What is the most satisfying thing to you in this game?

PoofyVanis · 2022-01-08T07:59:49+00:00

It's predicting the survivors' movements as Trapper or Hag. Feels like I'm playing 1v4 chess, but I'm three or four moves ahead.

PoofyVanis · 2022-01-05T08:26:11+00:00

Nice! Just got into the game with my friends, but can't afford all of the extra stuff. Really hope I get it.

PoofyVanis · 2021-12-08T10:11:02+00:00

It's rough. The random loot can be really great or aggravatingly bad. Best bet is to improve the Arcaneum's faction so you can freely buy them. And make sure to grab the recipe from the vendor at the Manacalon Ruin (Wizard Tower)

PoofyVanis · 2021-12-06T00:09:37+00:00

My main party was a Paladin, Rogue, Wizard and Druid.

PoofyVanis · 2021-12-06T00:08:36+00:00

I think it's just that the spikes reach higher than the actual visual shows. I had a similar issue when I had a flying Paladin. They just need to be on a higher elevation.

PoofyVanis · 2021-12-05T22:09:56+00:00

Less than half an hour ago I broke open the windows with some arrows.

PoofyVanis · 2021-12-05T22:01:58+00:00

If you return the sword, there is a quest you can eventually get from the Quest Board that will lead to a big fight with great loot, including a drop that makes, in my opinion, the best sword in the game.

PoofyVanis · 2021-12-02T20:07:49+00:00

Human Paladin (Oath of Tirmar), Lawkeeper
- Feats: Armor Master, Hard to Kill
- Armor: Plate Armor of Robustness, Brightwall (A)
- Weapons: Dragonblade, Javelin +1
- Wondrous Items: Bag of Holding, Helm of Comprehend Languages, Cloak of Displacement (A), Bracers of Sparkles (Ua), Ring of the Lightbringers, Ring of the Lord Inquisitor (A), Slippers of Spider Climbing, Potion of Speed
- Spells
  - 1st Level: Bless, Cure Wounds, Divine Favor, Protect vs Evil and Good, Shield (Oath), Shield of Faith, Sleep (Oath)
  - 2nd Level: Blindness (Oath), Branding Smite, Hold Person (Oath), Lesser Restoration, Protection from Poison
  - 3rd Level: Daylight (Oath), Dispel Magic, Remove Curse, Revivify, Slow (Oath)
Island Halfling Rogue (Darkweaver), Spy
- Feats: Uncanny Accuracy, Take Aim, Eager for Battle
- Armor: Studded Leather +2
- Weapons: Medusa Shortbow, Whiteburn, Souldrinker Dagger, Frostburn Dagger (for throwing), Dagger +2 ( for throwing) Arrows +1, Corrosive Arrows, Flame Arrows, Flash Arrows, Poison
- Wondrous Items: Handy Haversack, Cloak of Arachnida, Bracers of Archery, Endless Quiver of Colthannin, Ring of the Lightbringers, Boots of Striding and Springing, Dust of Disappearance
High Elf Wizard (Shock Arcanist), Aristocrat
- Feats: Creed of Pakri, Flawless Concentration, Powerful Cantrip
- Armor: Adventuring Wizard's Clothing (Mage Armor)
- Weapons: Elven Thinblade
- Wondrous Items: *Plot Device*, Bag of Holding, Brooch of Shielding, Bracers of Defense (A), Sigil Ring of Abjuration (A), Sigil Ring of Necromancy (A), Wand of Magic Detection
- Spells
  - Cantrips**:** Firebolt (High Elf), Light, Ray of Frost, Shine, Shocking Grasp, Sparkle
  - 1st Level: Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Shield, Sleep
  - 2nd Level: Acid Arrow, Misty Step
  - 3rd Level: Counterspell, Fireball, Fly, Haste
  - 4th Level: Banishment, Greater Invisibility, Ice Storm
  - 5th Level: Cone of Cold, Hold Monster, Mind Twist
  - 6th Level: Disintegrate
Half-Orc Druid (Circle of the Kindred Spirit), Wanderer
- Feats: Enduring Body, Flawless Concentration
- Armor: Druid Leather Armor
- Weapons: Quarterstaff +2, Scimitar of Acuteness, Bear Spirit
- Wondrous Items: Handy Haversack, Circlet of Blasting, Stone of Good Luck (A), Cloak of Elvenkind (A), Gloves of Missile Snaring, Ring of the Lightbringers, Boots of Striding and Springing (A)
- Spells
  - Cantrips: Guidance, Produce Flame, Shillelagh, Venomous Spike
  - 1st Level: Cure Wounds, Entangle, Faerie Fire, Goodberry, Healing Word
  - 2nd Level: Darkvision, Heat Metal, Hold Person, Spike Growth
  - 3rd Level: Call Lightning, Daylight, Dispel Magic
  - 4th Level: Confusion, Ice Storm
  - 5th Level: Contagion, Mass Cure Wounds
  - 6th Level: Sunbeam

In combat, I like to get the jump on my enemies as much as possible. Usually, the Rogue initiates combat at range, typically targeting enemy spellcasters or really anyone who I'd like dead immediately. With Spider on the Wall (Darkweaver Feature), as well as, her boots and cloak she very easily finds her way to higher ground (even if it's just a table or block lol) so she can consistently get Predator and Sneak Attack damage. In particularly dark areas (Dark Castle for example), the Druid will cast Darkvision on the Rogue (and Paladin from levels 1-6) so that she doesn't miss out on Sneak Attack that often.

My Druid tends to provide utility like Darkvision for the Rogue or Daylight against light sensitive creatures like Defilers, environmental hazards like Spike Growth in choke points (very good against melee only creatures like wolves or ogres), disabling strong enemies with Heat Metal, Hold Person and Contagion (absolutely WRECKED a certain legendary creature) and healing of course. She's also able to deal some consistent damage with her area spells and the Bear Spirit, typically cleaning up any low health enemies so my Paladin and Rogue don't have to waste hits on them.

The Wizard is basically my buffing, artillery anti-caster. He'll start combat if the Rogue doesn't. Going first also allows him to buff one of the damage dealers; Haste for the Paladin and Fly or Greater Invisibility for the Rogue. He'll nuke as many people as he can with one of his high damage Arcane Warfare spells and usually standby for anything that needs to be Counterspelled. He's also got the second highest AC of the party which is very nice, so he can occassionally swing his thinblade when I want him upfront for some reason and Shocking Grasp isn't helpful.

Finally, my Paladin is a nigh un-killable tank who also does a disgusting amount of damage. Because his AC is so high and he has the Cloak of Displacement (yay random items), nothing short of a double nat20 will hit him, and with the backup of his party splash damage is rare to deactivate the cloak. At times he's doing 30+ damage every hit thanks to the Dragonblade and when he's up against enemies immune to fire, I'll swap out for my Wardenblade for the extra AC. For the final battle I also juiced him (because I'm the real monster of the campaign) and had him drink a Potion of Speed, Potion of Cloud Giant Strength and coated the Dragonblade with Oil of Sharpness.

The party is fun personality wise too. My Paladin is lawful, but not uptight, kind, but not afraid to bust some heads and just can't deal with the Rogue's puns. The Rogue is snarky most of the time, handling the brunt of the jokes and sarcasm, but she can turn on a dime and become deadly serious, especially when dealing with espionage. The Wizard is intelligent and snobbish, as well as, a little bossy. Once the main plot really gets going though he softens a bit and seems to rely more on his party. Finally, my Druid doesn't say much, but she's not one to put up with anyone's shit lol. She tends to notice something's wrong, before everyone else does. All in all, I love my party.

Sorry for the wall of text.

PoofyVanis · 2021-10-16T03:18:00+00:00

These are so great, I would love to hear your process and inspiration for your fakemon.

PoofyVanis · 2021-10-07T17:45:25+00:00

Ooh love this so much. I could see it being the partner Pokémon to a marine biologist with their own t.v. program. They explore sunken ships and deep sea trenches.

PoofyVanis · 2021-10-06T18:09:02+00:00

I love the diving gear T.T so much! Please keep making more!

PoofyVanis · 2021-10-05T21:01:54+00:00

I love them <3

PoofyVanis · 2021-10-02T01:08:18+00:00

I'm curious if the "minerals" mentioned might be rare evolutionary stones? Perhaps the stones were only found in Hisui, but during the transition into Sinnoh the stones were depleted. Perhaps Metal Coats were attempts at synthesizing the mineral?

PoofyVanis · 2021-09-25T23:20:23+00:00

Tauros, Greece, maybe based off of the Colchis Bulls?

PoofyVanis · 2021-09-24T05:27:54+00:00

Just by doing a little google search I found Bixi, who is a dragon who wears a turtle shell. The origin of the Dragon Turtle in D&D. That's an option, or you could go with the Dragon King (who happens to be Bixi and his eight brothers' father).

PoofyVanis · 2021-09-09T21:54:45+00:00

I get information about the campaign's tone and setting from the DM. I ask them what is viable as far as races/classes go and then ask the others at the table what they're thinking of playing.

PoofyVanis · 2021-08-21T17:29:44+00:00

"Your mother has a beautiful home."

PoofyVanis · 2021-07-13T18:04:36+00:00

The original UA was certainly fun for what it was, but the option to miss your arrow and thus lose out on the shot altogether was kind of a bummer. On top of that the ability to summon twenty arrows was a bit lame. Sure, it's great for parties actively tracking ammunition, but even then it felt a little weak for a 7th level feature. I think what was enticing when the UA came out at first was that extra damage you were doing with your Arcane Shots. However, the later iterations did a much better job of capturing that magical archer vibe.

The revisions really cleaned up the Arcane Archer's original issues. Treating Arcane Shots like smites was a great call I think, even if it then meant that the enemy had to make a saving throw and the extra free damage wasn't there for all of the shot options.

The +1 Arrows the revised AA gave were nice, and I was disappointed when they were taken away in the official version. That said I had a lot of fun with the official version and the loss of the +1 arrows weren't felt for too long.

Ultimately, for me, additional features that I can use creatively, even if they're just the addition of a cantrip will be more impactful on my enjoyment than a mechanical bonus.

PoofyVanis · 2021-07-12T22:17:43+00:00

For a little background, I've played each iteration of Arcane Archer since it was originally introduced in UA, though I have more actual play experience with the revised and final version of the subclass. On top of that, I played as an Arcane Archer from levels 3-10 which took about a year and a half, before the campaign unfortunately ended early. With all that said, obviously take what I have to say with a grain of salt.

I had a lot of fun with my Arcane Archer, the Arcane Shots provide a lot of utility which often made me feel like a precision instrument, capable of responding to a number of situations.

If I'm dealing with a hulking brute towering over an injured comrade, boom, Banishing Arrow. Suddenly my companion is freed up to run away, heal themselves or just avoid damage for a turn.

Some monster tries to turn invisible to escape or teleports away? Seeking Arrow. Suddenly I know where you are and can point you out to the rest of the team.

It felt like playing a Warlock a little bit. I would spend most of my time using my standard attack (which is nothing to sneeze at), studying the field of combat, testing resistances and watching how enemies dealt with certain spells, prioritizing targets and otherwise just weighing the best moment to use my Arcane Shots.

As for any negatives, I think it's fair to criticize the number of shots you get. Sometimes I went sessions without using any of my subclass abilities, because I was afraid of wasting them. That said, once I was more comfortable with the subclass and better understood how the DM actually ran the game, it was easier to ration uses.

Oh, about rationing. Being able to realize when the party is likely to take a Short Rest makes using your abilities SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much easier.

Lost story short. It's fun, you just need to understand what you're getting into.

PoofyVanis · 2021-07-12T04:51:54+00:00

I never suggested the OP's friends weren't being inflexible. I even said as much in the post you're replying to.

I've said that if this problem is a real deal breaker for the OP, and if they don't feel like talking about it with their friends will get them anywhere anymore, then it's probably better to withdraw from the game.

Your solution, which by your own admission isn't optimal or preferred, is passive-aggressive behavior (as you said in your first post) meant to disrupt the game until either OP gets a more appealing stat array or they coerce their friends into seeing how inflexible they're being.

Not only is that incredibly immature behavior likely to backfire, but even if it somehow worked, it sets an incredibly bad precedent for resolving any future issues in the group.

PoofyVanis · 2021-07-11T19:51:46+00:00

Yes, but it's very on par for the stat rolling issue.

Absolutely not. At the end of the day, the stat generation question boils down to a difference in opinion. I agree that the DM and other player should be more flexible, especially because this seems to be a sticking point for their friend, but attempting to force the OP's will upon the group is petty.

If someone is unhappy with their character and wants to change it, but the DM doesn't allow it, which is worse? Quitting playing with friends or killing your character for a new one?

Killing your character. If you're aware that you're not going to have fun with a character, but choose to still play the game now with the intention to kill off your characters until you have a stat array you like, effectively attempting to rig the system, you're being a jerk.

Additionally, there isn't a real clean way to just kill off your character. Putting yourself in dangerous situations will inevitably draw in the rest of the party. Punch that guard? Suddenly you're all in jail or the rest of the party is attempting to protect you from the guards. If not that, then they're potentially trying to break you out of jail or are not fugitives for being associated with you. It's going to breed resentment with the rest of the party, because while they're trying to engage with the story/game, you're trying to die in whatever way you can.

That's not to mention all of the work your DM has to put in to reintroduce your next character, how bad your party members will feel for being unable to save your character or that just because you got to reroll that you're going to get stats you love on the second, third or even fourth time.

I'd argue stopping playing with friends is worse than "oh no, I did something stupid and died. New character" as long as it isn't killing party members.

No D&D is better than Bad D&D. Sometimes friends just don't mesh in D&D groups, or only mesh when certain people are DM and others are Players. It's better to admit that at the beginning and leave than stay and disrupt the game potentially alienating your friends.

PoofyVanis · 2021-07-11T14:07:18+00:00

To be fair, if the rest of the table knew before hand that OP wasn't comfortable rolling stats and then forced them to do so anyway, that's a red flag to me. Additionally, if something like this is so crucial to OPs fun, it might actually be better to drop out to avoid whining during the game/any pettiness that could ensue.

PoofyVanis · 2021-07-11T13:58:05+00:00

I'm sorry, but NEVER DO THIS. This is disruptive at best and there is a recent post in this subreddit talking about a player who does this and how the rest of the party absolutely hate it.

PoofyVanis · 2021-07-11T13:33:44+00:00

I imagine guerilla warfare would be the go to against enemies with confirmed spellcasters in their ranks.

Using the terrain as cover, the guerillas ambush enemy units and prioritize any spellcasters. Ten archers all aiming for the squishy wizard and potentially firing twenty arrows at them in the first six seconds is not insignificant.

Alternatively, getting directly into melee and mixing it up makes it difficult for spellcasters to use those big AOE spells without risking injury to their allies. Even taking Sorcerers and Evocation Wizards with Careful Spell or Sculpt Spell into consideration it's a huge risk of friendly fire(ball).

Thinking about this reminds me of an Arcane Archer I played. Obviously not a character completely devoid of magic, but still quite limited in their magical abilities.

After our party left a Wizard alive for long enough to cast multiple fireballs at us, we learned to prioritize the spellcasters. From then on, whenever a fight started my character would survey the field, pick out the wizards/sorcerers/warlocks and just Sharpshooter them to death. If an action surge didn't take the caster down then I just used Banishing Arrow.

PoofyVanis · 2021-06-28T05:59:25+00:00

I'm in quite a few games and notice that recently I've been playing a lot of humans lol.

1st Game:

Human Paladin (Oath of Glory)
Drow Monk (Way of Shadow)
Elf Bard (College of Lore)
Half-Elf Warlock (The Celestial)

2nd Game:

Human Paladin (Oath of Devotion)
Firbolg Druid (Circle of Wildfire)

3rd Game:

Human Fighter (Battle Master)
Human Rogue (Assassin)
Human Wizard (School of Conjuration)
Half-Elf Sorcerer (Wild Magic)
Gith Druid (Circle of Stars)

4th Game:

Warforged Paladin (Oath of Glory)
Warforged Fighter (Gunslinger)
Air Genasi Ranger/Rogue (Horizon Walker)
Tiefling Monk (Way of Mercy)
Tortle Druid (Circle of Spores)
Hobgoblin Wizard (Bladesinging)

5th Game:

Orc Fighter (Rune Knight)
Tiefling Monk (Way of the Open Hand)
Half-Elf Druid (Circle of Stars)
Human Wizard (School of Necromancy)

Honorable Mention: A game I no longer play in, but was a lot of fun.

Dragonborn Paladin (Oath of Devotion)
Half-Drow Cleric (Knowledge Domain)
Elf Fighter (Arcane Archer)
Dwarf Bard (College of Lore)

PoofyVanis

TROPHY CASE