/5eg/ - Fifth Edition General

The UA Revised Ranger

You are a master of navigating the natural world, and you react with swift and decisive action when attacked.

Magic mist makes you lost even if your a ranger. Just use that to lead them from there path.

Yes, I know that. You're the DM. Spin it like that. Outright go "part of this campaign is the ability to get lost". Give them a character hook, potential to develop incharacter.

or just say that magic from the tomb is emitting some magic X so it messes with the ranger ability

Why take something away from the class thats already limited? Just give advantage.

friends, if you are considering war cleric and your dm is very by the book and provides balanced encounters, make sure you have at least 2 other frontliners/something to reduce the heat on you

with pointbuy stats 19AC etc it will become quickly apparent you dont belong in the fray after a few rounds

>UA revised ranger
>Level 1 ability
>Limited

>Playing 'frontline' on anything but barbarian or paladin
For what purpose?
The only time it's okay to frontline is if your class is strongly geared towards frontlining.

The ranger overall doesn't have that much. Very reliant on hunters mark and magic weapons for damage. Not getting lost is a big part of the kit of a ranger.

that also work as a compromise

well safe to say I learned my lesson

Also, why aren't you dodging?
You cast sacred guardians on the first turn, and you dodge every turn thereafter. Otherwise, don't bother getting into melee unless the enemies approach you first.

It's more of a flavour extra, and as a level 1 ability when revised rangers get a ton of shit at level 1 it's kinda out of place.
It should be a level 4+ feature really, but they front-loaded the revised ranger for playtesting or something.

Yeah, serves you right for trying to have fun.

So how's ToA?

I can have fun

I've just learned the limits of d8 hit die

It's not the d8 hit die that's the problem. That's just -1 hp per level under fighter except for first level where it's -2.

The limitation is that overall, it's way more dangerous to be in melee and there isn't really much point to being in melee if your class features don't demand it. People seem to get into this mindset that if they stand at the front they're keeping the squishies at the back from being hit, but usually all they're doing is making it so the monsters don't even have to chase the party to get any hits in.

Very, very good. It's almost a shame that the average party is going to end up missing 80 percent of everything the hex crawl act has to offer, because most of the tiny, incidental dungeons that you can really only find by stumbling across have pretty tight design.

depends on the encounter honestly

also dont turn your nose up at 1hp/level
at level 10 youd have to cast Aid 3rd level for an extra 10 hp

Or you could have a single party member have inspiring leader at level 10 and they'd give, what, +15 temporary HP to everyone once every short rest?

10 HP is one hit from a typical monster when monsters make several attacks a turn. What's far more important is shit like having high AC and inflicting disadvantage on the opponent (Dodging), or having high AC and having damage resistance (Samurai, barbarians, etc).

Wizard spell preview is out! Looks like it's NOT just UA stuff in the book

And also because I type shit and then post before I realize there's more to say, what's far better than HP or any of that is not getting hit in the first place. Simply staying out of reach of an enemy means it can't attack you at all, meaning every single one of those attacks automatically misses. Sanctuary gives a good chance they can't attack you at all, so forth.

Having played a cleric for a year now I'm not sure I've ever come under 11 HP except maybe once when I was level 3 or so at the start.

how do you make 5e combat fun?

New non-EEPC non-UA spells: Dragon's breath, mind spike, shadow blade, catnap, enemies abound, life transference, thunder step, tiny servant, wall of sand, charm monster, sickening radiance, summon greater demon, danse macabre, dawn, enervation, far step, immolation, infernal calling, negative energy flood, skill empowerment, steel wind strike, synaptic static, transmute rock, wall of light, create homunculus, mental prison, scatter, soul cage, Tenser's transformation, crown of stars, power word pain, whirlwind, illusory dragon, maddening darkness, mighty fortress, invulnerability, mass polymorph, and psychic scream

Oh boi, just what we needed, MORE spells for the casters to wank off to. Not like a third of the PHB isn't already spells...

Fuck... I hate this game sometimes.

stop throwing higher numbers, start making combat puzzles and environmental hazards. Tell your players think on what they want to do before their fucking turn comes around you've been playing for two months you can start actually planning what you want to do and double checking your spells before the turn starts, I'm not explaining your own spells to you again Adam.

Add a lot of detail to the combat maps that can be interacted with. Traps are best used in combats, really, rather than just 'roll high enough on perception or you get hit'.

Barrels full of oil, low walls and alcoves, boiling water, environmental hazards set up by wizards, etc.

Anyone got a nice guide for running CoS it's a little confusing to run.

You do know that if wotc made up as much content for martials as they do for casters, a third of the player base would complain that barbarians are too hard to play. We share this hobby with retards.

The region is broken up by level your're supposed to be when you start fucking around in it. Do your best to subtly or not-so-subtly indicate when players are treading into an area above their weight class.

>Hey do you like that air avatar show? What about that there metal alchemer show?

A bunch of those spells are Tome of Battle things (shadow blade, steel wind strike). Goodies for Eldritch Knight?

Yeah, I have mixed feelings about this. I like new spells because they're fun, but I don't like huge versatility upgrades over pure martials.

Maybe it's time to homebrew in some special martial only tricks to give them more flexibility and utility, especially out of combat.

There's no single formula. Mix things up.

Weird terrain which opens up new plans, or impairing terrain like real choke points or unfavorable cliffs. Give things to interact with, even just doors to open and close can really change things.

Mix up enemy types and tactics. Nothing really stays fun for more than a few encounters so keep doing new things.

It's a module.

That'd be cool. EKs and ATs could use some better combat magic.

Just to make sure I understand this I can cast counterspell on my turn in this example?

>Wizard A
>Bard (Me)
>I get within 60 feet of the target to cast Bigby's Hand to lay the finest of pimp slaps
>Wizard throws out the gang signs for Counterspell
>I throw out the gang signs for Counterspell to counter his Counterspell
>I roll a 19 on the check
>The wizard fails the counterspell and catches the FIIINEST of backhands.

CoS isn't nearly as hard as it looks to run

>roll for reading, keep note of where the prophecies start
>designed for milestone xp
>super obvious plot hook npcs
>entire section dedicated to how to steer your players away from scary areas like the amber temple

Yup. You get your reaction when you start your turn, so Counterspell the Counterspell to your heart's content.

Unless the Wizard upcasts counterspell you don't need to roll, but otherwise that's correct.

Several of those are EEPC...

I was rushing and probably messed up some. Still a ton of new spells not seen in UAs at least.

Reactions can be used on your turn but you won't have a reaction until next turn, so you won't be able to counterspell whatever the wizard casts next. Also can't use reactions until you miss your first turn due to being surprised or if incapacitated. Can't use counterspell if you can't see the target casting, too.

Amazing thank you!

Amazing thank you!

Wha-?

Amazing thank you!

Amazing thank you!

The only time you can't cast counterspell to stop a counterspel countering your own spell is if the original spell you cast is a bonus action spell. The rules state in that situation you can't cast an additional spell during your turn unless it is a cantrip with a casting time of one action.

Amazing thank you!

No, no, no, no, a thousand times no.

Giving martials more way to hit things does not fix the problem at all.

Casters need to be limited, forced to make choices on which reality-breaking tools they have. No amount of making martials better at hitting things will change the fact that casters can handle practically every problem in the game at any time with a quick handwave and the right level 3 or below spell.

that would make barbarians too hard to play user. I just want to hit things with my sword lol.

That's exactly the opposite of what I was going for. I think martials are pretty fine in combat. They might only hit things, but at least they hit things really hard.

What I'd like would be more features making them better at non-damaging things especially out of combat. I think couching it in the various mythic martial feats of skill and strength from things like the Odyssey would be a good starting place.

>Maybe it's time to homebrew in some special martial only tricks to give them more flexibility and utility, especially out of combat.

"Powers?! What is this, WoW/anime/videogame/super hero bullshit? Better make them all require an action, a -10 penalty to roll, and give them extreme consequences upon failure to ensure they don't get spammed."

>Make casters less fun
But no

Like the person you're replying to said, martials just need some out of combat utility n' shit.
However, if we go too far down that route, we end up with 4e. I kinda like the design where players who don't want to think too hard can play a champion without being bogged down with extra shit and just hit stuff hard. Even if they're less flexible, the wizard player is playing a wizard because they want to solve this shit.

from now on le caster supremacy xD memes will be backed up with examples from various levels including early levels or be summarily discarded

Balance UP, mother fucker. Give people more toys, don't take them away. Give martials more ways to approach a given situation in ways that wizards also can or possibly even that they can't.

Too bad in practice the person playing the fighter has to think really hard about how to solve problems, while the person playing the wizard just gets to hand-wave the problem out of existence with magic.

Trust me, the person playing the wizard isn't the one "solving this shit" to any degree.

>Casters need to be limited, forced to make choices on which reality-breaking tools they have. No amount of making martials better at hitting things will change the fact that casters can handle practically every problem in the game at any time with a quick handwave and the right level 3 or below spell.

"Ugh, here come the balance police again to nerf spellcasters. Why does casting a spell have to take 5 minutes? It should be instantaneous. This isn't how it worked last edition. This isn't D&D anymore."

The person playing the fighter doesn't WANT to solve problems, and often if you don't solve it with magical handwaving then it just diverts the session entirely into a half life engine box stacking game.

1st through 3rd level:Cantrips and 1st level spells
3rd through 5th level: all of the above and 2nd and 3rd level spells
6th through 10th level: all of the above and 4th and 5th level spells
10th through 15th level: all of the above and 6th and 7th level spells.
16th through 20th level: all of the above and 8th and 9th level spells.

>However, if we go too far down that route, we end up with 4e.

You HAVE to go down the road of 4e's narrative mechanics, superhuman feats, and resource based systems if you aren't going to seriously tone down spell casters.

>Implying anyone playing a caster actually knows how to play
Have a quote,
"I cast acid splash as a level 3 spell"

scanning posts for relevant evidence...

none found
into the trash it goes

t. Wizard """main"""

Yes. And I'm playing 5e because I don't want to play 4e.

Yeah, that’ll show him!

>Tenser's transformation
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

I ain't putting much effort in here. Suffice it to say, there's a reason the caster supremacy stigma vanished with 4e then resurfaced with 5e, and doesn't exist in better designed games.

Quick question, if i wanted my Preferred Enemy to work well with Tomb of Annihilation, wich one would help with simply GETTING to the tomb instead of inside the tomb.

beasts, fey, humanoids, monstrosities, or undead?

...

>>scanning posts for relevant evidence...

You're acting like 3e didn't introduce a bunch of stuff to try and help martials. Hell, even the book of weeaboo fighting magic didn't put them on par with spellcasters in terms of sheer utility/craziness.

When you have a spell that says, "Target below X HP makes a saving throw or dies, useable Y times per day," or "You summon and negotiate a deal with powerful being from another plane Y times a day" or "You can open any locked device by waving around a bauble and saying magic words for six seconds, Y times a day", you've got potential for some pretty crazy shenannigans.

just another reason to play 5e instead

What people need to talk about is whether that the imbalance is inherently bad. For most players of 5e, they don't know the rules so thoroughly that it makes the casters severely outshine the martials. It also gives something for the grizzled veterans to fuck about with while the newbies are content with just swining their sword blindly.

>Summon lesser demons
>Summon greater demon
Looks like action economy is off the menu, boys!

It's really going to depend on what the DM chooses or how random encounter rolls turn out, but Beasts and Undead are more likely to help in the jungles, Monstrosities in a a part of the story before you hit the tomb.

But overall, and strictly talking about content before the tomb, MAYBE Undead might help out most.

>Elemental bane

Those are all 5e spells. Power Word Kill, Gate, and Knock, respectively.

>there's a reason the caster supremacy stigma vanished with 4e
Yeah, because the player base vanished with 4e

>while the newbies are content with just swinging their sword blindly.

Yeah... but as a semi-newbie myself, I have to say it kinda sucked alot of shit in my first game when I played Battlemaster and all I could by about level 8 was hit stuff while the wizard could change the entire environment and rules of reality.

Yeah, I could hit things harder... but combat in 5e gets boring really quickly, and it's really hard to actually roleplay as a fighter type of character because you have basically nothing to work with.

you only get one 9th level spell slot even at max rank

Nice one.

>Knock
>Level 9 spell

High level spells are absolutely bullshit and the game turns into 'wizard and his followers', yes, though at those power levels you can't achieve such bullshit without making fighters magical too or making wizards have to absolutely defend on fighters not to get smacked around while doing their thing.

Low level spells can be forgiven because wizards have limited spell slots to do that shit with if it's not a ritual spell, they have to have it prepared and often there's a mundane way to do the same thing (Locks are hardly the most uncrackable thing)

It should be more enjoyable if your DM throws more shit about for you to do, and is generous on you because you're a martial, say 'I'll let you use one of your attacks to smash open this barrel of flammable oil and spill it everywhere then say you can simply make an attack with the torch to throw it'. The problem is you need a lot of shit like that to keep up with the wizard, especially if the rests aren't spread out enough.

I feel the adventuring day set-up with how often rests are distributed may be part of the problem.

>spending a precious spell slot instead of letting the barbarian knock down the door or the rogue pick the lock
What a waste.

Gate (ok it's 8th so possibly 2x) and PWK aren't though.

>High level spells are absolutely bullshit and the game turns into 'wizard and his followers'

Yup, giving martials armies is kind of necessary at that point.

>tfw if you do just want to hit things with your sword fighter is better
2 attacks ever lmao get out of here. Reckless attack should be something like doubling your attacks but dropping proficiency bonus.

>guy acts like you can go flinging around PWK and gate X and Y times per day
>you can actually only cast one 9th level spell per day

next argument please, what else you got?

When I play fighter, I try and use my "hit stuff hard" skills in creative ways.
I might try and knock a weapon out of somebody's hands, or grapple them, or move during a fight to give my party a shot at the enemy, start jumping off stuff during the battle, make environmental hazards by breaking shit, etc...

...

Oh, and then you can action surge and grapple the nearby orc and then shove the orc into the ground.
You have to really play around with items, grapples and magical weapons to keep up alongside having feats such as sentinel to control the battlefield. It's harsh on a new player, but they might have the idea by the time caster supremacy starts to emerge at later levels and they should have some magic items by then.

Literally not the argument at all. You could have just said you were retarded.