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Huckabee Sting posted:Maybe drop the damage down a bunch, and put a rider on the attack. something like, "1d6 on inintial hit. Then WIS save. On failed save the player is marked, and feel like time is moving differently for them; they feel old. (fluff to tell of impending dmg) At the start of the NPC boss's next round every marked player takes 1d6+3 damage as the attack catches up to the player in time." This is both cool and good.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 00:05 |
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# ? May 30, 2024 09:46 |
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If you do want to buy FG, but are concerned about the price, wait for a steam sale. e: FG=Fantasy Grounds, a virtual table top with a licensing agreement for 5e (as paid DLC) nelson fucked around with this message at 02:28 on Jan 10, 2017 |
# ? Jan 10, 2017 00:14 |
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Arivia posted:Roll20 has a ruler tool for counting squares. Also, shift-click on the map as a GM to force all player views to where you clicked. The ruler isn't what I mean, roll20 is fine about distances, just not speed. I want it to track how much a player can move in a turn, and only let them move that much, show how much they have left, show what squares they are eligible to move to, etc. Cool cool about the view, that will help a lot.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 00:18 |
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Roll20 is clunky. It doesn't give a lot of tools to help the DM, I always keep a pen and pencil nearby when I've used it. If your players are new to it, plan on combat taking 200% as long. If they're used to it, plan on combat taking 125% as long.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 00:53 |
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Arivia posted:Roll20 has a ruler tool for counting squares. Also, shift-click on the map as a GM to force all player views to where you clicked. Roll20 is fantastic and everyone should try it if only for the great API scripts and character sheet people have put together.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 00:57 |
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nelson posted:If you do want to buy FG, but are concerned about the price, wait for a steam sale. I know Matt Colville made a video about FG a month or so ago, but even with that, the idea of paying for a D&D book twice so I can have it on FG and in physical format, especially since I can get the physical one for almost half of the cost of the FG book is just a bridge too far. I hope the developer is successful and is making good money doing what they're doing, but they've priced me right on our of their product. If my physical book came with a FG license code, that'd be pretty awesome. I might even pay $110-150 for software that let me integrate all of my owned products into it without having to spend $250 on licence+DLC to be able to have the core books and a single campaign book.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 01:46 |
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koreban posted:I know Matt Colville made a video about FG a month or so ago, but even with that, the idea of paying for a D&D book twice so I can have it on FG and in physical format, especially since I can get the physical one for almost half of the cost of the FG book is just a bridge too far. I hope the developer is successful and is making good money doing what they're doing, but they've priced me right on our of their product. You can put your own stuff in Fantasy Grounds to be (almost) exactly the same as the bought version. All buying does it let you get them to do it for you. You can even just play without loading anything. All having the content does is allow for drag-and-drop functionality, and in-program referencing. The program itself still contains all the rules/functionality without buying anything other than the lifetime license or subscription. Happy to show/help you with it if you're legit interested in the program. It's easily the best VTT out there. Edit: Also, use steam, cause the prices are almost always better than the FG store, especially if you use another currency. (I pay 30% less in NZD using steam). Spiteski fucked around with this message at 02:20 on Jan 10, 2017 |
# ? Jan 10, 2017 02:10 |
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What is fg?
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 02:18 |
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Big Black Brony posted:What is fg? Fantasy Grounds, sorry. Edited to be more clear
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 02:20 |
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New artificer class in today's Unearthed Arcana: https://media.wizards.com/2016/dnd/downloads/1_UA_Artificer_20170109.pdf
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 04:17 |
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Quick question about the ranger. I'm DMing a group of three characters; a paladin, a ranger and a barbarian. They just hit level three and the ranger was really excited to get her panther. But then we realized that the panther couldn't really do much, and she was pretty bummed. I decided to just say gently caress it and give the panther an attack as well. Will that affect the balance of the party at all or is it fine?
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 04:55 |
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That's fine - the book Ranger is just really really bad.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 04:56 |
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Soylent Pudding posted:New artificer class in today's Unearthed Arcana: https://media.wizards.com/2016/dnd/downloads/1_UA_Artificer_20170109.pdf That gun subclass is awful, just awful. Throwing acid could be fun as a fake cantrip, and there's ok emergency healing, but the rest of the class is pretty lame. Actually, as a first level dip for wizards, could be good. Starting with Con and Int saves is pretty great. Cassa fucked around with this message at 05:04 on Jan 10, 2017 |
# ? Jan 10, 2017 05:00 |
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VaultAggie posted:Quick question about the ranger. I'm DMing a group of three characters; a paladin, a ranger and a barbarian. They just hit level three and the ranger was really excited to get her panther. But then we realized that the panther couldn't really do much, and she was pretty bummed. I decided to just say gently caress it and give the panther an attack as well. Will that affect the balance of the party at all or is it fine? Just use this version of the ranger it's pretty much better in every way. I bet your player will like it more as well. https://media.wizards.com/2016/dnd/downloads/UA_RevisedRanger.pdf
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 05:11 |
VaultAggie posted:Quick question about the ranger. I'm DMing a group of three characters; a paladin, a ranger and a barbarian. They just hit level three and the ranger was really excited to get her panther. But then we realized that the panther couldn't really do much, and she was pretty bummed. I decided to just say gently caress it and give the panther an attack as well. Will that affect the balance of the party at all or is it fine? Use the Unearthed Arcana Ranger that came out a couple of months ago. It's what she's looking for. e: Goddamn !
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 05:12 |
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Cassa posted:That gun subclass is awful, just awful. How so it's seems pretty solid to me.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 05:14 |
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lifg posted:Roll20 is clunky. It doesn't give a lot of tools to help the DM, I always keep a pen and pencil nearby when I've used it.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 07:22 |
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Stuff like combat always tends to be shorter in online form. If they have automated rolls it's even shorter.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 08:09 |
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koreban posted:If my physical book came with a FG license code, that'd be pretty awesome. I think that was the initial plan for 4e. Unfortunately the virtual tabletop never came out.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 12:40 |
MonsterEnvy posted:Stuff like combat always tends to be shorter in online form. If they have automated rolls it's even shorter. The Warlock at our table is so slow in combat. Roll a d20, read it aloud after a few seconds. Roll damage, read it aloud after twice that, then do it all again for the second attack. I try to set an example by rolling my attacks at the same time, along with damage. Coordinated dice colors make this easy, even with advantage on both of them.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 13:08 |
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MonsterEnvy posted:How so it's seems pretty solid to me. I missed the escalating thunder damage first time around. 4d8 attack as a level capstone is kinda eh though.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 14:13 |
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MonsterEnvy posted:Stuff like combat always tends to be shorter in online form. If they have automated rolls it's even shorter. Weird, I haven't found that to be true at all for my group. Maybe we're the outlier.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 15:05 |
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Cassa posted:I missed the escalating thunder damage first time around. 4d8 attack as a level capstone is kinda eh though. It's also in addition to the normal damage the gun does.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 17:36 |
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So I saw this on reddit yesterday: And it's fantastic and I'm thinking I might try and play something similar in my next campaign, because it'll be fun to shake things up and play something...weird. Plus I have a feeling I can roleplay this very well. I think I've come up with a reasonable backstory but there are a few things I'm not super sure about. As far as I know we're playing a standard 5e Forgotten Realms campaign. I'm not sure if this works more as a Wizard or a Warlock, there are RP advantages to both and I'm fine playing either. On one hand, a Warlock seems a lot scarier when it's a small old tiefling lady causing people to see otherworldly horrors and violating their consciousness with tentacles, but on the other hand I feel like a Wizard seems more "in-character", I guess. Haven't played a warlock, though, that seems fun. I'm not positive I've fleshed out a backstory yet, either. I like the idea that she used to live at home with her family but they're all gone so now it's just her chilling out at her nice cottage and making pies (definitely not with questionable ingredients no sir) for the neighboring kids but wants to go have a life of adventure while she's still got life left to adventure with. The only character trait I really know she'll have is that she's like a little racist. Not super overtly, but like if she sees an elf walking near her she'll grip her purse/cane a little tighter, stuff like that. "Grew up in a different time," etc. I'm not super good at fleshing out characters, at least not before the game. Generally I'm good at shaping them as the campaign progresses because actually roleplaying it is a good way to get a better grasp of your character, but usually I'm a bit lacking before it actually starts. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thumbtacks fucked around with this message at 18:49 on Jan 10, 2017 |
# ? Jan 10, 2017 18:38 |
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Thumbtacks posted:So I saw this on reddit yesterday: So it's a gnomed height elderly magic oriented tiefling?
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 18:55 |
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Yeah basically a granny warlock
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 18:58 |
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The key to a good character backstory is to have very little of one. Just enough to color their behavior while roleplaying. This way, you can dynamically piece your backstory together in the game, should it become relevant. It doesn't often in my experience, but groups differ on that. Think of it another way: you flesh out characters with their actions and words while playing. I do crap like this all the time: *As a rogue, rolled really well on a pick lock check* Paladin: "Wow man, where'd you learn to do that?" Me: "Oh you know, when I was just starting with the Guild in Waterdeep I met this really cool chick who showed me a few things." Paladin: "Which Guild?" Me: "The R-- You know, forget I said anything." Boom. Imply a story and other player's brains fill in the rest for you. And you can build on this later. SettingSun fucked around with this message at 19:13 on Jan 10, 2017 |
# ? Jan 10, 2017 19:01 |
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That's the approach I generally take, too. Seems a lot more fun that way, plus sometimes you accidentally create really amusing character traits/flaws that way.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 19:22 |
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Thumbtacks posted:I'm not super good at fleshing out characters, at least not before the game. Generally I'm good at shaping them as the campaign progresses because actually roleplaying it is a good way to get a better grasp of your character, but usually I'm a bit lacking before it actually starts. Work backwards. That's how I make every character. Start with what their function is in the campaign or story. 1. How are they going to fulfill that function? Then, 2. why are they going to fulfill that function--what's their motivation to do so? After you've got that nailed down, the form should follow pretty naturally. You can add embellishments as much as you like as long as it doesn't interfere with 1 and 2. e: whoops, I thought this was an NPC, not a PC. Vengarr fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Jan 10, 2017 |
# ? Jan 10, 2017 19:43 |
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Thumbtacks posted:That's the approach I generally take, too. Seems a lot more fun that way, plus sometimes you accidentally create really amusing character traits/flaws that way. Nice! So instead of me putting on a clinic about what I think is Good Character Design we can directly throw out ideas. If it were me, I like the juxtaposition between "nice old lady" and "power hungry warlock". My one sentence concept would probably be: "A sweet old lady warlock whose personality is sometimes taken over by her aggressive, ambitious patron unknown to her." Kinda like Yu-Gi-Oh if Yami Yugi was more of a dick. The patron isn't expressly evil. I would play it like the old lady suddenly decided to grow a pair for a minute. The only backstory piece I would directly posit would be the answer to the question "Why the hell is this old lady adventuring?" because that will definitely come up. I would probably settle on "I dunno sonny, something inside tells me to [go on this adventure]." (It's her patron influencing her to do it). The other thing I would start to think about is how she became a warlock. I usually go humorous here, but since she's a tiefling I stay simple with "her bloodline has started to assert itself late in life" (if her patron was infernal). That would satisfy me for backstory, in any case.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 19:51 |
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Oh I'd always wanted to go adventuring, but you know how it is. First we were saving for the armour, then Gerry (may he rest in peace) had his fall, and then we found out little Gemma was on her way. But now the grandkids are grown and moved away and Gerry's gone on to the hearafter so I thought, why not sell my soul for an unnaturally extended lifespan and powers beyond mortal Ken? Mortal Ken's my grandson in wizard school, he hates it when I call him that *little old lady chuckle* Splicer fucked around with this message at 20:45 on Jan 10, 2017 |
# ? Jan 10, 2017 20:18 |
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she didn't sell her soul she just trades power for werther's originals
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 20:33 |
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Splicer posted:Granny warlock This is amazing and I'm totally playing this for my next character. Right now I'm playing a old man prankster wizard who likes to use his minor illusion spell to gently caress with people. Other than that, he likes to skin people and creatures he kills because science (necromancy). Imagine a friendly, chuckling grandpa who likes to play pranks but has chopped up bodies in his basement to experiment upon.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 20:38 |
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I actually know almost nothing about how warlocks work. I know wild magic is a thing but I think it's optional? I don't know what a patron is either. I don't have the PHB on me right now, unfortunately.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 20:39 |
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Thumbtacks posted:I actually know almost nothing about how warlocks work. I know wild magic is a thing but I think it's optional? I don't know what a patron is either. I don't have the PHB on me right now, unfortunately. That's sorcerers. Warlocks have a few spell slots, all at their highest level, and get them back on a short rest. They also get the best damaging cantrip in 5e in Eldritch Blast.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 20:43 |
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The theme of the Warlock is that they get their powers by forging a contract with some powerful being, their patron. Some Eldritch thing, Devil, Fey Queen, etc. Thematically the patron is supposed to get something out of this but that's mostly fluff unless the DM picks up on it.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 20:47 |
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I like the weapon warlock from the phb, why does that archetype frowned on from the goon mind?
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 21:33 |
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Big Black Brony posted:I like the weapon warlock from the phb, why does that archetype frowned on from the goon mind? I think it's mostly cause Eldritch Blast is so damned good.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 21:41 |
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MonsterEnvy posted:It's also in addition to the normal damage the gun does. Explosive Round? Does it? How do you figure? Or do you mean the extra d6s from the thunder damage, because yeah, 11d6 is pretty good for a regular attack. Son of a Vondruke! posted:I think it's mostly cause Eldritch Blast is so damned good. What's the trick for enhancing EB? I remember the pushback and +cha mod thing (and +range thing if you want), but did I forget something better? Elector_Nerdlingen fucked around with this message at 21:55 on Jan 10, 2017 |
# ? Jan 10, 2017 21:50 |
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# ? May 30, 2024 09:46 |
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Big Black Brony posted:I like the weapon warlock from the phb, why does that archetype frowned on from the goon mind? Because actually using the pact weapon is worse in every way than the EB cantrip.
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# ? Jan 10, 2017 22:05 |