/5eg/ - Fifth Edition General

I ran my first session of The Lost Shrine of Tamoachan from Yawning Portal. The session was great, and I can't wait to play more of the dungeon, though I am sure all the 4 PCs are fucked and will die. I have back-ups ready. Have you guys played the place? Or other Yawning Portal dungeons? I'd love to hear experiences.

The lazy fucks don't like to work in december.

You gotta be kiddng me
dmsguild.com/product/228484/Xanathars-Lost-Notes-to-Everything-Else?affiliate_id=282191

How would I go about playing this guy?

>Bard
>College of Glamour
>Vow of Non-Violence

Thats what I got so far, anything else?

Well to be fair, if they had included that whole list with everything else in xanathars guide then it would have been like 1000 pages
still a pretty jewy way to suck money out of an adventure module

What? Its a Guild Adept showcase, basically everyone being tapped for the Adept Program go to throw something together for an extra XG. Its not AL Legal, its to promote talented people in the DM's Guild and give them a shoot at what is essentially a gong show for getting to write for the big show down the line.

Is it ok for people to have cancerous characters?

We've got a relatively new guy that I think was kind of overwhelmed with the ability to make anything possible so he just makes the dumbest characters. At the same time his roleplaying is super cringey. And this isn't just me being elitist, everyone else at the table gets annoyed at him (except for one of my friends, but he doesn't really count because all he ever plays are joke characters).

While yes, it is ultimately up to the player to make their character be/do what they what them to be/do but this guy is just so damn annoying about it. Like, I personally get annoyed with a lot of joke characters that one friend makes, but I understand they are ultimately his characters. However, I just find the way the new player does things so god damn frustrating, but.... ya, if he wants to do it.... but they are just so bad.... It's just that I so very much wish we had handed him a premade rather than having the couple of players that helped him with character creation fill his head with ideas and such. And this is coming from someone that has never seen a premade character ever used.

I realise that that was a rather tangential garble of stuff, but I needed to get that off of my chest. So, basically what I'm asking is how would we go about getting him to be more reasonable in the game assuming that is a reasonable request to make in the first place?

What exactly is he doing wrong? Is it the characters specifically, I.e. le posh English-accent Barbarian, or his choice of class, such as Lore Bard made to piss off the party Wizard specifically? Until I know exactly what the deal is I can't help. Can you give any transcriptual examples?
Obligatory have-you-tried-talking-to-him-like-an-adult

I'm coming up with races for an insect setting and I'm kind of stuck on coming up for features for stick-bug other than advantage for Stealth when in appropriate terrain and being able to be throw/used as a weapon by your allies.

Any suggestions?

Have you ever played a pre-gen character for more than a session or two?

Insect user's back!

I... what? Did I ever post here about this? I honestly don't remember, I don't really come to Veeky Forums all that much.

Can squeeze without movement penalty. When Hiding, can move up to half their movement speed without creatures noticing as long as you're behind half cover. When you attack a creature you're grappling, you can do an additional die of some kind of bonus damage.

Rangers, at least the revised versions, arn't inherently weak. The original Beastmaster was bullshit with how they handled the animal companion, but the revised rangers in unearthed acana fix alot of the problems.

His first character is a 12 year old chaotic evil sorcerer that rides on a magical stove. He constantly does thing like pissing off npcs or making food out of the dead bodies of enemies. I missed a session he was in but now he has an obsession with putting poison on ropes to use as a weapon. As in he took apart perfectly good poison crossbow bolts and such and applied poison to 50 feet of rope. The last session I was in with him he was using a new character that was a forge cleric, but he's still doing really weird shit like after every battle he stomps on the throats of the dead bodies and his most recent obsession is asking every single npc we come across for laxatives. He also asks a lot of npcs for the whereabouts of the stove riding character (they're brothers), but that is quite reasonable.
I guess now that I think about it a big problem of his is that he forgets that he's playing this game with 4-5 other people and that he losses sight of the big picture. He gets so caught up in his lolrandom stuff. And if I'm being honest, I think he's serious when he does the lolrandom stuff.

Like I said, maybe I'm being unreasonable.

Oh, and I do believe we've had a go at talking to him like adults, but at the same time I think we were toeing around too much for politeness' sake so we didn't really change anything.

Maybe some innate magic, like that of tieflings, duergar, high elves?

Yeah that sounds pretty annoying, and
>I guess now that I think about it a big problem of his is that he forgets that he's playing this game with 4-5 other people and that he losses sight of the big picture.
Makes the annoyance justified. Functionally this is pretty much the same as nay other way a player might take over the game like talking over people or otherwise hogging the spotlight.

>Can squeeze without movement penalty. When Hiding, can move up to half their movement speed without creatures noticing as long as you're behind half cover.
Yeah, these are pretty good. Thanks.

I'll look into that, thanks.

I feel like the peace loving druid is one of the most confusing class stereotypes.
Looking at the spell list you'd think druid were just insane assholes who loved burning shit.

Is leather boob armour that bad?

...

I swear to God my groups Grave Cleric is going to put me in an early grave. I'd be mad at him but he is a great player and by far the best roleplayer in the group.
>Running ToA with Meatgrinder rules, but trying to keep fights balanced as "difficult, but not retarded"
>Group is Battlemaster (Tank), Rogue(Assassin), Wizard(Bladesinger), Ranger Revised(Hunter), and a Cleric(Grave)
>Cleric can Turn Undead (Which is a big deal in ToA but manageable)
>Give them a dangerous creature
>Cleric tells the big dick DPS to ready an attack, then next turn "I turn to the creature, grasp my Holy Symbol and begin praying as I raise my shield, casting Path to the Grave"
>Circle of Morality makes it so you need to knock someone down AND burn their death saves before the Cleric's turn or else he can heal them up big time
>Spare the Dying as a ranged bonus action cantrip completely negates fear of death saves
>Not enough creatures have a high WIS making it REALLY hard for them to pass the DC of Toll the Dead
>Finally a creature crits, have a chance to finish one of them off
>"With my reaction I cry out for mercy from Kelmvor, casting Sentinel at Death's Door to negate the heavy blow"

FUCK FUCK FUCK. I've ran ToA successfully before, but balancing around Grave Clerics is a real pain in the ass.

Does anyone have any advice other than being a superultrajew about them not taking short rests? They are clever enough to take smart short rests (Like getting off the road or trying to find a safespace). Luckily they are almost at the Tomb where I can make this less of an issue

Sounds like the sessions are going well honestly. Do you feel like you aren't challenging them? There's a good chance he's enjoying what you're putting forth, and getting the most out of his character. If he's a good guy and roleplayer then who cares. Also, if he is indeed a good guy, then you can probably talk to him if he's making the other players look bad or whatever.

can someone hook me up with the racial feat for earth genasi from the expanded racial feats?

Chults jungle is dangerous, especially around the tomb. Roll random encounters when they make a short rest in the jungle. Also if they fight intelligent enemies have them focus the cleric first.

Only after fire destroys the old wood can there be new growth

I'm more afraid the other players might not be getting everything they wanted.

They all seem happy and excited to play (as much as I can tell as it's sadly a roll20 w/ voice game), but I am afraid that even after I asked them to be frank about if they are happy so far (I always have my players audit the campaign a few times just to make sure we all happy) they might not be entirely truthful.

That may be my own insecurity seeping in.

That said I am wishing to challenge more, but the stuff in ToA is a bit hard to balance. The only good thing is that they are pretty shit at puzzles and dungeons and the Tomb awaits

...

They’re definitely having a lot of fun and are probably just as hyped as the Cleric when he gets to do his cool shit, cool shit which is keeping their beloved characters alive in a lethal environment. Sounds like you’re doing just fine and your players are engaged!

True. They are in Port Nyantharu about to make the final push into the jungle, so I think once they get past everything they seen and mapped already I might ramp the difficulty and roll encounters during thier rest

much appreciated senpai

I'm a ForeverDM who has played a few times. I think it's important to remember that different player types exist (I think Matt Colville has a good video on this). For some players, simply being along for the ride and enjoying the story is how they get their enjoyment.

It's hard to balance this, but the mere fact that it's part of what worries you probably means that you're doing well.

I haven't played ToA (sadly!), so unfortunately I cannot really offer any advice on how to challenge them more.

Is ToA fun? I don't usually use modules but my campaign just ended and I want to run one while I prepare for the next.

Undecided between this and Storm King

How's your recent adventures going Veeky Forums?

>party of Elf Ranger, Tiefling Wizard, and Tortle Monk arrive in Chult for some ToA goodness
>they do some shopping, visit a bathhouse, and try to bring curling to Chult while claiming to be "The Curling Champions of the North"
>Tiefling player keeps talking about his "magnum dong"
>get the sidequest to collect a debt
>get their asses whopped by King Nigger Taban, Tortle dies in the encounter (because I thought it was stupid to play as a native in what's supposed to be an exotic land)
>saved by the female Half-Orc Priest from another sidequest
>Tiefling player tries to woo her constantly
>Tortle player comes back as a Kua-Toa Paladin
>they do some arena fighting to earn some money but end up killing someone in the stands
>to avoid paying reparations they make a bet with the arena manager to settle it via dinosaur race
>they lose badly
>finally go out into the wilderness without a guide
>Ranger nearly fucks them in the Camp Righteous shrine because he's "scared"
>nearly fucks them over AGAIN by telling the goblins outside about the treasure they found
>party wipes out the goblins and takes the boss hostage
>deliver the Priest to Fort Vengeance and go off to Yellyack for the Shield Guardian's control amulet
>make a deal with the goblin boss that he'll hand it over if they help him become the next chief
>Ranger stays behind "to keep a lookout"
>they meet with the current matriarch, pull off their pants, and impress the whole village with their giant dicks
>goblin boss starts raping the matriarch and tosses the party the amulet
>party grabs Vorn and goes back to the goblin village to wipe them out
>realize the goblins see the shield guardian as a god and start a holy war against the nearby goblin tribes

A month in game has passed so at the pace they're going it'll be over half a year before they even reach Omu, and that's if they don't try to consolidate their fledgling goblin kingdom and attack Port Nyanzaru.

ToA is fun but it's very dark narrative wise

How so?

He means skin tone wise. 95% of the NPCs are darkies.

I feel it would be the DMs chore to maybe ask him if crushing your enemies throats as a cleric really is the way his god wants him to act. Making sure they're dead is one thing, but that just seems unnecessary gory. Maybe that would be something to give him a hint regarding his play style. Show him that there are consequences to his actions.

So how would you go about making a shadow copper dragon. Its gonna be one of my PC’s hexblade patron i just dont know how to characterize this character. Any ideas?

New-ish player here. I want to play a support character that's still capable of doing other shit and I figure Bard would be my best bet. Should I go lore Bard or Valor Bard? We're going to be starting at 6th or 7th level and my party members are a barbarian and a rogue.

Is there a backup repository of 5E PDFs? The one in the OP is refusing connections.

I caught a Bulette with my bare hands.

See

The dragnet has come.

1. It's a module all about death. There is a death curse and anyone who was every resurrected is withering away, and the dead do not come back. The foreword for the module is perfect "Tomb of Annihilation is a story about death and the lengths individuals will go to avoid it"

2. Every single decision the PC's make have consequences. Every day that passes more NPCs will die to the death curse, including the main NPC. (Make sure the players understand this). Every single decision will have them feeling this invisible ticking clock. Every day they spend people die and there is LITERALLY nothing they can do except stop the curse. At the same time rushing = TPK in ToA

3. Everything in the module is dangerous, and the encounters can be fucking brutal (3-4 Sea Hags against a party of level 3s is a fine encounter). PCs will die to encounters, traps, and just the jungle

4. BIG SPOILERS
So the players will come to realize that a lot of people around them have died/are dying to this curse. At some point they will come to realize that EVERYONE who has died (The NPCs and their dead PCs included) did not pass on to the afterlife, and instead they are trapped inside an object called the Soulmonger, where they scream out in agony as a Lich uses them as fuel.

Depending on your players investment this will fuck them up. Last time I ran this my players were close to tears and one girl bawled her eyes out over this revelation, especially as she had just lost her character a few sessions before and the wound was fresh

B-b-b-b-b-onus!: You are "required" (as in it is a rule of the module) to use the optional "destroy character sheets on death" rule

I mean also this

Fuck, I didn't want to pay for Xanathar's. It seems pointless to have a physical copy of it.

Valor bard would be good for your party comp because you can get access to heavier armour at level 3 and st Ill do good support.

whoop whoop

5etools.com is already down

God damnit it I was just going to.

Hang on, I hear a knock at my door

It's okay, wotc sends a beholder as a first response. Just cast darkness or fog could and walk away.

Dang im only a level 1 wizard do you think I could kill it?

Sure but you'll need a gun and hundreds of bullets.

Can someone help me understanding the sunless citadel ravine? how long is it in feet? if someone falls from it he falls 250 feet?

Dwarf fighter nearly married a fire giant

level 4

I can't tell because we have the opposite problem most groups have in that everyone wants to DM so we're doing three different campaigns (two of them 5e, one Star Wars Saga) and I'd just like to progress on one of them instead of waiting 3 weeks to pick it up again.

I ran about half the Doomvault as the finale to my first campaign. It took about 10 sessions, and I revised/rewrote a lot of it as I went. Overall, it went pretty well, though some of those middle sessions were a slog.

The best parts of the Doomvault that I ran were the Beholder encounter and the Phylactery Vault. The worst was the Forest part - too many straight monster fights with not much else.

I would recommend taking one part of the Doomvault at a time, and adapting it to your needs. For one group it's untenable unless you want the Doomvault to be the whole campaign.

>Cleric tells the big dick DPS to ready an attack, then next turn "I turn to the creature, grasp my Holy Symbol and begin praying as I raise my shield, casting Path to the Grave"
Wow, the DPS can only make one attack because it's a reaction which makes it worthless if it's anyone but the rogue.
If the rogue misses their attacks, it's not worth very much.
Also note it uses the cleric's entire action and he then can't use channel divinity for turn undead.
>he can heal them up big time
Not enough that it takes more than one hit to down the player again.
>Spare the Dying as a ranged bonus action cantrip completely negates fear of death saves
It was never a problem in the first place if you have healing word, unless you burn all your level 1 spell slots that quickly.
>Not enough creatures have a high WIS making it REALLY hard for them to pass the DC of Toll the Dead
Toll the dead is a straight upgrade of sacred fire and shouldn't really be allowed, but I guess it's sort of flavourful for a grave cleric. It's not awfully strong though, it's only 1d12 while the battlemaster should be putting out a much as 30 damage a round easily.
Sentinel at death's door is pretty good, but all it really does is stop people from dying due to unexpected circumstances.

It's a strong cleric, but it's no stronger than if anyone else in the party optimized themselves and their playstyle.

Any opinions on what's most well rounded out a spear, pike and a poleaxe ? I'm making team-buffing bard of valor similar to picture related, with the banner mounted on the polearm and his/her oratory used as an instrument for the purpose of bardic performance and I'm trying to decide what weapon to mount it on.

Stat him /5eg/

when /tv/, /sp/, and /pol/ fuse together

That guy's heiling arm looks really weird. It might just be the angle of the shot but it's like it's broken at the elbow.

14
14
14
4
4
10

isnt the ravine 30-40ft depth in every place except where the sunless citadel is, that place is 250 ft i think

He's got some /cm/ on that arm there too

I'm building a "dungeon" that is meant to be an incursion of the GOOs into the universe. What kind of things/encounters should I look to include that would emphasize or compliment that theme?

rpg.rem.uz appears to be down :C

Warlock - Reich pact

>BIG SPOILERS

Are you retarded? The players know about the Soulmonger right from the very beginning.

Oozes that are actually melted and animated stone that absorbs and burns all who come too close
Items spontaneously becoming mimics, even when a pc has used it successfully before or brought them into the dungeon.
Players having to make wisdom checks when they sleep, as the whispering madness pervades their minds.
Lights and fire always burn in the wrong hue, a purpleish brown tinge.
The sound of footsteps is always heard, but for creatures with far more limbs than 4, and more than one type (hoof, boot, tentacle etc)
Etc

How OP is Aarakocra as playable race? Is their flying game breaking ability? Would you allow it in your game?

What do people have against meat points anyway? Why even bother coming up with excuses to avoid it?

Of course they know the cause of the curse is the artifact, but it's not clear exactly how it works/what happens to the dead until much later in the story.

Or at least thats how I run it.

At low levels (1 through 3) it can be a great boon, but it begins to fall short later on. My main advice is to compensate for the fact that the PCs have access to flight at will.

What the fuck are meat points?

I'm pretty fine with it after 5th level, before... probably not. I mean I'd probably say no to it in one-shots, but in campaigns I can just learn to adapt.

Still wanna play an Aarakocra Sunsoul Monk at some point for mechanics fun as well as the fact as I really love how short-lived they are.

I want to be 5 and fighting age-less abominations that have seen eons pass them in their slumber. Also stick it to/be incredibly resentful of elves and other long-lived races.

Is Bard with a 2 level dip into Warlock better than a regular Bard of the same level?

Meat points is where you judge any loss of hitpoints to be an actual wound or injury.

I have a homebrew race of bird people that have wings in place of their arms instead of on their backs. They have the same stat bonuses as aarakocra.

They can hold things in their feet, and can only move with their fly speed while doing so. They can't benefit from a shield and they can't make two-handed weapon attacks. Also flying takes concentration like a spell, but they reduce any potential falling damage the way they recommend for flying creatures in Xanathar's.

They're pretty neat, but they're even more likely to be monks than ever. Haven't had serious balance issues.

So I've got a lot of experience but the rest of the players do not. I think the DM does have a lot of experience though.

So far one other player chose a Moon Druid, what's a good class I can pick to have fun and support the new players?

Depends on your build, really. If you have pretty good stats (cha, dex and con) and don't want any feat, and your main shtick is blasting, then go for it.

"The door opens by the way of masonry block that also serves as a lever, which can be pushed in on the left side or pulled out from the right"

how does this work?

I imagine it's like a scooby doo rotating block.

If you push the left side in then the right side rotates out.

Fighter Battlemaster is surprisingly funny with Moon Druids and Barbarians early levels because you can use that mastery to give them a free attack with their reaction.

Support Bard and Cleric can be quite fun too, since you can shore some of the weaknesses of their beast forms.

And my favorite (but it requires incredible DM fiat) is the Ranger Beastmaster / Moon Druid Animal Companion combo! You slept with that hot elf last night and found out she was actually your animal companion all along! Oh no!
I am telling you, it is priceless.

We just got an Aarakocra ranger in our game, with sniper he can get to long range and no nasty things however just shooting him before he get high enough has worked for the GM so far. You will also no always have the ability just to fly upwards depending on where you are fighting.

What would be approiate CR for a Predator?

>Aarakocra Sunsoul Monk
BIRD! MAN!

The problem people usually have with it is on the recovery end. There's also people who take issue with it on the front end though. You know what? People just think it's stupid all around.

Depends on what level of abilities you give it? You including shoulder cannon, nuke watch and constricting wire netting?
Along with having at least 18 str, 14 dex, 18 con, 14 int, 16 wis and 12 cha. Possibly more in physical, I'm just eyeballing

I know that, I wasn't the guy asking why people hate them, just explaining. I hate the concept myself.

Divine soul sorceror with loads of fire spells.
Embrace the phoenix

How do I convince my buddy to go for something other than Oathbreaker Paladin? It really sucks dick.