/5eg/ Fifth Edition General

What are some fun character concepts for a Kobold?

I was thinking of making an Artificer, but I'm not too into how weak the class feels.

Elf Bladesinger.

For your hunter, probably Spellless ranger variant slapped onto the Revised Ranger with Hunter Conclave.

5e is lower power level
Many minions would simply ruin the game

How do you feel about Kobold as PC? Is the Sunlight Sensitivity as bad as it sounds?

Wyvern, purely because of something that happened with one of my players.

>Me: OK, its your turn now, Wrestling Dragonborn Bearbarian
>Him: I GRAPPLE THE WYVERN >:)
>Me: Are you sure?
>Him: Yes!!!
>Me: Roll for it.
>Him: Yes! Nat 20!
>Me: Okay, so you grapple the wyvern.
>Him: Yay!
>Me: Now its the wyvern's turn. Because its so much bigger than you, its going to ignore you and take to the skies...
>Him: Oh no!
>Me: And flies over the edge of the nearby cliff...
>Him: OH NO!

Suffice to say, it did not end well for him.

You can cast the spell multiple times.
Also, reassertion is a thing.

At level 20...
3 level 3 spells, asserts over 4 each
3 level 4 spells, asserts over 6 each
3(+2 arcane recovery) level 5 spells, asserts over 8 each
2 level 6 spells, asserts over 10 each
2 level 7 spells, asserts over 12 each
1 level 8 spell, asserts over 14 each
1 level 9 spell, asserts over 16 each

16*1 + 14*1 + 12*2 + 10*2 + 5*8 + 3*6 + 3*4

=144 skeletons/zombies using all of your spell slots except 1s and 2s.

What, you had to use all your spell slots to create a mini army of zombies and completely destroy action economy? You wanted your DM to have to go through 1000 of them? You wanted a spell that did all of this WITHOUT upcasting?
Then you don't know how 5e works.

Which is why, once they start to break 5-7 of the things you call it a swarm with swarm rules, give it the stats of a giant of some variety then call it a day. Or just raise a single bigger minion.

youtube.com/watch?v=kkDMz2ml0gw

This guy gets it. It's why my plan all along was that an Army of Darkness spell creates a Huge (Gargantuan? Eh, whatever) Swarm of Zombies/Skeletons, because that way it gets the feel across of a huge army of the undead, whilst still only taking up actions as per a single minion.

>Or just raise a single bigger minion
Those are conjure spells, probably.

If you want a level 9 'Conjure skeletal dragon' or something spell, then go ahead, I guess, as long as you balance it out properly.

You can already upcast conjure spells. You can cast conjure celestial at level 9 to summon a CR 5 celestial, at least.

I think the alchemist artificer from unearthed arcana would make for an excellent battle chef.

They should definitely NOT be converted, as Animate Dead with a higher level spell slot fulfills the role.

Far better to do something like that as a plot type ritual, a necromancer ALREADY gets way more than enough minions. Way, way, WAY more than enough.

>Not German Suplexing the Wyvern from the cliff
>Not giving a fuck because you got resistance bludgeon when you are raging

This Dragonborn cruiserweight gotta cruiserWAIT, Jack. He ain't no Tiburon, the kid is just not ready for a main event push.

The next campaign arc for new players finishing up LMoP will be themed around the merging of the Feywild with the Material Plane and the coming of a mystical fey lord known as the Green King.
I want the whole ordeal to be more horror and more strange. The primal forces and weird nature of the creatures and physics beyond our own. Any ideas for elements, places or monsters to implement? Much of the official Feywild is more satyrs and unicorns than the stuff of russian and gaelic folklore.

Eating monsters is definitely an alchemist artificer thing.

Expertise in chef's utensils, good with liquids.

I am new. I have never played a bard ir warlock. What is the proper way to play as them? Mechanically and roleplay.

Keep in mind in the edition where you can make a bajillion skeletons, those skeletons are weak pushovers unable to contribute, in 5e the skeleton is going to have something like 20-30 hp and 11 or so damage for a high level necromancer.

>relatively new players/DM
>party level 3
>CR 5 demon suddenly appears from invisibility right next to sorcerer
>lands 1 attack
>sorcerer shocking grasps and gets the fuck out
>melee players move in and lock the demon down in engagement
>entire party wails on it until its next turn
>completely trivial encounter despite CR difference and appearing from invis right on top of back line

So, uh, what's the proper solution to this?

>CR diffference
>A single CR 5 dude

CR differences aren't a big deal until they are much wider than two levels. Between damage averages and Bounded Accuracy being what it is.

And if your party is lucky it can be that simple, if they're unlucky and you are gunning for them, maybe not.

CRs are meant to be combined. Unless a monster was designed to solo (e.g. it has multiattack or legendary/lair actions) the action economy will fuck it hardcore.

>A single monster without any back-up

I've met far too many people who seem to think that in 5e a single creature can be heroic and fight all on its own, only for it to get stunlocked and fucked every which ways to friday.

It doesn't matter if it has CR bajlilion, if its defences aren't crazy with legendary resistance all over the shop then there's probably some way to shut it down and kill it.

>what's the proper solution to this?

The PCs fight monster
defeat monster
what is porblem?

>Animate Dead with a higher level spell slot fulfills the role.
Yes, because 13 skeles/zombies fulfills the exact same role as hundreds.
Because those 13 skeletons, which will die in one hit to fucking anything you send them against because you're level 18 and thus going against CR 20 shit, really make the dread necromancer feel strong when that is the only one of two options he has for actually raising dead servants available to him.
>like 20-30 hp and 11 or so damage
5egmegaanon.github.io/5etools/bestiary.html#Skeleton
2d8+4 HP
Damage is 1 swing with a weapon +2 str
Animate dead specifically raises the MM statted skeleton/zombie

CR 5 for level 3 players isn't that bad.
According to the Dungeom Master's Guide:
"For example, a party of four 3rd-level characters should find a monster with a challenge rating of 3 to be a worthy challenge, but not a deadly one."

Anot her DM and I agreed on allowing players to use smoked glass goggles to get around he sunlight sensitivity for Kobolds and Drow. It doesn't completely remove the threat, as your dependant on the goggles not getting ripped off or shattered.
Also it's got that Riddick vibe.

To add to this, some monsters are assigned a CR BECAUSE the game intends for you to dogpile and obliterate them. Casting monsters can threaten, or destroy, PCs to a great deal (look at the caster level 17, CR 7 fiend warlock, and the caster level 18, CR 12 archmage), but their fairly low CR is an indicator of how likely they can be killed quickly.

My DM had us face a "Green King" which turned out to be a Fiend. It didn't even last two turns, because I unknowingly explored his big weakness. Feelssadman.png
For ideas, watch that Korra arc in which the spirited and material world merge, it's pretty much that. Plants growing everywhere, spirits going around causing confusions, maybe add some Wild Magic areas, stuff like that

>Tiburon
>true story
>not fiction made up by someone who doesn't actually know the system

ok

The first one could be any class depending on how you look at it, but something that works best with the races particular strengths would fit best and assuming it's high elf then Wizard is as good a pick as any. Hunter Ranger would work for the second one provided the GM was running a game where Ranger features actually matter.

Something I want to do.

"Okay everyone, we're busting out the web articles for modern equipment and proficiencies and the modern magic UA, I want us to try our hand at some Urban Arcana,"

I would hope to get a diverse party, between casters martials and non humans with at least one human who is from earth proper and not the descendant of or a shadow born human themselves so they don't see the supernatural party members for what they really are...until...

Halfway through the second session after establishing the party and matters of local intrigue seed a rumor of some local kids or scoundrels going missing in a certain part of town in a nearby suburb. Investigating the area notes something odd, a four story victorian house that looks out of place around all these small lot ranches and occassional mcmansions.

It seems abandoned...and entering, run Death House. Upon entry through the mists they are in Barovia and the normal human can see the others for what they really are...

And then its time for Curse of Strahd.

Uh, maybe you should read the necromancer class features. Animate Dead (and Create Undead) are very, VERY powerful tools for a necromancer.

Necromancers are the biggest damage dudes in the whole fucking wizarding world.

I don't know what you could possibly do with hundreds of the weak, pleb skeletons of prior editions other than annoy everyone at the game table.

Basically your mission here seems to be to not understand the 5e necromancer, not understand balance, and whine at everyone trying to help you. Good job.

We recently got our shit rocked by a single black pudding, but it was a super enclosed space. 5 ft wide 300 ft deep chasm full of clockwork bullshit, and somewhere in that mess is the pudding. It's an ooze, so it squished thought all the gears no problem.

Two of us ended the fight naked.

>Thinking being able to control up to 144 skeletons at a time with +20 HP, +6 damage from necromancer wizard and the ability to control possibly even a lich on top of that using 'command undead' isn't overpowered
>Necromancer wizard laughing as his skeleton horde, all given greatswirds by the wizard all bash on a legendary dragon with his oathbreaker paladin friend giving them all +5 to damage
>Even if the skeletons only hit an ancient dragon on an 18 or higher, that's 2/20 chance per skeleton per round of doing 2d6+5+6+2 (20) damage or 1/20 chance of doing 4d6+5+6+2 (27) damage

>At full capacity, 21.6 attacks, dealing 22.33 damage each to the dragon

>No, we need a level 9 spell as well so you can get a lich, 128 skeletons AND whatever bullshit army a level 9 spell makes.

So 33 HP will still die to a single overchanneled fireball so your 13 skeletons are now assorted bones
So you have your wights left
Which, while nothing to scoff at, will get demolished against any CR 15-20 monster you go against.

>Not commanding them to spread out so a fireball won't nuke all of them
>Not counterspelling the fireball

>wizard conjures 144 skellys
>cramp them all around the druid
>druid casts animals shapes
>enjoy your 144 CR4 beasts

I don't think it's too bad. There's ways around it if you find ways to force advantage for yourself. Barbarian reckless swing, or using pack tactics.

Ranger with a beast companion is a pretty neat way around it, especially if you make it some kind of mounted martial combatant.

It's pretty easy to make a kobold spellcaster who never makes an attack roll.

I want to roll a kobold ranger who rides an ambush dragon

Nice try, but Skelemancer will win in nearly any remotely level appropriate engagement, no problem. It is one of the most powerful "builds" in 5e, and I put that in quotes because its just a fucking necromancer with no frills, no weaselly RAW abuse, no UA jack fuckery, just a single classed dude using his class features and spell slots in a single simple way.

If you CHOOSE to be a fucking idiot and lose your skeletons, well that's on you as a dumb ass player. Its up to you to grab Globe of Invulnerability and/or Counterspell, etc. Your party should ideally help you as well.

Hey /5eg/, i got a rules question.
I play a sorcerer, and i ride a hoers. rains, stirrups, the whole shebang.

If i cast witch bolt on an enemy within range during my turn, having not moved, can i ready an action to "keep at distance" said enemy, so that they're always between, say, 30 and 15 feet of me?

I was gonna do that until my DM decided I'd get 1 less die for my stat rolls than anybody else

So I'm hanging that idea up until I find a way to convince him or find a new group.

Holy shit

>>New Plane Shift: Kaladesh
For those in the know, where would THEY want a Plane Shift to go?

That's not bad, especially if the rule for how if the beast is reduced to 0 hp, they pop back into their original form at whatever HP they had, taking only the excess damage. Looks like it.

This may be a TIME TO JACK OFF tier ability.

Unfortunately, Ready is an action. So no. Personally I would allow it though.

>witch bolt

Oh, you're that guy. Good luck lad, and fuck your DM.

Mirrodin
God please, make the next one Mirrodin

I might see if pic related convinces him, desu.

PC Kobold is just an innately born Dragonshield justifies it being stronger than the average kobold.

maybe I am an autist...

Next one we're getting will be for Amonkhet, a Not!Egypt plane ruled over by a bloody great dragon magician.
One after will be Atlazan, which we know nothing about aside from the cat it has merfolk and a vaguely Aztec sounding name.

Do you mean New Phyrexia or Mirrodin?

Fuck new Phyrexia
Mirrodin

Is this confirmed?

Well, the Zendikar one covered both pre- and post-Eldrazi fuckery, so porque no los dos?

Yeah but I didn't ask which one we were Obviously going to get. I asked which one would you WANT.

Look at this incompleat scrub.

64 skeletons. All 1 HP. Boom. Hire me, Wizards.

I had to double check to make sure I wasn't in an MTG thread for a second.

Mirrodin, Dominaria, and Kamigawa

Compleation Engineer Artificer WHEN

...

It would be fun to fluff it as the animal skeletons literally ripping their way out of their corpses to continue fighting.

Nice quads.
Elephants are CR4

Quads of truth

Assuming you only had 4 level 3's, that's a deadly encounter, which hardly means TPK. I bet you have a bigger than 4 person party too, so it's not even deadly.
>Players beat a medium/hard encounter
>WHY!?

Hey /5eg/, under what circumstances would you find both Zombies and Nothics together?

A clade of necromancers had an experiment go terribly wrong, turning them into nothics.

How does anyone even threatens a druid-defended forest?
>druid gathers thousands of tiny-sized animals around him
>transform them all into fucking elephants
please someone put something like that in their campaign and tell how it goes

I'm not a 100% sure I want to do this, mainly because my players are RAW, but how does the idea that spellcasters have to purchase named spells (Leomund's Tiny Hut, Drawmji Instant Summons, Tenser's Floating Disc) sound?

>>Players beat a medium/hard encounter
>>WHY!?

more like "players barely took a scratch against a monster of higher CR, why"

but the question is, since action economy was the obvious problem in the encounter, do we just never fight any big, lone boss monsters until we get to shit that has legendary actions?

Each Planeshift corresponds which the block it was released at the end of.

Amonkhet is the next block, Atlazan is the block that will follow.

As in they can't learn named spells through a level up, they have to acquire them some other way

So the best creature I can think of that is eligible is a Giant Scorpion, which does 19 physical + 22 (save half) poison damage a round. Not bad at all.

The most obvious permanent intelligent minion, barring elaborate shenanigans like making a vampire turn a high power but low intelligence NPC for a necromancer is the Mummy Lord, which is CR 15, has spells, legendary actions, and respawns if it dies.

So you could have a cool CURSE OF EGYPT type thing going on. Bonus points if you somehow get a scroll of True Polymorph and turn the party monk into a second Mummy Lord as well.

unfortunately both CR4 beasts are huge and ineligible. Currently there are no legitimate CR4 target shapes for Animal Shapes.

>more like "players barely took a scratch against a monster of higher CR, why"

cuz the system is working as intended

nonlegendary creatures are not supposed to be balanced encounters for entire parties and you know that perfectly well

Can turn into CR3 Giant Scorpions, good enough I guess

>The dragon takes flight and uses its breath weapon.

Are you really suggesting using hordes of fragile minions against a flying creature with a natural AoE damage action?

>All 3 Plane Shifts have been for the last 3 sets released
Ravnica and Alara and maybe Theros would be nice, but for the time being I doubt they are going to make any for planes that aren't in the current spotlight.

>you know that perfectly well

guess you didn't read my first post huh

>tfw no Dungeon Meshi campaign

I finished the first six pages in my handmade spellbook prop

Didn't take into account my shit handwriting

I'm disheartened

This was a failed endeavor

In 5e fighting a single high level opponent is easier than fighting a mob of low level mooks.

My suggestion is to give it mooks so players are spread out, or if you really like the idea of having the party fight one big bad evil dude, give the guy legendary actions

>Not already having found a way to ground the dragon, such as using your level 2 spell slot to enlarge the paladin and finding something else to grow him a size so he can grapple the dragon. Or fighting it inside a cave. Or one of the anti-air spells. Or a warlock with the pull ability. Or a flying warlock with repelling blast. Or anyone with sentinel. Or a vengenace paladin, or so forth.

>it uses its breath weapon, killing.. What, 20, 30, maybe even 40 of them? There'll still be plenty of them left, and it can't use its AoE every turn.

As DMs, we all have that one fight early in our first campaign that we think is going to be tough and challenge the players by throwing a single monster with a CR higher than the party's level, and then watch it get shredded to pieces. In my case it was a CR 4 Ettin against a level 2 party.

There are 3 answers to solve that: legendary creatures, adding more less powerful monsters, and increasing HP by a bunch.

Pics

Speaking of Necromancers, I've had the "Bone Engineer" meme trope bumping around in my head for a while.
Thoughts?

>Necromancer Wizard
>Uses Skeletons as a basis for animation- not necessarily RE-animation- magic, as Bone is a super-efficient magic conductor
>Is researching how to use bone in the creation of constructs that don't require Necrotic energy and using it to animate things beyond horrible abominations, such as a bonemeal-concrete mix for "artificial" Undead shaped more like plaster or concrete machines
>Is NOT a "Good" Necromancer- Lawful Neutral and is unrepentant in how their work is immoral. Very much a "Ends Justify the Means" type. They follow a strict code of ethics in the animation of corpses, such as only using "fairly harvested' bodies, and making their Skeletons completely clean to avoid spreading diseases (Whether or not the society in question knows hygiene helps in the spread of disease, as it's just as likely they believe clean skeletons are even worse than normal ones)
>Keeps their Skeletons fully clothed with no bone visible whenever possible
>Is experimenting with combining Animate Dead with Animate Objects to make a "Neutral" sort of construct that lasts indefinitely however doesn't need the absurd requirements for most Construct creation

As with most of the characters I make I'd intend their path to be open ended, with 3 main "ends"

>Good End- After joining a party of goody two-shoes adventurers, learns a way to animate constructs using positive energy to become an anti-necromancer
>Neutral End- They successfully create a "Magic Concrete" that allows them to make Neutral Constructs, retire from adventuring to perfect this revolutionary material
>Bad End- After ending up adventuring with a bunch of murderhoboing dicks they do as most "good" necromancers do and fall down the slippery slope to "evil Necromancer side quest villain to be slain by mid-tier adventurers"

I'm not the DM, just looking for suggestions I can throw at him

>give the guy legendary actions

this appears to be what the DM is doing from now on

Think of it this way: its your own codified script so if ever any other wizard gets their grubby paws on your book they can't benefit from your hard work

>Druid and Necromancer team up to invade shit
>Necromancer raises undead horde
>Druid turns them into Giant Scorpions
>Then wildshapes into an earth elemental, earth glides to provide stealthy support and the occasional siege weapon

Now we only need a justification for why.

AC and to hit doesn't scale like crazy, so health goes up as damage chugs behind meaning that a group of 'low health' mooks can pump out way more damage than a similarly beefy boss dude.

Does this look solid/broken/gimped to you /5eg/?

My friend would like to play as a beastmaster ranger with a monkey that lives in his branches.

Treant

Ability Scores: Con +2, Wis +1
Size: Medium
Speed: 30ft.

Natural Talent
You have proficiency in the Nature skill.

Powerful Build
You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Ent Magic
You know the Druidcraft cantrip.
When you reach 3rd level you can cast Entangle once per day.
When you reach 5th level, you can also cast either Spike Growth or Barkskin once per day.
Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Forest Camouflage
When you make a Stealth check in the forest you are considered proficient in the Stealth skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.

You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan.