/5eg/ Fifth Edition General:

I hadn't actually thought of that either... I kinda just assumed it was good news, I get so many goodies from the wild surges that I haven't really been complaining outside of the age regression. Might be worth checking how he rolls and what result he gets on the table. Ive never actually rolled those results, so I am not familiar enough with the mechanics to know what each roll means right now.

I did ask about not growing younger when it happened the third time, but he was quite steadfast in his "what happens, happens" mentality.

Guys, i need advice. I am DMing ToA next week and there one thing i can't just decide. Should i allow aarakocra characters or not? I was disallowing them before, but now that we are in Chult where there are so many of them it seems even more forced of a rule. I am not so sure i want to balance every encounter battle or not for the ability to fly from the get go. Especially some open space traps and puzzles.

>Went to a session last night, the first of the campaign
>DM tells us that there's a house rule that all magic incurs a roll on the wild magic table
>NOPE the fuck out of there

>The DM rolls wild surges in secret
The DM is 100% a pedo who is making you younger on purpose. Not only is "changing your age" a 1-in-50 chance, the average age change for that result is +5!

You could also ask to replace the growing younger options with different ones. I know there's an online wild surge table generator that seems to work, or pick some fun stuff from this PDF.

But seriously. If it keeps happening even after this and you sense some ulterior motive, then give a firm no. It's supposed to be a cooperative game and not one where the DM gets to push his fetishes onto the players.

Considering I went from 28 to 15, that's not too bad.

But while it seems unlikely, I have easily had over 100 surges already. That makes it unlikely, but far from impossible.

I'm saying every time the "age change" result was rolled, your age should have gone UP by 5, on average. Losing 13 years is actually fairly unlikely. Over how many surges was it spread?

New DM, running CoS for friends, using milestones for exp.
Should I balance them so that "clearing" every area gets them to 10? If I make it so that they can hit 10 without doing everything, and then they do everything, will being level 11~12 make the finale too easy?

+5 is the sum. +0.5 is the average.

I also forgot to mention this. But there's precedent where you can remove a wild surge effect (depending on the scope of said wild surge) with a Remove Curse or Dispell Magic spell.

I hate when players drop memes, and I hate myself even more when I do it.

Balls. I shouldn't do math on an empty stomach.
-13 is still equally unlikely, though; it requires probably 3 negative results in a row. (Must be an odd number, too)

Why are so many monsters from Volos reprinted in ToA?

Because they used them when designing the adventure but didn't want to assume everyone has Volo's, presumably.

Same reason goliaths appear again in Volo, even though they already were in 5e.

>Over how many surges was it spread?
100.

This.
Either the player rolls it, or it's rolled on the table.

I mean, how many surges affected your age? How many times was the result rolled to add up to -13 years?

Because they don't assume everyone bought the splatbook.
Tales from the Yawning Portal did the same.

Yeah..not going to defend him really. Even if 100+ rolls makes it at least within the realm of possibility, he seems a bit too happy about the age regression.

Well covered though. He at least let Rollin to ensure that it felt like pure chance, and spread it out over a sufficiently large period of time, to make it seem like he wasn't gunning for it.

My next few sessions for my friends was going to be based out of a city where different fractions are trying to make moves to gain area, gangland style.

Think it would be handy for the guys to have a map, pic related, that has labels for the different notable zones and lists the leaders and important people?

3. Cant remember the results, but the latest one was 7, which brought me from 22 to 15. It was the largest gap, so far.

>Well covered though. He at least let Rollin to ensure that it felt like pure chance, and spread it out over a sufficiently large period of time, to make it seem like he wasn't gunning for it.
I respect those who are clever about their magical realm, even though they shouldn't be doing it.

This does check out as possible, if somewhat suspicious; this DM really knows how to create plausible deniability.

I was kinda hoping is get an age increase at some point, but I somehow doubt that will happen unless I start rolling instead of the GM.

Of course, that doesn't really help much other than ensure I at least have a 50% chance of gaining a few years...

>Hey DM-senpai, I chose this background, but I changed the skills it gives to these other skills that better fit my character. I hope that's alright!

How would this make you feel?

The name of that city wouldn't happen to be Crownswynn by any chance?

Fine by me as long as he can justify having those particular skills them.

Sure, why not? I don't really understand why it gets some DM's panties in a twist. Backgrounds are meant to be customizable. What, do you also not allow wizard apprentices, because there's no "Apprentice" background in PHB?

I made it myself with this; fantasycities.watabou.ru/

I pasted two 'towns' together because that RNG doesn't have an option for putting a river through the city.

>You don't need to be shy, user-kun, The Book explicitly says you can do that.

Know when to apply the "rule of cool" properly

>t. lolrandumb player

Depends on the switches.

I had a sage who wanted to switch out history with perception. At that point I dont care what reasoning you have, you just want perception because "muh god skill".

In the other hand, I had a Noble (monk class) who switched out history for Sleight of hand, because he used it to make tricks to impress the chicks. It made sense, and it wasn't an obvious attempt at getting "the best choice".

>t. user struck with autocontagious terminal boredom.

Let people play what they want in reason, if the setting fits I don't see the harm. If someone starts power gaming their fly speed you can always give them a reason not too by introducing ranged combat(fall damage) or confined spaces. Let them have their fun for a bit then bring them down to earth, literally.

>This guy said something that is really bad, if you take it to extreme, I must lash out immediately

>Let me break the rules to do cool shit that makes my mary sue loved by everyone

I jest, I knoe that rule of cool is worth keeping in mind, but as a GM, it should be used very sparingly, and never feel like you are breaking the rules to do it. If you do, it just becomes cheap and unsatisfying.

How about adding a skill? Specifically I'm talking about the Haunted One from Ravenloft, which to my knowledge is the only published background that only lets a player gain one additional skill, for really no discernible reason (getting to start with a monster hunter package isn't THAT good). So I usually allow a player who wants to take it the option of selection two skills from its list of four, rather than one one.

That's fair. For my part, games I run tend to be highly..."cinematic", I guess is the best word? So "Rule of Cool" is generally in full effect.

The trick is that I run on the fundamental expectation of "quid pro quo", so that means it's in full effect for the NPCs and monsters, too.

Depends, have they at least put the effort in to explain why they'd have those skills? If so yes or come up with a reason.

Got my party into the Chult jungle, anyone have any good resources for finding generic random encounter maps or building your own?

None of my friends want to play cause theyre all normies

is going to a comic/card shop a good place to find a group to play with? Is it just riddled with newfags/tryhards? Are they gonna try to make me DM, cause I'd rather not.

I just want bros to play and drink with man, whys it gotta be hard?

How do you guys make characters? Do you look at a class, and then make a character based around it? Or do you think of a character concept first, and then figure out what class fits second?

My general progression is:
>Character concept
Say, my most recent character is a squire for a Paladin in the party.

>Background
Poverty. A street kid who happened to be noticed by the Paladin, and brought in as his squire. Background is Urchin. Has a rat as his best friend.

>Race
Picked up from the streets of a human capital city of the setting, which is almost entirely human inhabited. So human was the obvious choice here.

>Class
Now, what fits the character concept so far, and why was the urchin kid picked up as a squire for the Paladin. Ended up being a Druid, because 1. The Paladin has the Ancients Oath, and "saw great potential that must not be lost" in regards to his oath. 2. The animal theme stuck during the process. Having a rat with a name, and the ability to talk with it seemed fitting. 3. The character was very much a "fly on the wall" type, fitting of the squire role, with a rendency towards the more supporty type, making both minor shapeshifts and a circle of the land be very appropriate to fulfil the concept.

What is your general process for this?

Because apparently you're an asshole who refers to people as "normies," "newfags," and "tryhards" unironically.

Havent seen anyone take It, likely because of that. I cant really remember what haunted one gives you.

>Why is it so hard to find a game??
>What, I should GM? No way. I just want to drink and not put any effort into it.
Fuck off.

>the DM can have you roll on the Wild Magic Surge table
>you roll
>Your DM rolls in secret.
Shit, user. I just assumed it was random since the rule is you see the result, even if the character doesn't. If the DM is doing them secretly, this is not necessarily an accident. If you aren't playing online, I would worry for your RL safety.

>friend wants to combine two characters, paladin and warlock
>wants to basically keep all the bonuses of both classes
I'm dreading it but I'm gonna have to shit him down, this is horseshit

So I'm going to DM next week and one of the players decided to roll a gunsmith artificer. We had a talk because we both agreed that Blast Wave and Explosive Round are too weak in comparison with other classes, because the save against them negates damage, so we houseruled a save halves.
One of the other players decided to not play anymore because "we're messing too much with rules of a system that we just started playing, UA nonetheless, and this will bring the game to an unbalancing halt or at least some future discussions".
Was he right or just being a whiny little bitch? We are used to him being That Guy but this is the first time he messed the game before it starts.

If I cast Haste from the Ring of Spell storing, who does the concentrating?

Someone wants to be a criminal background in my campaign, but have the pirate background feature instead.

Do you think that's ok?

>I would worry for your RL safety.
... I dont think anything in that story indicates a real life threat.

The town looks kinda like a dildo. Might just be me.

What's the best race for Wild Mage? I was thinking Tortle for the AC, but then I would start with 15 CHA...

For what purpose?

Just make him pick either one of them. No reason to mid and match the fairly similar backgrounds.

>Do you think that's ok?
Yes, customized backgrounds are RAW, not even an optional rule.

>AC
Just use mage armour if you really need the AC.

Half elf is obviously the best one. But I think you should be more worried about which type you WANT more than what is best.

And completely up to the GM to approve.

The players dont get to choose whatever features and skills they want.

You do.

If you're playing from level 1, try to pick one with fire resistance. Cackle gleefully when you're the only survivor. OOC, anyway. IC you should probably cackle madly, if at all.

Wrong

>I would worry for your RL safety.
No worries, I doubt user is an underage girl.

He's being a little bitch, but if this is your first game he's also right.

>Just use mage armour
And then I would have only one spell at first level. At 5th level, a sorcerer has only 6 spells, wasting in mage armor is a big deal

>If you're playing from level 1, try to pick one with fire resistance
That's also a good point, but the chances of dying are still high though

Personally I try to have a character in mind, pretty much give them a personality little bit of back story then I start thinking about class and race.

I've played 5e a few times, used to DM 3.PF all the time before that and with over 20 years of gaming I guess a minor tweak wouldn't be that much of a hassle.

Fire resistance is valuable at any level, really, it just have the sole survivor appeal.

As to mage armor, it's nice, but probably not worth learning until level 1 slots are less otherwise useful and you have more spells known to spare. Somewhere after level 5.
>I doubt user is an underage girl.
My dreams are ruined.

It isnt though. Coming from a WMS player, if you have firebolt it will be more than enough. No offensive level 1 spell is that great and every time you level up you can switch 1 spell known out. I went Half-elf for obvious reasons.

Don't be That Guy.

>Fire resistance is valuable at any level, really, it just have the sole survivor appeal.
The problem is that Dragonborns are bad and fit a draconic sorcerer better and I don't like tieflings...

Could you elaborate? What spells did you choose?

Sure, starting at level 1 I chose for cantrips: firebolt (you will use this most of the time), shocking grasp (just in case someone gets close and you need to run away), Friends and create bonfire, the last 2 cantrips are really up to you. I like create bonfire because if you put it on a door or hall it can really start stacking damage. For level 1 spells Mage armor and shield. Basically to make sure you try to stay alive because level 1 is deadly. Then when you level up to 2 I chose magic missile (you wont be using it often, but there are occasions where you really really need to hit something that is almost dead)

Also the reason why I say level 1 offensive spells are weak is because the one everybody chooses is chromatic orb and by level 5 the firebolt doing 2d10 is pretty much on par with it also a magic missile is doing like 2 maybe 3 less damage on average than chromatic orb anyways.

Also take half elf and get your CHA to 17 and boost dex and con as your next 2 highest stats, then at level 4 take the UA feat Everybodys friend to boost CHA to 18.

Best class for a Tortle? I was thinking Cleric.

Barbarian
Cleric
Druid (not Moon)
Fighter
Monk
Rogue

cleric, druid, any arcane spellcaster cause god knows they would love to start with 17 ac, even if you have to start with 15 int/cha

cleric is obviously the best fit. optimally you go for a domain that doesn't get heavy armor.

Now that we have an archeologist background, I really wanna make an Indiana Jones ripoff for when I play ToA. Any ideas for a build?

>I am the player and I get to do whatever I want.
Nah, fuck you.

Dude, backgrounds are meant to give players more proficiency flexibility. That is their purpose. Let it go. This is not the hill DMs should die on.

Sorry, do the words I choose annoy you? Just speaking in quicker and easier to understand terms.

Would you have preferred I said something like
>normal people that think D&D is for nerds and geeks and just call it gay
>newer players to the game
>people that take the rules to heart and are strict about how structured everything is and will argue with the DM a lot

I figured saying those things would be redundant and too wordy to be assed for, but I'll make sure to type things out going forward cause you didn't like them I guess.

This is my fault, been DM'ing for newer players among our friends circle at university last couple of semesters, but those players have moved out and no one shows any interest in playing right now.

I should have prefaced that I haven't played as a PC in some time, I just want to sit back with some cool people and have a good time, the drinking bit was optional.

No, I would have preferred
>People who don't play RPGs
Because "normies" is ridiculous and there are millions of non-nerds who play D&D
>New players
Because "newfag" makes you sound like you use Veeky Forums slang in real life, which is extremely fucking stupid
>Tryhards
Would be fine, but next to the rest just sounded like further screeching.

that's fine with me
spotted the shit DM

Custom backgrounds are just as legal as any class or race

If you think me using a "Veeky Forums slang-term" in a post on Veeky Forums.org is an indication that I also say it out and about then I'm just not sure what to say to you.

...

Is Rope of Climbing just a meme item? There's literally no use for it unless your DM makes "unreachable" 50ft high ledges in every encounter, and has no other use that a normal rope can't do just as well and a HELL of a lot cheaper

Yes, just like 10 foot poles.

"Newfag" specifically refers to a forum concept. There are no newfags in real life. Hence, you're already using Veeky Forums vernacular to apply to non-Veeky Forums meatspace.

>Everything I don't like is reddit

If you do this, you will have 14 or even 16 dex at level 1. There's likely no reason to cast fire bolt before level 5, or even to be a sorcerer since all you're gonna do is shoot a crossbow and have worse hp/AC/damage/utility than everyone else. I suppose create bonfire gives you some use, but how do you ignore burning hands and thunderwave as well as sleep? You know, magic.

I can't find actual rules on weight and height of characters for dnd5e, can anyone help me?

The use of a item, mundane or magical, is limited only by player imagination. To this day I hold that one of the best magic items is the Robe of Useful Items, simply because of the options it gives you.

Any adventurer who goes into a dungeon without 10 foot poles deserves every horrible thing that happens to him.

>Because "newfag" makes you sound like you use Veeky Forums slang in real life, which is extremely fucking stupid