TRPG General Chat

Xirema

10:01 PM

Or, well, an official sourcebook, is what I mean.

But still.

GreySage

@Xirema Are the spells of all levels, or just cantrips?

Xirema

@GreySage Cantrips through to level 5. You don't get the spells automatically (at least I don't think you do) but you become capable of learning them.

And a lot of them are spells that are class-exclusive or nearly class-exclusive.

GreySage

@Xirema That seems a little off, but I guess it helps tie the various flavours of guilds together

Xirema

@GreySage It definitely makes the spellcasters more interesting. You'll end up with Sorcerers and Warlocks that can cast Druidcraft all of a sudden because of their affiliation with the Selesnya Conclave.

Could be problematic for some kinds of spellcasters though.

GreySage

Are they actually useful spells, or are they all like Druidcraft?

Sir Cinnamon

10:07 PM

@GreySage Oof, sorry druidcraft

Xirema

@GreySage It's a pretty broad slice of spells. The Golgari Guild spellcasters can all learn Animate Dead for example.

RIP Chaos Bolt being Sorcerer exclusive. Their only exclusive spell, now accessible to anyone in the Izzet League.

There's two things I worry about with these new backgrounds:

1. Certain kinds of spell combos may no longer require multiclassing. That could open up some spells to be abused by a high level class feature that normally wouldn't gain access to it.
2. Certain kinds of spells normally have no way to be INT-casted or WIS-casted, but with these backgrounds, that becomes possible.

So Ravnica-based parties could experience a larger degree of munchkining than before.

goodguy5

what does chaos bolt do?

GreySage

@goodguy5 Does damage of a random energy type, can chain to an additional target.

Xirema

@goodguy5 Level 1 spell, attack roll, 2d8+1d6 damage, damage type is based on what the 2d8 rolls, if the d8 rolls are identical, the sorcerer can make another attack roll with the spell against a new target, as though casting again.

goodguy5

seems dumb.

Though, theoretically great for taking out groups of goblins

Hrm.... 2d8+1d6 of a pseudo random type seems a little op.

GreySage

10:17 PM

@goodguy5 It's slightly lower damage than similar spells, but with random type and the possibility of chaining actually gives it higher expected damage

goodguy5

I mean higher expected damage 1/8th of the time

GreySage

Compare Chromatic Orb, straight 3d8 of whatever type you choose

goodguy5

yea. seems a little op

and critting gives you more chances to chain

GreySage

@goodguy5 hmm... would it?

goodguy5

I don't see why not

I thought there was a question around here that confirmed that crit dice and "original" dice are all "damage dice"

Xirema

10:21 PM

A question specifically about Chaos Bolt says that the crit dice are not used when considering the chain effect of the spell: rpg.stackexchange.com/a/119507/42386

GreySage

@Xirema Yeah that looks right

Although matching any of the 4 would be a nice houserule

Xirema

@GreySage I think I'll use that in my games. Sorcerers don't get a lot of cool things to start with, might as well give them something awesome to do with their exclusive spell.

goodguy5

I feel like I remember having this exact conversation back when that question was asked.

Is there a way to get advantage on all of your ranged spell attacks for a turn?

I'm trying to think of a sorcererX/fighter3

Xirema

@goodguy5 The normal ways of gaining advantage, I'd assume.

Ben

@DavidCoffron Nah, he sits in the corner with his glasses on and watches - takes notes

Xirema

10:25 PM

Take 2 levels of Rogue and Hide + Cast Spells.

I feel like we need a table of varying degrees of matching though.

goodguy5

Would hide give you advantage on all castings, or just the first?

does .... crossbow expert? apply to spells?

Xirema

@goodguy5 Just the first. You stop Hideing when you attack or cast a spell.

Ben

@Xirema Plus all the gesticulating and mumbling in the corner

goodguy5

Alright. now I just need to find the text for attacking prone targets

Hrm...

14

Q: How to get advantage on all four ranged attacks in one round?

Specifically, I want to attack 4 times with Eldritch Blast as a 17th level Warlock. What is the easiest and cheapest way to gain advantage on all 4 attacks?

KorvinStarmast

@goodguy5 An attack roll against the creature has advantage if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature. Otherwise, the attack roll has disadvantage.

Appendix A, Conditions, Prone

goodguy5

10:32 PM

yea. found it

I hate working at home after hours because I spent too much of the day slacking off and needed/wanted to get something done by a certain date.

Xirema

> **Chaos Bolt Variant.** On a crit, use all 4 damage dice when choosing damage types. Use the following chart to determine what happens when dice match:

**2 Dice Match.** Normal rule applies, you make a new attack roll against a different target.
**2 Pairs of Dice Match.** You may make two new attack rolls with this spell against two new targets, one roll each.
**3 Dice Match.** You make one new attack roll against a different target, if it hits, it counts as a Critical hit.
**4 Dice Match.** You make two new attack rolls against two new targets, one each, each hit counts as a Critical hit.

^ Basically, Sorcerers are Spellcasting Barbarians now.

KorvinStarmast

@Xirema According to wizards, wasn't that always the case? ;)

goodguy5

@Xirema As it should be

I've always wanted an official rage-caster in 5e. I even made a homebrew one

Xirema

I need to adapt my probability calculator to figure out how much DPR that adds to the baseline casting of Chaos Bolt.

GreySage

@Xirema Yeah, casting this with greater invisibility would be nuts

KorvinStarmast

10:36 PM

@Xirema A modest version of exploding dice?

goodguy5

@GreySage don't forget to take three champion levels

19% crit chance, iirc

Yuuki

@Xirema 5 Dice Match. Yahtzee!

Xirema

@goodguy5 Only affects Weapon Attacks.

goodguy5

@Xirema ugh. really?

Yuuki

@GreySage Nothing good happens, you just get to say "Yahtzee!".

goodguy5

10:38 PM

yep. found it. weapon attacks. gross

Xirema

Just add Elven Accuracy then. 14.27% chance of critting.

goodguy5

haha. close enough

or be a halfling and take lucky

GreySage

@Yuuki Yahtzee! You explode into a chaotic wave of energy, tearing a whole in the fabric of the multiverse, killing you instantly.

goodguy5

And better yet, have a teammate take bountiful luck

Xirema

I'd suggest twinning the spell, but I think Chaos Bolt cannot be twinned, because of the usual nonsense about Twinned spells.

GreySage

10:40 PM

@Xirema To which I respond that I ignore that nonsense

goodguy5

^

There are certain ways where I agree with the usual nonsense. Mainly Eldritch Bolt and Searing Beam (sp).

but things that actively only target one target.... I don't care if it has an additional target later or not.

GreySage

@goodguy5 Twinned DragonBreath all day long

goodguy5

Are we, the community, in general agreement that witchbolt is terrible?

GreySage

@goodguy5 I am

goodguy5

I wonder if it would be OP to increase the persistent damage with casting level

That actually seems a decent question to ask

Yuuki

10:47 PM

@Xirema You can't Twin Chaos Bolt because due to their Chaotic nature, the bolts will immediately argue about which one was cast first (and how much older the first bolt is) and then fizzle out.

Ben

11:31 PM

[Wave] @NautArch

Ok, this is odd - I got 28 upvotes on my last answer I posted - the "Lay on Hands" answer. My rep is only showing that I got 200 for it (daily limit I'm guessing?), but the notification shows 196. Yet I don't have any donvotes on it...

GreySage

@Ben Did you get 4 rep that you checked previously?

Glazius

@Ben Did you downvote other answers to the question?

Ben

I also earned an upvote (bringing it up to 3), and 3 downvotes (back to 0) which is registered on another answer I provided...

So if the daily limit thing is a thing, that would make sense?

@Glazius I did not

I'm thinking that's the case. 1 upvote = 10 rep, 3 downvotes = -6 rep, then an upvote on my other answer, bringing it up by 6 points.

I guess I learned something here today

@doppelgreener "Obliviousness" roll. Works in an opposite direction to the intelligence modifier. -2 Int = +2 Obliviousness.

Ok, so (for anyone that is interested) I have a learning... "quirk", that I have a hard time understanding the process of things until I actually understand the logic of how it works.

So for example, and "if/else" statement might be explained as a function that uses an input parameter, and if it meets that parameter, it does something, else, it does something different.

Explaining that to me would require a more involved explanation.

You pass in a parameter - if(x=1) - and only if the program meets that parameter, the program will then identify what you want to happen in that function.

if it does not meet that parameter, it does whatever you have defined in your else function.

That is a pretty... odd situation. It's hard to not understand an "if/else" function lol.

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