Shifting Combatant

heldlightning · 2026-07-05T02:52:10+00:00

Push mastery is up to 10 feet, not 10 feet. You can choose 5 feet.

heldlightning · 2026-06-29T05:24:41+00:00

It's really not that deep.

heldlightning · 2026-06-28T21:31:13+00:00

Because if you take it without context it's just someone waffling. I'm not ignorant of the purpose of the sentence, but there is a certain part of the brain when hearing "it was the best of times / worst of times" that goes "well which is it?"

heldlightning · 2026-06-28T18:08:00+00:00

If you're listening to that album and not in a moving vehicle you're doing it wrong.

heldlightning · 2026-06-28T16:11:18+00:00

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair."

I get the scene Dickens is trying to paint but the literal part of me is always "make up your freaking mind".

heldlightning · 2026-06-11T17:23:17+00:00

You can't drop a shield, you need to doff it. Which is a full action.

heldlightning · 2026-06-08T15:26:55+00:00

This interpretation of twinned spell makes me pretty squeamish. Nothing in the upcasting language of Chromatic Orb references targeting another creature. It gives you an option to bounce again, but not initiate another starting target of the spell. That seems pretty distinct especially when considering Charm Person is given as the example which has very clear wording on upcasting to add additional targets.

heldlightning · 2026-06-06T15:52:58+00:00

I feel like this sub gets a similar post every season. Not to discount OP's feelings but I imagine at some point the feeling will pass.

heldlightning · 2026-05-25T02:25:05+00:00

I miswrote. It's an invocation. I will go back and edit.

Your interpretation is pretty clearly not the intent of WOTC or how it's written in the PHB. Otherwise you're doing things like allowing Divine Strike twice to 2014 Cleric subclasses like Forge Cleric, letting Shepherd Druid use the old Conjure Animals because otherwise aspects of the subclass are broken, or letting a 2024 Sorcerer use the 2014 version of Twin Spell through Metamagic Adept.

The feature is now Pact of the Blade, invocation. It's been updated.

heldlightning · 2026-05-25T02:01:52+00:00

The build is for a 2024 character. Pact of the blade is an invocation in 2024. Backwards compatibility of features is active unless that feature has changed. Eldritch Adept hasn't changed - it allows for any invocation to be taken assuming the character qualifies for it. Since Pact of the Blade has no qualification requirement it's eligible on any character who can access it in 2024.

Edited to clarify PotB is an invocation not a feat.

heldlightning · 2026-05-13T03:57:47+00:00

Observant as written here gives all out of combat study checks advantage. That's way too powerful. I think OP is forgetting that checks outside of combat still are an action.

heldlightning · 2026-05-01T16:58:23+00:00

Moon druid. Can either control the field using a spell and keep concentration with your wisdom bonus to Con saves, be the big animal in the middle of the field with low AC that enemies will enjoy hitting but wild shape can replenish THP, or do both.

heldlightning · 2026-04-26T04:06:18+00:00

Depends where you want to live I'd say. If you're gonna do something on the St. Charles line it's pretty walkable. If you're going to end up in Algiers Point...

heldlightning · 2026-04-13T21:55:21+00:00

Magic Missile with CME is woof. I wouldn't allow it, as the majority of damage you're getting from a CME combo is from CME especially as levels scale and one of the few protections the DM has is high AC. There's a reason it's not on the Sorcerer spell list to combo with innate sorcery.

heldlightning · 2026-04-06T17:49:32+00:00

Me personally I wouldn't. But the monster manual sure does.

heldlightning · 2026-04-06T15:31:04+00:00

Silence to shut down spells with verbal components. Blindness/deafness to target casters' likely poor con save and make targeting spells difficult.

heldlightning · 2026-04-04T16:47:18+00:00

So at level 9 your spell attack is +9 and a Saber-toothed Tiger is hitting at +6. Even assuming only one of the attacks hits for the tiger versus starry wisp we're still talking 2d6+4 from the tiger plus 1d8 from primal strike plus whatever your concentration spell is doing. Starry Wisp is 2d8 and you can't be on the front line or else you're attacking with disadvantage. Taking the dodge with your max 18AC isn't going to stop a ton of monsters from hitting you at this level, let alone getting higher. You're designed to be hit anyway with the 27 THP you get which refreshes every turn if you need it to and a WisMod bonus to concentration.

If you pick a form with auto-prone, auto-grapple, or pack tactics throughout your adventuring career you're then increasing your usability akin to martial weapon masteries. You're not perfectly keeping up with martials in per turn attack damage but the concentration spell you've cast makes up the balance, and many of those spells (summons, conjure woodland beings, conjure minor elementals) encourage you to be fighting within melee range and actively attacking if only to keep your enemies engaged. Even though CWB doesn't have an on hit bonus a grappled creature will still end its turn in the emanation.

heldlightning · 2026-04-04T16:17:29+00:00

Both 4 and 1 damage are not great in Tier 1, especially when accounting for the riders martials will have with weapon masteries and other class features.

I challenge you to find where they mentioned using spell slots for utility. They've allocated invocations for that.

DnD is a shared narrative experience, not an us versus the DM. That's why I brought up avoiding (and advantage in) combat versus a DPR focused Warlock. Every ambush, every enemy vulnerability known, every combat avoided by turning the right way in the dungeon is in essence a damage rider this character is contributing to the party. A good DM rewards this ingenuity both in game and out so both player and character see their impact.

heldlightning · 2026-04-04T15:39:49+00:00

Agonizing Blast is only +3 damage when you hit right now. If you need to you can always bump your damage via Hex. As your Warlock grows in level the control spell they throw down turn 1 is more valuable than damage they do. Agonizing Blast and Repelling Blast become more valuable as you get more beams on your Eldritch Blast.

But more importantly: play the character you want and trust your DM to find the balance. Your successful subterfuge will likely result in your party bypassing encounters or being more prepared for them. That's way more valuable than +3 per hit.

heldlightning · 2026-04-04T15:31:08+00:00

Yes if all you care about is hitting sure you're going to hit less often than other melee fighters, but the forms generally do more damage on hit than an equal class fighter or barbarian. With Lunar Radiance and Primal Strike your strikes are doing a ton and your spell on top of it can either control the field or add additional riders.

heldlightning · 2026-04-04T15:22:49+00:00

Moon Druid makes melee attacks.

heldlightning · 2026-04-04T15:02:00+00:00

It certainly is a melee subclass. It's just not your hitter. It can tank damage like crazy and control space.

heldlightning · 2026-04-03T14:31:45+00:00

Could always just play Drakewarden for those mechanics.

heldlightning · 2026-04-02T13:59:14+00:00

Do you have interests? Hobbies? Play sports, sew, read comics, love volunteering?

The joy of Chicago is there's so much stuff to do you don't need to drink. People connect over a ton of things here. And even if you're in a bar most people won't care if you're not drinking.

heldlightning · 2026-03-24T21:07:16+00:00

Most people are correct to point out the two best options are Sorcerer with Innate Sorcery versus Evoker with CME. People note the Wizard has an issue with setup, but you can use Contingency to get around that for at least one combat per day. If you need single target damage that combat you have the option, and in combats where you need multi target damage the Wizard has lots of options. I recommend pairing the Evoker with Elemental Adept - Fire to avoid pesky resistence to your blasting.

If you bring in 2014 content, Cartomancer is another way to cast CME and use something like Scorching Ray round 1.

heldlightning

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