/5eg/ - Fifth Edition General

>no thread topic

Allnright, this is now a gestalt thread.
What classes would you play?
How would you justify it RP-wise?
How do you balance encounters as a DM?
Would you grow tired of being OP, or is having more options fun if it's balanced?

> That's a hell of a lot of numbers to keep track of though.

I find it with so many numbers to track, players are only going to track the numbers that are immediately relevant to them, so that leaves a lot of room for the DM to fudge/streamline numbers outside of immediate player relevancy

>What classes would you play?

Rogue/Monk, probably. Go full animoo in my thiefiness.

>How do you balance encounters as a DM?

Gestalt monsters, obviously.

We put up with his occasional UA bullshit because everyone keeps saying that his behind-the-scenes work is a large part of what made 5e into 5e, and we like 5e.

But we continue to make fun of the 5e bullshit so he doesn't get any bright ideas about going over Crawford's head and adding them to the core gameplay anyway.

1. My player doesn't want an "evil" patron nor do they want an Archfey.

2. Their patron is an elder air elemental.

Hunter Ranger/Knowledge Cleric

Then I become some Indiana Jones Motherfucker

Do Mystics get too many Psi points?

Depends. What element?

Yes.
They also get too many features.

Air.

How? They barely have any unless they go Wu Jen.

DISCIPLINES

Only soulblade doesn't get the extras and it's the only Mystic i allow on my table.

I've never played a Rogue before.

How do they even deal damage effectively? Are you supposed to use TWF or just use a ranged weapon?

If you havent already, you might try to talk to your DM about gaining the soulknife ability as part of your class instead of something else that youre not gonna use/need that your class gives you? Usually if you give the reasons why or present it without looking too much like an optimizing autist, most DMs will let you do it.

I allowed one of my players to go Mystic, because I wanted to allow my players a high level of freedom after we got out of our last campaign (which was run by someone who said no to everything).

The caveat was that I could nerf it at any time. So far, I reduced the features they could take by one from level one, and banned Nomadic Mind. But the psi points seem to scale up pretty rapidly, and I have concerns that they'll be able to power out too many "spells" for what they are.

How would you recommend nerfing psi points or their limitations? My primary issues so far have been him summoning Shadows (Mastery of Light and Shadow) because they're fuckin' powerful when he can just resummon them constantly, and the Wall of Wood from Mastery of Wood and Earth. The limitation is concentration, but he's got high CON and he can just resummon due to the psi amounts they take.

He's clearly a Rogue.

Avatar is fine, though.

It is basically Warlord.

All the power comes from Sneak Attack. Optimal build is hand crossbow with Crossbow Mastery, but you can deal out a decent amount with two weapons, especially if you take a dip in something for extra attack.

15 minute workday much?

why not use one of the already made one and just refluff shit to fit? Change things to force, thunder, or lightning damage and such, shouldnt be too hard, it mostly boils down to fluff anyways.

Anyone has some idea for a 1920s character? Not that familar with that setting

>Anyone has some idea for a 1920s character? Not that familar with that setting
correction a 1920s in SPACE setting

Should the grave clerics channel divinity (Touch an enemy, make them vulnerable to the next attack) have some sort of attack roll or saving throw? It seems weird that it doesn't

We just have to keep him away from whoever is handling rules. His actual setting and fluff writing is really good. But my god his tweets about rules and this...thing...are awful.

Even in dungeons where I only allow them short rests, it doesn't make a significant difference.

In each session, they generally either go to a dungeon, or they hang around the sandbox.

In the first case, there's usually 3-4 fights (otherwise it gets dull) with at least one of them running a high risk of a PC death (though no one has yet). They can get a short rest between each if they do it sensibly. It just about works at the right power level for that.

In the latter, they take regular long rests while travelling back and forth, and they might have one fight in each location, but that doesn't provide a suitable cap on his powers.

Would letting Sneak Attack work with unarmed break the game?

I wanted to play a Race with a built in Natural Weapon as a Rogue, but Sneak only works with finesse.

>1920's in space

The 1920's where? The Roaring Twenties of the US was wildly different from the instability Europe was experiencing after WWI and leading into WWII.

I don't see it being too bad. They can only sneak attack once per turn anyway, so it's not like they can multiclass monk and sneak attack an entire flurry of blows or anything.

Should be OK, i believe.

DM here...
What would some good puzzles be involving the moon in a dark forest populated with werewolves?

Also, I need help thinking of a puzzle for a Flesh Golem's Castle.

MYSTIC AND ARTIFICER REVISIONS FUCKING WHEN, MIKE? YOU SAID THEIR NEXT ITERATION IS AL LEGAL

Shouldn't be too out of line. Your options are what, Lizardfolk bites (1d6+Str) and Tabaxi claws (1d4+Str)?

It's on par with what you'd probably choose for weapon damage anyways if you were building a Strength Rogue, which makes you pretty MAD depending on what archetype you want to pick up.

I'd allow it.

What could you do with a magic item that had an antimagic field that you can toggle on and off?

probably roaring 20s

Activate the Giga Attack, obviously.

Too late, Mearls already wrote an UA article nerfing Giga Attack and removing any synergy it had with the rest or your abilities.

The same way we stopped 4e.
We just go back to Pathinder instead

You can't nerf the Giga Attack (which obviously is not just "my" Giga Attack of course).
That's what makes it the Giga Attack.
Well, that and the Giga I guess.

>DM here...
>What would some good puzzles be involving the moon in a dark forest populated with werewolves?

The players have to sneak through a den of restless-but-not-hostile lycans in their wolf phase. They reach a door that is magically sealed that has a garbled inscription on it. The door will open if the inscription is translated and read aloud but the twist is that the inscription only reveals itself if it is illuminated by moonlight.

>Also, I need help thinking of a puzzle for a Flesh Golem's Castle.

Plot Twist: The castle is the Flesh Golem

>Also, I need help thinking of a puzzle for a Flesh Golem's Castle.

This: but taken a step further, so each room is part of its organs. To get through the gate, they have to aggravate the uvula, to get through the stomach they have to leap from floating food piece to food piece, etc.

Posted this in the old thread, but after this one was made.
To the guy making unarmed archetypes for different classes, I've got some ideas for the ranger fluff.
Have it be about surviving with nothing or maybe sustainability? Maybe to understand your quarry you must fight like them?

You guys are so assblasted and butthurt. I like his stuff. The UA is a good addition, and even cases where it is unbalanced you don't have to play it or can ban it, so I don't see what the issue is

>tfw a keyboard Nazi wants you to stop making content for D&D.

But seriously, the easiest thing to do is to have Mike Mearls give ideas, but have Crawford either give them a decent writeup, or in the case of UA Luke like this one, gently explain to him why it's a bad idea. Mearls has good ideas, but he doesn't have the Crawford-level of autism to make things simultaneously fun and fast.

What the fuck is this nonsense

You're right sir! That's why it's going in Xanathar's Guide to Everything, available this November.

I like Mearls

you didn't type it right, it's (((((Mearls)))))

Mearls get out

This was based on Dishonored, right?

What do you think of it? Seems kinda fun, although I'm not sure how it fares power wise.

I like him for the same reason I like George Lucas. Without him I wouldn't have something that I thoroughly enjoy, but he needs to be reigned in or he's going to ruin everything.

What's your favorite STR class/build?

What exactly is it about Mystic that is so overpowered? I'm not trying to defend it or anything, I'm just curious as I've never played it/seen it in play and people complain about it a ton.

I just wanna do cool mind stuff

Muscle wizard

it's just really versatile, and some people feel that it makes them too good.

Also copy-pasting for memes
Just off the top of my head:

1. Simplicity. Psionics adds an entirely new, parallel set of magic to the system that all of 5e has used to date. Any players or DM that wants to use psionics has to learn an entirely new set of "spells", "casting" rules, and interactions with existing rules.

2. The new interactions conflict with (nerf) the existing balance/usefulness of several parts of the game including spells (Counterspell), at least one feat (Mage Slayer), and every rule or feature that triggers or interacts with "spells" (since Psionics is explicitly not spellcasting). This steps on the toes of those races, abilities, classes, and feats that interact with magic or the existing spellcasting system.

3. Expanding on 2, lack of interactivity. 5e combat (and even social encounters to a degree) are inherently about altering your behavior as a reaction to the the environment, the NPCs, and your party. Before Psionics, when a magic user tried to alter a social or combat situation with magic, everybody present had a chance to see it and could act accordingly. The only exception to this rule was a sorcerer investing build resources and class resource to Subtly cast a spell (and even in that case they still have to be touching a focus). Psionics gets to completely bypass this pillar of the game for free- no investment required. Every discipline or talent a Mystic uses gives no indication it is about to occur, no way to prevent it from being "cast", and little indication of who or what caused it. This near-immunity moves the game away from interactivity to a space where Mystics simply get to do magic while others must always try to cast.

See last thread's and .

It suffers from the same problem that psionics faced in 1e and 2e, in that it's versatile to the point of not needing anyone else. You get ranged damage, melee damage, crowd control, healing, social abilities, and an overall high degree of utility.

Depending on what the exact setting/campaign calls for;

>Musician (for examples, look at Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby)
You either made it big and are now on the decline, or you're trying to find your place amongst the rising stars who will forever define a scene. Your style might considered true art just yet, so your gigs are probably in seedy, low-bar places, or you might be just like all the other styles, but not the spring chicken you used to be in an age of crooners and heartthrobs.

>smuggler/bootlegger (the beginning of gangsters like Al Capone, and 'the mob' as a general archetype who found themselves a desired commodity as rum-runners in Prohibition-America)
Something you used to be able to get just about everywhere is illegal, but only because the morons in charge think the common folk aren't responsible enough to handle it. Those with enough 'responsibility' (read, money) can turn to you for help to get their fixes.

>Snobby Socialite (The Great Gatsby, basically)
Money always talks. While you might not personally be the person who technically owns that money, you have the proper connections to make sure you can pay for whatever catches your eye. You throw excessive, lavish parties, and always expect other people to take care of things afterwards.

>Victorious 'Suffragette' (Women made large strides in gaining voting rights and very slowly started to enter the work force)
Your species/gender/whatever has recently been granted a lot more personal rights than in general history. You worked hard to get those rights too, and you won't let anyone get in your way. The elder generation might see you as nothing but an upstart who, until recently, needed to be shown their place.

>the broken soldier (WWI saw the first allusions to PTSD, then usually referred to as 'war neurosis' or 'war strain')
They say war never changes, but it sure seems to have gotten worse recently. Home just can't be home after the things you saw.

How many humans would be sent to clear out a tribe of 50 Orcs, assuming they're bringing three trebuchets and two rams in preparation? I'm thinking 500, because their general doesn't fuck around and also wants to set up the location as a staging point for a war on the elves.

>The war on the elves

Who's at War with them, the Orcs or the Humans?

Hey guys. Playing in a campaign, Human paladin just hit 4th level. Planning to class into Sorcerer.

Currently has 18 in strength and 16 in Charisma, and picked up Shieldmaster from being a Vuman, and dueling fighting style. Planning to take Warcaster for 4th level.

Is this a good idea?

>or

>Hey Bob, let's go kill 50 guys in a camp that are armed only with axes and hide armor.
>Sure thing, I'll go get my siege equipment and a Roman cohort of men.

The only correct answer, I would have also accepted "Both". You pass.

hey if you want to wipe out a tribe of orcs there's no reason to half ass it.

No one is currently. The human general wants to start a war with the elves for revenge, the elf chancellor wants to start a war with the humans.

The orcs want to wage war on both sides for various reasons, both sides just want to push the orcs off the map.

This is sort of what I'm wondering. The orcs are a menace and known to be vicious and strong, and the human general wants enough men and supplies there that she can feasibly establish a long-term base without it seeming unreasonable, but how many can I get away with throwing into the fray?

So I finally get to play in a game after being forever DM, as my group is mixing things up now that I don't have time to DM prep.

We rolled for stats (yeah, I know) and I got a spread of 14 17 8 7 10 14 in order. Thinking of going half-elf valor bard and doing archer build (bumping dex and int to even numbers), because it looks like concentration is out of the question.
Any other suggestions for some fun things I can do with this array without being useless?

>how many can I get away with throwing into the fray?
Depends on how well off the city/kingdom/empire this army is coming from is. If they can spare 1000 soldiers for a smallish orc raid and have enough supplies to last through the winter without all those men, sure. But more likely, there are some internal struggles, possible invasions and other things that require soldiers to be stationed in the city or sent to other places to do other things. Also keep in mind how far away it is, a week-long march is much more expensive per man than a one-day skirmish is. It can make sense that there are 1000 soldiers there, but it can also make sense that they couldn't spare more than 20. All up to you and the details of the place/s.

get to fifth level first, and at that point you may as well make it to 6th

Not him, but if everyone is a soldier and a reasonable craftsman (legionairre) where they're expected to be able to establish a foothold quickly; maybe 75-100 men. If you need to bring builders and engineers for the siege equipment (which seems odd, just bring the equipment after the supply chain has been established, having siege equipment sit around while something is being built is super suspicious), then maybe a force of 150 with 25-50 "non-combatants".

With those stats you can't go wrong. Just do whatever you want.

>implying that isn't actual roman tactics
Either the Orc tribe
>surrenders in the face of being hopelessly outmatched
or
>choose to fight, whereupon you wipe them out with minimal casualties.
In either case, you get to claim the survivors as conscripts for your frontline, take them as slaves, and appropriate their THICC green women as 'comfort' for your soldiers.

If the general has 500 men to spare, then he certainly has at least 10 or 15 guys with the statblock of a veteran. Just send them in at the middle of the day when the orcs are sleeping (assuming your orcs aren't retarded enough to do their raids in the day).

>appropriate their THICC green women as 'comfort' for your soldiers.

I think I'd rather stick my dick in a weedwhacker than corrupt it with whatever horrible diseases the wild boars are carrying.

>implying I'd want my dick anywhere near one of those horrible monsters

Theres a reason that most halforcs don't have fathers

How do you narratively justify suddenly manifesting sorcerer powers?

Never underestimate what a true Mary Sue can pull out of his ass!

Change it wizard and hit your 30th birthday.

Get your faggot shit out of here.

Western civilization would never have gotten off the ground if it weren't for the common legionary raping fertile celtic barbarian women.

If it's good enough for them, then it's certainly good enough for my magical realm.

That only works if you're a virgin when you turn 30 though.

Hitting puberty
Getting hit with a barrel of cursed waste from a sorcerers workshop when your town was under siege

Very clearly based on Dishonored. Does a good job laying out a Roguelock archetype that looks fun. The power levels are awful.

Secret Step is massively powerful, especially for a Rogue. Not so bad if it was meant to be the biggest perk of the archetype, but maybe too strong in context.

Otherworldly Omens would be fairly powerful if it was just silent Thaumaturgy. As is it's that plus a poorly-explained mechanism for rolling the two "key" rogue abilities at what seems like permanently advantage is massive, assuming the intent is that the Rogue get both the cantrip and the ability check for one action.

Pilfered Power looks good but it might just be in comparison to the rest of it.

Shifting Moments is awful. It's distinctly un-5e, would be miserable to actualy play over the board. The sad thing is for all the clunk it's not even that great because of rule interactions.

Debts Called In seems fine power wise given that it's ultimately an alternate death mechanic.

This seems like a great 2nd draft. The ideas are solid and the mechanics are on-paper interesting, but it's really not ready for play yet.

At least the celtic barabrarian women were, you know, people, and not wild pigs. We're talking about the birth of civilization here, not the American deep south.

My sorcerer dip druid got his draconic powers from getting his insides destroyed by the strongest alchohol that he could steal, made with read dragon's blood

But user, Half-orcs are better than humans AND orc in every way

So you wouldn't recommend playing it then?

A shame, I was looking for a "fun" Rogue Archetype that I could combine with 1 Level of Mystic for Soul Knife so I'm not forced to use a Rapier for the 8 millionth time seriously why the fuck don't rogues get some sort of bonus for using daggers christ

How's this look?

The Sormfather is a nice name, so I'll use that.

Come up with a list of bonus spells that you feel is reasonable; this is open enough that there's several options.
I like: Fog cloud, Dust Devil (EEPC spell), Call Lightning, Freedom of Movement (or storm sphere, if you want to go full killy), Cloudkill.
This is a reasonable mix of useful and violent spells, I think.

Level 1 benefit:

Stormfather's Blessing:
Starting at 1st level, your link to the Stormfather allows you to serve as a conduit for the power of the storm. You have resistance to lightning and thunder damage, and when you cast a spell that comes from the Stormfather bonus spell list, you add your Charisma modifier to that damage. Additionally, you gain Auran as a bonus language.

Level 6 benefit:

Lightness of Air:
Starting at 6th level, you can cast the Levitate spell on yourself without requiring spell components or using a spell slot. As a reaction, you can cast Levitate when an enemy causes you to enter their reach; the vertical movement from this reaction does not provoke an opportunity attack.

Once you cast the spell in this way, you can't do so again for 10 minutes.

(Cont)

Lolwhut?

his patron diety granted him magic powers as a reward for his devotion.

Level 10 benefit:

Stormfather's servants:
At 10th level, you gain the services of a minor elemental. The Stormfather's servant is an invisible, formless mass of air. It has AC 14, 1 hit point, a strength of 6, a fly speed of 50 feet and cannot attack.

As a bonus action, you can mentally command the servant to move up to 50 feet and interact with an object. The servant can perform simple manual tasks that involve lifting and moving objects and is intelligent enough to understand simple conditional statements (such as 'pull the leaver if the orc stands on the trapdoor').

If the servant moves more than 200 feet away from you, it performs no other actions than attempting to reach a space with 50 feet of you. If it is unable to move within 50 feet of you within a minute, it is banished.

If the Stormfather's servant is killed or banished a new servant will attend you at the end of a long rest.

Level 14 benefit:

Stormfather's favour:
Starting at 14th level, when you hit a creature with an attack you can use this feature to summon a stormcloud that follows the target for one minute. The storm cloud occupies a single 5-foot space immediately above the target and follows the target's movements. At the beginning of each of the targets turns, one of the following effects of your choice occurs:
A bolt of lightning flashes down from the cloud to strike the target, dealing 2d10 lightning damage
Strong winds buffet the target, pushing it 10 feet in a direction of your choice and dealing 1d6 bludgeoning damage
The stormcould produces a thunderclap. Each creature, other than yourself, within 10 feet of the target must make a Constitution saving throw against your warlock spell save DC. On a failed save, the creature takes 1d10 thunder damage and is deafened for three rounds.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.