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[D&D 5E] Nothing is true, everything is permitted.

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  • FryFry Registered User regular
    One of the other players in my group broke out the wolves for the first time in our last session. What he did was have six of them use "Aid Another" on each of the six PCs, then had the last two do Aid Another + Attack on the biggest enemy in the room. That resolved pretty quickly (and effectively, I might add).

  • SleepSleep Registered User regular
    Fry wrote: »
    One of the other players in my group broke out the wolves for the first time in our last session. What he did was have six of them use "Aid Another" on each of the six PCs, then had the last two do Aid Another + Attack on the biggest enemy in the room. That resolved pretty quickly (and effectively, I might add).

    advantage on every first attack against your enemies is like one of the best uses of summoned animals I hadn't thought of before. I got a character entering my game based around summonning a ton of bees (Shepard druid), I'm gunna have to share this idea with him because having a bunch of bees show up to distract his enemies sounds like some shit he should be all about.

  • SleepSleep Registered User regular
    edited November 2017
    For extra fun I'll note that the Shepard and his two likely party members are all gnomes. A gnome rogue, a gnome beast master ranger, and a gnome Shepard druid. The beast master ranger is going to have both his badger pet and an owl familiar. There's gonna be so many minions on this board.

    Sleep on
  • AegeriAegeri Tiny wee bacteriums Plateau of LengRegistered User regular
    Gaddez wrote: »
    Aegeri wrote: »
    It has now happened.

    A player has figured out the "summon 8+ wolves into every encounter" trick. A big con bonus and the feat for advantage on those saves is going to basically make all random overworld encounters irrelevant.

    This shall be tricky.

    Two best ways to deal with this:
    1. Make liberal use of aoe's. Just splash damage and CC's all over the place and if it starts hitting non-canids then them's the breaks.

    Random encounters. They are not designed to deal with wolves and can't be as there are 5 other parties too. It would be very odd if every encounter picks up AoE.
    3. Prioritize murdering him. If he's KO'd or in roll up a new character land then he can't very well keep a horde of puppers around.

    He has AC 20 and with advantage on concentration checks and +3 con bonus, that spell is rarely going anywhere.

    And it actually ends combats in this case faster - they're exceptionally good at killing random encounters. It won't work in dungeons, which have designed encounters and many ways around this.

    The Roleplayer's Guild: My blog for roleplaying games, advice and adventuring.
  • SleepSleep Registered User regular
    edited November 2017
    Aegeri wrote: »
    Gaddez wrote: »
    Aegeri wrote: »
    It has now happened.

    A player has figured out the "summon 8+ wolves into every encounter" trick. A big con bonus and the feat for advantage on those saves is going to basically make all random overworld encounters irrelevant.

    This shall be tricky.

    Two best ways to deal with this:
    1. Make liberal use of aoe's. Just splash damage and CC's all over the place and if it starts hitting non-canids then them's the breaks.

    Random encounters. They are not designed to deal with wolves and can't be as there are 5 other parties too. It would be very odd if every encounter picks up AoE.
    3. Prioritize murdering him. If he's KO'd or in roll up a new character land then he can't very well keep a horde of puppers around.

    He has AC 20 and with advantage on concentration checks and +3 con bonus, that spell is rarely going anywhere.

    And it actually ends combats in this case faster - they're exceptionally good at killing random encounters. It won't work in dungeons, which have designed encounters and many ways around this.

    Increase the volume on the random encounters

    Like when it calls for 2d4 orcs or something like that make it 2d4+3. It won't always make it a full on challenge, but it might give anyone else a chance to make a swing.

    Also, assuming organized play, how the heck do they have a 20 ac and a +3 con mod and the ability to cast conjure woodland animals? What class is the guy?

    Sleep on
  • AbbalahAbbalah Registered User regular
    Alternately: This druid is very good at managing random wilderness encounters, and concludes them quickly so the party can get where they're actually going and do cool dungeon shit.

    Is bad why?

  • SleepSleep Registered User regular
    edited November 2017
    also yeah that, the druid or ranger making overland travel a breeze is kinda right on point for something they should be doing for the party.

    Sleep on
  • AldoAldo Hippo Hooray Registered User regular
    They basically unlocked fast-travel because of that dude's pack of wolves. I'm sure after one or two encounters completely fixed by this one dude the other players will welcome the option to just skip ahead anyway.

  • GaddezGaddez Registered User regular
    edited November 2017
    Abbalah wrote: »
    Alternately: This druid is very good at managing random wilderness encounters, and concludes them quickly so the party can get where they're actually going and do cool dungeon shit.

    Is bad why?

    Because it grinds combat to a halt for everyone else since You can't quickly resolve 8 wolf attacks quickly and trivializes the role of other party members?

    Also, if you want to just focus on the in dungeon stuff (where this nonsense will continue but I digress) then it's better to just skip the random encounters altogether.

    *edit* @Aegeri How does he have AC 20 as a druid? Like, I'm assuming that the party isn't in the double digits and isn't rocking magic items, so the highest he should be is around 18 with barkskin and a shield, and if that's the case he isn't going to be able to run around with his wolves.

    Gaddez on
  • Mostlyjoe13Mostlyjoe13 Evil, Evil, Jump for joy! Registered User regular
    edited November 2017
    I read all this praise of 4E and all the reasons listed were why I disliked it. Honestly 13th Age does a far better job of showcasing unique class based powers with out repeating the same basic attack structure dozens of times because hit X, hit X + rider effect at next level, hit X more + different rider effect, etc. Brevity in showcasing how attacks and powers expand as you level up was something that 4E did not have. I just hated the way the powers etc were presented in 4E. I felt the editorial direction was a bit crazy.

    And frankly, Skill Challenges while an interesting idea, were far to meta for my taste. I prefer the naturalistic way 5E handles stats/proficiency/and saves there are more options that allow for diversity in character options. Sure Each class in effect can do similar things, but HOW they do it matters most. 4E's brevity in some places and over-verbosity in others was perplexing. To quote Beatlejuice "it read like stereo instructions."

    Mostlyjoe13 on
    PSN ID - Mostlyjoe Steam ID -TheNotoriusRNG
  • AegeriAegeri Tiny wee bacteriums Plateau of LengRegistered User regular
    edited November 2017
    Random treasure blessed him: He has scale mail +1 and a +1 shield (remember earlier in the thread I was talking about how much I hated +1 shields). Also this character is level 7 too.

    Also additional orcs (as an example) won't do anything in particular to wolves. They're effectively +8 bodies and players vary anywhere from 3 to 8 in a session. The net result will be to effectively make a fight 10 minutes longer to accomplish absolutely nothing.

    Very few monsters in 5e have AoE attacks and even fewer will appear in random encounters, because your random encounter is based on wildlife and roaming bandits. Not squads dedicated to killing 8 wolves.

    The main worry is that the 3 other druids figure this out as well. Then the fun will begin.
    Abbalah wrote: »
    Alternately: This druid is very good at managing random wilderness encounters, and concludes them quickly so the party can get where they're actually going and do cool dungeon shit.

    Is bad why?

    As it's Westmarches, being able to trivialize travel is a substantial take away from what makes it unique. Especially due to one spell.

    And no, he's not realized the help action part of the wolves yet. Which is where they are *really* useful.

    Aegeri on
    The Roleplayer's Guild: My blog for roleplaying games, advice and adventuring.
  • KadokenKadoken Giving Ends to my Friends and it Feels Stupendous Registered User regular
    edited November 2017
    Gaddez wrote: »
    Abbalah wrote: »
    Alternately: This druid is very good at managing random wilderness encounters, and concludes them quickly so the party can get where they're actually going and do cool dungeon shit.

    Is bad why?

    Because it grinds combat to a halt for everyone else since You can't quickly resolve 8 wolf attacks quickly and trivializes the role of other party members?

    Also, if you want to just focus on the in dungeon stuff (where this nonsense will continue but I digress) then it's better to just skip the random encounters altogether.

    *edit* @Aegeri How does he have AC 20 as a druid? Like, I'm assuming that the party isn't in the double digits and isn't rocking magic items, so the highest he should be is around 18 with barkskin and a shield, and if that's the case he isn't going to be able to run around with his wolves.

    Why don’t you just make the wolves into two squads of four with two initiatives and roll for the individuals in the group at the same time? I and my DnD DM make squads of the same npc types like that a lot in bigger encounters to save time.

    (It also makes aoe attacks more effective if you clump the models together spatially [not like a voltron or nothin’] as a trade off for group attacks. Not that my players notice)

    Kadoken on
  • Hexmage-PAHexmage-PA Registered User regular
    edited November 2017
    For anyone interested, I just found a fantastically detailed list of 4E gods, primordials, archdevils, demon lords, archfey, primal spirits, etc, etc, etc here, complete with citations: Gods, Primordials, and Other Powers of the Dawn War

    There's some really obscure stuff here, too.

    Hexmage-PA on
  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    I appreciate the charts of random names for characters of all the playable races in the back of Xanathars. Even as a player who prefers to come up with his own character names, it's a great resource for me to get an idea of how a particular race tends to go about naming individuals.

  • italianranmaitalianranma Registered User regular
    It's pretty handy, but my personal technique for NPCs is to have a list of ten names for each culture I'm trying to represent pre-generated. And to do that I usually just run a search for things like "popular Greek baby names" or something like that. The other personal technique I use for naming locations I think I saw on this board 5 or 6 years ago. I write down 10 or so words that are meaningful to the setting. For example in my last one-shot zombie adventure set in a small northern port and mining town I used "Ice, Port, Coal, Pine, Snow, Tar, Gem, Cough, Dust, Soot, Black, Cold, Sapphire, & Blue" I based most of the location names on these themes, and whenever the players asked for the name of a location that I needed to make up on the spot I just picked 2 or 3 of the words or their derivatives and mashed them together.

    飛べねぇ豚はただの豚だ。
  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    Yeah, for NPCs I would have a more in-depth method, but when I'm a player, the only concern I have is making sure my character can be slotted into the world the GM has in mind.

  • ozone275ozone275 Registered User regular
    Something i want to run by this group

    we all know some DMs have that "free feat at level 1" thing right? well im making a campaign where the party members are traveling through the elemental planes and was thinking of giving them a free cantrip based off one of the four elements (shape water, mold earth, create fire and gust). does this seem a bit to much/powerful?

    EDIT: it would only be one of the spells determined at random

  • discriderdiscrider Registered User regular
    I would have thought that, if it's something other characters could get at level one, all giving a cantrip to say a melee class would do is give them extra versatility rather than any sortof power increase.

  • italianranmaitalianranma Registered User regular
    Shouldn't be a problem. I gotta ask though what do you expect the players to do with those? Is it a nice little gimme that you expect them to use to RP with, or are you thinking of making some kind of puzzles that they would need to use those powers to solve? If it's the later you may even think of letting them gain more powerful spells at later levels, and in that case I'd recommend 2 levels higher than when a spellcaster would normally be able to cast it.

    飛べねぇ豚はただの豚だ。
  • ozone275ozone275 Registered User regular
    Shouldn't be a problem. I gotta ask though what do you expect the players to do with those? Is it a nice little gimme that you expect them to use to RP with, or are you thinking of making some kind of puzzles that they would need to use those powers to solve? If it's the later you may even think of letting them gain more powerful spells at later levels, and in that case I'd recommend 2 levels higher than when a spellcaster would normally be able to cast it.

    more rp at the moment but im still writing it, i will be looking into more powerful version thing you mentioned though

  • SleepSleep Registered User regular
    Holy shit the conjurationist wizard level 3 ability is just the coolest thing.

  • HellboreHellbore A bad, bad man Registered User regular
    Sleep wrote: »
    Holy shit the conjurationist wizard level 3 ability is just the coolest thing.

    Which one's that? I didn't think Wizards get anything at level 3

  • SmrtnikSmrtnik job boli zub Registered User regular
    I thought lvl3 just gets you more spell slots. Or are you talking something other than 5e?

    steam_sig.png
  • SleepSleep Registered User regular
    Woops Definitely meant 2, the minor conjuration ability.

  • SleepSleep Registered User regular
    edited November 2017
    Like the wizard used it to make a big cushion for them to land in to pad a 20 foot fall

    Sleep on
  • NealnealNealneal Registered User regular
    edited November 2017
    I'm not sure how much padding a 3ftx3ftx3ft cushion is going to provide but that sounds like a fun use of the power. (I may be playing a Conjurer...)

    Nealneal on
  • AldoAldo Hippo Hooray Registered User regular
    Gosh, my next character is going to be a wizard for sure. I'm inspired by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenelm_Digby and he would definitely employ ridiculous cushions in his tales of derring-do.

  • DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    ozone275 wrote: »
    Something i want to run by this group

    we all know some DMs have that "free feat at level 1" thing right? well im making a campaign where the party members are traveling through the elemental planes and was thinking of giving them a free cantrip based off one of the four elements (shape water, mold earth, create fire and gust). does this seem a bit to much/powerful?

    EDIT: it would only be one of the spells determined at random

    I'd actually be wary of that random thing. You're making a single random roll that is going to stay with the character, forever. So the big dumb but wary fighter gets an intelligence attack cantrip and basically ignores it or rolls one higher and gets wisdom based sacred flame and has a useful ranged/non-ac attack for their entire career. Definitely a thing I'd hand tailor to the characters to avoid them being useless or overly synergistic based on a single die roll.

    Nod. Get treat. PSN: Quippish
  • AegisAegis Fear My Dance Overshot Toronto, Landed in OttawaRegistered User regular
    edited November 2017
    Did free feats at level 1 carry over to 5e? I thought that was a 4e thing given how important feats were to character builds.

    Though I guess I wouldn't complain about it in 5e, given that they're always more interesting than "oh boy, +2 to my main stat".

    Aegis on
    We'll see how long this blog lasts
    Currently DMing: None :(
    Characters
    [5e] Dural Melairkyn - AC 18 | HP 40 | Melee +5/1d8+3 | Spell +4/DC 12
  • DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    I don't think 5e feats are any less important than 4e feats. They're one of the very few ways to distinguish some classes from other members of that class.

    I think the free feat thing was because you always got a feat at first level since they were introduced back in 3rd edition.

    Nod. Get treat. PSN: Quippish
  • AegisAegis Fear My Dance Overshot Toronto, Landed in OttawaRegistered User regular
    edited November 2017
    I don't think 5e feats are any less important than 4e feats. They're one of the very few ways to distinguish some classes from other members of that class.

    I think the free feat thing was because you always got a feat at first level since they were introduced back in 3rd edition.

    Feats in 5e aren't build-defining for the most part in comparison to 4e feats; they're for what doing what you say, providing different things to do. They also often come with the downside of you not getting your budgeted main stat increase. Like, I love my Shield Master on the Dwarf I'm playing because it gives me something to do as a tank that controls the battlefield (namely, attempting to knock a creature prone every time I attack for free), but it's a far cry from build-defining and I'm actively hindering my ability to hit things.

    In 4e, you built towards specific feats or more frequently combinations of feats to make your entire build function effectively. You chose your powers specifically to take advantage of the feats you're picking.

    Aegis on
    We'll see how long this blog lasts
    Currently DMing: None :(
    Characters
    [5e] Dural Melairkyn - AC 18 | HP 40 | Melee +5/1d8+3 | Spell +4/DC 12
  • SleepSleep Registered User regular
    edited November 2017
    Nealneal wrote: »
    I'm not sure how much padding a 3ftx3ftx3ft cushion is going to provide but that sounds like a fun use of the power. (I may be playing a Conjurer...)

    Pretty much exactly.

    I definitely let the wizard know that the cushion only worked due to the shortness of the fall, they would need a much bigger cushion for a fall of any higher. In retrospect i should have had the chair/cushion disappear after breaking the fall as it takes a little damage from that distance.

    I may also play a little fast and loose with the dimensions. Its essentially the ability to summon one reasonably sized item at a time. Like if the bard is caught without his lute the conjurer just poofs a lute into being and hands it to him, but like if the conjurer forgets and then summons a glass to grab some wine the lute disappears. Basically I thought a 50 foot coil of rope was both totally within reason, and more importantly an awesome solution to the nobody has rope problem.

    Sleep on
  • captainkcaptaink TexasRegistered User regular
    Aegis wrote: »
    Did free feats at level 1 carry over to 5e? I thought that was a 4e thing given how important feats were to character builds.

    Though I guess I wouldn't complain about it in 5e, given that they're always more interesting than "oh boy, +2 to my main stat".

    It's a houserule, not official.

  • SleepSleep Registered User regular
    Aegis wrote: »
    I don't think 5e feats are any less important than 4e feats. They're one of the very few ways to distinguish some classes from other members of that class.

    I think the free feat thing was because you always got a feat at first level since they were introduced back in 3rd edition.

    Feats in 5e aren't build-defining for the most part in comparison to 4e feats; they're for what doing what you say, providing different things to do. They also often come with the downside of you not getting your budgeted main stat increase. Like, I love my Shield Master on the Dwarf I'm playing because it gives me something to do as a tank that controls the battlefield (namely, attempting to knock a creature prone every time I attack for free), but it's a far cry from build-defining and I'm actively hindering my ability to hit things.

    In 4e, you built towards specific feats or more frequently combinations of feats to make your entire build function effectively. You chose your powers specifically to take advantage of the feats you're picking.

    Yeah in 5e feats are additions to characters, rather than being exactly necessary to effectiveness as part of a build, some more debatably than others (sharpshooter). You can go entirely without feats, take only stat increases and operate effectively. However feats do allow greater differentiation of characters. Some of which can be rather defining. Especially some of the UA or racial feats. Gourmand springs immediately to mind, but something like wood elf magic greatly differentiates one fighter from another that doesn't have wood elf magic

  • ZomroZomro Registered User regular
    I played a Conjurer Wizard once, but the campaign didn't last long enough for me to do any neat conjuration shenanigans. It did, however, spawn one of my favorite character concepts, though. My wizard was almost completelt academic, the idea being that he went to a magic school and when he graduated became a teacher, so his entire magical career was all in academia, magical theory and study. So he winds up leaving to become an adventurer in order to get more practical experience with his magic in order to broaden his understanding of magic. So I was playing this almost middle aged college professor kind of wizard who would wind up giving long winded explanations about magic to the party (much to the boredom of the halfling rogue).

    Also had a great scene where I narrated my wizard studying in an elven library. I'd summon my Unseen Servant to go pick up books and bring them to me in stacks, then I'd Mage Hand a book in front of me, read it snd then Mage Hand it into another stack that the Unseen Servant would take back to the shelves. It was pretty fun.

  • AbbalahAbbalah Registered User regular
    Aegis wrote: »
    I don't think 5e feats are any less important than 4e feats. They're one of the very few ways to distinguish some classes from other members of that class.

    I think the free feat thing was because you always got a feat at first level since they were introduced back in 3rd edition.

    Feats in 5e aren't build-defining for the most part in comparison to 4e feats; they're for what doing what you say, providing different things to do. They also often come with the downside of you not getting your budgeted main stat increase. Like, I love my Shield Master on the Dwarf I'm playing because it gives me something to do as a tank that controls the battlefield (namely, attempting to knock a creature prone every time I attack for free), but it's a far cry from build-defining and I'm actively hindering my ability to hit things.

    In 4e, you built towards specific feats or more frequently combinations of feats to make your entire build function effectively. You chose your powers specifically to take advantage of the feats you're picking.

    5e feats are much more build-defining because they're 'bigger' - you get way fewer of them, and they have to compete with +2 to a primary stat, so they do more.

    Which is how you end up with stuff like GWM/Sharpshooter/Crossbow Expert/Polearm Mastery/Elven Accuracy and so on. Diplomat is pretty character-defining/gamebreaking, if you use UA material. Flames of Phlegethos is pretty build-defining given how it incentivizes both A)fire spells and B)melee combat, pointing you pretty hard towards some sort of green-flame blade-based bard/sorc build. Mage Slayer and Sentinel are gamechanging if your goal is to fuck up casters or tank, respectively. There are several builds based around using Magic Initiate to poach a spell from another class's list. Warcaster and/or Resilient(Con) are arguably build-defining for melee caster builds.

    The difference is just that they're all 'pre-packaged' instead of coming as actual 'builds' you assemble over the course of several feats. And if you choose a feat-based build you have to choose between not getting your 'build' until level 12 or gimping your primary stat progression unless you play a human, which is probably where the incentive to houserule a free level 1 feat comes from.

  • FryFry Registered User regular
    Sentinel seems pretty darn defining as a feat to me.

  • DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    Yeah, I know what you're talking about with build defining feats in 4e but they're almost never a single feat and almost always require Paragon feat access. If your build does nothing until 11th level I have a real hard time feeling that is character defining for most campaigns just because of Benford's Law.

    5e feats being bigger, opening up whole new options and actually having opportunity costs all make them more central to the characters (to me, obviously.)

    Nod. Get treat. PSN: Quippish
  • GoumindongGoumindong Registered User regular
    ozone275 wrote: »
    Something i want to run by this group

    we all know some DMs have that "free feat at level 1" thing right? well im making a campaign where the party members are traveling through the elemental planes and was thinking of giving them a free cantrip based off one of the four elements (shape water, mold earth, create fire and gust). does this seem a bit to much/powerful?

    EDIT: it would only be one of the spells determined at random

    I'd actually be wary of that random thing. You're making a single random roll that is going to stay with the character, forever. So the big dumb but wary fighter gets an intelligence attack cantrip and basically ignores it or rolls one higher and gets wisdom based sacred flame and has a useful ranged/non-ac attack for their entire career. Definitely a thing I'd hand tailor to the characters to avoid them being useless or overly synergistic based on a single die roll.

    None of those are particularly powerful and i would not be particularly powerful. Create fire, while an attack isn't likely to be stronger than the others because more powerful attacks exist for most Int-based casters. While the rest of it can still definitely have use

    wbBv3fj.png
  • Hexmage-PAHexmage-PA Registered User regular
    edited November 2017
    Spent a lot of time considering the new homebrew setting I'm working on today, focusing on a concept of "ensoulment". Here are some notes for anyone interested in world building talk and divine politics:

    - 4E developed a distinction between the animus and the soul (addressed in "Open Grave"). I'm interpreting this as meaning that the primary traits of having a soul are an ability to transfer power to a god through worship, the ability to channel divine magic, and the possibility of being chosen by a god to enter their domain after death as an agent of that god's will (though most individuals in an ensouled race are more useful as living worshipers than as immortal divine agents and do not receive an afterlife). Not all intelligent mortal races are ensouled as some are deemed to be more suitable for producing effective worshipers than others.
    - It is possible, though rare, for a god to end the ensoulment of a given race's offspring for whatever reason, and in some unusual circumstances it may be possible for a god to transfer ownership of a race's ensoulment (as well as the right to determine the ultimate fate of those souls) to another party (which need not be a god; for example, an evil god may decide to sell the souls of an entire race they ensouled to an archdevil in exchange for some benefit). Divine treaties have been formed between the gods to determine what practices in regards to the use of souls as a commodity are permissable.
    - As worship performed by the ensouled grants divine beings more power, there is an incentive for the gods to cooperate in developing ensouled mortal civilization and increasing the population of ensouled as much as possible. The gods therefore have specialized in portfolios prioritizing the creation, growth, and maintenance of civilization.
    - The capacity for growth of densely-populated urban centers means that the gods and their servants have come to prioritize these communities for proselytizing and the fulfilment of prayers (as such investments will yield greater returns). This has resulted in a stark cultural difference between wealthier cities and poorer towns, with the people inhabiting the countryside paying more respect towards the various powers that have greater influence on their lives (the primal spirits of nature, the spirits of ancestors and heroes, and even the fey), although a rural community may venerate a relevant god.

    I realize this may be an unusual take, but I find divine politics very interesting to think about. I also like that it helps make nature spirits more relevant (instead of just being the entities that only druids care about) and creates an additional motivation for antagonistic monstrous races (instead of just being born evil, it could be that they were neglected by the gods and have reacted by turning to other, more sinister entities). Further, since I'm carrying over the primordials from 4E, the many problematic aspects of the god-founded "soul economy" would help serve as a justification for good people to reject the gods and serve primordials as revolutionaries against divine tyranny. The gods in general may not be pleased with this state of affairs, but it may be the most pragmatic option for amassing enough power to fight against the cosmic threats of the multiverse.

    Hexmage-PA on
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