/5eg/ - Fifth Edition General

27 kobalds

Give it a shot then. Just remember they don't need to know how many spells slots/HP he has left so you can adjust on the fly if you feel like its too easy/hard

If you can stomach it maybe read these:
critrolestats.com/blog/2017/10/8/monster-analysis-vecna-the-ascended-part-1
critrolestats.com/blog/2017/10/8/monster-analysis-vecna-the-ascended-part-2

and then watch how Matt plays Vecna at least for a little bit. They are kinda loud/obnoxious (it's mostly nerves as their 5 year campaign ends against a literal demi-god.), and lots of missed checks/effects from both sides. You can also witness the most well played Bard I have ever seen in 5e

youtu.be/W-SMrG0QLc0?t=18m31s

What motivates a dryad to fuck with the party? I'm having trouble because dryad is neutral and they just be strolling by (maybe)

Kunk jus wanna swing club at gobbos

You can also try this. DMG, page 282.

would having the ability to naturally communicate with creatures of intelligence less than 6 really stop you from swinging your club kunk?

Kunk no un. Unnde. KUNK SMASH YOU!

how's this for a first time DM story with new players?
>party are gathered in a seedy inn to meet a shady guy
>he tells them to raid a red painted ship and when they're done release all the slaves held captive on it
>they are all soldiers from two countries at war that country A is selling because country B is kicking their ass and they need money
>shady guy sends the party to do seemingly innocent missions that get progressively more suspicious like kill all the goblins living in an abandoned mine, steal a crystal form a temples, kidnap a master smith, assassinate a noble
>if they still fail to catch on then they join a raid on the duke's palace and get turned on by shady guy who reveals he was a spy for country A who are going to use a super weapon he had kept as an art piece in his house

I missed the mark a bit, if you want the placesetting/Vecna's prefight monologue start here
youtu.be/W-SMrG0QLc0?t=13m7s

So worst build or best build for a high level campaign.

Yuan-ti OoA 11 / Monster Slayer 7 / war wizard 2
Keep bless up on yourself. Adv on all magic saves. Reist all magic damage. Add cha+1d4+1d6 to (nearly) all saves. Add +4 to any save i fail to not.
Take shield master. Max cha, go raiper and shield. Never fail a save.
Take mage slayer if i can fit it in.

Not him but I'm totally turning my players into skellys at some point

Since OrcPub2 went SRD-only, have you been using any other character builders? Is any of them any good?

>character builders
yeah my favorite one is a pen and paper

Ive actually been using the orcpub2 to make low level hirelings for one of my campaigns. Im gonna give the players the option to hire them to see if how it works. I think making them low level pcs statwise might be better than npc stats

So what do they need to find his phylactery to kill him? Why are they facing him head on?

Generally the main storyline shouldn't have the players actively working backwards and doing shit like that unless the players are all evil or chaotic stupid and/or all the players have no in-world political affiliation and may choose to join 'shady guy who is a spy' rather than being betrayed.
Especially when the DM is dangling plot hooks for a quest line that the players shouldn't be following, it's just frustrating unless it's a sidequest series, in which case the party can expect weird shit and should hopefully catch on and decide 'actually let's out this guy, get them fucked over and continue on with our main quest'.

Usually traitors in the game join you on a mission for something the party actually wants to do and turns on the party then. Slightly worse they might direct the party to a boss but then the party kicks the boss's ass, usually.
Sometimes the traitors are just side characters in a quest line that won't directly get involved with the players but the players may get to deal with them.

To try and scare them out of the sacred grove of the forest or something idk

>High level campaign
Wizard 17+
or
Bard 18+
Stop fucking around
You could do a bit of multiclassing with those last few levels but it doesn't matter because you've broken the game.

Are they in country a b or c?

If they fail to catch on the local kgb variant should show up, accuse them if crimes against the crown etc.

Also is literally nobody going to say anything to them?

Also why are they meeting a shady guy? Have a cheery normie entice them with fretting slaves for the greater good, mumbo jumbo about harbor master bribes etc. Legally nothing can be done buy these people are being sold, governers niece is in hold, handsome stipend all on the hush hush qt. So they're apprised when all the soldiers rush out screaming "for country b" and murder everyone on the docks as they flee.

Otherwise it's wooden and stilted story and I'd lead the party to steal the ship and sail for more interesting shores forthwith.

You would be better off as a ancients paladin so your whole party gains resistance to spell damage and cha to saves.

>idk
idk either that's why I'm asking

I think someone is playing a conjurer and the one guy is playing the same bard he always plays
I also dont know how long this campaign will last since whenever this guy dms he drops the game if (when) we go too far off rails. He dropped a pirate campaign after the first session, we were level 1, because i made a character that wanted to be a pirate captain. He also disallowed paladins in a "knight" campaign because he didnt want to deal with magic, but he allowed rangers. He also resovles shit on random d20/d100 rolls instead of setting a dc

Building a homebrew paladin Oath of Freedom and having trouble coming up with Channel Divinity options. Got the rest of the progression mapped out pretty well, more or less, just having trouble thinking of flavor-fitting options for Divinity options. Mostly fluffing as them having revolutionary zeal.

Anyone have any suggestions?

They could destroy his phylactery but they have no fucking clue where it is, and no one knows but Vecna himself (And he has every fucking ward against it being found possible)

So they essentially have to use these two items to seal him away

>Trammels are a DC??(Very high) or DC20 STR check to force them in (Depending on how much damage Vecna took, Matt told them that cracks in his form started to appear).
>After that someone who can READ all languages they don't have to understand them apparently because it's not a spell, it's just like an activation code for the trammels.Reeks of bullshit but it's Mercer's game, not mine.
>If Vecna fails his WIS save and doesn't have any Legendary Resists left its game over

And you keep letting him dm why?

Give me some more info and i might be able to help.

Maybe the biggest tree in the forest is a staff of the woodlands. So they can A:kill the dryad, some ents, some smaller fey.
B:try and steal it and get chased by the former. C: ignore it and go around / convince the dryad they wont steal it. D: stop some other threat and the dryad gives them some boon/gift/treasure (the staff itself if youre generous)
Arent Dryad's fey? It could just be bored

I didn't even know this existed, thanks.

Sounds like the solution to your problem is "find a game to join that doesn't suck"

If you're playing with a DM like that just play another wizard or bard, the other players seem to have caught on.

Get the 'wish' spell. And true polymorph.
Wish for free simulacrums of yourself. Once a day. Every day, everything doubles. Once you have so many simulacrums that you cover the entirety of the planet, they all true polymorph themselves into very small creatures that can hardly be seen.

Then, as a divination wizard, you can determine all rolls that ever happen with all the portent you have in the world now.

With this, you have completely taken over the DM's campaign.
Now kick him off the DM's seat and take over DMing, it's your campaign now.

Because im 4ever dm and his games arent bad if i treat them like oneshots.
The other game we have happening when the main group cant meet has gone like 4 sessions. Im also trying to break him of his shit; since his first time playing an rpg was one he made up after watching critical role or some shit once when he was in highschool and im pretty autistic about knowing rules

Thats why i took 7 levels of it. A 10foot r isnt small

Nah. The guy who always bards just plays a fighter with bagpipes and str dual wields.

I saw what the conjurer took spell wise and all he's got is damage spells because some of them say conjuration on them

Channel Divinity: Bringer of Freedom (V,S).

>As an action, the Paladin may channel his divinity to allow any creature(s) of his choosing within 120ft to move 2x their movement on the next turn. The targeted creatures cannot have their movement impeded (By things like roots, snares, grapples, difficult terrain) while this effect is active on them.
>As a reaction the Paladin may choose one target and allow them to move their full movement out of turn. This effect happens at the moment of the Paladin's choosing. If the creature goes out of range of an attack using this feature it is a miss. Enemies may still make attacks of opportunity at the target during this effect (If the enemy was attacking the target as the effect occurred they get disadvantage on their attack of opportunity). The targeted creature cannot have their movement impeded (By things like roots, snares, grapples, difficult terrain)
Once per long rest

It's probably shit but I am very tired

>-4 INT
Ex-fucking-cuse you?

Channel divinity: staying at 2nd level you can be utterly oblivious of other cultures and have advantage on saves vs being wrong. This increases to immunity from all being wrong mind effects at level 13 or after you've had some fries. Oddly using this channel divinity you gain +5 and double your proficiency on persuasion checks that involve Murrika.

so...like that?

no brane senpai. no talky either

m.youtube.com/watch?v=zzYykIA1xVg

I hate D&D so fucking much sometimes.

It's meant to be applied to NPC stat blocks, so it has no regard for how it would work when applied to a PC.

>literal demi-god
Goddamn, d&d has gone to shit.

Does anyone have DM maps for Lyn Armaal? 3 maps: Level 1, Level 2 and Levels 3-6?

The Cloud Giant Castle from SKT

Who went through a campaign where firearms were an option? I'd like to run some Victorian or Old West setting but I'm having doubts because my players would just spring onto guns. The renaissance options in the DMG seem reasonable.

Starting at level 2, you can use your channel divinity to make people realize that somebody isn't their friend. Wis save, if they fail, charmed and you designate a creature that they now consider their enemy for as long as they are charmed. They remain charmed until they take damage from any source, and if this effect lasts a full ten minutes, the enemy thing becomes permanent even if the charming falls off.

Isn't Vecna supposed to be demigod/god?

I have terrible playing the bored fairy angle I guess.

So cocky dragonborn far from home, tabaxi the dryad will hate and some others will be walking through the woods expecting the elf raised dragonborn foundling of another player. The dryad will be disguise self as a female dragonborn with some generically worded phrases encouraging the players to think it's the players dragonborn based on what they know OOC.

I can't tell if you're Role-playing as a barbarian or just the average barbarian player.

What else would you call him?
>Already an Archlich
>Completed the "Ritual of Seeding" which allows mortals to ascend to godhood
>Still needed to gain followers/perform a miracle to become a fully realized God
>They fight him as he is on his way to do that

I always assumed he was an Archlich

In their universe Vecna was long dead before he was raised by Lady Briarwood and the Remnant

Remove Shitical Role

>Channel Divinity: Rebuke Oppression
Whenever an allies creature within 30ft of you fails a saving throw, using your channel divinity, you can use your reaction to allow that ally to reroll the saving throw.. They must use the new roll.

>Channel Divinity: Push for Freedom
As a bonus action, you can use your channel divinity to push your allies into the fray. Each creature within 30 ft that you choose gains a bonus to their speed equal to 10 ft until the start of your next turn.

Why do fucking Giants have proficiency in Charisma saves?

Did anyone buy/pirate the SKT module for Fantasy Grounds?

Big hearts.

>Get the 'wish' spell. And true polymorph.
>Wish for free simulacrums of yourself. Once a day. Every day, everything doubles. Once you have so many simulacrums that you cover the entirety of the planet, they all true polymorph themselves into very small creatures that can hardly be seen.
Not him, but I have played with 6 different GMs, and none of them allow shenanigans like that. Because reasonably, if a wizard could do that, you wouldnt have gotten to a high level in the first place, someone would already have done that.

Or, as another GM pointed out, if we can do this, so can NPCs, and he'll destroy all wizards, bards and sorcerers, so no one will ever be able to replicate what he is doing. And the GM can arbitrarily decide his wizard has a bigger clone army than you, and stomp you to dust with better magic items and a complete spell arsenal.

You are kind of an idiot if you ever think you can "win" over the GM, because he can always just say "Nope, X kills you and every simulacrum and clone in existence, regardless of where they are or hiw they think they are hiding."

This wizard wank only works with a GM who literally doesn't have a spine, or if you don't have a GM at all. Maybe a few specific solo campaigns/small fullcaster only party where the intention is to let you do this from the start.

He was until he was destroyed by his Lieutenant, he was later resurrected as a demigod.
Then he was killed again while trying to become a big-boy god, but he was then shunted into Ravenloft to be a Dreadlord and his wacky neighbor and Dreadlord of the adjacent Domain was none other than his former Lieutenant, Kaz.
Hi-jinks ensued, and by hi-jinks I mean centuries of war and constant misery.

The next time his status-quo changed was when he was made part of the default pantheon of 4e's base setting as a genuine for-real no bullshit greater deity, a real Cinderella story.

Wasn't Vecna a god of secrets and forbidden lore in 3e/3.5e?

Oh, maybe, I didn't delve very far into 3.x material, as that was in my hip and popular Late Teen/Early 20-something phase between my young teenage D&D interests and my current Creepy Old Guy D&D interests.

With Xanathar's now fully out I'm thinking of going either Vengeance Oath or Conquest Oath Paladin with Hexblade warlock as a multiclass character. I'm not sure if I should focus more with paladin or with warlock, as I'm figuring to focus more on a melee pact of the blade build with heavy armor. The only thing I haven't quite set on is the split of paladin to warlock. Any suggestions on this for good breaking points on either side of the spectrum of say primary paladin or primary warlock and what levels to go to.

Does it want them to leave the woods? Get lost in the woods? Get something else out of the woods?

I suggest killing yourself with a dip of public humiliation instead. Seems a lot more fitting for you.

Every character has a Background, every race has at least one 'ribbon' feature (aside from humans), and every class gives skill proficiencies. Aside from that I don't think there's a class in the game that lacks at least one unique interaction feature, even if it takes several levels to reach it.

How many spells fit inside a spell book? I see that spell books have 100 pages but not how many pages a spell takes up. Can I assume 1 spell per page?

>Absolute cancer build
Alright faggot.

Go Paladin 1, then 2 levels of Warlock, and then go full Paladin. You won't get much use out of the third Warlock level, but invocations at 2 are amazing. You really dont want to delay spell slots or your Paladin features more than you absolutely has to.

Also this You better be playing with similar autistic faggots, otherwise you are going to be completely unbalancing the game.

Unironically this. Relying on character builders just means that you don't comprehend the rules.

I believe they take up a number of pages equal to their spell level, but I'll have to double check.

Thats what I was thinking, its a rule from 3.5. Under the wizard there is a cost for learning a new spell along with a time and a time/cost for copying your book. But not how many pages it takes up.

What alignment would you give this action. (It's a LG Paladin)

Spoilered because ToA is a fucking amazing module

>Running ToA
>They get the Dyemaker plothook
>They go to the palace and meet Kwayothe with Omala
>Kwayothe makes them the deal to kill Shago,
>Paladin asks what happens if they fail/choose not to do it. Is told nothing comes to them, but Omala runs Executioner's Run like he would if they refuse
>The Paladin immediately accepts on his partys behalf (Pissing everyone off in character because they like to sit and think forever about every action)
>Tells the party that at worst they bought the guy who knowingly broke the law 10 days, got some places marked on the map, and gives them a bit of information. They can also leverage the knowledge that Kwayothe wants Shago dead to maybe get support from the Flaming Fist or a free guide. (If they are lucky Shago even dies in the jungle) Either way they can decide when they meet Shango and assess the situation

I mean, it's an incredibly smart move on his part, and TECHNICALLY Omala knowingly broke the law, but it feels so dirty to me. Feels like something a CG would do.

Really more curious as to what people think than anything. If Paladins REALLY go against their oath I usually call them out, but this isn't a big deal.

Cha is your force of personality and force of will.
Giants are real fuckin stubborn

>Be starting a campaign, simple rules: No UA, everything else allowed.
>Asks people to make drafts for a character, and then we'll review it and align at a quick session 0
>This one guy seems to have things I've never even heard of, along with too many proficiencies and languages
>That Guy: No it should be okay, I made it with an online character builder
>rebuilding it using the book lost him 2 languages, 2 skill proficiencies, and a weird feature I have no idea what was about (Something about starting with a fucking minor magic item at level 1)

USE THE FUCKING BOOK PEOPLE.

That's what I'm asking. I mean it doesn't want any of that particularly, I'm not short of plot hooks but if they're walking through the woods of the beaten path (a beating will be waiting on the path / interesting deer path/they get lost) I figured dryad in grove would be memorable woodsy encounter.

After trying out Pathfinder.... Never again. I love you 5e, I won't ever complain again.

That's what I'm asking. I mean it doesn't want any of that particularly, I'm not short of plot hooks but if they're walking through the woods of the beaten path (a beating will be waiting on the path / interesting deer path/they get lost) I figured dryad in grove would be memorable woodsy encounter. Seduction? Looking for some type of guardian/guard/toy? It's just a diversion not meant to lead to a quest or anything.

How would you compare PF to 5e?

Well, turns out it's intentionally left blank (which I feel is a little silly) with the general assumption that it is one page per spell level.

Is this somehow a problem?

Huh, I thought it was just 1 page per spell?

PF offers a lot more options, but it's more because of feature bloat and being around a little longer than actually offering anything of value.

Does anyone have a link to a party tracker sheet? Something I can use to keep track of all the relevant player stats I might need to know as the DM.

I couldn't find one in the trove.

I was just looking for an official ruling. Something concrete. And because there isnt a blessed book in the magic items it is possible I will be carrying around a library at one point.

Not him but pathfinder is college cramming for shitty test under pedantic professor.

5e is the one English class where you read bluebeard and discuss the entire semester.

Seconding this. PF can have its moments but its mostly useless and trap features. 3rd party content is rocket tag.

>5e is the one English class where you read bluebeard and discuss the entire semester
We discussed Napoleon for a half a year in our school. WW2 was like a month or two.
Nit even french. Russian.

I just ended up finding/editing them myself
1/2

Actually a fun idea would be for it to be guarding a type of hoard in the grove. Id run it like a geochaching thing. Everyone has to leave something but gets to take something.

Through in some random powerlevel appropriate magic items and some junk

Anyone had a chance to mess around with College of Whispers for bard? My party is going to need a social "face" for our next campaign, and I was contemplating Whispers for all the shenanigans you can get up to with it.

2/2

Irritating. Almost a chore. There's like, a hundred fucking feats you have to shift through. When you want one feat, you have to get prereq other feats. People talk about how you can customize a character to what you want to play, but you feat intensify to achieve this.
You have to read rules really fucking carefully or you get thrown in to a trap, because a feat that sounds cool actually turns out to be useless garbage.

Lots of math. Lots more bookkeeping. Skill ranks.

Just... No. I just want to play D&D. 5e simplification is best.

It's only an assumption because 3.5 did it. It's journal writing and notes, not prose. How much you can usefully write and use is a lot different than someone else. I guess most of you don't know that because you all took Mac books to class. Why not go buy a legit journal and literally hand write all your spells into it, at the very least it would be really cool but I'm guessing if you didn't arbitrarily do something stupid and pointless like one spell per page you'd stop worrying about it.

Interesting, and it's doing this for some sort of fey shits and giggles?

>all this assmad projection
Eat a snickers bro