/5eg/ - Fifth Edition General

Hang yourself.

Isn't that just asking for a TPK?

Guess what else the trickery cleric gets? Cleric stuff.

Channel Divinity, preferring to prepare spells, wanting to play a Wisdom character and wanting to be a Cleric. There's lots of reasons even if a Bard is better in every way in a white room.

My players are pretty good. Besides, I was gonna throw the Tomb in *after* Strahd is dead. If one of the characters has become a Revenant, the only way for them to leave Barovia will be to defeat Acerak. For... reasons I haven't entirely figured out yet.

Does Whisper bard have anything going for it other then shadow stealing? I was thinking of dipping 3 in Assassin for some more use out of the Poison hit and shapeshifting.

It can be very interesting in certain campaign styles, less dungeon crawling and more political intrigue/urban adventure kind of thing. That said assassin 3 is a good move, particularly in combination with some bard spells (silence, invisibility etc)

If a character does good things and is a good person but wants to enact violent revenge on an individual or group of people, what alignment are they? Can you have good alignment but still want specific, bloody vengeance?

Would it be best to start in Bard or Rogue? Also should I go to 4 in one first for the ASI or 3 then 3 and play a Half-Elf to make up for the late ASI?

Pretty good doesn't mean shit when everything insta kills you.

Do they think the revenge is a good act? Do they deeply believe the world would be a better place when that individual or group is dead? If so you can call it good, neutral or evil. Considering that they're nice other then that I'd call them Good.

Gygax said that retribution could very well be LG so its up to you. There's a lot context required to really make that judgement call.

Ehhh, they know the deal. I'll even let em hire underlings to serve as red shirts.

Rogue then Bard net you more skill proficiency.

Depends on your ethical system.

Guess who can steal all the best Cleric stuff?

their alignment is butthurt

Then you say big girl. Memes can mutate.

Lore Bards get 2 spells at level 6 and 2 more every 4 levels.

Other Bards get 2 at 10 and 2 every 4 levels after.

Most of the time Bards are going to be busy taking all the cool spells for their flavor rather then invalidate a Trickery Cleric. You'd have to be a dick to do that unless there was no Trickery Cleric in the party.

Also Channel Divinity: Invoke Duplicity is hilariously powerful if your DM follows RAW.

What are some tips you have for running a sandbox game?

I'm at the third chapter in SKT and my players have a lot of options for where they can go. They're headed to Hundelstone from Bryn Shander and I'm not really sure how to nudge them in any direction from there or how to prepare for the direction they eventually head in.

Is minionmancers bad? Can I just go with 1 or 2 skeletons and outfitt them with better armor and weapon?

Anons? Two quick questions:

In PF's Horror Adventures splat, there's a Barbarian archetype called the Moonborn, which basically lets you be a werebeast by only shifting into hybrid shape whilst raging. Do you think this could be adapted to 5e?

In 3rd edition, kobolds apparently had lycanthropes of their own, in the form of were-*weasels*. Just what the hell does a half-kobold half-weasel look like?!

Get out of here furry.

Joke aside, you can already fluff your barbarian like that. It's already said so in totem warrior text.

They just go from lizardbolds to cutebolds.

I find it works best if you just have a couple with you. Means you're still a real Wizard with casting and you can use them as guards, trap detectors and shields. A necromancer gets 2 per level 3 casting and can use a spell slot to control 4. In combat keep them back with you and have them archer things to death.

I'm not assuming cute results. More like slightly less ugly ratbolds.

Totem Barb works well for that. Especially some of the options which give you pretty inhuman powers.

WI just realised with all the talk of Unarmed Barbarians it would be easy to just make it a Totem Option

While raging your unarmed attacks count as Magical Light Weapons and deal 1d8+STR damage. You have advantage on checks to shove a creature.

Now can someone tell me what I've completely broken with that option?

Oh shit while raging you already have Advantage. Feel like it needs another small bonus though compared to other options.

Making a mystic High Elf Order of the Immortal. Starting stats attached (not including changes caused by the racial traits). DM is us allowing us to buy starting equipment. These stats are fine right?

I'd take a point out of Dex and put it in Con. Odd stats don't help. Other then that it's good.

Either totem barb or just go shifter race.

Which do you prefer, rolling stats or allotment of points?

>high elf
Drop Dex to 14 and put the points into Con and Cha.

points.

in OD&D you can have a 100% viable char with straight 3s

in AD&D you can have a 100% viable char with straight 9s

in WotC editions a char with straight 12-13s is generally gonna suck

Bumped up con to 14

Could someone help clear how superiority dice/maneuvers work for me? Looking at disarming attack for example, the attack does the rolled damage plus the superiority damage, right? But then what is the DC for the str saving throw? Likewise, what is the DC for the wis saving throw in goading attack?

Generally, rolling.

Look at the feature that gives BMs maneuvers. It's 8 + proficiency bonus + strength or dex.

Point-buy is more fun for everyone (DM include) unless you do 3d6 rolling in order. No bitching no reroll.

Bryn Shander is basically set up to lead into chapter 4 pretty soon. Maybe have them meet Harshnag early and he asks them to accompany him once they wrap up their various quests.

I didn't have much trouble though, my players understand i'm running from a book and there's not much to do if they ignore hooks and fly off the rails. They'll follow just about anything offered, to the point where I'm just telling them i'm running a book for future campaigns, even if i'm not. it's wonderful.

Ahah. Thanks. I spent so long reading the maneuvers I forgot everything I read on the previous page.

And if you die, your new character use the same stat.

Exactly. In 3e, 4e, or 5e, if someone wants to roll, they get 3d6 6x, roll in order, declare race and class first, no bitching allowed.

What's the most satisfying or successful character arc you've ever pulled off for your PCs? I managed to perfectly pull off my evil tiefling warlock's edgy revenge fantasy with no downsides or reprocussions whatsoever

Same stats but randomise the order again.

So if it was 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 for example you get them randomly mixed up. Means you won't see Bill play 7 Wizards in a row but he isn't getting a better character from dying.

Great!

>in AD&D you can have a 100% viable char with straight 9s
What edition were you playing? Was it one where fighters STR scaling wasn't borked or one where wizards with low INT could learn higher level spells?

Gnome Purple Dragon Knight who was "Getting too old for this shit" retired as head of his home cities Guard after he saved it from some powerful Dragons. It was level 14 and I made a new character for the last part of the game but it was so satisfying.

The edition he never played but shitposts about to get grogs who can't remember what they ate for breakfast to jerk him off.

4d6 in order, if you don't have two or more stats at 15 or above roll 1d6 and assign that score a 15 (1 for STR, 2 for DEX, etc) if it isn't already that high or higher until you have 2 stats at 15 or higher.

>What edition were you playing?

1e and 2e.

> or one where wizards with low INT could learn higher level spells?

Yes, I am sure that the hordes of level 15+ wizards who can't use L8/L9 spells are really going to destroy the campaign.

>Small race Great Weapon Mystic
>Use powers to force enemies to make a save instead of rolling to hit (with disadvantage), or animate the weapon and fling it at them
>Grow to Large size and give no fucks, swing hard to win hard

Friends, I have a valor bard in my game, and at level 10 he's thinking of getting swift quiver from magical secrets. He says that he feels "scummy" for taking it, and that he might not allow it if he were DM.

Given that we have a fighter in the party, do you think allowing this spell will be a problem? That it might step on the fighter's toes or otherwise be OP?

No problem, that's what its there for.

Will have one soon.

Playing a revenant warlock/paladin. He's killed the man that killed him, and now he's on his way to kill the demon cultists created when they raided his home.

If it doesn't keep you from falling into a pit full of spikes then it's not OP

That's the dumbest fucking thing i've ever heard.

Depend... does he has sharpshooter?

why don't you just use the array. making us rollers look bad here

>am i a bad man for doing what every ranged lore bard with half a brain does
really conflagrates my cranium

post the sheet

>spend your concentration slot to do 17-20 more damage per round
> when you can just cast animate object and do 65 average damage per round

Say that you can't learn any spell at a level before the source class, regardless of spell level access.

No.
I don't follow.
Don't have it. No feats, nothing too noteworthy I think.

My DM let us go 3d6 declare race and class first, you get to assign the roll. I think that's pretty fair since it can be pretty tiring for the whole party when they have a rogue with 7 dex or wizard with 9 int being fucking useless.

Point buy or 4d6, pick three, assign numbers to whatever stats. If the sum of mods is negative, probably allow a reroll once.

Then it's just 2d8+6 damage per round... That is weaker than lots of stuff including animate objects.

55 damage on average if all 10 somehow manage to hit. Also takes concentration and the tedium of controlling ten creatures.
Not really seeing it?

(2.5+4)*10 is 65 aberage user. Go back to math class.

Swift quiver also take concentration slot, I am telling him that it's a weak option for what he can do with that concentration.

Controlling 10 tiny flying creatures isn't much problem, since most of them will be swarming enemies anyway.

Yeah my mistake.
He'll definitely never take that spell though, he can't even stand to control an animal companion.

That's his problem, then.

daily reminder that c0re doesn't know how to balance 5E

That's his problem. The point still stand that swift quiver is weak compare to other stuff bard can do naturally.

So, is it a copout to play an evil character whose motive for helping the party is pure hatred of the central antagonist?

No? How are you planning on making their evil significant?

No, that's fine. Evil characters are acceptable if they're actually characters. The problem comes with the players who use evil alignment to be destructive in an inane and unimaginative way.

Seems so. Unless I give him a magic bow or something maybe.

what do you guys think of making healing potion base off of hit dice? like lets say a lesser, normal, and greater healing potions alright? lesser heals 2 die of your class' hit dice, normal heals 4 die, and greater heals 6? and so on if you wish to create higher

i want healing potions to be actually useful and relevant no matter what class you play, so by basing it off hit dice it would always be meaningful in relation to the users max hp

just spitballing here

Evil can get along with people who they have a reason to. As long as you aren't kicking puppies and shooting children for no goddamn reason you can do fine.

Careful, that sounds like 4e thinking

Went from Folk Hero who helped a town revolt to the Queen of it. That was dope.

There was also an "acceptance of death as a natural thing" plot line going. We defeated the BBEG and got to choose one boon. Her "immortal I can never die" mentality she had in the beginning, slowly cultivated through life decisions successes and failures to not fearing death when it happens. You bet your ass I didn't pick immortal, I picked proficiency in all skilled and I now have a favorite character ever since.

well 2d4+4 isnt really useful past low levels, especially for martials

What if you are level 3 and have a lesser healing potion, that heals you up all the way?

I like consistency with my games, if the lesser healing potions get worse over time thanks to your leveling that's different.

Now it's always this number no matter the level.

Don't buy a single healing potion if you can afford a potion of resistance.

A fighter with "double", there health thanks to that potion is unstoppable.

A potion or speed (haste) makes you also unstoppable.

Doing both of that, makes you the thing of legends.

And if you are just feeling inadequate to the individuals with magic powers, just give an extra skill proficiency to fighter and barbarian. Martial are outshined outside of combat and only then.

anyone tried out the hexblade? im thinking of rolling one

As a DM, my table has been helping this one guy overcome his social anxiety problems which works cause his character's background is a very secluded druid who keeps to himself but has to go out adventuring cause reasons.

It's been pretty cool cause he's now a much different person since we started at session 0 1.5 years ago. From talking to the multitude of NPCs that I RP and the party themselves and such, he's really gotten out of his shell and it reflects on his own PCs personal arc as well where his druid is coming to embrace comrades and people alike.

Our adventure is still not an end but it's probably one of the most satisfying things I've witnessed playing DnD for decades. Last month he was able to get to talk to a girl he's fancied for ages. That's our druid.

What's the right amount of tokens/minis for monsters? Cause I'm thinking of printing those printable minis/tokens but I'm not sure how many I need for monsters. One cause I'll never know if I need more than 5 goblins and then there are times I might need to pull out a dragon when the occasion calls for it depending how my players do.

You should have a rough idea of what your players could possibly run in to in a given session, if your just printing them, do it on a session by session basis.
Bonus points for printing tokens for summons/familiars/transformations by asking the players what they prefer if they have the option pre-session.