When I homebrew I make my own. I just like something that feels right with what I am making.

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>>97670671
BRB, going to reinstall and beat Zeus for the ten thousandth time.

Does green-flame blade piss anyone else off? Why does affect another target first?

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https://www.enworld.org/events/arcana-unleashed.45/

How much better of a deal will spellcasters get in this upcoming book compared to slovenly martials?

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>when your PCs kidnap the lolipope and you leave the Flamekeep

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Hey, quick thing. This NPC came from a 3rd party publication (book is a 2020 publication) but I noticed that its CR rating and XP award are different from what’s listed in the DMG. Now this isn’t the only NPC where I saw this happen, but it’s also not common in the books, and I don’t recall seeing a chapter in the book saying this publisher was using their own scaling system, nor is there any errata that I’m aware of.

So… really my assumption would be that this is a typo of some sort and to assume the CR is true and adjust the XP accordingly. But there’s a weird nagging feeling that makes me want to double-check: does the 5.5 DMG scale CR->XP differently? Or was there some other explanation that I’m not aware of?

I always make up my own gods and due to Gygax nostalgia I try to make them anagrams of words. Polytheism annoys me though, because in most games PCs go to the temple for healing, so every temple that isn't to the goddess of sun or healing seems "off topic.". Like a temple to artifacts...what even is that?

My current deity list:
>Nalvi the creator (Anvil)
>Liltivya the river of life (Vitality)
>Alros the sun god (solar, because Ralos was taken by RuneScape of all things)
>Volindra the goddess of storms and warfare (she had an anagram name but I forget it right now)

>>97670671
>Do you use custom Gods, historical ones, basic D&D ones, something else, what is your preference and why?
A mix. I think my last setting used some Norse gods, some Theros gods, and a handful of gods from across different settings. I find that to be a good way to get a pantheon that feels varied and somewhat mismatched in places, rather than just feeling like a checklist of various domains.

>>97670671
Am I tripping or did D&D art peak with 2nd Edition?

the last thread got kind of heated about Fighters

why not just give them a martial "order" like Clerics and Druids get at level 2 so they can choose either basic access to maneuvers or another bonus, that way you can keep it simple or expand the class's abilities if you want to, win-win

>>97671462
whoops, also to clarify, I know Clerics and Druids get it at 1 I just thought Fighters should get it at 2 because it should require a bit more than dipping one level to get access to it

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>>97670671
Hey I know there's the 5.1 and 5.2.1 SRDs, are there any other 5e materials released to CC-BY or less?

I know for other games Kevin Crawford released the Worlds and Cities Without Numbers SRDs to CC0, and Dungeon World and Old School Hack were released CC-BY (NC in OSH case), but I don't think there's much I could -s-t-e-a-l- legally appropriate from them for refilling the 5e omnibus into a completer system except a scant handful of magic items and maybe some DM worldbuilding tools, which admittedly WotC did remove so could use replacing. FATE, Donjon, or WR&M, I don't think there's much of anything it too different. There's a bunch of German OSR but fuck man they're in German, 4 years in highschool is not enough for me to translate rulebooks.

>>97671462
You mean like the 5.0 fighter-exclusive fighting style from Tasha's "Superior Technique" which somehow didn't make it into 5.5 like all the other Tasha's fighting styles except unarmed?

>>97671515
yeah except as a separate thing from Fighting Styles so you can still benefit from picking a different one and customize a little more, having one or two maneuvers wouldn't really be that strong
also Unarmed made it into the 2024 PHB didn't it? it's literally just Superior Technique that didn't make it unless I misunderstood

>>97671515
They probably felt like maneuvers on top of 4+ mastery effects a turn was too much.

Like, mastery properties were 100% their response to people wanting maneuvers on every martial. They effectively are, just with flat DC and no dice to spend on extra damage. Vex = Distracting. Push = Pushing. Cleave = Sweeping. Graze = worse Precision. Topple = Trip. Sap = weaker Goading or Menacing. Nick = Quick Toss but melee too.

>>97671515
>>97671584
A better route for tweaks would be to expand on the Tactical Master feature at level 9. Making it more similar to what the World Tree Barbarian gets at level 10 with the ability to apply multiple mastery properties with a single attack would help make it more potent.

>>97671622
this works but also I think they should've changed weapon juggling away from what it is in 2024 and done something else specifically for Fighters, it's kinda dumb visualizing everyone just constantly jumbling weapons in and out of their hands every turn

they could also make maneuvers more like invocations by adding more and adding certain restrictions like level or fighting style requirements

>>97671641
I think weapon juggling should have been unique to fighters.

Anyone feels like Hexblade makes it harder to choose invocations since you need to use Thirsting Blade and Life Drinker for melee?
I currently have Agonizing Blast, Armor of Shadows (since good armor is rare), Thirsting Blade, and Eldritch Mind. I'm going for PAM/GWM melee I'm having an issue on deciding the lvl 9 invocation. Improved Pact Weapon and Eldritch Smite both seem like good options. I'm even considering dumping Agonizing Blast so I can get both.

>>97671668
That would be cool and it'll allow the subclasses to synergize with the main class better than just getting more actions.

>>97670671
TQ: All the Gods in my setting went missing 8 years ago but clerics and paladins can still call upon their power for their divine spells and features. I've just been saying their spells and abilities are powered by their faith, but I was wondering if there was a better in game reason why their spells and shit work when the gods are absent.

>>97671725
just the price of gishing, Agonizing EB makes your damage consistent at least but assuming you don't want to rely on it and actually use your weapon
Improved Pact Weapon at level 9 doesn't sound great unless your DM is incredibly stingy with magic weapons or you really want a bow, they gave the spellcasting focus benefit to base Pact of the Blade in 2024

>>97671641
With other classes but barbarian only getting 2, there's not much reason TO juggle.

Rogue only gets 1 attack unless TWF, in which case you go Nick one hand and then some other light finesse weapon in the other, the only options for which are all Vex. Lightcrossbow for Slow if you're a steady aim spammer, but that's not really juggling unless you like, draw a dagger in case of opportunity attack or something.

Ranger, unless you're STRanger, you get Rapier and Whip added to that, so just Slow. Whip can technically be juggled with a ranged, but all Ranged are vex or slow except Heavy Crossbow for Push which is 2 handed, so to push slow you have to stow the whip to use the Xbow, which leaves you unarmed as far as opportunity attacks go every other turn. But also you're missing out on a 3rd and 4th hunters mark proc.

If you ARE STRanger, or if you're paladin, then either you're sword and board and pick 2 control effects with stopping power but still can only swap once a turn because handedness, or you pick a heavy weapon and you cleave your once a turn then swap to graze.


>>97671821
Look up Dragonlance and Dark Sun. And to a lesser extent Ravenloft. They're also settings the gods have abandoned for some period or forever. Or Eberron, which doesn't really have gods proper they're just all strong spirits iirc.

>>97671584
Weapon Masteries should be memorized per property not per weapon.

So you memorize Vex, and now you can use all Vex with all Weapons you're proficient with that can Vex.

Then weapons could have multiple properties and there wouldn't have to be a bunch of juggling of the weapons themselves just which property you're using on any given attack.

>>97672132
Having multiple properties per weapon would make sense even if it were memorized per weapon. Since then you can either focus the masteries on the existing combo on a particular weapon, or you can spread your masteries out on specific properties and swap between weapons in order to do something more particular.

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>>97672132
The play test kind of had that when fighters could put new masteries on weapons based on prerequisites.

>>97670671
>TQ:
Ehh, only if I’m doing a custom setting. Otherwise it’s whatever pantheon it’s supposed to be.

>>97671329
I think one time I tried to be “clever” and create a pantheon based on the elements; the actual elements, not Plato’s 4 elements. Learned fast just how daunting a task that was going to be.

>>97672194
I'm still mad they walked back the playtest shit just because people complained about fighters actually getting more stuff, they should be the warlock-equivalent for martials in terms of customizability

Is there a way to play a true red mage style gish? Feels like I always have to compromises instead of a true blend of weaving magic into your melee

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>>97672056
I thought Eberron gods were ambiguous whether or not they actually existed, given that people could draw on their power even if they're staggeringly hypocritical towards their chosen god's faith. The only divinity that provably exists is the Silver Flame, and that's a gestalt created by the sacrifice of the couatl and a human paladin.

>>97672485
Depends on exactly what you consider a true blend, since everyone seems to have different metrics for what exactly that means.

>>97672485
Hexblade uses the same stats for attacking and magic.
Iirc Bladesingers get the ability to add Int to their attacks.
Swords Bard, Eldritch Knight, and Paladins get a lot to compliment using magic and melee.
What compromises are you trying to avoid?

>>97672500
>>97672503
I guess what I really want is bladesinger stylistically but not on a wizard base for mechanics
Something mechanically like Eldritch Knight but unique features/spells replacing attacks instead of just wizard-lite
I tried to do it with archfey bladelock + fighter 1 for armor and masteries but still the fantasy wasn't quite there

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>>97672485
Celestial Bladelock. You get magic, you get sword, you get healing. The aesthetic of being an enormous cat lady with a snazzy hat is up to you.

>>97672556
If I could translate FFXIV's red mage to d&d, that'd be my ideal

>>97672556
Well, part of the reason I ask is that to me, Bladesinger hits the typical Red Mage notes.
Light armor, not as good as a warrior, plenty of access to elemental spells like Fireball. Fairly easy to pick up Cure Wounds or Healing Word via a feat. The Extra Attack blends attacks and cantrips together well.

Out of curiosity, what are your thoughts on the new Noble Genie Paladin, in terms of being able to avoid armor and get some elemental smites?

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>>97672581
You can't bladesing with armor in 5.5e

>>97672602
Every Bladesinger just uses Mage Armour anyway.

>>97672602
Okay? You can in 2014.
I'm not about to split hairs when it's an open question about whether any possible 5e gish fits the bill.

>>97672581
>Noble Genie Paladin
Haven't looked into Paladin much as a whole since I previously I don't want to be restricted by their oaths (even though I know it can be quite liberal how an oath can be upheld)

>>97672639
> even though I know it can be quite liberal how an oath can be upheld

That and, well, if you actually took the time to read those oaths, you’d likely find that for one or two that was basically how you were going to play the character anyway so the oaths were never going to be an issue.

Though I suppose the drawback there is that you are also announcing to the party and DM: “this is how my character is going to act for the rest of the adventure”. Which could be a problem if you chose a notoriously disruptive Oath.

When new edition?

>>97672868
they're only just now finally caving and relabeling 2024 to 5.5e
we won't get an actual new edition for a while and I still expect them to fumble it despite the landscape being wildly different from the first version of 5e

>>97672881
Cringe
Is 5.5 better than 5?

>>97672888
depends on who you ask
I think it fixes some problems base 5e had but at the same time homogenizes certain things and has bandaid solutions for issues with some of the classes both because they wanted to be "backwards compatible" and because they didn't want to commit too hard to something actually new and alienate people that liked old thing too much, i.e. them just reprinting subclasses with buffs/nerfs and putting stuff like lvl 1 Pact of the Blade in the PHB because they recognized how stupid popular Hexblade was as a multiclass dip

>>97671327
Yeah, that’s probably a typo.
Unless they’re trying to imply that it’s a weak CR2

>>97672491
I mean the elven mummy obzedat provably exists too. And the valenar elves ancestral spirits at least once existed, and thus presumably still continue to exist in Dolurrh, you could send a Sending there to their ghost with only a 5% failure chance.
All of the Demon Overlords even have statblocks, not to mention one is trapped IN the silver flame. Very real.
Cult of the Dragon Below worship Khyber, who very much exists, his shattered body is the Underdark in the same way that Siberys's is the protective ring.
Path of Light and Inspiration don't have a proper god per say but Quori provably exist.
The Lord of Blades is provably not a god but is worshipped as a messianic godking, in the old testament understanding of the term where he's supposed to be a fated conquesting military liberator and forever emperor of all. The Blades are more of a fascist-supremacist eschatological terrorist cult than an organized religion.
The Becoming God is... Becoming. You can go look at his half-built... what's the word for corpse but on the opposite end of life?
Thir, the dragon religion, consists of gods from FR. They are provable, but also indeed real gods.

I guess you could say the Blood of Vol Divinity Within is ambiguous like that. And the Sovereign Host/Dark Six.

>>97672958
So its kind of a nothingburger? Lol
Christ its been over a decade

>>97670671
Had a fight against an aboleth and its swarm of little mobs, didn't do much because the two spellcaster microwaved it by putting it in Dawn+ a wall of force cube; reading the spells I really wonder if that was truly doable RAW; gm is now really stressing out about future encounters being solved this way
it was a pretty funny way to deal with an ennemy though

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What use would a beggar have in a campaign as an NPC?

>>97673352
>A powerful or influential person in disguise
>A potential contact for an underground or criminal group
>A hapless victim of some terrible threat
>A sympathetic nobody who lends what little aid he can when the party is in dire straits
>The wreck of a formerly great personage left in shameful poverty

>>97673352
Honestly, probably not much except maybe being witness to a plot-important event. But given some players’ propensity to hyper-fixate on seemingly random NPCs, it’s still probably wise to just have a full NPC stat-block for beggars (doesn’t have to be a specific beggar, just a generic “beggar” stat). In the long run, it’s just going to be easier than trying to pull DCs for every kind of possible player interaction out of your ass in the moment, every time they want to do something.


Oh. Tangent, what’s the best conversion guide you’ve personally seen for converting 3.5 stuff over to 5th? I got copies of Dragonmech and Nyambe, and they are good settings, but written for 3.5, and problem is that there’s a lot of different 3.5->5 conversion guides out there.

>>97673352
these >>97673415 and also
>inconspicuous vessel for mind control / puppeteering
>patient zero of magical plague
>cryptic but perfectly accurate prophet of future events

Are there other adventures than Storm King's Thunder that features blue dragons?

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Anyone used https://battlesim-zeta.vercel.app/ ?

I'm just experimenting.
I tried my best to faithfully recreate the encounter my players just played.
This was a hard fight that my players made it through.
Even this much more sophisticated system compared to using CR seems top underestimate my party's strength.
Well, this system doesn't take into account positioning. The terrain was very interesting in this encounter.

How can I incorporate Thieves' Cant into my adventures? I read about an idea where one DM had a verbal conversation with his Rogue while they were texting each other the actual meaning of the conversation, but I'm wondering if there's a more elegant solution that doesn't involve the player and DM learning a new language.

>>97673827
Worth noting that Thieves' Can can be written as well, so there's series of symbols and innocuous markings that can be left around the city to convey info.

And you don't need to have the Rogue and DM texting, in the same way that you don't need to keep it a secret from the rest of the party when the elf is talking to someone in elvish. You just let them listen in, and either assume the Rogue shares the info afterwards, or otherwise trust everyone to not metagame until he does.

>>97672301
>one time I tried to be “clever” and create a pantheon based on the elements; the actual elements, not Plato’s 4 elements. Learned fast just how daunting a task that was going to be.
I would love to see what you produced for that. That does sound like a terrible idea I agree but I'm still curious to know what it was like.

>>97673827
I mean that's part of the dm job, just like telling players what they need to know about their patron or god or faction, you need to tell rogue players the basics of Cant, if you include it in the game

you can do jus some basic keywords and then improvise from there

grandpma/grandma: guildmaster
dad/mom: boss
uncle/aunt: other boss
cousin: rivals

doing well: a deal
doing poorly: hostile action

wedding - funeral - renovation - coming of age - etc: different illicit acts like smuggling/burglary/assassination etc

3 kids will visit: 300gp payment
etc

is 2024 keen mind good? The feat

bonus action to study seems really good, that means mid combat I could study a monster and learn a weakness, a special ability or some yummy lore, right? sounds fun to me

>>97674083
it's ass

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>>97674087
Ok

>>97673902
Ahh. Let’s see… what do I remember of that.

> Lilith
Squirrel-goddess of lightning, thieves, and hordes. Legend goes she stole lightning from the storms, tried to hide it by burying it, only to forget where she hid the lightning and it petrified into her sacred element: Lithium

> Ferros
The god of industry and craftsman, his element is iron and is his gift to mortals. And as such iron is a metal that begs to be put to work, if it is left idle too long it will wither and crumble (rusts), for that reason many a blacksmith is hesitant to forge with iron something that will never (or should never) see much use. It’s considered sacrilege; incidentally, weapons with no practical use outside of warfare (like swords) are rarely made of iron.

> Cardos
The Black dragon of Carbon, one of the 6 life-bringer gods. It is said life sprouts in his wake, and with his quills, the first language was written. But his breath is poison and his eyes are 2 furnaces and his gaze will burn away all that displeases the god.

> Leados
The god tied to Lead. His element is heavy, soft, and poisonous. For this it is seen as only being good for 2 things: ballast and bullets. Thus Leados is the god of war in all its aspects.

> (unnamed god of Uranium)
The god tied to Uranium was the god of death, disease, and unlife. He can hold great power, but he guards that power jealousy and will try to make those careless with such power pay

> (unnamed god of gold)
Because gold never corrodes or oxidizes in any way, its god is seen as one of purity and resilience. For as corrupting and foul its surroundings are, Gold will never take on those traits.

I think there might’ve been more, but my memory is running thin

>>97673818
I find it very limited. It doesn’t take into account spells very well, if the combat is going poorly they’ll spam spells rather than just use a few. It gives a rough idea but nothing more. I usually give out lots of magic items then add a CR or two to the encounters. It makes them more exciting and players love magic items.

holy shit slaad are boring. I was thinking of using proteans instead but they're not much better. What's an actually good CN outsider concept for a tier 3 or 4 planar threat

Chaos, transformation, metamorphosis, impermanence, body horror. Not just toads of a different color. But not demons. Demons want to corrupt, burn, rape, and laugh and enjoy it. Im looking for a different flavor, creatures that are just about change, melting mater, turning matter into a maelstrom of energy, melting reality, fusing stuff, but dont really realize it, it's just their nature.

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the bard was called to war. He has to leave his family and fulfill his duty

wish WotC treated Tier 4 like it actually existed and threw more than scraps towards high-level stuff
class capstones should be insane across the board as a reward for sticking with it all the way to 20, it's not like you're doing much after the fact

>>97674274
Aberrations can tend to have some weird effects and some aspects of body horror, but they tend to be doing their own thing.

If you're willing to do homebrew, I think Gorgons could be a good basis. More specifically, the fact that they have gas that petrifies things. There's sort of a contradictory mix of elements there, and petrification is one of the more straightforward ways to transmute PCs.

I could see making a race of outsiders that are all insects with similarly contradictory abilities. Petrifying breath, freezing flames, and so on. Some Rust Monster/Black Pudding abilities to melt gear could also be fitting, if annoying.
Another fun trick can have it be so that when you kill one, a swarm of insects would burst out of it. Or maybe even just a different one altogether. Monsters that spawn when another monster dies tend to keep the party on their toes, especially if it's not always a sure thing.

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>>97671013
Same, an amazing game. I also replay Startopia often on gog.

>>97674466
wotc wants high-level spellscasters to be gods but doesn't know how to write content that can challenge them because surprise-surprise, allowing characters to be wildly unbalanced on purpose is horrible game design

Cut the number of spell slots by half across the board and force full casters to use cantrips more often instead of spamming levelled spells

>>97674504
hmm not really what i was looking for but you gave me an idea for a different encounter with a monster that randomly transforms into something else each turn or as a reaction from receiving damage

of course the elemental/ooze that becomes immune to the element or physical type it last receives is a classic, but now im also thinking about some chaos-touched thing or some lab experiment. The secret there would be to find the right monsters that are sufficiently part of the same cohesive flavor but also distinct enough that the transformation is meaningful. My first instinct would be the classic monstrosities like manticore, etc

or maybe.. circling back, the secret to making slaad interesting is that every turn they become a random color, or whenever affected by magic they change to a different random one

>>97674659
Learn how to balance encounters before you post.

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How evil does someone have to be for a neutral good character to not suffer any impact to their alignment for raping them (as punishment for their evil deeds)?

>>97674662
Having Slaad swap around in terms of color and abilities could be an interesting angle. Might take some tweaking to get it right since they vary quite a lot in terms of CR, but there's some good potential there.

Using some of the weird hybrid monstrosities like manticores or chimeras also works if you don't want to have everything be toads. Though there's nothing wrong with having slaads alongside whatever sorts of weird oozes and monsters you also think would be cool. The variety only adds to the chaos.

>>97674700
Sorry, Rance, rape is always an evil act.

>>97674113
That's pretty cool anon I like that. Itd be great for a world for one of those comedy DnD campaigns. I mean that in a good way. They wouldn't even be bad as actual deities, just the premise of the idea seems a little hard to take seriously in some ways.

>>97671329
Good call on the name thing.

As for your "only healing and sunlight matters" problem, it boils down to 2 things.

1. What you make gods of. Think for a moment of the Ancient Greek Pantheon. Every god represented something the average grecian citizen interacted with in day to day life, and specifically something they would regularly want help with or be lost without. Even ones that have niche purviews also have more common ones. The god of horses and earthquakes, but also The Sea, for a very seafaring people. Not just mining riches below the ground but also Death and the Afterlife. Volcanos, but also Artisanry, especially smithing. Prophecy, but also The Sun, Medicine, and Art. The Sky, Storms, Monarchy, and Common Law. In fact, I think having Big Very Common Thing and then also Weird Niche Or Two adds a lot of texture.

But if your gods are only Weird Niche Thing, like say Artifacts, no big common everybody has to care about, then yeah, why DO the players care? Why do the commoners care? Why does this god have priests worshipping them at all?
And the really stupid thing is to make it something that's totally on you. I remember watching a stream of Matt Colville writing for his main capital city, which he still to this day just names "Capital" and him writing a god of "Honesty" and me immediately checking out of anything else he had to say on the topic of worldbuilding because of how fucking stupid an idea that is. The fuck do you pray to a god of honesty for, they gonna make you more honest? Polytheism is inherently transactional, you do thing for god, they do thing for you.

2. It's not a bunch of 'jealous god' monotheistic religions stapled together. In Polytheism, everybody worships every god in the pantheon sometimes. If not out of reverence then in hopes to appease potential wrath. Obviously you pray to ones that you rely on and align with the most, but all of them get some amount of honoring.

>>97671409
Ah yes, the 4e Dawn War method.

>>97674700
doing evil to evil does not make an act good. If that were so, the Abyss would be full of saints as they terrorized each other.

in order for the rape to be Good, it would have to be for a (greater-)Good aligned reason. Which requires a LOT of hoops to jump through given its nature, and basically all of them reproduction related.

The only possible reasons I could ever see are:
>Person wanted kids in their right mind, but is now being permanently affected by something that makes them effectively not themself and thus no longer consenting. But the real them would still consent, nay even eagerly desired, children with said person. This is very similar to the "Osiris was ethical necrophilia" situation. Consent has been given, and rescinded either verbally or by default, but the rescission should be considered invalid rather than the initial consent because it wasn't made with sound mind. Continuing that thought experiment a rescission under duress might also qualify as invalid, say a Geas placed by a royal parent overly concerned with succession crises to deny consent to sex to anyone but an arranged spouse?
>On a similar note of "somebody with right to do so gave ethical consent and it overrules," lifesaving medical procedure, consent by guardian on behalf of individual. If the individual can make their own legal decisions then they also have the right to choose to die. But in a guardianship situation, acting to protect their ward, the guardian overrides the ward. Basically impossible in real life, but in a fantasy world, eh weird curses exist. The DM is definitely magical realming and needs a good kneecap drubbing, but the possibility space is technically there.
>The perpetuation of a species on the brink of extinction. We do this in zoos and to certain species of endangered wildlife, albeit through IVF to minimize suffering. But forcible impregnation is still rape.

In all cases, some form of sedation would be ideal, again, to minimize suffering.

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I assume you are D&D experts.
I have a few questions, Heroclix is going to release a D&D set expansion, what kind of creature is the lizard thing on top?
is kind of thin and weak to be a real dragon.

also, would you be interested in trying the game because this expansion?

>>97676123
it's just a Green Chromatic Dragon. Spitting image of the MM25 art.
Greens are kind of sickly looking, they breath poison breath, it's on theme.

>>97675969
Even the god of the Dead is a big common subject unto itself. Everyone has family, friends, even pets that have passed on that they miss dearly. Praying to a god who holds dominion over the dead to look after them and see that, even in death they are cared for can bring some needed comfort to the living.

Also, there’s precedence for good-aligned people to pray to blatantly evil gods of bad things. Usually it’s prayers for them to go away, but a prayer is a prayer right?

>>97676118
>doing evil to evil does not make an act good. If that were so, the Abyss would be full of saints as they terrorized each other.
Ah but like anon said, it's not for Evil, it's Punishment.

Inflicting suffering as a form of punishment CAN be just and thus Good, if it's acting as a deterrent to further Evil, individually or society at large. Especially if it's also rehabilitative/correctional righting the underlying psychological causes for the Evil act(s), or is part of making compensation/reparations to the victims.

So for instance, raping a rapist to teach them firsthand empathy for the plight of their victims, that's correctional. Knowing that the same fate is in store for them again if they reoffend, that's individual level recidivism deterrence. And making it known that rape is the punishment for rape and is enforced, that's societal level first offender deterrence.

Similarly, taking a terrifyingly tyrannical noble and putting her stripped in a pillory for the village she's been terrorizing to make use of could be considered compensatory, helping them work through the severe trauma and repressed anger and frustration of their former abusive power dynamic by inverting it. Bonus points if she's basically also the former example, Marquis de Sade situation.

It's a very cowboy justice kind of punishment. But provided the punishment is fitting of the crime...

>>97676495
>Ah but like anon said, it's not for Evil, it's Punishment.
Sounds like what a tyrant who enjoys performing acts of evil would say

>it is just because I said it is!
>it is just because I hold power over them!

Nah.

>play high CHA
>don't seduce a single person or thing
Is this allowed? Is there some unwritten rule that CHA characters must have sex?

>>97677119
CHA doesn't automatically correlate to being attractive or even personable, thinking high CHA=slut is the default retard midwit assumption.

CHA is more accurately a measure of your character's presence of personality, so a character whose personality is completely cold and abrasive but who commands a room by his very presence would be considered high CHA, think like a Tywin Lannister archetype for example.

>>97677119
My bard is high CHA but she's a sweet pollyanna type who most people can't help but like as well due to her boundless optimism and tendency to find the good in everyone, rather than some sexpot who seduces everything in sight.

>>97676155
i was implying the death and afterlife WAS hades's big common thing. most people were not prospectors in ancient greece.

>>97677119
iirc hitler died a virgin. quintessential high charisma though.

>>97676942
>Sounds like what a tyrant who enjoys performing acts of evil would say
People who love killing get to stay Good if they kill Evil people. What makes killing the exception?
Or imprisonment, for that matter? Whether it's evil to hold someone captive depends entirely on the person being held captive.

>>97677119
You can play a charismatic eunuch if you like.

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A black dragon that took on a more... human form (polymorph).

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>>97672485
>>97672556
I'd say Bladesinger is the answer here, though even then it's not perfect for a 'True Red Mage', mostly due to the lack of Wizards having the "White" Magic part or Holy Magic aspect of the Red Mage. But idk if that's important to you here or not?

A 10th+ Level 2024 Valor Bard could accomplish it sorta, due to Magical Secrets, Extra Attack (Valor Bard), and Battle Magic, all basically giving you that blend of whatever type of magic you want and weapons.

2024 Bladesingers could get Magic Initiate for Cure Wounds or Healing Word, but they don't get Revivify. They also get Song of Victory which functions like Battle Magic and thier Extra Attack is mostly the same as the Valor Bards, so you got cantrip then attack!

Pic Rel also works with 2014 rules, less 2024 rules. Dual Casting is an iconic Red Mage feature that doesn't work super well in 2024 (Unless you're an 20th level Eldrtich Knight with specific feats). Again, unless we're okay with Quicken Spel and its new limitations.

>>97670671
Given the OP question, I guess I might as well ask - what goes into making a good god, do you think? I've been brainstorming a lot about my setting, and I have an overall prehistory/creation myth I like, but the actual pantheon is... well, a lot of individual members, I find quite ehn, and if I don't care about them, why would players?

>>97678810
I tend to find brainstorming about prehistory and creation myths is a waste of time, because it's so far removed from anything the PCs are doing.
It's not bad to have, but it should be a minimal amount of focus.
And a pantheon tends to be one step removed from that, where like you said, the players aren't gonna care if they're just a bunch of individuals who made the world and then sat around doing nothing for 10,000 years.

Getting the players to care about anything is a tossup by itself, but the more directly entwined an element of the setting is to what the PCs are doing, the more likely they are to care.

>>97677793
>People who love killing get to stay Good if they kill Evil people.

That depends on the setting, but most would argue that if you take joy in killing you are not good.

>>97678869
>Getting the players to care about anything is a tossup by itself, but the more directly entwined an element of the setting is to what the PCs are doing, the more likely they are to care.
Yeah, but this is trivial. A random barmaid can be interesting to players if she gave one of them a handie in the bathroom.

>>97678896
True. But unless you're having gods show up as barmaids to have sex with the PCs, that's not exactly a reliable method.

>tq
mix of gods from different pantheons I like from lots of different settings, vidya, etc
desu it's a bit of a giant mess
but ive avoided giving my players "the full pantheon" list, that way I always have options open

what are little touches you like adding to the various races?

>dwarves are made of stone, and their beards are asbestos whiskers they use to navigate underground
>elves are plant people with wooden bones and antlers
>gnomes have squirrel tails and have the ability to communicate with anything made of earth, metal, flesh, or vegetation
>halflings are just rabbitfolk

>>97678896
I'm going to be running a game where a mute elven barmaid runs an exclusive adventure club and the players will undoubtably ask her for sexual favors and she will acquiesce; I do not relish roleplaying that.

>>97678895
What if you rape reluctantly?

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I'm going INSANE trying to determine if this encounter is balanced or not.
It's a solo boss monster, an enhanced and very well-fed, yet still hungry mimic.
>Set AC such that PCs' attacks hit 2/3rds of the time (14).
>Set HP to 2.7 x the PCs' total average DPR (182), plus 0.9 x aDPR Last Stand HP (61).
>Set To-Hit bonus such that attacks hit 2/3rds of the time (+13).
>Set Strength Save DC such that PCs fail 2/3rds of the time (18).
>Set Dexterity and Constitution Save DCs such that PCs fail 50% of the time (13, 14).
>Set Bloodied aDPR to be 70% of the DPR required to kill the Player Party in 4 rounds, with normal DPR being mild, and Last Stand DRP feeling very threatening.
This creature is also very annoying, and maybe impossible to run away from. It will almost certainly have the whole party grappled after a round of being Bloodied. It can also apply Slow and Prone.

So,
How do you balance solo monster fights?
and,
Does this seem cool and fun to you?

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>Level 5 gnome Evoker wizard
>spams Rope Trick and Mold Earth as defense, and spams Fire Bolt and Fireball as offense
how would this general DMs react if a player did this? I bet they’d get pretty angry

>>97679585
I've done some thinking. The amount of control is insane and un-fun.
>Slow removed from Maw
>Prone removed from Scatter
>Grapple escape DC (distinct from the grapple initiation DC) reduced to 14 and allow use of Athletics or Acrobatics.
And a meaningful, discoverable weakness.
>Recoil from Flame. The firs time each round the Devourer takes fire damage, one creature grappled by it of the attacker's choice is no longer grappled. Until the start of its next turn, creatures have advantage on checks and saves made to avoid or end its grapple.

>>97679788
OOOOOH THE WIZARD IS USING SPELLS I AM MAD
I AM MAD THAT THE WIZARD IS USING SPELLS

>>97679202
Dude, what the hell is wrong with you?

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Dogfolk are a good race?

>>97680191
Dog folk have different races? Like are Chihuahua dog folk the equivalent of dog folk halfling?

>>97680207
Technically, the size isn't a real problem for them, but it should be.

>>97680191
I mean Cynocephali are a thing.

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Any recommendations on what Oath to take for a Paladin? I'm mainly looking at
>Vengeance
>Ancients
>Watchers

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>>97681163
Of the official oaths, I think Oath of Ancients is the one that’s going to vibe the best with the other players.

But… have you considered the Oath of Flavor?

>>97681266
>Oath of Flavor
...I'll discuss that as a possibility with my DM.

>>97681163
>p-please tell me how to make my character for me /5eg/, i can't make choices on my own

>>97681409
Why is there always some hyperbolic asshole getting offended at anything and everything? I'm asking out of 3 subclasses in the entire game. I already filtered out of a dozen of classes and then out of a dozen subclasses, and now I'm asking if anyone's got any experience to offer to be a tiebreaker. Do you really need to announce to everyone that you've got a micropenis and your only cope is to be an internet tough guy?

>>97681429
dont feed the trolls you moron

>>97679788
I’d raise an eyebrow, given that two of those things aren’t in the materials I provide to my players.

>>97680191
No, no one but furries would play one.

>>97679887
>OOOOOH THE WIZARD IS USING SPELLS I AM MAD
>I AM MAD THAT THE WIZARD IS USING SPELLS
You joke, but Wizard, Monk, and Rogue basically all chronically have that problem, DMs malding over them using their class abilities completely as intended. And have a sneaky suspicion that there's a faction doing the same about Ranger, just not around here.

>>97682000
And it’s usually DMs that either lack the creativity or improvisation to roll with player problem-solving, or the DM has some control issues and secretly wanted to use the survival mechanics to punish “disobedient” players.

As opposed to using more survival mechanics to just encourage players to utilize spells, tools, and class abilities that normally don’t see a lot of use because the situation they were meant for is usually hand-waved away.

Incidentally, I strongly suspect that the only DMs that champion “milestone leveling”, as opposed to just earning XP through completing encounters, also have the same control issues; I don’t know, but the whole concept just feels like it’s turning class progression into a “mother may I” situation, and that just seems suspicious to me.

>>97681971
I might play one if they were size small, for nonfurry reasons. Little Terrier or Corgi or Spaniel or Beagle man.

Kobolds used to be a little dog-like before they were dragony. That's why they yip and why anime has them as full blown dog anthros, since the only edition of DND that got big over there was B/X and they just kind of took that and ran with it making their own systems after that.

Are there any canonical countries - in any D&D setting, even 3pp stuff or Pathfinder or whatever - that are run by aberrations, that are on the surface, and still exist? It seems like despite constantly invading, they never actually get any territory.

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Relatively new to DnD here. I want to make a character that's sort of a vampire knight/dark knight type similar to pic related. Doesn't necessarily need to have dark magic, just having that sort of vibe.What's my best option for that?
Oathbreaker paladin?
Cavalier warrior?
Hexblade warlock?
Cleric?
Multiclass?

Or just making a regular old warrior and saying "but they're wearing cool black armor"?

>>97682730
I'd suggest Conquest Paladin over Oathbreaker, simply because Oathbreaker is in a weird place.

>>97680207
When the lupin got a writeup for AD&D in Dragon Magazine, they had a shitload of different breeds with unique bonuses and level restrictions.

>>97682730
If you want that kind of vibe you might as well go for something that's got at least a bit of an arcane splash so you can lean into the spookiness. Warlock would work but probably isn't as close to the dark knight kind of flavor you want, so probably either a paladin, or like an Eldritch Knight fighter. Eldritch Knight could be cool if you want to lean more into the warrior side of it, since the magic features it gets are based off the wizard class you could easily work in the flavor that you're some kind of long-lived warrior who studied the dark arts over the years.

>>97682786
Undead warlock blade boon is pretty spooky. Especially with Spirit Shroud up.

>>97682786
True, since EK isn't school restricted anymore, you could grab a lot of necromancy.

>>97682730
>>97682786
Warlock gets the darkness flavor, but it isn't particularly effective at being a knight. You can't easily get heavier armor and it's not as good in melee.
Eldritch Knight could work. Particularly for 5.5e where it's got full access to the Wizard list. The old rules get more messy there though.

>>97682813
This
>>97682825
>Warlock gets the darkness flavor, but it isn't particularly effective at being a knight.

Was more what I was getting at. Like yeah mechanically you could do it and make it work pretty well, but it just doesn't feel quite right, even if you take the armor proficiency and stuff you'd need to kit him out like a warrior

>>97682730
In addition to going EK, if you can convince your DM to work out some kind of cursed armor/weapon for you, that would be a pretty good way to get there I think.

>>97679585
Where is it getting those bonuses and save DCs from?

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>>97682660
Not really. There are things that are close in FR like the Abolethic Sovereignty. They had a novel series. They nearly re-established themselves on the surface but were thwarted (spoilers). Add it in your own setting, or start your own timeline.

Dragonborn enjoyer here
Dragonborn stocks?