D&D Subforum / Pen & Paper RPG Discussion Thread

Banjo

Wow.
You need a lot less sugar in your diet.

...thanks?

Fourier

Fourier wrote: »

We'll pause there for today I think. I'll aim for tomorrow night. If that doesn't suit others we'll go for Monday perhaps.

I'm going to continue with Sarric and Varkrash, seeing as one is independent of the rest of you and Necro will be heading for a while soon.

Banjo how are you fixed? OldGoat, I'll autopilot.

Banjo

Fourier wrote: »

Banjo how are you fixed? OldGoat, I'll autopilot.

Back in coverage, usual limited availability, had about 1 hr sleep so may conk out mid post. But otherwise raring to go.

Fourier

Okay, give me a second to prepare for you lads.

Fourier

Evade, I assumed you're alright to go from your earlier post, is that right?

Evade

Yeah

Fourier

Okay two new locations, Mystara for sKeith and the jungle for the rest. Prepping both, though mostly Mystara, for tomorrow.

OldGoat

Fourier, in Rolz: "Mags has done 8 damage in total so far"
Autopilot auto-inflate fail.

Banjo

The knowledge that we both had a bardic inspiration in our back pocket should things go wrong gave Retula and Therai the confidence they needed to go all out on attack and not, for example, abandon you to your death by diving into the portal randomly or, say, rely on a Deus-ex-DragonShapedScarf-ina to haul us to safety and tuck us into bed. So it was all down to you.

We should probably enjoy this moment as one of the last times we can stand toe to toe with the fighters and be proud of the damage we did

OldGoat

I'm still blaming Fourier for not blowing on the dice keyboard before rolling.

Evade

Banjo wrote: »

We should probably enjoy this moment as one of the last times we can stand toe to toe with the fighters and be proud of the damage we did

With the unique way Eldritch Blast scales you should have no trouble keeping on par with the fighters' damage output.

Banjo

Have you not seen my rolls?
Last night was an abberation. Last combat round, for example, I hit 3 natural 1s in a row, including one Fourier rolled on my behalf. Rolz hates me. But it clearly hates OG just a tiny bit more than me

BTW, OG - I had to do a bit of reading 'cause I had no idea what a Bardic Inspiration was. Are you aware you (possibly) now get a bonus to Init, because it's basically a Dex test and you have Jack of All Trades?

OldGoat

Jack of all trades is only for ability rolls that I'm not already proficient in. Not sure if I can use it for Init.

Evade

You can.

Fourier

New thread for Therai, Mags and Retula:
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057867575

Fourier

Stopping there for tonight

Banjo

@Evade

So, as discussed, I can pick 3 cantrips from any school and treat them as Warlock cantrips (using Charisma for casting).

I'm looking for broad utility. At the moment if I get caught in Melee I'm toast, so I'm looking for an option there.

Current list for consideration :
Guidance - a no brainer really. I think this is locked in.

Shillelagh - As long as there's a table or chair in the room, I am 1 bonus action away from having a magic club that I'm proficient in the use of. I'd prefer this not to be at risk (i.e. if I don't have the book on me I don't have the cantrip, and if I do have the book on me what happened to my normal weapon that I'm using a ****ing table leg???) but it's the only way to get it and have it scale off my charisma.

Primal Savagery - Given my character already has metal nails, I like the flavour of this as a melee option. Now I don't need the table or chairs!

Shocking Grasp - Again, a good melee option, has advantage vs metal armour and allows for a retreat. However, after L6 I don't really need it as a retreat option since I can do a very fancy disengage and retreat without spending a cantrip slot. Also, it uses an attack roll, I may pick it up with Spell Sniper down the line. And again, good synergy with metal nails flavourwise.

Bonfire - handy, but it's on the Warlock list, and I have to pick something at L4 - I may pick it up to use with Repelling blast. Or with this next one ->

Thorn Whip - Has range without ranged penalty in Melee as well as control and fits with the S&M image of the Shadar-Kai. Also, with Bonfire, can drag people through the flames. Then when I get Repelling blast I can push them back through it again on the next turn

Green Flame Blade - This is on the warlock list, I don't intend to do a lot of Melee, so this is over-committing. But it looks awesome. I might look at this for L10 once I have an idea whether or not I'm getting into a lot of fist fights?

Vicious Mockery - Provide support to Melee (disadvantage) while also getting to do a little bit of damage and use my flair for obscenity in-character? Sign me up! However, it does infringe on the Bard role a bit.

Mold Earth or Shape Water : both give lots of options for weird utility outside of fights. I'm not clear on whether you can do things like create cover or suddenly drop a character in melee with your party into a hole using Mold Earth, or for example if imprisoned ask for water then spit it out to form an icicle to use as an arcane focus to wreak merry hell with. Problem is that if you lose the book you lose the cantrip.

Current thinking is Guidance, Shillelagh or Thorn Whip and... something else. But I don't really know what I'm doing. Whaddya think?

Evade

Banjo wrote: »

Current thinking is Guidance, Shillelagh or Thorn Whip and... something else. But I don't really know what I'm doing. Whaddya think?

Guidance is a no brainer. I'd pick Shillelagh out of those two and buy a club or quarterstaff at the next opportunity. There's an invocation for Eldritch blast in Xanathar's, Grasp of Hadar, that lets you pull so you can do the bonfire trick just using Eldritch Blast.

As for the third one there's not much else combat wise from the non-Warlock lists that wouldn't just be doubling up on something you already have. The only combat based cantrip you might want is something with a save instead of an attack roll like Acid Splash (Dex save 1d6 acid damage), Frostbite* (Con save 1d6 cold damage and disadvantage on next attack), Toll the Dead* (Wisdom Save 1d8 necrotic damage or 1d12 if the target isn't at maximum hit points) or Sacred Flame (Dex save 1d6 fire damage no cover save bonus). Or take Create Bonfire* now.

Out of combat, until the spell ends anyway, Friends* (Advantage on Charisma checks vs target for one minute but after that minute they'll know you used magic to manipulate them).

*On the Warlock spell list

Banjo

Cheers.
Looked up Grasp of Hadar, can't take it with my Patron, it's Great Old One only.
I have a Quarterstaff, so Shillelagh has a target.
Friend doubles up on my 1-a-day charm without hangover from the Beholder eye in Retula's palm

Toll the dead though - wisdom save, + hex on Wisdom, that's 1d12 + 1d6 necrotic damage at it's peak, literally rotting people away and pretty strong thematic alignment.

Thanks. Plenty to chew on.

Evade

Banjo wrote: »

Cheers.
Looked up Grasp of Hadar, can't take it with my Patron, it's Great Old One only.

It doesn't mention that in the book.

Banjo

I think the version I saw was the UA one that had RQ and Hexblade patrons in it. If it's been updated since, cool and the gang. My "book" is google

BTW, is Repelling Blast active on every hit or just when I want it to be? Is it mutually exclusive with Agonising Blast or Eldritch Spear?

Evade

Grasp of Hadar is only once per turn, Repelling blast is as often as you hit and both are when you choose. As far as I know the only mutually exclusive Eldritch Blast invocations are Repelling Blast and Grasp of Hadar.

Ideal scenario
Turn one: Create a bonfire under an enemy and they should move away from it on their turn.
Turn two and beyond: Repelling Blast/Grasp of Hadar them through the bonfire for that extra damage.

The only downside to Create Bonfire is it uses your concentration so you can't do that and Hex at the same time.

Fourier, if I'm getting too metagamey let me know.

Fourier

Oh not at all Evade, handy to have somebody advising like this.

To be clearer, some other RPGs actually require metagaming (Savage Worlds, 7th Sea) and there always has to be some of it, i.e. going purely by the character can often be boring/limiting for the player or leave them disadvantaged.

The only kind of metagaming I don't like isn't even really possible in 5E. The silly combination of Feats that people took in 3E for example (taking mutually impossible feats because the book doesn't technically say you can't, i.e. I'm short for stealth and intimidatingly tall for Persuasion)

Banjo

Cheers Evade.
So hang on, if I can Repelling blast at will, Grasp of Hadar on one per round, and have a bonfire, and Eldritch Blast occurs instantaneously but each one resolves before the next one when I have multiples, at some point technically I could Repel through the bonfire for a burn, then Grasp back through the bonfire for a burn, then repel through the bonfire for a burn... then they have to run back through the bonfire to have a shot at attacking, all while doing Agonizing Blast damage (but not Hex Necrotic 'cause my concentration is elsewhere)? So I can turn some poor bastard into a living, screaming yo-yo?

OK, two or three for Fourier :
If I swap out Devil Sight for Book of Ancient Secrets, I get ritual casting. Can I take Find Familiar as one of those rituals given the Raven technically isn't a familiar, it's a sentinel?

What happens if I then swap out BoAS for Devil Sight again - do I lose the rituals in the book or just the ability to cast them until I take the Invocation again?

Is it OK if I hold off on defining what the rituals are until we get a short rest and I can read the book? Frankly it's too much choice and I'm a little overwhelmed.

Fourier

The silly combination of Feats that people took in 3E

As an actual example for the laugh, the dual handed feat in 3E gives attack bonuses if both hands have a weapon during your turn. Now it doesn't technically say they have to be different weapons, so people used to say they would swap the same sword between each hand every three seconds, hence over the six seconds of a turn "both hands would have a weapon" and so get the bonuses from dual wielding.

Evade

Banjo wrote: »

Cheers Evade.
So hang on, if I can Repelling blast at will, Grasp of Hadar on one per round, and have a bonfire, and Eldritch Blast occurs instantaneously but each one resolves before the next one when I have multiples, at some point technically I could Repel through the bonfire for a burn, then Grasp back through the bonfire for a burn, then repel through the bonfire for a burn... then they have to run back through the bonfire to have a shot at attacking, all while doing Agonizing Blast damage (but not Hex Necrotic 'cause my concentration is elsewhere)? So I can turn some poor bastard into a living, screaming yo-yo?

Yep. Assuming it isn't a ranged character in which case it would have no reason to approach.

Fourier

Sorry quite busy today and spent some time here closing off Necro's characters in Vampire and this. Normal service tomorrow.

Fourier

Okay off for the night.

Necro

Thanks Four, talk soon.

Catch you folks on the flip side, off for a month or thereabouts

Banjo

Necrominus wrote: »

Catch you folks on the flip side, off for a month or thereabouts

Godspeed, Necro

But seriously people, I have 7pm in the pool, what did the rest of you get?

(as in by what time tonight he'll be posting in D&D 5e / Vampire again)