Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition General Discussion
>All official WotC content here (now including the SCAG)
https://mega.nz#F!UVkTnT5b!FJ34UZ98BMY2mEtexenS7g
>Tools for 5e, other stuff, miscellaneous homebrews
http://pastebin.com/X1TFNxck (embed) (embed)
>Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide Map:
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> November's Unearthed Arcana:
https://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/02_UA_Underdark_Characters.pdf
>November's Sage Advice
https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/rules-answers-november-2015
Laughing Militia / NPC edition
> doesn't put /5eg/ tag in title
> doesn't post a thread topic
Pillock.
How do you typically build NPC hirelings for your party? Do you have a rolling list that you draw from? Build them as-needed? Create them to fill specific holes in party capabilities?
>>43749246
Hirelings I just use the NPCs in the monster manual. Important NPCs I stat out as monsters. If it's a temporary companion and it's appropriate I'll stat them out like a normal PC of their level.
>>43748697
Salty oldfag, haven't been in a group since '06, and now getting yanked back in (willing or otherwise). Last ed I had any experience with was 3.5 - Pathfinder hadn't even come out when our group collapsed. How boned am I for learning this new system?
On another issue, the first link in OP is giving me a goose-egg - is there a problem with the repository, or is the link just borked? Little help there would be appreciated.
>>43749615
It's easier to learn than any other edition but has it's detractors due to a large number of simplifications that abstract a lot of the numerical bullshit that's piled up over the years.
So in terms of difficulty of learning? ez.
In terms of not grognarding out and refusing to play? Bit more difficult.
Carrying over >>43746336 from last thread
>>43749246
>Laughing Militia / NPC edition
Did you miss the last line?
>Not putting 5eg in the title
Just make the thread impossible to find in the catalog why don't you?
1-10 how much of a faggot am I for wanting to do the following in an OotA campaign I'm playing in:
Barabarian 1/Paladin 2/Warlock 1, go into a rage and then smite the fuck out of everything, dual-wielding a whip and a sword.
Fluff-wise my character was a gladiator (explains the unusual and impractical fighting style) who sold his soul to Demogorgon (brokered through like four levels of demons, including a Balor, hence the inital interest) in order to escape slavery to the drow. The rage powers, warlock spells, and "holy" paladin abilities are all going to be fluffed as demonic pact magic.
The rest of my group is new to DnD as a whole, barring the DM, so things are probably going to be pretty low-powered otherwise.
>>43749951
>Three classes at level 4
Stop being a power gamer. Pick one class and play it.
>>43750148
>Power gaming
>Using a whip
Anon please. If you actually think this thing is going to be bullshit stronk, that's exactly the kind of feedback I'm looking for, but I'm really not convinced. I'm seriously not sure how to pull of this concept without doing something like MC Barb-Warlock, the Paladin is just in there so my spell slots aren't wasted.
Average damage per turn while raging is 1d8 + 1d4 + 10. Add 2d8 on a 2/short rest burst. At level 4, assuming I even hit. Compare to the 2d10 + 8 I could be doing 5th level if I was straight warlock through just Agonizing Blast.
>>43750148
I fail to see the power in that ridiculous build.
>>43750222
Couldn't this just be a bladelock or oathbreaker paladin?
>>43749951
Just Barb/Warlock is enough. Adding paladin stretches the character thin mechanically, and hinders it conceptually no matter how hard you're trying to refluff it-- "lmao let me use my vile demon pact magic to use Lay On Hands and heal you".
>the Paladin is just in there so my spell slots aren't wasted.
Have you even looked at the warlock spell list? Between Hellish Rebuke, Armor of Agythys, and Hex, you seriously don't think you'll be able to use up your spells?
>>43750403
Hellish Rebuke and Hex are unusable during a rage. So yeah, I can count on those during the combats where I'm not raging, but then it really feels like there's no synergy. I'm either doing one thing *or* the other one. As far as Lay on Hands is concerned, there's precendence for Fiend Magic bolstering life energy. It's even right there in the pact.
>>43750398
Oathbreaker Paladin could work, actually. Hell, even Vengeance Paladin would kinda work.
My biggest concern is the fluff. I can figure out what mechanics exactly will support it later. Is this too speshul-snowflakey or what?
>>43749246
I do create npc hirelings for the party but it's mostly just to create some interesting characters for RPing. If the party needs help with something they can always ask any of the npc`s they meet but mostly they are there for RP fluff.
>>43750222
>>43750241
Your average damage per turn while raging is -only- 17, or 15 without raging. And you -only- have two short-rest options for an extra 7 damage each, plus your daily spells, plus healing on top of your hit dice, plus cantrips.
The Paladin / Warlock combination is bullshit. You shouldn't be using class-specific daily spells on a short-rest basis. That's not how it was intended to be used and it's against the spirit of the rules. Pick a class and play it as the designers intended it.
>>43750439
Making a deal with the devil to escape the drow is a little much, but could be roleplayed well.
If that is his backstory, what is his position now? What are his goals? What moral code does he follow?
>>43750439
>Is this too speshul-snowflakey or what?
If that's a question you ever have to ask, then deep inside you already know the answer.
>>43750466
13 without raging, actually. And again, compare to straight Warlock being able to just Agonizing Blast twice a round all day at level five, average damage of 19. not even beginning to factor in anything else that the class can do.
>>43750496
You may just have a point.
>>43750481
Goals basically amount to winning his soul back and trying to get the crazy rage demon side under control. Moral code says only touch the crazy rage demon powers when in a significantly threatening situation, which is probably going to be most of the time, seeing as we're adventurers.
>>43750496
Not always. Sometimes people just worry too much and want a second opinion. I had a character I was worried about background wise for awhile but after fleshing it out sufficiently on /tg/ I realized I was worrying over nothing.
>>43750529
Except you're not level 5, you're level 4, and a level 4 Warlock would deal 9.5 DPR with their Eldritch Blast right now. You're also getting advantage to those raging attacks, making you FAR more accurate and consistent with your damage than a Warlock.
The degree to which you are justifying your power gaming is sickening. Do whatever you want, play your special snowflake and show up all the newbies to the group. Have fun making their characters look worthless while you stomp every encounter with your bullshit smites and your ludicrous accuracy. I'm done discussing this with you.
>>43750767
>You're also getting advantage to those raging attacks
>Reckless attack is a level 2 feature and OP only took 1 level in Barb
B R A V O
R
A
V
O
I've been thinking it over and I'm unsure if giving the Bladelock both Med armor / Shield proficiency AND the ability to use CHA as the Attack / Damage Mod for their pact weapon is a bit much.
Would using CHA for the attack roll but DEX / STR for the damage mod be a fine compromise?
>>43750529
I would go for a vengeance paladin, with a kind of edgy flavour where his Channel Divinity is his demon side driving him to destroy a specific opponent/paralyzing his enemies with fear.
>>43750835
If I were your DM, I'd tell you to fuck off.
>>43750821
Cha to hit basically just gives them perma-shillelagh. It means their damage will reach max and keep them versatile enough with EB too. Combine that with medium armour and you could make a viable Bladelock who doesn't have to go all-in on Dex and Cha and then end up a sack of paper.
I'd take away shields though.
>>43750843
That seems a bit harsh. Why is a vengeance Paladian with some fluff such a bad thing?
>>43750843
But you're not my DM, and I'm trying to help the guy who asked make his character concept in a manner that's mechanically coherent and involves less multiclassing weirdness. I mean, OOTA is an adventure that goes to level 15, you really want your character to be at its peak by the end of it and you do that best by being in a single class.
>>43750856
Why nix the shield proficiency? I've approached the reworking of the Bladelock by making it similar to the Bladesinger and Valor Bard -- removing the Thirsting Blade invocation and giving them the Extra Attack feature at Level Six. I'm also trying to alleviate the pressures of MAD at the same time.
>>43750821
Honestly you can do this without change a thing to the base class. Human variant with moderately armored for med armor and shield, pick up pact tome at level 3 and get shillelagh so you cha to hit and to damage. Pick up guidance too for bonuses to all skill checks. That's what I've been doing at least.
>>43750912
I love the flavor of the Bladelock too much to give up on it and settle for the Tomelock.
>>43750905
Shield Proficiency leads itself to a couple of oddities in that you'd still need the shield equipped when you don't have your weapon summoned, leaving you as some chucklefuck walking around with a shield but no sword, as well as occupying both of your hands when your weapon is summoned. It was my impression that Bladelock was intended to summon a one-handed weapon and keep slinging spells with the other hand.
>>43750912
Thing is, that limits your race and weapon selection. And you aren't actually Blade Pact.
>>43750927
Very fair. They do seem quite interesting
I like tomelock more however. Tbh I misspoke slightly. I did not take shillelagh, but I would of if melee was my plan. I'm playing an eldrich blast focused warlock who is lvl 4. Gonna get repelling blast once I hit 5th level.
>>43749246
>How do you typically build NPC hirelings for your party?
I grab an appropriate stat block from the appendix and throw it in.
Actually that gives me an idea. Anyone got suggestions for NPC types and CRs they'd like stat blocks for, for quick reference? There's a lot of monster homebrew out there but little in the way of statting NPCs and such.
>>43750947
...You make a great point actually. Yeah, shield proficiency can go.
I want to throw a bone to any of my future players who may want to go the strength route with a Bladelock but both Med / Heavy armor proficiency seems a bit extravagant.
Plus they can get a point of Str and Heavy armor proficiency at Level 4 with the feat.
But then it goes right back to "This archetype totally works if you use a feat" tier that the Bladelock already sits on.
1st time DM here, I'm trying to make the DMNPC, but the character generator is being really stubborn and is putting stuff like this on the character page. Can someone help me finish off the character? I'll post the PDF in a reply to this.
>>43751033
1. Do not make a DMPC. If they need a guide, do not make it a combat role. If they need a helping hand, provide hirelings and companions as low-CR NPCs from the Monster Manual.
2. Don't use a character generator, the ones that are out there are garbage and non-spellcaster chargen is dead simple in 5e.
3. Never, ever stat 5e NPCs like PCs. It's a huge waste of time. Give them what you want them to have, calculate CR, and move on.
>>43751056
See, being a 1st timer, I don't understand many of those terms, and my entire group is pretty new to the whole thing, so I can't go to them for help. I'm not sure if I'm even correctly generating a character. Here's one of my players sheets. Don't mind the Ork'eshec thing. It's a homebrew setting and Ork'eshec is the formal name for Orcs. They follow the same rules as Half-Orcs from the Player's Handbook.
>>43751100
Read the PHB in its entirety. Twice.
How can you even DM if you don't understand how the Character Sheets work?
>>43751121
I was hoping to do a better job than the other guy who has a little more experience than us. He didn't even give us starter gear or anything, ideals, bonds, cantrips, etc. We just rolled stats and started the adventure. We ended about 5 sessions in because one of his NPCs killed the BBEG by cleaving him in half on accident.
>>43744495
Athletics is better than intimidation, for them. Stats synnergy and all.
Dark vision is equivalent to extra carry weight, usually ignored, but useful.
Stone's endurance is better than relentless endurance. It can be used more often and is more reliable. As such, it also pulls some of Savage Attacks' weight.
Mountain born rounds it out.
Also, savage attacks adds one die so greatswords get less than greataxes. (0.15*3.5)=[0.525]. Less than the value of 1 damage in the best case.
Any extra ability added to the Goliath should be something not directly related to barbarians. Cold resistance is a better choice than extra damage with heavy weapons, and might still be too much.
>>43751100
For a first time character is seems solid enough to run with. Maybe flesh the characters out a bit more.
Also >>43751121 is correct. Read the PHB several times in it's entirety if this is your first time playing and your first time DMing. Having a solid understanding of the rules is crucial to ensure the game runs smoothly. Granted as the DM you do have the ability to tweak rules at your discretion but I would advise to only do so in minor ways.
>>43751343
Would something like this be acceptable as a rules tweak? In the setting there are no dragonborn and they're replaced with Beastkind. (Animal people, they each have different bonuses instead of breath weapons.) One player made an Avian ranger, so he has the homebrew ability glide/wingflap that lets him do exactly those actions to a limit, and +1 Dex . Along with the inexperience, we were short on time when making the sheets, so there wasn't much fleshing out done.
>>43751390
Fair enough. You can always flesh out characters during campaigns.
As for the homebrew race, I can't say much on it since it seems somewhat strange to me, but there is already an avian race you could use if you want. Look up the players companion. It's a free download with 4 additional races, including an avian race. It would be great for a ranger since it gets bonuses to dex and to wis.
>>43751450
Awesome, thanks.
>>43751457
My pleasure. Hope you all enjoy your home game once you get started :)
>>43750529
You don't even have TWFstyle, so it's 10/14.
Hey guys, can I get some quick help on some homebrew items?
Essentially I'm rushing to get to my new graveyard shift job and I need some gemstones that correlate to certain elements.concepts. Can anyone help me out? I've gotta run but thanks a ton in advance
I need gemstones for
>Fire
>Ice
>Earth
>Darkness
>Light
Last DND I played was 3.5 edition back in 2009 or so. Since then I played a bit of DH but that's it.
What kind of stuff has changed since 3.5e and what kind of stuff should I make sure I remember properly?
Also is there a table of classes/races etc somewhere? The book goes a bit too in-depth for the quick overview I'm looking for.
>>43751686
Do you want the easy answers?
Fire=Ruby
Ice=Sapphire
Earth=Citrine
Darkness=Onyx
Light=Diamond
>>43751725
Those will do just fine. Thanks a ton!Hope I don't fuck up on my first day
What are some cleric-y magic items? Preferably uncommon/rare
>>43752108
Depends on the cleric.
If it's your standard cleric of life there is a mace of smiting that does extra damage to undead. Or maybe it was some other mace that did that, can't remember the name exactly
![37B8HY3[1].png](https://i.imgur.com/GjNUce7.png "37B8HY3[1].png")
>>43752203
Smiting is constructs, you're thinking of disruption
>>43752219
>this is how far the Mace of Disruption has fallen
>>43752219
Thank you very much.
>>43752235
It's still pretty solid for a rare weapon. On average it's a bonus 7 damage per hit to any fiend or undead. It's no holy avenger but it's perfect for a low / mid level party.
how do you guys deal with cutting words?
do you just roll in the open and the bard can use it just whenever? or will he have to do it 100% blind? give some indication to it like if it's a total of 11 or higher (where it's possible for a hit, but still might not be)
>>43752286
It isn't vicious, after all.
>Life cleric
Should I be casting at the back, using sacred flame when I'm not casting spells, or be at the front, using a weapon?
>>43751699
>What kind of stuff has changed since 3.5e and what kind of stuff should I make sure I remember properly?
Basically the dice mechanics are the same but a lot of the fiddly bonuses and negatives for every situation as well as movement and flanking and Attacks of Oppprtunity has been removed or heavily simplified.
The system takes about 30 minutes to learn now and you can make a character in less then 5 even if you don't know what you're doing.
Numbers don't go as arbitrarily high (AC21 is huge regardless of level) to keep martial classes a bit more relevant, and spells base damage is more powerful to but to cast more potent versions you need to commit spell slots and resources to do so rather then it's base effectiveness leveling up as you go.
Magic items are no longer strictly necessary since numbers don't go as high but some tougher monsters will require them to really have a chance at taking them down.
Classes still have "tiers" but the simplification of the system has made tiers much less relevant and discourages "deck-building" characters; I'm playing one of the low-tier classes and I'm still contributing to combat meaningfully well into 13th level now.
It feels somewhere between 3e and 2e in flavor and style.
>>43752534
Depends on your armor and Str I guess.
Sacred Flame is dandy and a good standby, but even if a Mace is just d6 a high Strength score won't make it too bad, especially if you've a shield. You could also use a spear in two-hands for d8 damage, though this means you forgo the shield bonus to AC.
>DM uses encumbrance
>Armour, weapon and shield is almost all of my weight
>Food is 2lbs, rope is 10lbs
This is definitely going to add to the fun!
>>43752947
Encumberance is the worst variant rule in 5e. I dabbled in it and in basically demands that the party invest into mules and wagons to adventure. Worse, you can't take much into dungeons or else you will be extremely slow.
>>43752947
I last played in a lvl 7 party.
Went for variant human sun monk with the tough feat.
Then the DM asked each of us to pick or make up two magic items with one weapon and one "support" item.
I picked a +1 Magic spear that can shift to a dagger and back as a bonus action and instead of 1d8 deals 2d5.
And then I picked a "shifting storage ring" which is a ring that transforms into a storage shack with a 16 square meter surface and 3 meters in height with enough room for 6 hammocks thus rendering taverns and camping gear useless.
>>43752534
Life clerics should be at the front in heavy armor casting sacred flame. Your best heals hit the whole party, and all your heals hit yourself too with life domain, so take some damage.
>>43752534
Both.
>>43752947
And when you eventually get that Bag Of Holding it'll actually be useful.
>>43753272
Bag of holding is always useful.
>>43753288
How is it useful if your DM doesn't make you track encumberence?
>>43753298
Encumbrance is a variant rule where you capacity is x5 instead of x10
>>43753272Bag of holding weighs 15lbs
16 str = 80lbs
Plate =65lbs
Weapon = 2lbs
Shield = 6 lbs
Bag of holding = 15lbs
Total = 88lbs
>>43749752
I have a different question for that >>43746336
Is it actually solid homebrew? I am tempted to use that if I ever get the possibility to do so.
We have a player in our party whose cleric is the son of the lady of pain, what do we do?
>>43753588
Kick him out.
>>43750466
>That's not how it was intended to be used
Errata and Crawford say otherwise ;^)
>>43751390
Does that nigger have 4 combat styles?
>+10 to jump
Why 3rd level Tiger Totem is so overpowered?
>>43753787
Because they were smoking pencil shavings
>>43749951
Why the Dual Wielding? Are you taking the feat that allows you to dual wield non-light weapons?
>>43753298
Outside of the many utility options? just because exuberance variant isn't being used, or even if exuberance isn't being used, does not automatically mean your person can carry 10 weapons, full plate, a shield, and 400 pounds of gear. Even if your not using specific numbers, your party can only carry so much before it becomes unreasonable. For example, a low str character could reasonably carry their armor and weapons (2 or 3 tops), a sleeping bag, a week or rations, a backpack, a rope, a waterskin, and an instrument or artisan tool. A bag of holding would be needed to carry anything else of significant weight.
That's my opinion at least.
>>43748697
is there actually anything wrong with wanting to play a full edge character
>>43753913
Only if you do it unironically and play them dead serious to the point to where you get in the way of the plot. Edge can be done in an interesting way but it's so rare it's usually frowned upon to even suggest such a character.
>>43753336
Encumbrance a best
As soon as you go into tactical mode drop backpack or bag of holding.
-10 to speed really isn't that big of a deal until you actually get into combat because you should be going relatively slow to check for traps and avoid ambushes anyway.
Between dash actions and dropping backpacks you should be safe because let's be honest fighting in full plate and a backpack should be next to impossible.
>>43754043
Would you say removing a back pack is a free action or an action? I'm just talking a normal backpack, not a special, quick release gnomish backpack
>>43754065
Seems like it would be relatively easy to get some quick release snaps built into your backpack so that you press a button/pop a snap and it falls to the ground.
You'd want to make sure your stuff was packed right otherwise you might get a broken flask or two.
But honestly unless you are carrying a stupid amount of rations you can get almost everything you need into a backpack as long as the bedroll and rope are strapped to the outside.
Typically I also have the extra torches strapped to the outside as well.
The main problem I see is that a 2 person tent is a massive amount of weight which can pretty much eat up most of a backpack's storage but that's why you bring along a mule so that you can store the camping gear in some saddlebags and leave the mule with a retainer on the surface.
>>43753913
I have a player who actually plays edgy characters better than anything.
Her personality kind of lends to it, she's not very chatty, and surprisingly cooperative so it never slows down the game really
What are some other Swordmagey combos to use with Bladesinger? Some nice synergistic things that mix blade with spell. The only one I have found is the Flame Sphere+Booming blade combo.
Anything else like this? I guess Animate Objects and Melf's Minute Meteors are sort of like this, but they don't really pack the FSBB combo punch.
>>43750529
It could be done right.
Just remember that you won't be able to TWF with a longsword and whip (you really probably shouldn't waste your ASI on that feat) and you're gonna be kinda boned on fighting style from paladin unless you use medium armor and defense.
>>43750148
>Two classes at level two
O. M. G., anon. You've taken a different class at every level! Stop powergamin.
>>43754422
My favorite combo would be haste and mirror image. Blur can be used in place of haste at earlier levels. You basically get 21 ac and move super fast and jab things super fast and the odds of you being hit by an attack is zero. It's great :)
>>43750767
>You're also getting advantage to those raging attacks
Are you an idiot?
Do you think that instead of a fixed number (+2, +3,+4) barbs should get die? +1d4, +1d6, +1d8?that way helps a little when he crits.
>>43749810
Yes, cause that totally counts.
> hey guise I had a laughing Viking in my game
> /thread
>>43753787
How does 10 extra feet of jumping only while raging even remotely matter?
>>43755350
Can YOU jump 10 feet?
Ok guys, lurkfag here. I have a question about some of the new scag content and its application towards a pallylock or other paladin/caster combo. So now that they have cantrips which actually support melee casters i have noticed a combo which seems pretty good. With booming blade or green fire blade, the rules state u can make a melee weapon attack as a part of the spell. Now the rules for divine smite say u can smite any time u hit with a melee weapon attack so I would think u could use one of the new attack cantrips and then smite if you hit. Now my question is for the damage progression on the new spell-attack cantrip is that the caster level or character level?
>>43755396
Long jump 10 feet? yes.
>>43755350
Sarcasm, anon.
>>43755396
I bet I could if I had a metaphysical connection to the spirit of a tiger.
>>43755422
>Sarcasm, anon.
I'll figure out jokes one of these days.
>>43755413
Character level.
>>43755413
>u
Stop that.
Cantrips scale according to character level.
>>43753401
anyone?
>>43755919
It's shit
>>43755301
iirc, at one point during the playtests proficiency bonus used to be a die rather than a static number.
the party meets a bard, broken heartedly twiddling on a lute. he explains that the love of his life has rejected him. after some conversation it is discovered that he still thinks he can win her heart with an item, that of course the adventurers might be able to get for him, for a price
what is the item?
what is the quests twist?
double twist?
>>43749615
One of the biggest problems you'll probably have is that it's just similar enough that you might trip up now and then on some of the minor changes. For example, the only thing that provokes an attack of opportunity now is moving completely out of a creature's reach. That means you don't provoke for moving around a creature while staying within its reach, you don't provoke for casting a spell, you don't provoke for making a ranged attack, and so on. But attacks of opportunity are still there for movement, so it's easy to forget the change and try to make an AoO when a creature tries to strafe around you or cast a spell just out of habit.
Other than that, the rules are pretty easy to learn. I'd say that it might be slightly harder for you to learn than somebody who's never played a tabletop RPG before, because you've got things you'll need to unlearn while they'd be starting from a fresh slate... but "slightly harder" doesn't mean it's actually difficult.
>>43756098
I mean the damage on rages
>>43756216
He's a lich trying to get his phylactery back, and/or he literally wants the woman's heart.
>>43756405
And the double twist is thatshe's fine with it
>>43755301
Rage damage is fine, if you want to make something about the barbarian better, fix the shitty berserker path.
>>43756502
I did, it's called Bear/Tiger/Tiger
>>43756529
Lame.
>>43756405
>>43756479
The woman is actually the lich, the item is her phylactery, she keeps it in her mausoleum-tower on a distant plateau.
She is completely on board with her phylactery being stolen. This is the most attention anyone's paid to her in hundreds of years. She is a passionate, lonely woman who has a lot of love to give, and she would like nothing more than for the enamored bard to sweep her off her feet.
Plot twist: she falls in love with the party's paladin when the group robs her tower.
>>43756216
>what is the item?
Any old trinket really. It isn't the item that matter,s but the effort of getting it.
>what is the quests twist?
The bard's a ghost, "rejection" in this case meant laughing at him as her brothers went to town on him with pitchfork and flaming torches. She's also long dead, old age and all that. So now you have to pull her soul out of hell so they can sort shit out.
>Double twist
The bard's a God or love and mercy, who will look very kindly upon anyone going through all of this bother to help a poor old ghost, and while the girl may not have been the kindest, he would rather not see her burn for all eternity either as long as she regrets what she did (as easily said as done after a trip to hell).
![soul_gem_by_juting-d4w1un4[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/YQGSCCS.jpg "soul_gem_by_juting-d4w1un4[1].jpg")
In the upcoming part of my campaign the players are going to find a string of stones on a golden chain with souls trapped inside. I know in 3.5 you could use these to gain experience from them. I also know they were very potent bartering items with fiends and celestials.
Other than those are there any things the players can do with these? Also what would be the best way for the players to release the souls should they want to free those trapped inside?
>>43757005
Look at the lich's phylactery for inspiration, maybe? Page 203 of the Monster Manual.
The lich uses a form of the Imprisonment spell to imprison a person's body and soul, but casting Dispel Magic as a 9th-level spell will release the prisoner.
So maybe they can use Dispel Magic with the usual rules for higher level spells?
>>43756098
Yeah, and it's still an option in the DMG.
>>43757005
Just like how it's very difficult to remove someone's soul without just flat out killing them, freeing a soul from a gem is also very difficult. Smashing the gem is roughly equivalent to killing them.
But if you can get a master craftsman to sculpt them a new body out of clay, stone, or metal, you can let them take control of it by inlaying the soul gem in the statue's forehead. This is how that whole Pygmalion thing went down.
>GM is going to try a front, flanks and back rules
How much is this going to suck?
>>43757356
>Flanking rules
>Fronting and back rules
You are fuuuuuuuuucked.
>>43757005
Don't forget that they can be used in place of any spell component of equal or lesser value to the gem and soul trapped inside.
anybody have a pdf of a DM screen they made?
WHY IS LAND DRUID SUCH CRAP!
The gimped wild shape feature is too trash to ever be useful. It taking your action is total CRAP.
Also, why are druid spells so... team impeding? Like, I almost can't ever use spike growth because it would hurt us too. I can't use fog because most often.. it will hurt us too. I can't use entagle because well.. YOU GUESSED IT! I envy sorcerers who can shape the spells around their team mates. Also, druids have a lot of spells that are concentration which is SHIT. Everything good is concentration. You can't ever do a combo like restraining someone and then heating their armor. Fuck WotC for hating FUN
>>43757708
The official one is nice (the generic one, the story ones are awful).
Just cover up the name generator and "Something happens!" tables with sticky notes of actually useful information.
>>43757842
Druids are area controllers. Spells like that are designed to impede some of your foes while you and your friends beat up on the other half
>>43758075
>Druids are shit
There, I fixed your post. No need to thank me, I help the disabled all the time.
>>43758469
I feel like their RP options are really limited too. Fucking WOTC...
>>43757356
>flanking rules
Honestly works okay in my group.
>front and back rules
Agony.
So, what does /tg/ thing of the new Deep Stalker archtype? How does it compare to other ranger archtypes?
>>43759231
It's a really good archetype, but it's overall effectiveness is hamstrung because you're ultimately still a ranger.
Fairly new to D&D, my group does weekly sessions and we're on the forth. I'm struggling to get into character. Do any of you have any tips for roleplaying realistically?
>>43759847
Give your character a different voice and believe in something different from your own perspective about the world.
If you think drugs are okay, have your character be staunchly anti-substance for example. This starts to give the character a personality that the players and DM see as separate from you. It also helps transition between being in and out of character.
In our campaign a copy of Atlas Shrugged managed to find itself in our world and was magically translated. A small but growing cult of Randian objectivists have sprung up.
I'm tempted to play an objectivist paladin. Charity, as you might imagine, would be way way down the list of virtues, with perceived Justice at the top of the list. How screwed are my party? How screwed is the campaign world?
>>43759847
build up the character's personality so that you're not so much roleplaying but knowing exactly what they'd do next based on their own personal rules and guidelines.
My wife's favorite character is something like a cross of Futurama's Amy and Buffy's Willow. Once the characterizations are detailed enough they start writing themselves, she knows what those characters would do so roleplaying it is no sweat.
>>43760061
>>43760354
Thank you!
>>43757842
Why would your wild-ass, cougar-fucking, eco-terrorist, hermit druid be someone who is well versed in being a good team-mate?
Druids are on team nature, and fuck anyone who gets in the way.
>>43756563
And it turns out that she's really a good lich, and she doesn't ever hurt anybody, and she sparkles in the sunlight!
Seriously, do you even know what a lich is?
>>43758578
>Class designed to be a nature loving hermit that reveres balance in all things
>WHY WOULD MY TEAMMATES ALSO GET DICKED IF I THROW A FIREBALL THERE? FUCKING WIZARDS ARE SHIT GODDAMN
>Blaming a lack of RP options on anybody but your own imagination
>>43761449
Turning a fantasy trope on its head is like, D&D 101. It's been there since the beginning, and there's a section in the DMG about it.
I'm trying to decide human or half elf for a rogue, it's those bonus proficiencies and darkvision that I'm really getting caught on.
Which should I go for?
>>43761643
Darkvision/Infravision/whatever hasn't mattered for decades.
John the Dwarf has darkvision, so it's okay. Same goes for languages.
"Do any of you speak Draconic?"
"Yes."
Then it's no longer a problem.
Don't get fixated on darkvision. Play a human, carry a torch if you absolutely have to.
>>43761643
Humans are worthless unless you need a feat. Do you need a feat?
>>43751234
I disagree, Stone's endurance isn't better than Relentless endurance, no worse. Orc's endurance prevents you from any amount of damage, fireball that deals 40+?, sure, I'm still alive, crit that deals 22? alive, etc. I played both Half-Orc and Goliath and Half-Orc is slightly better, specially if you count Savage Attack's.
I don't think Goliaths should have a +1 to damage, that's too much, but maybe Cold resistance or other minor boost, advantage to Str checks to lift, push stuff? double profiency to Athletics to lift, push stuff?
>>43761812
Lucky is good on everyone.
>>43750985
Trying again.
>Anyone got suggestions for NPC types and CRs they'd like stat blocks for?
>>43753588
Don't piss off his mom
>>43762469
Maybe a general stat block for trained city guards? Like they can't just be given PC class levels, but having them just be commoners in suits of armor seem pretty bland.
Perhaps a stat block for like a low or mid-level divine or arcane caster? Like a high priest of (insert diety here) and the town wizard?
>>43761188
Why do they have be?
My druid is a gentleman scholar, botanist/zoologist.
I'm trying to make a Dual Wielder Rapier fighter 10, any suggestions?
https://www.dropbox.com/s/04u8hdhc0t66ka1/dual%20wielder%20fig%2010.pdf?dl=0
>>43762568
I also agree with more spellcaster statblocks for a few different levels than whats in the back of the MM.
>>43763667
Don't. That's the best suggestion you'll get. If it's really necessary, multiclass with rogue and don't take dual wielder.
>>43761766
The problem is that a Rogue really needs darkvision. Since a ton of monsters have it, the only way to properly sneak through enemy territory is if you also have it. It's very hard to sneak around when you have to carry a torch so you can see where you're going.
>>43763884
And in the alternative case I get EK instead BM?
>>43757842
>>43758075
>>43758469
The problem is that they are supposed to have area control, but they only have a few spells to do it. Most of spells they have are so situational, like plant growth. It's a good spell, but it requires you to be in a grass area. The majority of the time on my druid, I was either casting conjure animals, entangle or confusion.
They are pretty much wizards that have less spells, awful bonuses (compared to wizard archetypes) and the tiniest amount of healing and support spells. The only upside is utility wildshape
>>43762568
For me city guards are simple.
+1 to str and con and wisdom
Training in intimidate, investigation, athletics, perception.
Ring mail and spear or club.
Typically travel around the town in pairs or squads of 5 with a sergeant.
>>43763667
Don't do it with rapiers. Do it with long swords. be a variant human to get the dual wielder feat at level 1. Your ac will be a lot more solid this way. Also, be a battle master. Other than that take whichever feats and ASI will suit you best. My picks would be sentinel, lucky, tough, and then max out con and str.
Is there any way to get a better idea of the progressions/skills of different classes and races without having to read through the text-heavy portions of the player book and flip back & forth between the skills chapters?
>>43765579
Understood!
>>43765579
Why longswords? If you're going to dual-wield, rapiers are the better option. You don't have to use Dexterity with them, and they deal the same base damage as the longsword. And if you're taking disadvantage to Strength attacks (from certain types of poison or other effects, for example), you can attack with Dexterity instead to take an effective -2 or -3 penalty instead of disadvantage.
The only possible advantage of the longsword over the rapier is that you can wield it in two hands for +1 average damage if you lose one of your weapons, which is probably even more of a corner case than having disadvantage to Strength attacks.
>>43766168
Why rapiers, though? As long as you know you're going to have high strength and Dual Wielder, get a horse and use lances. It almost makes the feat worthwhile.
>>43766168
The main advantage is better ac. Honestly what your describing is worse that just using dex. If your going to use rapiers, don't invest anything into str.
Also I'm quite positive most poisons do not specify str disadvantage in 5e, just disadvantage on attack rolls and skill checks. Or just poison damage .
>>43766233
That's actually a really creative idea. I would love to see that in action.
>>43765919
No.
>>43766233
...You're suggesting he dual-wield lances? That's so stupid.
>>43766536
And yet perfectly possible when mounted on a horse.
>>43766586
No not really
I've been playing D&D for a very long time, and I enjoy 5th edition. Its very comfortable coming from years of AD&D and 3.5e.
I DM mostly for all my groups, play when I can. But I always play Spellsword type Fighter/Wizards.
I fell in love with the Duskblade class in the PHB2 in 3.5e and have always tried to mimic the arcane channeling ability.
So far, in 5th edition I've found that a Fighter (Eldritch Knight)/Paladin 2 multiclass works really well. Of course you can always go 20 Pally since smite resembles arcane channeling.
Right now I'm playing a Eldritch Knight 7/Paladin 2 and it's very fun. I considered adding Warlock 2 to the mix for extra fluff and some dank abilities for flavor.
What's your take on a 5E Duskblade class?
>>43766933
Just man up and EK or Bladesinger
>>43766902
Yes, really. When not mounted a lance requires two hands to wield, but while mounted it only requires one hand. Take mounted combatant and dual-wield lances that dole out d12+str with reach. Thanks to the feat when you're on a warhorse anything medium or below you'll attack with advantage from 10ft away, and normally 5ft away.
>>43766955
Bard of Valor 14/Paladin 4/Fighter 2
Was a very successful gish I made prior to my EK/Pally build.
The EK was the first class that caught my eye in 5th, followed by the Paladin.
So, considering I stay EK most the way what's 2 Paladin levels going to hurt?
>>43766933
Paladin 8/Warlock2/sorcerer 10
Gives you a good amount of casting, several nice abilities, and a nice reliable ranged attack.
Dropping warlock for two more levels of sorcerer is a good option for this.
>>43766994
It's possible with RAW but not in reality m8 plus it would look super stupid
>>43766994
You would need the dual wielder feat too so you could dual wield non light weapons.
Other than that I think this should work out surprisingly well in the right campaign.
>>43767001
Multiclassing really doesn't buy you much.
Most of the EKs power is in hitting hard with a sword and boosting AC to retarded levels.
Paladin has smite but an EK/Paladin is MAD as fuck.
Technically a medium armor dex build might work but it seems like a dubious build.
>>43767029
Magic is not possible in reality either. Are wizards stupid too?
>>43766994
>>43767039
One of my favorite 5e characters I ever played was my halfling riding a tiger dual wielding lances.
>>43767070
Awesome. I'm curious on why you chose halfling but dual lances on a tiger would be quite the sight to behold.
>>43767097
I was playing a BM ranger and their pet has to be medium. Only way to use it as a mount is to be small. Halfling gave me lucky and wasn't a gnome.
Gods rest ye Pierce Broadaxeton. You adorable menace to all things green.
>>43767024
I've considered going the Paladin/Sorcerer route for the CHA synergy.
I've played with the idea of Paladin 6/Sorcerer 14.
I like having all the extra attacks a fighter EK gets and action surge also.
My initial idea with my build this go around was Fighter EK 16/Paladin 2/Warlock 2
That nabs plenty of extra attacks for smite, some Pally support spells, nice Eldritch blast abilities, and action surges for massive nova damage on smites make for a very fun character in melee.
>>43767131
If I go paladin more than 2 I have a hard time not going 6 for cha to all saves. If I go 6 I have a hard time not going 7 and grabbing resistance to all spell damage. If I go 7 I might as well go 8 and grab the feat.
Its a slippery slope but one that works in the end.
>>43767058
Yeah multiclassing in 5e isn't the power grab it was in 3.5e.
But I love 5e. It's a beautiful edition.
>>43767159
>>43767058
MC'ing does exactly what it should. Gives you some of the abilities of another class at the cost of progression. There are few builds that cause anything more than a minor power increase.
>>43766994
Can you tell me where to find the rule about the advantage? I can't seem to find it.
>>43767159
>>43767186
EK and Paladin already struggle with keeping their spellcasting relevant at higher levels. Splitting their progression just complicates that problem for not a whole lot of benefit.
>>43767186
Of course, but the significant changes made in 5e really bring all the classes into a new light with out-of-box style pathways in each class.
Multiclassing is done well, but it's not as number crunching and chaotic as it was in 3.5e.
And the other anon was just pointing out that a level 20 class works just as well with or without multiclassing.
Its all a matter of personal preference toward making a unique character when you multi class in 5e.
>>43767126
Very interesting. Do approve :)
>>43767237
>And the other anon was just pointing out that a level 20 class works just as well with or without multiclassing.
Half the capstones are terrible. Few wouldn't be better off taking at least one level in something else.
>>43767325
Well considering that you actually play a character all the way to level 20, some of the capstones are dull.
In all the years I've played D&D, can say I've played all sorts of different characters, but only a few have ever stayed with me all the way to 20.
By all means however, take a level dip or two to better suit your playstyle with your builds. It's D&D and youre only limited by your imagination, well that and your DM.
>>43760301
If you haven't already, read some of Rands work to get into the characters head (you can spare yourself the headache and go for her earlier, less dense stuff like Anthem or We the Living).
Objectivism, like a lot of philosophies, may well be viable on an individual or small scale, due to a buffer effect from the rest of society, but breaks down when applied to an entire civilization or world. The cult in your campaign world is probably made up of high minded idealists who believe what they are doing is for the good of all, but begin to run into problems as their disregard for existing power structures pisses off powerful people and they begin to have their own internal divisions over "interpretation of the holy book".
Tenants of a paladin of Objectivism would be things like:
>Help others, but do it for a reward, which can be in the form of a monetary payment or by the person they saved contributing to society in some way.
>E.G.: A child has limitless potential and should be allowed to realize that potential, as well as differ their payment until they can get a job. By contrast, an elderly, penniless cripple should be left to the wolves.
>Science and reason are the only ways to truly understand the world, discourage mysticism and blind faith. If magic is real, the gods can be directly communicated with, and the afterlife visited and returned from, then acknowledge and understand those things.
>Thieves and parasites of all kinds should be resisted- From rampaging orc tribes whose only source of income is conquest, to greedy viziers who want to wallow in riches gained by taxation. Slay or oppose them as appropriate.
>Rape is a good and correct practice, symbolizing the correct form of interaction between dominant masculinity and submissive femininity. Note that this only applies between goodly practicing objectivists who have not made any sort of exclusivity contract with someone else otherwise it counts as theft.
>>43766233
Because being able to ride a horse into battle is not a guaranteed thing, even if you can be sure that your DM won't veto dual lances out of sheer ridiculousness.
>>43767070
What, no pteranodon? If you're gonna go crazy, you might as well go batshit crazy.
>>43767158
I'd say Fighter (EK) 12/Paladin 8 is a pretty solid place to be, actually. You get you three attacks, some nice Paladin goodies, the ability to say "fuck you" to saving throws, three attacks, and more than enough spell slots to burn through in an average adventuring day. Not enough to smite on every attack, sure, but you can certainly get a nice nova round or two.
What's the highest AC build you can think of?
Mine is
Warforged (+1)
Bladesinger, level in Barbarian
Maxed INT, CON, DEX for (+5) each
Magic Initiate feat, take the cleric spell Shield of Faith for a (+2)
Mage Armor to set your starting AC at 13
Ring of Protection for a (+1)
Robe of protection or something for the other (+1)
33 AC
>>43767195
It's in the Mounted Combatant feat. It's not a base rule, it's a special ability you get from the feat.
>>43767233
The whole point of the Paladin levels is that your spells don't need to be relevant, because spending your spell slots to smite is.
So I gotta run an 8th lvl one shot for a two-man party (Wizard and Paladin) in a couple hours. And I have no fucking clue what to run them against. Anyone have a suggestion?
>>43767993
why the fuck are you running a 2 man party at the wee morning hours on a Sunday?
Anyways, 2 man parties are guaranteed FUCKED
New guy here.
Am I missing something from the player's handbook? What are warforged?
Also are there any broad overview things I should know about the DnD world?
How do things like multiclassing get viewed? Is it generally seen as a kind of mary-sue cheesing?
Any general dos/don'ts you guys could tell me?
>>43768039
Probably Australian or something, it's nighttime here.
Why are 2 mans guaranteed fucked?
>>43767952
It would be impossible to max Con, Dex, and Int. Unless you roll your stats you can't get your base stats high enough to do that. Warforged would be your best pick if the DM allows it. If your trying to max all your stats it's quite unlikely you can afford to pick up magic initiate unless you take a hit to your con. At best with this set up you could get to 30, assuming DM allows it and works with you, and nothing conflicts with each other.
>>43768133
And mage armor doesn't stack with the barbarian's unarmored defense.
>>43767993
You could run them up against some devils who hold a tome of powerful spells. Start them against a large group of cultists who are worshiping a moderately powerful devil, have the two kill off the cult and find a map leading to the cults worshiping grounds. There they will find a cave infested with powerful cultists, low CR devils, and the BBEG with the book. The BBEG can either be a Mage or a CR 6 devil. This should be easy enough to complete but challenging and interesting for the party still.
Have fun!
>>43768039
Well, by a couple I mean 15.
And why are two man games fucked? I've done them a lot and they've all worked out fine. I just am coming up blank all of a sudden.
>>43768170
I was not sure on that so that's why I refrained from mentioning it, thank you for letting me know.
Tbh, the best AC I think a character can get is 25 (bladesinger high elf wizard with max Dex and Int, mage armor, haste, and can get higher with magic items) though desu I would take the hit to ac to wear studded leather rather than using a spell slot to use mage armor . Shield is much better in the long run believe it or not.
>>43768170
Truth
>>43767952
Warforged +1
Level in barbarian with con and dex maxed +10
+3 shield +5
Defender sword +3
Ring of protection +1
Cloak of protection +1
Level in fighter for +1
Shield of faith magic initiate +2
+34 AC
>>43768290
Forget the level of fighter, the barbarian cap can get you 24 con.
>>43766933
I homebrewed up a port of 3.5's Duskblade class, I've yet to test it out though, so I don't know how balanced or unbalanced it is.
There were three main thoughts I had going into it:
1) Make sure that Arcane Channeling is gated so that none of the other classes can take 1-2 levels of it, grab the Arcane Channeling ability, then go back to their normal casting class.
2) Keep the core idea of the Duskblade in mind (that it's a gish class that focuses on using it's spells to nova a single target).
3) Have enough archetypes to allow for at least two distinct playstyles.
Here's a PDF of it.
>>43767952
Barbarian 20
Epic boons to get 30 dex and con (30 unarmored defense)
+3 shield (+5)
Ring of protection (+1)
Cloak of protection (+1)
Defender (+3)
40 AC at all times.
>doing stat blocks for an NPC collection
>doing one of each class at 1st, 5th, 11th, and 17th
>doing fighter first
>17th-level battle master is about CR 12
>look up Archmage, an 18th-level wizard equivalent
>also CR 12
>>43768959
Sounds about right to me. A battle master at lvl 17 can be a force to recon with with those reroll saves self heal and action surge and superiority dice. I love fighters.
new guy here, what are the large races? All the player races in the handbook are medium except gnomes so I was wondering what large would be. Are there any non-gnome small races as well?
>>43769106
None and nope.
>>43769106
There are no Large races, due to how size mechanics interact with player character abilities (as in, sometimes not at all, sometimes in weird ways that Large would make even dumber).
Halflings and gnomes are the only current Small races.
>>43768119
Warforged are from Eberron. As such, their stats are available in the Unearthed Arcana: Eberron, which is available for download in the link up top.
DnD worlds are up to your DM. The standard ones are Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk. Eberron, and Dragonlance however, so if you're just looking for something to read hop on a wiki and you will find plenty.
Do: follow the rules until you have a lot of experience, I'm in a situation where a lot of new players in my area have had a DM who homebrewed a billion things and made up a lot of rules to make them feel a lot more powerful, and now since he left 'm their DM. I follow rules usually fairly stringently so now I'm fighting an uphill battle against their inexperience and their unrealistic expectations.
Don't: forget to have fun, sometimes I do this. If no one is having fun in your game, find a way to change that!
>>43768959
17th level battle master is in no way as versatile as a 17th level wizard, but deals more single target damage and resist more damage that's for sure, therefore higher CR.
>>43768423
Throw in epic boons for charisma and the mask of the dragon queen for another 9 AC (needs an attunement slot)
>>43769106
>>43769110
Halfling is the only other small race and there are no large races.
However, both gnome and halfling have 3 subraces so you still got some variety to pick from.
How would one go about making the new 5e bladesinging wizard seem like a "magic-using blade wielder" as opposed to "a magic wielder that uses a sword sometimes" in game?
More specifically, what tactics and spells should be used? The only thing I can come up with is burning a lot of spell slots on Shield/Absorb Elements and layering buffs with no concentration like False Life, Mage armor, Fire Shield eventually etc.
Also greenflame blade, because obviously.
While this is decent for my own purposes, I wanted to know if anyone else had come up with a cooler/more effective way of doing this type of character that doesn't involve multiclassing into sorcerer or warlock.
>>43769929
Personally I would say play them as a normal wizard who hides their sword fighting skills for emergencies, and then basically goes berserk when such an emergency occurs, but for your idea I would suggest saving your first level slots for shield and absorb elements, and casting haste / blur / magic weapon / etc. With things like false life and mirror image to become a super buffed duelist for a solid minute.
>>43755919
>>43756071
Since that homebrew is shit, how does one make it good? I really want to play a khorne follower now.
>>43769994
Also you have to use lightning lure, because str save is quite easy to have enemies fail if you use it against the right type of monsters
>>43763029
Okay, why is your gentleman scholar good adept at controlling a battlefield while working around the actions of multiple combatants he's just met?
RP-wise, the Druid who sometimes fucks up and entangles his newfound Fighter friend, the Paladin that forgets the Wizard is torching an area before charging in, the Thief who belatedly realizes that this Barbarian isn't as subtle as his usual Muscle, etc. make a lot of sense and are a lot of fun.
Your characters learn to be part of that team at the same rate that you do. Fuckups happen, and they make a big part of the RP.
>>43768200
Two man parties are fine. I run regular one-shots and I'm starting HotDQ with a couple friends. Just give them the ability to hire henchmen/mercs, (NPC stat blocks) and they're good to go. Wizard/Paladin sounds like a solid combo.
If you need a last minute one shot, go here.
http://www.onepagedungeon.info/2012/
Huge repository of simple, one page dungeons.Some standard, some off-the-wall crazy, all of them pretty good. Just pick one you like.
For higher level characters, simply swap the baddies out for harder baddies and up some DC's. Done.
>>43769929By using the EK.
But on a more serious note, if your game is combat heavy it just won't work too well unless your DM is also nice with the short rests, and you are incredibly conservative with your spellcasting.
If your DM isn't throwing constant combats at you, then just burning slots for shields and mage armor seems like the way to go, while the rest of your time you're using the shit out of the sword cantrips.
But if you're looking for a full caster who is on par with the melee guys in melee, without burning all of his resources, you're out of luck this edition.
>>43749615
Rules easy to learn. Character creation and customization oversimplified to the point you get to choose a feat or an ability score increase. You'll need homebrew since there isn't much material at all for the game. Good luck, boring as fuck.
>>43750148
Other than class dipping the only other way to customize your character is to pick feats. Which, by the way, are shit and there are few of them. OMG ANON STOP PLAYING SUCH A BORING SYSTEM
>>43770183
Not boring at all if you actually enjoy DnD. Yes it is very simple but that's not a bad thing. They are trying to open up to a newer, younger audience, so in turn they needed to make the game a lot simpler and easier to understand and digest without months of playing and studying. It took me forever to fully comprehend casters in 3.5.
Also, and edition can be fun as long as your not a stick in the mud with no imagination. DnD is more of a social game to be played with friends or to help people meet new friends in a comfortable environment of magic and fun. That's my opinion at least.
Another new guy here, playing a sword & board strength based battlemaster as my first character. Are there any multiclass combos I should consider? I've seen many builds dipping 2-3 levels into fighter but hardly anything of the reverse. I should note that my caster stats are pretty bad.
>>43770369
Stick to straight fighter. You will get the most ASI out of any other class, battle master is an excellent archetype to fully invest in, and most multicast suggestions will push you forwards casters. I'm playing a lvl 4 BM fighter atm and he is literally invincible. I took parry and persision attack as two of my three features and I can always hit my enemy and I can always block their damage if they manage to hit me in melee.
>>43761449
It's not that fucking weird, good liches are cannon.
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Baelnorn_lich
>>43770416
Is there still no love for the Champion archetype? Everyone seems to be of the opinion that battlemaster is in every way the better option but I'm not so convinced.
If you're sword and board you can maintain a pretty good degree of control over the battlefield from the shield master feat, that combined with your extra fighting style (either protection for more control or defense for a static +1 to AC are bother solid options for a second style), and improved critical chance and late game regeneration are all solid benefits.
>>43770460
Champion is a very nice archetype I will say but I like the features BM gives you more. All of the good and interesting stuff you get from champion is quite late level. I will say that champion is good, better than some other archetypes that other classes have, but I pref battle master because those sweet maneuvers
>>43770460
Improved critical does less damage than battlemaster dice and the regen is late game stuff that'll barely see use.
>>43770460
If you're playing a Champion, and you aren't using the biggest weapon you can to capitalize on your expanded crit. range, then you aren't playing for optimization. If you aren't playing for optimization then it doesn't matter what archetype you pick.
>>43770512
Eh... I'm not convinced on the damage either, especially if you factor in Half-Orcs with their savage attacker feature.
You get d8/d10/d12 ( or are we ignoring late game stuff?)
Sorry, d8 or d10 damage added on 6 times per short rest (probably every 2-3 fights unless your DM is kind).
Or 15% critical hit chance with 4 attacks per round, meaning that in a 3 round combat (a reasonable length to assume) you're statistically likely to crit at least once, dealing an extra 2d8 damage if you're a longsword user, or hell, 2d12 if you're using a great weapon.
2d12 in 3 combats is 6d12, which is effectively the same extra damage you outputted from battlemaster.
I think the control is the strength not the extra damage.
Alright so I know Wizards are supposed to use their spell books in order to cast spells but I was curious as to how you guys would feel about this.
Due to the dangers of losing their spell book a Wizard spends twice the usual amount of cost for a spell in order to tattoo a spell directly onto their own skin. Obviously this would be limited since the only have so much skin that they could use, though I suppose if it's written small enough and can still be read that wouldn't be too much of a problem. I don't really think anything else should be added to it (so it doesn't become a feat or changes the way things work, besides turning your own skin into a spell book).
How do you feel about this?
>>43770416
Thanks a lot, I'll stay true to my class, I guess multiclassing is better left for the 2nd or 3rd character anyway.
>>43770648
I think that fucking with the wizards spellbook is a bad idea with most players, most won't see it as a surprising challenge that can launch interesting roleplay options, but as you being a dickass who doesn't want them to have fun playing a wizard.
>>43770661
Sounds like a solid plan.
>>43770677
Nah I don't mean it as a no choice rule sort of deal - nothing to force them to do this, they can still have their spell book. It's more like an option available if they would want it, I saw the drama behind OotA and thought it would be an interesting way to lessen the blow from a Wizard losing their spell book. That sort of thing.
>>43770725
You know what would be an easier way? Not fucking with the spellbook.
>>43770619
I think the math that's been done sort of assumes one fight, which will favor the Battle Master.
That said your math is off. When you roll a critical, you double the die. So when you crit, and you use a longsword, you are right that you're dealing 2d8 damage. However, only 1d8 is 'extra' damage.
For the majority of your levels, you crit. 10% of the time. Which means one out of every ten attacks will be a crit, on average.
In a three round combat you'll make 6 attacks. So you really need two combat to be sure of a critical. 12 to 14 attacks. And probably an action surge, so we'll make it 15 attacks. 1.5 crits. If you use a big weapon you're dealing an extra 1 and a half d12's. That's an average of about 10 damage. (6.5+3.25) It's higher, by less then a full point, if you use a great sword.
The Battlemaster, at this point, has four to five maneuver dice. All of them add both damage, and an effect. So while the Champion, on average, is able to put out an extra 10.5 damage in these two battles (And we'll call it an even 13 if it goes to three battles, 9 rounds, 20 attacks with Action Surge.)The Battlemaster can put out a guaranteed average of 18 (4d8) With some nice bonus effects.
The Champion could dual wield, which'd raise his crit. rate by a little, but I'm not bothering with that math. It's been done by people before, and it's been shown time and time again that, outside of freakish marathons, the Battle Master is going to be doing better. (Although, I don't think most calculations account for magical weapons, which are hard to calculate in 5e since magical weapons are no longer an assumption in builds.)
>>43770648
I think it sounds like great RP.
I also think mechanically there's nothing stopping a DM from saying a couple of your tattoos got burned off from that last magical fireball.
A spellbook is a spellbook is a spellbook. If the DM wants to take your spellbook, they will find a way.
>>43770759
Damn why you getting so salty?
>>43770725
This would be a good option for people who want to play OotA and in general is a very interesting variant option. Just make sure the wizard likes the idea before starting your campaign.
>>43770759
Yeah, I get what you're saying and it isn't something I'm really interested in doing.
>>43770852
Yeah I felt like it would be interesting RP wise. And yeah I mean, there isn't exactly some magical plot armor protecting it from say, being burned up from said fireball or just simply destroyed in some ridiculous attack. Sure it might be made of something incredibly durable but stuff happens... Like rust monsters... And even without the fireball just getting cut might be enough to care problems so I might have to think of it more temporary instead of permanent.
>>43770855
Yeah I wouldn't mind if I was DMing to offer something like this but yeah nothing forced - I was just trying to think of a way how a Wizard might be able to ensure that their most important spells were kept should they not have a spare spell book or just haven't had the time/funds to make one.
>>43770983
Luckily a wizard can still cast spells without a book. They just can't prepare a new list of spells like normal. It is bad to lose a book but you should be able to find getting a new one after a few sessions.
So, with the feats Polearm Mastery, Sentinel, the new Fighting Style Tunnel Fighter of the UA of the Underdark a fighter/paladin/ranger can, given he/she hits every time, stops all melee fighter? Better, with the Relentless Avenger of the Paladin's Oath of Vengeance you can have move to the next enemy in order of initiative?
I want to use the World Serpent Inn so badly, but there seem to be a lot of hooks and risks attached to giving players that kind of option.
What's the worst that can happen, and how would I go about preventing that?
>>43771135
Relentless Avenger specifies that it happens as part of the reaction for an Opportunity Attack, while Tunnel Fighter lets you Opportunity Attack without spending a reaction. Ask your DM if he's alright with you having unlimited speed.
If you think Tunnel Fighter is going to make it out of UA in the shape it's in, then you must not think very well.
does anyone use TS/roll 20 and wouldn't mind me listening in every now and then? I'm pretty bad at actually getting into character/staying in character, but I really like listening in.
>>43770832
I've done the math several times and the short conclusions are.
>All champions should be half-orcs, no exceptions. (assuming you care about damage. Obvious.)
>Battle Master is much more front loaded with its benefits than Champion. (46.15% of dice value are available at level 3 compared to 11.05% of bonus crit damage per round.)
>Champion benefits more from the rare magic weapon that gives bonus damage dice.
>GWM Feat gives an extra benefit to having increased crit chance. (Greatswords/Mauls still better than Greataxes.)
>If one-handed, try using a Lance while mounted.
>You could pass on Polearm Mastery. (The lower damage dice favors Battle Master more.)
>Champion still doesn't have as much controlled nova.
Half-orc's crit with a 2d6 weapon with GWF-style is worth 12.5 damage. Champion crits 10 percentage points more often. Making 4 attacks per round. So 0.1*12.5*4=5 damage per round, plus more chance to make an extra attack with GWM. Battle Master gets ~41 extra damage (baseline bonus, sometimes crits, no optimization) With two action surges per rest, it takes ~6 rounds of combat for the bonus crit damage to match it (Lance is a bit under Maul is a bit over.). BM gets control effects. Champion gets an extra fighting style, low life regen, and +3 initiative (and raw strength checks, like breaking things.)
>>43770832
>Level 15 is when battlemaster has 6 dice, and when Superior Critical takes effect
>Action Surge gives you an additional action, which on a level 15 fighter would be 3 attacks
>Let's just ignore levels and pretend we've got a battlemaster 20 and a champion 3, yeah?
When you do math, you gotta make sure you're taking from both sides equally friend.
Battlemaster is going to have 6d10s at level 15. On average, that's 33 additional damage between short rests.
Champion, on the other hand, is going to have that 15% crit chance at the same time we have 6d10s. And 3 attacks, which the Battlemaster also has. 3 attacks, need a total of 3 actions attacking to effectively guarantee a critical, and criting isn't as good as just adding damage on a hit.
Champion has staying power the battlemaster doesn't have though. Battlemaster can deal some serious damage, but the Champion is built for the long haul, with no expended resources, the extra fighting style, and Survivor as the level 18 ability.
>>43771841
>Our land druid is a bit of a thatguy
>Runs around almost naked (took a level of barbarian) and only eats things he has either picked or killed (basically only lives off goodberry)
>Asks any ladies we come across if they want to be his mate
>We fought a corrupt lady knight yesterday
>He casts heat metal on her half-plate armor
>She starts getting burned while her squire is helping her strip (also getting minor burns according to the DM)
>Rest of us take out the five soldiers that were with her
>Once she is down to singed clothes the druid runs over and grapples her
>Pins her so she becomes restrained (he has the grappler feat)
>Tells her to "become my mate or I will crush you"
Its not bad but damn does it get strange sometimes. Oh and the druid knocked out the knight since she wouldn't respond. He is keeping her bound up in his tent "until she chooses". Though it is funny that we now use her squire as a servant. Made him swear to make no attempts to free her or leave and in turn she will be kept alive and unharmed.
>>43772041
>Lets use a level 20 battlemaster and a level 3 Champion.
My example uses a Champion, and Battlemaster, that are both under level 10. 2 attacks per round. 4 superiority die at d8. Don't fucking lie.
Most games don't make it to 18th level. A few manage to end around 15.
The math demonstrates that for the Champion to shine, the long haul needs to be very long until at least level 15.
>>43768219
Bladesingers can get +3 Studded Leather (+5AC), +5 Dex, for a passive of 20 armor, and 25 when bladesinging, before other magic items and the shield spell.
Alternatively, you could use +3 plate armor (+11 AC) and a +3 shield (+5 AC) to have 26 passive AC, before one more magic item and potentially the shield spell if you have the right class/feats.
>>43771060
The issue is that not only do they need to spend 50 gp on the book and more to transcribe what they already had prepared and remember, but completely lose any spells that they didn't have prepared.
>>43772111
At level 11, the Half-Orc using GWM is looking at 10.583~ damage per swing, and gets a bonus fourth attack from crits 27.1% of the time. Similar battle master is looking at 9.9583~ damage per swing and gets a bonus attack 14.2625% of the time.
>Champ:3.271*10.583~=34.618
>Surge round=68.459
>BM: 3.142625*9.9583~=31.295.
>Surge round=62.388
BM dice 5d10(27.5) Rounding to 29 for crits. Surge round is 6.071, each normal round is 3.323, for the Champion. 8 rounds to match at level 11. I'd guess about 12 rounds to match at 10, to say what a difference the extra attacks make.
This is just matching basic competency with dice. Riposte and Precision attack can be worth a bit more than just the dice's value in damage.
