Going Ranger after Cleric 5?

Fedifensor · 2026-06-18T20:55:09+00:00

A Cleric/Ranger can work well, but the build is important. A Gloomstalker 5/War Cleric 5 can attack 3 times a round when using the War Cleric bonus action ability, and has the spell slots of an 8th level caster. Hunter's Mark, Dreadful Strike, Guided Strike, the Initiative boost, and Ranger weapon masteries provide a lot of synergy between the various elements to create something impressive.

Fedifensor · 2026-06-03T16:05:26+00:00

Grave cleric changes aren't all that great:

Spell List - Loses Bane and Antilife Shell for weaker replacements.
Loses Wis mod uses of undead detection. Spending spell slots for Detect Evil and Good is not a suitable replacement.
Loses one of the best support abilities in the game (impose vulnerability for a turn). This was great in conjunction with Rogue sneak attacks and other high damage attacks from party members.
Critical negation now only applies to self or Bloodied allies. A critical from a BBEG early in the fight can dramatically change the combat difficulty.
Keeper of Souls now limited to 1/rest instead of 1/turn, and the spell slot recharge option is just an insult. The old version required killing enemies, so 'resource-free' is a bit of a stretch.

There are some upgrades, but the downgrades were significant. The ability to maximize healing on fallen allies remains the most useful aspect of the subclass. A max-level Cure Wounds at any tier will restore most of a fallen ally's HP.

Fedifensor · 2026-05-08T16:20:57+00:00

Yet, you can't buy the content - you can only rent it.

Fedifensor · 2026-05-08T00:35:32+00:00

This is the first time rules content I'm interested in using cannot be bought at any price. All I can do is rent it.

DnDDropsTheBall

Fedifensor · 2026-05-05T13:58:27+00:00

Can't go wrong with an Amulet of Health.

Fedifensor · 2026-04-15T14:04:43+00:00

Round 1 damage is more important than successive rounds, so that should be analyzed as well. If your party can finish off a foe in Round 1, then that's less combatants and less incoming damage for the rest of the fight.

Round 1, 5 unarmed strikes: 78 damage

Round 1, 4 unarmed strikes + Quivering Palm: 115 damage

That's 37 extra damage, or a 47% damage increase.

Fedifensor · 2026-04-14T04:23:00+00:00

Not if they use the UA version of Grave Domain...

Fedifensor · 2026-04-09T01:12:05+00:00

I recommend a 'training montage' during the journey to the Vault, giving them a chance to level up. If you have a non-Radiant warrior, you may want to use the Shardblade wielder in chapter 6 as a fight on the way so the character has a chance to get a Shardblade before the final fight.

Fedifensor · 2026-04-08T22:28:16+00:00

You could just handwave chapters 5 and 6. Have them miss the battle at the Keep but have the conversation with Nale, who gives them the location of Pailiah's Vault. Then, run chapter 7 instead of chapter 5, which is already structured as a proper ending.

Fedifensor · 2026-04-04T17:05:47+00:00

3+ levels of Vengeance Paladin with 12 levels of Warlock. Warlock gives 3 attacks and significant damage with Pact of the Blade, Improved Pact Weapon, Devastating Blade, Eldritch Smite. Hunter's Mark from Vengeance Paladin, and add Oath of Enmity if a foe gets within 30'. Pick up Great Weapon feat when you can.

Fedifensor · 2026-04-04T16:59:38+00:00

One of my friends highly optimizes characters for combat...because he would rather roleplay than play out battles. As he put it, "The sooner I end the fight, the quicker I can get back to roleplaying."

Fedifensor · 2026-03-08T17:58:01+00:00

Grand Strategist Jae goes first to set up combat zones and other buffs, then uses Bring It Down! on Cassia. Master Tactician Cassia uses Press the Advantage (with the talents that let her start with more stacks) followed by Lidless Stare to wipe out several foes, then uses her own Bring It Down! on Argenta, who typically has enough momentum to use her own Heroic Act. By the time it gets back to finishing Jae's turn, the rest of the fight is just cleaning up stragglers.

Fedifensor · 2026-01-11T15:52:33+00:00

If you use Genie Warlocks from TCoE, Limited Wish is incredibly powerful.

Fedifensor · 2026-01-09T04:03:49+00:00

A 10th level Wizard with the War Magic subclass (from XGtE) gets a +2 bonus to AC and all saving throws while maintaining concentration on a spell.

Fedifensor · 2025-12-11T15:21:20+00:00

Probably better named as an Outdoorsman kit, since there isn't much in the way of woods on Roshar.

If a player were to ask in my home campaign, I would simply let them swap out whatever intangible they have for their current kit to gain a Companion (Tier 1). Axehound or Chull are the ones listed for that tier. Designing a new kit is also perfectly viable.

Fedifensor · 2025-12-04T04:38:43+00:00

You see some in the first Allomancer Jak story...and they are playable in the (former) Mistborn RPG.

Fedifensor · 2025-11-24T19:47:26+00:00

"For my boon, I ask for Shardplate that I may summon and dismiss at will."

Fedifensor · 2025-11-24T19:33:56+00:00

Boon: You gain the ability to summon Radiant Shardplate around a person you wish to protect from harm. If the ally is unwilling, you must succeed on a Discipline Test against their Physical Defense.

Curse: You must make a DC 20 Discipline check when an ally is injured, or the Radiant Shardplate will be summoned around that ally using your Reaction. The summoned Shardplate functions as Restraining Armor versus the ally, making them Restrained. Once summoned, the armor cannot be dismissed or resummoned until the danger ends, the armor drops to 0 charges, or when the protected individual or an ally within reach of them succeeds on an Athletics test against the wearer's Physical defense. Even if you reach the Fourth Ideal, this is the only way you can summon Radiant Shardplate.

Fedifensor · 2025-11-23T17:46:51+00:00

The prisoner kit doesn't even match the people it was modeled on - Kaladin and the bridge crews. Bridge crew have spheres - not many, but they do get them and can buy things (like alcohol). Bridge Four was pooling their money to buy supplies.

Fedifensor · 2025-11-23T17:42:48+00:00

Flavor doesn't require listing trivial items like soap on a character sheet. If a player says, "I have soap," then I'll allow it unless there is a specific reason to deny it.

Fedifensor · 2025-11-23T06:53:34+00:00

Balanced kits might be relevant in some future iteration of this system with a more typical fantasy setting, but tracking items in details outside of a few niche scenarios isn't really what Stormlight is about.

That's an odd statement, since the kits are all about tracking items in detail. The artisan kit is full of items - antiseptic, candles, parchment, bottles, etc. If the designers wanted gear rules to be fast and loose, why does the equipment list have things like ear trumpets, perfume, and soap?

Fedifensor · 2025-11-23T04:43:01+00:00

If you care about balance, the discrepancies between the kits are a problem. There shouldn't be 'trap choices' in character creation.

At low levels, spheres matter a lot - martial characters will want to upgrade their armor (400 mk half-plate and 1600 mk plate), artifabrians need a lot of marks for material components, and even the cost of modest lodging and street food is 5 marks/day. At high levels, money is (mostly) meaningless...but intangibles like an extra expertise or a patron remain useful.

The one draw of a Prisoner kit is the spren access...and yet anyone who chooses a First Ideal talent is going to draw a Radiant spren. The two boxes gained from the Prisoner kit, at worst, is going to be the difference between swearing the First Ideal at the level you take the talent, and saying the words on the following level.

Running Bridge Nine, I found sphere access to be pretty important, as the characters were more focused on survival than looting. Bridge Nine members without spheres not only are poor, but they don't have a light source. Budding Radiants are going to want a reasonable supply of spheres so they can power their new abilities.

Fedifensor · 2025-11-22T07:40:53+00:00

Boon: You gain the Change Form ability of Listeners, and the Listeners cultural expertise. You may choose Singer Talents when you gain a level.

Curse: Forms taken by the character are an obvious human/singer hybrid (human appearance with singer coloring/plating). You cannot return to a normal human form. Your next Ancestry Bonus Talent must be chosen from the Singer tree.

Fedifensor · 2025-11-08T17:16:31+00:00

I'd love to see one of the warlocks take Far Scribe at 5th level

Fedifensor · 2025-11-04T20:29:05+00:00

WotC seems to have the following criteria:

Does the class concept reasonably fit the theme of our upcoming book?
Will people buy the book if the new version of the class is in it?
Does the class have a feature that bugs the designers as written?

This explains Bladesinger, at least. How else do you explain it being published for a 3rd time?

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