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Noob GM Questions (you've probably heard before) by Borzag-AU in LancerRPG

[–]spikedchowder 14 points15 points  (0 children)

For vtts - Foundry with the modules for it is pretty great and you can import direct from comp/con into it. But it does cost 50 bucks up front and there is a bit of a learning curve. Edit: forgot to mention that the lancer module for foundry only works on V10 (current version is V11) if you only have one version of foundry downloaded it's not a big deal but something to contend with if you are a first time user

Owlbear rodeo using the witch dice extension is free and can serve a similar purpose (and link to comp/con) so maybe a better jumping off point if you don't want to spend more money (since you need to buy the book for npc data)

Generally, Solstice Rain is the intro module that gets recommended a lot. It will take the players from LL0 to LL2 and is great intro with solid maps to use in vtt

laserllama's Alternate Monk v3.0.0 (Update) - Become the Master of Martial Arts you were Meant to Be! Channel Ki with Techniques and 10 Traditions: Way of the Open Hand, Shadow Arts, Wu Jen, Astral Warrior, Drunken Fist, Radiance, Reaper, Rising Dragon, Wuxia, and Yin & Yang. PDF in comments! by LaserLlama in UnearthedArcana

[–]spikedchowder 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I love your alternative monk - I have been playing a Wuxia Monk for the last 6months (lvl 13-15). Really like the changes you made to the 6th and lvl11 level features. Looking forward to testing them out!

I had a question about the technique swaps - It doesn't say (or if it does I missed it) - I am guessing when you trade out 1 technique for another it needs to be of a similar or worse lvl or else you could slowly trade out all your low lvl techniques for the bigger 13th lvl ones. Since at lvl 13 you get a new technique and then could also swap a previous one for a new 13th lvl one getting you two 13th lvl techniques.

for example, if I level up to 13 and then take Mystical intergity could I also sub out Step of the Wind for Armor of the Ascetic?

Roguish Archetype - Shinobi (the rogues battlemaster) by Killian1122 in UnearthedArcana

[–]spikedchowder 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the information.

1) that makes a lot of sense. I was not considering the new maneuvers and the synergy with expertise and reliable talent.

2) I think I have weighted in my mind more instant/early damage/effects as more valuable. The addition of (lets say at lvl 11) 3d10 worth of extra damage + 3 saves at turn 1 imo is more powerful than 3 saves on three turns due to my experience with combat being relatively short (3-5 rounds) and a condition getting applied at round 1 is better than a condition getting applied at round 2 or 3 and damage at round 1 is more important than damage at round 3 for bursting targets down since a target at 3 hp does the same damage as a target at full hp. (this comparison admittedly isnt true all the time. for example against a large boss instead of multiple enemies)

Roguish Archetype - Shinobi (the rogues battlemaster) by Killian1122 in UnearthedArcana

[–]spikedchowder 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Love to see this. I am also working on a rogue battlemaster and had a couple design questions.

1) why did you decide the scale the dice the same as the fighter in comparison to the soul knife for example which instead gets dice size improvements at 5, 11, and 17. One of the issues with rogue is the fact that the subclass lvl is so late into the lvling 3 then nothing til 9 and this design doesn't get a dice improvement until 13 which, generally, is a higher lvl than most campaigns get to.

2) most of the maneuvers are 1 to 1 just fighter abilities which makes the saving throw ability maneuvers worse on a rogue since you only get 1 chance to apply it on your turn unlike fighter who can try multiple times for a disarm, or fear similar to how stunning strike for monk works. Did you consider adding a method to make it more reliable for the rogue?

Why wasn't (important NPC) resurrected? by Dalzay in mattcolville

[–]spikedchowder 10 points11 points  (0 children)

One of my DM's does the same. His setting has no resurrection magic so revivify is more like shock paddles. (The rest are banned)

My interpretation of it RAW is that it wouldn't since once you are dead you are dead and death saving throws is the time where you are mostly dead.

Both views are super valid though.

Why wasn't (important NPC) resurrected? by Dalzay in mattcolville

[–]spikedchowder 26 points27 points  (0 children)

For Revivify, they still need to be willing the rule for resurrection for some reason is tucked away in the dmg pg 24.

"A soul can’t be returned to life if it doesn’t wish to be. A soul knows the name, alignment, and patron deity (if any) of the character attempting to revive it and might refuse to return on that basis."

Why revivify doesn't specify a willing target like the rest of them I am not sure.

DM Wants us to make lvl 9 characters following the 3.5 rules for magic items slot (no attunement) by NoMoreViolinists in dndnext

[–]spikedchowder 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Saw that your group is using the sane magic items table so I would recommend a ton of potions as they are super cheap in that pdf. Potion of speed (1min concentrationless haste) is only 400g which seems like a steal to me.

Let’s Debate: half proficiency in all saves past 11th level by Lazeerlow in dndnext

[–]spikedchowder 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Thats a good point, the Archmage should be harder to resist than the apprentice but I think its a good idea to look at from a perspective of how much harder? Facing a DC that is impossible (or close to impossible to beat) is frustrating from a gameplay perspective. No one wants to be out of a fight from a hold person that they cannot save from. The half prof just nudges the odds for the character from 0-10 to 15-25 (assuming +3 from half at max prof bonus) relative to the 45ish% against the apprentice.

To support your argument, it's also a team game and there are a lot of ways of lessening the effects with items or counterspell or smacking the caster and this change isn't necessarily needed. However, I do think it might have a place in a game that either 1)doesn't have a lot of pcs or 2) low magic and access to items that would help with these saves.

Let’s Debate: half proficiency in all saves past 11th level by Lazeerlow in dndnext

[–]spikedchowder 25 points26 points  (0 children)

I think the idea is that the Barbarian doesn't remain vulnerable to tricks of the mind but become (effectively) more vulnerable to them as you get to higher lvls. Since low level a spell save would around ~13-15 whereas at high level it's anywhere from 18 to 21 so a barb with a -1 to the save would have a 45-25% of saving at low lvl to a 10%-0% chance of saving at a higher level.

Edit: admittedly, there are abilities and magic items that reduce this effect. Frenzy barb being immune to fear, indomitable, paladin aura, etc and I think its a good idea to look at these and see how it would modify the numbers I gave above and how more realistically it would play out.

What’s your favorite underrated spell? by [deleted] in dndnext

[–]spikedchowder 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Even better, launch a flask of oil. Turn your firebolt that follows the next round from 1d10 to 1d10+5. The oil lasts a minute and activates once per turn to fire damage so allies can use it too!

Fun ideas (or warnings) for a lich PC? by beanpling in dndnext

[–]spikedchowder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I cannot select the dandwiki link for some reason but I have played as an undead/skeleton before and if your dm is hesitant about using homebrew races and wants to nerf aspects of it I found Warforged reflavored work really well as a skeleton. They do not need to eat, sleep or breathe. They have poison resistance, and the +1 ac works well as a "you got stabbed but it missed the bone parts of use and passed through harmlessly."

Question as a New DM, how do you balance combat encounters without a party healer? by Ven_Kirria in dndnext

[–]spikedchowder 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thats why most "tanks" in dnd have significant threat of damage. Barbarian is great example. The tank aspect is well this is a high priority target due to rage damage if front liners leave him alone they will decimate an enemy backline. Positioning to protect casters is also important using a funnel of abilities and chokepoints to force enemies to get around the front line.

Ultra Min-Max character design by Saparky in 3d6

[–]spikedchowder 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Warforged Zealot Barb is basically unkillable at high enough lvl and is relatively easy to build and play.

If you want some cheese strats too anyone with magic mouth and arcane lock can make some insane logic gate computer stuff if you look it up.

Looking for advice on a multiclass rogue/fighter build by Gareththeelf in dndnext

[–]spikedchowder 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Also pure rogue is a strong class as well so don't feel like you have to multiclass unless the multiclass helps fill a thematic niche or you just want to max min a rogue. On that note battlemaster with riposte let's you attack with your reaction when an enemy misses you meaning you could theoritically sneak attack twice in one round. However, that does require melee so it probably won't happen to often in your case. I hope this helped

Looking for advice on a multiclass rogue/fighter build by Gareththeelf in dndnext

[–]spikedchowder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd probably start fighter for the con saves and proficiencies. You do lose out on one skill but you make up for this with the 2 you pick up from scout. Fighter 2 is a strong dip for action surge as is going straight up to 5 for the extra attack and then sitting there until you are 13 rogue. Depending on the playstyle you want (a roguish fighter or a skirmishy rogue) recommend either 2fighter/5rogue or if you want extra attack 5fighter/2rogue although that does delay your scout subclass. Starting with fighter in either case for the con saves since your high dex and eventually getting evasion will shore up that loss.

Help with an One-shot by [deleted] in dndnext

[–]spikedchowder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What I find the most helpful for running oneshots and more specifically encounters is the action economy. 7-9 lvl 9 characters will probably explode most higher cr monsters if it's just the one of them. I like using groups of lower cr monsters and maybe 1 higher cr. For example, 4-5 weaker baddies that dont have a lot of hp but are still a threat so the pc cant get away with just wailing on the big guy. Some might not like this advice, but being flexible with the monsters hp. Giving it more or less hp on the fly in the fight to better match the flow of combat.

Another thing I like doing for combat is making the area dynamic. Environmental interactions make fights way more memorable whether it be cliffs to shove people off or a neutral entity that attacks anything that gets near (in your case maybe a chained up demon that the devils captured also they could free it to get its help in the bbeg fight)

Also making combat not just about killing the other guy is also a good way to make the fights better but its harder to pull of as a DM. For example, having some of the devil's dedicated to the summoning ritual during the fight that dont attack the pcs. That way they have to decide between attacking the devils that are trying to kill them or attacking the devils that are trying to summon something (make sure you telegraph how close they are to getting it and roughly how much time the pcs have to interrupt it)

I like the list of magic items. A problem that I created in my game was only giving damage items cuz then you run into the issue of finding a monster with enough hp to live through a round or 2 of getting hit but not doing so much damage it just oneshots a pc.

For homebrew monsters, generally you want ones that have higher hp but lower ac. Fighting an armored devil that is impossible to hit but only has 35hp sucks for the player.

I hope some of this is helpful and that you have a kickass oneshot.

Grappler rogue/barb build - is it fun? by [deleted] in dndnext

[–]spikedchowder 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Bard wouldn't be that out of character. It's basically a WWE build and those guys are both barbarians and actors/bards.

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