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Raar_Im_A_Dinosaur posted:Favorite underrated spell you wish you saw in play more? Grease. Simple but nasty for low-Dex characters and the small radius means you can place it tactically.
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Jan 9, 2018 21:12
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Raar_Im_A_Dinosaur posted:Favorite underrated spell you wish you saw in play more? I wouldn't call it underrated because I think everyone correctly judges it as insanely niche, but I wish more people had Magic Mouth. Next time I DM for a party with a wizard I am definitely making goofy niche spells available goddamn everywhere.
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Jan 9, 2018 21:17
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Nehru the Damaja posted:I wouldn't call it underrated because I think everyone correctly judges it as insanely niche, but I wish more people had Magic Mouth. Next time I DM for a party with a wizard I am definitely making goofy niche spells available goddamn everywhere. My party has access to a magic typewriter that types nonsense spell scrolls (assuming they are able to procure ribbon for it).
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Jan 9, 2018 21:20
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Conspiratiorist posted:Brute is a better McCree Fighter than Battle Master Yeah, that would be pretty crazy damage, but then again it's going to miss a lot more without Precision. Edit: OTOH even not using Sharpshooter it's still a ranged Greatsword basically.
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Jan 9, 2018 21:54
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As a DAM do people prefer doing random items or choosing items for the players/classes?
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Jan 10, 2018 00:52
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I like to pick something fun with non-obvious uses really early on, and as I get a feel for the group's needs, get them items that address that, and then semi-random from there.
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Jan 10, 2018 01:02
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The Slack Lagoon posted:As a DAM do people prefer doing random items or choosing items for the players/classes? The first dungeon my current campaign ran was a tinkerer's workshop that was filled with random useless items just to give people interesting tools to gently caress around with later. I have various items that range from simple +1's to magical effects that fill some of the gaps that have become apparent in the party's play to add ever since. I'll probably adapt the UA tinkerer armor thing into something "random" later as i revert back to things less for any individual player and more for general chaos.
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Jan 10, 2018 01:28
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Crossposting from the GM advice thread: I'm running D&D 5e this week for a group of friends who are almost all entirely new to D&D and tabletop RPGs in general. 4 newbies and 1 vet. I've run other systems with brand new players before so that aspect isn't so worrisome, but I've only ever played 5e as a PC and never DM'd it. In our first session I figure I would go over the basics with them, spend some time creating characters, then jump right into an adventure. I figure it's better to kind of explain rules and minutae as we go through the adventure instead of just info-dumping on them for an hour, and I also figure creating characters will take a good chunk of time. I'm looking for advice or suggestions on an adventure to run that will take 1-2 hours, since I'm estimating the setup and character creation will take at least an hour or two as well. I'm DMing a Strike! campaign with my turbo-nerd friends and the setting is an entirely homebrew Cyberpunk/Space Opera type of thing. I love doing it but creating whole worlds and adventures from scratch takes some time, and I want to have something a little more concrete for these players. I've been looking at low-level adventure modules available online to use and have come up with these: Harried in Hillsfar - "Part of the official D&D Adventurers League organized play system and the Rage of Demons storyline season." Free, seems straightforward. Has 5 "mini-adventures" so it will probably be able to cover the next session or two. Introductory PotA - Wizards has special introductory adventures for their published books, I just used Princes because that's the first link I found, but I'd be down to run the intro from Strahd, Storm King, Out of the Abyss, or whatever isn't hot garbage. Anyone who has used these, would we be able to seamlessly transition to the full adventure book after completing the intro scenario, or are things re-used or levels dont line up? Am I better off just buying the full module book and starting from there? Sunless Citadel/Yawning Portal - I've seen this recommended a bunch and it seems like a lot of people here have experience with it. I also found this handy list of published modules, but I'm just afraid of picking out a dud. https://merricb.com/dungeons-dragon...tures-by-level/ Which have you run? What would you avoid? Any favorites? Free stuff online is good, but I also don't mind dropping a few bucks.
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Jan 10, 2018 01:38
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The starter set is a decent start point.
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Jan 10, 2018 02:00
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If you're running with 5 players, 4 of which are new, you ain't getting through any adventure in 1-2 hours. I bet your first combat encounter takes like 45 minutes. Also, Sunless Citadel is a fantastic starting point.
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Jan 10, 2018 02:24
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Pussy Quipped posted:Harried in Hillsfar - "Part of the official D&D Adventurers League organized play system and the Rage of Demons storyline season." Free, seems straightforward. Has 5 "mini-adventures" so it will probably be able to cover the next session or two. Harried in Hillsfar is ok. I remember playing it years ago, my group lost their poo poo when the multi-headed demon goat showed up, as if we were battling a lord of hell. The first three levels of POTA are decent, I ran that once. It's a typical small-town start with a few small dungeons. I would probably run this one over Hillsfar. If you dont intend to run all of POTA, Red Larch could easily be reskinned to whatever town you want. I ran this in three short sessions: first was an intro/character creation and we did the "Bears and Bows" wilderness cave. Then a session for necro cave, then another for the tomb.
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Jan 10, 2018 02:28
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The Gate posted:Someone on Reddit ran the math and the Brute was right on the heels of Battlemaster in terms of damage, pulling ahead as the day goes. Battlemaster can probably be higher if you're going PAM + GWM, and issuing Precision heavily. If you want to do any other build then Brute getting scaling damage per hit is going to pull ahead I'd imagine. As a practical matter, the Battlemaster is still going to be "better" than the Brute/Champion because you can spend the Superiority Dice (on a Precision Attack) at critical junctures to force a hit when you need it. Average performance is a good benchmark, but control over when you get your damage is important.
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Jan 10, 2018 04:05
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I like the idea of the spore/fungus druid, but that is pretty lackluster.
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Jan 10, 2018 04:56
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gradenko_2000 posted:As a practical matter, the Battlemaster is still going to be "better" than the Brute/Champion because you can spend the Superiority Dice (on a Precision Attack) at critical junctures to force a hit when you need it. Average performance is a good benchmark, but control over when you get your damage is important. To a degree, but then again the Brute just always does more, you can't ever waste resources. Which is why I think it does a waaaay better job of being the "simple" subclass compared to Champ. It isn't going to blow out Battlemaster or anything, but it's very solid damage, resistant to being shut down by disabling effects (which will keep it's damage up at higher level play, but there's no calculating something like that), and works with any build you want. It's good.
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Jan 10, 2018 05:36
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Well no argument there. It is better at being the simple straightforward Fighter than the Champion. But the Champion is garbage so well yeah.
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Jan 10, 2018 08:23
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The Slack Lagoon posted:As a DAM do people prefer doing random items or choosing items for the players/classes?
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Jan 10, 2018 09:32
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DalaranJ posted:Oh? How so? He's talked about a few times. I think most recently was his AMA on reddit last month: https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/7kuzsa/ama_mike_mearls_dd_creative_director/drhivxd/ "I'd remove bonus actions, rebuilding specific abilities to capture what they are trying to do. For instance, healing word could let heal someone and include a melee or ranged attack as part of the spell. Bonus actions add complexity that doesn't need to be there. I like keeping things streamlined when I can."
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Jan 10, 2018 10:20
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Your Lottery posted:For instance, healing word could let heal someone and include a melee or ranged attack as part of the spell.
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Jan 10, 2018 10:35
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So, I've got some questions about a character build. I've played in a few 5E games over the past couple of years, so I've got at least the basics down. Starting a new game with a small group here soon, the DM is a friend of mine and I'd been wanting to play in one of his games for a while. So far all we've done is some character creation. I went with a Bard, having really enjoyed the class the last time I played one, and the rest of the party went Cleric, Paladin, and Wizard (so far, I'm not sure which of them are done with their sheets since they're still fairly new and needed a lot of help, and two of them were still unsure about what to go with.) Going with those classes, my plan was to pick College of Swords once we hit three, and then multiclass with Hexblade Warlock. I have never done any kind of multiclassing build before, so I'm pretty unsure about when to do it or how far to take it. Like, at what level should I grab the Warlock stuff? And looking at what Warlock's get, I'm wondering if I shouldn't get up to level three in that class before going back to Bard stuff? Another option I'd considered was possibly taking 1 level in Warlock and then 3 in Rogue. Basically I want to be as effective a melee Bard as possible without overly diluting myself or gimping myself by timing things wrong, given that ASIs are considered a class feature rather than tied to character level. The DM is also giving us a free feat at level 2, so I'm looking for something that'll synergize well with this kind of thing. Currently looking at Dual Wielder to go with the College of Swords Two-Weapon Fighting Style, but maybe that is a bad choice?
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Jan 10, 2018 11:22
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Kor posted:So, I've got some questions about a character build. What are you trying to achieve with that build that a Sword bard can't do by itself?
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Jan 10, 2018 11:24
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bewilderment posted:What are you trying to achieve with that build that a Sword bard can't do by itself? Use Charisma for attack and damage? Get Eldritch Blast to fight at range? Get Devil's Sight, or Silent Image and Disguise Self at will?
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Jan 10, 2018 11:35
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bewilderment posted:What are you trying to achieve with that build that a Sword bard can't do by itself? The big things are the Hexblade's Curse feature and the ability to use Charisma instead of Dex on my main attack roll. Warlock just seems to have some more neat things in general, especially if I take it up to at least 2 and get access to Eldritch Invocations, as LogicNinja said. Taking it to 3 would get me a Pact Boon, probably Pact of the Blade which also has an Invocation or two to go along with it. The consideration for Rogue was just generally boosting single-target attack damage and mobility, but if I were to go down Rogue at all I would want to take it to Level 3 to pick up the Swashbuckler Archetype.
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Jan 10, 2018 11:45
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Kor posted:The DM is also giving us a free feat at level 2, so I'm looking for something that'll synergize well with this kind of thing. Currently looking at Dual Wielder to go with the College of Swords Two-Weapon Fighting Style, but maybe that is a bad choice?
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Jan 10, 2018 12:53
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Splicer posted:What's your race? Say variant human. I went with half-elf, but there is still time to change it up.
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Jan 10, 2018 12:57
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Kor posted:I went with half-elf, but there is still time to change it up. Half-Elf is also acceptable if your DM is one of the people that actually allows players to take Elven Accuracy.
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Jan 10, 2018 15:33
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Kor posted:I went with half-elf, but there is still time to change it up. For your feat, your level 14 ability kind of replaces two weapon fighting as a Thing, but it's also a level 14 ability while multiclassing so... On the other hand you could use your warlock shield proficiency to sword and board it with duellist, meaning you can take warcaster for serious GFB/booming blade shenanigans.
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Jan 10, 2018 16:24
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Splicer posted:For your feat, your level 14 ability kind of replaces two weapon fighting as a Thing, but it's also a level 14 ability while multiclassing so... On the other hand you could use your warlock shield proficiency to sword and board it with duellist, meaning you can take warcaster for serious GFB/booming blade shenanigans. That actually seems pretty good. My only concern is using Booming Blade/GFB, while requiring a melee attack, doesn't actually count as an Attack action I don't think? So it'd really sideline the College of Sword's Blade Flourish abilities. Though looking at what they do and that as a Hexblade I'd have access to the Shield spell, maybe that's an even trade? Edit: Also I'm not entirely sure what you mean by getting a replacement for two-weapon fighting at 14? At 6, Bard College of Swords would let me attack twice on an Attack action, which definitely minimizes the need/want for two-weapon fighting, but runs into the issue again of using lots of Cantrips instead of basic Attack actions. Kor fucked around with this message at 18:03 on Jan 10, 2018 |
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Jan 10, 2018 17:56
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Anyone use the flanking for advantage rule? Seems pretty OP unless you have smart monsters taking advantage. Also seems like you might want a use AOO when moving through threatened squares to reduce mobility a bit, instead of AOO only when moving out of range. For Rogue sneak attack, it is advantage on attack OR having an ally in a flanking position to trigger sneak?
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Jan 10, 2018 18:13
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The Slack Lagoon posted:For Rogue sneak attack, it is advantage on attack OR having an ally in a flanking position to trigger sneak? Toplowtech fucked around with this message at 18:36 on Jan 10, 2018 |
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Jan 10, 2018 18:34
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Kor posted:That actually seems pretty good. My only concern is using Booming Blade/GFB, while requiring a melee attack, doesn't actually count as an Attack action I don't think? So it'd really sideline the College of Sword's Blade Flourish abilities. Though looking at what they do and that as a Hexblade I'd have access to the Shield spell, maybe that's an even trade? You need pact of the chain or pact of the tome to get find familiar as a warlock. If you plan on primarily being a bard, you probably shouldn't go more than 2 levels into warlock (1 for hex warrior, 2 for invocations) because of how much it will delay your bard progression. Pact of the blade doesn't provide a lot of utility for college of swords - you already get extra attack, and a two-handed weapon can't use your dueling or two-weapon fighting style. GFB/BB are still good even if you can't flourish with them because your flourishes consume your inspirations, which only come back on long rests until you hit bard 5. Note that if you are playing AL (you didn't say, so I assume not, but just in case...) you can't get SCAG cantrips if Xanathar's is your +1. Swashbuckler 3 gives you a free disengage, adds Cha to initiative, and gives you an extra 2d6 damage a turn from sneak attack - as well as cunning action, expertise, and another skill. But it does mean 3 levels slower at getting the bard stuff. Personally, I would just go straight bard, or maybe bard 1/warlock 2/bard from then on. If you really want to dip multiple classes, give up on being a 'bard' and make a eldritch blast gunslinger: variant human (war caster) warlock 2 (EB, agonizing blast), sorc 4 (quicken, ASI 1), fighter 2 (action surge, defensive style), warlock 4 (pact of choice, ASI 2), assassin 3 (crits on surprise). Make your arcane focus rod look like a pistol, shoot 3 to 9 eldritch blasts per round. Use spell slots for utility spells or to recover sorcery points to quicken EB.
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Jan 10, 2018 19:11
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Kor posted:That actually seems pretty good. My only concern is using Booming Blade/GFB, while requiring a melee attack, doesn't actually count as an Attack action I don't think? So it'd really sideline the College of Sword's Blade Flourish abilities. Though looking at what they do and that as a Hexblade I'd have access to the Shield spell, maybe that's an even trade? Ignore what I said about the 14th level thing though I got mixed up with valor bard  going twf and ignoring literally everything I just said, just as good
Splicer fucked around with this message at 19:33 on Jan 10, 2018 |
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Jan 10, 2018 19:26
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Alright, I think I've got an idea of a class/level-up path to go with now. Thanks for the advice, y'all.
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Jan 10, 2018 19:31
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Your Lottery posted:He's talked about a few times. I think most recently was his AMA on reddit last month: I don’t think I agree with this. I suppose I’ll never have enough experience with this system to speak to it. But I do remember the design space for swift action being pretty desperately needed at the end of 3.5. But this is his “one thing that he’d change” so it’s certain that I’d never come to terms with Mearls.
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Jan 10, 2018 19:48
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Toplowtech posted:Both, you get it if you have advantage or if you have someone fighting your target in melee range (like an ally or an npc hostile to the target). As a follow-up, ranged sneak attack - even if not hidden /advantage if Target is adjacent to one of your allies it triggers?
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Jan 10, 2018 20:15
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I asked Reddit for ideas or experiences running towns that don't have "town guards" i.e. modern cops dressed up in a historical fashion. That mode of policing is ahistorical and while I don't think it's necessary to be accurate to medieval history, I was curious to see what it was like for people who ran worlds without cops. But because Reddit are a bunch of mush-brained children, 90% of the answers were "I dressed up the cops as something else but they function the same." So let's try it here. Have you guys run any settings without traditional "town guards?" In particular, I'm interested in how the city runs, what if any consequences await players who'd become petty tyrants, and if alternative forms of security like social shunning have made any fun stories. I remember reading that Bryn Shander's law enforcement was effectively the town shunning troublemakers because the cold nights would kill anyone locked outside.
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Jan 10, 2018 20:16
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Nehru the Damaja posted:So let's try it here. Have you guys run any settings without traditional "town guards?" In particular, I'm interested in how the city runs, what if any consequences await players who'd become petty tyrants, and if alternative forms of security like social shunning have made any fun stories. I remember reading that Bryn Shander's law enforcement was effectively the town shunning troublemakers because the cold nights would kill anyone locked outside. I haven’t done it but I’ve thought about a town that works like the one in Hot Fuzz. Idyllic on the outside because of homicidal psychos maintaining the Greater Good. I think there was a Fallout 3 settlement like that too.
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Jan 10, 2018 20:34
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Or the peasants self police and if someone is causing problems then some money justice occurs
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Jan 10, 2018 20:40
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That sounds like an adventure hook with the PCs being hired as freelance police.
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Jan 10, 2018 20:55
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The Slack Lagoon posted:As a follow-up, ranged sneak attack - even if not hidden /advantage if Target is adjacent to one of your allies it triggers? 
Toplowtech fucked around with this message at 21:00 on Jan 10, 2018 |
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Jan 10, 2018 20:56
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DalaranJ posted:But this is his “one thing that he’d change” so it’s certain that I’d never come to terms with Mearls. Eh, he means that's his biggest thing, not his only thing. Here's another list from a past AMA: https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/6bbfar/ama_mike_mearls_5th_edition_dd_lead_designer/dhlcnpm/ Mearls posted:Stuff about 5e that bugs me:
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Jan 10, 2018 21:20
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