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Hi folks, just acquired this module and had a flip through, reading the intros and some parts of the first two levels. Here's a quick overview in case you're interested. This is a Paizo-official 5E conversion of a Pathfinder 2E module -- I haven't played the Pathfinder version so cannot offer any comparisons.

TOC page:

The module goes from L1-L11. There's nice little starting town 20 minutes away from a megadungeon. The dungeon has 10 levels and you should level up after completing each level. The town exists as a home base you can return to as needed, and also to provide support NPCs and plot motivation. At first glance, it appears that there is at least one event triggering in town each time you complete the level, approximately.

BBEG is an undead sorcerer who was defeated 500 years ago and is slowly rebuilding their power. V

Hello everyone,

I thought it would be nice to have a dice mechanic for 5e’s character creation with an output more similar to the point buy system, since the default dice mechanic leads to overall higher stats. This could be a system with the same output range as point buy as well as one that still offers the possibility of rolling very high numbers (16-18) but with a higher probability to roll very low than 4d6 drop lowest.

Do you already know of such a dice mechanic? Or could you maybe provide a source for the probabilities of a stat having a certain number in the point buy system, so as to make it comparable to 4d6 drop lowest? The latter would give a starting point to play around with dice.run in order to create a system as desired.

Thank you all very much in advance!

How do you all handle ready action for your players? Do you only allow calling of a single scenario or multiples?

I’m think of implementing a rule at my table where a player that readies an action can calls out a scenario and a “otherwise” option. The reason is that, we as players, often think about our options on our turn and strategize - simulating a character deciding what they would do in that moment.

An example of how I’d see this idea in use: Your character is next to a monster but there are a couple of enemies closing in that could choose you or a teammate. You ready an action so that you use Dodge if the enemy closing in reaches you to attack OTHERWISE you will attack the creature you’re engaged with when it makes their next attack.

Thoughts?

Title

I’m running a pact of tome warlock and I need some suggestions on my utility/face cantrips. I already have Eldritch Blast for damage, as well as gust and mage hand for sailor shenanigans, since I’m a pirate. I’ve also got a homebrewed patron, the denizen of the deep. The patron is thematically oceanic and has some necromancy elements as well.

But, I took pact of the tome so I could get good utility and face spells. So, fellow warlocks (and other casters), what cantrips should I take for more mischief?

Minor illusion to temporarily forge credentials? Friends to enchant anyone who rubs me the wrong way? Shape water to stay on the pirate theme?

First a note on inclusivity. I don’t care about your race, ethnicity, national origin, religion or lack thereof, gender, sexual orientation, or political beliefs. I game to get away from the real world. My games have no place for hate or any discussion of politics. If you feel the need to bring either of these things into fantasy escapism you are not welcome in my game. Otherwise anyone is welcome as long as you act like a decent human being.

Also a brief note: this post is not brief. Note the warning about my being an ambitious idiot in the title. If you're interested in joining my possibly idiotic ambition to form a hopefully really fun game, read on. You've been warned.

I'm looking to run one or possibly more one shot adventures set in my homebrew skypunk setting as test runs and, for lack of a better term, auditions for a long term campaign set in the same world. I tried putting together a group last year but folks just didn't really mesh well and it didn't work out. Since I'v

Does anyone have experience with both versions of the kobold as a PC and have a strong opinion on way or the other on it?

I'm creating a kobold Rogue for a Rime of the Frostmaiden campaign. Pact tactics sounds like it could be very useful. But I generally like the MotM version of kobold a bit better.

For more context: We might get another player, but right now it looks like it will be just a party of 3. One is thinking of playing a wizard or sorcerer and the other is considering barbarian at the moment. My plan is to go Scout Rogue . And I am open to switching to Ranger if that feels like it would be a better fit for the party.

My absolute favorite thing to do in 5e is when I can find a niche spell that's perfect for a situation the party finds itself in.

This naturally draws itself to the prepared casters and especially the deep spell list and ritual casting of the wizard, but unfortunately wizard is also a generally good class which means there's usually someone looking to use it in a party, and while doubling up can be fun sometimes I like to have other options.

I'd like to ideally make something strong without any glaring weaknesses: I don't want to minmax utility off a cliff.

My front runner has been an arcana cleric, which enables Wish eventually and adds a handful of common wizard spells to its list, but I'm not sure the other features of arcana are all that great, and not getting heavy armor makes me a little leery of closing to melee for cleric staples like Spirit Guardians.

Any other cool setups that enable a lot of flexibility and utility?

I recently theorycrafted a Dex and a Str version of an Artillerist with the Gunner feat popping off a Booming Blade and a Force Ballista each turn.

Dex variant: Choose a race that gets a weapon proficiency (e.g. Githyanki) to weild a Rapier. Pick up Gunner at 4. Starting stats are somewhere along the lines of 8 15+2 14 15+1 10 8, aiming to max Dex and pick up a Headband of Intellect to cover the otherwise low Int. Rolling can get the starting Int to be more respectable, but otherwise this feels pretty bad early game.

Str variant: Can start with a feat race for Gunner, point buy stats of 14 13+1 14 14+2 9 8, aiming to max Int, get Resilient Wis, and pick up Gauntlets of Ogre Power to cover the otherwise low Str. Acquiring an All Purpose Tool can provide Shillelagh to not need GoOP.

Why do this at all? Arcane Firearm, whether you tap your rapier with it as your Artificer-required tool material component, or whether it itself is the staff you go bonking people with Booming Blade, provi

Much of the time I think of items as addons to a build, and focus on the race, class, and feat progression when planning. However, in both Westmarches and many standard canpaigns, it is not unreasonable to be able to buy, craft, or at least request some specific items, at least going up to Rare rarity. That got me thinking about trying to optimize a build around the item, rather than the other way around.

Out of the Abyss provides a unique and interesting Rare item, the Stonespeaker Crystal. It has 10 charges, regains ~7 per day, allows spending some charges to cast the three Speak With spells, and, most importantly, allows expending a number of charges equal to a divination spell's level to replace one consumed spell component. The following divination spells have consumed spell compoments:

• Divination (4) 25gp¹
• Fortune's Favor (2) 100gp
• Legend Lore (5) 250gp
• True Seeing (6) 25gp

¹uses two components with combined cost of 25gp, so the crystal can only replace one of them

(In the absense of a WhatWouldYouBuild type of community, I figure 3d6 is the closest place here for such things, but correct me if I'm wrong.)

How would you build, in either D&D 5e or Pathfinder 2e, Cirilla of Cintra, based on her powers and abilities exhibited in the beginning of season 3 of The Witcher? She had the battle-prowess of a witcher, but she doesn't use her magic in combat. Her magic is powerful enough to stand against very strong sorcerers, but seems to mostly be reactionary rather than intentional.

5e's Fear has the added mechanic of requiring the target to take the Dash action and run away, unless there is nowhere to run. This can cause some DMs to rule Oath of Conquest's aura as allowing the target to use its action for other things. But with Sentinel's reaction causing movement speed to drop to zero, that wouldn't trigger until after the Dash action had been used--creating an optimizable opportunity.

My current build idea for this is a Hexblade 1 / Whispers Bard X, choosing to be Custom Lineage to grab Sentinel at level 1. This means that Cha can be maxed by 9 (rather than 13), the build is Cha-SAD, and you can augment your attacks with blade cantrips (yes, BB doesn't synergize with either Fear* or Sentinel, but it is still a nice chunk of scaling damage). Bard also provides Command, Dissonant Whispers, Healing Word, Psychic Blades, and eventually Find Greater Steed (to get another opportunity attack).

(* If your DM counter-rules that Fear, Command, Dissonant Whispers, etc