Phantom ability seems pretty reasonable, it's a floating skill proficiency that doesn't even get expertise.
Wails from the grave is 2 to 3 times per day until you get to trinkets and you don't get trinkets til 9th level and using the reaction to gain a trinket instead of holding on to your reaction so you can uncanny dodge is a calculated risk for rogues.
Reaction for off turn opportunity attack sneak attack as well, depending on your party makeup.
Lvl 3 feature: You're good at everything with a short rest. This is just bad power creep design. Interesting roleplay kind of requires that there are things you're good at and things you're not good at. And while Rogues tend to be a bit better at more things and very good at a few things... this just negates that weakness and lets them be good at whatever they need to be for that situation.
Wails from the grave has effectively no limit because A) proficiency bonus times/day is a lot. And also because you can use your reaction to make another token to give you an extra use when any creature dies. Now ok there are a lot of things to use trinkets on. But they're not a terribly limited resource. You're going to get a lot of them over the course of an adventuring day.
Not every sub-class has these issues. The Soul Knife is actually reasonable except maybe for the 2x +1/sr proficiency hours of invisibility per day and Homing strikes only using a charge if it turns a miss into a hit is a bit... interesting... but the base psychic blades is actually a bit underpowered (two shortswords is 1d6 each rather than d6/d4) aside from not necessarily taking up your hands(which is not usually a huge issue)
Putting aside how wails uses one of the worst damage types or how it requires multiple enemies to be in relatively close proximity to be effective, profficiency isn't neccesarily that much; you could easily blow that out before you're done your first short rest.
Like, if you're 17th level you will get to do that 6 times per day and be able to push out a maximum of 30 necrotic damage assuming you go buckwild for damage and aren't dealing with resistance which would bring the average damage down to around 8.
It’s a lot relative to other abilities of similar value and ends up being a huge amount of potential uses.
In the end the arguments for are of the sort of “this one ability isn’t as strong as the entirety of a similar subclasses features and so it’s OK” while ignoring all the other value that the subclasses have.
Nah it's mostly that you're looking at level 15+ builds and it's pretty well known that the game basically falls apart at that level. Like at 15th level a wizard can just drop 12d8 of necrotic damage on a 30 foot cube.
Most of the game happens below level 10 and at about 10 is when the wheels start coming off.
Like proficiency mod times per day is generally less than stat mod times per day until you get up to 13th level and it's generally not greater than stat mod times per day till 17th level.
Except that I am not. If an ability is dumb strong early you’re like “but it’s not so powerful later!” And if an ability is dumb strong late you’re like “but it’s not so strong early” as if an ability is dumb strong the entire time you’re all “but a wizard can cast a high level spell once per day!” As if the rest of the profile of those classes don’t matter.
Say you're right, it still can't be power creep if a wizard can already do more. That just means they were weak before and are now being brought up to par.
I purchased Tasha's because I was stoked for Psionics primarily and the other subclass stuff
It's not a bad book but I am a little disappointed that the Psionics wizard? subclass from UA (not the Aberrant Bloodline for Sorc) didn't make the final cut.
Also the puzzle section at the back is just...why was this included? I get all tables are different but man if I introduced any of those into a campaign session my players would just leave the dungeon.
Special Equipment. Arcane Grimoire +3, Large Barrier Tattoo, Poison Absorbing Tattoo. Contingency. Dimension door is cast when the Ordinator Arcanis’ hit point total is reduced to 45 hit points or less. Innate Spellcasting. The Ordinator Arcanis’ innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 19, +11 to hit with spell attacks). The Ordinator Arcanis can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: detect thoughts, invisibility, mirror image, misty step, shield
Magic Resistance. The Ordinator Arcanis has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Spellcasting. The Ordinator Arcanis is an 18th-level spellcaster. Their spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 22, +14 to hit with spell attacks). The Ordinator Arcanis has the following wizard spells prepared:
Unknowable Secrets. The Ordinator Arcanis is immune to psychic damage, any effect that would sense their emotions, modify their memories, or read their thoughts, as well as divination spells and the charmed condition. This even foils wish spells and spells or effects of similar power used to affect the target’s mind or to gain information about the target. Any creature that uses an ability that would cause one of the nullified effects takes 6d6 psychic damage,
Actions Withered Hand. +14. Reach 5 ft. 5d6 + 20 force damage. If this damage reduces the target to 0 hit points, it is disintegrated. Chill Touch. +14. Range 120 ft. 4d8 necrotic damage, and the target can't regain hit points until the start of the Ordinator Arcanis’ next turn. Until then, the hand clings to the target. If the target is undead, it also has disadvantage on attack rolls against you until the end of the Ordinator Arcanis’ next turn. Steal Memory (1/Day). The Ordinator Arcanis targets one creature it can see within 60 feet of it. The target takes 6d6 psychic damage, and it must make a DC 19 Intelligence saving throw. On a successful save, the target becomes immune to the Ordinator Arcanis’ Steal Memory for 24 hours. On a failed save, the target loses all proficiencies, it can't cast spells, it can't understand language, and if its Intelligence and Charisma scores are higher than 5, they become 5. Each time the target finishes a long rest, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success. A greater restoration or remove curse spell cast on the target ends this effect early.
Reactions Poison Damage Absorption (1/day). When the Ordinator Arcanis takes poison damage, they can use their reaction to gain immunity against that instance of the damage, and they regain a number of hit points equal to half the damage they would have taken. Shield. Until the start of the Ordinator Arcanis’ next turn, they have a +5 bonus to AC, including against the triggering attack, and they take no damage from magic missile.
@Hexmage-PA what's the CR for this lovely creation? I'm absolutely stealing this
Quick Question: I know the Enlarge option from Enlarge/Reduce doesn't stack, but what if a duergar that used its Enlarge racial ability were affected by the Enlarge option from the Enlarge/Reduce spell? Would it be able to achieve Huge size then, since the source of the effects is different?
I'm considering having the 6th-level party go three on one against a duergar Warlord NPC who starts the battle Medium but increases to Large, and finally to Huge. I need to devise ways to help the PCs not be totally curb-stomped, such as by adding terrain that is to their favor (or maybe even having a rival duergar sabotage their enemy in some way). The duergar would have to take an action to increase size each time, so that at least would give them a little opportunity to deal damage while avoiding it themselves.
The party composition is a bard/cleric, sorcerer, and monk. I may decide that one or two allied martial NPCs also join their side in the battle for some reason.
Enlarge is a magical effect, RAW says no:
The effects of different spells add together while the durations of those spells overlap. The effects of the same spell cast multiple times don't combine, however. Instead, the most potent effect--such as the highest bonus--from those castings applies while their durations overlap, or the most recent effect applies if the castings are equally potent and their durations overlap.
Except that I am not. If an ability is dumb strong early you’re like “but it’s not so powerful later!” And if an ability is dumb strong late you’re like “but it’s not so strong early” as if an ability is dumb strong the entire time you’re all “but a wizard can cast a high level spell once per day!” As if the rest of the profile of those classes don’t matter.
Ok. At level 3 you are doing 1d6 necrotic to another target that needs to be within 30 feet up to two times per day.
By comparison, a comparably leveled phb1 ranger with hunter and colossus slayer can be doing an extra 1d8 to something that is marginally injured every turn without spending any resources, and another 1d6 on top of that if he's popping hunter's mark. Or if they take horde breaker they can get a whole extra attack.
Special Equipment. Arcane Grimoire +3, Large Barrier Tattoo, Poison Absorbing Tattoo. Contingency. Dimension door is cast when the Ordinator Arcanis’ hit point total is reduced to 45 hit points or less. Innate Spellcasting. The Ordinator Arcanis’ innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 19, +11 to hit with spell attacks). The Ordinator Arcanis can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: detect thoughts, invisibility, mirror image, misty step, shield
Magic Resistance. The Ordinator Arcanis has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Spellcasting. The Ordinator Arcanis is an 18th-level spellcaster. Their spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 22, +14 to hit with spell attacks). The Ordinator Arcanis has the following wizard spells prepared:
Unknowable Secrets. The Ordinator Arcanis is immune to psychic damage, any effect that would sense their emotions, modify their memories, or read their thoughts, as well as divination spells and the charmed condition. This even foils wish spells and spells or effects of similar power used to affect the target’s mind or to gain information about the target. Any creature that uses an ability that would cause one of the nullified effects takes 6d6 psychic damage,
Actions Withered Hand. +14. Reach 5 ft. 5d6 + 20 force damage. If this damage reduces the target to 0 hit points, it is disintegrated. Chill Touch. +14. Range 120 ft. 4d8 necrotic damage, and the target can't regain hit points until the start of the Ordinator Arcanis’ next turn. Until then, the hand clings to the target. If the target is undead, it also has disadvantage on attack rolls against you until the end of the Ordinator Arcanis’ next turn. Steal Memory (1/Day). The Ordinator Arcanis targets one creature it can see within 60 feet of it. The target takes 6d6 psychic damage, and it must make a DC 19 Intelligence saving throw. On a successful save, the target becomes immune to the Ordinator Arcanis’ Steal Memory for 24 hours. On a failed save, the target loses all proficiencies, it can't cast spells, it can't understand language, and if its Intelligence and Charisma scores are higher than 5, they become 5. Each time the target finishes a long rest, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success. A greater restoration or remove curse spell cast on the target ends this effect early.
Reactions Poison Damage Absorption (1/day). When the Ordinator Arcanis takes poison damage, they can use their reaction to gain immunity against that instance of the damage, and they regain a number of hit points equal to half the damage they would have taken. Shield. Until the start of the Ordinator Arcanis’ next turn, they have a +5 bonus to AC, including against the triggering attack, and they take no damage from magic missile.
@Hexmage-PA what's the CR for this lovely creation? I'm absolutely stealing this
Hell, I don't know. According to the online CR Calculator I'm looking at, the Defensive CR is 21 without considering Shield and CR 24 with it factored in (which I'll assume is the case, seeing as they have it at-will).
If they can keep up Dark Star for three rounds and hit at least two enemies with it each round for three rounds then that alone is an Offensive CR of 27, for an overall CR of 26. I doubt Dark Star would stay up that long, though.
Assuming one round of Dark Star, one round of Ravenous Void, and one round Disintegrate, that would be an Offensive CR of 13, for CR 19 overall.
If you assume Tether Essence succeeds before combat and Disintegrate is used first it serves as an effective Twinned Spell Disintegrate, which combined with one round of Dark Star and Ravenous Void yields an Offensive CR of 17, for an overall CR of 21. Looking at Tether Essence, though, I'd think Reverse Gravity would probably be a safer option for the 7th level spell.
The average of these CRs is 22, so maybe that? I might actually tone them down a bit, maybe replace the Arcane Grimoire +3 with something else.
I also don't know what the impact on CR should be of their Steal Memory (effectively Feeblemind) and Withering Touch (basically an at will melee Disintegrate that deals half the damage of the normal spell). The former could shut down casters that don't use Intelligence pretty easily, and Withering Touch bypasses death saves and doesn't even leave a body behind for Revivify (Disintegrate, Dark Star, and Ravenous Void all disintegrate creatures reduced to 0 hit points).
I chose to design the Ordinator Arcanis the way I did because they're essentially the dictator of an Underdark city who only cares about it so long as tax money is going towards funding their magical research. Mind manipulation and disintegration spells are largely intended to terrify people into not drawing the Ordinator Arcanis' attention. For personal defense the Ordinator Arcanis has established private sanctum spells, glyphs of warding, ceiling spikes for reverse gravity targets to be skewered by, oaken bolters, a shield guardian, etc.
Ravenous Void in particular is intended to be a deterrent against would-be invaders traveling through Underdark tunnels and caverns. The spell's average damage is 27 compared to the average duergar hit point maximum of 26, creatures within a 20 foot radius sphere take this damage, and creatures within 100 feet have to make a Strength save against being "pulled toward the sphere's center, ending in an unoccupied space as close to the center as possible" (how many duergar can fit in a 20 foot radius sphere, I wonder?). This spell lasts a minute with concentration, BTW, and the sphere's center can also be established in mid-air, so any poor duergar who aren't disintegrated might still fall to their deaths.
Thing is, the presence of the Ordinator Arcanis is actually the main thing keeping the region stable. Most fear the Ordinator Arcanis, but some fear that the reclusive wizard will just up and vanish for good one day, leaving the region at the mercy of warring dwarves, duergar, drow, lizardfolk, devils, demons, undead, etc who previously were kept in check.
Also the puzzle section at the back is just...why was this included? I get all tables are different but man if I introduced any of those into a campaign session my players would just leave the dungeon.
Puzzles were used more often in classic D&D, so I guess that's why. Personally I've never been in a game with a satisfying puzzle (and in fact faced a puzzle in one session that nearly ruined my goodwill towards the campaign and the DM in how fucking frustrating it was).
We actually had a puzzle at the end of the session I played in tonight that caused the game to run long. Finally the DM just said "roll Investigation and if you get high enough I'll give you the answer."
Consider making the contingency Banishment. Especially if they’re not native to the plane that they’re fighting in. Dimension door is only 500 feet and that might not be enough to let the creature escape(plus it leaves you vulnerable to any party also with dimension door). But banishment lasts a minute. And if the party does not realize they have been banished and so will/may be coming back they may let their guard down. (Allowing the mage to escape)
If the creature is native to that plane then this is a less good option, as they must come back and as they are incapacitated while there. But if they aren’t it’s effectively a free plane shift and a free minute to prepare if you want to go back. Or you can continue concentration to make it permanent. Which is not a problem for a 18th level spellcaster since they can plane shift themselves back whenever they want
Ultimately I don’t think dimension door is that much of a safety net unless you’re in an open field. 500 feet is a long way but if you can only see 100 you have a huge issue with maybe choosing an occupied location, dealing damage to yourself, and then not teleporting. This is especially true if they rule via fear, since a bloodied and running mage is likely to attract people who want to be free of that fear and see an opportunity
More or less without long term escape solutions (like teleport) I don’t think many archmages continue to be archmages for very long and you don’t seem to have any long term escape solutions on your list.
when all else fails, make sure their spellbook has clone in it, and your party will realize they aren't *really* dead
We had a re-occurring villain that our DM home-brewed during our last campaign that used clone to staggering effect. she was a great villain with a legit reason not to stay dead. We loved it. It also gives a high level wizard a reason to be out and about and not constantly holed up in their seat of power.
Edit: Looks like Tasha's isn't currently 100% integrated into the D&D Beyond character creator yet. Missing some infusions for my artificer. Hopefully itll be fully updated by next weeks campaign.
I hate puzzles in D&D, 90% of the time they feel completely arbitrary and take me out of the game. And no, "well all the dungeons were built by wizards who were also assholes" doesn't fix it, if anything it makes the world even less immersive.
I hate puzzles in D&D, 90% of the time they feel completely arbitrary and take me out of the game. And no, "well all the dungeons were built by wizards who were also assholes" doesn't fix it, if anything it makes the world even less immersive.
In my opinion, puzzles and riddles are only really fun if the party solves them.
Of course, I've also had a bad experience as a DM trying to lead my horses to water. In a party that was so dependent on dark vision, they never used any light sources and laughed off any dark areas. I had them exploring an ancient Elven winery. This place had rainbows all over the place. On the walls. On the discarded wine bottles they found. Writings. Notes. Everywhere.
They went under ground to explore, totally dark. They got stuck trying to open a door. Around the door were various runes in an ancient dialect they couldn't read. But knowing Elvish, they could decipher that they were some sort of code, very likely to open the door. They just had to push them in the right order. Now remember, there's rainbows all over the fucking place. I don't think at any point in my life I've talked so much about rainbows.
But they couldn't figure out the code. No matter what combination they tried. And I wasn't just going to let them try all the combinations possible until they got it.
Remember, they're all using dark vision. Can't see a lick of color.
Rainbows, all over the fucking place.
Rainbows, rainbows, rainbows.
One frustrated player even cracked out a bottle of wine. Rainbow wine. With rainbows on the label.
Nothing.
All one had to do was light a torch or a lantern or something to see it.
The buttons were color coded. Pushing them in the order of a rainbow would've opened the door.
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valhalla13013 Dark Shield Perceives the GodsRegistered Userregular
edited November 2020
I really have no reason to draw up every single NPC as a character on a character sheet, do I? I was running 3 in my daughter's campaign, and I don't know that i want to keep doing all that bookkeeping.
Especially since the 'sea elf' she's going to meet who 'saves' her from a shark attack is actually a malenti (mutant sahuagin who looks like a sea elf) who plans to use her to infiltrate the sea elves or tritons nearby.
Consider making the contingency Banishment. Especially if they’re not native to the plane that they’re fighting in. Dimension door is only 500 feet and that might not be enough to let the creature escape(plus it leaves you vulnerable to any party also with dimension door). But banishment lasts a minute. And if the party does not realize they have been banished and so will/may be coming back they may let their guard down. (Allowing the mage to escape)
If the creature is native to that plane then this is a less good option, as they must come back and as they are incapacitated while there. But if they aren’t it’s effectively a free plane shift and a free minute to prepare if you want to go back. Or you can continue concentration to make it permanent. Which is not a problem for a 18th level spellcaster since they can plane shift themselves back whenever they want
Ultimately I don’t think dimension door is that much of a safety net unless you’re in an open field. 500 feet is a long way but if you can only see 100 you have a huge issue with maybe choosing an occupied location, dealing damage to yourself, and then not teleporting. This is especially true if they rule via fear, since a bloodied and running mage is likely to attract people who want to be free of that fear and see an opportunity
More or less without long term escape solutions (like teleport) I don’t think many archmages continue to be archmages for very long and you don’t seem to have any long term escape solutions on your list.
I considered Banishment, but one player in my campaign is a sorcerer and another is a bard, so they'd have an easier time saving against Banishment.
The Ordinator Arcanis is rarely seen outside their tower. Months can go by without anyone seeing them, and even then it's usually their simulacrum showing up to kill someone or something that is causing a major disruption in the area. The most reliable way to see the actual Ordinator Arcanis is to do something that makes them want to modify your memory, in which case the wizard's corrupt enforcers apprehend you and take you to a secret teleportation circle that leads to the tower.
If I understand correctly, you don't need line of sight for Dimension Door if it's a location you can visualize, so they could teleport to the chamber in their tower where they keep their nightmare mount to escape ethereally.
wizard just needs to planar bind themselves to their own demiplane and then cast banishment on themselves with contingency to act as an emergency plane shift
No, they banish themselves with their contingency! When the hit 45 HP they banish themselves to their home plane.
Re: DD you can dimension door to a place you can visualize but 500 feet of movement isn’t a whole lot at CR22. If they’re ever 500 feet from their location. It would fail. But say they make it, then what? They’re just on an ethereal steed vs something that can almost certainly catch them
Also! I'm kind of enamored with some of these new class options in Tasha's; right now swarmkeeper is looking like hilariously good fun and Twilight domain has hands down some of the most absurd powers I've ever seen; 300 foot night vision, granting advantage on initiative are just... they fill me with such mirth.
And while I know it was in Theros first, the eloquence bard might be the best support spec in the game; between bane and insidious words you can potentially tank even the most swol of saving throws; a fifth level bard can tank it by -1d4 and -1d8 so even a 21 can be brought low. And for shits and giggles the lowest you can get on any of your dialogue rolls is a 12 when you first unlock this spec so Social RPs turn into a cake walk with the smallest effort.
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webguy20I spend too much time on the InternetRegistered Userregular
I really have no reason to draw up every single NPC as a character on a character sheet, do I? I was running 3 in my daughter's campaign, and I don't know that i want to keep doing all that bookkeeping.
Especially since the 'sea elf' she's going to meet who 'saves' her from a shark attack is actually a malenti (mutant sahuagin who looks like a sea elf) who plans to use her to infiltrate the sea elves or tritons nearby.
I think I want to simplify things a bit here.
Not at all. I almost never stat out my NPCs unless they have a very specific function that would require skill checks. I usually just write down a name, description, and rundown of their personality and if they need anything from the party, and how they feel about the party. Also a note on the voice if I did a voice for them.
I like the Griffin McElroy method of stat-blocking an NPC- when they need an ability modifier (because a caster is being a caster) roll a 1d4 on the spot.
Damage Resistances cold, lightning; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered Damage Immunities fire, poison Condition Immunities charmed, poisoned Senses darkvision 120 ft. (devil's sight), passive Perception 16 Languages Abyssal, Common, Dwarvish, Elvish, Infernal, Undercommon, telepathy 120 ft. Challenge 10
Devil's Sight. Magical darkness doesn't impede the Askavan's darkvision. Innate Spellcasting. Askavan's innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 17). Askavan can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: minor illusion
3/day: major image Magic Resistance. Askavan has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Path of Baalzebul. As a bonus action on their turn, Askavan can choose one ally they can see within 30 feet. Until the start of Askavan's next turn, they advantage on all ability checks and attack rolls, while the chosen ally suffers disadvantage on all ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws. Shapechanger. Askavan can use their bonus action to polymorph into a Small or Medium humanoid, or back into their true form. Without wings, Askavan loses their flying speed. Other than their size and speed, their statistics are the same in each form. Any equipment they are wearing or carrying isn't transformed. They revert to their true form if they die. Telepathic Bond. Askavan ignores the range restriction on their telepathy when communicating with a creature they have charmed. The two don't even need to be on the same plane of existence.
Actions Multiattack. Askavan attacks using Lonely Touch three times. Any of these attacks can be replaced with Hurl Flame. Lonely Touch. +9. 4d6 psychic damage, and if the target is humanoid it must make a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or become poisoned for 1 minute. While poisoned in this way the target is treated as a willing creature for the purpose of Askavan's abilities. An ally within 15 feet that the affected creature can hear can use an action to make a Charisma (Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion) check versus the affected target's Wisdom (Insight) check. On a success by the ally the affected creature is no longer poisoned. Hurl Flame. +9. Range 150 ft. 4d6 fire damage. If the target is a flammable object that isn't being worn or carried, it also catches fire. Deathly Charm. One humanoid Askavan can see within 30 feet of them must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or be magically charmed for 1 day. The charmed target obeys Askavan's verbal or telepathic commands. If the target suffers any harm or receives a suicidal command, it can repeat the saving throw. On a success the target can either choose to remain charmed or take 5d10+5 psychic damage and end the effect. If the target chooses to end the effect, or if the effect on it ends by other means, the target is immune to Askavan's Deathly Charm for the next 24 hours. They can have two targets charmed at a time. If Askavan charms another creature, the effect on one of the previous targets ends. Draining Kiss. Askavan kisses a creature charmed by them or a willing creature. The target must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw against this magic, taking 5d10+5 psychic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the damage taken. This reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0. Etherealness. Askavan and one willing creature within 5 feet magically enter the Ethereal Plane from the Material Plane, or vice versa.
Reactions Loyal Consort. If Askavan is adjacent to a charmed ally when they are hit by an attack the ally swaps places with Askavan and takes the damage instead.
I'm most interested to hear opinions on Lonely Touch and Deathly Charm. The former gives Askavan another chance to use their abilities, and I thought that requiring an ally to snap the affected target out of their supernaturally-induced loneliness would be both flavorful and tactically interesting (as the ally has to be within 15 feet and has to use an action to help the target). Deathly Charm basically turns the standard succubus power into something like the Geas spell.
Path of Baalzebul is mainly there because Lilith is Baalzebul's consort, but the trait adds to to Askavan's ability to manipulate and use people.
BTW, this succubus/incubus has been working undercover in the sorcerer PC's mine as a halfling gem appraiser. They have been using their powers to drain miners and frame the deaths as mining accidents and aggression between workers. Even if the player gets suspicious about this I've already established that fey troubled the last people who tried to mine in the area.
I really have no reason to draw up every single NPC as a character on a character sheet, do I? I was running 3 in my daughter's campaign, and I don't know that i want to keep doing all that bookkeeping.
Especially since the 'sea elf' she's going to meet who 'saves' her from a shark attack is actually a malenti (mutant sahuagin who looks like a sea elf) who plans to use her to infiltrate the sea elves or tritons nearby.
I think I want to simplify things a bit here.
Not at all. I almost never stat out my NPCs unless they have a very specific function that would require skill checks. I usually just write down a name, description, and rundown of their personality and if they need anything from the party, and how they feel about the party. Also a note on the voice if I did a voice for them.
I have the NPC monster cards, so I generally just have a few of those handy.
I too never stat out NPC. Only things you’re in opposition to get stats and even those can be wishy washy.
In general is an NPC needs to do something their ability list gets updated on the fly, so long as it does not contradict established rules or knowledge of the NPC. A wizard NPC could add fly to their spell list. But they could not add it as a non-concentration spell. And they could not add it if it was established they could not fly within the time frame that would be required to add the spell
Another new monster, specifically the previously posted succubus/incubus' mount that she found in an Underdark magma pit.
Magma Scorpion
Large elemental, unaligned
Armor Class 15 (natural armor) Hit Points 68 (9d10 + 18) Speed 40 ft.
STR +3 DEX +1 CON +2 INT -5 WIS -1 CHA -4
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks Damage Immunities fire, poison Condition Immunities poisoned Senses blindsight 60 ft., passive Perception 9 Languages — Challenge 8
Death Burst. When the magma scorpion dies, it explodes in a burst of fire and magma. Each creature within 10 feet of it must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw, taking 3d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Flammable objects that aren't being worn or carried in that area are ignited.
Actions Multiattack. The magma scorpion makes three attacks: two with its claws and one with its sting. Claw. +5. 1d8 + 3 bludgeoning damage plus 1d6 fire damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 13). If the grappled target is a creature or a flammable object, it ignites. Until a creature takes an action to douse the fire, the target takes 1d6 fire damage at the end of each of its turns.The magma scorpion has two claws, each of which can grapple only one target. Sting. +5. 1d10+3 piercing damage plus 3d10 fire damage, and the target must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw, taking 1d10 poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. On a failed save the target is also poisoned for 1 minute and takes 1d6 fire damage at the end of each of its turns. The target may repeat the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.
one thing I've been trying to delicately adjust my Avernus DM on is that he tends to make literally every NPC exceptional. Every shopkeeper is an archmage, every politician has a passive insight of 20 or more, only the NPCs we're supposed to kill can ever be swindled
npcs also tend to have preternatural knowledge about characters, like one of our quest givers called my character by their real name, which literally nobody in the world should know (like, in universe, only my character and The Xanathar know it, because I used to work for Xanathar as a street urchin and its the kind of boss that demands total knowledge of even the lowliest employee) - it woulda been cool if that was a quest hook with the character being an orphan, but no, the NPC just read my character sheet apparently
I plan on trying to murder that NPC Saturday since we've finished our quests in Baldur's Gate and she wants us to leave to Candlekeep, because I'm playing a Harper and this woman is RAPIDLY rising the ranks in baldur's gate and very obviously evil, so I'm going to try to get her alone, silence the door, and kill her. Knowing my DM he's probably going to take whatever statblock she has in the module and replace it with a Champion because he doesn't like it when he fails to anticipate player plans and gets reactionary
well see
I'm having a lot of fun in the campaign though and don't mind if I get killed as a result, but I also know that he'd never actually kill someone's character off so *shrug*
Posts
Reaction for off turn opportunity attack sneak attack as well, depending on your party makeup.
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
level 6 flying carriage
Putting aside how wails uses one of the worst damage types or how it requires multiple enemies to be in relatively close proximity to be effective, profficiency isn't neccesarily that much; you could easily blow that out before you're done your first short rest.
In the end the arguments for are of the sort of “this one ability isn’t as strong as the entirety of a similar subclasses features and so it’s OK” while ignoring all the other value that the subclasses have.
Most of the game happens below level 10 and at about 10 is when the wheels start coming off.
Like proficiency mod times per day is generally less than stat mod times per day until you get up to 13th level and it's generally not greater than stat mod times per day till 17th level.
It's not a bad book but I am a little disappointed that the Psionics wizard? subclass from UA (not the Aberrant Bloodline for Sorc) didn't make the final cut.
Also the puzzle section at the back is just...why was this included? I get all tables are different but man if I introduced any of those into a campaign session my players would just leave the dungeon.
@Hexmage-PA what's the CR for this lovely creation? I'm absolutely stealing this
Sorry, I guess they included it for me.
Steam - Talon Valdez :Blizz - Talonious#1860 : Xbox Live & LoL - Talonious Monk @TaloniousMonk Hail Satan
*writes down 'Thelonius' on The List*
Enlarge is a magical effect, RAW says no:
Ok. At level 3 you are doing 1d6 necrotic to another target that needs to be within 30 feet up to two times per day.
By comparison, a comparably leveled phb1 ranger with hunter and colossus slayer can be doing an extra 1d8 to something that is marginally injured every turn without spending any resources, and another 1d6 on top of that if he's popping hunter's mark. Or if they take horde breaker they can get a whole extra attack.
neat
I imagine a nerdy bard flying around by their own wedgie.
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
This is the first thing I thought of:
Hell, I don't know. According to the online CR Calculator I'm looking at, the Defensive CR is 21 without considering Shield and CR 24 with it factored in (which I'll assume is the case, seeing as they have it at-will).
If they can keep up Dark Star for three rounds and hit at least two enemies with it each round for three rounds then that alone is an Offensive CR of 27, for an overall CR of 26. I doubt Dark Star would stay up that long, though.
Assuming one round of Dark Star, one round of Ravenous Void, and one round Disintegrate, that would be an Offensive CR of 13, for CR 19 overall.
If you assume Tether Essence succeeds before combat and Disintegrate is used first it serves as an effective Twinned Spell Disintegrate, which combined with one round of Dark Star and Ravenous Void yields an Offensive CR of 17, for an overall CR of 21. Looking at Tether Essence, though, I'd think Reverse Gravity would probably be a safer option for the 7th level spell.
The average of these CRs is 22, so maybe that? I might actually tone them down a bit, maybe replace the Arcane Grimoire +3 with something else.
I also don't know what the impact on CR should be of their Steal Memory (effectively Feeblemind) and Withering Touch (basically an at will melee Disintegrate that deals half the damage of the normal spell). The former could shut down casters that don't use Intelligence pretty easily, and Withering Touch bypasses death saves and doesn't even leave a body behind for Revivify (Disintegrate, Dark Star, and Ravenous Void all disintegrate creatures reduced to 0 hit points).
I chose to design the Ordinator Arcanis the way I did because they're essentially the dictator of an Underdark city who only cares about it so long as tax money is going towards funding their magical research. Mind manipulation and disintegration spells are largely intended to terrify people into not drawing the Ordinator Arcanis' attention. For personal defense the Ordinator Arcanis has established private sanctum spells, glyphs of warding, ceiling spikes for reverse gravity targets to be skewered by, oaken bolters, a shield guardian, etc.
Ravenous Void in particular is intended to be a deterrent against would-be invaders traveling through Underdark tunnels and caverns. The spell's average damage is 27 compared to the average duergar hit point maximum of 26, creatures within a 20 foot radius sphere take this damage, and creatures within 100 feet have to make a Strength save against being "pulled toward the sphere's center, ending in an unoccupied space as close to the center as possible" (how many duergar can fit in a 20 foot radius sphere, I wonder?). This spell lasts a minute with concentration, BTW, and the sphere's center can also be established in mid-air, so any poor duergar who aren't disintegrated might still fall to their deaths.
Thing is, the presence of the Ordinator Arcanis is actually the main thing keeping the region stable. Most fear the Ordinator Arcanis, but some fear that the reclusive wizard will just up and vanish for good one day, leaving the region at the mercy of warring dwarves, duergar, drow, lizardfolk, devils, demons, undead, etc who previously were kept in check.
Oh yeah I'm switching my bard to this and I'm going to totally animate enemy underpants and drag em around by their balls
the animated underpants will have 18 strength!
Puzzles were used more often in classic D&D, so I guess that's why. Personally I've never been in a game with a satisfying puzzle (and in fact faced a puzzle in one session that nearly ruined my goodwill towards the campaign and the DM in how fucking frustrating it was).
We actually had a puzzle at the end of the session I played in tonight that caused the game to run long. Finally the DM just said "roll Investigation and if you get high enough I'll give you the answer."
Consider making the contingency Banishment. Especially if they’re not native to the plane that they’re fighting in. Dimension door is only 500 feet and that might not be enough to let the creature escape(plus it leaves you vulnerable to any party also with dimension door). But banishment lasts a minute. And if the party does not realize they have been banished and so will/may be coming back they may let their guard down. (Allowing the mage to escape)
If the creature is native to that plane then this is a less good option, as they must come back and as they are incapacitated while there. But if they aren’t it’s effectively a free plane shift and a free minute to prepare if you want to go back. Or you can continue concentration to make it permanent. Which is not a problem for a 18th level spellcaster since they can plane shift themselves back whenever they want
Ultimately I don’t think dimension door is that much of a safety net unless you’re in an open field. 500 feet is a long way but if you can only see 100 you have a huge issue with maybe choosing an occupied location, dealing damage to yourself, and then not teleporting. This is especially true if they rule via fear, since a bloodied and running mage is likely to attract people who want to be free of that fear and see an opportunity
More or less without long term escape solutions (like teleport) I don’t think many archmages continue to be archmages for very long and you don’t seem to have any long term escape solutions on your list.
We had a re-occurring villain that our DM home-brewed during our last campaign that used clone to staggering effect. she was a great villain with a legit reason not to stay dead. We loved it. It also gives a high level wizard a reason to be out and about and not constantly holed up in their seat of power.
Edit: Looks like Tasha's isn't currently 100% integrated into the D&D Beyond character creator yet. Missing some infusions for my artificer. Hopefully itll be fully updated by next weeks campaign.
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
In my opinion, puzzles and riddles are only really fun if the party solves them.
Of course, I've also had a bad experience as a DM trying to lead my horses to water. In a party that was so dependent on dark vision, they never used any light sources and laughed off any dark areas. I had them exploring an ancient Elven winery. This place had rainbows all over the place. On the walls. On the discarded wine bottles they found. Writings. Notes. Everywhere.
They went under ground to explore, totally dark. They got stuck trying to open a door. Around the door were various runes in an ancient dialect they couldn't read. But knowing Elvish, they could decipher that they were some sort of code, very likely to open the door. They just had to push them in the right order. Now remember, there's rainbows all over the fucking place. I don't think at any point in my life I've talked so much about rainbows.
But they couldn't figure out the code. No matter what combination they tried. And I wasn't just going to let them try all the combinations possible until they got it.
Remember, they're all using dark vision. Can't see a lick of color.
Rainbows, all over the fucking place.
Rainbows, rainbows, rainbows.
One frustrated player even cracked out a bottle of wine. Rainbow wine. With rainbows on the label.
Nothing.
All one had to do was light a torch or a lantern or something to see it.
The buttons were color coded. Pushing them in the order of a rainbow would've opened the door.
Especially since the 'sea elf' she's going to meet who 'saves' her from a shark attack is actually a malenti (mutant sahuagin who looks like a sea elf) who plans to use her to infiltrate the sea elves or tritons nearby.
I think I want to simplify things a bit here.
I considered Banishment, but one player in my campaign is a sorcerer and another is a bard, so they'd have an easier time saving against Banishment.
The Ordinator Arcanis is rarely seen outside their tower. Months can go by without anyone seeing them, and even then it's usually their simulacrum showing up to kill someone or something that is causing a major disruption in the area. The most reliable way to see the actual Ordinator Arcanis is to do something that makes them want to modify your memory, in which case the wizard's corrupt enforcers apprehend you and take you to a secret teleportation circle that leads to the tower.
If I understand correctly, you don't need line of sight for Dimension Door if it's a location you can visualize, so they could teleport to the chamber in their tower where they keep their nightmare mount to escape ethereally.
No, they banish themselves with their contingency! When the hit 45 HP they banish themselves to their home plane.
Re: DD you can dimension door to a place you can visualize but 500 feet of movement isn’t a whole lot at CR22. If they’re ever 500 feet from their location. It would fail. But say they make it, then what? They’re just on an ethereal steed vs something that can almost certainly catch them
And while I know it was in Theros first, the eloquence bard might be the best support spec in the game; between bane and insidious words you can potentially tank even the most swol of saving throws; a fifth level bard can tank it by -1d4 and -1d8 so even a 21 can be brought low. And for shits and giggles the lowest you can get on any of your dialogue rolls is a 12 when you first unlock this spec so Social RPs turn into a cake walk with the smallest effort.
Not at all. I almost never stat out my NPCs unless they have a very specific function that would require skill checks. I usually just write down a name, description, and rundown of their personality and if they need anything from the party, and how they feel about the party. Also a note on the voice if I did a voice for them.
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
I'm most interested to hear opinions on Lonely Touch and Deathly Charm. The former gives Askavan another chance to use their abilities, and I thought that requiring an ally to snap the affected target out of their supernaturally-induced loneliness would be both flavorful and tactically interesting (as the ally has to be within 15 feet and has to use an action to help the target). Deathly Charm basically turns the standard succubus power into something like the Geas spell.
Path of Baalzebul is mainly there because Lilith is Baalzebul's consort, but the trait adds to to Askavan's ability to manipulate and use people.
BTW, this succubus/incubus has been working undercover in the sorcerer PC's mine as a halfling gem appraiser. They have been using their powers to drain miners and frame the deaths as mining accidents and aggression between workers. Even if the player gets suspicious about this I've already established that fey troubled the last people who tried to mine in the area.
I have the NPC monster cards, so I generally just have a few of those handy.
In general is an NPC needs to do something their ability list gets updated on the fly, so long as it does not contradict established rules or knowledge of the NPC. A wizard NPC could add fly to their spell list. But they could not add it as a non-concentration spell. And they could not add it if it was established they could not fly within the time frame that would be required to add the spell
npcs also tend to have preternatural knowledge about characters, like one of our quest givers called my character by their real name, which literally nobody in the world should know (like, in universe, only my character and The Xanathar know it, because I used to work for Xanathar as a street urchin and its the kind of boss that demands total knowledge of even the lowliest employee) - it woulda been cool if that was a quest hook with the character being an orphan, but no, the NPC just read my character sheet apparently
I plan on trying to murder that NPC Saturday since we've finished our quests in Baldur's Gate and she wants us to leave to Candlekeep, because I'm playing a Harper and this woman is RAPIDLY rising the ranks in baldur's gate and very obviously evil, so I'm going to try to get her alone, silence the door, and kill her. Knowing my DM he's probably going to take whatever statblock she has in the module and replace it with a Champion because he doesn't like it when he fails to anticipate player plans and gets reactionary
well see
I'm having a lot of fun in the campaign though and don't mind if I get killed as a result, but I also know that he'd never actually kill someone's character off so *shrug*