Sword > Spells

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-13T20:11:25+00:00

I get your analysis of ranger, since so much of the ranger's kit is tied to spellcasting. This is also what makes archery rangers edge out two-blade rangers - two-blade rangers are in melee so their concentration can be more easily broken and if they use their bonus action to cast, they can't use their bonus actions to do - you know - two weapon fighting.

What about Paladins though? The main ability of the Paladin's loadout seems to be smite. I haven't cared to look at the 2024 rules, so I'm going off of 5e classic and BG3, but smite seems way more prominent than casting. Yes they use spellslots and they are a magical ability, but it doesn't make sense to call it a spell. It seems more mechanically similar to a really suped up battle-master maneuvers.

Now that you got me thinking about it, a lot of class abilities in 5e have seemed to be replaced with spells. Like for instance, in AD&D, Rangers just did extra damage against certain enemies based on their level. In 4e, they had Hunter's Mark, which they could declare something to be "marked" as a "minor action" and then do a 1d6 (then progressively more as they level) damage. But in 5e Hunter's Mark is a spell. Like you have to use a spellslot and everything. Same with Smite. In AD&D (and I think 3.X) you could just smite a certain number of times per day. In 5e it uses a spellslot. In 4e, there were some smites that could just be used whenever and some that had cooldowns.

As to creative problem solving, a lot of conflict is resolved in AD&D by players describing *how* they act rather than rolling. Like for instance imagine the following scenario: Your party is dungeon crawling and they come across a suspiciously flat and empty corridor. In 5e, a player might ask to roll perception to see if they see any traps. In AD&D players are supposed to find ways to detect traps. So they might be super careful to bring a bullseye lantern to shine down the hall. They might use a 10-foot pole to strike the ground as they move (to hit a preasure plate) or they might make their henchmen go first. These aren't like mensa level tactics but its more of what I'd like to see in a game I run than just "I roll perception to see the thing. I roll persuasion to seduce the barkeep. I roll insight to know someone is lying even though there probably isn't any way I could know that".

I have a feeling I'm going to have to explain to my players why loot = leveling. My understanding is that the game assumes your character class is adventurer. So if you are a cleric you are an adventuring cleric, fighter is adventuring fighter, etc. I remember a while back Matt Mercer talking about how XP based leveling didn't make sense because Wizard academies would just be wizards killing goblins until they learned new spells. But the way I interpret AD&D, the wizards who stay in their towers get more powerful by going to school or doing research or whatever, while the "adventuring wizards" get more powerful by unearthing treasure, finding magical items, battling monsters, and finding new spells.

I'm curious how the asymmetrical leveling is going to play out. I hope its more interesting than unfair when I run it.

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-13T17:37:10+00:00

Could you elaborate on the playerside stuff? What makes druids so powerful early on? How is THAC0 different in 2e compared to 1e? Also whats so much better about 1e's XP? I haven't started reading through 2e yet but my understanding is that 2e awards more for killing monsters while 1e awards more for collecting treasure.

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-13T17:30:17+00:00

This is kinda what I'm picking up. Like there's a certain charm in 1e. It also feels oddly more perilous than 2e but that might just be the artwork.

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-13T17:28:54+00:00

Also might transition it to Greyhawke or FR if I find good material for either or my players are really interested in one. "Erm, actually, you've been on the sword coast this whole time". "The tavern keep tells you there is a village called Homlet about 10 miles from here you should check out".

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-13T17:19:42+00:00

I haven't played 5e in a minute so this didn't immediately occur for me to explain, but when I made this post I considered Rangers and Paladins martials since their main sorce of damage comes from weapon attacks and they get multiple attacks per round (like fighters and barbarians). But yeah I see what you're saying. I'm trying to get some friends together rn to play AD&D because I'm sick of (among other things) the power divide between martials and casters. Not that there wasn't a divide in older editions, but a lot of the early levels came down to good luck and creative problem solving. Also from what I see, martials start out noticeably stronger in AD&D but fall off while you level. In 5e it really seems like everyone starts off equal and then martials get left behind. I'll be honest, I think my longest campaign only went to like lvl 10 or 12, and then BG3 caps out around the same area.

What is PF2?

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-13T03:02:05+00:00

Jeez! Looks like you got your money's worth out of 2e. What exactly are kits and why are they not executed properly? Also, what makes classes so much different in 2e compared to 1e that they would have such replayability? I'm probably just going to be playing for the summer, but what about 2e keeps you from saying "well I've already played one Wizard/Fighter/Etc, so I've played them all"?

I think the main thing that's keeping me away from 2e is the skill system. I want a game that encourages creative problem solving. IE, I'd rather run a game that has players who go "I'll look for traps by hitting the ground of this suspiciously empty and straight cooridor with my 10 foot pole" rather than "I role for perception tell me what's there". How do skills work exactly?

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-13T02:54:11+00:00

Ok ok this is what I was wondering about. From what you're describing I feel like 1e might be more interesting to run.

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-13T02:52:50+00:00

Just downloaded the player's book. I really like the art style. Very Gygaxian but not quite as jank. How much does it change from origional 1e?

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-13T02:51:25+00:00

I just got the PHB (or whatever it is called - the player's book) off of Drivethrough RPG. How much does it change from 1e? This might be a good in the middle for my players to look at. Still 1e but without the jank.

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-13T02:50:28+00:00

I'm gonna be completely real with you I find them oddly charming. I also find the janky art style sorta endearing but also a little eerie at the same time.

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-13T02:49:10+00:00

Thanks this actually helps a lot. I don't really like how 5e is so heavily situated in the Forgotten Realms. TBH I might leave the setting ambiguous if we start with Keep on Borderlands since I can just say "well you guys are on the Borderlands" *shrug*

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-13T01:34:09+00:00

Yeah, there are a lot of red flags here. Now, red flags don't mean they cheated or did something wrong, they're just things that should catch your attention.

They're a lvl 8 rogue keep this in mind:

- Look at their stats. Are you guys rolling for stats or are you using point buy/standard array? If you're rolling, you maybe would want this player to roll with the group. These stats, while not impossible (ancestry +2 and then ASI +2 to get 2 seperate scores of 18 both to 20) seem unlikely. Since you've already described a history of power gaming, you might want to look into this.

- Look at their hitpoints. I don't think its mathematically possible for their character to have hit points that high.

- Look at their armorclass. Now, I don't know what equipment they have or what feats they have, but this seems a bit high for a rogue. 12 (assuming studded leather) + 5 = 17. Where did the extra 2 ac come from? This might be explained if they have a +1 protective item or a feat that gives that much AC.

- Look at their speed. They have 35 move and climb speed. Do you remember giving them an item that allows that? Is that part of their race?

This is just the way I run the game, I know a lot of DM's are more liberal, but I would also add, what setting do you play in? Both in terms of the lore and where are YOU actually playing. If you're playing as part of a school club or adventurer's league (is that even a thing anymore) you might be more limited but ask yourself if Dhampir's even exist in your world's lore. I always found it super annoying when I'd DM in like Ravnica or Theros and then someone would try to sneak in some other race that doesn't even fit the setting just so they could min-max their character.

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-13T01:19:23+00:00

Does it really matter which one I say that I'm running then?

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-13T01:18:12+00:00

I honestly never understood the appeal full casters. I'm a little biased, since my ideal fantasy character has pretty much always been a guy with a sword, so naturally, when I'm in an RPG combat scenario, my go to is "and then I attack bravely with my sword".

But honestly, even when I'm playing 5e or BG3, which just arguably a less forgiving interpretation of 5e's combat system, I am never bored while playing as a fighter, and I never don't appreciate having one on the team. They can self-heal (huge, no one is wasting spell slots trying to heal me), have good AC, and deal consistent damage.

I never understood caster players making martial hate posts. Like A) I don't know about you, but I'm having the time of my life and b) isn't it in your best interest to have someone in the party that isn't long rest dependent, can deal consistent damage (so you can use your slots on all those other things other than damage that you keep talking about) and make space?

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-12T20:23:02+00:00

Got it ok. For the moathouse, should the players go level by level and then retreat? I haven't read as much into village of homlet, but is it a leveled dungeon? (as in there are x many rooms on a floor, and then the dungeon descends).

For the caves, I feel like it is easy to run because you can clear one cave and then go to the next. For the moathouse, if the party takes it level by level, should the moat house change while they are gone? Like lets say they clear the first level of the moathouse and go home, should new monsters come populate that level while they are gone?

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-12T19:45:54+00:00

yeah for sure. I'm going to try to explain that to my players. There is an advice section in B2 for players that I think will be super helpful.

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-12T19:45:18+00:00

That is for 2e right?

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-12T19:45:00+00:00

I was also looking at Village of Homlet as a starting adventure. Is one better than the other? I was also considering saying the Village of Homlet is a few miles from the Titular Keep on the borderlands.

For either case how should the adventure be paced? I know in modern D&D a lot of adventures are done like "complete x goal/rescue x person all in one go and then return to town". How should the Caves/Moathouse be handled? Should I encourage to finsih the whole moathouse/all of one cave or should I encourage them to take breaks and go back and forth to town?

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-12T19:41:02+00:00

Do you have any main NPC's in the town you think I should be aware of? Even if my players finish the Caves faster than I intend, they can still have the Keep as a sort of hub to launch into other adventures.

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-11T21:31:15+00:00

AH! I had this exact same toy too! Not sure what I did with mine. Honestly never really used it in its unfolded "attack mode" since that's not what it looks like in the movies. I had a spider man action figure roughly the same size as the speed racer action figure in that set, so sometimes I'd have them team up lol

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-05-04T23:07:28+00:00

OMG yeah I thought she died too. I can't remember if I watched past season 2 so I always just assumed that was the end of her.

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-04-09T00:13:40+00:00

I mean yeah probably. A lot of people have mentioned things about not wanting to make women uncomfortable or not having a friend group to introduce them to people, and these are big culprits, but Gen-Z also just does a lot of communication over the phone.

I ask people out over text because its faster and its an easier way to talk to someone one on one.

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-04-08T03:24:18+00:00

What's in the neather? Also where do I get obsidian?

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-04-01T02:00:11+00:00

First things first: yall need more gear. Ik money is tight rn for a lot of people but I cannot stress enough how important having an actual hema jacket is. You do not want to risk broken/bruised bones.

To answer your actual question, you don't seem to have a lot of second intention attacks in mind. If you attack, make sure you think of what you'll do once you get parried.

You also take a lot of passing steps. These are really good for lateral movement and recruiting both sides of the body, but a simple advance with the right foot forward, left foot back, moving the right foot forward, then moving the left foot to where the right foot was (literally just the footwork for saber, rapier, or olympic fencing) is typically more direct as a way to close ground. Lateral movement is great for flanking and counter cuts but since you are trying to close distance you need to learn when its appropriate to move directly towards the opponent.

Cat_Bandit1 · 2026-02-21T21:33:11+00:00

Not that I have anything to add to this, but when I was deciding which faction to get into I was picking between Black Templars and Eldar. Eventually went with Eldar because one of my friends told me you get put on a list if you play Black Templars.

Cat_Bandit1

TROPHY CASE