/5eg/ - Fifth Edition General

Warlock/Sorcerer?

optimizing cantrip damage is a trap

I have been considering homebrewing the 4e warden as a druid circle for a friend of mine who doesn't want to roll an ancients paladin. However I am a little short on ideas for what I can do to make it feel different compared to the other 'defender'-like options.

So, I have two questions.
1 - What would you say were some defining aspects and iconic abilities of the 4e warden?
2 - Mechanically, what niche or strength do you think is missing from the 5e defender-like options?

My group hasn't really run with a defender before so I'm feeling a bit lost on this. However, my friend always played defenders before he came to this group. Our DM is behind it if I can give her a complete HB circle that isn't wildly OP.

how do you keep track of game time/ days? do you even bother unless some event matters?

I like to. I just use a calendar and clock tool.

do you find keeping track helps?

Since dates and times matter in my games, yes

fair enough

I had kind of a wild thought last night and I thought it fixed all the issues with warlock being too attractive as a multiclass.

What if these changes were made?
>Eldritch Blast does not hit multiple times and just scales like Fire Bolt
>Agonizing Blast requires level 6 and applies to all warlock cantrips. Eldritch Spear could do something like double range on warlock cantrips instead of 300 to Eldritch Blast, which would make Greenflame Blade and Booming Blade work with reach weapons without forcing Spell Sniper.
>Warlocks gain a feature in a level no later than 11 that allows their cantrips to cast twice in one action. Word it like Extra Attack so it doesn't get screwy with stuff like Quicken Spell via multiclass or War Caster.

These changes would make warlock damage scale up without focusing so exclusively on Eldritch Blast, though Eldritch Blast would remain a competitive option. Similarly Hex remains a solid choice but warlock damage doesn't hinge on it so much to be competitive.

Blade Warlocks can get double hits out of Greenflame Blade and Booming Blade, giving them a reason to exist and do something besides Eldritch Blast.

Tell me if there's some huge oversight in these ideas that needs to be accounted for.

So I think my next character is going to be a utility wizard, as most others in the party are damage dealers. What would be the best utility spells I could pick up that are level 1 and 2?

>The Tentacled Beast of Blaaaargh
>It just says "Blaaargh". He must of died while writing it.

Would it be correct to say Critical Role is a good show as inspiration for excellent narrative and roleplaying while Dice, Camera, Action is the better overall GMed game?

I don't think that's incorrect. Though perhaps a matter of opinion. I enjoy CR more then DCA, but they are both good and this opinion may also be influenced by how goddamned fantastic Critical Role's last few episodes were.

The Planar Bestiary is now in the DMs Guild trove.

Great, thanks! Been looking for this.

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

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

seriously? check the dms mega trove. fuck

>he doesn't even read the thread before his begging shitpost tax

HOLY SHIT
ARE YOU BLIND?

Delete it from the mega trove. Seriously.

So I'm going to just come out and say it. I'm dumb as a rock and can't figure out how to actually play this game. I've read through the book twice now and I think I get it but once I sit down to play I forget everything and I don't know how to actually roll for things, how to get the right totals for damage things like that. How to cast spells. skills, seriously any of it. Dose anyone know a video or something that very clearly explains and gives examples? I'm trying to run a game for my nephew but when it comes time to do a roll I blank and can't explain it to him. I can only fudge things for so long. Sorry I'm such an inept piece of shit Veeky Forums can you help me out?

1)Warden won't really work for 5e druid. I'd recommend making it a fighter archetype with 1/3rd casting off the druid spell list; Then either a ribbon nature ability or Translate Wardens fury (advantage on attacks against target{s?} who've hit anyone but you at 3rd level; Then at seventh give them the ability to move toward targets who attack allies or push this back to tenth if you didn't give them Wardens fury at 3rd. That should cover them for most campaigns.

2) Retribution style abilities are pretty rare in the default classes, sentinel is the only one I remember, but generally those can be a pain to balance.

Then you fuck default warlocks. After all most games don't last past level 10.

Mystic, Take 3 is coming next month, my dudes.

No later than 11 just sets a maximum level. I figure the minimum level is between 6 and 11 considering the strength of the hypothetical feature.

What would you suggest is the right level for the hypothetical feature?

>mystic pt 3

I'm actually really excited about that. One of my first Pathfinder characters was a telepathy psion, and the mechanics here are very similar(but more fun and unique). Can't wait to rebuild her in 5e.

You could just be too stupid to play

Tossing them 1 extra cantrip could probably help a bit, problem is that warlocks don't get cantrips with auxiliary effects aside from chill touch by default, or some useful early game invocations. The problem with nerfing early warlock is that they don't have much.

Thanks for the suggestions. I haven't been able to get a copy of the 4e phb to see what they were good at. I looked at druid since I've read that their encounter powers were shapeshifts.

Then again multi classing warlock doesn't really break much and isn't that thematically damaging for most classes.

So let's say a new Agonizing Blast has no level requirement and specifies warlock cantrips instead of Eldritch Blast. Eldritch Blast scales like Fire Bolt instead of gaining extra rays.

Where do you stick the "Extra Attack for warlock cantrips" feature without making it busted for multiclassing? 5? At 5 it's the best Extra Attack in the game but the feature levels out by 11.

m8, its just like math. theres simple formulas that nearly everything follows, and unless your nephew decides to run a grappler/map damage cheese character, theres ALOT of shit you dont need to know

just look at one class that casts, all casters are going to use nearly the same exact formula, replacing their stats, with the base one

the same goes for melee damage, range damage, or skills. one formula each, that you're just plugging in numbers

if you're having this much trouble, literally treat it as a math test. go through the book, or even just the parts you know you're going to need (he's for example a barbarian, you dont need to memorize every single cleric domain) and write down the formulas and skills that will come into play

Going to be playing a rogue in SKT.

Wanna do a Swashbuckler. Probably going half-elf,

kinda want to multiclass it with draconic sorcerer for a level or two. 13 ac + dex and not having to worry about armor ever sounds sweet, so does four cantrips and two spells slots

guess what I'm asking is, should I multi-class for like a level or two? or is it better to just go straight Rogue?

We're starting at level 3. I'd do 2 rogue 1 sorc,

Just concerned about delaying my archetype/first ASI, will that be worth the benefits of MC'ing sorc?

keep in mind that at level eleven a bladelock or tomblock with this feature will be doing 2d8+cha(BB)+ 2d8+cha(GFB)+2d8+cha(GFB 2nd target)+blade weapon damage(x2)+str/dex/(cha+cha with shillelagh)(x2)+2d6(hex). Note, I might be missing stuff. This could arguably make them the best melee gish in the game.

I just think you should be happy that you managed to post on a Laotian Sculpture board as a dog.

They're squishy as fuck single-classed. They'd be the best offensive one with a severe trade off in defense.

For a multiclass, yeah that would be ridiculous and it's why I'm not sure which level to stick the "Extra Attack for cantrips" feature.

you're saving 45g and gaining 1ac with that "armor"
two level one spells are going to be relatively useless, but the cantrips would be good if your dm allows sword coast shit

basically, the advantage of 1 sorc level, is the equivalent of taking 2 magic initiate feats, so weight that however you feel

>two level one spells are going to be relatively useless

Shield nigga. It's the best level 1 spell a sorcerer has and it's relevant to a melee character.

The base class shouldn't be broken over a simple matter as "I want my paladin to might less" or "I want less people to have good damaging cantrips". Keep in mind warlock spell slots can only be used for smites/ranger tracking or warlock spells.

Figured I'd take shield as a "oh shit nigga", dunno what my other spell would be.

Probably disguise self, I'm a spy. I just always like having magic because it offers so much

I agree that EB doesn't need fixing, but you can cast any spell with any spell slots. This is literally outlined in the note on Pact Magic under multiclassing.

Heres my issue. Say the character has a 10 in all stats just for the sake of it. and I want them to climb a small cliff. As far as I can remember from the book, I roll d20+dex modifier. But I don't know what to do about their relative skill at climbing. and I can't make heads or tails of it from the book. same with spell casting. How do i know their ability to cast? book says spells allways pass but need to beat a check, or that the enemy will get to check against it or something. so how do find that stuff? And I know its in the book cause like I said i've read through it twice but it won't stick and it gets lost.

>This could arguably make them the best melee gish in the game.

And why would we ever want the squishy gish archetype to be good at being a squishy gish?

Then we couldn't shitpost about how much Pact of the Blade sucks.

Well do the math, it actually buffs the base class.

The proposed Agonizing Blast might need a list of what cantrips it applies to. It would still be nice not to pigeonholed into Eldritch Blast, and allowing it to apply to GFB and BB for Pact of the Blade would help Pact of the Blade a ton.

>Keep in mind warlock spell slots can only be used for smites/ranger tracking or warlock spells.

You're incorrect on that.

The proposed changes actually increases the average damage of Eldritch Blast relative to the existing version, even with Hex involved. Once the "Extra Attack for cantrips" feature kicks in, the average damage is 11 higher on the new and increases by .5 at 11 and another .5 at 17. Hex decreases the gap but does not close it.

It has the side effect of making other cantrips good for a warlock, which helps out Pact of the Blade quite a lot, and would remove the need for Thirsting Blade and Life Drinker as invocation taxes on Pact of the Blade.

Forget the original premise about multiclassing and it actually works well as a Pact of the Blade fix.

Close on climbing, that's Athletics based, so Strength. You'd roll d20 and add Str mod, and proficiency bonus if proficient in Strength (Athletics). The number to beat is the DC (Difficulty Class) set by the DM. Easy is 5, Normal is 10, Hard is 15, Very Hard is 20...
Spells cast based on the class, not spell itself. Clerics use Wisdom, Wizards Intelligence, etc. This is in the class's Spellcasting feature.
The effect of a given spell is in its description. Some spells call for an attack roll, which is against the target's AC. Other spells force the target to make a saving throw, against the spellcaster's DC (8 + Prof. Mod + Spellcasting Ability Mod) and others do neither.

Yup. I usually post and wait for responses much later, at least that's what I did before some anons got annoyed from my posts.

But looks like you won't be seeing them anymore.

Nope never checked before I posted.

With the planar bestiary on my computer I will no longer darken the doorsteps of this thread with my request again.

As I leave have some Roll20 tokens as a sign of gratitude.

mediafire com/file/r1x6i8amcradud8/Devin+Token+Pack+75+-+NPCs+Nobles.zip

mediafire com/file/8mk2n3tdjsmj6s4/Devin+Token+Pack+74+-+NPCs+Middle+Class.zip

mediafire com/file/qn2a9kbbdpcff4h/Devin+Token+Pack+73+-+NPCs+The+Poor.zip

mediafire com/file/coc4jrq3akq55mg/Devin+Token+Pack+36+-+Humanoid+Monsters.zip

mediafire com/file/zqte8dulj2ibe0b/Devin+Token+Pack+29+-+Townsfolk+2.zip

mediafire com/file/c4bmab109xto61b/TP60_Slaves.zip

mediafire com/file/00xswg7fi2rs350/TP42_FourLegedFiends_KS.zip

mediafire com/file/hzpijj845jlu5gs/TP40_NoLegedFiends_KS.zip

mediafire com/file/bg6r9g673hiqaf7/TP39_WingedFiends_KS.zip

mediafire com/file/rfbvtr6hxe1r5ak/TP34Animals_KS.zip

mediafire com/file/fyuln6tkk6j6ezw/HeroicCharacters-10.zip

mediafire com/file/e22vdbgjwyhegc1/More+Heroes.zip

mediafire com/file/aqrm1axr14hz1tg/MoreMonsters-3.zip

mediafire com/file/7jphp7g4ppbl3fm/TP27ForgedKin.zip

Well that's were your money went, beggar user.

Learn to be less of a fucking annoyance.

So there is not actually such a thing as "Skills" just proficiency in different aspects of each attribute?

Because thats what I've been doing and then agonizing over missing shit because I don't know how to keep track of skills.

oh wow dude, I take back every somewhat annoyed reply

these tokens will be a big help, thanks mang

Stop samefagging.

Yes. Each skill corresponds to an attribute. If you have a skill check, it's based on that attribute, plus a bonus if you're proficient in that skill.
You should try to use a character sheet as a point of reference. There's one in the back of the book you can look at.

s-sorry?

i'm building a campaign in roll20 right now and the free tokens are pretty restricting

Read the PHB for christs sake

Is this balanced? One of my players really wants to use it but I don't have a very good eye for judging homebrew.

I was just going to have him be ranger that has guns, but he really wants to use this for whatever reason

The last Critical role I watched was the one directly after kemdak (sp?). It started to drag on quite a bit. Is it better lately?

I must admit you do deserve an explanation. I could have easily bought the $10 pdf but I had a bet with my friend to see if I can get the book by just asking or get banned first. Since /5e/ helped me out, I'm repaying the favor. I couldn't just ask you to buy it so I could win the bet. that'd be cheating.

No problem man. Glad to help out. And what are tokens with nothing to place them on? here are some map packs as well.

mediafire com/file/ub0rqf8sngi5r11/Save+Vs.+Cave+-+Caverns+1.zip

mediafire com/file/3wph2n04p1ze6f5/Save+Vs.+Cave+-+Caverns+2.zip

mediafire com/file/4nm582dek8u42y7/Vile+Tiles+-++River+Town.zip

mediafire com/file/e5lqpizjwtbs06q/Vile+Tiles+-++Town.zip

mediafire com/file/7i9gkdxo1vx74d5/Vile+Tiles+-+Desert+Mapper.zip

mediafire com/file/33nrf23gvjkhyrl/Vile+Tiles+-+Farming+Village.zip

www.mediafire com/file/3phmf3923e6h4w3/Vile+Tiles+-+Stone+Walls.zip

mediafire com/file/7bxaod7wegflh4t/Vile+Tiles+-+Forest+Mapper+1.zip

mediafire com/file/mg3916fb1s81xqc/Vile+Tiles+-+Forst+Mapper+2+Fall.zip

mediafire com/file/gljtaa1m5ubyvgd/Vile+Tiles+-+Winter+Mapper+1.zip

mediafire com/file/wtsixm11kyaell4/Vile+Tiles+Mapper+Rivers.zip

You can find what these look like by searching the file name on the roll20 market place.

Is it possible to play a low-magic setting in 5e without just outright banning magic-using classes? It seems like the game is kinda balanced around spellcasters being able to throw lightning bolts and shit around willy nilly.

A gunslinger doesn't need it's own class, just use Mercer's fighter archetype

I didn't read through that class but one of the very first things is just a straight +1 +1 to attack and damage rolls with firearms which, while completely comparable to a fighting style, still rubs me the wrong way

>It seems like the game is kinda balanced around spellcasters being able to throw lightning bolts and shit around willy nilly.

uhh yea, it's dungeons and dragons mate.

I think every class can get spells so low-magic just don't work senpai. You could encourage your players to just play non-magic or magic-light classes.

Low-magic doesn't necessarily mean banning all casting classes, unless by that you mean "no magic," which would be much harder to pull off in 5e as it is now. An adventuring party is already above the normal populace, so having a caster or two in there is expected.

I don't often download third-party/DM's Guild content, but after all the fuss over Planar Bestiary I decided to give a look. And I gotta be honest, it's not that great.

You can but you better tone down the combat encounters. Most spellcasters rely on using their spells because, well you know, they're spellcasters. Depending how badly you plan to nerf them, they will be fucked.

If you want a low magic setting just tell your party to not pick spellcasters. Otherwise you're just gonna ruin the game for the people playing that class while the non spellcasters begin to tower above them as level ups go.

Go play in traffic.

No sir. I plan to play in roll20.

>DM wants a low magic setting
>Villain is an archmage

Every time

If we're all shitposting about 3rd-party stuff, how does this look for a generic "fiendlock" NPC? Alternate list for GOO is also provided.

Does CR5 seem right?

Once had a broken-hearted princess trying to summon an elder god, in a campaign. The bard looked at the portal, saw the tentacles curling through it, saw the altar and the wedding-dress'd princess standing below it and went "... oh shit, I fucked that up royally. [pause] get it, 'cause she's a princess? No, but seriously, I'll deal with my mess like a man."

He used his time walking the 100ft to the altar after shouting out that he'd changed his mind to cast True Polymorph on the princess, who had basically nothing for saves as I'd never expected her to be a target.
He managed to hold concentration, thereby stopping the god from moving any further through the portal, while the rest of the group killed the tentacles and sealed the portal.

He has a bounty on his head for "kidnapping the crown princess," which isn't really fair, as he did give her back on the King's birthday. He wasn't very happy with a gift-wrapped wooden chair.

Good.

What did you use to make that statblock?

Naturalcrit. The legal junk suggests that I could use it for a dmsguild pdf, I think.

homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/

Making a Swashbuckler-Battlemaster.

Starting at level 3; should I start Fighter or Rogue?

I think Fighter's the better starting choice, though not having dex save proficiency will be a big sad. STR and CON are better I suppose, and the full proficiencies are great + better starting shit.

MC'ing into rogue gives you a skill and thieve's tools proficiencies, so I'm not actually missing out on anything.

I'm debating between variant human and half-elf. V.Human would take Dual wielder so I can dual wield Rapiers, but Half-Elf gets the +cha for social stuff and rakish audacity plus darkvision plus two more skills, which will be big.

I'm normally not all powergamey like this but the rest of the group is and I don't wanna get left behind.

Decided to make some spell cards to print out for our game, what do you guys think of this format?
imgur.com/a/eCQTQ

Last thread, someone asked about max monster stats.

DMG says it's 30.

Has anybody downloaded these?

If they're just magic cards, shouldn't they be all-green, like spell cards?

And while the large image is nice to look at, the descriptions of some spells are stupidly-long. It would work better if you could expand the description box by quite a ways.

Thanks, that's kinda what I figured
haha, nah I've just always wanted to try a more Conan or GoT approach to magic where it exists, but it's more of a forbidden ritualistic kinda thing than a firing-lightning-out-of-your-fingertips-at-will thing.

Guess I'll have a look at some other systems and see what I can find.

>If they're just magic cards, shouldn't they be all-green, like spell cards?
Well the pendulum cards give me the biggest possible description box, and they're exclusively monster cards. The different backgrounds also help in differentiating the spell schools at first glance, Illusion is white, Conjuration is purple, etc.

>And while the large image is nice to look at, the descriptions of some spells are stupidly-long. It would work better if you could expand the description box by quite a ways.
For the spells with really long descriptions I could split the text into 2 cards, or even write over the card image.
By any chance does anyone know the font used by YGO cards?

My antivirus was spazzing out.

Final CR is an average of offensive and defensive, so you can have lower HP but higher damage output and still fall into a certain challenge rating. All of the MM monsters fall within 1 step of their CR if you calculate it, so it's generally right.

Ignore this asshole.

They're legit. He just should have left the period for .com so it wasn't a pain in the ass to open each link.

Avast! says they're fine.

While on the topic of online groups, thoughts on Rollplay? There's just something I can't stand about the channel and can't really bring myself to sit through their series.

Don't feel bad. D&D isn't much of a spectator activity. It's much better to play the game then watch others play.

I haven't read it in detail, but maybe check out Primeval Thule. It's kinda got a Conan vibe to it, where there is definitely magic but it's mostly concentrated in certain areas. Been a while since I breezed through it though.

Hey guys, idle question.

My party is composed of:

Lv 13 Wild Magic Sorcerer
Lv 13 Battlerager Barbarian
Lv 5 Hunter Ranger / 8 Assassin Rogue

And they just took down a Demilich in its lair, played intelligently and making full use of its Legendary Actions, Lair Actions and Legendary Resistances. Now, granted, they all have magic items, but we're using the 3 Attunement slot rules so it's not as if they're just overpowered rape machines.

Is CR a little fucky when you get to this point? Because for a CR 20 fight, 3x Lv 13's didn't do so bad. They had a little NPC backup, but it was mostly to fight the Demilich's animated servants so that they could focus the big bad. It was overall a great fight and everyone had fun, but I'm a little concerned about how weird the balancing is for high-CR encounters.

Regarding the Theurgy Tradition in the Non-Divine Faithful UA, do you use your wizard level in the place of your cleric level when determining the bonus damage dealt from your channel divinity (Radiance of the Dawn in the case of the Light domain for instance)?

I know you use your wizard level to determine the save DC, but otherwise the bonus damage you deal would be 0 (unless you actually take cleric levels).
Is this intentional?

I know, one of the only Dnd channels I like is Threshold because it's short compared to other shows and rp heavy.

If you've ever actually -played- D&D, it's much less satisfying to watch other people play it. It's great to spectate if you've never had a taste of it, but it loses some of the luster for a player. As a DM, I really only enjoy Critical Role due to the fact that Mercer is pretty damn good at what he does.

I really only ever listen to it in the background when I'm doing something else though, I don't think I could stand to sit down and just watch it like a television show or something.

Good luck to your computers.

>NPC handled its animated servants

That might be the issue; they overwhelmed the demilich with their actions.