/5eg/ - Fifth Edition General

Build a continent. Or two. Or five. Build a pantheon. Build kingdoms, empires, tribes and republics. Create constant threats and latent threats.

If you want to go for a test run, find a group to run LMoP or another 1st level campaign module. Or run your own simple campaign up to 5th level. Do those two things and you'll know if DMing and DnD is for you.

>What was your first class ever (in 5e or otherwise) and why?
Fist class ever was a Bard, because I was a choir boy and they sounded pretty neat. Good lord that bard was retarded and put way too much stock in abilities that were both useless and uninteresting.
In homage to that, my first class in 5e was a Lore Bard who cast Light on his glove when he played, and was known by his stage name of "Goldenpalm."

World building really tickles my fancy but I feel if I DM a homebrew too early I may not have my players be able to appreciate the depth because I'm not skilled enough in bring a DM to manage a good flow of story with the mechanics (and my first HB will probably be shit).

I think you are right about a premade campaign though, thank you for your help!

When I first built my setting, it was pretty shit. My gods were generic and so were the kingdoms. That was fine. I learned. I changed my pantheon, changed the kingdoms and messed with the geography more.

It just takes practice. Nothing wrong with a homebrew that isn't stellar. Just tell your group when you go full homebrew setting, that if they lose interest in the setting, to let you know. That tells you when you need to make changes.

Communication is one of the most important aspects to DMing. If your players don't enjoy the campaign or setting, what's the point? But, you can't know that unless you ask them and they tell you.

Good luck, mate.

Good DMing has zero to do with good worldbuilding. It's not a book, it's a fucking game, also the reason we call it a GM. Stop perpetuating this shitty philosophy

Thank you user. You leave me with much to ponder.

First time we tried 5e I picked a moon druid because I liked the idea of a spellcaster that tanked damage via 'fuck you, i'm a bear'. I had no idea how bullshit the class was at the time.

Same, in my experience party turns to me when interacting with NPCs.

You can be a good DM without worldbuilding. But to be a great one, you have to learn to work outside of pre-existing settings. Forgotten Realms is fun for a campaign or two. Then Eberron and Greyhawk. But over and over and over? It gets old.

At some point, it becomes necessary to move into something new, something fresh. A great DM brings that to the table. It's not necessary but it helps.

What makes bards so good and bad at the same time?

Having a social character with the skills and abilities to support the role is great, but goddamn so many of the bard abilities and spells lend themselves to make lame jokes, near-constantly if the player is especially obnoxious about it.

I don't mind jokes but narrative dissonance is very bothersome to me.

Has anyone suffered an Elan or Scanlan in their groups? I had one guy in a group a few years ago playing a bard but he wasn't bad most of the time. Ever had the gravitas sucked out of a scene due to the bard being silly when using bardic inspiration, cutting words, vicious mockery, dissonant whispers, tasha's hideous laughter, otto's irresistible dance, etc.?

Fuck bards. I think I'll just have to rewrite some abilities and ban some spells. Even if the player isn't trying to be a goof some of this stuff just doesn't work when you want a grim and gritty scene.

In the beginning, everything was vague. Worlds were built right in the middle of campaigns, with bullshit being spouted, recorded, and then refined.
There was actually an article in Freelance Traveller (entirely different game system, I know) talking about building a setting, which gave advice of (paraphrasing here)
>Build the general geography
>get some setting factions going
>create what primarily interests the players
>make stories from contradictions and stuff that doesn't make sense
It's a bit easier in Traveller, since the most of the rules in the book are toolboxes for creating inspiration for the explicitly sandbox nature of the game, but the same things apply to any game - and 5e has more stuff to help with that than I've seen outside of 2e (example: everything in Adventure Environments).

To this I add: involve the players. Instead of telling them what pantheons are available, and who the gods are, ask them to create the religion their character follows, maybe with some rough guidelines (Dwarves believe their ancestors are the intermediaries between them and the gods, Halflings worship with festivals partially focused the hero(s) who discovered the proper rituals of that god , Elves believe in a Heavenly Bureaucracy, etc). Let them create their home town, or areas that their character has heard of (and then use that as just the rumors the character has heard, determining truth and lie as you see fit; just let them know that's what the plan is), just get them invested in helping create the world, both ingame and out. Hell, me and my ex-roommate created two pretty interesting religions for a homebrew pathfinder game, including points where traditions had crossed over, and where they had friction.
Don't be afraid to start generic ("It's a monarchy expanding into lands claimed during the last war, and you're exploring this mostly unsurveyed area") and then get specific as the details need to be expanded.

continuing because character limit:
You don't need to create everything now - just what you need. By the same token, don't throw cool ideas away just because the players aren't interested right now. Put them in a different area, and maybe drop a few rumors.
For that matter, if the group is moving to a new area, ask the players for rumors their characters have heard about the area. Then determine (secretly!) lies and truth in the rumors.
Investing the players in the world with more than a "cool story bro" is worth it - it helps give a sense of accomplishment and pride when they look at what they helped create.
And offloading some of the worldbuilding onto the players helps you have more time to prepare materials. Additionally, some of that stuff can come out of left field and can be totally awesome, making you go "why didn't I think of that?"

Starter kit sword and board fighter. Death by bugbear crit.

I second rumors. Rumors turn out to be some of the few pieces of information players grasp onto well because they are self contained:

"I heard the iron road bandits are..."
"The sunken city of N'goth has..."
"A ship with no crew in the freezing south seas..."
"A local farm has experienced things of an abominable nature..."

Rumors can be an endless source of delight and mystery; sometimes they even hold truly terrifying things.

Sorcerer, because I wanted to play a "muscle wizard" and my DM helped me pick appropriate spells.
Turned out I was not built well enough for that, because as it was my first ever experience with 5e and dungeons and dragons in general, my stat spread was absolutely horrid.
Still, was my most fun character that I've ever played, and was quite the unique experience for me, as well as the DM and players.

So there was a discussion in previous thread about not allowing wizards easy access to new spells beyond the standard 2 per level.

I'm not opposed to the idea, but the question is why? Do wizards hate sharing knowledge? Do they hate making a profit from someone else wanting to copy their spells? Do they not have masters and apprentices? Perhaps even wizard factions or wizard schools where they can do the latest magical research?

What in-game reason is there in a setting for wizards to distrust each other?

Tiefling Bard premade. An unsettling fucker with a criminal background that plays a flute.

What are your thoughts on the Bard college of Whispers and how does it compare to the college of Lore?

A wizard, of all people, is most aware of how utterly fucking dangerous someone could become with the right combination of spells. You don't want to go down as the dickhead who gave someone the last spell they needed to cast Locate City Stone to Flesh

2nd advanced. I had no fucking clue what i was doing got roped into playing a few hours before there campaign started. Rolled well. The DM (who was a masterful DM btw hes the DM i aim to be when ever im behind the screen.) Was like make a paladin with dem roles son. So i did. High as fuck charisma. Group makes me the face man. No idea wtf im doing at all and suck ass at it. Die that same session to a necromancer fuck. Towards end of the fight he summons my corpse as a zombie and killed half the party. DM had me roll for hes attacks and voice my input on now to murder them. Needless to so i was hooked. Been playing TTRPGs ever since.

In a magic-distrustful setting it could be that certain spells or schools of magic are restricted, banned, or viewed with suspicion. Look at necromancy, or those XGE spells that involve demon and devil summoning. Someone seeing that in your book, especially a wizard, may lead to questions...

From a purely mechanical standpoint allowing easy access to other spells makes you have the issue where the wizard has a spell, or convoluted sequence of spells, for EVERY problem. It can get old fast if every solution boils down to "let the wizard handle it." I personally experienced this recently in a game I played where the wizard simultaneously trivialized most travel and various issues due through leomunds, fabricate, phantom steed, Ginvis and invis, suggestion/charms, fly, and polymorph not to mention other spells...

And that's the whole problem really. The wizard has many tools, and works through using those tools. Giving more tools on the cheap can remove things from the game.

>Death by bugbear crit.
Thats how the best of warriors go out user.

Sorcerer.
I saw the potential to reflavor lightning damage attacks as lasers as a Blue Dragon Ancestry one.
Unfortunately for me, I didn't realize there are ZERO FUCKING LIGHTNING DAMAGE SPELLS but that campaign only lasted two sessions in the end anyhow.

After that I tried a barbarian and I have never touched a non-cleric full caster again, and I've only played one cleric. If it's not a Fighter that I play, it's probably a Warlock.
sweet fuck Brute is fun

Sorcerer. It was the closest fit for a character I was trying to play.

Don't give spells to strangers who ask for it.
To obtain spells, you should get friendly with a person, such as doing a quest for them. I wouldn't offer doing the quest solely for new spells, but it's a nice boon that you have a new contact.

It's mostly to nerf them.
I have a completely different set of nerfs that I want to test out (But I don't have a game group experienced enough with 5e to actually test them, so Veeky Forums it is).

Spellcasting is a full round action - you cannot perform any other action, including movement, nor can you use a bonus action or reaction. You do not lose your dexterity bonus to AC for spellcasting, as you can still move enough to dodge enemy attacks. Taking damage, gaining the Incapacitated condition, or dying, while casting a spell follows the same rules as concentrating on a spell.
Spellcasting takes a number of rounds equal to the level of the spell slot being used, or their listed casting time, which ever is longer. Cantrips are an exception to both above rules, taking only a single action to cast.

Optional Bit: Spellcasting can be risky to the caster. Each time you cast a spell, or have your concentration on a spell forcibly ended (by taking damage, becoming incapacitated, or dying), make an immediate Spell Control roll, using the modifier of your spellcasting ability, and your proficiency bonus, vs a DC of 14+the level of the spell slot used (SSL - Spell Slot Level). Success means the spell was cast correctly, or didn't fizz out catastrophically. Failure means the spell failed to cast correctly or the loss of control created a dangerous outburst of power. Failure by less than 5: caster takes 1xSSL in damage. Failure by more than 5, but less than 10: Caster takes SSLd4 damage, all creatures within SSLx10ft take 1xSSL damage. Failure by more than 10: Caster takes SSLd6 damage, creatures within SSLx10ft takes SSLd4 damage, and creatures within SSLx20ft take 1xSSL damage (cumulative with the previous).

Note on the DC: yes, I know that a properly optimized 1st level character only has to roll an 8 or higher to succeed. THis also means they have a 40% chance of failure. I might increase the DC, depending on what you guys have to say.

My DM claims that after finishing your last attack, you can't move any more even if you have movement left. Assure me of whether or not he's being retarded and help me convince him he is.

>'don't worry guys, I'll cast a fireball to help win this encounter'
>the martials have killed everybody in the three rounds of chanting the wizard did
Sounds great if you want people to not play casters

I mean, at the very least I see no rule saying that and he just made it up on the spot.

>Spellcasting is a full round action
Without considering the other things this is already a significant nerf. Action economy is incredibly precious in this version and being able to move well to position or cast and move back is already a significant part of most casters .

I suspect you will have many casters simply die due to having no movement, or only cast from cover, or only cast from an intelligent mount or some other contrivance.

Spellcasting taking multiple rounds based on slot simply slaughters warlock not to mention the other casters...

Even if you haven't specified concentration a spell of longer cast time than one action always uses concentration
So now you can never cast more than one spell per combat
.. And most spells can't be cast in combat at all as combat only lasts 1, 2, 3 or 4 rounds usually.
>Optionally, you can also make the caster FUCKING DIE when he tries to cast in combat, not as if he can anyway!

This is hilariously bad, but I can understand that it doesn't make casters absolutely useless as warlocks, clerics, wizards and druids can all focus on out of combat utility while druids can use wild shape as well. Sorcerers are just plain fucked.

>finally slog through casting haste on the fighter
>roll poorly on spell control
>punch entire party in the dick for damage
>interrupt other caster's concentration
>he explodes too
Everything about that optional bit is retarded. Just ban casters, jesus christ

He's wrong. PHB page 190.

I must agree with you. If he intends to go this far into the nerf pit he might as well just do a no full casters game.

Oh, here's some bonus points
>Enemy tries to attack you!
>Hahaha, watch this!
>Casts shield
>Has to wait until next turn to finish casting it
>Take the hit, obviously
>Lose the shield
>Take extra damage because you lost the spell

>Try to cast lesser restoration to un-paralyze a teammate
>Start casting it
>They become unparalyzed long before you finish casting

>Enemy starts 9 turns to cast 'INEVITABLE DOOM'
>You try to counterspell it with a level 9 spell slot
>You spend 9 turns counterspelling 'INEVITABLE DOOM'
>Two casters are just standing there chanting at each other to outdo the other
>But inevitable doom always finishes casting first because they started first
>Everyone dies, unless you have a kobold in the combat and the kobold lightly nudges the spellcasters, in which case likely the kobold kills everyone.

I'm going to be DM for the first time soon, and I've been thinking of making some tokens or paper miniatures. On one of the /t/ threads about 5ed I found tokens with pictures from various places, it doesn't look perfect, but I guess that would suffice. When using tokens, do you lay them flat on the battlegrid or you buy/make stands? I understand for paper miniatures you fold them and put a coin on the bottom for stability.

Do you guys have any more resources for that?

There is also something like that that I found
>drive google com/drive/folders/0B9wKLjixK7DHd3pMZk92Z2xhdVk
Does anyone have a full pack of that? I might actually Parteon that guy for some time and get that here, if no one did that before.

Also a questions:
1) Damage output for basic attack doesn't change unless you change a weapon or increase strength or dexterity?
2) Can Druid change his spells during rest or only can he change the spell list? Say, Druid picked 1st lvl Spells "Cure Wounds" and "Fog Cloud". He can use them 3 times (because 1lvl + Wisdom mod, in my case 2). I decided to be able to cast 2x Cure Wounds and 1x Fog Cloud, after a rest can I only change the list (i.e. 3x Fog Cloud) or can I ditch Fog Cloud and pick something else i.e.Detect Magic

I also have a final bit: Martial Damage Bonus.
Base concept is simple: cantrips scale with level, why don't weapons? If you do not have access to cantrips, you have MDB. For the Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, and Rogue, you begin with 1d6, added to every single attack. At 3rd level for Barbarians, Fighters, and Rogues, if your chosen archetype does not have access to spell casting, your MDB increases in size to 1d8. Otherwise, it remains 1d6.
At 5th, 11th, and 17th level, your MDB increases by 1 die of damage, up to 4d6 or 4d8.

Have you tried reading how druid spellcasting works?

Yes, but me Englando no perfecto, and I have my doubts.

Druids pick level + wisdom mod spells from their entire list to have prepared. That number is entirely separate from their slots, which can be used to cast any spell the druid has prepared of that level or lower.

1) Some classes like rogue (sneak attack) and monk (martial arts) change their damage by adding more dice or changing the die size. In general though what you are saying is correct. Though notably the barbarian gains flat damage on melee attacks while raging.

2) You have spells prepared and you have slots. If you had 3 1st level slots you could cast any first level spell you had prepared out of them.

Your prepared spells are a menu that you swap in and out on that class when you take a long rest. Your slots are what you expend to actually cast spells off the menu.

Druids can pick from the entire druid spell list that they have access to at their level + at higher levels they have always prepared spells from their circle in some cases.

It's not the damage what martials are lacking but the utility department.

>You deal up to 4d8 extra damage with every attack as a fighter
>When you can already make 10 attacks in a round twice per short rest
>This is on top of the fact that casters are heavily nerfed

The funny thing is that wizards are STILL broken at the highest levels, even after all this bait.
But please, please, please tell me this is a troll. Please.

After learning about ttrpg i read up on dnd 5e and taught myself the game, bought the corebooks etc. I then surprised my 4 closest friends who all grew up playing CRPGs with a session of dnd. It wasnt perfect, but we fucking loved it. I created their characters, they just picked stats and skills.

After a few sessions they unanimously agreed that we should play " dnd without class restrictions.. like you know, real rpg"

They never touched the phb or anything, they are great roleplayers and friends but this hurts me. Should i force the phb down their throat or look for another game system?

Help me please

...

Try to get them to create their own characters and see what they say. Class restrictions are serious balance issues in DnD 5e and I don't think the system could actually survive people being able to choose ala carte from the classes to make a character with no restrictions.

Look for another game system.

Thanks, now it makes sense. I will try to read more carefully now, I was a little biased because I've been helping create another spellcasting character for another player.

Kids, this is exactly why you shouldn't homebrew if you don't know the system.

>cantrips scale with level, why don't weapons?
Because fighters get Extra Attack, motherfucker.

They don't have damage scaling the same reason why Eldritch Blast doesn't. They get multiple chances to hit, which means it's not as "all or nothing", and multiple chances to crit, as well. Also, with the exception of Agonizing Blast and higher-levelled Evo Wizards
(assuming you use an Evocation cantrip)/Cleric cantrips don't deal flat damage too.
Come on. Multiple chances to do 4d8 (with possibly even more with maneuvers/rage/hunter's mark and all that) at point blank is more than a little silly.
At least this is my admittedly-not-that-educated view.

Exactly the feedback I needed. I'm working towards a grittier variant of 5e, mostly to see how far I can bend the system away from high-octane heroic fantasy before it breaks.
So, focusing on the action economy (and dropping the spell boom), let's say
>A spell takes a number of actions equal to its level to cast, unless the listed casting time is longer, or uses a reaction or bonus action
>A move action may be used on casting a spell
>Casting a spell does not break concentration, unless the spell you are casting requires concentration.
Overall, I kind of want casters to be the long way around something, not the uber-utility shortcut, combined with a combat attitude of "nuke delivery system, setting up..."

Since I mostly play casters, I tend to miss what martials get (and all my recent games have been 3.PF with a min-maxing roleplayer. Not a good combo).
Nice to know I can drop the bonus damage for fighters. What about the other martials, in your opinions?

What kind of class restrictions are you even talking about here.

Also do tell them that if they wanna play dnd they should at least skim a pdf of the PHB.

Yeah, I tried doing this to with 3.5 and at least it a frame work that you could pull apart and it was still a total clusterfuck. DnD is what it is, you try and fix it and you just end up with either a mess or a whole new system. Just buy GURPS, or HERO system if you want classless point build

Warlock because a pact with an eldritch god seemed awesome. I got killed off in the second session because my DM said that doing an eldrich god voice was too hard

>4d8+strength with a possible additional 2d6

A terrifying prospect.

>What about the other martials, in your opinions?
Just read the fucking book before trying to hack the system. Really. And then, preferably, get few games in it.

Martials are fine in combat, they need utility. It is difficult to give someone utility, when they are limited by normal human constraints compared to people who are not.

They come up with concepts for characters really good and uniquely, but they dont know and dont want to know how to fill out a char sheet.

Yes, one of them is now dm ing a classless "dnd" game where you can learn x abilities from any class if you find someone willing to train you. Its great for RP but the balance is horrible.

Everything but Rogues get Extra Attack and extra goodies like Barbs' reckless attacks, rage, and brutal criticals, or Paladins with smites, and technically other spells but most Pallys save them for smites. Rogues get Sneak Attack dice (which by the way is once per turn, which means it would proc on opportunity attacks, too), Monks get to impose saves and Flurry of Blows.
Monks are kinda lacking early on, but assuming you use Revised Ranger, they all bring plenty to the table if you're worried about them not dealing damage.
Why the fuck did your DM assume that the eldritch entity would be constantly ringing you up like a clingy and overprotective parent?

The extra action could be tier based, spells of level 1-3 take 1 action, 4-6 2, 7-9 3, but most likely that will just lead to level 4+ spells almost never getting cast with higher slots just used to overcast low level spells. Because that's kind of like what happens in rifts, if a spell take more than one action to cast, you just don't bother. It'll just make mages boring. Scrap it, burn it, never look at it again.

What sort of utility abilities might be added to martials to help out with that?

dwarf barbarian, because i was new to the game and wanted something fairly easy
unfortunately that campaign was fucking terrible and was mercy killed

He only did the voice once and that was to tell me that I was weak and then the god killed me. It was the middle of the session as well so it bummed me out to watch everyone else play without me.

Well your DM is shit, that much is certain. Completely uncalled for PC kill and dick move to the player

There are various tools that exist, one being an excel sheet tool called forgedanvil, that allows you to just select stats and options and it does all the calculations and makes a summary for you. It also tells you/indicates when you need to pick another skill, or another language and it has fields and custom entries for adjustments. It's a bit of a slog the first time but pretty much anyone doing it in order can make a working character and then have a single page summary of the basics.

It does sound like a fundamental difference of how an RPG should be run to be honest. I'm not certain any tool or knowledge of the game can fix that. 5E went out of it's way to attempt significant balance changes over previous editions and a big part of that balance is that certain features are locked behind a specific class.

From a purely game/game running perspective as long as access to the better features was restricted or required quests or faction alignment (IE to get paladin skills you had to work for an order or a church and also pay) I feel that it could be done. I'm just not certain how well. You could even sell this as RP and a RP experience. Would demon hunters train someone who doesn't work for them who isn't a friend? Probably not. Significant issues would be things like stat requirements and HP. You would probably need to nuke stat requirements for "multiclassing" and HP would need to be racial or completely based off CON. I can foresee how this could be done overall but it is such a major departure from 5E I can't imagine it would play like 5E in any respect.

>Tfw realized I was turning the party's sorcerer into the "main character"
>Party needs to go rescue him
I need to talk with the Sorcerer's player so I can prevent this from becoming a "we're just the supporting cast" scenario. Fuck, it's such a rookie mistake too.

Yeah the rest of the party and I left halfway through the next session when he said the cleric's god abandoned them for burying my pc and that they were now a fighter

Well, your best bet is to try a different system or just play without the caster classes / require that the caster classes be multiclassed at an equal rate.

Seriously, you shouldn't be trying to do an overhaul of 5e that rebalances rather than just makes players play more suited shit when you don't know the system at all. Even the guys who have messed with 5e for years struggle with that sort of thing.

>he said the cleric's god abandoned them

I'm sorry what. His god abandoned him for performing a burial and presumably last rites on a character who is perhaps the most LIKELY TO DO THAT AS A PROFESSION?

Whatta fink.

This happened to me not long ago - except I was the sorcerer.

But to be fair, I'm the most veteran player at our table, so I had the most complete backstory and decently fleshed out character to work with.

Sorry, should've been actions equal to the level of the spell slot used to cast it, unless the spell's description lists a longer casting time, or a casting time of a reaction or bonus action.
So eventually, you run out of low level spell slots, or you need the tac nuke option. Or everybody takes a rest when the caster runs out of 1 action options.
I'm hoping like hell that this upcoming game doesn't crash before the first session (it's usually me, I'm the one that burned out on D&D thanks to the ex-roommate, and nobody wants to play my preferred system).
I do remember that way back when the basic rules were released, I was able to grasp the non-class based mechanics quick enough to expand proficiencies:
1 skill or 2 tools or 2 languages at Proficiency -1 (so +1 for a 1st level character). Languages had to be roll against DC10 for simple conversations, DC scaled with how complex you were trying for, being fully proficient removed that roll.
2 skills, or 3 tools, or 3 languages at Proficiency -2 (so 0 for a 1st level character, +3 for a 20th).
Unfortunately, I seem helpless when it comes to fully grasping class and level based systems.

Or I just abandon D&D for good and hope my ladies don't tear me apart for yet again not wanting to play D&D, and go back to Traveller.

Gavin, if that's you, you better just shut yer trap.

But yeah, it's the same situation - he's a writer and had the most fleshed out backstory, so I'm working with parts of his story before anyone else's. Once the party rescues him (or you, if you are him), I'm going to shift the spotlight off of him.

Yeah the god the cleric was following was specifically one associated with the passage to the afterlife. Apparently my character's soul was pure evil and didn't deserve a burial

>pure evil didn't deserve a burial
>not burying the evil soul so it doesn't get eternal punishment is somehow a better alternative

It keeps getting better.

Few good aligned gods would be that happy about letting an ally's corpse rot even if they were somewhat evil.

>Gavin
Wow, that guy's parents must have hated him.

No, though. My Warlock just completed his personal goals, thanked the party, and peaced out.

We're currently following a storyline that's pushing our Ranger and Cleric into the spotlight, but now everybody else is being more active in participating now that they have more experience.

>GoO's
>Evil
What? Is your DM doing fucking whippits while playing?

My characters backstory was they were unlucky enough to accidentally join a cult and were trying to survive. The most "evil" thing I did was accidently hit a party member with an eldrich blast which I apologized for and gave them my last health potion

How do I make a Tabaxi Barbarian work?

You want Mutants & Masterminds.

Well you're real fast, possibly want some levels in rogue, and should sonic right at squishy targets like the enemy wizard and rape them.

>Dm doing open rolls for combat
Yay or nay? One one hand I've at least once during the last two sessions corrected him when he fucks up. Examlpe; he said an attack landed on a PC that seemed strange cause I recalled their AC was higher than the roll. I quickly asked and he admitted mistake.

On the other hand he can't fudge rolls in favour of story elements. But on that same hand there's not gonna be any mercy fudging.

Mild Yay.

I think there are several instances of abilities that you can trigger after the roll, but before result is announced.

>he can't fudge rolls
I am of the opinion, that if it is fine for DM to fudge his rolls, it must be fine for other players as well, right?

>no roll fudging

I am 100% behind this. Yes shit will get derailed, yes a villain or an NPC or a PC may flat out just die sometimes. Everyone will know that it has been fair.

In 5E Warlock, campaign is still going so still playing him. When I was first introduced to DnD it, Paladin and Druid were the 3 classes that caught my eye. Played a druid in PF and when I joined a new group for 5E I was more in the mood to play a gish that was a bit more caster so I made warlock. Granted I ended up becoming a bladelock but I don't regret my decision one bit

If the DM has to fudge rolls, he's not a very good DM. It's easier to conveniently forget abilities and such but with experienced players there's something nice about running it to the actual module / to the monster manual so that the players feel they win fights and shit because of what they've done, not the DM. New players probably have no idea what's going on anyway.

So, as such, I'd say only do it if you're a new DM and/or with new players and even then it's nice to have it out in the open so people can react to rolls 'Oh, wow, you got critted, that really sucks' rather than just going off of the DM snickering behind is screen. Also some abilities actually want you to know the monster's roll first I believe.

With newbie players (or low level in general) I roll behind the screen to prevent someone outright dying from some crit that rolled really high damage. In the higher level group I currently DM I roll everything in the open though and I'm very open about the enemies stats and so far everyone seemed to enjoy it (or at least be indifferent towards it and I certainly enjoyed it). It has more of a feel, that you as the DM are the neutral judge between the players and the world rather then someone who is either "out to get them" or some mercyful god.

Half Orc fighter. He's fun as fuck to play. But I recently started a new campaign as a Goliath Forge Cleric and damn man, this shit is off the hook. Six spell slots at level 3, can wade into melee and smite fools left and right, bonus action summon a flying hammer while healing up dying people all while tanking hits and shrugging off massive damage with stones endurance.

Plus you get all the bitches cause you're huge, can drink whole bars dry and then smash out a suit of armor or a weapon in one hour for the same price as some poor non blessed Smith takes months to do.

Praise up, hammer to steel.

Does anyone else feel the mummy lord from the MM has slightly low HP for a legendary creature?

If I have a GM that is both competent and someone I trust to not fudge the rolls, I'd prefer them to do it behind screen so I don't have to deal with the whole "oh so they have +X to y" bullshit, I like removing the game interface as much as possible. On the other hand, it works poorly with a fair number of abilities.

>What was your first class ever (in 5e or otherwise) and why?
Champion Fighter because it's the simplest one and I didn't want to hold everybody else up

Anyone have any strong feelings on allowing a level one feat? I'm considering it and it seems like a significant power jump for many classes...but would allow my players to do what they "want" their character to do from level 1. IE being a sharpshooter or being a shield master kinda guy.

I understand this provides a significant amount of power, but are there are non-obvious downsides that I'm not seeing?

So what's a cool Forgotten Realms deity to worship for an Oath of the Ancients Paladin? Lathander seems pretty up my alley, but that's the reason I'm playing a cleric of him in a different group and I want to change things up.