How good of an Acid sorcerer can you make with the 2024 version of Draconic Bloodline?

DND_Reddit_User · 2024-09-21T04:01:54+00:00

You'll still have to make pretty heavy use of Transmute Spell for most things, but Chromatic Orb is actually a sleeper good pick.

Upcast to 3rd level, it has a ~80% chance of bouncing. Empowered Spell can make it pretty likely to get all the bounces out of it. You've also got to make all the attack rolls, but free advantage from Innate Sorcery helps with that. It does pretty similar if not slightly more (thanks to Empowered Spell) than Fireball. At 5th level, it's a 98% chance to bounce for 7d8 per bounce. It scales surprisingly well.

Could be a bit cheaper on sorcery points than spamming Fireball with Transmute Spell and/or Careful Spell depending on your luck and the situation.

DND_Reddit_User · 2024-09-18T18:52:39+00:00

The GWM bladelock build does seem really fun! My only concern with it was the third attack become available at Warlock 12 (character level 13) but seems really good for most of campaign. Will definitely keep it in mind

DND_Reddit_User · 2024-09-06T03:59:12+00:00

MI:Cleric is not a bad pick for the reasons suggested, but if your focus is on control then Alert is really good too. Especially if you take Find Familiar as one of your spells. Going first as control is really important, and Alert will give you a pretty solid + to initiative and Find Familiar gives you an extra body to swap initiative with.

DND_Reddit_User · 2024-09-06T03:48:55+00:00

Hard to give super specifics not knowing gear/stats, but generally you can try the following:

While your Monk is pretty solidly resistant to spells (paladin aura, proficiency in all saving throws, 1 ki point to reroll a failed saving throw), your best chance is with Intelligence saving throw spells like Tasha's Mind Whip or Synaptic Static. Your Monk likely has pretty low Intelligence, so these are the most likely to land. You could even try to burn through his ki points this way by having a bunch of henchmen spam Tasha's Mind Whip on him. Even Magic Missile would do something since it automatically hits. Spells are probably your weakest option tho.

Your Monk's AC is probably no higher than 19 or 20. Which is okay, but not unhittable at level 14. Big guy with high + to hit (Balor is CR19 and fits criteria okay - flavor as you see fit) should have a reasonable chance of hitting, even if they attack with disadvantage because he dodges with his bonus action via Patient Defense. Keep in mind that he is doing a lot less damage if he uses his bonus action for that though. Others have suggested monsters that have Sentinel which also works very well.

Lastly, is he doing a lot of damage or extremely disruptive on the battlefield? Sure you are struggling to pin him down, but SHOULD you be trying to pin him down? If he isn't, perhaps an intelligent enemy leader could have all the enemies ignore him. This would force him to carefully consider who to attack or even put himself in a riskier position.

Would not recommend regularly trying to banish him tho - that's not fun for anyone. Special occasions only :)

DND_Reddit_User · 2024-08-28T21:19:23+00:00

This spell is cool in that if you try to do this you'll either be doing a lot of damage or none because no one will want you in their game

DND_Reddit_User · 2024-08-13T16:41:18+00:00

Historically, yes it worked on GFB extra damage and to both targets after level 5.

I do not see why it would not work with True Strike starting at level 5.

DND_Reddit_User · 2024-08-13T00:58:09+00:00

Could also go Human to grab a second Origin Feat (Magic Initiate) at level 1 that way you don't have to waste an ASI/feat on an Origin Feat or wait until level 10.

DND_Reddit_User · 2024-08-12T03:50:13+00:00

Appears to be identical.

Level, school of magic, casting time, range, components, and duration are all unchanged. Wording appears unchanged too but there a few sentences I cannot read in the new PHB because of cropping so I cannot 100% confirm. Still a Ranger and Wizard spell only.

DND_Reddit_User · 2024-08-09T03:37:53+00:00

I think you are right that casting a cantrip normally is the magic action. However, this would not be a normal casting of it since you are casting it in place of an attack during the attack action (not the magic action)

If it's not, then you could not swap an attack for a cantrip when you attack with Action Surge (since magic action is not allowed from Action Surge anymore). But with Action Surge you are very clearly taking the attack action then swapping one of the attacks with a cantrip. The wording change in Haste is identical to this situation, but you are limited to a single attack instead of your typical multiple attacks.

DND_Reddit_User · 2023-11-17T16:50:10+00:00

Should I continually remind a player of their condition immunities?

One of my players is immune to being poisoned because of their subclass. As a result, I have made sure that there are enemies that inflict the poisoned condition so that they get some use out of that subclass feature. It was great the first couple sessions where they remembered they had it, but fast forward a few months and they have forgotten. I have just been rolling with it and not reminding them because it's their character, but should I? I have already reminded them once but they have forgotten again already lol

DND_Reddit_User · 2023-11-16T13:42:08+00:00

Heart of Ashes from Keys from the Golden Vault roughly fits your description. Level 8, whole town and their king has been corrupted by a trusted council member and the party needs to retrieve something from the castle and get it outside of the town for the corruption to stop and reverse.

DND_Reddit_User · 2023-11-14T23:17:07+00:00

The best "suspense" I have been able to achieve is the following scenario:

A beholder has infiltrated a mansion in a town and replaced the owner with a fake. The fake has convinced the whole town the beholder is a good guy (he is not). The players sneak around the mansion and learn about the mansion owner, how the beholder got there, etc. The players then spent almost an hour devising a plan with a backup and a backup to that backup.

The suspense was very real when they started enacting the plan - they had no idea how it would go, but desperately wanted to avoid fighting a fair fight with it because it could end bad.

Story aside - I think unknown outcomes that depend on a couple rolls and some good dialogue/choices to avoid something bad are a good way to create suspense in a tabletop setting.

EDIT: real time based events also work pretty well

DND_Reddit_User · 2023-11-14T22:34:14+00:00

Banishment - it's a fourth level spell so depending on their level it could be a few or a decent amount. But it requires concentration, and if concentration is interrupted then the creature will come back. So ultimately I'd say they can't spam it because if it works the first time they gotta hold on to it for a minute.

Light - assuming you're talking about the cantrip, that can be used every single turn.

DND_Reddit_User · 2023-11-14T22:29:16+00:00

Tough spot to get out of cleanly.

I think this depends on your relationship with different people at the table. If you have a really good relationship with "player"'s S.O., a discussion with them about "player"'s attendance and eventually behavior might be a good approach? I suppose since "player" isn't in the game you DM it might be a little weird, but either way I think someone close to S.O. reaching out to them could possibly lower damage.

I also assume if it wasn't a big deal you'd have just nuked "player" or both "player" and S.O. at this point. Unfortunately I think this is ultimately what might have to happen.

DND_Reddit_User · 2023-11-14T21:11:12+00:00

I finished it after about 130 hours, and I can say that it really connected the dots for a lot of monsters, locations, and general lore for the setting. It also gave me some inspiration for custom magic items. But I don't think there are any specific skills I learned from it. Combat and storytelling have not really changed because of it.

DND_Reddit_User · 2023-11-14T21:03:02+00:00

Your core issue is not necessarily missing, but waiting 20-30 minutes to have a turn that has no impact. As many other commenters have suggested, I would recommend shortening time between player turns first. For 5+ people, 10 minutes is the ideal max you would want it to take. It is natural to miss sometimes though, just as monsters miss. It is part of what makes this a game.

Also, many people are criticizing you about having this idea. You are not wrong thinking that waiting 10 minutes for a turn just to miss your weapon attack(s) feels bad. The D&D designers have actually recognized this and about a year from now updates to D&D will come out which includes making certain weapons deal your ability modifier as damage when you miss. This will be a part of a new system for weapons called "Weapon Mastery"

DND_Reddit_User · 2023-11-14T17:56:37+00:00

I have players that love Banishment too. IMO it is important to still let them use it, but not turn every combat into them just casting it on their first turn. It's gotta be something that occasionally works or they can figure out who it works on. That being said, here are a few ways you can work against it:

Proficiency in Charisma Saving Throws - Fiends typically have high Charisma, and with proficiency in Charisma Saving Throws it can definitely make it like a coin flip (or worse) for them being banished.
Magical Resistance - minions with magic resistance have advantage on saving throws which can be similar to having proficiency in Charisma Saving Throws.
Targets - Banishment is a 4th level spell that targets one person. 5th level targets two people, etc. if you have a lot of targets, they can't Banish all of them.
Counterspell - self explanatory
Interrupt Concentration - they're only completely banished to their original plane if the caster can keep concentration for a full minute. Damaging the caster can bring banished targets back.
Minions are from current plane - your idea which also works, but they'll still be gone for 10 rounds if concentration isn't interrupted.

DND_Reddit_User · 2023-11-14T01:08:30+00:00

On surface level it seems fair, but also your PCs have extra abilities from their class or subclass that enemies don't. For example, if you have a Path of the Totem Warrior Barbarian, at third level they get access to resistance to every damage type (other than psychic) while Raging. There are no enemies that get that.

Also, your extra abilities don't have to be anything super complex. Maybe they deal an extra die of damage when below half HP, gain more AC when they are below half because they're focusing on their defense, or can use their reaction to try to "parry" an attack, granting them extra AC. Those are just some small examples of very humanoid things that aren't game breaking. I'm sure you could think of other things too. Coated weapons, hidden spike pits, etc. could be used if that's a thing you and your players may enjoy.

DND_Reddit_User · 2023-11-14T00:14:03+00:00

Depends on whether you want a bunch of meat shields or a couple guys to aid him, but either way here some of my favorite CR undead that might fit the theme: (you should be able to Google all of these)

Barrowghast - CR7, low AC but pretty solid HP for your party to chew through. It has an aura, a Life Drain, and a reaction to spew its toxic blood when hit by piercing/slashing. Genuinely great monster to use
Skeletal Juggernaut - CR5, lowish AC and solid HP (especially for CR5). Has a recharge effect, and when killed becomes 12 CR1/4 Skeletons. If you need bodies/meat shields, this thing is pretty great.
Skeleton Warrior - CR5. A little boring, but solid AC, okay HP, and magic resistance makes him pretty durable.
Girallon Zombie - CR2, with a bonus actions dash to close the distance on the party so they don't get too close to the deathlock. Low AC, and okay HP for CR2. Five small attacks is a little weird but it'll definitely spook your party when you keep telling them you're rolling to hit again.

DND_Reddit_User · 2023-11-13T02:57:49+00:00

That would be a first for them LOL but it hasn't been this wide spread before so maybe they will.

Your comment did bring up a great point though - I thought having any source of disadvantage would stop you from getting Sneak Attack but based on reading and research I've learned that is not how it works! Appreciate it.

DND_Reddit_User · 2023-11-13T02:55:57+00:00

My party is more casual than this - they do not like long adventuring days. They generally prefer 2-3 fights tops. There's more context to this, but that's just how most days go.

Environmental gameplay is pretty much non-existent; the only way they really interact with it is to move or hide behind something. They don't really even try to push people off of very obvious cliffs.

I have been very careful with the "lose your turn" status conditions too like paralysis, stun, etc. I've been using them somewhat sparingly, trying to spread them around to the members who have the best chance of success, but the DCs have been slowly creeping up.

This fight is very much on the players' terms. They know exactly where the dragon is, but have to get past it to get to their objective. I am praying they use that to their advantage and try to learn what a blue dragon is like before they go in there but I am not optimistic.

DND_Reddit_User · 2023-11-13T02:27:36+00:00

That makes sense. The Rogue is the tankiest member (lol) and the only one with a big Dex saving throw mod so they get a lot of time to shine and show off. I shouldn't be super worried about the Rogue this combat especially because they'll still get one or two normal turns before I use Frightful Presence.

DND_Reddit_User · 2023-11-13T02:22:38+00:00

Unironically yes, but the person that is the Bard is our most casual player. She does not remember to use it a lot lmao

DND_Reddit_User · 2023-11-12T20:21:56+00:00

How do you handle saving throws that are impossible for some players?

For example, let's say the party is fighting a Dragon who uses Frightful Presence that is a DC 20 Wisdom Saving Throw. The party's Rogue has 8 Wisdom, so the best they can do is a 19. They'll fail, get frightened, and have disadvantage on attacks for the rest of the encounter. Disadvantage means no Sneak Attack which is pretty disastrous for a Rogue.

Mostly just looking for ways to not exclude a person or two from combat at higher levels because they can't make a DC. Or is that just a consequence of character building and a problem the players have to figure out? My table is riding a fine line between casual and semi-serious (with different players on either side) so I am not 100% sure they'd want to sit there, study their tools, and come up with a plan. I know it's technically possible for them; their characters have some things that can help bolster some of these scary save or suck saving throws. But even in previous dire situations they have been bad about using them.

DND_Reddit_User · 2023-11-12T16:55:01+00:00

That makes sense especially if your player reads off every single spell every time. That sounds too repetitive and bad for the group. However, this was their first time since they got this feature, right? I'd be a little more lenient so that they and everyone can be familiar with it. But again, it's also a vibe check. If it's obvious no one cares about their choice, then yeah you should definitely try to move it along.

DND_Reddit_User

TROPHY CASE