lvl 2: 11 + (rolled)4.5+3 = 18.5 + (34*2 bear health) = 86.5 + 2d8 Wild Regeneration = 95.5

Sorry.

>>49434805
Wait, I forgot it was level 2, for an extra slot. So 100 on average.

>>49434385
You're just trying to get into R rated movies with a trench coat aren't you.

>>49434844
This breaks even if you have just a couple of encounters in a day though.

>>49434780
I've always argued for point buy because of balance but now I'm playing in a campaign where we rolled (4d6 drop the lowest, roll twice and choose one set of stats) and I really like it.
A lucky roll make it more forgiving to take a "suboptimal" class-race combination, so I don't feel pressured to take mountain dwarf for heavy armour melee classes because I need that +2 strength or something like that.

>>49434868
Wait, forgot it refreshes on short rests.

>>49434805
>Wild Regeneration
What's this, now?

File: wild shape.png (95KB, 314x128px) Image search: [Google]

95KB, 314x128px

>>49434960
This thing.

>>49434960
you can use spell slots to heal as a bonus action while in wild shape

Hey everyone, what virtual tabletop do you guys use if any? Trying to decide on Fantasy Grounds or D20. I have Tabletop Simulator but it's a pain in the ass to get everything right.

So I was thinking of playing a Warlock who made a pact with the old ones and is borderline/pretty insane. Is there anyway I could play the insanity without fucking over my group?

>>49435072
Be Jan only not obnoxiously quirky

Sorcerous Origin Pyromancer: Back in Action. This time with even more fire and a questionable level 14.

Level 1: The Pyromancer gains the cantrip Produce Flame. The pyromancer also gains the chance to ignite their enemies. When you roll a 20 on an attack roll with fire damage or when making a save and rolling at or below the pyromancer's proficiency bonus, the target erupts into flames gaining the Ignited Condition.

Ignited Condition: At the start of the target's turn the creature takes d6 fire damage. The creature or a creature within 5 feet of the Ignited creature can use their action to douse the flames.

Level 6: The pyromancer gains resistance to fire damage, and they can now cause the ignited the condition using sorcery points. When you damage a creature with fire damage you may spend one sorcery point to cause the ignited condition.

Level 14: When there are creatures within 120 feet of you with the ignited condition that you can see, you can use your action and 3 sorcery points per target to cause those individuals to erupt in flames. Each ignited creature targeted is the target of a level 3 fireball spell using the pyromancer's DC save.

Level 18: Fireballs casted through ignited creatures now count as level 5 fireball spells.

I like this version a lot cause it gives a mechanic that is personal to the pyromancer but not insanely powerful without being costly. The combo which I also think could be as an issue is a pyromaniac can fireball 3 individuals, using sorcery points to light them all on fire. Then can use his action next turn to cause 3 fireballs to go off, using 9 sorcery points. This is in total 12 sorcery points and a level 3 spell slot in 2 turns for 35d6 fire damage and 4 saves to take less damage. 35 being 4 fireballs and 1 tick of the ignited condition. The creatures can just make the saves I mean a rogue can avoid 100% of this damage, but it's hard to judge if a level 14 caster using everything they have should be allowed.

>>49434976
>>49434988
Ah, forgot about that. Giving it a capitalized name it doesn't actually use didn't help either.

>>49432159

Why write it up as a race? Going for a Drow thing or what?

>>49434780
Because of an infestation of cheaters at my table I've enjoyed non rolled stats increasingly.

>>49435089
Little down on my references, who's Jan?

>>49434896
Did you roll and chose where to put your stats or did you use fixed rolls?

>>49435148
Baldur's Gate

>>49435152
roll and choose, down the line seemed too risky if you already know what class you wanna play

>>49435072
Don't be cartoon insane. For some reason people's imagined idea of insanity is just delusions, poor volume control, and sometimes killing people at random. Even Lovecraft seldom went beyond those three traits when describing insanity. Pick some real disorders. Vacillate between fawning over the other PCs and becoming convinced that they'll abandon you at any moment. Get so jealous of other people that you have an emotional breakdown and cut yourself a little. Hide from loud noises. Voluntarily go without a long rest and take a level of exhaustion because you can't sleep or you're having a manic episode and have to write down all your insights into the nature of reality.

>>49434805

>but you're a full caster

you're not a full caster if you're using your spell slots to stay in wild shape. you're also NOT a full caster and a bear at the same time. Moon Druids aren't OP, just really, really strong (at level 2-3).

>>49435185
>>49435089
Are you sure you mean Jan and not Xan?

>>49435129
Because it's FUCKING AWESOME.

>>49435139

just make them roll in front of you.

>>49435315
Using spell slots to heal is a thought experiment. You've already driven your DM to the brink if you actually need more then 68 extra hit points from levels 2-5, and 82-136 extra hit points from level 6 on.

Again, you need to design around Moon Druids which points to their power. People get triggered over the term OP quite easily.

>>49435356

Sure, but it's lame to say "they're a full caster with 100 HP at level 2" when they can't be both at the same time. More over, who cares if they're strong at level 2? They even out incredibly quickly and you shouldn't be staying level 2 for very long.

>>49435340
I'm not the DM for them, nor would I let them in my game now that I know. Sitting next to them they tend to cheat all the time, and the DM's haven't acted on other people complaining about them. I haven't bothered myself.

They're basically pathological liar status. One of them made a snide comment when the DM put out an open letter to check each other's rolls convinced no one knew he cheats, and the other complained to the DM that people keep calling him a cheater after I've seen him lie on multiple rolls.

Now that I believe he has zero integrity I wonder if he uses more corrupt shit like loaded dice or something.

>>49435417

Even loaded dice can be fixed by making them roll someone else's dice.

>>49435188
Even if you choose your class after and don't care which one, you still might end up with your best stat in strength and worst in constitution or some similar nonsense.

>>49432131
Yes

>>49432073
>additional 5% chance
This has never been true, and I wish this mathematical misconception would die already.

If you have an AC of 17 and someone attacks you with, say, a +6, they need an 11 or higher to hit, which means their chance to hit is 50%. If your AC becomes 18, they suddenly need a 12, which puts their accuracy at 45%.
If you want to look at it as dodging, you went from a 50% chance to dodge to a 55% chance to dodge - a 10% increase, since over the long term you'd be taking 10% less damage.
I obviously picked +6 because it made the math simple to understand, but there is no value of attack (except -2) for which 5% would be accurate.

>>49435139

Its the first time I am playing with most of theese players. I really hope they are not cheaters and I assume I dont have to worry about this @least

>>49435821
This is, of course, the reason 5e is so careful with even +1 bonuses - a 10% swing in damage one way or the other could easily decide a high hit-point battle (e.g. if one side's healer drops 1 round earlier).

How do you guys generate the worth of gems and such? We've scoured the DM manual, as well as the players handbook, and couldn't find anything. Maybe we're just dumb.

Also, things like trade goods, fur, food, lumber, ore etc, how do you guys generate the worth of those?

>>49435889
It's shouldn't be a problem to have everyone roll in the open.

The DM from our main campaign is going away on vacation for a couple of months so one of the players stepped up and we're gonna start a small campaign in Eberron setting in the meantime.

I've only ever played Rogue in these 4 years of playing D&D I've amassed, what are the fun OP classes to play right now?

I keep hearing about the Druids that heal 100 HP daily by Level 2 and shit but I'm wondering what else can you can do as a Druid other than eat grass and speak to animals and be a hippy and shit. Evil Druid would be cool, I guess?

I'm open to suggestions though!

>>49432942

No, you don't get that in this thread, either. If you want the benefits of Wizard 3 take three levels of Wizard. If you want three levels of Rogue understand you only get two levels of Wizard. No amount of pissing and moaning is actually going to change how multiclassing works.

>>49435925
Be an ecoterrorist that has a hidden agenda of destroying logging companies or any business that threaten nature on a large scale.

>>49435925
As good as druid is, wizard and bard shit all over it at level 7 and beyond.

What levels you're playing at have a big impact on what's the most powerful.

>>49435956
>wizard and bard shit all over it at level 7 and beyond
Conjure 8 fairies. :^)

>>49435925
>what are the fun OP classes to play right now?
Change your attitude. This isn't 3.PF. 5e is not about breaking the game, it's about playing something fun and unique.
That said, paladins have a hilarious single-target burst damage that nobody expects.
>>49435964
>fairies

>>49435964
The bard can do that too. Magical secrets :^)

>>49433350

Some people don't like a lot of teasing in their circle-jerk.

>>49435925
Nothing is really OP this time around, but you'll probably get the most use out of thief. Swashbuckler is also good for a mortgage combat bent. Grabbing magic initiate or dipping as a sorc or warlock for GFB and/or BB will greatly help your once per round attack damage, however it doesn't go with dual wielding.

>>49435972
>level 10
I hope you didn't mean the Lore Bard one at level 6. It has to be of a spell you could cast, and that would be 3rd level spells. Woodland Beings is 4th level.

>>49435821
>>49435917
Fair enough, my math was off.

Still, a net +1 to your AC is probably not worth as much as False Life at-will (amounts to an extra hit die whenever you like, effectively) or See in Darkness (couple with a spell slot for free advantage on quite a few things).

Whats the most FUN class to play?

File: Tibalt-the-Fiend-Blooded-Art-Duel-Decks.jpg (84KB, 458x681px) Image search: [Google]

84KB, 458x681px

What's a good feat for a variant human chainlock to pick up at first level?

>>49435989
Goddamn I said martial combat bent, fuck you autocorrect and poor proofreading skills.

>>49436000
The one that fits in the game, and you like.

File: 1466960109400-fit.jpg (179KB, 1192x670px) Image search: [Google]

179KB, 1192x670px

>>49429954
I AM STEALING THIS.

>>49436000
Depends on your tastes, because that's what 5e is about - picking something you enjoy and making it work for you.
Depends on setting

>>49435996
It depends on the level, I guess. If you're high-level enough, a single hit die would amount to less than 10% of your health. The catch is, of course, that the value of AC depends on the attack bonus of your enemy, and varies (exponentially) from about +5.1% to +100% (if they can only hit you on really high numbers).

I tend to prefer bonuses to AC and attack as a personal preference because they raise the value of healing (extra hit points doesn't mean extra healing, but extra dodginess means healing gives you a higher % of your life back).

>>49435946

Noted.

>>49435956

I think we're starting at like level 2 or something actually.

>>49435970

I'm not planning on breaking it, I just really enjoy having to roll 10 dies for damage/healing/etc.

>>49435972

Oh shit I forgot about Bard, I can actually play guitar irl too so I could be a bother to all the campaign haha.

>>49435989

I'm playing a Thief already in another campaign and played one in the campaign before it, haha...

>>49436046
>I'm not planning on breaking it, I just really enjoy having to roll 10 dies for damage/healing/etc.
My advice remains paladin. Smite shenanigans tend to give a large pool of dice. Or just go rogue and sneak attack like you used to - that still works.

>>49436043
Damn, I really overuse the word "depends."

>>49435920
First I was using reasonable pricelists. After a year or two of GMing I've simply started generalizing shit. Unless a single item in the stash is worth particularly much, I'll instead just say "you find gems worth X", "you find works of art worth X", "you find a set of cutlery worth X".

>>49436046
>I think we're starting at like level 2 or something actually.
At level 2 Moon druid and warlock are pretty good. Warlock falls off faster than Moon druid.

>>49436046
>I'm playing a Thief already in another campaign and played one in the campaign before it, haha...
Heh, you'll want to mix it up then, of course. Maybe take a non rogue class but get stealth and something else roguish, or take a level of rogue then multiclass into something more interesting.

>>49435920
Gold in D&D is meant to facilitate a game. Things the players want cost gold, and everything in the background costs so little it's just handwoven.

If you want a game where people need to get the local price of lumber to see if they should fell a tree before coming back to town you would have to re-create the economy from scratch.

>>49436090
This is a simple and effective approach imo, because it's mechanically almost identical to saying "you find X gp" but with more flavor. The adventurers can wonder why the orcs had fancy silverware - did they steal it with intent to pawn it? Were they surprisingly cultured orcs? Did they like pretending they're fancy humans for laughs? All of that just from naming your treasure something other than "coins."

>>49436111
>Warlock falls off faster than Moon druid.
From my experience, I'd say it depends what you're trying to get out of the Warlock. Moon druid falls off hard after level 11 or so (except it gets a stupid spike at tankiness at level 20, of course). Warlock, meanwhile, deals consistently good damage all the way to level 20, and you can use your invocations and limited spells for a great amount of utility and general shenanigans.

>>49436043
That's the beauty of invocations; grab Devil's Sight and Fiendish Vigor at level 2 (or Agonizing Blast if you're using EB a lot) and swap Vigor out for Armor of Shadows at level 10 if you haven't found some magical armor yet.

>>49436118
>Warlock, meanwhile, deals consistently good damage all the way to level 20, and you can use your invocations and limited spells for a great amount of utility and general shenanigans.

Yeah I didn't call it bad. Warlock is just pretty damn good at level 2 when it's the only class that can add a modifier to cantrip and it doesn't have such a low number of spells compared to other casters. "Falling off" is relative to its own ranking amongst classes.

>>49436111
>>49436155

Is Moon Druid better than Land Druid?

>>49436090
>>49436140

That's what I figure'd it would come down to. Only reason I ask is because we're all brand new to D&D, DM included. So when my character found a few gems in a cave, and I asked how much they'd be worth, he deer in headlighted. Then we scoured the books, as I said. Since we didn't find it I agreed to just hold on to them. He still hasn't figured out how much gold should be "worth," and didn't want to undercut me or give me a huge advantage on the price.

>>49436172
A lot of people don't see the potential of Warlocks. They're almost strictly better than rangers in battle, and have such a potential for utility they can replace any party's rogue. Also, you might as well not mention Agonizing Blast, because it's basically assumed every Warlock takes it at this point.

>>49436176
Fair enough, though I'd argue they only fall off in the "combat effectiveness" ranking. My Fey Warlock was the de facto party rogue for the entire 1-14 run. Altering your appearance at will is 10x better than stealth if you're creative.

>>49436188
I believe it's better at tanking but otherwise not much else. Even a Moon Druid gets better DPS by casting spells, and the Land Druid is naturally better at that.

>>49436188
From levels 1 to 10 and at level 20, yes. Between 11 and 19, no.

>>49436219
50gp per gem. Lower if it's too much, higher if it's not enough.

If something doesn't line up say it's because it's different in your world. This is the first DM lesson: have a homebrew world so no one can call you out on shit.

>>49433807

It's good, it's not great. You're giving up most of your PC benefits for a much lower CR beastie That's great for utility and a bit of extra HP but it's going to result in mostly lackluster numbers from you specifically, although some of the beasties can make your teammates looks like solid gold.

One thing to keep in mind is that your power curve is a bit of a roller coaster: you *are* OP at 2, by design, but then you start to fade a bit, hitting your lowest point at when enemies start to get Disintegrate for the first time (it's specifically designed to be a problem for you) but then perking back up as your CR limit raises and the roaring back, literally, to "Awesome" when your capstone kicks in.

It's not OP but it is capable of trading a lot of little things to get one big thing. Both you and your DM need to plan accordingly.

>>49436001
Warcaster is great for any caster

>>49436276
>level 20
Just being able to live doesn't make you better than a land druid since your damage went flat a lot time ago.

>>49436304
I still like Moon Druid for problem solving. I've webbed more than one party member falling to their death before.

>>49436001
Spell Sniper?

>>49436270
I'm going to assume you're excluding bladelocks from both your 'better than rangers' statement and 'always takes agonizing blast' statement.

I'm also assuming the PHB beastmaster doesn't factor into this at all.

But yeah, Warlocks have a lot of utility and subterfuge capability. Take the Criminal background and you render the Rogue somewhat obsolete.

>>49436344
>This guy needs to out-DPS the rogue to feel useful

>>49436365
Of course I'm excluding bladelocks, we're talking about viable archetypes here.

I've been retooling a third damage feat for synergizes with any fighting style that is not heavy weapons or ranged weapons. After coming here a couple threads ago and working on other sites this is where I'm at.

Defensive Fighter
You have become a master at knowing the most opportune to strike with a variety of weapons. When you attack with an unarmed strike or with a weapon you are proficient with, you gain the following benefits:
>When you are missed by an attack roll made against you, you can use your reaction to move up to half your speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
>You gain +1 AC as long as you are not wielding a weapon with the heavy property.
>Before you make an attack with the Attack action, you can choose to take a -4 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, you add +8 to the attack's damage.

>>49436385
>bladelocks not viable
[Screams eternally]

>>49436391
>defensive feat adding damage
>numerical bonuses
I'd say Action to adopt a defensive stance. Until the beginning of your next turn you cannot take reactions (except for Defensive Fighter), and attacks against you have disadvantage.

>>49435964

W-What happens when you conjure 8 fairies?

>>49436276
>>49436350

So Moon for tank/problem solving and Land for dammy?

File: 1452724547323.jpg (51KB, 354x316px) Image search: [Google]

51KB, 354x316px

>>49436391
>making every martial have the exact same feat

>>49436344
Land druid doesn't actually cast the high level spells any better than the moon druid does. The land druid's only notable feature at level 20 is that once per short rest it can recover up to 10 levels worth of spells, with no recovered slots over 5th. Both are casting the same number of 6th through 9th level spells to the same effect.

>>49436391
I'd be VERY careful about giving even a +1 to AC from a feat (for reasons why see >>49435821 and >>49435917).

Also, you should probably limit the third benefit to light weapons, or at least weapons who aren't heavy, since that seems to be the concept.

>>49436418
Let me rephrase that: bladelock is viable, but pointless, because even a bladelock should be using eldritch blast.

>>49436429
No, full spellcasters still have great problem-solving. It just solves different problems.

>>49436429
>What happens when you conjure 8 fairies?
He means pixies. Pixies have a decent list of spells they can cast, including polymorph.

They also have 1 HP and die to a stiff breeze.

>>49436385
It was never about DPS, you are not very useful as a beast if your attacks mean little to nothing and your only (extremely) useful ability is to not die.

Enemies at that level can just restrain you or leave you alone. A land Druid can get shit done in and out of combat.

>>49436453
>This guy needs to be useful to feel useful

>>49436453
I think you missed out on Beast Spells. A 20th level moon druid is going to be using spells too when played effectively. At that point you're using wild shape for higher mobility forms to stay out of trouble.

>>49436340
It's least good for warlocks. They don't really have a temptation to keep their hands full, they spam Eldritch Blast and have very few slots for concentration spells, and they don't often get close enough to enemies to make AoO (and if they do, the monsters will probably kill the warlock before they move away from him)

>>49436429
>W-What happens when you conjure 8 fairies?
They're CR 0 creatures that can be permanently invisible, and can fly. You use a 4th level spell to get 8 of them, and they each have Polymorph, and Confusion which are also 4th level spells, so you traded 1 slot to get 8 equal spells on top of everything else they can cast.

In a moment of panic not realizing how every summon spell broke the action economy, and how this one did it worst they decided that the super official intended ruling for all summon spells was that the DM can give you any creature they want to avoid you getting an OP army of monsters.

File: pixie.png (292KB, 312x458px) Image search: [Google]

292KB, 312x458px

>>49436511
Forgot my image.

>>49436073
>Damn, I really overuse the word "depends."

Nah,"depends" is a good word that captures a lot of the 5e design ethos. Use it in good health.

>>49436445
>Let me rephrase that: bladelock is viable, but pointless, because even a bladelock should be using eldritch blast.
This needs to be fixed. Thirsting Blade and Lifedrinker were mistakes - they should be automatically acquired, and there should be some utility invocations for it instead (though probably still related to combat, because that's what the bladelock is ostensibly about.)

File: Pixie.jpg (177KB, 729x764px) Image search: [Google]

177KB, 729x764px

>>49436526
Why did you leave out the best part?

>>49436526
>Use a single 4th-level spell slot
>Every party member can have Fly cast on them twice in a row
Seems balanced

>>49436537
I'll grant you that if those invocations were automatically granted the bladelock could find a niche.

>>49436551
Yeah because the pixies are visible while concentrating on fly and have 1 HP.

So I've been trying to homebrew a paladin-based blackguard alt-class for 5E. So far I've made an LE oath based on the oath of devotion with some changes to the oath spell list and features, but I'm not sure about any other changes to make. I was thinking about replacing lay on hands with vampiric touch or a similar spell for starters, anyone got any thoughts on other things I can do?

>>49436578
Have you not noticed the Oathbreaker in the DMG?

>>49436567
>dealing with the unstoppable PC rape train by killing pixies the size of an apple that spend each turn flying into the stratosphere to avoid being hit by ninja raping them in impossible circumstances instead of talking the problem over with the player

>>49436567
Who gives a shit if they're visible? I didn't tell you to do it during battle.
Also, it's not like they can't hang out behind a tree or something. In case you didn't notice, they're kind of small.

Are the Land Druid's elemental spells good throughout or are they really overshadowed by elemental-magic classes?

Gah so many options to choose from...

>>49436612
They'd still need to use Hide on their turns to beat enemy passive Perception. They're not guaranteed to go unnoticed. Dragon breaths are pretty big too.

>>49436418
So literally worse than the dodge action? That makes no sense; this is a "balanced" fighting approach that gives damage to all the weapons not covered by the other +damage feats.

>>49436432
They don't already?

>>49436445
>Also, you should probably limit the third benefit to light weapons, or at least weapons who aren't heavy, since that seems to be the concept.
Literally the first line of the feat, it applies to non-heavy melee attacks only.

The +1 to AC would be going on a more defensive, lower damage character. The only time it is not better than Greatweapon Master is a tank-y barbarian who wants 23 AC. You will always deal less damage using this feat without getting a different feat entirely.

>>49436655 (me)
Only time it is better than.

>>49436655
>They don't already?
Adding more GWM/Sharpshooter clones only makes it worse. If you wanted to you could just homebrew a new suite of feats.

>>49436603
>.
Have not, gonna check that out now.

>>49436655
>Literally the first line of the feat,
No, it fucking isn't. "Not heavy" is only mentioned in the second feature bullet-point.
>The +1 to AC would be going on a more defensive, lower damage character.
Why? As written, this feat would be best on a sword-and-board character with the dueling style. Or even the defense style. You've done nothing to prevent it from going on a variety of characters that explicitly shouldn't get a +1 to AC.

>>49436644
If we accept for a moment your assumption that flying is only useful in combat, why would the enemies automatically assume the party is flying because of the small fairies hanging around? Unless the enemies are druids or elves, this is metagaming of the highest caliber.

Is going straight Fighter worthwhile if I just want to be an archer? Do I really have to go rogue?

>>49436734
Fighter Battlemaster with Sharpshooter, and potentially Crossbow Expert shits on rogue hard. Your idea that Fighter isn't good at Str AND Dex things is a misconception.

A couple of threads ago you guys where talking about Volo and other fluff books.
Ive ordered Volo monster guide but there where a few others mentioned that detailed really small shit like taverns, food, trade etc.

Who was that stuff by and who else/ what else should i look at for fluff and world building?

>>49436706
>>49436603

The Oathbreaker's neat and good for inspiration, but isn't purely what I'm trying to build. Thanks though.

>>49436350

Oh, don't don't get me wrong I love the class and heartily recommend it for almost all party comps because of its great utility and flexibility. It's just not nearly as OP as the memes about it suggest it would be.

Yeah, it's really nice to have someone able to go from full caster to pile of HP to melee combatant with Pack Tactics and auto-trip, but you're still limited to one at a time and you're still limited to the CR cap.

Ultimately it's about as much better than Land as Battle Master is to Champion Fighter, and Land and Champion are far from bad themselves. Its flexibility puts it near the top of the 5e strength chart, but a) the 5e strength chart is measured in inches, not miles and b) saying it's OP because of HP boosting is not only wrong because it isn't but it also illustrates a fundamental misunderstanding of what is actually strong about the class.

>>49436655
>>49436713
Shit, take this feat on a fucking rogue and he gets even more mobility, even more damage, and a completely unnecessary bonus to AC. You can even take it on a monk, which really doesn't need any of these either.

>>49436365

PHB Beast Master isn't actually all that bad, it's just designed to work with a lot of weapons and mechanics that nobody likes or wants to play with. Net + Heavy Crossbow + 2 warm bodies who can trade attack actions back and forth between each other works, it's just a bunch of rules that literally no other class or archetype bothers with. UA Beast Master is a lot more 5e in flavor in that it's built with the rules that everyone actually wants to use.

Bladelock is okay, especially if it's part of a mullticlass build. The key is remembering it's still a Warlock: the base warlock class doesn't really change it just gets a little bit of utility with each boon: extra cantrips, slightly better familiar, or a lightsaber. Just because you have one doesn't mean it's always going to be the right answer.

Do you know if there's an explicit rule in 5E that you gain the benefits of leveling up only after a rests?

>>49436445
>Let me rephrase that: bladelock is viable, but pointless, because even a bladelock should be using eldritch blast.

Get this anon a pepsi, they get it. Bladelock is meant to give you a little more oomph if someone tries to crowd you, not to be your new primary attack.

>>49436973
There is not (unless you use the alternate rule in the DMG where leveling up requires training time,) but if you expect to receive XP in the middle of a fight as you kill monsters, your DM probably isn't going to go along with that. Usually XP is given out at the end of a session.

>>49436734

why would you have to go rogue?

>>49436749

damage wise sure, but rogue can do a lot more than damage, which is fighter's big weakness.

>>49436973

There isn't, but most DM's (at least the ones I've played with) run with either this or the "your character needs to train for a bit before using this ability to its full extent" thing.

>>49436836
>saying it's OP because of HP boosting is not only wrong because it isn't but it also illustrates a fundamental misunderstanding of what is actually strong about the class.

I never said Moon Druid was OP because it was all alone. I said it was because it's also a full caster which is exactly what you were trying to say when you said I have a "fundamental misunderstanding of what is actually strong about the class". We're clearly on the same page, it's just that I'm not triggered by the term OP.

>>49436970
>Beastmaster
The problem with the PHB Beastmaster is that, like you said, making it work isn't fun. You have to give up a bunch of your own actions to do it. You'll notice the UA Beastmaster doesn't actually get more attacks, it's just that it's not explicitly giving up your own action for the beast's.
Interesting point about the heavy crossbow, though. I almost want to roll up a dwarven ranger with a boar now.

>Bladelock
No, bladelock's boon isn't even comparable to the other ones.
>extra cantrips, slightly better familiar, or a lightsaber
"Extra cantrips" = the ability to learn rituals from any class, of any level, not just cantrips (using invocations, of course).
"Slightly better familiar" = trade your bat for an intelligent, invisible fairy that can communicate much more effectively. You can even get spell resistance if you lie to your DM about how the boon works.
"Lightsaber" = literally why even use it when you have eldritch blast. It's not a "different boon," it's a boon that's made redundant by the class's basic features.

>>49437023
Dr Pepper pls

What are some tools that Rogues could get a lot of mileage out of that aren't too obvious?

>>49436699
>new suite of feats
That is so much worse than anything else suggested. The feats you are suggesting exist - charger, defensive duelist, dual wielder, etc. Those are feats that add ability with a specific kind of fighting style. GWM and Sharpshooter have broad strokes and it leaves unarmed strikes and non-heavy weapons with no similar option.

>>49436713
>no it doesn't
It's not worded right, but it says unarmed or wielding a non-heavy weapon specifically in the feat text. What you refer to as the first line skips the first part of the feat text.

>best used for defensive, sword and board, duelist style, etc.
No shit? What even is a character that "shouldn't get a +1 to AC"? Why should rogues and monks not get better mobility or defense? Why shouldn't bladelocks or EKs? Why shouldn't rangers?

This is the more correct wording:

Defensive Fighter (needs a better name)
Your experience on the field of battle has developed a keen sense of danger and opportunity with a variety of weapons. You gain the following benefits:
>You gain a +1 bonus to AC while you are not wielding a heavy weapon.
>When another creature misses you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to move up to half your movement speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
>Before you make a melee attack with an unarmed strike or with a weapon that does not have the heavy property, you can choose to take a -4 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, you add +10 to the attack's damage. You must be proficient with the weapon used to make the attack to receive this benefit.

>>49437121

Mileage for what?

>>49437139
Being a sneaky little cunt who gets every advantage he can.

>>49437134
>When another creature misses you with a melee attack..,

Should be

>When another creature misses you with an attack..,

>>49436973
There's not but almost every game I've played it has given it out at the end of a session.

>>49436734

If you want to go pure archer straight Fighter is pretty much close to mandatory: Battle Masters are slightly better than Champions on damage but they require a lot more attention, Champs are cruise control for arrow murder.

Ranged rogues are actually pretty good but they play more like snipers: you're trying to set up one big Sneak-Attack fueled mega-shot.

>>49436761

It actually sounds like the DMG, which is a much different type of resource than the previous editions: it's a lot less rules-focused and more focused on advice, charts, and alternate systems.

The only other "fluff" book for 5e is SCAG, but that focuses pretty much exclusively on the Sword Coast of the Forgotten Realms.

>>49437038
The only way I could imagine doing that would be if everyone pre-prepared for their level ups so they could just switch out for a new leveled up sheet when they hit sufficient xp.

>>49437134
This is much better (the last version was also technically possible with a ranged weapon, which would have been broken with the ranged style).
I still really dislike +1 to AC on nearly all fighter/paladin/rogue builds (longswords aren't heavy!)
>What even is a character that "shouldn't get a +1 to AC"?
You caught me. Literally nobody should receive +1 to AC from a feat, because then everybody would take that feat. It's a basic philosophy of game design that if one option is so appealing everybody wants to take it, it's clearly overpowered.

File: VoloPreview3.jpg (514KB, 1000x1279px) Image search: [Google]

514KB, 1000x1279px

New session, gents.

>>49437220
>>49437220
>>49437220
>>49437220

>>49437232
Why does snail have 4 tits

>>49437023
The more I see new players goof up, the more I understand what people mean by ivory tower game design and how some of it even remains present in 5e despite their attempts to get rid of it. A lot of the time a feature is presented like it's of primary importance when it's only situational (Pact of the Blade, bladesinging, a lot of ribbon abilities,) and just as often the core features of a class are hidden away in the form of particular spells on their spell list or options on some other list that they assume you're smart enough to take, next to options that you never want to take (Hunter's Mark/Hex, Healing Word, Agonizing Blast.) Sometimes a single ability is such an ivory tower that you can be looking right at it and still not know what it does unless you have a lot of experience being a rules lawyer in tabletop games (Crossbow Expert.)

The new players I've played with have never scaled the ivory tower without someone looking over their shoulder every step of the way. The warlocks never take Agonizing Blast, the clerics think Cure Wounds is their only option for getting people up from 0HP, and the ones whose subclasses give them some melee combat ability as a backup option try to run into melee as a first resort. And why shouldn't they? At first glance, that's the kind of play the game is encouraging. There are so many warlock invocations you could pick, what are the odds you'd pick the one that the game secretly assumes you'll take first as an invocation tax?

>>49437160

Honestly "too obvious" is what the Rogue does when it comes to sneaking.

If anything the not-obvious uses for Rogue is packing him with potions and healing kits and using them with his Bonus Use Object action and shit.

>>49437249
It's a flail snail

>>49437038

Adventurers League has announced XP should be given out after each fight and that leveling up can and should happen at the end of a long rest because they're fuckwits. Unless one of my players *really* needs their next level for some reason (which has happened) I just save it till the end of the night.

>>49437064

Yes, but the discussion is about whether the class is OP. That's how we got here. That's what we're talking about. And the answer is "no, it is not OP."

>>49437249

Those are eyes. Make what t-shirt jokes you will.

Anyone tried Mercer's gunslinger fighter archetype?

Might throw one together for a pirate character, and want to know how the class fared.

>>49437512
Thread already autosaged, I will make whatever stupid jokes I want
>>49437542
New thread, friend: >>49437220

>>49437256

Well, some of it has to do with flexibility. There's a lot of alternate builds for each class and some of them do want to cash in the usual must-haves for other stuff, so I can sympathize with not forcing Warlocks to take EB automatically, but I wish it did more to say "unless you're doing something super-weird you should absolutely be taking this."

Of course, this is coming from a guy who plays a Rogue 1/Bladelock X is a setting where that's not only viable but super-strong so I'm in a good place to see both sides. Protip: Unless you're in this setting don't play Rogue 1/Bladelock X. It's not usually a real good idea.

>>49437613
>>49437232