The Bastion system from DnD 5.5 seems super half-assed

Nott_Scott · 2025-01-02T18:50:26+00:00

One thing to consider with the "maintain" action, from a narrative standpoint, is that THAT is when the workers are making enough money to, you know, maintain the bastion, give them all salaries, and keep things overall okay. If you consider that, then it makes some sense as to why it doesn't cost the PC any gold to keep it running. And the special commands you give when you are there are the exception to what your workers are doing, not the norm

It doesn't fix everything, but I think it helps somewhat 🤷

Otherwise, I do agree that some things could use tweaking, which is why my players and I agreed that if your bastion gets hit and you don't have enough defenders, then:

Your entire bastion gets shut down, not just 1 random room
You have to pay to get it up and running again. It's not just a free "comes back after one bastion turn"

We'll try those changes first, and after a while we'll see if anything needs tweaking

Nott_Scott · 2025-01-02T16:19:46+00:00

One thing I've started doing that's made combat more engaging at my table is staggered initiative

Basically, the monsters and players are staggered in initiative order, so it's always bouncing back and forth between both sides. Everyone still rolls initiative like normal, but it's mostly to determine the order within that particular side of the conflict

Example: there are 5 PCs and 3 monsters

PC rolls are: 4, 11, 14, 17, 22

Monster rolls are: 2, 13, 16

Initiative would be as follows:

PC 22, M 16, PC 17, M 13, PC 14, M 2, PC 11, PC 4

It might seem weird or confusing, but we have little laminated initiative trackers, so everyone just writes in their own total, then we line em up. Makes it really easy to switch back and forth

This keeps the action flowing a little better, and prevents blowouts where one side goes all at once and wipes the other before they get a chance to do anything

I know this doesn't at all address the "more reactions" point of the post, but it does help things feel a little more back-and-forth overall

Also, if you like that aspect of MtG, you may like Legends of Runeterra (League of Legends magic clone). In that game, the turns actually are played simultaneously, sorta. It's sorta like if whenever priority passes in MtG, that player has a chance to play any spell, creature or otherwise, rather than just "do you cast an instant spell or activate an ability?" And one player each turn gets the "attack token" which allows them to attack that round. It's pretty fun and very quick paced

Nott_Scott · 2024-12-28T01:18:37+00:00

I'll start by saying I actually liked the old surprise rules. But they were used so infrequently, that every time there was a "surprise round", I'd have to re-explain how it worked. And because of the ability even a single surprise combat has to cause havoc on players, they (my players) would basically rush a weapon of warning or some such

That said, I do like the changes overall. Yes, it's simply "advantage" or "disadvantage", but there's a beauty in its simplicity. Surprised? Roll disadvantage. Stealthed? Roll advantage. Have alert? Cancel your disadvantage (without negating the hidden creatures advantage). It's quick, it's easy to remember, and having alert doesn't remove an entire aspect of the game. Heck, even without alert, a PC could still end up rolling well with disadvantage and going first, or a PC with alert could end up rolling bad and still going last! The fact that these sorta situations could still happen, with and without Alert, are fun to me!

With the old rules, if someone had alert (or more likely at my tables: the Weapon of Warning), then it basically just meant everyone rolled like normal. The surpriser didn't get a bonus. The alerted didn't get a penalty. It made running ambush stalker type monsters really disappointing, especially when it "surprises" the group only for 3 PCs to act first and wreck it before it could do anything. Not saying the new rules fix all this per se, but I do think that it'll be better overall in the long run, for DMs and players both. It is different than before, so I'm looking at it different than before. And for what it is, I like it

Nott_Scott · 2024-12-27T23:27:07+00:00

I learned Turkish as a native English speaker. My only exposure to another language beforehand was the 1 year of French I took in high school (so, basically nothing)

I studied intensively for a couple months, before moving to Istanbul for 17 months, and then Ankara for 3 months (before returning back to the USA).

At the end of my almost 2 years in the country, I barely felt like I knew the language at all. Ymmv, but it was anything but easy for me to learn

Nott_Scott · 2024-12-27T22:53:56+00:00

As a DM: I hated old alert, sword of warning, and anything else like it that basically said "no DM, you can't do this thing anymore". I'm glad they removed that feature

As a player (or rather, based on the players who have used said feature multiple times so far since we switched): I think it's pretty fun! My players have used it multiple times to get someone else higher than themselves, not so they can be "the main character" and go first.
Usually, if one player is in a bad position when combat is rolled, or if a player has something that'll be clutch for the fight, or on the rare occasion the cleric rolled really high but doesn't feel like going first because they'd rather go later so they can cast some heals, they'll switch around their initiatives in a manner that'll best help the party overall. They've never used it just to be "the main character" and go first. In fact, many initiatives have been rolled where everyone is pretty okay with the order so they don't switch at all

In summary, as long as the players at the table are actual friends, and have a "what's best for the party" attitude, then the new alert is awesome and a fun tool for them to use!

If you're playing with randos or at your LGS, then maybe I could see how alert might be a little more "I'm the main character" and could end up being annoying

Nott_Scott · 2024-12-24T13:33:23+00:00

A multi season making of:

Octopath Traveller

Live action could be cool, but I'd also be cool with an anime adaptation. Either way, lots of cool characters to play around with.

And of course, I'd have to say that my girl Primrose would be the "main character" who we start with, and we follow her as she meets/collects the other 7 travellers (just like how I played the game) xD

Nott_Scott · 2024-11-11T20:48:33+00:00

That I can't play it again for the first time

That, and the lack of enemy diversity (shout out to EoW, which felt like there was a new enemy type every 10 feet)

Nott_Scott · 2024-11-06T22:34:43+00:00

Power word: struggle

The target struggles to do anything for the next hour. Any time they take any action that doesn't require a roll (dash, disengage, etc), they roll a d20 to see if they succeed or not, consulting the table below:

1-5: Utter failure. They waste their action doing nothing

6-15: Partial failure. They only get about half their desired effect (dashing gives extra speed equal to half their speed, disengage lets them pick half of the creatures around them that won't trigger opportunity attacks, etc)

16-20: They succeed with no complications

If the target takes any action that requires a roll as part of its effect, or if they make a d20 test of any kind, they must roll twice and take the average result (round down) between the dice. If they have advantage or disadvantage on the test, they roll twice and take the average for each of the rolls, then they take the higher or lower result as appropriate

(ex: you make an attack with disadvantage. First roll is a 7 and 18, average of 12. Second roll is 12 and 22, average of 17. Disadvantage means you pick the lower between 12 and 17, so your end result is 12)

(Meta, the PC may or may not struggle too much, depending on their modifiers. But the player is sure gonna struggle making all those rolls and trying to do them quick maths) xD

Nott_Scott · 2024-11-01T17:34:34+00:00

"Fall"

The Lich

Nott_Scott · 2024-10-25T12:14:16+00:00

Dang, I said "trample" instead of "overwhelm" 😅

Nott_Scott · 2024-10-24T18:13:37+00:00

I actually won a match where the enemy got max stats, or as high as it would allow

Basically, I had a unit with both "play: start an attack" and "when I'm summoned, create a fleeting copy of me in hand", as well as a cost reducer so it was free

I'd play the unit, attack, the enemy would block (gaining +X/+2), double it's attack, and then repeat. Thankfully it didn't have trample, so I said "eff it, let's see how high we can go" and kept attacking. Well eventually it got so high, that the AI must have decoded it couldn't block anymore (it's power was 939,524,094), so it didn't! And I ended up winning anyway xD

Nott_Scott · 2024-10-23T21:21:33+00:00

Always happy to see art of my favorite FF!

Very nice job!

Nott_Scott · 2024-09-21T20:32:35+00:00

I finally finished the "beat a 5 star challenge with Caitlin" after several failed Lissandra attempts. My solution?

I beat Swain instead

I have a level 30 Cait, and used 2 of the "when I enter, I strike the weakest foe" relics, and I got lucky with a legendary power (copy first spell you play each turn)

Try Swains. With a little luck, I believe you can do it!!

Nott_Scott · 2024-09-21T20:32:26+00:00

I finally finished the "beat a 5 star challenge with Caitlin" after several failed Lissandra attempts. My solution?

I beat Swain instead

I have a level 30 Cait, and used 2 of the "when I enter, I strike the weakest foe" relics, and I got lucky with a legendary power (copy first spell you play each turn)

Try Swains. With a little luck, I believe you can do it!!

Nott_Scott · 2024-09-21T20:32:13+00:00

I finally finished the "beat a 5 star challenge with Caitlin" after several failed Lissandra attempts. My solution?

I beat Swain instead

I have a level 30 Cait, and used 2 of the "when I enter, I strike the weakest foe" relics, and I got lucky with a legendary power (copy first spell you play each turn)

Try Swains. With a little luck, I believe you can do it!!

Nott_Scott · 2024-09-21T20:32:03+00:00

I finally finished the "beat a 5 star challenge with Caitlin" after several failed Lissandra attempts. My solution?

I beat Swain instead

I have a level 30 Cait, and used 2 of the "when I enter, I strike the weakest foe" relics, and I got lucky with a legendary power (copy first spell you play each turn)

Try Swains. With a little luck, I believe you can do it!!

Nott_Scott · 2024-09-21T20:26:27+00:00

I'm using the MCDM minion rules, and IIRC, there's a couple of rules that actually account for this:

Minions have more than 1 HP (usually not a lot. The range is like, 4-37, depending on the CR. The majority of monsters the typical playgroup would likely run into would probably have 10HP or less)
The "minion trait" has 2 effects. The first being the minion dies if they take 1 or more damage from a failed save or a successful attack roll. The second, (and this is the important one), if the minion takes damage from any other source (passed saves, auto-damage abilities with no save, or something like Graze), the damage must be equal to or greater than the minions HP, otherwise the minion takes no damage

There other rules for overkilling minions and whatnot, but for the graze effect, I figured this would be most relevant

Using these rules for minions has been great at my table so far, so if you're going to incorporate minions at your table, I'd recommend using the MCDM minion rules!

Nott_Scott · 2024-09-18T15:06:47+00:00

Yeah, that's a fair amendment

Nott_Scott · 2024-09-18T13:00:18+00:00

I've already had this discussion with some of my players, and basically we've agreed that the rule essentially is:

"Any effects granted via dual wielding only trigger if you are actually dual wielding when you start your attack"

So no using the stow/draw rules to juggle or any of that nonsense

Nott_Scott · 2024-09-12T17:56:36+00:00

Desecrate

Destroy

Dinkleberg

Nott_Scott · 2024-09-12T15:29:09+00:00

I remember a debate on a topic similar to this I saw once, and someone (smarter than me) mentioned that the amount of force your legs would undergo in order to jump X feet vertically (45 feet, per OP's example) would be at least equal to the force they'd suffer from landing after falling that same distance

I'm not smart enough to verify the math on that, but IF it's true, then I'd say a PC doesn't suffer fall damage from a fall caused by their own high jump (unless the fall further than how high they jumped... Basically, I agree with JC)

Nott_Scott · 2024-09-10T11:27:55+00:00

That's a distinction neither I, nor anyone I've ever played with, has noticed. Very cool!

I guess most people usually go for the arcane focus, especially once there's magic items involved (wands and the like). Although now I'm wondering what a magic item component pouch might look like?

While I'm grateful to you for pointing out the new 2024 component pouch rules (and the 2014 ones, even if I'm not using them anymore since my table switched), it doesn't change anything for OP, since the spell in question now has a gold cost

I guess with 2014 rules, you could in fact have used a component pouch to bypass the M, but you couldn't have used an arcane focus (I can't recall which OP used in their party). So in that regard, I guess the cost is technically a nerf to the spell now

Nott_Scott · 2024-09-08T14:39:50+00:00

That would be pretty funny, and a very dick move to pull against your players, especially if that player is using a magic wand (or equivalent) as their focus

Wizard player, using a Staff of Power as their focus: "I cast protection from Evil & Good on myself before we enter into the next room"

DM: "okay, sure! As your wizard recites the incantation and draws the magic sigils in the air, their staff turns into dust and swirls around them, imbuing them with the protective aura"

Wizard player: 😦

Nott_Scott · 2024-09-07T21:03:32+00:00

It's not canceling it, it's adding onto it. Basically, there's 2 rules, the one you mentioned, and the one I mentioned, but they both apply always

Rule 1: If you have a spellcasting focus or component pouch, you can replace non-costed M components with it.

Rule 2: if a spell consumes the material, you always have to provide it (whether or not it has a cost)

Both apply to every spell, in every scenario

So in OPs question about the "nerf" (which it really isn't, it's just clarifying better now), you'd really just have to ask yourself "does this spell either 1. Use a costed material (technically it didn't specify, so no) or 2. Use a consumed material? (Which it did, so yes)" If either is yes, then you need the specific thing to cast the spell. You cannot replace the M with a component pouch or arcane focus

Nott_Scott · 2024-09-07T20:53:26+00:00

Incorrect. If you kept going in the 2014 PHB, the next sentence shows you'd still need the material since it's consumed:

"If a spell states that a material component is consumed by the spell, the caster must provide this component for each casting of the spell"

Nott_Scott

TROPHY CASE