D&D NEXT: Infinite Posts of the Abyss

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Ryuujin: Sep 26, 2007; Dragon God

I am running two 5e games on the forums, though they are not fully updated to the PHB yet and are using adventures from the playtest.

In fact one of those games could still really use another 4th level character if someone was interested and could post frequently.

# ? Aug 14, 2014 22:40

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# ? May 13, 2024 21:58

dwarf74: Sep 2, 2012; Buglord

There are a whole lot of available monsters right now.

http://media.wizards.com/2014/downloads/dnd/HoardDragonQueen_Supplement1.pdf
http://media.wizards.com/2014/downloads/dnd/DMDnDBasicRules_v0.1_PrinterFriendly.pdf

# ? Aug 14, 2014 23:06

Crasical: Apr 22, 2014; GG!^*
^*GET GOOD

So a necromancer gets a pretty good amount of mileage out of being a leader-type, guiding and enabling his murder-crazed horde of skeletons? leading them into battle, empowering them to succeed against powerful foes with cunning wit and tactical prowess?

I think we found 5e's Warlord. It was inside us the whole time.

Just like a skeleton.

# ? Aug 14, 2014 23:30

seebs: Apr 23, 2007; God Made Me a Skeptic

eth0.n posted:

Which of the listed uses of Charisma apply to a Bulette? And does a -3 modifier make sense for those uses?

Charisma (Deception) for when it yells "Candygram!", and I totally think it gets a -3 on that.

More generally, the example given of a place where charisma saves would be used would be possession, and I will absolutely accept that it would make sense for the bulette to have a penalty on such saves.

# ? Aug 14, 2014 23:52

slydingdoor: Oct 26, 2010; Are you in or are you out?

They shattered the warlord into many pieces, and hid them all across the land. The mistake they made was the same all criminals make: by covering their tracks they pointed us right to them. "Casting this spell is evil" might as well have been "This is where we buried the body."

# ? Aug 15, 2014 00:00

jigokuman: Aug 28, 2002; Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is the 45th and current President of the United States. Before entering politics, he was a businessman and television personality.

Hearing about the new adventures makes me legit interested. Well written modules are hard to find.

I hope that monsters have stats so that monster PCs are available. I find that a weird element of D&D history that is often ignored or forgotten. The first vampire PC predates the cleric. I think that the first balrog PC does, too.

I would love to hear about the adventures of a party made up of an owlbear, a bulette, a peryton, a rust monster and a roper.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 00:13

ComposerGuy: Jul 28, 2007; Conspicuous Absinthe

Sade posted:

So is anybody else actually playing 5e or about to start a campaign, since the PHB can now be found in the wild?

I haven't don't any table top gaming since college, and that was a decade ago. My fiancee has roped me back in and we've got a group starting our first 5e adventure on Saturday. 4 in the group: Some type of fighter, a Paladin, Rogue/Assassin and Sorcerer (me, because that's all I ever played and I refuse to change). I came into the thread to see what initial impressions were. Seems like a mixed bag?

Of course, I completely missed 4e. We ran 3e in college when I did play. I guess I'll see how it goes for me.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 00:16

thespaceinvader: Mar 30, 2011; The slightest touch from a Gol-Shogeg will result in Instant Death!

dwarf74 posted:

Hey, look, a monster without tons of spells!

At 5th level, he can take 27 skeletons of damage. At 10th, that drops to 24 skeletons.

Firstly, despite being irritated by skellychat, I LOVE the Skeleton as a unit of monster HP. I really do.

Secondly, they made a Bulette, a loving LAND SHARK, a creature whose sole loving THING that makes it anything other than an unusual bear is burrowing up underneath people and loving eating them, and gave it a flying loving leap attack?

Not, you know, a burrow attack. Like a loving burrowing predator. A flying leap.

What the actual gently caress, seriously. I've been mystified by a lot of thngs in 5e, but this is like... wut?

# ? Aug 15, 2014 00:40

dwarf74: Sep 2, 2012; Buglord

thespaceinvader posted:

Secondly, they made a Bulette, a loving LAND SHARK, a creature whose sole loving THING that makes it anything other than an unusual bear is burrowing up underneath people and loving eating them, and gave it a flying loving leap attack?

Not, you know, a burrow attack. Like a loving burrowing predator. A flying leap.

What the actual gently caress, seriously. I've been mystified by a lot of thngs in 5e, but this is like... wut?

Like you really needed to ask.

The jumping, the halfling meat...

# ? Aug 15, 2014 00:53

jigokuman: Aug 28, 2002; Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is the 45th and current President of the United States. Before entering politics, he was a businessman and television personality.

That was the bulette's special attack since at least 2E.

2E MM
"The landshark can jump up to 8 feet with blinding speed, and does this to escape if cornered or injured. While in the air, the bulette strikes with all four feet, causing 3d6 points of damage for each of the rear feat as well."

3E SRD
"Leap (Ex)
A bulette can jump into the air during combat. This allows it to make four claw attacks instead of two, each with a +15 attack bonus, but it cannot bite."

4E MM1
"Bite (standard, at-will)
Before it bites, the bulette can make a standing long jump (as a free action) without provoking opportunity attacks,"

Tradition!

# ? Aug 15, 2014 00:55

thespaceinvader: Mar 30, 2011; The slightest touch from a Gol-Shogeg will result in Instant Death!

Huh, genuinely forgot that they got jump attacks, despite having been really loving irritated by the whole 'jump without provoking' thing several times during 4e play.

Oh well, consider that retracted.

Still ought to have SOME in-combat use for the burrow speed though.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 01:01

whydirt: Apr 18, 2001; Gaz Posting Brigade

Having a leap attack is fine, but the complete lack of any defined attacks related to its burrowing is pretty lame.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 01:13

dwarf74: Sep 2, 2012; Buglord

whydirt posted:

Having a leap attack is fine, but the complete lack of any defined attacks related to its burrowing is pretty lame.

I think "can emerge, bite, and burrow again because of splitting movement" is probably overkill already.

This is a TPK factory, and also the time when you teach new players about readied action bullshit.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 01:38

Stormgale: Feb 27, 2010

dwarf74 posted:

I think "can emerge, bite, and burrow again because of splitting movement" is probably overkill already.

This is a TPK factory, and also the time when you teach new players about readied action bullshit.

No need for you to ready when you can command your legion of skeletons to

# ? Aug 15, 2014 01:40

Rannos22: Mar 30, 2011; Everything's the same as it always is.

5e would be good if you were intended to play the game as a necromancer-centurion of a skeleton roman legion.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 01:42

dwarf74: Sep 2, 2012; Buglord

Posted without comment:

Monster Manual index.

E:

Okay, one comment. Half-Dragon (template)

gently caress templates.

dwarf74 fucked around with this message at 01:49 on Aug 15, 2014

# ? Aug 15, 2014 01:46

Ratoslov: Feb 15, 2012; Now prepare yourselves! You're the guests of honor at the Greatest Kung Fu Cannibal BBQ Ever!

Crasical posted:

So a necromancer gets a pretty good amount of mileage out of being a leader-type, guiding and enabling his murder-crazed horde of skeletons? leading them into battle, empowering them to succeed against powerful foes with cunning wit and tactical prowess?

I think we found 5e's Warlord. It was inside us the whole time.

No no no. The Necromancer isn't a Leader, he's a Defender/Striker/Controller. Necromancers hold the front lines (with skellies), lock down enemies and control the terrain (with skellies and spells) and kill things (with massed skellie fire).

The Leader is a Druid, what with his ability to transform useless corpses into skeletons (healing) and buff large groups with stealth.

The ideal D&D 4e party for combat is 3 Skeltors and a utility druid with the Healing skill and a taste for human flesh.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 01:47

slydingdoor: Oct 26, 2010; Are you in or are you out?

TPK factory, what? It's a melee monster with 5 ft reach. If it tries to skirmish it'll be eating opp attacks, 2 with the right formation, which would also keep it from body splashing two people at once. It's not going to be able to beat half decent passive perceptions either, so it probably won't get surprise.

I laid out what it could probably accomplish against a level 5 party.

A Sentinel feat-haver could hose it really badly, especially with Polearm Mastery on top. So could putting the squishy ranged guys up a tree or on Dodge duty.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 01:48

Cassa: Jan 29, 2009

dwarf74 posted:

Posted without comment:

Monster Manual index.

Okay, one comment. Half-Dragon (template)

gently caress templates.

What's their loving obsession with alphabetical lists?

It's completely useless.

Do they really expect me to read each and every entry any time I try and put an encounter for a party together?

# ? Aug 15, 2014 01:51

dwarf74: Sep 2, 2012; Buglord

Cassa posted:

What's their loving obsession with alphabetical lists?

It's completely useless.

Do they really expect me to read each and every entry any time I try and put an encounter for a party together?

This is the index, and the page numbers hint at more reasonable organization inside the book proper.

Like Yochlol seems to be under either Demon or Drow, since it's early in the book.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 01:54

MonsterEnvy: Feb 4, 2012; Shocked I tell you

dwarf74 posted:

Hey, look, a monster without tons of spells!

At 5th level, he can take 27 skeletons of damage. At 10th, that drops to 24 skeletons.

Hey the Umber Hulk did not have any spells. In fact other then the Sphinx none of the monsters leaked had spells.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 01:56

SmellOfPetroleum: Jan 6, 2013

I'd argue that a book's index is allowed to be alphabetical. I like the NPC classes that they just say to slap any old race in. Shoulda been that way in earlier editions. I thik pathfinder did that actually.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 01:57

Baku: Aug 20, 2005; by Fluffdaddy

dwarf74 posted:

Like Yochlol seems to be under either Demon or Drow, since it's early in the book.

I noticed this, it's definitely Demon/Devil, because Drow is like 60 pages later. Which means there's like 60 pages between Demon and Drow. I guess they call it Dungeons & Dragons for a reason!

# ? Aug 15, 2014 01:58

Cassa: Jan 29, 2009

Woops, mistook index for contents. My bad!

Alphabetised index is indeed sensible.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 02:00

homullus: Mar 27, 2009

SmellOfPetroleum posted:

I'd argue that a book's index is allowed to be alphabetical. I like the NPC classes that they just say to slap any old race in. Shoulda been that way in earlier editions. I thik pathfinder did that actually.

I was going to make a smartass comment about how an alphabetical index is pretty dumb when the monster entries themselves are alphabetical, but a closer look at the page numbers indicates they aren't. The Deva is hundreds of pages from the Dire Wolf.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 02:02

whydirt: Apr 18, 2001; Gaz Posting Brigade

# ? Aug 15, 2014 02:03

Trollhawke: Jan 25, 2012; I'LL GET YOU THIS YEAR! EVEN IF I SAID THIS LAST YEAR TOOOOOO
God I love the smell of salty succubi in the morning

Speaking of Skeletons, I've started some development on the undead overrun setting, which I'm tenatively titling Noskelhome.

Stuff I've ironed out so far:

No full casters, mostly to change up the game somewhat. There's only 10-19 Wizards left in existence, each with their own city. Likewise, Clerics are the backbone of holy sanctuaries, where no skeletons are allowed. People who try to get in touch with nature find it so corrupted and unholy that they become demons, making demon druids one of the major foes to throw at the party.
Outside of a few purified zones, most of the land is corrupt but not rotten - fruit and such still grows, but it is off for one reason or another. Sustained diets on corrupt fruit has interesting effects.
Each of the 19 cities will have its own unique skeleton army, to signify to their people that these aren't the crazed undead. One city, known as the Blind Mirrors, has Skeletons identifiable because they are basically a well-armed marching band, complete with magical trumpets and a distinct tune which plays whenever they encounter someone.
There are 9 Elder Demons which double as god-like figures within the continent - right now, I have almost completed one God, its oath and its Pact(oath is designed to be usable outside of the setting).
There will be multiple Skeleton monsters, including ones with feats (i.e. body collectors with Tavern Brawler, or legionnaires with Sentinel and polearms)
Wizards are kind of Dark Sun, in that they are more gods than men.

More progress as it happens, I guess.

Anyone know any good programs for building PDFs? While I don't plan on selling any of this, it'd be nice to make a fancy book for it.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 02:03

MonsterEnvy: Feb 4, 2012; Shocked I tell you

Here is the actual table of Contents.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 02:27

homullus: Mar 27, 2009

MonsterEnvy posted:

Here is the actual table of Contents.

I guess the ones listed as plural have more than one subtype? I had no idea there was more than one kind of remorhaz. Multiple dragons, but only one half-dragon.

And it makes perfect sense that Dragon, Shadow is not under Dragons, because

# ? Aug 15, 2014 02:32

Saguaro PI: Mar 11, 2013; Totally legit tree

Trollhawke posted:

Speaking of Skeletons, I've started some development on the undead overrun setting, which I'm tenatively titling Noskelhome.

Stuff I've ironed out so far:

No full casters, mostly to change up the game somewhat. There's only 10-19 Wizards left in existence, each with their own city. Likewise, Clerics are the backbone of holy sanctuaries, where no skeletons are allowed. People who try to get in touch with nature find it so corrupted and unholy that they become demons, making demon druids one of the major foes to throw at the party.

Outside of a few purified zones, most of the land is corrupt but not rotten - fruit and such still grows, but it is off for one reason or another. Sustained diets on corrupt fruit has interesting effects.

Each of the 19 cities will have its own unique skeleton army, to signify to their people that these aren't the crazed undead. One city, known as the Blind Mirrors, has Skeletons identifiable because they are basically a well-armed marching band, complete with magical trumpets and a distinct tune which plays whenever they encounter someone.

There are 9 Elder Demons which double as god-like figures within the continent - right now, I have almost completed one God, its oath and its Pact(oath is designed to be usable outside of the setting).

There will be multiple Skeleton monsters, including ones with feats (i.e. body collectors with Tavern Brawler, or legionnaires with Sentinel and polearms)

Wizards are kind of Dark Sun, in that they are more gods than men.

More progress as it happens, I guess.

Anyone know any good programs for building PDFs? While I don't plan on selling any of this, it'd be nice to make a fancy book for it.

This is rad and you're rad.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 02:36

Baku: Aug 20, 2005; by Fluffdaddy

homullus posted:

I guess the ones listed as plural have more than one subtype? I had no idea there was more than one kind of remorhaz. Multiple dragons, but only one half-dragon.

And it makes perfect sense that Dragon, Shadow is not under Dragons, because

Counting Dracolich and Dragon, Shadow, there's 36 pages of Dragons.

...and 3 pages of Modrons :getin:

# ? Aug 15, 2014 02:44

ritorix: Jul 22, 2007; Vancian Roulette

I got my hands on a monster manual today. Details when I'm sober. Still on the high from our dungeon World game fighting crabapotamos.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 02:53

jigokuman: Aug 28, 2002; Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is the 45th and current President of the United States. Before entering politics, he was a businessman and television personality.

Trollhawke posted:

Each of the 19 cities will have its own unique skeleton army, to signify to their people that these aren't the crazed undead. One city, known as the Blind Mirrors, has Skeletons identifiable because they are basically a well-armed marching band, complete with magical trumpets and a distinct tune which plays whenever they encounter someone.

I love the whole idea, but especially the band. I pray they play the Final Fantasy victory fanfare after defeating opponents. (It would be awesome to cue that up to play after they beat up the party.)

# ? Aug 15, 2014 02:53

Saguaro PI: Mar 11, 2013; Totally legit tree

jigokuman posted:

I love the whole idea, but especially the band. I pray they play the Final Fantasy victory fanfare after defeating opponents. (It would be awesome to cue that up to play after they beat up the party.)

I'm picturing Kill la Kill's Jakuzure as a necromancer.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 03:17

Apple Mummy: Oct 11, 2012

As the Lord of Blind Mirrors I found your group's lack of rhythm amusing, at first. Continue to be so discordant and we'll have a problem.
/

# ? Aug 15, 2014 03:20

NachtSieger: Apr 10, 2013

Trollhawke posted:

Speaking of Skeletons, I've started some development on the undead overrun setting, which I'm tenatively titling Noskelhome.

What about liches? Liches are cool.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 03:23

Kadath: Aug 17, 2004; Put Your 'Lectric Eye On Me, Babe; Grimey Drawer

Liches get stiches.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 04:52

theironjef: Aug 11, 2009; The archmage of unexpected stinks.

MonsterEnvy posted:

Here is the actual table of Contents.

This could be a symbol of 5th edition right here. Nothing new. I guess that's being a little harsh since there are like a billion D&D monsters already. But there's absolutely nothing new there. Was there in any post 1e MM1?

# ? Aug 15, 2014 04:57

MonsterEnvy: Feb 4, 2012; Shocked I tell you

theironjef posted:

This could be a symbol of 5th edition right here. Nothing new. I guess that's being a little harsh since there are like a billion D&D monsters already. But there's absolutely nothing new there. Was there in any post 1e MM1?

Not really. And I think the Empyrean may be a new monster. But MM1 3e and 4e did not really have anything new ether.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 05:01

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# ? May 13, 2024 21:58

ritorix: Jul 22, 2007; Vancian Roulette

The monster manual is pretty gorgeous. And it has skeleton minotaurs and zombie beholders. I'm sure we can think of a use for those.

# ? Aug 15, 2014 05:28

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