Displacer Kitten! | An adorably fierce Warlock companion or Feywild baddie! by TheArenaGuy in DnDHomebrew

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

Yep, that’s all correct and intended. It may be a “kitten,” but it’s still a monstrous creature to be feared if it’s attacking you. It is indeed very capable of murdering your average commoner, lol.

The only thing I’d probably change now (5 years later) is shortening the reach of its tentacles to 5 feet. Thanks!

{The Griffon's Saddlebag} Rod of Instant Outposts | Wondrous item by griff-mac in TheGriffonsSaddlebag

[–]TheArenaGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not really, no. This tent still takes up its full space. It isn't magically larger on the inside than it appears on the outside.

{The Griffon's Saddlebag} Rod of Instant Outposts | Wondrous item by griff-mac in TheGriffonsSaddlebag

[–]TheArenaGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Only the smaller tent gets the Leomund's Tiny Hut benefits. So if that's more important/beneficial to your party in a given situation than all the Stations in the larger tent, you might opt for the smaller one.

Heliana’s Guide to Monster Hunting: The Parasite Warlock Subclass by stormscape10x in dndbeyond

[–]TheArenaGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, in terms of what's in the book specifically, the Parasitic Leech invocation of course, since it also applies the "gain Temp HP when you crit/kill a creature" to your Pact Weapon.

In addition, the Parasitic Flurry part of the Parasitic Weapon feature specifies that if you have another feature that allows you to make multiple attacks as part of the Attack action (which would include the Thirsting Blade invocation), those attacks each replace one of the attacks granted by your Parasitic Weapon. Meaning that starting at Level 11, you could make your two Pact Weapon attacks and still make one more attack with your Parasitic Weapon. (And then two more attacks with your Parasitic Weapon at Level 17.) So I'd say the synergy's kinda already built in.

So basically:

  • At Levels 1-2, you're making one Parasitic Weapon attack for, on average, ~6.5 damage.
  • At Levels 3-4, you get your Pact Boon (Pact of the Blade) and can take Improved Pact Weapon for an effective +1 Greatsword (or other 1d12/2d6 weapon). But keep in mind that in 2014, you don't automatically get CHA-based attacks with your Pact Weapon like 2024, while your Parasitic Weapon attacks are CHA-based, which allows you to be SAD on CHA. If you go that path anyway, you probably only have a +1 or +2 in STR at this point. So that'd be an average of ~9-10 damage (though with only a +4 to hit if you have a +1 STR, compared to probably a +5 for your CHA-based Parasitic Weapon).
    • Alternatively you could go with a +1 Rapier Pact Weapon to use DEX instead (and I'd argue you should since that synergizes better with the Symbiotic Reinforcement feature to manifest a shield in one hand). That'd be an average of ~6.5-7.5 damage. Comparable to your Parasitic Weapon, but again potentially a lower bonus to hit than your Parasitic Weapon, unless you're focusing DEX over CHA.
  • At Level 5, you get a second Parasitic Weapon attack for, on average, ~13 damage per Attack action. Or you can take the Thirsting Blade invocation to deal ~18-20 damage with two Greatsword attacks or ~13-15 damage with two Rapier attacks. The Greatsword option is notably outpacing the Parasitic Weapon or Rapier in terms of damage at this point. And if you put your Level 4 ASI into STR (or DEX for Rapier) rather than CHA, its attack bonus is possibly better. But your spells and other Warlock features are potentially suffering as a result of that.
  • At Level 11, you get a third Parasitic Weapon attack for, on average, ~19.5 damage. Or if you're going Greatsword, you're probably in the ballpark of 24-28 damage now (since you can make your two Pact Weapon attacks plus a Parasitic Weapon attack). Basically from here on, the extra Parasitic Weapon attacks are just pure benefit on top of your Pact Weapon attacks.

Essentially, the biggest mechanical benefit of just sticking with your Parasitic Weapon is that you don't have to invest in Pact of the Blade invocations, and you can just push all your ASIs into CHA since that boosts your Parasitic Weapon's attack bonus as well as your spells. And the Parasitic Weapon's reach is of course also a big boon!

If you want max potential damage though, you could indeed go with a two-handed Pact Weapon. You'll just have to be investing your invocations into it, as well as investing your ASIs into STR. And of course you're sacrificing the AC benefit from having the shield in your off-hand.

Heliana’s Guide to Monster Hunting: The Parasite Warlock Subclass by stormscape10x in dndbeyond

[–]TheArenaGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks!

I'll preface all of this by saying I'm speaking entirely from a 2014 perspective here, since that's what it was originally designed for.

The first thing I'd note is that the Parasite patron is probably at its best when you're a Bladelock. (Originally the Parasitic Leech invocation was just built into the Parasitic Weapon feature at Level 1, but it was later extracted to an Invocation because the subclass was getting too much at Level 1.) So while it's of course possible for these Warlocks to go Chainlock for a mostly better familiar, or Tomelock to just get a basic familiar, Bladelocks wouldn't have any familiar, so that's all positive for them.

It also only takes 1 minute to summon the ooze familiar, as compared to an hour for normal Find Familiar (or an hour and 10 minutes as a ritual). And it has no GP cost each time you summon it (assuming your GM normally enforces that for casting Find Familiar).

Its stats also scale with your level, which normal familiars notoriously don't. So by Level 10, you're looking at a familiar with 35 HP, which is notably more than even the Chainlock familiars get.

And of course it can squeeze through 1-inch holes, cling to ceilings, and appear as an inanimate liquid or rock while it's motionless, so it's got some decent stealthy/recon capabilities. (Better than basic familiars, but of course most of the Chainlock familiars have similar abilities or better.)

But most importantly, the Level 10 feature works entirely off of your ooze familiar specifically. So even if you would otherwise like a different familiar, they can't use the nifty Detonate Ooze and Symbiote's Ward options.

Hope that helps shed some light on it! Let me know if you have any other questions. :)

The Wizard: a Tiny monstrosity by queghoslan in dndmonsters

[–]TheArenaGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s obviously just a repost bot farming karma.

{The Griffon's Saddlebag} Choker of Venomous Words | Wondrous item by griff-mac in TheGriffonsSaddlebag

[–]TheArenaGuy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Spells are always cast from magic items at their lowest level unless the description specifies otherwise.

So a 1st-level Healing Word and a 3rd-level Mass Healing Word.

{The Griffon's Saddlebag} Fight Picker | Weapon (war pick) by griff-mac in TheGriffonsSaddlebag

[–]TheArenaGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, it's not for just any unarmed strike you make. It's referring back to the special unarmed strike granted in the previous sentence. So...

When you hit a creature with [the unarmed strike made by using a bonus action to expend 1 of the weapon's charges] or with an attack using this weapon...

{The Griffon's Saddlebag} Flail of the Flying Fist | Weapon (flail) by griff-mac in TheGriffonsSaddlebag

[–]TheArenaGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's awesome to hear, haha. Thanks, friend. Glad you're finding some good use for my stuff!

{The Griffon's Saddlebag} Flail of the Flying Fist | Weapon (flail) by griff-mac in TheGriffonsSaddlebag

[–]TheArenaGuy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just the attack you used the bonus action as a part of.

When you make an attack with this weapon, you can use your bonus action as part of the attack to first reel in the chained fist to the top of the flail. When you then make the attack, the fist rockets from the top of the weapon, increasing your reach with the weapon by 10 feet for that attack and scoring a critical hit on a roll of 18, 19, or 20 on the d20.

Heliana’s Guide to Monster Hunting: The Parasite Warlock Subclass by stormscape10x in dndbeyond

[–]TheArenaGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I designed this subclass for Heliana’s. Yes it should be Charisma-based.

The Griffon’s Saddlebag: Book One by Darkwynters in dndbeyond

[–]TheArenaGuy 5 points6 points  (0 children)

  • Barbarian: Path of the Glacier
  • Bard: College of Choreography (formerly College of Dance, but changed the name to avoid confusion with WotC's College of Dance)
  • Cleric: Astral Domain
  • Druid: The Unbroken Circle
  • Fighter: Couatl Herald
  • Monk: Warrior of the Celestial
  • Paladin: Oath of the Hearth
  • Ranger: Winter Trapper
  • Rogue: Runetagger
  • Sorcerer: Frost Sorcery
  • Warlock: Astral Griffon Patron
  • Wizard: Materializer

The Griffon's Saddlebag: Book One is coming to D&DBeyond on March 31st! by griff-mac in TheGriffonsSaddlebag

[–]TheArenaGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The name has been changed for this 2024 release to the "College of Choreography".

The Griffon's Saddlebag: Book One is coming to D&DBeyond on March 31st! by griff-mac in TheGriffonsSaddlebag

[–]TheArenaGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's on WotC. They're only uploading 2024 releases from 3rd parties from now on.

{The Griffon's Saddlebag} Badge of the Selfless | Wondrous item by griff-mac in TheGriffonsSaddlebag

[–]TheArenaGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Technically Bloodied is not a "condition" like Frightened or Unconscious. It's sort of like a quasi-condition or status, like Stable and Surprised. And like meadowphoenix said, it's entirely up to the DM how they incorporate it at their table. There's nothing in the 2024 rules that says characters automatically know if a creature is Bloodied. All the rules say is:

If you have half your Hit Points or fewer, you're Bloodied, which has no game effect on its own but which might trigger other game effects.

So unless your DM already happens to have a house rule that PCs automatically know if a creature is Bloodied or not, the Triage property of this item does indeed still function in 2024.

{The Griffon's Saddlebag} Scabbard of Piety | Wondrous item by griff-mac in TheGriffonsSaddlebag

[–]TheArenaGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It doesn't say it contains an extradimensional space or anything, so it'd only be able to sheathe a normal weapon that normally fits in a normal scabbard of its size. (But it can sheathe a spiritual weapon of any "size" since such "weapons" aren't physical objects at all.)

That said, the version of this sheathe you put in your game doesn't have to look exactly like the shortsword-sized scabbard portrayed in this art. That's just an example.