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[DnD 5E Discussion] This is the way 5E ends. Not with a bang but a gnome mindflayer.

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  • ZonugalZonugal (He/Him) The Holiday Armadillo I'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered User regular
    edited June 2020
    I actually got the idea from browsing your rebuilt races, Zonugal!

    It's Def not going to be the only feature old blood humans get. Man but by the book humans are so boring

    Agreed! I decided to give everyone a free feat at first level, which meant I had to design Humans to have other traits.

    This is what I ended up with:
    Human Features
    -- Ability Score Increase: One ability score of your choice increases by 1 (your choice).
    -- Age: Humans reach adulthood in their late teens and live less than a century.
    -- Alignment: Humans tend toward no particular alignment. The best and the worst are found among them.
    -- Size: Humans vary widely in height and build, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.
    -- Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
    -- Defiant: Humans are known to be stubborn and often refuse to give up, even against the worst odds. You can add a d4 to a skill check or saving throw, after rolling but before you know the outcome. You must then finish a short or long rest before you can use this feature again.
    -- Khorvaire Upbringing: Based on your home within Khorvaire (or elsewhere) you have grown up with particular talents.
    ---- Aundair: Thanks to upstanding arcane education, you know one cantrip from the Wizard spell list. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
    ---- Breland: Roguish and crafty, you are proficient in one skill or tool of your choice and have expertise in it as well.
    ---- Cyre: The former industries of Cyre taught you to enhance your work via magic, you know one ritual spell from the Wizard spell list. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
    ---- Karrnath: Through forced military conscription, you are proficient in light and medium armor.
    ---- Thrane: Theological devotion has shined on you, you know one cantrip from the Cleric spell list. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
    ---- Elsewhere: Be it a childhood with the Dwarves of the Mror Holds or the beaches of Stormfront, you have picked up a regional talent. You are proficient in one skill and one language of your choice.
    -- Versatile Training: You gain proficiency in one skill, one tool, and one weapon of your choice.
    -- Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice.

    They're still kind of boring but Humans are kinda boring when compared to all the other races. I guess I settled on Humans being quick learners.

    Zonugal on
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  • The Zombie PenguinThe Zombie Penguin Eternal Hungry Corpse Registered User regular
    Yeah, I'm still mulling over who humans are in my setting.

    I know I want to do two subraces - Old Blood and New Blood

    Old blood represents having deep ties to the land from your ancestors, who were Picts/Celts/Gauls. These were mostly wiped out by the Aeternum - the culture is functionally extinct, the bloodlines and their connection with the faerie remain.

    So far my thinking for them is Adaptable, Survivors, faerie magic.

    New blood represents being from the general diaspora of refugees that arrive on Terror Incognita. Whole cultural mishmash. Adaptable, Hardy, Innovation

    They don't have to be super exciting, just evocative and distinct (which is where the base book humans fail for me, there's nothing that says this is why you want to play a human)


    Ideas hate it when you anthropomorphize them
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  • SmrtnikSmrtnik job boli zub Registered User regular
    Could human quick learnedness be represented as moving up the proficiency + table a level or two earlier than everyone else?

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  • ZonugalZonugal (He/Him) The Holiday Armadillo I'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered User regular
    Smrtnik wrote: »
    Could human quick learnedness be represented as moving up the proficiency + table a level or two earlier than everyone else?

    I think that is fundamentally too powerful.

    Ross-Geller-Prime-Sig-A.jpg
  • SmrtnikSmrtnik job boli zub Registered User regular
    Zonugal wrote: »
    Smrtnik wrote: »
    Could human quick learnedness be represented as moving up the proficiency + table a level or two earlier than everyone else?

    I think that is fundamentally too powerful.

    I was thinking Chromie in HotS.

    steam_sig.png
  • override367override367 ALL minions Registered User regular
    edited June 2020
    I have a minor feat called "human determination" where you can take an increase in your proficiency bonus of +1 after a roll until the start of your next turn, at the cost of 1 level of exhaustion at the start of your next turn that players seem to like

    Exhaustion is a high cost but given that you can activate it after a roll, it's still quite good

    override367 on
  • RonaldoTheGypsyRonaldoTheGypsy Yes, yes Registered User regular
    With the end of one campaign and the start of another, the setting has switched over and we're doing a more ... traditional game than the previous one. This one takes place in a world that oscillates between basically all water and all land via changing water levels and we're like just outside of the all water phase so land is just starting to show up. The DM has created a homebrew variant of lizardfolk that is based on Selkies so I was like heck yeah lets make one of those. There are like ... tribal civilizations that rely on shamans so my character tried to become a shaman and failed so instead he has pledged his life to a creature he saw in his dreams which I am claiming is this settings variant of a ki-rin.
    02BW036-full.png

    Whether it's real or not is up to the DM, but I am going to make a strength-based warlock and pact of the blade out a giant monster hunter world greatsword and preach the word of the great golden narwhal.

  • Hexmage-PAHexmage-PA Registered User regular
    Working on another Hero Forge design:

    us0243xmg6nu.png

    This is meant to represent Buer, a Duke of Hell in the court of Asmodeus himself that commands 15 legions of pit fiends. I'm having a bit of trouble posing him because, while I want him to wield a lance (that he hypothetically could transform into other weapons, like how some warlocks can), he's also described as having six tentacles on his back (I'm imagining these would emerge from the back of his humanoid half). I'd have to get tentacles from somewhere else and glue them onto the back, so I need to make sure I have enough space for all six. I'd also like to give some of these devils proper armor seeing as Descent into Avernus introduced the concept, but I l'd have particular difficulty with this guy (plus the clothing options on Hero Forge appropriate for a Duke of Hell are lacking).

    I imagine in battle this guy leads the charge in melee, striking one target with his lance while whipping those nearby with his six tentacles, all the while with his pit fiend underlings setting up walls of fire and bombarding with fireballs (Buer is immune to fire damage, naturally).

  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    Nips wrote: »
    Glal wrote: »
    If it's not Baroque, don't fix it!

    I swear after I read this, I heard the drum hit and hi-hat. Like, with my physical ears. Viscerally.

    I always hear Cogsworth chuckle and wipe a tear.

  • Hexmage-PAHexmage-PA Registered User regular
    edited June 2020
    I've already written up a five page document for what the currently intended BBEG of my next campaign, the winged yuan-ti abomination cleric Seghulerak, has prepared to deal with intruders.

    These include:


    - Seghulerak amasses her yuan-ti and bound demon troops and has injury poisons applied to their weapons.
    - Captives are sacrificed by Seghulerak to prepare her Rakdos Riteknife; the corpses are turned into undead minions with Animate Dead.
    - Seghulerak summons her marilith ally Zuvexus with a candle of evocation just before entering the battle chamber. Zuvexus herself summons a small number of additional demonic minions.
    - Seghulerak pre-casts spiritual weapon, spirit guardians, and death ward.
    - The battle chamber is a sixty foot tall room whose bottom half is under the effects of a Forbiddance spell against celestials and whose upper half is shrouded in magical darkness. The chamber is filled with essence of ether inhalation poison, which she and her allies are immune to. Several chaotic evil candles of evocation have also recently been lit (which, while within their dim light, grant Seghulerak and her allies advantage on Attack rolls, Saving Throws, and Ability Checks; in addition, they allow her to cast 1st-level cleric spells she has prepared without expending spell slots. Various spell glyphs are also present, ready to aid yuan-ti and demons while harming anyone else. Stone Shape is used to seal the exits.
    - Seghulerak herself alternates between commanding her troops or casting spells (such as Silence to hinder enemy spell casters) from the magical darkness and swooping down into the radius of a candle of evocation to attack with the Lash of Shadows, a reach weapon that can inflict various poisons (including a petrifying one).
    - If Seghulerak and her forces win, the party is captured. The yuan-ti decide what the best use for each character could be. For example, plans might be concocted to make extensive use of Modify Memory and perform a ritual to turn the character into a willing yuan-ti agent.
    - In the event Seghulerak anticipates a loss, she retreats above the affect range of the Forbiddance spell and casts Plane Shift to retreat to a secret demiplane called the Serpent Reliquary.

    Seghulerak's primary weakness is that she posseses the Book of Vile Darkness, which disappears if the attuned individual performs a good act. Out of paranoia the Book will leave her and take away the powers it has granted, she refuses to cast buffing or healing spells on anyone but herself.

    Further, should Zevexus still be present if she decides to retreat, Seghulerak will be torn on whether to try and Plane Shift the marilith to safety. On the one hand, Zuvexus is a powerful ally in Seghulerak's evil plans. However, Seghulerak has found she has developed a fondness for the marilith despite her yuan-ti nature's suppression of her emotions. Seghulerak fears that the Book might judge her risking her own chances at escape to let Zuvexus Plane Shift with her to be an act driven more by selflessness than pragmatism, meaning the Book would depart along with the power it grants. There's also the matter of Zuvexus' own persona; would being abandoned by Seghulerak be an affront to her, or would Zuvexus consider it a wise tactical decision? Would Zuvexus appreciate being rescued, or would she rather fight to the end and be banished to her home layer of the Abyss to be resummoned later?

    Hexmage-PA on
  • GoumindongGoumindong Registered User regular
    Find familiar is a first level spell and so is not terribly OP for a racial ability

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  • DarmakDarmak RAGE vympyvvhyc vyctyvyRegistered User regular
    Goumindong wrote: »
    Find familiar is a first level spell and so is not terribly OP for a racial ability

    But what about fireball for my goblin racial ability? 🤔

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  • see317see317 Registered User regular
    Darmak wrote: »
    Goumindong wrote: »
    Find familiar is a first level spell and so is not terribly OP for a racial ability

    But what about fireball for my goblin racial ability? 🤔

    Sure, your goblin can have all the cinnamon flavored whisky she desires.
    Heck, won't even put a daily limit on that. Just, drink up lil' goblin. Remember, when you start to see double, try to shoot in the middle.

  • override367override367 ALL minions Registered User regular
    I feel like a fire goblin should have an innate ability to cast fireball, centered on themselves

    they do not get fire resistance

  • Hexmage-PAHexmage-PA Registered User regular
    edited June 2020
    Just found a mini that first came out in 2016 in limited qualities that I really, really want.

    The company is out of stock, and the only website I've seen selling them is charging a little over $100. It is a 70mm tall mini, but damn.

    EDIT: Just bought it. Paid about $115 dollars for a BBEG figure that for all I know I may never use in a game.

    Hexmage-PA on
  • SmrtnikSmrtnik job boli zub Registered User regular
    Hexmage-PA wrote: »
    Just found a mini that first came out in 2016 in limited qualities that I really, really want.

    The company is out of stock, and the only website I've seen selling them is charging a little over $100. It is a 70mm tall mini, but damn.

    EDIT: Just bought it. Paid about $115 dollars for a BBEG figure that for all I know I may never use in a game.

    Who or what is it?

    steam_sig.png
  • DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    I feel like a fire goblin should have an innate ability to cast fireball, centered on themselves

    they do not get fire resistance

    This feels like a Gygaxian monster. Where they have a trick to punish the fuck out of players who do not know the trick. Whatever you do you better go from them being confident they can win the fight to being dead because if they get a turn but think they're gonna die anyways...

    Nod. Get treat. PSN: Quippish
  • WearingglassesWearingglasses Of the friendly neighborhood variety Registered User regular
    So I got a bad guy wizard parleying with the party. Level 13 spellcaster versus four level 4. I'm reasonably certain I can scare these guys into not attacking, but as they are PCs, they are not to be underestimated.

    What's the prep a bad guy wizard should have? I'm thinking

    - Mage Armor precasted
    - Counterspell slot reserved
    - Fireball prepared to scare the fuck out of them (via killing some of them)
    - Misty Step and Teleport for escape (Teleport slot reserved)
    - Legendary Resistance (maybe just 1/day at this level? Not the usual 3)
    - l should also not hesitate to kill a PC if they are being too uppity during negotiation. This bad guy wizard is a bit bonkers, after all.

  • ZonugalZonugal (He/Him) The Holiday Armadillo I'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered User regular
    So I got a bad guy wizard parleying with the party. Level 13 spellcaster versus four level 4. I'm reasonably certain I can scare these guys into not attacking, but as they are PCs, they are not to be underestimated.

    What's the prep a bad guy wizard should have? I'm thinking

    - Mage Armor precasted
    - Counterspell slot reserved
    - Fireball prepared to scare the fuck out of them (via killing some of them)
    - Misty Step and Teleport for escape (Teleport slot reserved)
    - Legendary Resistance (maybe just 1/day at this level? Not the usual 3)
    - l should also not hesitate to kill a PC if they are being too uppity during negotiation. This bad guy wizard is a bit bonkers, after all.

    Oh, the Mislead spell is made for something like this.

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  • webguy20webguy20 I spend too much time on the Internet Registered User regular
    So I got a bad guy wizard parleying with the party. Level 13 spellcaster versus four level 4. I'm reasonably certain I can scare these guys into not attacking, but as they are PCs, they are not to be underestimated.

    What's the prep a bad guy wizard should have? I'm thinking

    - Mage Armor precasted
    - Counterspell slot reserved
    - Fireball prepared to scare the fuck out of them (via killing some of them)
    - Misty Step and Teleport for escape (Teleport slot reserved)
    - Legendary Resistance (maybe just 1/day at this level? Not the usual 3)
    - l should also not hesitate to kill a PC if they are being too uppity during negotiation. This bad guy wizard is a bit bonkers, after all.

    Make sure there are some mooks to pull focus from the wizard. They can get ganged up and not even make it to their turn to escape.

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  • MancingtomMancingtom Registered User regular
    Hello. Some of my friends and I are planning an Eberron campaign, so I hopped onto Hero Forge to make my dude. I figured it'll be awhile before I can play with actual miniatures again, so I fired up Gimp and made this.
    zopx0tuklxcc.png

    His name is Darian Vale, a half-elf Ranger.

    I haven't completely decided on his background, but I think he's from the Eldeen Reaches. Do you have any advice on role-playing a half-elf in Eberron?

  • ZonugalZonugal (He/Him) The Holiday Armadillo I'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered User regular
    Mancingtom wrote: »
    I haven't completely decided on his background, but I think he's from the Eldeen Reaches. Do you have any advice on role-playing a half-elf in Eberron?

    I'd say a big question to consider is if your Half-Elf is a "Khoravar" (they were born of two Half-Elves and raised in a predominantly Half-Elf community) or the child of a Human & an Elf.

    But if you are looking for a chunk of info to chew on?
    A Racial Introduction to Half-Elves

    Half-elves share the continent of Khorvaire with the other common races. When the elves first came to the continent and began mingling with the human settlers, the first half-elves were born. Over time, the half-elves gathered and formed two distinct family groups—the groups that eventually became House Lyrandar and House Medani. For two thousand years, the half-elves of Khorvaire have possessed a culture and society of their own. Occasionally, elves and humans still produce half-elves, but those belonging to the two half-elf dragonmarked houses breed true as a race of their own.

    Lands
    The half-elves of Khorvaire don’t control nations, but their houses and guilds command key services for many countries. The first of these houses formed about two thousand years ago, around the time of the appearance of the dragonmark of Storm. The second house came into its own five hundred years later and may have been an offshoot of the original half-elf community. Both groups weathered the War of the Mark and the Last War, and today half-elves with connections to both houses can be found in nearly every nation of Khorvaire.

    Settlements
    Half-elves, as members of two distinct dragonmarked houses, don’t control nations of their own. They do have enclaves in most of the nations of Khorvaire, however, from which they conduct the business of their houses. Many cities have large half-elf populations with districts or neighborhoods dominated by half-elves. These boroughs usually resemble the rest of the city, at least superficially, but where a significant number of individuals of a given house reside, the buildings take on similar architectural detail as appropriate for that house.

    House Medani holdings tend to be practical and open, with few places to hide and clear lines of sight. Members of House Lyrandar tend to decorate their buildings with symbols of storms. Window shutters might be carved to look like clouds, and lightning rods (a common feature of House Lyrandar architecture) are often shaped like lightning bolts reaching to the sky. In addition, House Lyrandar controls the island paradise of Stormhome, which features the house’s primary enclave. House Medani maintains an entire ward in the Brelish city of Wroat.

    Power Groups
    Two main groups have tremendous power within half-elf communities. House Lyrandar holds the Mark of Storm; thus, half-elves run both the powerful Windwrights Guild and the Raincallers Guild. Together these guilds dominate shipping, travel, and agriculture. House Medani is less influential in politics, but it commands the business of personal protection due to the Mark of Detection it bears. The house members’ sterling reputations and stalwart guardianship have earned them many friends in high places.

    Beliefs
    Half-elves usually worship the Sovereign Host, though half-elves in Thrane often demonstrate fervent devotion to the Silver Flame. A few dabble in ancestor worship to emulate their elf heritage, but these are rare individuals. Of these, some have even taken up with the Valenar elves to help that new nation develop.

    Relations
    The businesses run by House Lyrandar and House Medani require that half-elves deal with many different types of people regardless of race or religion. Due to their heritage, half-elves have developed a tolerant attitude toward other races and ideas. The other races and houses must in turn show respect and tolerance toward half-elves due to the necessary services House Lyrandar renders.

    Half-elves are common in Khorvaire. The race is unique to that continent, where it grew out of the earliest mingling of humans and elves. Half-elves can be as haughty as elves, though they are more able to work comfortably with humans. A few half-elves, fascinated with death and the practices of their Aerenal ancestors, become accomplished necromancers. Others favor their human heritage more strongly, to the point of blending almost invisibly into human society. While the majority of half-elves belong to their own distinct race, elves and humans throughout Khorvaire still intermingle and occasionally produce offspring.

    Roleplaying a Half-Elf
    Here are some ideas for how to roleplay a half-elf. You were born with a silver tongue, so use your skills. Talk up the shopkeeper before you buy something. Stop by the taverns in town and become a local. Negotiation is always an option, even if you know you must fight. Talk to your enemies to buy yourself or your allies time to prepare or escape. Many half-elves are associated with one of the two half-elf dragonmarked houses. Use that association to your advantage, even if you’re not a member of House Lyrandar or House Medani.

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  • MancingtomMancingtom Registered User regular
    Thanks, I really appreciate it.

    My idea for his background, applicable to any setting, so far: He was found as an infant, clutched in the arms of a dead parent. Raised in a struggling but nurturing orphanage. For lack of a better descriptor, extremely Gryffindor. Apprenticed to a group of hedge knights who protected the smallfolk when the nobles were too busy with power games. Whenever the adventure starts is the first time he's been on his own.

    That can fit into the Last War pretty well, I think. The armies and the big adventurers are dealing with that, so "normal" stuff like bandits setting up petty fiefdoms or monster raids fall through the cracks. The war probably ended before Darian got a chance to really see it, so he's looking for a chance to prove himself--like a kid who was just too young to enlist for WW2.

    I think he's an outsider to most Khorvaire society, not really connected to Lyrandar or Medani--so far as he knows.

  • Hexmage-PAHexmage-PA Registered User regular
    Rules Question: In Explorer's Guide to Wildemount an item called Black Sap says that taking a dose causes a creature to be immune to being charmed or frightened for 1d6 hours, but for each dose consumed the creature must make a Constitution save against being poisoned for 24 hours. If a creature that is immune to the poisoned condition takes a dose, do they get the benefits of Black Sap with no downsides, or does their immunity to the poisoned condition deprive them of any benefit?

  • override367override367 ALL minions Registered User regular
    I'd say not since the benefit is not contingent on the constitution saving throw

  • SmrtnikSmrtnik job boli zub Registered User regular
    I would also consider the reason for the position immunity. Constructs are poison immune but i would not let a golem or robot derive benefits from a biological agent.

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  • override367override367 ALL minions Registered User regular
    edited June 2020
    Smrtnik wrote: »
    I would also consider the reason for the position immunity. Constructs are poison immune but i would not let a golem or robot derive benefits from a biological agent.

    yeah best just to make a DM call on that, for a player though? eh it should just work

    override367 on
  • Hexmage-PAHexmage-PA Registered User regular
    Smrtnik wrote: »
    I would also consider the reason for the position immunity. Constructs are poison immune but i would not let a golem or robot derive benefits from a biological agent.

    yeah best just to make a DM call on that, for a player though? eh it should just work

    The major villain group in the campaign I'm planning are yuan-ti, so I was curious if they could gain Black Sap's benefits.

    I'm imagining a situation where a PC casts Charm Person on an NPC that is, unknown to them, a yuan-ti pureblood under the effects of Black Sap. Since the spell has verbal and somatic components the yuan-ti might make an Arcana check to identify the PC was attempting Charm Person. The pureblood plays along like it was charmed before leading the party into a trap.

  • override367override367 ALL minions Registered User regular
    Unless the item ties the poison to the beneficial effect, I feel like yuan-ti are in the clear

  • Hexmage-PAHexmage-PA Registered User regular
    edited June 2020
    Smrtnik wrote: »
    Hexmage-PA wrote: »
    Just found a mini that first came out in 2016 in limited qualities that I really, really want.

    The company is out of stock, and the only website I've seen selling them is charging a little over $100. It is a 70mm tall mini, but damn.

    EDIT: Just bought it. Paid about $115 dollars for a BBEG figure that for all I know I may never use in a game.

    Who or what is it?

    I'm pretty sure the image isn't work safe, but my intention is that it could be used as an alternative design for the Queen of Chaos. She's a D&D villainess who appeared in the Rod of Seven Parts adventure and is supposedly the most powerful demon lord in existence but has only ever been name dropped since...partially because she looks a lot like Ursula from The Little Mermaid.

    1pqz7lvvk9ws.jpg
    I'm not particularly keen on the mythos for her and Miska from the Rod of Seven Parts adventure, nor am I that keen on her resemblance to Whats-Her-Name from The Little Mermaid, nor am I too keen on the fact that her name is the Queen of Chaos.

    The mini I purchased has the tentacles coming out of her head instead, replacing the ones the official design has with a sluglike lower body dragged around by crablike legs.

    In 3E the Queen of Chaos was established to be one of the original demons and the creator of Demogorgon.

    In 4E it was said that she was the leader of twelve demon lords who had already destroyed an entire multiverse. She sent a seed for a new Abyss to another multiverse, which was found and planted by the god Tharizdun. The formation of the new Abyss allowed the Queen of Chaos, Dagon, Pazuzu, Obox-Ob, and the other elder demon lords to escape their dying reality for this new one.

    5E so far has just listed her as an Elder Evil.

    BTW, there was also a novelization of The Rod of Seven Parts that featured her and her general/consort, Miska the Wolf Spider. Here's an excerpt:
    "The Queen of Chaos towered like a large building, rising from the midst of a nest of tentacles. Her body was a dark and shapeless blob, almost black in color, the upper portion resembling some grotesque, unspeakably foul version of a giantess. The form was vaguely humanoid and female, yet so bulbous and disfigured as to barely resemble anything like a woman. Miska's human face was buried somewhere in the folds of the queen's monstrous body, but the two wolf heads were upraised and alert."

    Now I just wish I could get an Obox-Ob mini!

    r8p32b1zi5pl.jpg

    Hexmage-PA on
  • Hexmage-PAHexmage-PA Registered User regular
    edited June 2020
    I figure my campaign will eventually take the party to the Abyss, so I'm doing some research on Abyssal locations and NPCs from established D&D lore.

    Here's my favorite NPC so far:

    Packaos the Immortal resembles a cherubic young halfling. He has twice served as a Blightlord of Morglon-Daar, a city populated primarily by yugoloths in the fourth layer of the Abyss. Packaos' most recent stint as a Blightlord ended when he quit out of boredom, but before that he was slain and replaced by a rival. Packaos reappeared in the city unharmed the next day and challenged his successor to a rematch, which he won. Packaos' several apparent deaths have been witnessed multiple times, but he always reappears in Morglon-Daar the next day. The mysterious halfling now runs a mercantile operation that ships goods up and down the Abyssal layers via the River Styx.

    Hexmage-PA on
  • override367override367 ALL minions Registered User regular
    oh no my new player friend has a dm who is running tomb of horrors one shot for him and 3 other newbies

    why do experienced players do this, run new players into tomb of horrors, its not even fun for experienced players, there isn't even any real combat in it

  • Hexmage-PAHexmage-PA Registered User regular
    edited July 2020
    In continuing my research into the lore of the Abyss I discovered an interesting detail from 4E's Demonomicon.

    One way demons can achieve greater forms and power is by receiving contributions of spiritual energy from other demons. The demons who agree to surrender this energy usually do so in exchange for not being slain by the recipient.

    This goes a long way to justify how demon lords work and why these embodiments of Chaotic Evil aren't just killing each other all the time. When stronger demons show up weaker demons hand over spiritual energy to try and convince the stronger demon not to kill them. The stronger demon therefore now also has an incentive to keep the weaker one alive. Demon lords grow so powerful partially because they have so many demons submitting spiritual energy to them out of fear of destruction. Even if all those subservient demons chose to stop sending power to Demogorgon or whoever that's no guarantee the demon won't still possess a great deal of inherent power. Besides, demon lords attract rivals, so subservient demons choosing to cut off the power to their lord could just make it easier for another demon lord and its minions to attack.

    This also works out to be the inverse of the way things work among the devils, where the devil god Asmodeus and the mortal souls collected in his name are the source of power. He keeps his underlings in line partially by threatening to cut them off from the supply of spiritual power through demotion to a lesser form.

    EDIT: Another interesting factoid.

    Becoming the lord of an Abyssal layer in such a way that a demon can transform its territory through sheer will requires establishing a supernatural bond with that layer and asserting metaphysical dominance over it. Would be demon lords sometimes fail in this attempt and are instead absorbed into the layer they had attempted to master.

    This makes Graz'zt especially impressive because he controls three Abyssal layers that are metaphysically linked (although one of Graz'zt's underlings, the diplomat Verin, is actually the former demon lord of one of those layers). One 4E Dungeon Magazine adventure in which the party must infiltrate Graz'zt's palace had as a possible ending a battle with Graz'zt himself. In the event he would otherwise be destroyed, he can instead choose to draw on the power he'd invested to link his three layers of the Abyss. Doing so lets him survive in a weaker state, but he also loses control of two of his Abyssal layers (which is a big deal because his capital city of Zelatar has a district on each layer).

    Hexmage-PA on
  • Hexmage-PAHexmage-PA Registered User regular
    edited July 2020


    FYI, Eberron fans: Exploring Eberron is apparently 10,000 words longer than Eberron, Rising from the Last War despite having a lower page count.

    I've never been particularly interested in Eberron, but the fact this book has sections on undersea races and civilizations and how they interact with surface dwellers makes me curious.

    Hexmage-PA on
  • The Zombie PenguinThe Zombie Penguin Eternal Hungry Corpse Registered User regular
    I posted this in the tabletop thread, but i should share it here:

    From my setting - The Spore Legionnes, terror of the Grasslands.

    Fungus-infested Aeternum elf corpses.

    Anything infected and fully colonized is dead and gone - the bodies are just elf hardware running Fungus.exe software. There's nothing that can be done to rescue victims once the infection has killed them. Prior to that, it's curable though, and the infection probably takes weeks to build up to lethal. Unfortunately, it's already infections before it kills (This probably doesn't make sense! i dont care! it's spoopier this way! Possibly it's already got little fungal emitting boils before it's lethal)

    The fungus is only infectious to Aeternum elves - By the time the setting has kicked off, how to cure it is in the knowledge of the various city states. Still, Aeternum blooded elves got ravaged by this when it first struck.

    Visually, resemble the aeternum elves, but with fungal shoots emerging form the head and neck. Need to think about the visual here, as my initial imagining was looking like dreadlocks, and uh, that's not a great look. Probably going to make it so it's a single long tail that grows out of the head, or is more obviously some sort of sensory organ. i want to avoid the Coral-Fungus look of Last of Us or the classic but generic mushroom head approach.

    Might make them have multiple ones that stick up and are wormy/medusa style - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Cordyceps.jpg This is what it looks like growing out of a wasp. (Do not click if you're easily freaked)

    Spore Legionanres can reproduce. They don't do it literally though, they instead create new bodies by harvesting meat, bone etc and reshaping this. Unsure on how big a colony can get - probably runs into limitations based on what local resources can sustainably support, plus the requirement they hunt meat means there's going to be a certain amount of casualties. Don't know if they've got any kind of queen ant or things - I'm kinda inclined to say no, because it makes them more interesting if any given member is a potential hive if left alone.

    They can possibly create some sort of solider-ant style bodies as well. Still tossing this around in my head.

    They can also heal a ridiculous amount, the only way to permanently put one down is to cremate the corpse. This ability is actually hijacked off what the aeternum could do, though way way way overcharged. It's not instantaneous healing though - think of it more as they are REALLY good at repairing injuries. They can go into hibernation too. Conventional wisdom on Terorr Incongita treats Aeternum ruins as massively risky for this reason. It looks safe, you do the wrong thing, and boom, Spore Legionnares spilling out of the doorways.

    They're dumb as bricks. There's no guiding intelligence here, nothing like that. It's purely biological programming, ant style. There's some limited ability to hijack off knowledge the bodies had, but that's limited to stuff like still knowing how to wear armor or use a sword, open a door. This is exploitable as fuck if you can figure out the pheromes - they'll keep walking into traps, etc.

    On the flip side it means injure one or do something that marks you as food, and uh, you have a terrifying swarm of fungus elf-zombies coming right at you.

    Annnd this is why no one lives in the grasslands of Terror Incongita - these fuckers are EVERYWHERE. Reclaiming efforts are ongoing, driven by the Ogres and Old-Blood humans wishing to reclaim their ancestral lands. The fact that the grasslands are also home to colossal phoenixs and various mega fauna is a complicating factor, though some coastal territories and river-heads have been successfully reclaimed.

    They were everywhere on the islands that make up the archipelago/inland sea, but by the time the setting is presumed to kick off for the pcs, these have been cleared (Or are believed to be safe, because you just know people missed ruins or nests in hibernation)

    also @Hexmage-PA asked a good question, and @Calica made a really good/creepy suggestion i'm stealing the hell out of, so here's their comments/my replies:
    Hexmage-PA wrote: »
    Are these like spore servants from the Monster Manual, and does Zuggtmoy having anything to do with them (if she exists in your setting)?

    I honestly have no idea on the Spore Servants. Reading up on it, it's the sort of thing i'd say it's certainly possible! No one in setting knows where the hell the Spore Legion fungus came from. No one knows why it only targets the Aeternum - as best scholars have been able to determine, it was a freak occurrence that toppled an empire. (Albeit, said empire was already reeling from slave revolts and a new round of the changing tides/shifting winds, which they weren't prepared for in the least.)

    So, i'd say if DMs want to make it explicitly connected, they're welcome too! But it's not intended as such

    and nope, my setting is very sealed off cosmological speaking. She doesnt even make sense given my demons!

    Calica wrote: »
    Fungi love sinus cavities.

    Maybe the first stage of infection feels like a head cold, but in reality your sinuses are full of tiny mushrooms and you're spreading spores everywhere when you sneeze.

    Then in later stages it goes ahead and eats the rest of your face, so where your nose and mouth used to be you just have a mass of sensory fungal tendrils hanging out of your head.


    Okay, so that's horrifying, and also genius! Thank you for nicely solving that - i really like that idea. Initial stages are just a very, very mild headcold that gets worse and worse slowly... and you're infectious all the while. Eventually it kills the person, and then the fungus kicks into overdrive, taking over the brain and emerging from the face like you suggested.

    ---

    So, yeah, i'm pretty happy with how the Spore Legionnaires are shaping up. they fill the niche of fairly guilt-free killing, they're genuinely terrifying (at least imho) and present an interesting obstacle, and hopeful the fact they're molded on ants and have exploitable behavior thanks to the fact they're just responding to chemical stimuli presents players with interesting challenges. And there's room to justify horrifying Warforms, or similar to escalate the threat if the players start a full on campaign to clean the continent of them.

    Plus, i really dig the mental image of seeing something like a Chalicothere get too close to an Aeternum ruin, and then boom - suddenly there's a swarm of these things pouring out and ripping it to shreds. You could do a great "oh... shit" moment for the players when they see that.

    Ideas hate it when you anthropomorphize them
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  • WhelkWhelk Registered User regular
    The fungus coming out of the face horrifies me. I also think you could do well with their bodies being covered with mold/mildew except where it naturally rubs from movement.

  • override367override367 ALL minions Registered User regular
    edited July 2020
    I just glanced at the hexblade in my game and I think I've figured out that she plans on trivializing the upcoming dragon boss fight by just eldritch smiting the dragon out of the sky twice with a longbow, since I see she's changed her hex weapon to her longbow +1

    and the fighter has potion of speed + flying boots and is going to just stand next to the dragon and sentinel it so it cant move

    eh fuck it, they prepared, they can have the trivial fight, retool it so it isn't a session planned around a boss fight, more around being a lootbox

    override367 on
  • FryFry Registered User regular
    I just glanced at the hexblade in my game and I think I've figured out that she plans on trivializing the upcoming dragon boss fight by just eldritch smiting the dragon out of the sky twice with a longbow, since I see she's changed her hex weapon to her longbow +1

    and the fighter has potion of speed + flying boots and is going to just stand next to the dragon and sentinel it so it cant move

    eh fuck it, they prepared, they can have the trivial fight, retool it so it isn't a session planned around a boss fight, more around being a lootbox

    Make it a pair of dragons, let them kick the tar out of the first one but have the other figure out a countermeasure? That way they get to feel cool but still have a tough fight

  • override367override367 ALL minions Registered User regular
    edited July 2020
    Fry wrote: »
    I just glanced at the hexblade in my game and I think I've figured out that she plans on trivializing the upcoming dragon boss fight by just eldritch smiting the dragon out of the sky twice with a longbow, since I see she's changed her hex weapon to her longbow +1

    and the fighter has potion of speed + flying boots and is going to just stand next to the dragon and sentinel it so it cant move

    eh fuck it, they prepared, they can have the trivial fight, retool it so it isn't a session planned around a boss fight, more around being a lootbox

    Make it a pair of dragons, let them kick the tar out of the first one but have the other figure out a countermeasure? That way they get to feel cool but still have a tough fight

    hrmm, white dragon, ill give it 2 scoops of Yetis

    when it hits 50% hp it will roar and a bunch of white wyrmlings will burrow out of the ice

    what I don't want to do is tool the fight around countering what they've done, Ill let them ground the dragon, ill let them keep it from getting away, and it will turn into a desperate fight for the dragon's life

    Dragon friend has a couple of special abilites, the players get a bunch of free minor feats, so do monsters:
    here's the ones I picked for him:
    SSdIYWD.png
    up9eL1X.png
    6Z84rBT.png

    override367 on
  • ToxTox I kill threads he/himRegistered User regular
    Oh man random thought but a hydra where each head has a different Battlemaster maneuver it can apply, maybe with a recharge on the use of the maneuver?

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