@Youjay Artificer spells are almost entirely non-combat. It probably wouldn't affect balance too much since Artificer's don't get access to 2nd level spells until 7th level, but it does adjust the flavor of the artificer a bit
Ok, So I think I've narrowed it down to Animal Soul, or Combat Caster, simply because I can't take Natural Spell yet (only level 3).
I looked at the Skinwalker, since there were no feats that had that racial requirement, and it does have two racial feats... are they different to normal feats?
...Do we get a feat at level 1? The question @DavidCoffron linked suggested one to be taken at first level, even though they started at level 3..?
I've paged through my entire book, looked in the index, checked the sections on feats and ability scores, and I've not been able to find the table that breaks down when you get ability score increases, and feats.
I already know that you get an ability score increase every 4th level so that's no...
@DavidCoffron Oooh, I like that one. Pact of the Radiant (Or Pact of the Radiating? Or pact of the Radiator?)
Is Kang Kong King Kong's cousin?
@Carcer I just looked at the Urban dictionary and found an entry for doot, Irish slang, that I am pretty sure nobody means when it is used here. But I am now, after having read through all of those entries, unsure what the heck a doot is.
OK, so a skeleton playing a trumpet makes a doot sound. onomatopoeia. Got it. I have already seen "up doot" for up vote from some others, but that didn't seem to fit what was going on up there. Also Rolling Stones, Heartbreaker-doodoodoodoodoodoo
@doppelspooker Well, that's a jaunty little tune, to be sure. (From Carcer's link). Reminds me of that earworm "beep beep little satellite" from a few years back.
"doot" is just a very popular memetic word now, both originally for the spoopy skeleton trumpet stuff and then because it got closely associated with new DOOM
@nitsua60 For some reason that whole question really bothers me (in reaction to the player's behavior). I am surprised nobody mentioned to watch out for this customized class.
They aren't communicating with each other in-between sessions (with 1 out of 3 players trying to). They can still drive direction in-game, but I was asking for, but not receiving, feedback in between to help me write the next session.
@NautArch It is always kind of hard to arrange this among working adults even if the interest is there. Are you sure that they understood this was the expectation?
I've never tried to run D&D improvosationally and I don't think it would really work well lol
(though I was surprised at how well it worked in Masks. Both because I didn't think I would be good at all at it and because I had no idea it would be that fun/easy to do. I suspect me thinking that it is fun/easy/good at it is more a result of the system being well-designed for it and not personal skill.)
@Rubiksmoose I do better with improvisation generally :) Before going into a session, I'll have 3-4 encounters that could happen - either in roleplay or combat, but I try and adjust things by what they characters do.
@MikeQ :-/ that is unfortunate. But I guess better to kill off something that isn't working then to pump a bunch of effort and time into it that doesn't come to fruition.
Does anyone remember that question/discussion we had a few months ago about a feature that seemed to only be granted to a character at 1st level (making multiclassed characters unable to gain it)
@NautArch You could try a compromise approach, where in between sessions you ask them to pick from some options, rather than a broad "what do yall want next session"
@MikeQ This is a short 4 episode mini-campaign based on the show Young Justice. It is actually run by the RPG's designer and he does a great job with it. However, Young Justice knowledge is recommended to understand some of the character interactions. There are a couple behind the scenes episodes (pre and post play) with the creator that also shed light on how the game is designed.
@MikeQ This is a longer still-running podcast that is very good and starts pretty well (I've found all such podcasts usually have a bit of a rough start as people get into/figure out their characters). Funny and dramatic and they don't shy away from talking about the rules. They go over their character creation process pretty thoroughly in episode 0-1 and 0-2 and I think they cover some rules introductions. If you aren't interested in that, you can skip to episode1.
@MikeQ The third is worth a mention because it is complete, but covers the sme mechanical ground as my 2nd rec but IIRC starts off a bit clunkier (though it gets very good).Those are my top 2 really. They should give you a good feel for how the game plays.
@DavidCoffron That's where i'm leaning as well. The STunning Strike is fun - i'd rather increase the odds of that working than the straight damage increase.
TIL the mutual exclusivity on the Monk/Barbarian Unarmored Defense feature extends entirely to the mere ability to gain the feature in the first place, not just to the ability to benefit from either.
Need to reconsider my Barbarian/Monk multiclass concept. =O
@Xirema I don't know why WotC thought that was necessary bc usually you only have 1 high secondary ability so you will mostly use 1 or the other anyway.
just an interruption, to whoever talked me about Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup... I've been doing the tutorials and I'm hooked with the silly thing, have it hidden in a tab in Chrome and do a few movements here and there while I work... Whoever you are, you are gonna cost me my job! /s
@Ghiojo Building a Kensei Monk for an upcoming campaign. Starting at 5th level, and debating about taking the ASI for 20 DEX or using it for 16 WIS (to increase chance of a successful stunning strike). Leaning the latter.
@Helwar Le Couperet is about a skilled paper engineer who gets laid off on favorable terms from his old plant. He thinks he'll find a new job with ease but doesn't. Eventually he snoops every applicant to one paper mill job he wants and resolves to make sure he gets the job by killing every other applicant.
@Helwar My ways of securing vacancies for myself are... a bit gentler ;)
I still want to one day do the Halfling WMS sorcerer that multiclasses into divination Wizard, gets the lucky feat and multiclasses into Rogue to get the bountiful luck.
The comics always seemed handwavey about this in my memory, saying that the symbiote was absorbing the life energy of its host or some such twaddle. Fine.
But when Spider-Man (and then eventually Eddie Brock) bond with the symbiote, the symbiote does one interesting thing: it replicates the web...
I once made a character who is a Kenku called Darius Crowly, who is a plague doctors (Which the mask is called a Crow's beak Mask), has a crowbar and a crow's beak (Bec de corbin, a weapon, basically a warhammer). And has a bag adorned with a crow's skull.
And he's also a servant of the Raven Queen (Cause in Spanish the word for Crow and Raven is the same)
Question: I've seen a few homebrew races here over the last few months that try to make a +3ASI possible for a single stat, and invariably, someone (occasionally me) will point out that +3 to a single stat is a bit overpowered. So my question is, what would a race need to have as notable downsides to make a +3ASI balanced?
@Helwar starting to more and more. BUt yeah, i use it for my source books now. Just bring my hardcover PHB to games. Part of me wishes I just bought the books, but now that I bought into dndbeyond, I'm not doing that.
@Ghiojo I think crows and ravens were generally considered two races of the same species until fairly recently. I know this because one of my best friends ever is a really enthusiastic birdwatcher and reading on their "separation" was that one time I was more up to date than him :>
@DavidCoffron or +1 to hit. But that's the tradeoff, Do I want to increase my chances on my attacks and damage, or increase the chance my limited feature works better?
@Xirema If they have a -1 to all the statistics that stat boosts it'd become underpowered, but technically closer to "balanced" :P (e.g. Dex +3 -> -1 AC, -1 attack and damage with finesse weapons, -1 Dex saves)
@NautArch Oh, if you don't mind, it would be great. I would still need to buy everything if I wanted to share with my own party, I guess, but this is better than nothing
There's a lot of reasons to dislike copyright law but at least ours is remarkably permissive in that it permits making a few private copies of DnD books (or other works) for non-commercial use. "Private" includes family and limited circle of friends. It's pretty convenient when starting a DnD game since I can legally pass around a pdf based on a book I have.
@Rubiksmoose Eh. I personally feel like it brushes up against being an Idea Generating topic. Maybe structured the right way it could constitute a good question.
It seems to play a lot more like 5e, but with vastly more customization and choice. But it still removes a lot of the technical crunch that pathfinder 1e had (instead of dozens of types of bonuses and deep feat trees, there's exactly 3 types of bonuses and 2 types of penalties, and feat trees aren't deep)
@Carcer well, it is. While I enjoyed D&D4e for what it was, my group of friends kept groaning and saying it was terrible and we should jump to PF. PF was just D&D 3.75 to me, and I usually tend to end up hating things when I'm told that what I do like is bad and that other thing is what I should enjoy
@Helwar Hey! Pathfinder 2e is actually a decent middle-ground between 4e and pathfinder, your group might like it (if you're still with that group). Pathfinder nor 4e are actually bad, but pathfinder 2e might be worth looking at
@goodguy5 I feel like the "hotness" comment you just put on should probably wait. Until we know the system and information put up in the comments is going to be confusing more than helpful.
@MikeQ I mean, on the one hand I'm down for a more flexible system where you choose a bunch of qualities rather than just "you're a level 10 Whiffbanger so you've got the Supreme Bangwhiff ability"
@MikeQ Yeah - smaller lists is a good thing, and it means you don't have to take the pf 1e approach of using all your general feats on combat power or falling behind
Since there are nice delimitations, you get flavor and combat utility. Skill feats give you new uses for skills, general feats give you some nice flavor and character development, class feats give you more crunchy power, ancestry feats are somewhere between flavor and power but they're at least distinct.
In common parlance, the rough "engine" of Apocalypse World and similar games (although strictly speaking it's more of a "Inspired by Apocalypse World" license)
And the concept of a game having a hotness (comeliness) score has a precedent. Hence, the "loosely related", rather than "try this" or some other direct correlation
@goodguy5 The only thing is I worry since this person is clearly not aware of how tagging works would realize that the Q&A is for a different system even.
@kviiri I have played both, the rational part of me doesn't hate pathfinder, it's just D&D 3.75, and I like D&D 3.5 (as tired as I am of it). But I reaaaaaaaaally hate when I have to do things for peer pressure, and it's an everlasting hate. Can't get into The Witcher games for the same reason
And Class feats can be exchanged for progressing a multiclass, archetype, or prestige dedication, which is probably one of the cooler parts of the system (being able to graft other classes or prestiges and such onto your own kit)
It definitely is - multiclassing is mostly taking class feats and abilities from other classes using your own class feat slots, while continuing to gain your basic class abilities.
And similarly for archetypes of characters (the two given were Cavaliers and Pirates), or prestige classes (there's just one given, which is an extreme armor expert)
@GreySage And it's not even a complete list (flatfooted, flanked but not flatfooted, prone, entangled, and the various levels of cover and visibility, and then there are the magical conditions)
@SirCinnamon It's... a bit complicated I guess. He was truthfully told that Japan had been defeated fairly early on during his time in hiding (through a leaflet drop) but of course he couldn't be sure it wasn't just propaganda or a ruse.
@GreySage Mostly camping by what I know, but he did engage in shoot-outs with the local authorities early on during his stay.
29 years is a fricken' long time to live in the jungle. I think I've been out in the woods for two weeks, tops? And even that felt like a lifetime despite having many civilized amenities like the radio and the sauna
@Helwar Only seen it twice in four years. Happened a few weeks ago in our maritime game; the player chose a Aracokra and bumped dex to 20. (His Cha is 6, tee hee)
@Xirema The craziest part is that he wasn't the last soldier to surrender. Another soldier was found doing the same thing (but growing a farm) later that same year.
@MikeQ The actual effect might be less straightforward though. In extreme cases, I think it can greatly increase the chance of "blundering" almost sure hits.
It definitely changes my calculus a bit. I have a +3 glaive, so at this point I almost always take the -5 for GWM and deliver a LOT of damage regularly even with no smites that's about 30/hit (D10+d8+5+3+10) and I get 3-4 attacks/round.
@DavidCoffron 4-5 with haste. I get an attack, extra attack, bonus action attack with polearm master. Then I can try and pull a reaction from Sentinel/PolearmMaster/Vengeance Paladin.
But I have to haste myself. no other member has it.
On the flipside, I've got "low" ac at 20 compared to my linemates and the DM has tailored monsters to hit their ac - so i have a problem with getting hurt if the fights drag on (which they do)
There was this really cruddy and buggy Finnish top-down drag-racing game for Windows in the late 1990's or early 2000's, done by some hobbyist visual basic programmer
There's a really odd jewel of old simulator games, Hidden Agenda. Mechanics-wise it's nothing really, basically "event chains" with some decisions. But it's a thought-out political game from the time where video games weren't really taken seriously even as toys.
The player assumes the role of the Presidente of the Chimerican revolutionary tri-partisan junta which has overthrown the formerly US-backed dictator Farsante. Now they must start rebuilding the country and policy.
I've paged through my entire book, looked in the index, checked the sections on feats and ability scores, and I've not been able to find the table that breaks down when you get ability score increases, and feats.
I already know that you get an ability score increase every 4th level so that's no...
The comics always seemed handwavey about this in my memory, saying that the symbiote was absorbing the life energy of its host or some such twaddle. Fine.
But when Spider-Man (and then eventually Eddie Brock) bond with the symbiote, the symbiote does one interesting thing: it replicates the web...
