So after the success of the DD&D game, I finally got a group of players to all agree to the same timeframe to play on Saturdays via the internet. I dicked around a bit on Roll20 this afternoon and I wasn't particularly impressed: I couldn't draw a decent dungeon map on it, and so need to look elsewhere. I've got a few dollars to spend if it's worth it, but I don't want to ask my players to spend money. What are some good recommendations for playing the game and making maps?
I do care about looks to a certain extent. They don't have to be the best graphics but I don't want my players constantly needing to ask "what is this" or "what does this represent?" Number one thing for me is total ease of use and flexibility: like it was made by Apple.
Multiclassing is very strange territory for me, but Im thinking I might multiclass into rogue with my monk for a level or 2
So...
Sneak attack doesn't work on a Monk weapon.
I think the reasoning is, even though a Monk weapon can use dexterity as its attribute, and a light weapon does the same, a Monk weapon isn't specifically light RAW.
Personally, I'm playing a Rogue 3 Monk X character at the moment, but I had to clear using sneak attack on my melee with my DM first.
We hand-waved it away when I got some magic punching claws.
...
Monk also has like no useful loot which is a shame. I just punch things :S
Multiclassing is very strange territory for me, but Im thinking I might multiclass into rogue with my monk for a level or 2
So...
Sneak attack doesn't work on a Monk weapon.
I think the reasoning is, even though a Monk weapon can use dexterity as its attribute, and a light weapon does the same, a Monk weapon isn't specifically light RAW.
Personally, I'm playing a Rogue 3 Monk X character at the moment, but I had to clear using sneak attack on my melee with my DM first.
We hand-waved it away when I got some magic punching claws.
...
Monk also has like no useful loot which is a shame. I just punch things :S
Monk fists can't sneak attack, RAW, some other monk weapons can. However it's not a real hard sell to say that fists are mechanically identical to any other monk weapon and allow them to same abilities.
Multiclassing is very strange territory for me, but Im thinking I might multiclass into rogue with my monk for a level or 2
So...
Sneak attack doesn't work on a Monk weapon.
I think the reasoning is, even though a Monk weapon can use dexterity as its attribute, and a light weapon does the same, a Monk weapon isn't specifically light RAW.
Personally, I'm playing a Rogue 3 Monk X character at the moment, but I had to clear using sneak attack on my melee with my DM first.
We hand-waved it away when I got some magic punching claws.
...
Monk also has like no useful loot which is a shame. I just punch things :S
Monk fists can't sneak attack, RAW, some other monk weapons can. However it's not a real hard sell to say that fists are mechanically identical to any other monk weapon and allow them to same abilities.
So long as you can convince your monk that she doesn't have to scream "Sneaking monkey snatches the low hanging peaches" before the sneak attack, sure. Go for it.
Sadly, I've never been able to convince the monk that there's no need to scream their attack name.
AegisFear My DanceOvershot Toronto, Landed in OttawaRegistered Userregular
edited May 2017
The "monk unarmed strikes are functionality finesse weapons, since they share the exact same property wording as Finesse, except they specifically aren't because we didn't put the word Finesse there" reasoning in the Errata is one of the more stupid pieces of Errata I've read in a while.
The "monk unarmed strikes are functionality finesse weapons, since they share the exact same property wording as Finesse, except they specifically aren't because we didn't put the word Finesse there" reasoning in the Errata is one of the more stupid pieces of Errata I've read in a while.
The "monk unarmed strikes are functionality finesse weapons, since they share the exact same property wording as Finesse, except they specifically aren't because we didn't put the word Finesse there" reasoning in the Errata is one of the more stupid pieces of Errata I've read in a while.
Yeah that's phenomenally stupid.
Coming out and admitting that they just didn't want to allow you to punch people for 1d8+2d6+dex damage when you have an ally standing next to you is more engaging than word finagling in the rulebooks, but you have to know your audience.
I can see it as a little immersion-breaking when the point of the rogue's sneak attack is to be, well, sneaky, and a monk spinning around in the middle of the room screaming as she throws Flurries of jumpkicks in all directions is not going to be hard to notice.
GNU Terry Pratchett
PSN: Wstfgl | GamerTag: An Evil Plan | Battle.net: FallenIdle#1970
Hit me up on BoardGameArena! User: Loaded D1
I think its more the issue that martial arts allows rogues to access some features which are not intended. Specifically the abilitity to use bonus actions for secondary attacks (in the case a sneak attack misses) makes it much easier for rogues to get their sneak off.
You can still sneak and martial arts with short swords as short swords are monk weapons. You just don't get three chances to proc it.
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AegeriTiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered Userregular
Pretty much that's the case. Most melee rogues already use two weapons anyway (because there is literally no reason ever not to do so). Minding, this is a comparatively minor issue and things that do damage are not what make/break encounters in 5E in the first place.
The thing is that TWF restricts a lot of the things that rogues can do because you only have so many hands. Rogues get a lot of benefit from things like ball bearings (especially with fast hands) and spell casting allowing them to get both the bonuses of TWF without the action economy issues of drawing/dropping weapons is a significant advantage.
Staff of Striking is an actual thing, though it might be kinda endgamey
There are also plenty of swords which can be Shortswords if the DM wants
There's also plenty of defensive and utility magic items that can benefit Monks same as others;
Ring of Free Action, Boots of Speed, anything that gives AC like Ring or Cloak of Protection, etc
Well, yeah.
My dude has Fist claws +1, Ring of Free Action, Cloak of Displacement, Bracers of Defense... and that's it, because that's all the attuned slots.
I'm running around with some Claw poison now, but there's simply not a lot guy-who-punches-things gets that's cool, especially when guy-who-punches-things is actually bird-who-punches-things and so doesn't need flight (or speed).
Everything in the loot tables seems to be basically stat upgrades with no interesting abilities.
(Like before we realised about the attunement limit, I was also sporting Int and Str boosters and a Pipe of Sewers that I never used but always threatened to use)
Maybe I need to be more proactive and push bird-who-goes-really-fast-and-punches-things into bird-who-goes-really-fast-and-reverse-pickpockets-explosives-onto-a-guy.
I suppose I could get rope.
Like lots and lots of rope.
And go trip all the people with my 80 foot move speed.
The "monk unarmed strikes are functionality finesse weapons, since they share the exact same property wording as Finesse, except they specifically aren't because we didn't put the word Finesse there" reasoning in the Errata is one of the more stupid pieces of Errata I've read in a while.
Yeah that's phenomenally stupid.
Coming out and admitting that they just didn't want to allow you to punch people for 1d8+2d6+dex damage when you have an ally standing next to you is more engaging than word finagling in the rulebooks, but you have to know your audience.
I can see it as a little immersion-breaking when the point of the rogue's sneak attack is to be, well, sneaky, and a monk spinning around in the middle of the room screaming as she throws Flurries of jumpkicks in all directions is not going to be hard to notice.
I'm not sure how much of a deal this is.
Then again, I'm not playing my Monk/Rogue to the full either.
Basically the ideal would be to crit-fish with your attacks (try to prone the guy as well) and then only sneak attack on a 20.
But I just roll the sneak attack on the first Monk hit, get my +2d6 and then be done with it.
And frankly, at level 13, my 3d6 + dex on first hit, 1d6 + dex on secondary hits (up to an additional 3) per round doesn't feel far off what the other characters could do. And would I think feel on par with the pure Monk who didn't dip into Rogue for three levels and have upped damage dice.
Not to mention that the Rogue's Cunning Action basically covers the same stuff as the Monk's Ki abilities (albeit for free).
I think I'm probably the most reliable damage dealer in the party, but that edge probably comes from the DM granted claws that give me +1 and also +1d4 to each hit, rather than the build out doing any of the others even if technically illegal.
webguy20I spend too much time on the InternetRegistered Userregular
I'm about to finish up with the Curse of Strahd campaign Ive been in for the last 18 months. We're all real excited to see how this plays out. After were done we are going to have a wrap up session to see the things that we missed and other paths we could have taken.
After that I'm going to run a gamma world campaign over the summer to give our DM a break and to shake things up a bit.
Because things werent posted about @Gaddez ccampaign for sunday nor the tuesday, I will summarize the highlights.
Sunday:
-We beat Koveras, abd he turned into a modified stat block of the t-rex from the MM.
-One of the moon wells on Snowdown is straight up dead, because our priest of bane knew someone who could do something. It was originally infected, but now it is just dead.
-Three pieces representing the old enemy of the druids split off (most likely to the other islands) and now we have reason to look for them and destroy them.
-And we are going to see what our characters will do now that all this is done
For Tuesday
-Found a +1 longsword after our paladin and rogue got poisoned and i still feel like a dick about rule calling, but hey, that stuff happens.
-We found a nearly sealed room with doors and we kept trying to open them and we kept getting hit by magic statues that hurt us if we interact with said doors.
-After a good 15 mins, we find a secret passage and going down steps, the Barbarian (me) thinks he stepped on a dwarf.
-Dreugar fight.
-RIP Ranger.
-And paladin went full edgelord
Fun Fact: Koveras is Sarevok backwards. Which is also the final boss of Baldurs Gate apparently....nobody understood until we had it explained to us.
I've been daydreaming up a Victorian setting lately. Something like 1870ish France, but in this setting, firearms don't exist cause magic always has.
For armor, since they're very medieval in tone, I'm thinking more like leather corset type things with plate woven in.
And I'm inclined to eschew certain monsters, like goblins, to give it a more earthy feel.
It's a shame that I'm not a good writer cause I really like the imagery I get from thinking about this setting.
Also, I liked this idea I saw on a Lindybeige video about Hillpeople - the players don't get to describe their character. For this campaign, I'd have the players give physical and alignment descriptions but when it came to their personality traits, I'd have the other players pick, so long as there was unanimous agreement. Also I'd ask for them to create basic relationships (school chum, uncle, whatever).
I think the idea is awesome! Maybe the campaign you could run in that setting is the world is adjusting from using magic to more machinery (steam engines, cars, factories, etc.) and the world is on the fence with the shift and how it will affect daily lives for everyone.
I also like the physical and alignment descriptions, but I do have a question. What would that do in terms of backstory? Would that change how players describe their story or would that stay the way it is used now?
It would be the basis of their backstory, I suppose. Or alter pieces of it if they've already started on it. The idea behind this is to create a bit more group tension/drama than a more hum drum "we're all here to kill the baddies" type team precisely because you don't get a complete say in what others think of you - much like in real life. Hypothetical below.
- Player A says "Player B and I went to the same grammar school. He bullied me a lot"
- The group agrees this is a good personality trait.
- Player A treats Player B with resentment, and it's up to Player B if he wants to amend that fault.
- Player C says "Player D is my step father. He was there when my real father never bothered to be"
- The group agrees.
- Players C & D have a familial bond which affects their actions throughout the course of the game.
- Player B says "Player D is known to be a heartless swindler of the unfortunate. He's a con man."
- The group agrees.
- Player D is now more complex. He feels a duty to protect and aid Player C, but he apparently has little concern for the wellness of strangers, if it suits him.
Also, the suggestion of transferring to the machine age is great! It makes me think of Harry Potter undertones where magic secluded itself away from technology (or at least they're separate in present day).
I like the examples! And yeah! Having the world transfer from one age to another and have factions and battles going on to attempt to keep a form of order/control over the citizens of the city you place it in can be awesome! It could even have your characters be careful on the descisions they make with said factions and organizations to see how the world will progress forward.
As for the harry potter comparison, I can see it, but I was more thinking of something similar to Shadowrun. Both magic and tech are used, and some people believe one is more efficient than the other. Who knows.
Posts
Draw a rectangle. Then draw another rectangle inside. If you want to be fancy, put some squares inside the second rectangle as rooms.
Should end up looking like the FF1 Marsh Cave.
So...
Sneak attack doesn't work on a Monk weapon.
I think the reasoning is, even though a Monk weapon can use dexterity as its attribute, and a light weapon does the same, a Monk weapon isn't specifically light RAW.
Personally, I'm playing a Rogue 3 Monk X character at the moment, but I had to clear using sneak attack on my melee with my DM first.
We hand-waved it away when I got some magic punching claws.
...
Monk also has like no useful loot which is a shame. I just punch things :S
Staff of Striking is an actual thing, though it might be kinda endgamey
There are also plenty of swords which can be Shortswords if the DM wants
There's also plenty of defensive and utility magic items that can benefit Monks same as others;
Ring of Free Action, Boots of Speed, anything that gives AC like Ring or Cloak of Protection, etc
Monk fists can't sneak attack, RAW, some other monk weapons can. However it's not a real hard sell to say that fists are mechanically identical to any other monk weapon and allow them to same abilities.
So long as you can convince your monk that she doesn't have to scream "Sneaking monkey snatches the low hanging peaches" before the sneak attack, sure. Go for it.
Sadly, I've never been able to convince the monk that there's no need to scream their attack name.
Roll a d20, on a 20 you do an extra 1d4 damage.
Currently DMing: None
Characters
[5e] Dural Melairkyn - AC 18 | HP 40 | Melee +5/1d8+3 | Spell +4/DC 12
Yeah that's phenomenally stupid.
Coming out and admitting that they just didn't want to allow you to punch people for 1d8+2d6+dex damage when you have an ally standing next to you is more engaging than word finagling in the rulebooks, but you have to know your audience.
I can see it as a little immersion-breaking when the point of the rogue's sneak attack is to be, well, sneaky, and a monk spinning around in the middle of the room screaming as she throws Flurries of jumpkicks in all directions is not going to be hard to notice.
PSN: Wstfgl | GamerTag: An Evil Plan | Battle.net: FallenIdle#1970
Hit me up on BoardGameArena! User: Loaded D1
You can still sneak and martial arts with short swords as short swords are monk weapons. You just don't get three chances to proc it.
Well, yeah.
My dude has Fist claws +1, Ring of Free Action, Cloak of Displacement, Bracers of Defense... and that's it, because that's all the attuned slots.
I'm running around with some Claw poison now, but there's simply not a lot guy-who-punches-things gets that's cool, especially when guy-who-punches-things is actually bird-who-punches-things and so doesn't need flight (or speed).
Everything in the loot tables seems to be basically stat upgrades with no interesting abilities.
(Like before we realised about the attunement limit, I was also sporting Int and Str boosters and a Pipe of Sewers that I never used but always threatened to use)
Maybe I need to be more proactive and push bird-who-goes-really-fast-and-punches-things into bird-who-goes-really-fast-and-reverse-pickpockets-explosives-onto-a-guy.
I suppose I could get rope.
Like lots and lots of rope.
And go trip all the people with my 80 foot move speed.
I'm not sure how much of a deal this is.
Then again, I'm not playing my Monk/Rogue to the full either.
Basically the ideal would be to crit-fish with your attacks (try to prone the guy as well) and then only sneak attack on a 20.
But I just roll the sneak attack on the first Monk hit, get my +2d6 and then be done with it.
And frankly, at level 13, my 3d6 + dex on first hit, 1d6 + dex on secondary hits (up to an additional 3) per round doesn't feel far off what the other characters could do. And would I think feel on par with the pure Monk who didn't dip into Rogue for three levels and have upped damage dice.
Not to mention that the Rogue's Cunning Action basically covers the same stuff as the Monk's Ki abilities (albeit for free).
I think I'm probably the most reliable damage dealer in the party, but that edge probably comes from the DM granted claws that give me +1 and also +1d4 to each hit, rather than the build out doing any of the others even if technically illegal.
(Or any other Extra Attacks you get, so long as it's only 1/round)
Yeah.
But the point is I'm sneak attacking with my fists because the Errata is daft, and it does not feel problematic.
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
No. They're still unarmed attacks not not weapon attacks
Thanks, this crap is hard to search behind a work filter.
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
Isn't "weapon attack" any attack that isn't a "spell attack" in this edition? I'm fairly sure most monster bite or claw attacks are "weapon attacks."
I think so? I think martial arts sneak attacks should be left to the DMs ruling.
I think it should be mainly because a sneak attack fist is like a "hey, think fast" style moment when it happens.
Obviously you haven't been paying attention to these guns.
"Errata V1: Unarmed strike doesn't belong on the Weapons table."
After that I'm going to run a gamma world campaign over the summer to give our DM a break and to shake things up a bit.
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
Sunday:
-We beat Koveras, abd he turned into a modified stat block of the t-rex from the MM.
-One of the moon wells on Snowdown is straight up dead, because our priest of bane knew someone who could do something. It was originally infected, but now it is just dead.
-Three pieces representing the old enemy of the druids split off (most likely to the other islands) and now we have reason to look for them and destroy them.
-And we are going to see what our characters will do now that all this is done
For Tuesday
-Found a +1 longsword after our paladin and rogue got poisoned and i still feel like a dick about rule calling, but hey, that stuff happens.
-We found a nearly sealed room with doors and we kept trying to open them and we kept getting hit by magic statues that hurt us if we interact with said doors.
-After a good 15 mins, we find a secret passage and going down steps, the Barbarian (me) thinks he stepped on a dwarf.
-Dreugar fight.
-RIP Ranger.
-And paladin went full edgelord
Fun Fact: Koveras is Sarevok backwards. Which is also the final boss of Baldurs Gate apparently....nobody understood until we had it explained to us.
For armor, since they're very medieval in tone, I'm thinking more like leather corset type things with plate woven in.
And I'm inclined to eschew certain monsters, like goblins, to give it a more earthy feel.
It's a shame that I'm not a good writer cause I really like the imagery I get from thinking about this setting.
Also, I liked this idea I saw on a Lindybeige video about Hillpeople - the players don't get to describe their character. For this campaign, I'd have the players give physical and alignment descriptions but when it came to their personality traits, I'd have the other players pick, so long as there was unanimous agreement. Also I'd ask for them to create basic relationships (school chum, uncle, whatever).
I also like the physical and alignment descriptions, but I do have a question. What would that do in terms of backstory? Would that change how players describe their story or would that stay the way it is used now?
- Player A says "Player B and I went to the same grammar school. He bullied me a lot"
- The group agrees this is a good personality trait.
- Player A treats Player B with resentment, and it's up to Player B if he wants to amend that fault.
- Player C says "Player D is my step father. He was there when my real father never bothered to be"
- The group agrees.
- Players C & D have a familial bond which affects their actions throughout the course of the game.
- Player B says "Player D is known to be a heartless swindler of the unfortunate. He's a con man."
- The group agrees.
- Player D is now more complex. He feels a duty to protect and aid Player C, but he apparently has little concern for the wellness of strangers, if it suits him.
Also, the suggestion of transferring to the machine age is great! It makes me think of Harry Potter undertones where magic secluded itself away from technology (or at least they're separate in present day).
As for the harry potter comparison, I can see it, but I was more thinking of something similar to Shadowrun. Both magic and tech are used, and some people believe one is more efficient than the other. Who knows.