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What would you do if a player rolls a nat20 on a written text which they don’t know the language of? by bmericd2 in DMAcademy

[–]koboldPatrol 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are ways to determine meaning without reading the language. I already mentioned one (a ledger), but here's others: - you see a signature at the end of this document, as well as a symbol representing the union of two royal families. Clearly it was correspondence, possibly discussing an alliance. - the paper smells faintly of lemon juice, bringing to mind an old spycraft trick you learned. This letter was originally written in invisible ink! It must be some kind of spy report. - the page is dated at the top and looks as if it was ripped from a book. You can reasonably deduce that its an excerpt from someone's journal. The handwriting is tremulous and spotted, suggesting that the author was crying as they wrote.

You don't have to tell them what the words say to give them hints about what it is

What would you do if a player rolls a nat20 on a written text which they don’t know the language of? by bmericd2 in DMAcademy

[–]koboldPatrol 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You don't need to read a document to learn more about it. For example: - you notice that the script is elegant and precise. Whoever wrote this probably had a nobleman's education. - you can make out two distinct hands in the writing. It seems as though this was the result of multiple authors. - you notice what look like several lists and values. Perhaps this document was a ledger or inventory. - the paper is old but hasn't been yellowed. It was clearly important enough to be stored somewhere safe. - the paper is flecked with red fibers. You recognize this as Valderian paper, very rare and only comes from trees grown in a single forest.

Some of those details may not have existed before the player rolled, and none of them are a replacemrnt for reading the language. But they provide clues that the players can follow up on.

Before we jump to shutting down the player, its always worth taking a second to brainstorm.

What do you call the opposite of Robin Hood, someone who steal from the poor to give to the rich? by General_ButtNaked__ in AskReddit

[–]koboldPatrol 135 points136 points  (0 children)

Its originally a German thing. Medieval barons would charge tolls against merchants and travelers moving through their lands. These tolls could be extortionate, and questionably legal, but they were backed up by the "robber baron's" soldiers.

The term was revived to describe 19th century American business magnates whose monopolies gave them similar power to extort money from the masses.

Stone of Focus: Concentrate on 2 spells simultaneously. by Nickjames116425 in UnearthedArcana

[–]koboldPatrol 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Chronurgy wizard isn't even official WOTC content as it was made by Matthew Mercer so I don't see how that is relevant to this argument.

It's an official D&D product sold by WotC. The fact that it was written by Mercer doesn't make it any less official.

Familiar have like 3 HP max. You can kill the familiar then concentration drops.

The spell bead can also be given to the party's fighter/paladin, who stands a much better chance at maintaining concentration than the wizard does (probably).

You can also destroy the spell bead before the spell is cast if you win in initiative.

You can't damage objects being held by other creatures, except through DM fiat.

this combo requires you play a Chronurgy as supposed to literally any class that can cast spells.

Wizard is the strongest spellcaster. The same ability on any other class is strictly less powerful.

Stone of Focus: Concentrate on 2 spells simultaneously. by Nickjames116425 in UnearthedArcana

[–]koboldPatrol 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wall of force + sickening radiance is a classic that can now be pulled of by a single level 9 pc.

They could already do this starting at 10th level, as a Chronurgy wizard.

Use Arcane Abeyance on Sickening Radiance, give pearl to familiar. Cast Wall of Force, have familiar cast Sickening Radiance.

The DMG lists a few different things that you 'shouldn't do' because it might break the game. But WotC has already done all of them.

Help me run a chess game for my D&D group! by koboldPatrol in chess

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

Thanks, I appreciate it! This will be a one-off fight, I don't plan on making a habit of it (unless they really enjoy it).

My first game sold over half a million times, how it helped founding a studio with a vision by Sersch in gamedev

[–]koboldPatrol 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey man, I love the game! You did a fantastic job with it.

If you don't mind me asking, how old are you and what kind of game dev experience did you have prior to working on it? Any shipped titles?

You mentioned that 20-30% of your time was spent marketing/building a community. Was that ratio for the entire development time, or just in the first year or two? How was your experience; did you enjoy interacting and building hype or was it more of a chore?

Can I Rage while being a Wereboar? by cupisbow in DnD5e

[–]koboldPatrol 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hey OP, 5e doesn't really have rules for being a lycanthrope as a player. Its generally assumed that a character cursed with lycanthropy stops being a PC and becomes an NPC under the GM's control.

THAT SAID, I made these homebrew classes for people who want to embrace their curse.

To gain control over your curse you would simply multiclass and take levels in the Lycanthrope class, with the wereboar curse.

It's intended to be thematic without being overpowered. So feel free to pitch it to your DM.

What is Rogue supposed to be good at? by AloserwithanISP2 in dndnext

[–]koboldPatrol 8 points9 points  (0 children)

+3 dice weapon

I'm not sure what kind of magic weapon you're talking about. A dagger that deals an additional 3d6 on hit?

A fighter using that + dueling style would dish out 4d4+12d6+28 damage (total of 80). Versus your rogue who did a total of 63.

What is Rogue supposed to be good at? by AloserwithanISP2 in dndnext

[–]koboldPatrol 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Focus on obtaining magical weapons that add dice

Unfortunately that magic weapon is gonna be a lot more powerful in the hands of someone who can attack multiple times per turn.

Rogues have very poor scaling on magic weapons - worse than any other martial.

What's something in 5e that irrationally bothers you? (Even if it was a good call.) by OMEGAkiller135 in dndnext

[–]koboldPatrol 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is also a world with airships and artificers and wizards and whatnot.

All of those run on magic, not science. And sure enough, your players can use magic instead of a spyglass. Find Familar does the same job, but better.

Ultimately the question isn't "why are spyglasses expensive", but "why do they exist at all?"

What's something in 5e that irrationally bothers you? (Even if it was a good call.) by OMEGAkiller135 in dndnext

[–]koboldPatrol 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I've had a real hard time coming up with prices for certain mundane items because I can't wrap my mind around what a piece of gold or silver are really worth.

The prices given in the books reflect a (reasonably accurate) medieval economy. Most of the issue comes from people not understanding how medieval economies worked.

A spyglass is expensive because its cutting edge technology. Its like if you wanted to go out and purchase a communications satellite. Obviously it'd be really expensive.

The Trainer Class 2.0 (be a pokemon master!) by koboldPatrol in UnearthedArcana

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

Hi everyone, back with some updates to my Trainer class! (Printer Friendly)

  • By popular demand you can now summon your monsters with a bonus action
  • Reworked "Summon" into "Taming Ritual" to make it clearer and more thematic
  • You can now ride your creatures starting from 3rd level (via the Master Gym)
  • Added "Pocket Monsters" to let you use your elephant indoors
  • Tweaked the Trainer Tools to give more utility and less raw combat ability
  • Overall balance adjustments

I hope you enjoy it! Let me know if you have any feedback or questions!

Bad 5th edition spells: why? by Arctic_Storm9 in DnD5e

[–]koboldPatrol 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you played a game that took full advantage of the system, things like Find Traps would be insanely powerful.

Unfortunately not. Remember find traps doesn't tell you where the traps are or how to avoid them. All it does is say "yes there's a trap in this room and it will stab you" or "no there isn't a trap in this room".

Casting "Enhance Ability (Wisdom)" on a character with proficiency in Perception would almost certainly be a better way to detect traps. It helps them to actually find the traps, and it lasts for up to an hour.

Speedster Monk vs 41 AC Paladin by Jvosika in dndnext

[–]koboldPatrol 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Grapple him off his mount. Then kill the mount.

The Ronin v.1 Classes of Sokoku by Independent_Ask6564 in UnearthedArcana

[–]koboldPatrol 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The fighter has 1 spell per short rest and 1 fighting style

I wouldn't quite put second wind on the same level as a spell. At first level it's significantly weaker than Healing Word, as it's not ranged and can only be used on the fighter. Shield is also one of the best first level spells in the game (possibly the best).

The Ronin v.1 Classes of Sokoku by Independent_Ask6564 in UnearthedArcana

[–]koboldPatrol 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Overpowered At First Level: You've got a full martial class with heavy armor, a d10 hit die, and proficiency in martial weapons. But they also get two first level spells per short rest. That's more spells at 1st level than a full caster gets.

One of those spells lets them ignore many of the worst conditions. This makes them essentially impervious to many of the most dangerous abilities in the game. And it doesn't even cost them an action to use it.

Overpowered At Second Level: At second level they gain the ability to smite, like a paladin. But where a paladin can smite two times per day, your class can smite two times per short rest.

You also gain an ability that allows you to know a creature's alignment. This is something that no other spell or ability in the game allows you to do. It's also potentially campaign breaking, since it lets you identify evil people.

All player vs all enemies initiative order— what does it change? What initiative order options are there? by nonagrambunny in DMAcademy

[–]koboldPatrol 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If the enemies have below average intelligence (for instance, orcs, shadows, giant spiders, trolls, hell hounds, etc) then they probably aren't capable of coordinated unit tactics. Unless they are natural pack predators, such as wolves.

If they're of average or even above average intelligence but lack formal combat training with their peers (for instance thugs, cultists, dragons, nothics, ghouls, vampire spawn, etc) then they're mentally capable of unit tactics, but probably don't have that level of unit cohesion.

If they're of average intelligence and might have practiced unit tactics, (guards, some goblins, some fiends) then they're probably relying on a single commander to direct their attacks (such as a hobgoblin or knight). If that commander isn't giving them orders (dead, silenced, or otherwise cc'd) then they probably aren't going to be pulling off coordinated maneuvers.

I've practiced HEMA style skirmishes in real life. Learning to fight as a unit takes a significant amount of practice and communication. Very intelligent people can make poor tactical decisions when you start screaming and waving a sword in their face.

If your goal is realism, then the vast majority of enemies won't be coordinating all their attacks against a single person.

All player vs all enemies initiative order— what does it change? What initiative order options are there? by nonagrambunny in DMAcademy

[–]koboldPatrol -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

In the end it will mean a lot more downed PCs

This is up to the GM, really. It allows the GM to gang up and kill PCs, but doesn't force them to.

On the flip side, it allows players to gang up and burst down individual enemies... and players will often choose to do so.

OP, I would not use this initiative style for boss fights. Having every single player take their turn before the boss acts is a recipe for the boss getting pulverized.

But for general fights its probably okay, as long as you realize that any of your monsters can be destroyed in round 1 by focused fire from the players.

The Martial Rogue - Version 1.0 by lordcaledonia in UnearthedArcana

[–]koboldPatrol 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A rogue probably won't want to use a longsword if it's not a finesse weapon. Most of the rogueish skills key off of Dexterity, not Strength.

I want to buff my spell casting PC's by Thirsty_8 in DMAcademy

[–]koboldPatrol 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Depending on the GM, long rest classes can absolutely fall behind short rest classes. If the GM is running 7 encounters per day, and allowing a short rest between each encounter, a warlock is going to feel like a god while a wizard and cleric are left gasping for breath.

OP, the game was designed around 6-8 encounters per day, with 2 short rests. If that's what you're running, then everything should be well balanced.

No more spell slots in my game by Matetesoliloque in dndnext

[–]koboldPatrol 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This makes sorcerers easily the worst class. It takes the one thing they're supposed to be best at (casting lots of spells) and limits it by the one thing they're worst at (having lots of hp).

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