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AlphaDog posted:Another way to show that the character is smart is to have 1 action = 1 + X "moves" of the puzzle. X can be the PC's int or wis mod, or half that modifier, or the average of the two, or whatever. Or if it's a "wrong move = damage" puzzle, then you can have a successful check (before the puzzle move) let them know that the move they've chosen is wrong and give them a chance to choose differentmove. This is one of those places where, 'D&D, a game' runs afoul 'D&D, a story' and yeah, I think that's a pretty elegant solution. What I usually do is let players roll or gain bonus hints based on relevant skills, but if they'd like to solve the puzzle because they know the solution I won't limit them because their character is too dumb; it feels real good to know the solution to a puzzle, and you want your players to feel good. I'm not suggesting your way is limited - the opposite, in fact, just highlighting how these two roads diverge and sometimes it's best to just embrace the inconsistency. Like I'm find letting a player bypass social checks if they say something to an NPC that makes everybody at the table kick the floor or laugh out loud, or sympathetically groan because something owned so hard they could feel it in their diaphragm. Those moments feel good, but if they aren't working or aren't happening on their own, you default to stats. I think letting that halfway point exist is v.good.
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Jul 9, 2018 09:51
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Give players a number of seconds equal to their intelligence score to google the answer.
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Jul 9, 2018 09:55
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CubeTheory posted:When I run puzzles I will allow players to make Intelligence or Wisdom rolls to get hints or clues if they're having trouble. I think it helps to bridge the gap between a normal intelligence player and a 20 intelligence genius wizard. I did that with the other group but my friends have never had a problem on an actual puzzle. It's more fun to solve a puzzle than to roll for an answer imo. Riddles on the other hand are awful so yeah roll away on those.
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Jul 9, 2018 10:53
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MonsterEnvy posted:Well he made a mistake. There are no warlocks from the MM. There are however in Volo's Guide this one in particular is likely what he is thinking of. Yeah that's the one. When they got to the fight and looked at the sheet and then basically ignored it. I did a flame strike on them, then used eldritch blast on some prisoners to heal him up with dark one's blessing (and buy some time for them to kill the other creature they were fighting) and then a fire wall. Seemed a lot nastier than CR 7. The Maurezhi they fought beforehand was a complete pushover in comparison.
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Jul 9, 2018 14:01
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Malpais Legate posted:Man y'all got some lovely opinions about gnomes. http://breadthofpopsanity.blogspot.com/2016/08/thoughts-about-gnomes.html I don't 
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Jul 9, 2018 18:04
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If Fireball doesn't solve your problem, it's clearly not a real problem. 
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Jul 10, 2018 12:14
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I protest. Prismatic Spray is also a valid response. :p
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Jul 10, 2018 13:14
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Last night the bard in my party wanted to cast Shatter in a wedding hall that had a couple hundred people in it. As a "distraction".
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Jul 10, 2018 15:07
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Naelyan posted:Last night the bard in my party wanted to cast Shatter in a wedding hall that had a couple hundred people in it. As a "distraction". That's kind of a super rear end in a top hat move. Unless he wanted to cast it above them. (AKA were they would all hear it but not get killed by it.)
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Jul 10, 2018 17:23
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Naelyan posted:Last night the bard in my party wanted to cast Shatter in a wedding hall that had a couple hundred people in it. As a "distraction". Did it work?
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Jul 10, 2018 18:12
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Gharbad the Weak posted:Did it work? I'm sure the bards public trial and execution would be quite distracting
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Jul 10, 2018 18:47
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Gharbad the Weak posted:Did it work? We convinced her not to do it. I'm not sure it was totally malicious or if she just doesn't quite know how all of her stuff works, but I reminded her about the time that she cast it while we were on a bridge and that this would be much, much worse.
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Jul 10, 2018 21:28
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I wouldn't be surprised if she was thinking Shatter would just break all the glasses, chandeliers, and ice sculptures, terrifying everyone into scattering. It seems like an intuitive use of the spell until you remember that it can triple your average peasant's HP on an average dice roll.
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Jul 10, 2018 23:04
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Naelyan posted:We convinced her not to do it. I'm not sure it was totally malicious or if she just doesn't quite know how all of her stuff works, but I reminded her about the time that she cast it while we were on a bridge and that this would be much, much worse. Why? It has a 10' radius. You could fire it off above their heads if it's a big ball room and no one would be hurt. Sounds like a really good idea to me. Full disclosure: My last D&D character was a CN bard that used Thunderwave as the finale of his heavy metal bagpipes shows, so my ideas are bad.
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Jul 11, 2018 01:41
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“Character gets angry and ill-controlled powers kill bystanders, creating moral redemption and plot arcs” isn’t the worst thing to happen to a campaign
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Jul 11, 2018 01:48
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Had to break out a lot of old books to look for inspiration on what my Wizards Test of High Sorcery might have entailed, and forgot about this chart:  I love Dragonlance. I know it wont happen, but I'd sure love some official love for it in one of these settings books.
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Jul 11, 2018 07:10
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DKWildz posted:Had to break out a lot of old books to look for inspiration on what my Wizards Test of High Sorcery might have entailed, and forgot about this chart: I'm Magic - Magic - Magic - Rest - Duel
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Jul 11, 2018 07:46
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kingcom posted:I'm Magic - Magic - Magic - Rest - Duel Ive got a couple challenges / puzzles that could be magic oriented to solve, and tasks for the mundane puzzles .... the harder bit is trying to add in a little more flavor to them than just being that, since each 'test' within the Test are also a test to show your alignment and your dedication to magic, and if youre willing to sacrifice for it. I remember the duels can be brutal too, if you don't get that rest beforehand because its always another spellcaster of a level higher than you (but will have some weakness you need to find during it) DKWildz fucked around with this message at 08:44 on Jul 11, 2018 |
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Jul 11, 2018 07:57
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Aren't you supposed to be like only 4th level when you do the test. So you only have access to 5 (depending on edition) or so spells chosen with no knowledge of what you're likely to face. Plus he has to do the whole thing on his own. Did anyone ever give examples of a complete test because that seems hard to design for. It'd be a fine line between too easy, so one bad roll can't kill/fail the PC or so hard that there's a very high chance of killing/failing the PC in question.
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Jul 11, 2018 13:15
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Deptfordx posted:Aren't you supposed to be like only 4th level when you do the test. So you only have access to 5 (depending on edition) or so spells chosen with no knowledge of what you're likely to face. Plus he has to do the whole thing on his own. Did anyone ever give examples of a complete test because that seems hard to design for. It'd be a fine line between too easy, so one bad roll can't kill/fail the PC or so hard that there's a very high chance of killing/failing the PC in question. Pretty much. There's a whole book from 3rd edition that had a chapter covering designing Tests. Thats where I got the flowchart. They (the tower mages) cadt all sorts of detect thoughts spells on you to pull memories and build the test for you based on the spells you know and your experiences. You can bring companions but they are under the same rule as you in regards to their safety, but all they can do is help (the test is also scaled up for every person you bring), and the mage has to be the one to figure out puzzles, and must duel alone. One interesting thing from that book is that bad rolls are kinda covered in it. As long as the mage did things right, they're generally in the clear, and they're supposed to pass even if they have an unfortunate roll and die (the wizards running the test and watching would intervene and stabilize you), but you're at risk of Raistlin like health issues or other physical changes from the "death". But you're right that the entire Test is flying oretty close to the sun for just outright killing you during it, but from the lore of it, they wanted a ridiculous Test to weed out people thst werent serious from using high level magic.
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Jul 11, 2018 17:58
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Section Z posted:I have a running Not Joke with my friends that the worst part of 5th edition is the editing. Players Handbook: Druid posted:Sp e l l c a s t i n g F o c u s Players Handbook: Chapter 5: Equipment posted:Druidic Focus. A druidic focus might be a sprig of Well gently caress you Chapter 5, I didn't want to know what it does anyway. Chapter 10 does actually explain what it's for, but there's no section for "druidic focus" or "spellcasting focus" section, it tells you what a druidic focus does in the "Components: Material" section. But in order to know I needed to look in that section, I would need to already know what the focus does.
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Jul 11, 2018 19:34
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Deptfordx posted:Aren't you supposed to be like only 4th level when you do the test. So you only have access to 5 (depending on edition) or so spells chosen with no knowledge of what you're likely to face. Plus he has to do the whole thing on his own. Did anyone ever give examples of a complete test because that seems hard to design for. It'd be a fine line between too easy, so one bad roll can't kill/fail the PC or so hard that there's a very high chance of killing/failing the PC in question. If it were me, I'd take the PC's list of known spells and design dungeoneering challenges that require those spells. Like needing to use Fly to survive the floor dropping out like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, or needing to use Command or something. Basically, make it like an episode of Master Chef or Hell's Kitchen where they test some specific skill and if you fail that particular challenge, you lose "immunity" for the next challenge, and if all the PC memorized was Fireball then maybe that's a fail and the PC will need to plan accordingly for the next test. It really depends on what you want to teach the player. It could be a great opportunity to teach your player how you want them to play a mage. "There are other 3rd-level spells besides Fireball."
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Jul 11, 2018 21:14
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kingcom posted:I'm Magic - Magic - Magic - Rest - Duel And we're sure this isn't a mislabeled sex flowchart, right?
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Jul 12, 2018 02:39
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At my suggestion, our GM for Hoard of the Dragon Queen is letting us take both a feat and ASI at level 4, ignoring the stat gains from any feats. I'm playing a Gnoll Barbarian (from that DTR PDF that has every MM monster as a playable race) and I'm not sure what to get. Great Weapon Master is killer but at level 4 with an 18 Str, I only have a +6 to hit. Even with Advantage, a +1 to hit is not good. I'm thinking I'll wait until level 8 for that. I went Totem of the Wolf, to better interact with the Fighter in the group. She has the shield thing that gives others Disadvantage if they target someone besides her and that person is within 5', and she also went for Sentinel as her feat. I use a Great Axe but I'm willing to switch to Polearm or something. Edit: I go battleaxe and shield, if the situation needs it. Admiral Joeslop fucked around with this message at 04:27 on Jul 12, 2018 |
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Jul 12, 2018 04:11
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Just take GWM is Barbarian's B&B but if you're that concerned about your to-hit then sure, take PAM instead, that's the next go-to. PS: the Protection fighting style the fighter took is bad on its own, and garbage in this situation since it competes with Sentinel.
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Jul 12, 2018 04:56
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Admiral Joeslop posted:letting us take both a feat and ASI at level 4, ignoring the stat gains from any feats. Is this a Good Idea For All Leveling, or specific to challenges with Hoard?
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Jul 12, 2018 15:21
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Quidthulhu posted:Is this a Good Idea For All Leveling, or specific to challenges with Hoard? I, personally, do it when I run 5e because it's more fun to have a stat increase AND a feat. Instead of having to choose something that might make your turn less boring or a straight numbers bump. I don't know anything about this adventure specifically. Death to ability scores.
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Jul 12, 2018 15:33
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If you're doing that then let people take two of the statup feats, as a statup feat sans statup is completely useless.
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Jul 12, 2018 15:54
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Which feats in this game are entirely useless as a feat if you don't include the +1 stat, considering you get a +2 stat into whatever you want to go with it? Edit: There are plenty of terrible and trap feats in the game, the +1 stat isn't going to save them. Admiral Joeslop fucked around with this message at 16:36 on Jul 12, 2018 |
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Jul 12, 2018 16:27
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Admiral Joeslop posted:Which feats in this game are entirely useless as a feat if you don't include the +1 stat, considering you get a +2 stat into whatever you want to go with it? Lightly Armored, Weapon Master, Durable, Dwarven Fortitude
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Jul 12, 2018 16:36
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Conspiratiorist posted:Lightly Armored, Weapon Master, Durable, Dwarven Fortitude Explain why these are worse with +2 attributes vs. +1 attributes.
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Jul 12, 2018 16:49
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Toshimo posted:Explain why these are worse with +2 attributes vs. +1 attributes. They are terrible feats that are hardly if ever worth it already while granting you a +1 to an attribute, so they drop even further down the pecking order when every single feat (read: the competition) gets a free attribute bonus, making them lose that relative benefit.
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Jul 12, 2018 16:54
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So a feat that no one would ever take because it sucks turns into a feat that no one ever takes because it sucks. The horror! Edit: Look at it this way: the players don't have to choose between a power increase in a combat game or something that might have a minor but useful feature of roleplaying effect. Admiral Joeslop fucked around with this message at 17:00 on Jul 12, 2018 |
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Jul 12, 2018 16:57
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if the feat is undercosted relative to a +2 to a stat, such that it needs a +1 to draw more parity, then it stands to reason that you shouldn't remove the +1, because now they're even more undercosted if you no longer have to make that trade of a feat versus a +2 to a stat
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Jul 12, 2018 17:00
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Admiral Joeslop posted:Edit: Look at it this way: the players don't have to choose between a power increase in a combat game or something that might have a minor but useful feature of roleplaying effect. But you can have both an ASI and a power increase. ASIs+Feats doesn't eliminate the fundamental issue of say Linguistic competing with Polearm Master competing with Lucky. Disclaimer: I support ASI+Feat because it incentivizes picks that would rarely see play because of their relative value compared to stat increases, but it doesn't actually solve any of the issues of the feat/ASI progression mechanic, and removing inherent feat stat bumps further skews balance towards most of the strongest picks in the system. Conspiratiorist fucked around with this message at 17:14 on Jul 12, 2018 |
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Jul 12, 2018 17:07
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The thing is, I'm not interested in the least with fixing and balancing 5e, full stop. ASI+feat is more fun and requires very little thinking. The next time I'm up to run a game, it's not going to be 5e.
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Jul 12, 2018 17:17
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By "useless" I meant "in no way worth the opportunity cost of not taking a full feat instead". Taking two half feats would be worth it and is more fun.
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Jul 12, 2018 17:18
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Admiral Joeslop posted:The thing is, I'm not interested in the least with fixing and balancing 5e, full stop. ASI+feat is more fun and requires very little thinking. OK bud.
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Jul 12, 2018 17:19
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I tried to talk the Half-orc Bard out of taking the Tough feat, to no avail. Some of them have trouble keeping track of all their stuff at level 3, adding in two feats every four levels or more is just going to complicate things. Do I also go through every feat to determine if the feat should be a half feat? I just wanted advice on what feat to take.
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Jul 12, 2018 17:30
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Joeslep you got really angry here and I don't know why. This is not a call-out. If my initial post came across as confrontational I did not intend it to be, I was just trying to build on your post and provide additional info for anyone else looking to try it.
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Jul 12, 2018 17:31
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