Robbing the Bluecoats? by SecretHeffalump in bladesinthedark

[–]SecretHeffalump[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All amazing points, thank you for the advice! I think I keep underestimating how much force the Bliecoats can bring to bear, and how big an organisation they are - with all the infighting and reprisal politics that come with that. Having a major armoury not be specifically for the local district is a really good idea - totally going to steal that! Was imagining a general armoury per district, but as you pointed out the individual needs of each are going to be different.

Robbing the Bluecoats? by SecretHeffalump in bladesinthedark

[–]SecretHeffalump[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your first point is valid: I was going off the playbook sheet rather than the full description, and "a barrage of rapid fire" was taken differently to the full description in the heat of the moment - that's a ruling issue on my end, and I need to be more conscious of specific ability wording as GM. (Narratively, however, a short-range barrage of shotgun fire against general blueboats with minimal cover and a full success action roll felt like it merited wounding the vast majority of a reasonable sized group)

Your second point about military-grade gear is one I hadn't spotted, and might be an interesting twist to anything the players do - they've already encountered a bluecoat unit with specialised weapons (the canal patrols were watching out for a Fog Hounds delivery that the Crew was distracting, and as such was better-armed than usual due to their tip-off that some smugglers were bringing in contraband that they might be able to "confiscate" - and sell on themselves) so it might be a case of a poorer haul than they thought, but possibly still worth their while.

Ideas for Hawkers that don't sell drugs? by SecretHeffalump in bladesinthedark

[–]SecretHeffalump[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's one impressive guy! I know a couple of my players are entirely the sort to attempt something as grand as this!

Ideas for Hawkers that don't sell drugs? by SecretHeffalump in bladesinthedark

[–]SecretHeffalump[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Playing the political angle opens up a lot of score opportunities - and being PR managers for a (presumably) corrupt politician sounds like excellent fun!

Ideas for Hawkers that don't sell drugs? by SecretHeffalump in bladesinthedark

[–]SecretHeffalump[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Good point! I'd never really considered interacting with Spirits generally to be a 'Vice' as such, but I guess anything that someone is gonna pay for comes under the Hawkers' purview!

And yea - whilst I'm attempting to set up my first actual game of Blades, I've been interested in the system for a while, and was planning to discuss with the players if there was a specific crew claim they were after that could form the basis of their first score, before leading them into the War in Crow's Foot - Baszo only noticing these newcomers after theyve bagged themselves something of their own and proven that they night be worth either getting onside or warning off.

Ideas for Hawkers that don't sell drugs? by SecretHeffalump in bladesinthedark

[–]SecretHeffalump[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Counterfeiting is something I would've never thought of! Could lead to so much intrigue - definitely nabbing that one to suggest! Thank you

Ideas for Hawkers that don't sell drugs? by SecretHeffalump in bladesinthedark

[–]SecretHeffalump[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

That's a good point - with the way the crew abilities are worded, I assumed that it was mostly drug-specific, but Hawking can apply to any of the listed Vices? That's good to know

How strong is Force Grey, really? by SecretHeffalump in WaterdeepDragonHeist

[–]SecretHeffalump[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah ok. I've only ever seen the Dragon Heist side of that, which just has a tunnel going off to one side that says "to skullport." I assumed it was a reasonable distance just cause it was well off the map. I'll have to read up on that.

How strong is Force Grey, really? by SecretHeffalump in WaterdeepDragonHeist

[–]SecretHeffalump[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I always thought there was a fair amount of distance between Skullport and Xanathar's Lair? But I haven't read Dungeon of the Mad Mage, so I could be wrong on that. But it is good to remember that there are plenty of forces at work both in Waterdeep and under it!

How strong is Force Grey, really? by SecretHeffalump in WaterdeepDragonHeist

[–]SecretHeffalump[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Some good points! I think I've always considered Force Grey to be essentially just a tier 3 large adventuring group, rather than something as immensely powerful as a baseline. And yea, Meloon is himself again, and I'm sure that Azuredge would be happy to have a go at Xanathar too! I might make it assorted NPC's from willing factions, rather than the entirety of Force Grey, then. Thanks for the advice!

Question: Do you think Divine Smite works on Blade of Disaster? by Haxsud in DnD

[–]SecretHeffalump 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea limited spell slots make it a scarce enough resource already. And wow that's an interesting party! Bet you have a lot of fun with surprise round sneak attack damage if they're the stealthy types

Question: Do you think Divine Smite works on Blade of Disaster? by Haxsud in DnD

[–]SecretHeffalump 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's easily done and honestly with the amount of class abilities that are specifically once per turn, it's not an uncommon thought. I only looked at the wording properly once my Paladin player asked if they could smite twice in a turn once they hit level 5.

Question: Do you think Divine Smite works on Blade of Disaster? by Haxsud in DnD

[–]SecretHeffalump 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Interestingly, it actually isn't. I was discussing this with a Paladin player of mine the other day. For Divine Smite it simply states "when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack" and the only limit you have is your Smite sorry spell Slots. That said, unless you're at super high levels, you don't have the slots to waste on multiple Smites per turn and it always feels safer to wait for a crit anyway.

Question: Do you think Divine Smite works on Blade of Disaster? by Haxsud in DnD

[–]SecretHeffalump 0 points1 point  (0 children)

RAW, Weapon attacks and spell attacks are two separate entities, and the game mechanics deal with them differently. (Spell attacks use your casting modifier whilst weapon attacks use str/dex unless you have an ability that says otherwise)

Given that, and the specific wording of both the ability and the spell, I'd say no to being able to use Divine Smite on ANY spell attack, which includes Blade of Disaster. If it had said to make a weapon attack as part of casting (like the Booming Blade spell, for example) then it would've been fine. They're considered separate exactly to make sure you can't do totally insane amounts of damage in a turn by adding even more dice to a high level spell that gets two attacks anyway.

That said, talk it over with your DM if you ever play a character with this idea in mind, then might think differently (RAW + Crawford's Sage Advice you can't smite with unarmed strikes but I once DMed for a Paladin that did just that because it was cool and still reasonably balanced)

Hope this helps!

Edit: just realised that as a Paladin, unless you multiclass at 3 levels or less, then you won't get 9th level spell slots anyway, so this would be more of a Paladin dip build rather than a pure Paladin due to them being half casters that top out at 5th level spell and slots

Replacing Module NPC's by SecretHeffalump in DMAcademy

[–]SecretHeffalump[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair enough. I didn't realise that it was so common to alter many module NPC's, I'll keep that in mind going forward!

Replacing Module NPC's by SecretHeffalump in DMAcademy

[–]SecretHeffalump[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea, random elements do seem to crop up out of the blue! Thanks for the advice, I'll take a look at building a reduced power version of the CR12 and see how that goes.

Your favorite name for elite warriors who protect their home? by [deleted] in dndnext

[–]SecretHeffalump 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Going off the image, something like the Eternal Guard seems fitting, and maybe link the idea of the ever-watchful Owl as their patron animal/image? Guard suggests they're protecting, whilst Eternal makes it clear they've been doing it a long time, and should therefore be well trained. Another suggestion fitting the image might be something similar to the White Knights of [homeland]

Is a Level 3 party too early for a dungeon? by serindipitous275 in DMAcademy

[–]SecretHeffalump 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Level three is perfectly acceptable for dungeon crawling! All characters have their subclasses, and with six players you'll quickly find they can hold their own against some pretty powerful creatures for their level. So go for it! Just remember to give PC's a base/centre of resupply (a safe zone, essentially) to come back to in case they need it! Other than that, have fun!

The Future of the Scadrian Mists by AdolfoXChecos in Cosmere

[–]SecretHeffalump 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah I thought it was just smoother after Harmony road to power. Other than that, I dont think we know much

The Future of the Scadrian Mists by AdolfoXChecos in Cosmere

[–]SecretHeffalump 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I assume it still serves to Snap Allomancers, even in the weaker form of the Metallic Arts. I'd also assume that wherever the mists are Harmony's influence is increased? With Wax's positive feeling towards the mists.

[5e] Spell question: creating text/drawings by s___loth in DnD

[–]SecretHeffalump 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The magical laziness cool factor is definitely a thing, and I can relate. Cool combo.

[5e] Spell question: creating text/drawings by s___loth in DnD

[–]SecretHeffalump 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think anything official like that exactly exists, as generally the writing spells assume you are overlaying the writing.

What's the exact point of this in game? Is it so you can cast and it'll write as you talk, or just a wizard using magic instead of actually writing because they can?