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Isaacs Alter Ego posted:I think everyone in the campaign tends to really favor the social/exploration pillars over combat, so any more than one big combat would drag pretty quick with the group, I think, even if it tends to work out better from a mechanical standpoint. The DM only tends to have combats when they make sense as part of the narrative, usually when things have built up for a while and have come to a head, so asking them to throw some random throw-away battles here and there would probably not go over well? Farg posted:So my players are about to fight a big arc boss, after which they'll advance to level 11. It's about time for the Shepherd Druid to get an upgrade to his Cool Signature Weapon as well. Infinite Karma fucked around with this message at 19:56 on Jun 19, 2020 |
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Jun 19, 2020 19:51
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Isaacs Alter Ego posted:I think everyone in the campaign tends to really favor the social/exploration pillars over combat, so any more than one big combat would drag pretty quick with the group, I think, even if it tends to work out better from a mechanical standpoint. The DM only tends to have combats when they make sense as part of the narrative, usually when things have built up for a while and have come to a head, so asking them to throw some random throw-away battles here and there would probably not go over well? well, not throwaway combats, but encounter difference. instead of one big boss battle, say the narrative involves chasing down the big boss to his lair where he has transformed into a demon and having a huge set piece battle to get back to the narrative. instead use environmental storytelling in a place gone wrong, with many small... relatively easy and quick battles against small demons the big bad has summoned. many small, easy battles with lower hp but higher damage creatures should in theory take roughly the same amount of time as one big battle if you do it right, and it makes combat more varied and exciting. if you think every battle is going to be a 2 hour slog against some thing with giant long combats, i would not frequent battles either.
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Jun 19, 2020 19:54
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Infinite Karma posted:This sounds like a good reason to bring up the possibility of 5 minute short rests. The classes that need short rests REALLY need those short rests, and the long rest based classes still have some rechargeable minor abilities. yeahhh but we already got a greater mark of storms person whose whole thing is that
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Jun 19, 2020 19:59
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Epi Lepi posted:In my entire 15 year span of playing TTRPGs I've never actually done a classic dragon fight from either side of the DM screen. The OP of this thread says that the Tyranny of Dragons hardcovers are actually lackluster, so can anyone recommend me maybe some DMs Guild adventures that are good dragon based adventures? This got lost in the ability score discussion, but I'd love some recommendations on dragon focused modules to run. Is Icespire Peak any good for experienced players or is it more geared towards new players?
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Jun 19, 2020 20:01
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Infinite Karma posted:This sounds like a good reason to bring up the possibility of 5 minute short rests. The classes that need short rests REALLY need those short rests, and the long rest based classes still have some rechargeable minor abilities. Quick short rests really are great. I've broadly come to position that it's best to have one long rest at the beginning of each session, and a short rest between each encounter, and to just balance all combat and player items accordingly. Make sure give the Martials plenty of 1/day abilities to have parity with the Mages, and everyone is happy.
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Jun 19, 2020 20:02
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pog boyfriend posted:well, not throwaway combats, but encounter difference. instead of one big boss battle, say the narrative involves chasing down the big boss to his lair where he has transformed into a demon and having a huge set piece battle to get back to the narrative. instead use environmental storytelling in a place gone wrong, with many small... relatively easy and quick battles against small demons the big bad has summoned. That's fair enough. I will suggest it to the DM, but I'm not sure how they'll feel about it, as it does mean still sticking in more fights to the narrative overall, even if they are lower intensity and less time consuming, but ultimately it's up to them. I was just hoping to get something of a stop-gap solution as the DM is more likely to allow me to use some homebrew to change warlock into a long-rest class, rather than switch up their DMing style, which can be a big ask. Kaal posted:Quick short rests really are great. I've broadly come to position that it's best to have one long rest at the beginning of each session, and a short rest between each encounter, and to just balance all combat and player items accordingly. Make sure give the Martials plenty of 1/day abilities to have parity with the Mages, and everyone is happy. Isn't this basically how 4e worked, with per-encounter abilities vs per day abilities?
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Jun 19, 2020 20:21
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Farg posted:So my players are about to fight a big arc boss, after which they'll advance to level 11. It's about time for the Shepherd Druid to get an upgrade to his Cool Signature Weapon as well. Some thoughts If they want to help others. Something like Heart of the Lightning Bird once per long rest, that bestows on to another player(or the druid themself) some feature or action that the enemy has (scaled down for a player) Or something that gives someone resistance to elemental damage. Or Like the ability to use a reaction to burn a charge to cast absorb elements for someone in x range that they can see. Or if they are a Shepard druid. The creatures they summon are infused with the power of lightning bird and the creatures they summon deal lightning damage on hit or something. Or you can burn a charge to give them alacrity giving a summoned creature an extra action or attack or something Just spitballing ideas no thought put into balancing or anything
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Jun 19, 2020 20:21
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I'm thinking of giving the charlatan warlock a magic coin with a sun on one side and a moon on the other. Once per long rest they can cause a flip of the coin to come up reflecting the time of day. I'm curious to see what they come up with for using it.
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Jun 19, 2020 20:36
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Farg posted:yeahhh but we already got a greater mark of storms person whose whole thing is that An ability to let them screw around with initiative order? Once per long rest allow an ally to increase or decrease their initiative by 5 at the start of combat?
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Jun 19, 2020 20:44
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Isaacs Alter Ego posted:That's fair enough. I will suggest it to the DM, but I'm not sure how they'll feel about it, as it does mean still sticking in more fights to the narrative overall, even if they are lower intensity and less time consuming, but ultimately it's up to them. yeah i get that, but on the other hand the game is balanced around the difference between short rest and long rest classes, and it is very common that dms accidentally miss this aspect of the game design and try to only do one big fight... and in the process, making short rest classes worse. the conversation is like this: "hello, my class is less effective if we do not have spots where from time to time instead of one big fight, we have a few shorter and easier fights in a row, and i want to play this class because (reason) but i want to feel as effective as the other players. it doesnt have to be every session, but could you throw a few things in like that for me?" its the same thing as if you pick rogue asking the DM to put locks in the game because your character wants to pick locks. it is not as big of an ask as you might be thinking, and if a player came to me and said they wanted X because the mechanics of Y, i would be more embarrassed that i didnt think of that myself and gladly do what i can to accommodate them and give them their time to shine. your character has a bonus that is regained on a short rest instead of a long rest for a reason, it is a character feature and part of what makes your class special. every class has things like that, and they deserve to use them.
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Jun 19, 2020 20:44
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Dexo posted:Some thoughts Hm this and the above are giving me ideas I like. I roll in 2 or 3 options that cost charges the same as his spells, like casting absorb elements on a friend, granting advantage or a flat + to initiative, and maybe for a big cost ape a feature of the bird (or just something like, add a d6 of lightning damage to their rolls for a minute, or shock your attackers for a minute) I think that along with the +2 upgrade would round it out nicely. Maybe one more flavorful/rp effect to sell the 'burgeoning archdruid' thing.
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Jun 19, 2020 20:53
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Isaacs Alter Ego posted:Isn't this basically how 4e worked, with per-encounter abilities vs per day abilities? Yes. Precisely so. Broadly speaking everyone had the same number of each type of ability. With some major exceptions, especially later in the edition when design was starting to regress.
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Jun 19, 2020 23:38
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Anno posted:Random question, but does anyone know of any good podcasts/YouTube channels that are less actual plays and more people talking mechanics? For some reason I just want to listen to some character build theory or people arguing about the best warlock patron or something. Total Party Thrill is a podcast where the two hosts discuss mechanics and even try to recreate famous characters from novels, comics, and TV in 5E!
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Jun 20, 2020 00:08
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WebDM and Nerdarchy also both go into some mechanical grit, though the former tend to work in story ideas as well into their discussions. Longish videos though, probably best to have on in the background. Dael Kingsmill of https://www.youtube.com/user/MonarchsFactory/videos is also really great.
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Jun 20, 2020 00:16
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Isaacs Alter Ego posted:I think everyone in the campaign tends to really favor the social/exploration pillars over combat, so any more than one big combat would drag pretty quick with the group, I think, even if it tends to work out better from a mechanical standpoint. The DM only tends to have combats when they make sense as part of the narrative, usually when things have built up for a while and have come to a head, so asking them to throw some random throw-away battles here and there would probably not go over well? Ask for a Pearl of Power (touch to regain a spell slot once per day)
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Jun 20, 2020 00:18
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Thanks for the suggestions all!
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Jun 20, 2020 00:22
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Hey is anyone here good at roll20 macros? I want to set up some different text descriptions for when my character makes attacks and so the description doesn't get stale I want it to say different things randomly. Like, I have a few ideas on what I want to say, but before I write them all out, I want to know if their is a macro set up to do that. What would be really awesome is if I can make it say something specific on a nat 1 or nat 20 but other rolls are random.
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Jun 20, 2020 21:10
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Madmarker posted:Hey is anyone here good at roll20 macros? I want to set up some different text descriptions for when my character makes attacks and so the description doesn't get stale I want it to say different things randomly. Like, I have a few ideas on what I want to say, but before I write them all out, I want to know if their is a macro set up to do that. What would be really awesome is if I can make it say something specific on a nat 1 or nat 20 but other rolls are random. You want Rollable Tables: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyuIA8F0OdA
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Jun 20, 2020 21:19
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Toshimo posted:You want Rollable Tables: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyuIA8F0OdA Thanks for the video, unfortunately I don't seem to have the ability to add tables....is that GM side only? But I will add this has been quite helpful, I am creating a table like this in a test game and will see if I can get the DM to add it in the game for me somehow, is there an easy way to export a table into another person's game? Madmarker fucked around with this message at 22:07 on Jun 20, 2020 |
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Jun 20, 2020 21:36
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Really happy to be joining my first 5th edition game. The party Has a 2 fighters, a paladin, and a wizard. Thinking of making an eladrin Lore Bard to offert support and a bit of healing. A friend suggested getting a couple of Warlock levels to add damage options and slots. I don't know how that works. It's a 6th level start. How would the spell slots of a Bard 4/Warlock 2 character look?
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Jun 21, 2020 00:52
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Sephyr posted:Really happy to be joining my first 5th edition game. The party Has a 2 fighters, a paladin, and a wizard. Thinking of making an eladrin Lore Bard to offert support and a bit of healing. Look to play this like a controller character, lock down some targets so that your melee dudes can alpha strike them. If you need to have damage options with that party comp, something went horribly wrong. Alternatively, be the face and sidestep combat entirely.
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Jun 21, 2020 02:35
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A warlock gets a fairly powerful every round zap spell which keys off charisma and a hex that applies disadvantage and increases damage, and can be moved from target to target. If you have three levels of lock you get to pick a specialty which can be quite nice.
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Jun 21, 2020 02:47
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Sephyr posted:Really happy to be joining my first 5th edition game. The party Has a 2 fighters, a paladin, and a wizard. Thinking of making an eladrin Lore Bard to offert support and a bit of healing. it's covered on page 164-165 of the PHB - essentially Warlocks are unique among spell-casting classes in that their levels don't contribute to your total for multi-class spellcasting, and the pact-magic spell slots are considered separately (though you can freely use spells you know from any class with any appropriate spell slots) So Bard 4/Warlock 2 has level 4 multi-class bard spellcasting (4 1st level, 3 2nd level) and 2nd level pact-magic (2 level 1 spell slots that refresh when you short rest) - you'll essentially be 1 spell level behind in exchange for a properly scaling basic attack via Eldrich Blast + Agonizing Blast + Hex (note that you can use your Bard slots for more Hexing) you're no sorlock or hexadin in terms of DPR, but it's still a pretty good contribution every round you're not casting support/control spells (and note that you can use Hexblade to get medium armor + shield proficiency) and means you've pretty much always got a decent offensive option without costing you magical secrets otoh at level 6 you could already be leveraging Lore Bard, so you've got to weigh that vs. being a squishier, more purely support character able to whip out Haste and Aura of Vitality
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Jun 21, 2020 02:48
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It’s a cool idea but I’d really suggest just going straight bard for a first 5e game. Multiclassing is v powerful but it’s gonna make your life way harder.
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Jun 21, 2020 02:50
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I suggest not multi-classing as well. Concentrating on bard and trying to figure out how best to help your group is the best thing to do when playing one for the first time. My favorite bard spell, at least when there are a lot of melee characters in the party, is Dissonant Whispers. It’s a level 1 spell that causes enemies to use their reaction to flee. Since it’s not considered forced movement, it can trigger opportunity attacks. So if you have 3 melee in your party adjacent to the same enemy, that’s 3 opportunity attacks! So anyway I recommend going through the spell lists and try to find other combos that work well for your group. E: One more thing. Sometimes casting a spell is the wrong choice. If an enemy has 5 hit points remaining, don’t cast Vicious Mockery. Just take out your bow and plink it. nelson fucked around with this message at 05:26 on Jun 21, 2020 |
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Jun 21, 2020 03:29
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Faerie Fire was my bard’s most valuable spell but they never made it past level 5.
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Jun 21, 2020 03:40
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Rabble rabble hypnotic pattern breaking my encounters rabble rabble
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Jun 21, 2020 06:00
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http://keith-baker.com/bts-exploring/ Exploring Eberron is finally coming out in July, maybe
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Jun 21, 2020 07:19
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nelson posted:
This is wrong, always cast Vicious Mockery, every round, forever. Insulting someone so hard they literally die is basically the heart and soul of the hard class.
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Jun 21, 2020 08:29
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And you'd better make the party and dm laugh with all the terrible jokes and puns you make up on the spot.
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Jun 21, 2020 08:42
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Dexo posted:Rabble rabble hypnotic pattern breaking my encounters rabble rabble Lern 2 wis save n00b. As a first time 5e player running a pure bard (glamour) i can def second the dissonant whispers recommendation, on top of being a free attack of opportunity generator it can be used to push enemies back into hazardous areas of effect, still getting use out of it at level 12. And yeah, never not be hypnotic patterning, but if you go down this dark path your DM will be teaching you how concentration works in a very painful manner from now on.
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Jun 21, 2020 10:07
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Enola Gay-For-Pay posted:This is wrong, always cast Vicious Mockery, every round, forever. Insulting someone so hard they literally die is basically the heart and soul of the hard class. *spends 2 minutes thinking of insult* "your mum is fat"
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Jun 21, 2020 17:59
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I find that overuse of vicious mockery waters down the quality of the insults, in much the same way as the cursed images thread curse watered down the quality of the curses
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Jun 21, 2020 18:11
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If your campaign is going far past level 5, I'm not even sure I'd take Vicious Mockery. It's great for a while but enemies with multi-attack really make it unimpressive and of course the damage scales horribly. If you can start with 16 CHA and DEX, I might just use a crossbow or something and pick another of Bard's very limited but very useful cantrips. Of course, if it's a low level campaign exclusively, I'd pick it.
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Jun 21, 2020 18:37
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Nehru the Damaja posted:If your campaign is going far past level 5, I'm not even sure I'd take Vicious Mockery. It's great for a while but enemies with multi-attack really make it unimpressive and of course the damage scales horribly. If you can start with 16 CHA and DEX, I might just use a crossbow or something and pick another of Bard's very limited but very useful cantrips. You could also just ask the DM about the cantrip versatility UA that lets you swap out cantrips anytime you level. Edit: apparently this isn't a thing for Bards though? oops change my name fucked around with this message at 18:46 on Jun 21, 2020 |
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Jun 21, 2020 18:43
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Ignite Memories posted:I find that overuse of vicious mockery waters down the quality of the insults, in much the same way as the cursed images thread curse watered down the quality of the curses Yeah, but that's why you commit to making the insults and puns as bad as possible right from the start. I made an enemy groan to death in my campaign because the insult was so bad, and it was awesome.
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Jun 21, 2020 18:52
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Enola Gay-For-Pay posted:This is wrong, always cast Vicious Mockery, every round, forever. Insulting someone so hard they literally die is basically the heart and soul of the hard class. I don't know if it was intentional, but this is a great typo for the "I roll to seduce" crowd.
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Jun 21, 2020 19:35
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Jam, if you're reading this, buzz off for a bit please. Asking for advice on a campaign thing. Anyway, our Ranger is hitting 3 and going Beastmaster. He wants a Giant Poisonous Snake. I'm not going to kick a beastmaster when he's down and demand he get an elk or some more local fauna. But I want a fun way to get the animal and I'm thinking in a dream. He worships Malar, god of the hunt, and I know Dendar the Night Serpent comes to people in dreams. Any ideas or suggestions on what I can do to make a dream sequence that puts him as a pawn in a cosmic struggle between the two gods? The idea, as I see it, is that by serving Malar in hunting down Dendar, he earns a token of mastery over the serpent: his giant poisonous snake pet. I don't think I want a combat encounter because it'll be pretty boring unless there's something I can reskin as a snake that can put up a fair but more importantly, interesting fight with a level 3 who doesn't yet have his pet.
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Jun 21, 2020 19:42
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God, Jam, stop reading already People have different sort of gaming situations, but for my groups I would just write a description of what happens and email it. There's not a real possibility of failure or anything really unexpected happening, because you know what the outcome is going to be. So say "you have a dream, and when you wake up there's a snek" but longer and more interesting (the story, but also the snake). Then there can be long term consequences and plot hooks that show up later during actual play, as this god-serpent being pressed into service pisses off snake dudes or whatever.
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Jun 21, 2020 20:01
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Nehru the Damaja posted:Jam, if you're reading this, buzz off for a bit please. Asking for advice on a campaign thing. Might want to put it all in spoiler tags so they have to make a conscious decision to read it and don't accidentally read/scan too much. Jam, you suck. nah jk I dont know you, you're probably cool. Good luck making beastmaster work. Pets are cool and it sucks beastmaster is so lovely.
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Jun 21, 2020 20:28
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