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Been having a good time with one of the PbP games on here using the playtest. It's low level involving a lot of "I swing at it" action, but I'm interested in seeing how things play out as we go. They've announced a digital toolset in the works (Morningstar by Trapdoor Technologies) some time ago. There was also a lot of talk about how they want to listen to community feedback before they start making changes/erratas, while also giving those changes out to the public as test phases before deciding to commit to them. It's a lot of nice talk but we'll see if they hold up on that end. I'm expecting some changes from the playtest packet at least. My concern right now is kind of superficial, in that I really hope to see two weapon fighting with longswords, currently impossible by playtest rules. It's been a staple of one of my favorite characters for a long time, hate to be unable to recreate it.
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Jul 3, 2014 07:17
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Also worth mentioning that they changed the weight of Scimitars to be "light" weapons in order to conform to this two weapon fighting system, where they've been medium weapons in prior editions. So while we may have distinction between Longswords and Shortsword with this system, we no longer do between Scimitar and Shortsword (both light, finesse weapons). I understand the reasons behind the system, but that doesn't make it any easier to swallow. More than just the damage die (although that's just as much a point as any other), but now a plate wearing fighter can't dual wield longswords, or a barbarian dwarf his battleaxes. Such builds are almost iconic to D&D in recent years, yet we will be lacking them here.
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Jul 3, 2014 08:14
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PleasingFungus posted:I can't tell if this post is a joke. Only if you believe getting less character weapon choices is somehow hilarious. In a game where weaponry is a significantly defining characteristic despite (in spite of?) everything being overshadowed by magic users. Is Search going under Wisdom and Investigation being a completely new skill something I missed from a later playtests?
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Jul 4, 2014 02:44
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These look like really fun abilities to do in a fight to me and useful. It's a shame some of them have that hit/check/save design as that's just too many ways for it to fail. Also if we're only able to do them 2 or 3 times per short rest, that's just way too low for something as interesting, involving and maybe even important as these. Using your dice to lock down enemies or protect others by forcing disadvantage could be a way to keep monster attention without using a shield. But I do like that you get all of 'em at level 1 instead of having to wait at some arbitrary level to push a man. Maybe more elaborate actions can come into play in higher levels.
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Jul 4, 2014 23:29
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quote:@Acr0ssTh3P0nd : I want my PCs to have at least a 16 in their main stat (point buy) even if they dont get a racial bonus to that stat. How to do? I know this is just another one of those "the creator does it differently than the way he made his book" comment, but making a weird race/class combo where the primary stat is sub 16 basically kills the idea outright. I'd rather have something like this in the book so DMs know it's not breaking the system to fudge one point, but maybe showing a tweet from "the man himself" might do well enough. The idea that I have to even jump through such a hoop to make such a character is absurd, but at least it's a Mike Mearls approved houserule.
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Jul 15, 2014 00:47
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There was a tweet some time ago about an alpha player handbook going around and I managed to get a peak at what internet denizens were claiming was it. I'm starting to suspect it may have actually been the secret playtest packet, as some of the pages looked identical to the ones a goon had posted in this or the other thread (specifically the fighter maneuvers). One of my biggest complaints I've had so far was the lack of a proper two-weapon option for those wanting a STR based build. Looks like the feat was changed to accommodate just that, having dropped the light requirement for either hand. Really hoping to see that in the final book, though I'm not holding my breath as there's some differences between this book and what is in the Basic PDF. There is still the issue of having a race with no +str being capped at 15, which means only certain races are able to go after such a build. Still, someone going human could take the feat build option and get their two whatevers right at level 1. Could it be they might have actually improved something from testing?
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Jul 16, 2014 14:27
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Gharbad the Weak posted:The playtest actually had a thing where high level monks could potentially spend a ki to force an enemy to become vulnerable to blunt damage, then another ki to grab on and automatically hit with every attack. I hope that stays in, that's a silly silly thing. I've got one in a PbP goin' as well. Like was said some of the archetype options are really big lists of things that you can choose to do with your Ki, mostly the elemental path. It seems more open than the superiority dice, in that you gain 1 Ki a level starting at 2, and many of the abilities just have you casting a spell but by punching stuff for 1 to 3 ki, or upwards of 6 ki for a big time ability. The other option is more traditional monk things like quivering palm and tranquility that also lets you push or knock prone targets you hit at will with no extra rolling (contests of strength for instance). Quite a bit different from the playtest packet I'm using for the game. Something else I noticed was how they included the Monk weapons in the unarmed definitions, which this set calls Martial Arts, so what my game had been doing logically is now part of the rules (attacking with my staff uses my unarmed damage). It wasn't so clear before. Flurry is no longer the "attack two times per action" option, but instead you always get a bonus attack when using monk unarmed/weapons. Flurry is now spend a Ki to get 2 bonus attacks. Doesn't change the end result but reworks the technicalities of what is granting those bonus attack.
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Jul 17, 2014 00:49
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Generic Octopus posted:Also, does Ki reset on short rest? Sorry if that was mentioned somewhere. It's been consistent in playtests that Ki refreshes on short rests, so it's a fair bet for final. The wording here says 1 hour of meditation, which can be done in a short rest.
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Jul 17, 2014 01:35
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ritorix posted:So the EK turns out to have a gimmick or two, and the F/W multi is more versatile and pretty much better. This gets crazier if you add polearm feats and whatnot, but I'll keep it simple and leave it at that. What happens if you open up the EK to choosing any two schools of magic, rather than the two built in? Does any one school particularly change this formula substantially even tho the multi-class still gets any spell? In particular, I've always looked for ways to build a fighter/necromancer and was curious about retooling the EK to do it.
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Jul 29, 2014 08:31
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Old Thrashbarg posted:How balanced and interesting is the 5e monk in people's evaluation so far? It was really fun in the Alpha PHB, but I'm not happy with the new changes for release. The way they've reworded how Martial Arts works is strange, along with the stepped-down unarmed damage dice (starts d4, ends d10). The first attack you make can be with a monk weapon using that weapon's damage. Since there's no restrictions on a weapon with the "versatile" tag, you can have it be a quarterstaff for a d8 attack, but even a d6 shortsword beats or equals unarmed until level 11 where it turns d8. The follow up bonus attack is then done as an unarmed attack and uses the monks unarmed damage dice. Using a Ki point for flurry turns that single bonus attack into two bonus unarmed attacks (so ideally, weapon attack followed by two unarmed). The change to Perfect Self to do what the Fighter's superiority dice version does is lame. What really hurts the class is that your unarmed damage doesn't get magical until level 6, where you'll be seeing monsters that reduce or nullify non-magical damage around level 2 or 3. Meaning, for a few levels your bonus attacks are going to be half as effective at best with no way to fix it until 6. Even if you land a magic weapon, you only get the one attack with it. Maybe magic gloves or something? Without a magic items list, who knows. Something else that bugs me is the lacking damage options. Think about a two weapon ranger with the Colossus Slayer path - with shortswords that's three 1d6 dice a turn. Level 2 give them limited spells like Hunter's mark that adds yet another 1d6 to a specified target. Rogue's have various advantages with Sneak Attack and it can get the damage out as well. Monks seem to lack such a feature, their Flurry option limited by the Ki points and monastic traditions appear more focused on status effects and/or also limited by Ki. On the flip side, that same point could also have more worth than raw damage. I don't know how helpful it is to push a man - though so far it has not made much a different in the games I've played. Rarely are spikes placed on walls for Mortal Kombat style fatalities. Being able to cast spells is pretty great thematically, and some seem awesome (extend reach of attacks 10 feet, 1 ki on hit for extra 1d10 damage), but once again we're looking at the Ki Points being the restriction. There's also all the other things a Monk gets just as a class, like Purity of Body or that proficient in all save throws deal. Again, I don't really think that kind thing offsets what is lacking here especially when a lot of those don't come into play until later levels, where most people apparently don't end up playing to. *e: Stunning Strike could also prove very useful, stunning doing a lot not just for the Monk. However, I'm not sure what kind of CON scores monsters have. Lothire fucked around with this message at 02:20 on Aug 18, 2014 |
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Aug 18, 2014 02:11
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MonsieurChoc posted:A friend of mine is starting a 5E game. I was thinking of playing either a cleric or a ranger. What are these classes like in 5? How do I break the game with them? I'm enjoying my TWF focused Ranger a lot, but I've been a fan of the class in all its variations through-out the editions. In 5e I find it works about as well as any martial, though I believe a ranged focus build would be better off. The class doesn't seem to suffer in any particular way, at least no more so than any other martial and if anything, it gets better off due to getting access to hybrid spell progression starting at level 2. With Hunter's Mark, two weapons and at level 3, Colossus Slayer from the Hunter's martial path, you get two shortswords at 1d6+mod on both if you grab Two Weapon Fighting style at level 2, Hunter's Mark on one target adding a 1d6 to damage and if the target is anywhere less than its full HP, it also takes 1d8 damage on one of your hits. Forgo the offhand weapon for a bow and you're still looking at 1d8+mod, 1d6 and 1d8 in one shot on a less-than-full enemy. It's a lot of potential damage for level 3, but that also means a lot of rolling dice. A draw back I've experienced is a slightly lesser AC score. There's some ways to make that up, like picking up Dual Wield feat to get +1 AC, choosing the Defense feature at level 2 and picking medium armor mastery feat (provided you have +3 dex mod). There isn't any methods to negating damage dealt like what the Rogue gets, not until 15 in the Hunter's path. I'm not too into the later level features either, like Foe Slayer adding your wisdom mod to the damage against favored enemies only. Seems entirely too weak for that level. I'm also hearing the pet path is upsetting due to having to spend your action to tell the pet to attack, but I don't know how that influences its damage potential compared to Hunter path. On the flip side, my Cleric/Monk was doing great. Up until PHB, where the Monk changes drastically lowered his potential. In contrast the Cleric side has always been potent. "Standing above the rest of the group" would definitely fall on the Cleric. It can do a lot with just about any domain path thanks to spells. Lothire fucked around with this message at 20:22 on Aug 21, 2014 |
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Aug 21, 2014 20:20
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As much as I agree that the whole brain eating business is way out of line, I do like that it makes coming up with a story related way of solving the problem enticing for players. For example, making your brain taste like literal poo poo with an alchemical concoction, which will have all sorts of nasty effects on the one who tries to take a sip. It's a shame none of the books so far really covers that kind of thing. I don't believe there's anything about severing limbs, save for the Troll's specific entry. You would think Beholder would lose something for cutting off it's eyestalks, for example, but there are several monsters with multi-attacks that could be hampered with a severed hand or such limb (then again, maybe that out right kills them anyways). I guess the DM book could house such things.
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Oct 14, 2014 01:28
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Earlier in the Blingdenstone game running here, I had put my level 2 or 3 Ranger on the line by standing against I believe it was six Orcs alone. It really played to his character being so martial minded and not wanting to back down from his chosen hated enemy. Ryuujin played the Orcs as being so seething with fight-drive that they honed in on him and kept on swingin' until he dropped, each miss just making them more angry. Turned out Dodge and a shield made for a fairly decent Ranger tank as he only got hit twice - once in the first round and then not until the rest of the party (think it was only 2 others at the time) had killed off all but one Orc, where I dropped Dodge for that round to attack (and missed), then got hit by it to be knocked out. I had one inspiration point gotten when I was knocked out three different times in the very first round of the encounters by an Orc crit. I used it to swap to my shield which is an action, and Dodge which was another action (which isn't a benefit of inspiration quoted by the book, all you get is a re-roll). It is so frustrating that this entire scenario is not supported by the rules, that it takes the DM to both use inspiration in the first place and on top of that, be willing to do things with it not covered by its entry. If D&D can write a set of rules that lets this kind of thing happen and more often, it would be the edition that makes Scrooge McDuck levels of money.
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Jan 24, 2015 22:22
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An elf noble hires the adventurers after an Orc steals his precious lover Manticore - a nickname for his beloved. Little do the adventurers realize that Manticore is actually a manticore. One who has fallen in love with the Orc. Also they find a hidden door with a spiked pit in it and a bunch of skeletons.
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Feb 22, 2015 07:59
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The Crotch posted:Rangers are so bad that people don't even remember they exist when they make statements like this. Bards are powerful because Rangers exist. Without them, the Bard wouldn't be able to take their Swift Quiver spell that lets them fire off 4 arrows a round at level 10, where the Ranger doesn't get it until 17. Ya, it is sort of like the Bard punching the Ranger and taking his milk money. But I'm sure Bards have a spell which automates the actual punch-and-take process as well, so in the end everyone is happy.
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Jun 5, 2015 06:37
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Keshik posted:My feeling is that these rules seem really nice and pared-down. "Up to the DM" factoring into a lot means that a lot of things will be subjected to the "is it fun?" test instead of a dice roll. But the common thing everyone is griping about is that casters are OP and martial classes are all lamed. I'm a huge fan of letting martials use skills as free parts of their attack actions in order to gain mechanical benefits, like grabbing the monster as a shield for extra AC or something. I don't care that it steps on the lovely grapple rules, and so long as the player is engaged with his character, I don't think he's going to care either. A lot of things end up just being what Battlemasters can already do, but they get extra damage on top of doing it and no DM-May-I involved. Nothing gets broken, and a martial can feel awesome by doing things you would see in cinema/etc while influencing the battlefield meaningfully. Being able to grant a second enemy disadvantage by shoving the first one between them after having done an OK attack/skill roll makes a world of difference between "I swing sword" and "I am Conan." It's also very easy to manage (did he roll well on the hit, damage or skill check? probably worked. Is he doing it repeatedly? it gets harder to do each time, etc), provides variety for the martial in how he goes about combat, doesn't require the player to do anything other than be somewhat creative and is just as easily ignorable for those who would rather auto attack all day.
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Jun 23, 2015 09:40
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