/5eg/ - Fifth Edition General

I like to theorycraft and optimize, but I always check with my DM first. The best case scenario is when your DM lets you and then works with you on making it make sense for your character and the story

But booming blade requires an action? how would I attack too? have I missed something?

should I multiclass?

That's a good point user, write a book so I can steal it and claim its mine

Human wizard I just don't want to be the only one anymore

I went ancients paladin and fey lock. They line up great and I'm very happy with both the mechanics and role playing. Our groups sorcerer only does blast stuff so by going tome, I have become the groups ritual caster. Green lords gift is also godly for me, as the groups main damage soaker.

What does a tortle look like when it runs? Is it more like on all fours or some retarded bowlegged meme lizard?

This is a sweet art

The booming blade spell description says to make a melee weapon attack

It's because booming blade specifically says make a melee weapon attack, which is the exact trigger for sneak attack. By default, rogues don't get more than 1 attack per round no matter how many levels you take, unlike your other martials.

Personally, the only skill that I think is terrible is Bloodbath. Healing other people while you're a raging barbarian doesn't make any sense.

Yeah. I ended up playing a Devotion Paladin/Favored Soul myself for a while. It was fun and fluffy, but I had a lot of smiting power to work with.

My main qualm is that Warlock and Paladin feel pretty front-loaded with features, and the Charisma based clases as a whole feel like they fit together a bit too well. Most other combos it's debatable if a dip is really worth it, but they stand out as something that only gets better when multiclassed, which irks me more than it probably should.

It'd what happens when you're a forever DM, ideas for characters easily come together because you have to on the fly make up NPCs and you want to give them enough something if the party likes them. Then again sometimes pic related happens

Oh yeah thanks man I noticed it a few seconds after posting and just hoped you'd think me some sort of plebeian and ignore my idiocy

I'm forever Dm too, but all the characters I wanted to play I've made into Pcs

I can't remember, can a monk use shove/grapple for their bonus action attacks?

Ahh understandable then, I tend to try and play more fast and loose with it otherwise I create way too much and it's a lot for PCs to digest. So I've toned it down by keeping vague ideas then having them solidify as my players wander. It also keeps me from making too many characters I want to play but never will

No

Thx

I forgot your new, as a part of casting Booming Blade you make a melee weapon attack so its all in one action.

Cantrips scale to character level, not a specific class, you could be a 1 Wizard/19 Barbarian and your cantrips from the wizard class are cast as their 20th level versions.

Booming Blade is a Wizard cantrip which can be attained from the Variant Half-Elf Cantrip feature. So you can go straight Rogue and never worry about Booming Blade falling behind as it will continue to grow as you do.

So if you are level 10 Booming Blade does Weapon Damage + Sneak Attack + 1d8 Thunder Damage and if they move they take an extra 2d8 Thunder Damage. At level 11 the d8s go up to 2d8. To force the target to move disengage after casting Booming Blade and run away from them so they will chase after you and take damage.

Lastly, I feel like few Rogues know this so I will let you know. Sneak Attack is once per turn not per round. So if you can ever make opportunity attacks or find a way to attack on someone else's turn using your reaction, and you meet the sneak attack requirements you get sneak attack. Try and keep that in mind.

As a player I personally think char development should go hand-in-hand with class progression & multiclassing, but I don't resent people who choose to keep them separate. I have a multiclass idea for my current character so i'm trying to RP him in a way that shows a transition from one class towards another, and grabbing hold of any plot points that will further that transformation. I feel like the melding of plot and mechanical progression enhances the experience of playing a character significantly.

I also keep multiclassing to only 2 classes unless I need more for a very very specific character concept or fighting style.

Have you had an Artificer craft some neat shit, /5eg/?

If a rogue got their hands on a rapier version of a "dancing blade," would you let them count the blade when it's floating as an adjacent ally for the sake of provoking sneak attack

As a player I love multiclassing. I have very specific ideas that can only be done through dipping into multiple different classes, even if it wouldn't make any sense how a street urchin who lived in the slums of a major city his entire life is a level 3 monk.

I always just mentally reskin it to make sense.

>The street thug doesn't actually have ki that he unlocked through monk training, he's just a really good fist fighter with bursts of energy for quick combos

The cha based classes definitely get this the best, but I don't think it's an end all rule. Rage is good on a fighter, dex fighter and swashbuckler or another rogue mesh beautifully for off turn sneak attack with riposte, monk with hunters mark and other hunter slayer features works well.

I think most multiclasses should only aim for a dip anyways, so you end up looking for the best level 1-3 features to complement your own.

I'm gonna be making a Stone Sorcerer in spite of it not making the cut. Should I use a maul, or a two-handed warhammer with the possibility to drag someone around and then start wailing on them?

These ideas look neat. Im interested in rping a lizard but I'm afraid of pissing off my group. Maybe I'll go for the oblivious comedic relief route.

Monkbarian... is it possible?
Say you also get 3 more points added to your standard point buy and the limit is increased from 15 to 17.

Can you make it work?

Tortles are a thing now so you could probably do that with the current system.

>DMs how do you handle multiclassing? Are you more of a it should be based off character development/story reasons or just have fun?
I can't wait for Spock to show his autistic face

Oh god I completely forgot about him when I made the OP

I usually have my background reflect my character's future class. I just made a bard and I plan on multiclassing him into rogue. Because of that, his background is criminal.

>my party of 5 is level 6 and no one has even thought of multiclassing
>feels good man

I'm going to start taking levels in Bard as a Devotion Paladin and max my CHA instead of DEX because we need heals and general support spells

I don't think I'd be able to resist playing a stoner tortle if I ever had the chance to play one.
Crush is forever etched in my mind for better or for worse. Thanks Pixar.

>the paladin starts making it a point to sing traveling songs everytime we set off on a quest
>he thinks we don't get what he's doing

>Multiclassing

I let it happen however, my players don't go out of their way to break things.

>stoner monk barbarian

It's not a terrible idea done right. Look at Zahua from PoE.

I think that's usually a fear that most tables generally don't have to worry about so long as it's a group of friends.
I've never once had a player that wanted to try and disrupt anything, mechanics, story, or otherwise.

there are better Dota heroes to try to put into DnD

>DMs how do you handle multiclassing?
It isn't allowed (like every other optional rule, including point buy)

>Sir Chadmeyer Thundercock IV, from the house of Roosters, comes from a long line of pompous knights
>Adventuring until he needs a wizard to give him gills from all the exotic pussy he's drowning in

Rogue(2) Barb(2) Fighter champion (3+)

>Has a +8 to both athletics and acrobatics, with advantage if he rages at level 3

So far:
>Chadmeyer hopped on the back of a centaur and used it as a mount to kill another centaur before getting bucked off
>Grabbed a thug and jumped high enough into the air to suplex and kill him from fall damage
>Both silenced and defeated a powerful wizard by holding his head under water as the party fought him and his pet dragon in a swamp.

I need a good, appropriate image of him. And more ideas on how to make use of his acrobatics and athletics

No, it's as much an ally as a floating shield.

Who?

Nah mang, literally every character I've ever played was proficient with the pan pipes. It just so happens I've technically set myself up for the multi almost a year down the line.

So someone on a previous thread was talking about hexing people for disadvantage on concentration, I wanna remind them that maintaining concentration is a Con save, not a check.

Really the best use of hex is to fuck with their disarm/shove/grapple contests.

>Nah mang, literally every character I've ever played was proficient with the pan pipes. It just so happens I've technically set myself up for the multi almost a year down the line.
Haha, that's fine.
I was actually referencing something that's literally going on in my own game.

Yep, also INT to make it harder for them to discern illusions, but STR Hex is best.

Yep.
We've got a shield master in our party and I fully plan to take a character with hex should my current character kick it.

My favourite trick is wisdom hex before trying to bluff or sneak past someone

This is good if your DM actually rolls insight like they're supposed to, or uses passive perception correctly.

Is the giant scorpion a good substitute for sea scorpions?

Character development and story reasons 99% of the time for me, the only rebuttal to this for me is Fighters. You could tell me "DM I want to multiclass into fighter to improve my martial prowess." and I will nod in understanding and with no questions unless you have more to add. Every other class I need some convincing as normally I would find it odd to see a Ranger suddenly make a pact with a devil for more power unprovoked.

I usually ask my players if they plan on multiclassing to try and do it when we start or put it in your backstory so there is some precedence.

I have tried my hand at doing what Vax did in Critical Role by having it organically happen in the story(He went from Assassin to Vengence Paladin after making a deal for his sister's soul). I had a Fighter Knight who got his butt handed to him twice by a Pugilist and said if he ever wanted to go pugilist after the thrashings he could, he wanted to, but sadly it did not work out as he died last session, and Pugilist can't use full plate or Glaives. I also have a Rogue Assassin who got beat by a Swashbuckler/Battle Master in a Sword Duel and has permanent battle scars to prove it, I told him later that he could go Fighter if that had ever influenced him.

Anyone have any naturally occurring multiclass stories? I always feel like this is the hardest part to happen within the narrative.

...

Reminds me of the guy playing a Rogue in one of my previous games. He wanted the Warlock multi and started just asking people if they knew relevant rituals, tried his hand at improvising a summoning, and looked through bookstores and libraries to identify some esoteric knowledge on demonic lore.

He got Inquisitioned and the party had to break him out of jail, which was totally fun and in-character for the Cleric. I was the Cleric

Going for a Fiend pact during play seems like a bad call. At least with Fey or Old Ones you're more likely to only bring yourself down with badly worded deals or gibbering insanity rather than cause a demon apocalypse

Please let the hexblade be good.

Are you saying faeries couldn't cause an apocalypse?

Tbh fey are much scarier than demons imo.

Fey are no fucking joke if a DM plays them right

this is how I feylock
youtube.com/watch?v=a127j7kdzr4

They probably could, though at the same time Fey can already pretty much walk wherever they want. Demons and Devils are called out as not being able to leave the lower planes so readily, which is why they need people to summon them.

Hence why the church is much more likely to kick down your door for trying a random demon ritual you read in a book over some weird elf one. One is more likely to open a portal to the abyss and summon something terrible and out of control, the other is probably just going to get you replaced by a changeling with the real you turned into a horse. Neither is good, but one is a much more immediate concern.

And then there's GOOlocks, who can be anywhere from "this power is free lmao he doesn't even know I use it" to "Empty husk being puppeted around merely pretending to still be the original PC"
I'm actually playing an empty body being controlled by a GOO currently and it's been a load of fun being overpowered but having to hide it since my only body and link to the prime material is still fragile and unfinished, wondering how long until the other PCs notice what's going on

>I want to multiclass into fighter to improve my martial prowess
Would you let people multiclass into Rogue if they wanted to "improve their sneaking or skills?

>put it in your backstory so there is some precedence
100% this is the proper way to do it.

>3rd paragraph
When you throw your players against those enemies, are they built as an avtual PC or are they NPC blocks with the relevant abilities and features you want?

>4th paragraph
I had a Dragonborn Devotion Paladin start multiclassing into Champion Fighter when he was inspired by Kord to focus on and hone his martial skills.

...

Not him, but I'd say Rogue and possibly Ranger are the other ones that are kind of freebies as far as multiclassing goes alongside Fighter. All it basically requires is the character going out and opting to train with armor and weapons, specific skills, or training in the wilderness for survival know-how. Most other things feel like they would need a very specific opportunity or instructor to really get the hang of, and even of these Ranger only works for one level before you have to ask where you're getting spells from.

Rogue and Fighter are both vague enough to work as the very easy bread to the butter of any multiclass though. But of course, putting bits in your backstory can help justify anything, as is actually starting to train towards it a couple levels before you opt to take a level in whatever.

I've had the idea for a while of playing a rogue who starts out as a pretty vanilla thief for their first seven or eight levels, but to have their constant near-death experiences continue to harden their faith and fanaticism towards the settings god of thieves until finally starting to take levels in Trickery domain cleric around level 9 or 10 when they transitioned over to full-on creepy cultist

>Bard finds very cursed whip
>Able to overcome it
>starts to use it
>wants more
>pact with Necrofiend inside
And thats how I became a blade-bardlock

>Would you let people multiclass into Rogue if they wanted to "improve their sneaking or skills?

Possibly, Fighters for me are a little more general, and I'm more likely to allow you to take some levels into it due to the generality. Rogues sometimes might require a little more depending on what class you are. It's always a case by case, to be honest.

>When you throw your players against those enemies, are they built as an actual PC or are they NPC blocks with the relevant abilities and features you want?

They have the stats of actual PCs. I'm not against having NPCs being classes from the PHB or what have you. I know some DMs hate this but I'm cool with it.

How would you convert 5e into a classless system

Play something else.

You wouldn't because that's retarded.

you'd scrap 90% of class features.

By playing a different system.

Stop being a fucking retard.

Pitch me your spoopy wendigo-centric adventure idea.

Playing a classless system.

rabble rabble

There's a zombie.
A single zombie.
The party kills it.
But it comes back in the next fight.
And the fight after that.
Again and again forever.

One I'm playing this weekend involves a stormy sea due to a kraken.
The island above its cavernous home has a haunted lighthouse that draws in ships for "safe harbor" where the islands that occupy the mainland take the sailor's seed for... reasons.
Then they turn the sailors over to the kraken.
It's a symbiotic relationship.

Has anyone used guns from the dmg? Specifically muskets and pistols. What are your thoughts on them? Pic unrelated

Very carefully.

More seriously, you would have to split up the classes into full caster, half caster, and third/no caster, and then individually go through and weigh every single class and subclass feature against others in order to strike a balance. It'd basically involve just making a fuckton of feats with prerequisites out of them.

Would not recommend it to anyone

fuck I'm tired. The wiches* that occupy the island's mainland

Why the fuck is a scorpion, a sahaugin and a sahuagin priestess still an extremely deadly encounter for 5 level 3 pcs?

They work out alright. I'd make it so that they work with crossbow mastery which allows multi attack with them. However make sure you apply the two major drawbacks of guns, loud as fuck and expensive ammo. Actually make PC's track bullets.

But why not just have them use crossbows then? That sounds boring.

numbers can't withstand action economy.

They're basically slightly stronger crossbows, assuming you allow Crossbow Expert with them. I wouldn't go as far as to allow the Hand Crossbow benefit with the pistol since the dice is two sizes up, but even then you basically just have magic crossbows that have less initial cost but harder to get ammunition.

I don't see much wrong with including them balance-wise. People can't really exploit them at low levels since they're more expensive, and later on all the classes with martial weapons want extra attacks so they either need a feat or they'll switch to bows anyway. And if they do take the feat, I'd just let them have the +1 damage crossbow at that point.

Early guns and crossbows were pretty similar in capabilities. It's a fine representation, and less weirdly handled than pathfinder's take of making them pierce through all physical armor forever.

Might possibly work with some overly complicated point buy method with level and other restrictions.

A man returns from a trip into the mountains, the sole survivor of an expedition. He's frostbitten and half-dead, but tells the nearby villagers that the exploring party came across a crumbling temple containing untold riches and perished, one by one, trying to get it down the mountain. Among the casualties was his the survivor's brother. In spite of the trip having nearly killed him, he appeared obsessed with retrieving the treasure that claimed his brother's life and quickly rallies another expedition into the hills to reclaim it. Some time have passed, and this time none have returned.

The party is asked by the local townsfolk to find the remains of the expedition and rescue any survivors if possible. As they investigate, they discover the truth of what happened: when the first expedition became trapped, the brother of the survivor turned to cannibalizing the first explorer to succumb to his injuries to survive and fell victim to a curse that transforms cannibals in the hills into terrible beasts. The survivor led the second expedition into the mountains to feed his brother, conspiring to consume flesh himself and join him.

There may or may not be a real treasure somewhere, depending on how mean you feel

who controls the celestials? Do the gods all have their own celestials? Do celestials report to higher ranking celestials?

Don't think about it

I think it could be done, but you'd basically have to trim everything down to the bare minimums to make it all fit. Honestly, you'd probably be far better off just doing a Gestalt game if your players really want the best of two classes.

I don't use the DMG rules for them, no.
But I run a campaign that uses flintlock pistols. 2d4 + dex. Crit on a 19 or 20. Takes an action to reload.
Players fucking love them and they have been used in mexican stand offs. Fun shit.

Okay but fiends work for stronger fiends and dark gods so that they can all get out of hell and sow destruction and chaos (or law) right? What is the goal of the celestials? To spread good? Whose good? Why don't they just take over the mortal realms to make sure their good is enforced?