TRPG General Chat

nitsua60

18:01

@KorvinStarmast that one gives me a smile. I think it's probably true that the concept is vague enough that it'd be hard to do it without a lot of people arguing, but it sure would be nice to sit down with a glass of wine on my back porch and peruse our finest cheese.

A meta post collecting them, though... [rummages]

NautArch

@KorvinStarmast hehe :) I'm of the like that it shouldn't be used (it's partly why I left GiTP)

nitsua60

something like:

24

Q: One Year of Building Worlds

Today, Worldbuilding SE celebrates its first anniversary. It was announced, and the day has come finally. As part of the celebrations for the anniversary, a blog has been launched and several members of the community wrote some very good content for it already with, as of now, 13 posts about W...

discussion

(horribly named post, IMO, but well-conceived and -executed)

Actually, @KorvinStarmast, if you don't mind I may post a meta "bring me your cheese" Q. Unless you'd rather, in which case I'd defer to you.

NautArch

im looking, but haven't yet found any Reactions you can take ON YOUR TURN that grant you an extra attack.

diego

18:19

@NautArch If you are a bard you can use Dissonant Whispers on an adjacent enemy, and them moving away will grant you an opportunity attack. Other than that I can't think of anyhting off hand

KorvinStarmast

@nitsua60 Go for it, and you have my heartiest endorsement. I think sometimes I get the responses I do thanks to the "shoot the messenger since it's Korvin" response.

@NautArch You mean that term "cheese" should not be used, or that rule exploits should not be pursued?

DaaaahWhoosh

@nitsua60 thanks for helping me clarify my first RPG question (and for remembering to reopen it afterward)

NautArch

@KorvinStarmast a little bit more on the latter. I see why not to do it, but those things annoy me as a player and DM. There's doing cool stuff, and there's purposefully of taking advantage of the system.

KorvinStarmast

@NautArch GiTP has greater problems than pursuing cheese; it's the never ending squeal that "it is broken!" about the most innocuous things in 5e that makes me gag. People bring a video game sensibility to a TTRPG where a DM can take care of weird exploits, which you can't do vis a vis software.

The other annoying habit is the "DM fiat" crying when people discuss how rulings improve the game and make it work/flow. (Most often the crying about the skill system not providing easy buttons for high proficiency). Numbers obsessed, versus play obsessed ... I'll stop

NautArch

18:34

@KorvinStarmast yeah, that's why it's "part" of why I left GiTP.

Adam

@NautArch Bard readies action on his turn to cast dissonant whispers on the creature standing next to the fighter after the fighter makes his 4th attack. If the fighter makes his 4th attack, is standing next to a creature, and that creature fails its save, it must use it's reaction to immediately run, removing itself from the fighters reach. The fighter then makes an opportunity attack, and then chases down the dude for the rest of his attacks

NautArch

@Adam YES! I'll add that in :)

@DaaaahWhoosh No worries!

DaaaahWhoosh

@NautArch I think I agree with your comment, it looks like there's a common misconception that an extra attack gives you an extra bonus action. Which makes me wonder if dual wielding turns out to be less useful at higher levels

I chose the Dueling fighting style, then immediately regretted it, now I'm slowly realizing I've been wrong about a lot of things

Adam

@NautArch A wild upvote has appeared

NautArch

@DaaaahWhoosh Dueling is actually a pretty good fighting style. Dual-Wielding definitely loses some love, and requires a feat to really make it worthwhile.

Adam

18:44

@DaaaahWhoosh Why do you regret dueling? It's a very well rounded choice of fighting style.

NautArch

extra +2 damage on multiple attacks is very nice.

DaaaahWhoosh

@Adam I didn't know I could use a shield, so I thought "why not just use a two-handed weapon for more damage, and then go for that fighting style instead"

but 1d8 + 2 is actually better than 1d10, and I can use a shield, and dual wielding is also less useful than I'd thought

Yuuki

19:00

Wait, so it sounds like you regret Dual Wielding and not Dueling?

DaaaahWhoosh

no, I regretted Dueling, now I see it's actually better than I thought

Adam

Ah yes, the shield bit always ends up tripping people up.

Yuuki

Ah.

NautArch

@DaaaahWhoosh if you're going two-handed, then GWF/GWM is the combo there (unless you go polearm master)

but I think there's more utility for sword+Board

AC is strangely more difficult to come by for fighters

DaaaahWhoosh

@NautArch Great Wall of Flame/ Gorgeous Womanly Mandibles?

oh, Great Weapon Fighting / Great Weapon Master

NautArch

19:06

@DaaaahWhoosh Great Weapon Fighting (style)/Great Weapon Master(feat)

DaaaahWhoosh

yeah, I guess I should look into feats. I keep hearing about them, but haven't had one yet

Yuuki

Feats are good if you have some specific build in mind. Otherwise, ASIs are better because they're more general-use.

Adam

Feats are also optional, though it appears that general consensus is that they should be in the game. Just be sure that the DM allows the option in the first place

Yuuki

I do like that they made it a choice between a feat or an ASI though. I would imagine that it'd make class balance easier to manage.

Are Rangers okay or are they being propped up by a specific feat progression? With the move to feat or ASI, you now have an "average build" (all ASIs) that you can look at.

NautArch

@DaaaahWhoosh I'm going to counter @Yuuki that feats are sometimes better. Yes, you use ASIs more, but some of the feat stuff is a lot of fun. Getting to max 20 can be big for your big stats, but the feats are powerful and fun.

Yuuki

19:17

@NautArch I didn't say feats were bad, I just said that they were more situational than ASIs.

And yes, in those situations, they can be much more powerful than choosing an ASI.

NautArch

@Yuuki a lot of folks don't like the ranger, but i do. I think it's better then judged.

Yuuki

@NautArch Revised or vanilla?

NautArch

definitely revised, but did a vanilla build and was happy with it on Shalvenay's dungeon

not beastmaster, but hunter.

KorvinStarmast

Vanilla Hunter with the SharpShooter feat isn't bad at all.

Yuuki

@KorvinStarmast That's where the question "is Ranger being propped up by a specific feat progression" becomes relevant and with the way that feats and ASIs work, it's now answerable.

doppelgreener

19:34

@SevenSidedDie Omg you did rainbows!!!

I love it. 😃

NautArch

19:48

@doppelgreener But are they Rainbow Dash rainbows?

Adam

20:00

@NautArch interestingly enough, a low level wizard could improve his spell save DC with a headband of intellect. which is only an uncommon item, though there is no official item for charisma with a similar effect.

I should hope that by level 15 though, the sorcerer has 20 charisma :p

NautArch

@Adam Well, technically that's increasing your ASI. Which is sort of the same thing, but not quite. Maybe I should add the assumption that he's already maxed out?

Adam

Up to you, it was just a thought that popped into my head.

doppelgreener

@NautArch Feasibly!

NautArch

@Adam Added a bit about it, and another (probably more relevant) magic item.

Augnar Roinstoff

I am a fairly new DM, and I need some advice for what monster to put as my final boss, as well as, the mini bosses leading up to the final fight.

My quest details are as follows: The quest in total is approximately going to pan out to be 5-6 hours. There will be 5-6 days in game. They will have 4-5 major fights in total before they meet the final boss and his mini bosses. My party has 4 people in it. This is a quest were all my players start at level 1. The party is comprised of: A half elf bard, a dwarf barbarian, a druid forest gnome, and lastly a sorcerous wood elf (the wood elf is curs…

Adam

20:12

@AugnarRoinstoff Does your quest have a certain theme to it? Dinosaurs, undead, demons, that kind of thing?

Augnar Roinstoff

Demons trying to break the rift to the human world. My players are trying to put a stop to it.

Also just general dark forces.

Drow are conducting the front of the rift breaking.

Yuuki

So clearly the final boss should be a giant cat.

In all seriousness, some powerful demon would be a good thematic choice then.

NautArch

@AugnarRoinstoff What creature books do you have? (Monster Manual, Volos, Tome of Beast?)

Augnar Roinstoff

monster manual

doppelgreener

20:47

@Diabolik fyi, there are tons of games focused on storytelling and not at all interested in combat, or minimally interested in anything beyond supporting "well, people can get into a scrap sometimes, we guess"

if you hop in here i'm sure the chat will have droves of them to unload on you

Adam

@AugnarRoinstoff Well, drow are only a CR 1/4 creature so you can definitely toss a few of them in there. You could also say that the local creatures have been mutated leading to things like Giant Ants, Vicious Dire wolves, Stirges, etc.

Off the top of my head I don't know any demons/devils in the monster manual that I would be comfortable throwing at a 1st level party. First level characters are pretty easy to kill. At least, that's what consensus tells me

diego

21:07

@AugnarRoinstoff There are a few demons/devils that are low CR, Dretch is 1/4, Imp and Quasit are 1, and Spined Devil is 2. If Drow are involved you could also have some with a few class levels.

Adam

If the PCs are level 1, I don't think giving drow more powers through class levels is necessary

diego

@Adam You should be able to do things like take an Acolyte and change it to be a Drow instead of a human without it being too deadly, or give one a level in Warlock (for example). I wouldn't do that for most of the enemies, but for the boss/mini-boss it should be fine

Adam

Ah, I get you know

BESW

@nitsua60 In 3.5 this is almost literally true; Gods are aware of anything that happens near a devotee or anything related to their domains/portfolios, but have nothing special over a high-level mortal in terms of knowing about stuff unrelated to their followers or portfolios.

godskook

Given Alter Reality and the Domain: Magic, I'd be hard-pressed to imagine something Boccob couldn't know, though.

BESW

21:23

For values of "high level" that start with 40 HD and 20 class levels for the lowest level deities, it's pretty easy to know anything that isn't being actively kept from you by somebody with at least as many resources.

MadMAxJr

21:38

When my party starts putting together a silly, silly scheme that should by all means, never work, I have started playing the song 'Bonetrousle' quietly, then slowly ramping it up as the continue to go over the details. "We get it, you think this is a bonehead idea. Fiinnneee."

nitsua60

22:04

@DaaaahWhoosh no worries--thanks for the good first question! I hope you like some of the ensuing cheese =)

Papayaman1000

22:31

@MadMAxJr Oh my god, that's genius.

Shalvenay

hey there @Papayaman1000

Papayaman1000

Hello!

Shalvenay

how're things going?

Papayaman1000

So, sidequest idea: My level 4 PCs go with a Lv1 Bard archaeologist, who finds a golem in some ruins while being protected by the party. She finds a golem, and after a short period, it also becomes a Lv1 Bard. They follow the party around for a bit until stopping in a town. Bonus points if you spot the reference.

~~They then go on to to be the personal composers for a group of four rebel Celestials~~

Shalvenay

22:48

@Papayaman1000 -- mind hopping on Discord btw?

BESW

23:04

@MadMAxJr If you want variety, Chumbawamba and Lake Street Dive have a number of options.

Papayaman1000

@Shalvenay Gah, sorry. Not at all.

trogdor

@doppelgreener yeah, I used to think that the only thing you needed was easily compellable and invokeable aspects

but it turns out you need more than that, like the ability to fit them into the game at all

it's definitely a sticky problem

Transcript for