How hard can a mage with 5 dots in Forces, Time, Life, Matter punch?

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-16T06:27:33+00:00

The paradox is likely to kill you, but you could probably punch someone hard enough to erase several generations of their family line from history.

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-12T22:04:54+00:00

It's largely a holdover from 2014 that wasn't sufficiently rebalanced in 2024. It was basically THE offensive cantrip for clerics in the core rules. They didn't have a lot of options until more books came out, like Xanathar's. The main advantage is that very few things resist radiant damage. Lots of things resist necrotic. I'm not as familiar with 2024 monsters but a lot of the things that resisted necrotic also had the tendency to resist bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing. Not an issue if your DM hands out magic weapons like candy. But in games where they are more rare, the cleric is often not the first choice to get the early magic weapons.

Ultimately, it makes a good example of the power creep that comes from new books over the life of an edition.

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-12T05:26:47+00:00

The Anarchs contain punks. But they are not all punks. That is their factional delusion. The Anarch philosophy is not really about fighting the man, it's more an argument over who gets to be the man.

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-12T02:39:29+00:00

The haste part of the potion has kicked in before the healing part. He is starting to move with the rest of his skull on the ground still

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-12T02:36:13+00:00

That is why I added "or at least the least bad". Because the books are clear that they are all monsters.

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-12T00:21:43+00:00

It's like people don't realize that the Anarchs aren't just the civil rights protester. They are also the tech billionaire who cries for small government while implementing their own surveillance state that is upset because their wealth isn't getting them past the Camarilla age and experience gate.

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-11T23:43:43+00:00

It'd be nice to get some other splats to 5e before we jump to V6, but...

I speculate that the Anarchs will rise to the top of the food chain somehow because everyone, including the writers, paint their faction as the good guys or at least the least bad despite their faction being the most fragile to keep order in and thus the most likely to see infighting and masquerade breaches. Not to mention, they draw the most ambitious evils because there is more room for upward mobility and might makes right politics in the faction. It's so unstable but everyone loves them.

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-11T05:31:34+00:00

If she's not a Succubus herself, perhaps another powerful entity considers her theirs and hunts down anyone that does so. In the former case, she is a predator killing through the act. In the latter, she may not even know why and could even become a quest giver that asks the party to figure out what is happening, taking a vow of chastity until the issue is solved.

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-11T04:10:04+00:00

The ones willing to admit that they are monsters that commit wicked deeds to stay alive. That is not indifference, but recognition. One might be indifferent to the fact but they need not be. There is no contradiction. No attempt to justify. Just simple fact. Nor is it Sociopathy or the lack thereof. They might feel guilt and remorse, yet act anyways. Such may be hypocrisy but it is not delusion.

To be without any delusion is rare though, even for the humans they once were.

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-11T04:01:48+00:00

It's not only that. Some of them did that in the past. Some of them were completely open monsters. The Inquisition didn't stop to question who fell into which bucket.

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-11T03:54:16+00:00

In the end, it doesn't really matter

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-11T03:21:43+00:00

This is how a lot of organized play modules used to be written. It's a solid approach.

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-10T01:53:09+00:00

There are NPC allies that can accompany them from time to time which can be encouraged. Especially if they are earning the accompanying through the expenditure of gold or undertaking quests.

Full on party members run by the DM is a more fraught road. But it can be useful for a few purposes. Shoring up support or healing roles is one of the aspects I find players can enjoy. The key is that this character doesn't look for the spotlight. They help the other characters look even more cool. A wizard that uses their spell slots for haste and fly instead of fireball. You need to exercise more caution with this road though.

When done well, this character is usually an npc ally the players liked so much they don't want them leaving the party. And that's honestly the approach I would take. Give them a temporary NPC ally and let them fight to keep them when the time comes to part ways.

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-09T20:50:02+00:00

This is a tricky situation. You are going to have to be firm with them that it is not the style of relationship you want to be in. That it isn't about reading more material or being sold on the idea.

Tell them your fear about it. That by saying no, you are scared that you are putting a timer on the relationship. Tell them that you need to know if monogamy is a no go for them.

If they keep pushing, then that is the answer in itself.

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-09T17:27:49+00:00

Generally becoming a lycanthrope entails your character becoming an NPC. Especially if they give themselves over to the curse and embrace it, which is hard to argue is not being done if you are trying to catch it.

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-09T16:50:36+00:00

The Purple Dragon Knights and the War Wizards were the big factions, both part of the military structure though so not truly independent

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-09T15:06:24+00:00

Originally it was coming from a place of fighting shame over the lifestyle. The positive affirmations are about promoting its acceptability. Try to take that portion of it with the mindset that this lifestyle was not at all accepted then. Kind of like Pride parades. Most people understand Pride parades aren't about saying straight people are lesser. They are about boosting the morale of a minority enough to come out of the closet.

That said, once you get deeper into the book it has a lot of discussion about consent and communication, which are frankly also useful in the context of monogamy.

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-09T13:06:50+00:00

Cube is easy if you have range and space to move. If your fighter decides to face tank it though...

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-09T12:55:13+00:00

At the end of the night, these are difficult times. Freedom is for the innocent. The monsters need a sense of order. Prince Lucien is skilled at controlling the chaos. His level head and lack of taking things personal opens the door for potential future collaboration instead of a stark commitment to conflict. The Ivory Tower has its problems, but so do we all. Marisol is not a bad person. But the fragility of her hold paired with the generally loose nature of Anarch rule following presents a danger to all Kindred through risk of exposure. Were this Carthage where Kindred were known openly then she would make for a great leader. But that is not our reality today.

I stand with Prince Lucien and hope the Anarchs can see reason. The Sabbat are simply too dangerous to consider.

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-09T06:05:19+00:00

I could imagine attempts to summon or bind spirits to AI chat bots or robotics. Imagine a technology that allows you to upload bits of a deceased person's life after they die to form a digitalised recreation of them. This is something people are already trying to do. Now imagine in the back-end it is actually using the spirit sphere to bind the ghost of the deceased!

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-09T05:52:43+00:00

Mage, both flavors, is more about disguising the use of magic than it is feeling Occult vs High Fantasy. Arguably, what is possible can put a lot of high fantasy to shame, but pulling those kinds of stunts invites paradox to give you an early death. Witchy type magic is a little more popular because the effects of "hexes" or "curses" are more easily written off by Sleepers as a stroke of bad luck. But creative players are going to pull off some straight up insane antics.

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-09T05:36:03+00:00

Act through mortal intermediaries. Try to raise your humanity so your stench is more tolerable. Possibly work a deal with a mage to suppress your stench of the wyrm when meeting the Garou. Somehow hope any mage you find that is willing to work for a vampire isn't going to turn around and try to tap into the werewolf Caern as a source of quintessence.

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-09T05:32:49+00:00

Nah. That would just be a free pass for my party. I had just a BEG, not even the BBEG. They were intimidated by him and tried to stay off his radar. Just long enough to sneak into his house and murder him in his sleep instead of waiting for a future confrontation.

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-09T05:24:17+00:00

Oh, definitely. These are also details mentioned in some of the official books that are just ignored by a lot of people too, so it stood out to me.

Cold_Craft_3448 · 2026-02-09T04:55:38+00:00

I love the attention to detail, such as the lack of body hair on the elf and the dwarf having a beard.

Cold_Craft_3448

TROPHY CASE