D&D NEXT: Infinite Posts of the Abyss

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thefakenews: Oct 20, 2012

The Dregs posted:

Fighters, rangers, barbarians, rogues, and monks are allowed. We're allowed one cleric, but cleric can only memorize healing and support spells. We have to avoid overtly magical subclasses and reskin any minor magic we end up with as something mundane. As for that, I don't know how much leeway we have, since none bothered to make any magical classes other than the or cleric.

Oh and paladins are allowed, but they have to be super ultra 1e lawful good.

Also, I can't really just peace out. The game is a weekly social occasion at this point. My wife cooks everyone an awesome meal, and we make a bit of a party of the evening. He's been preparing for so long. I just hope it doesn't end with him pissed at all of us when it falls apart.

It doesn't sound like you want to stray from core 5E, but Adventures in Middle Earth has a whole set of classes (some are very similar to PHB classes) with no spellcasters. It even has a non-magical healing class. Most of the classes could be re-skinned from Middle Earth to swords and sorcery.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 01:22

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# ? Jun 5, 2024 10:07

kingcom: Jun 23, 2012

Novum posted:

Part of me kind of likes a free Arcana check vs the enemy's DC to see if you know exactly whats coming out before you gamble on casting counterspell, but it could get tedious if you're spiting players rather than making it more tense.

Real talk this is all you should do and not worry about a loving whole turn to figure out what the spell was. Given there is a universal list of spells that everyone knows exists and many of them are even copyrighted with the original makers names in the spell, in your high magic D&D world. It's incredibly dumb to not know it even after its cast. Do an arcana check at DC 10+Spell Level and if they pass, they know the spell before its cast.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 01:43

Gharbad the Weak: Feb 23, 2008; This too good for you.

Section Z posted:

From DnD to HERO, it often to mean gently caress all to NPCs and they'll get their mandated ambush.

I played a game where this didn't happen, and it became a kinda little note in the story that people just stopped trying to ambush us.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 01:51

Section Z: Oct 1, 2008; Wait, this is the Moon.
How did I even get here?; Pillbug

Gharbad the Weak posted:

I played a game where this didn't happen, and it became a kinda little note in the story that people just stopped trying to ambush us.

I'm getting flashbacks to the old DnD computer games I'd bumblefuck my way around until everything from town bandits to undersea monsters ran at the sight of me.

Whichever one I'm thinking of also had a "Aw poo poo, fireball. Will you have a party member cast dispel?" moment. Dark Queen of Kryn?

Section Z fucked around with this message at 02:11 on Aug 9, 2018

# ? Aug 9, 2018 02:09

ReapersTouch: Nov 25, 2004; Goodness no, now that wouldn't do at all!

Lucas Archer posted:

Just to follow up on my Curse of Strahd game, I do a few things to increase the tension. I agree with all those who said horror is super difficult to do in a tabletop RPG. Creepiness is far easier. Music is helpful, because that can really establish the flavor of a certain scene. With any RPG game, I think music is essential for the mood, and it's difficult to play when a TV is on, or even when there's no music. Ever try watching a horror movie with no music? A lot of the tension disappears. These are my Spotify playlists.

Another thing is, as others have said, battles aren't a good way to convey horror. That's the little details. I try to highlight the waterfall of maggots that just burst out of the bloated stomach of a corpse found in the woods when the players inspect it. The low moaning of the wind through the trees, dark shadows of branches creeping along the dirt path that seem to follow the players footsteps. Noticing the children's bones, with bites marks ground into them, on the floor of a filthy hovel as they can hear a low cackling laughter from the floor above.

For CoS, I'm also giving characters either prophetic or terrible dreams relating to different aspects of the land or Strahd.

Even with that, I don't really know if I can ever get my players to experience horror, except maybe if their beloved character might die.

Particular to Curse of Strahd,

Oath of the Ancients Paladin, Wild Mage Sorcerer, and Hunter Ranger. I started them at level 3, and still did the Death House, and they leveled to 4 afterwards. They managed to kill the shambling mound in the basement with some really lovely rolls on my part, and a couple of early crits from the paladin with his smite attack. I did have a plan if it was a TPK though, which I can elaborate on if anyone cares.

They've explored the village of Barovia, didn't bother with Doru, and then did a little scouting. The paladin ran into the night hag as she was trying to collect a child, foiled the evil plan, and let her wander away after being scolded by her. I actually had her pissed off he ruined a business opportunity and tried to force him to buy a dream pasty. The ranger was doing a thorough ring around the town, trying to determine if she could figure out what was wrong with the land. While the paladin and sorcerer were chilling at the tavern, talking to Ismarck, the ranger ran into the night hag (leaving town back to the windmill), bought a dream pastry, then noticed (with a really good perception check) the sack in the night hag's cart moving about - too big for an animal. She used talk with animals to convince a squirrel to find the paladin and give him a written message, then left town tracking the hag. Long story short, the trio reunited and tracked the hag all the way to the crossroads, noticed it was getting dark and decided they did not want to be out after dark. They went back to town and helped Ismarck and Ireena prepare for a possible attack.

I wasn't going to disappoint. A group of four strahd zombies, 3 wolves, 1 vampire spawn, and Strahd attacked the house. Strahd was hidden through the majority of the battle, in the darkness behind his minions. The zombies bashed their way through the front door and a big melee ensued. After about six rounds of desperate fighting (although they were really good with their rolls, and I continued to be poo poo), Strahd made his appearance. He charmed the paladin and ordered him to invite him and his spawn in, then walk to him. Although Ismarck and the ranger were trying to hold him back, he pulled free. Strahd said some menacing poo poo, then bit the paladin. Then I had him bust out his legendary actions to move up to Ismarck and Ireena, smack Ismarck across the face and send him flying, tell Ireena he would be coming for her again, then melted away into the night leaving his remaining spawn to fight it out. That's where we ended the last session. I'm really excited for the next one!

Sounds like alot of fun. Keep up the good work!

# ? Aug 9, 2018 02:12

doctor 7: Oct 10, 2003; In the grim darkness of the future there is only Oakley.

ChaseSP posted:

Where's the passive stealth score for automating the party trying to sneak.

Have everybody roll against the Passive Perception you're trying to beat. If 3/5ths beat it they are good. If not they are seen.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 02:44

Piell: Sep 3, 2006; Grey Worm's Ken doll-like groin throbbed with the anticipatory pleasure that only a slightly warm and moist piece of lemoncake could offer; Young Orc

doctor 7 posted:

Have everybody roll against the Passive Perception you're trying to beat. If 3/5ths beat it they are good. If not they are seen.

Considering the typical party is going to have several people in heavy armor, this is just a recipe for almost always failing

# ? Aug 9, 2018 03:20

Arivia: Mar 17, 2011

Piell posted:

Considering the typical party is going to have several people in heavy armor, this is just a recipe for almost always failing

they should take it off then.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 03:24

Piell: Sep 3, 2006; Grey Worm's Ken doll-like groin throbbed with the anticipatory pleasure that only a slightly warm and moist piece of lemoncake could offer; Young Orc

Arivia posted:

they should take it off then.

It takes 5 minutes to take heavy armor off and 10 minutes to out it back on

# ? Aug 9, 2018 03:34

ChaseSP: Mar 25, 2013

Sadly the concept of padding armor does not exist.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 03:35

Arivia: Mar 17, 2011

Piell posted:

It takes 5 minutes to take heavy armor off and 10 minutes to out it back on

cool, so? it's narratively/game/realistically appropriate in all cases. literally nothing I can think of against it

# ? Aug 9, 2018 03:37

Cassa: Jan 29, 2009

Mechanically? Hey guys can you hold your ambush up while we don our gear.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 03:40

kingcom: Jun 23, 2012

Arivia posted:

cool, so? it's narratively/game/realistically appropriate in all cases. literally nothing I can think of against it

Yeah thats genuinely a terrible option because even without the heavy armour you can still get unlucky and gently caress up/have someone else in the group fail their check and be caught in combat without the thing that keeps you alive.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 03:47

Gharbad the Weak: Feb 23, 2008; This too good for you.

I would be more sympathetic to "Of course people in heavy armor can't sneak" realistically, a party where everyone is wearing light or no armor. Preferably multiple different parties.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 04:18

Arivia: Mar 17, 2011

Cassa posted:

Mechanically? Hey guys can you hold your ambush up while we don our gear.

Sneaking is an attempt to get an advantage over your enemies. If it doesn't work it makes sense you might have to fight from a position of disadvantage (without your armour on.) Yeah you're gonna get hit more, but the math isn't so terrible you're gonna get obliterated.

edit: I'm not sure if 5e has them, but most editions of D&D have similar rules about sleeping in armour that no one ever pays attention to.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 04:27

Toshimo: Aug 23, 2012; He's outta line...

But he's right!

If anything cuts down on 1st-level dips for Armor Proficiencies, I'll take it.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 04:28

Section Z: Oct 1, 2008; Wait, this is the Moon.
How did I even get here?; Pillbug

Toshimo posted:

If anything cuts down on 1st-level dips for Armor Proficiencies, I'll take it.

"This will show those people who take only one level of fighter!"
"Hey I've got three levels of fighter and this can be irritating when I'm told to take off my pants for the benefit of the Arcane Trickster."
"Sorry, nobody _{that matters} takes ONLY fighter levels."

I mean, yeah heavy armor sucks at stealth. But anybody suggesting that the heavy and bulky medium armor party members strip down or they are the problem is probably going at it from the wrong direction.

EDIT: Nobody bothering people about sleeping in their armor is a mutually assured destruction pact keeping people from asking pointed questions about somatic components.

Granted, sage advice just shrugs "gently caress it, waggle your shield arm it still counts". So probably not much thought into spells with two handed gestures involved.

Section Z fucked around with this message at 04:55 on Aug 9, 2018

# ? Aug 9, 2018 04:31

inthesto: May 12, 2010; Pro is an amazing name!

Can somebody give me a quick and dirty of how wild shape works in 5E? The rules are written like crap, and I'm sure some of my old 3.XE knowledge is interfering too.

Am I correct in interpreting that when a druid is wild shaped, they basically pretend their entire character sheet has been crossed out and then use the animal's stat block, with the exceptions of keeping INT/WIS/CHA and any better saving throws the druid might have?

# ? Aug 9, 2018 05:16

Kaysette: Jan 5, 2009; ~*Boston makes me*~
~*feel good*~

inthesto posted:

Can somebody give me a quick and dirty of how wild shape works in 5E? The rules are written like crap, and I'm sure some of my old 3.XE knowledge is interfering too.

Am I correct in interpreting that when a druid is wild shaped, they basically pretend their entire character sheet has been crossed out and then use the animal's stat block, with the exceptions of keeping INT/WIS/CHA and any better saving throws the druid might have?

Yeah, you pretty much got it.

On a different note, here�s a whole new way of loving up monster math:

quote:

How do y�all feel about using creature mtg cards for dnd random encounters?

CR = total mana cost
AC = Attack + Toughness + 10
HP = attack and toughness beside each other; for example a 3/3 beast has 33 hp
Hit bonus = attack + toughness
Damage = attack value X d6s + toughness
DM has to come up with how multiattack works with that creature and the vulnerabilities, resistances, and immunities should match the closest dnd creature it could represent.

For example: a 2 mana 3/2 Minotaur warrior
CR 2
15 AC
32 HP
Multi attack: one axe attack + one kick
Axe: +5 to hit, 2d6+2 slash
Kick: +5 to hit, 1d6+2 bludgeoning
This creature can perfectly remember a labyrinth

Edit: not every card works fairly with this formula, but it�s only like 2% of the cards in the game, your DM can just choose not to add those cards to the deck if they decide to do this

# ? Aug 9, 2018 05:28

Conspiratiorist: Nov 12, 2015; 17th Separate Kryvyi Rih Tank Brigade named after Konstantin Pestushko
Look to my coming on the first light of the ~~fifth~~ ~~sixth~~ some day

No, full statblock replacement is polymorph.

With wildshape you get to keep class abilities and feats (though not necessarily the capability to utilize them). IE if you have 5 Barbarian levels you can Rage and Extra Attack while wildshaped.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 05:28

inthesto: May 12, 2010; Pro is an amazing name!

What I really want to make sure of is that you don't, say, go and recalculate the polar bear's attack bonus using its STR bonus plus your proficiency bonus from class levels

# ? Aug 9, 2018 05:36

Infinite Karma: Oct 23, 2004; Good as dead

inthesto posted:

Can somebody give me a quick and dirty of how wild shape works in 5E? The rules are written like crap, and I'm sure some of my old 3.XE knowledge is interfering too.

Am I correct in interpreting that when a druid is wild shaped, they basically pretend their entire character sheet has been crossed out and then use the animal's stat block, with the exceptions of keeping INT/WIS/CHA and any better saving throws the druid might have?

You also get to include their HP as part of the stat block, on top of your normal HP, and if they run out, you just change back to your normal form and ignore the damage.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 05:40

doctor 7: Oct 10, 2003; In the grim darkness of the future there is only Oakley.

For what it's worth I think if the ambush is being setup by the players with baddies walking into it giving them advantage on the 3/5 stealth rolls would be A-OK at my table.

But yeah, clunking around in heavy metal armour isn't great for stealth. Carry some loving chain shirts or breast plates.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 05:41

sebmojo: Oct 23, 2010; Legit Cyberpunk

What are the odds changes for advantage/disadvantage? It's intuitively simple and attractive, are there any weird fishhooks?

# ? Aug 9, 2018 05:45

Infinite Karma: Oct 23, 2004; Good as dead

sebmojo posted:

What are the odds changes for advantage/disadvantage? It's intuitively simple and attractive, are there any weird fishhooks?

The actual odds depend very closely on what you have to roll to succeed.

But both mechanics make a bigger difference if you're bad at something than if you're good at something - if you have to roll a 15 to succeed, advantage is a much bigger boost than if you have to roll a 5 to succeed. And if you have to roll a 15 to succeed, disadvantage is a much bigger hindrance than if you have to roll a 5.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 05:51

Novum: May 26, 2012; That's how we roll

sebmojo posted:

What are the odds changes for advantage/disadvantage? It's intuitively simple and attractive, are there any weird fishhooks?

I've been seeing people just considering it a +/- 5 overall

# ? Aug 9, 2018 05:52

Babylon Astronaut: Apr 19, 2012

Kaysette posted:

On a different note, here�s a whole new way of loving up monster math:

So the most powerful creature in the multi verse does 15d6+15, an average of 67.5 damage. I'm not impressed.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 05:55

doctor 7: Oct 10, 2003; In the grim darkness of the future there is only Oakley.

sebmojo posted:

What are the odds changes for advantage/disadvantage? It's intuitively simple and attractive, are there any weird fishhooks?

Passive perception is affected by +5/-5 by advantage and disadvantage. People did some math and I think it lands somewhere in adding/subtracting 3.5-5 from your roll if memory serves.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 06:07

P.d0t: Dec 27, 2007; I released my finger from the trigger, and then it was over...

kingcom posted:

Yeah thats genuinely a terrible option because even without the heavy armour you can still get unlucky and gently caress up/have someone else in the group fail their check and be caught in combat without the thing that keeps you alive.

really they should have kept "Surprised" as a condition, the way it existed in 4e.
Then it's just a case of "do you get the bonus? Y/N?" which is just a straight function of [ambushing character's Stealth] vs. [patrolling/dogfucking enemy's passive Perception]. And then you can flip that around, if you're having the PCs get ambushed.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 06:07

Elector_Nerdlingen: Sep 27, 2004

sebmojo posted:

What are the odds changes for advantage/disadvantage? It's intuitively simple and attractive, are there any weird fishhooks?

If you wanted to express the bonus or penalty from advantage or disadvantage as a +/- to the d20 roll, the formula's n(20-n)/20 where n in the target number.

Edit: There might be a problem with thinking of it like that, I honestly can't remember, but the formula stuck in my head for some reason.

Elector_Nerdlingen fucked around with this message at 06:25 on Aug 9, 2018

# ? Aug 9, 2018 06:22

Jeffrey of YOSPOS: Dec 22, 2005; GET LOSE, YOU CAN'T COMPARE WITH MY POWERS

I don't know what that's a formula for - it certainly doesn't work for n=20, and n=19 being less than one doesn't make much sense - trying to hit a 19 or higher is almost twice as likely with two dice.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 06:28

OmanyteJackson: Mar 18, 2012; by Nyc_Tattoo

Piell posted:

Considering the typical party is going to have several people in heavy armor, this is just a recipe for almost always failing

If your party is full of tanks then they probably will prefer to tank, but I don't think that's a typical party.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 06:30

Elysiume: Aug 13, 2009; Alone, she fights.

The average roll without advantage is 10.5, the average roll with advantage is 13.825, so it counts for around +3.325. Disadvantage is just the opposite; it averages 7.175 or -3.325.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 06:31

Jeffrey of YOSPOS: Dec 22, 2005; GET LOSE, YOU CAN'T COMPARE WITH MY POWERS

Elysiume posted:

The average roll without advantage is 10.5, the average roll with advantage is 13.825, so it counts for around +3.325.

Well, the effects on the probability of success are more complex than that - they do vary based on what the target is.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 06:33

Infinite Karma: Oct 23, 2004; Good as dead

Elysiume posted:

The average roll without advantage is 10.5, the average roll with advantage is 13.825, so it counts for around +3.325.

That doesn't work with a binary pass/fail. If you need to roll a 15, that's a 30% success rate, or a 51% with advantage (the equivalent of ~+5). If you need to roll a 5, that's an 80% success rate, 96% with advantage (the equivalent of ~+3).

# ? Aug 9, 2018 06:36

Elector_Nerdlingen: Sep 27, 2004

Jeffrey of YOSPOS posted:

I don't know what that's a formula for - it certainly doesn't work for n=20, and n=19 being less than one doesn't make much sense - trying to hit a 19 or higher is almost twice as likely with two dice.

Uh... I probably hosed up, yeah.

Check this out instead. Knowing the % chance for success (ie, rolling at least the TN) is probably much more helpful than "think of it as +3" anyway : https://anydice.com/program/168e

EDIT: My other post is supposed to be the equivalent +/- where n = your first dice's result, not n = target number. There's obviously no way to say "the other dice gives you the equivalent of +x" when you've already rolled 20. That's a pretty dumb way to think about it to begin with e2: and now I've kinda confused myself.

Elector_Nerdlingen fucked around with this message at 06:55 on Aug 9, 2018

# ? Aug 9, 2018 06:40

Elysiume: Aug 13, 2009; Alone, she fights.

Yeah, the average isn't really useful. Probably shouldn't have bothered posting that. In general,

So if you need to get or beat a 15, advantage brings you from 30% to 51%, while disadvantage drops you to 9%. CTB = chance to beat a roll that requires you to roll that number or higher. The +5 probably comes from advantage giving you near-equivalent odds of getting X+5 or higher compared to getting X or higher w/o advantage for the less extreme values, e.g. a 75% chance of 6+ normally and a 75% chance of 11+ with advantage.

Elysiume fucked around with this message at 06:53 on Aug 9, 2018

# ? Aug 9, 2018 06:46

Jeffrey of YOSPOS: Dec 22, 2005; GET LOSE, YOU CAN'T COMPARE WITH MY POWERS

AlphaDog posted:

If you wanted to express the bonus or penalty from advantage or disadvantage as a +/- to the d20 roll, the formula's n(20-n)/20 where n in the target number.

Edit: There might be a problem with thinking of it like that, I honestly can't remember, but the formula stuck in my head for some reason.

Okay figured it out - this formula (Which should read (n-1)*(21-n)/20) is the probability of hitting a target, n, with advantage minus the probability of hitting it without, then taking the difference in probability and dividing it by 5 to convert it to "dice value" scale. I'm not sure it's all that meaningful but it's consistent - You can see it if you plug in the cumulative numbers from the graph above -

# ? Aug 9, 2018 06:57

Arthil: Feb 17, 2012; A Beard of Constant Sorrow

P.d0t posted:

really they should have kept "Surprised" as a condition, the way it existed in 4e.
Then it's just a case of "do you get the bonus? Y/N?" which is just a straight function of [ambushing character's Stealth] vs. [patrolling/dogfucking enemy's passive Perception]. And then you can flip that around, if you're having the PCs get ambushed.

Wait.

Isn't that exactly how it works in 5e?

Party rolls for stealth, enemies passive perception doesn't beat the stealth check and they have no reason to be actively doing the check. All enemies get the "Surprised" condition which everyone just calls a surprise round anyway.

But I can see calling it a condition is because part of that enemy group maybe does spot them. However in that case doesn't it just make the attempt at an ambush fail anyway?

# ? Aug 9, 2018 07:00

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# ? Jun 5, 2024 10:07

Lotus Aura: Aug 16, 2009; KNEEL BEFORE THE WICKED KING!

Yes, being Surprised is a condition that wears off on the enemy's first turn. It's determined on a per-target basis, so it's not an all-or-nothing thing.

# ? Aug 9, 2018 07:29

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