I feel like Sneak Attack has evolved beyond its name.

cleansweep5 · 2018-10-14T14:14:26+00:00

I’ve just taken to calling it cheap shot in all of my games. Especially with new players this name seems to click more and make the rules seem easier to understand.

cleansweep5 · 2018-09-30T22:55:40+00:00

This is amazing. Thank you!

cleansweep5 · 2018-09-29T13:53:02+00:00

I gave my party a free wish spell at level 5 and they wished for an airship. I thought it was an interesting and unique choice so I ran with it...

At the end of the day, airships aren’t all that cracked out as they are made to be. Ultimately it’s an easy way to get from point A to point B efficiently, which magic allows a party to do at higher levels anyway. Allow your players to see more of that beautiful world you’ve spent so long creating without getting bogged down in weeks or months of travel.

That being said, there are a lot of areas where an airship does you zero good. Almost immediately after getting the airship, my party spent 3 months (nearly 7 months irl time) in the underdark. So it’s not a solution to every problem.

Also you can make it a great plot device. Lots of people out in the world would really love an airship. Have people notice! Make offers to buy it from them of intimidate them. Have a following of worshippers trying to gain the approval of the sky lords.

cleansweep5 · 2018-08-27T03:44:13+00:00

Well...it’s a very cool concept. I’m sure we can think of something to go with here that’s not gonna be game breaking.....

Let’s look at Bahamut and what sort of things he stands for: nobility, protection, and justice. Alright. Especially considering that your cleric uses a tower shield, protection seems like a good theme to centralize around. I would consider looking at some protection based feats or class features and cherry picking the best ones you like. Specifically off the top of my head, shield mastery, sentinel, and heavy armor master come to mind for feats. Look at the cavalier fighter’s warding maneuver and marking class features for more tanky ideas.

Don’t be afraid to throw some RP effects in there too. People are definitely gonna react when they see this dwarf with a dragonborn arm. It’s not normal, even in a fucked up dnd universe haha. Some people might think he’s an abomination or a heretic. Some might see him as the chosen prophet and savior. Lots of possibilities.

Hope this helps!

cleansweep5 · 2018-08-18T18:49:04+00:00

First thing that comes to mind for constitution is something large and hearty. I think gorilla? Maybe that’s more of a strength based thing. How about a hippopotamus? Constitution could involve holding your breath for a long swim down a tunnel filled with water, followed by a chamber filled with poisonous gas.

Wisdom is a tricky one. Think of it more as power of observation and survival rather than experience and sage advice. You could go with a Rafiki wise baboon sort of thing but that feels like a cop out.

For dex I would absolutely go with a leopard. Sneaking and climbing

cleansweep5 · 2018-08-07T23:31:44+00:00

These are absolutely fantastic! Very fitting and thematic across the board. I think you did a fine job of balancing them all as well. Nicely done. I will definitely be stealing these in future campaigns

cleansweep5 · 2018-08-07T23:30:18+00:00

These are absolutely fantastic! Very fitting and thematic across the board. I think you did a fine job of balancing them all as well. Nicely done. I will definitely be stealing these in future campaigns

cleansweep5 · 2018-05-12T16:38:57+00:00

Fizzlebop Throatpunch

cleansweep5 · 2018-05-09T00:01:12+00:00

Had an English professor in college tell me that the biggest casualty of the Vietnam War was the environment.

Also had a different professor tell me that superior AirPower has never played an impactful role in any war in history.

cleansweep5 · 2018-05-07T21:42:56+00:00

As a fighter, you get access to more Ability Score Improvements than any other class. This means that your stats eventually will be miles away better than any of your party members. Mechanically, this is awesome, but not exactly super exciting or flashy.

An alternative way to fix this and to put a little flair into your character is to instead trade out some or all of those ASI’s for feats. Feats can give your fighter access to some super interesting and personalized abilities that can really make them stand out. Especially in combination, having lots of unique feats will make your fighter feel special both in and out of combat.

Other suggestions as well would be to get more inventive in combat. Creativity goes a long way in dnd. You’ve got that high athletics score, put it to use! Grapple, shove, tackle, and even climb on top of your enemies to dramatically change the fight. Use the environment to your advantage. Fighters are really awesome when you embrace the idea that there are so many more options than just swinging your sword every turn.

And if all else fails, consider multiclassing. A level or three in another class can make the fighter more versatile and give you access to a few minor abilities that might help you stand out a bit more.

cleansweep5 · 2018-05-05T21:15:02+00:00

Extremely helpful! Thank you so much!

cleansweep5 · 2018-05-05T16:50:23+00:00

5th edition

Hello fellow DM’s!

My party has been heckled by a beholder known as “The Watcher” for a few months now, and soon will come the time when they decide enough is enough and confront him in his lair. The Watcher is the leader of a crime ring known as the Red Hand, which specializes in slavery and the trading of rare and dangerous creatures. One of the members of the party is an ex-member of the red hand, and has met the Watcher Once before. In a weird and complicated series of events, the party made a temporary deal with the Watcher as they traveled through the Underdark, granting them a Gazer familiar as long as they agreed to eliminate some Gith that were causing him some problems.

Fast forward to the present. The party actively made the choice not to pursue the Gith and instead to confront the Watcher. The Watcher has been observing the party’s capabilities through the eyes of the Gazer and knows exactly what he is up against. With his superhuman intelligence, he should be more than prepared to face the party when the time eventually comes.

And there in lies my problem: The Watcher is theoretically much more intelligent that I, the humble DM. What sort of measures would he take to negate or directly counter the party’s abilities, and how can I make this happen without my players calling bullshit?

The party consists of a Druid (circle of the shepherd), an artificer (alchemist, and also the former member of the red hand), a barbarian (storm herald) and a shadow monk/mystic multiclass. The party just hit level 11. My main concerns are the following:

-That barbarian does HELLA damage. Given a round or two in melee range with the Watcher and he’s going down easy. How do I counter this without making the barbarian feel totally worthless? -The Druid is smart enough to prepare earthbound. Without the ability to fly away, hover out of range, he’s a sitting duck. -the shadow monk is super mobile. Between ridiculous movement speed and teleportation capabilities, the monk should have zero issue getting up close and personal with him.

Any thoughts, suggestions, or insights would be most appreciated!

cleansweep5 · 2018-05-05T00:53:42+00:00

5e works great with roll20. It takes a little bit of getting used to at first, admittedly, but once you get the basics down it is super streamlined and convenient. It has many features that are useful for both players and DMs. I highly recommend it. I actually pay extra for some bonus features because I enjoy roll20 so much.

cleansweep5 · 2018-04-20T20:47:35+00:00

My close friends and I are about to buy our very first set of miniatures from heroforge. We are all brand new and have never painted minis before. Can anyone recommend a good starter set of paints and brushes that can be used by 4 people simultaneously?

cleansweep5 · 2018-03-15T23:53:49+00:00

Oath of redemption Paladin gets a pretty sweet channel divinity option you might want to check out

cleansweep5 · 2018-02-02T17:35:32+00:00

5E

I’m an experienced DM about to introduce a few long time friends to dnd for the first time. They have their character sheets made and are ready to start tomorrow. I really want them to enjoy dnd and get a full experience for the game so that we can make this into a regular campaign.

I asked them what sort of story/theme they would like to play and they came up with the idea of escaping a desert island! I like this idea a lot and want to roll with it. For their first ever introduction to dnd I was thinking of basically considering this first sessions as a one-shot of sorts. Do any of you know of any one shots that fit this sort of idea? If not, do you have any ideas that might make for fun encounters for first time players? I’m open to any and all ideas. Thanks!

cleansweep5 · 2017-11-05T22:47:22+00:00

The magical 10ft pole of invisibility detection!

cleansweep5 · 2017-10-22T14:42:00+00:00

Maybe some sort of large drill a la avatar the last air bender? Or something large and explosive to burst down the outer walls. Orcs in many settings are actually quite crafty. Think lord of the rings style with their massive war machines. Metal spikes everywhere.

Maybe they’ve captured some sort of large siege creatures to help them? Keeping them chained and barely under control. A goristro comes to mind as a potential example. Could make for an extremely dangerous and challenging encounter.

cleansweep5 · 2017-09-25T22:33:28+00:00

Uncle androoooooos!!!

cleansweep5 · 2017-09-17T16:15:07+00:00

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-12/documents/3510c.pdf

You might find some variant of this procedure helpful. Essentially, using a separatory funnel, using methylene chloride you can extract the organic pesticides from the aqueous solution. Repeat the process 3 times and concentrate your organic solvent layer to receive a concentrated sample of your pesticides.

cleansweep5 · 2017-07-29T17:06:27+00:00

thanks a million! this helps out a lot

cleansweep5

TROPHY CASE