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Post by ExSeth on Sept 18, 2017 23:11:12 GMT 1
Warlocks have counterspell! Not that I blame one for either not using it or forgetting they have it. It's really rough, especially once those spell slots turn 4th or 5th level, to burn one just to Do Nothing. It feels pretty bad to use one of your two 5th level spell slots to counter a single Fireball, for example. Depending on level, the Druid/Ranger's Protection from Energy is similar, since it's a 3rd level spell and that's kind of expensive given it only grants resistance to a single target.
Also, if you have a Lore Bard, please blame them for not having used Magical Secrets/Extra Magical Secrets to pick up any spell you feel the party should have or really might just be kinda convenient at the given moment, as is traditional. If it's a Valor Bard, blame them for not being a Lore Bard and also picking exactly the specific spell needed at the time. This, too, is traditional.
Mind you, you can in fact cast zero Counterspells or the like when you are out of spell slots and split up and dipping in and out of consciousness. So, y'know. How do you feel about TPKs?
Also, now that you mention it SPH, a Factotum would be kinda neat to play around with in 5e. I'm sure someone has a reasonably well ported version of it somewhere on the internet, and I wouldn't be surprised if, given enough time, WotC slaps one together in Unearthed Arcana.
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Post by flagrantangles on Sept 19, 2017 13:42:41 GMT 1
The only class I actually know anything about is the Sorcerer. I have loved playing them forever, even in 3.5. I think my favorite iteration of the Sorcerer was in Pathfinder. The bloodline idea was just perfect.
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Post by Plum on Sept 23, 2017 20:17:50 GMT 1
Haha I'm pretty sure neither our Warlock nor our Bard have Counter-Spell on their known list. If we survive, that might change, but this is the first time we've faced overwhelming magical assault. We've faced plenty of magic users before, but generally defeated them via other means or just face-tanked their worst spells. Three spell-casters getting a surprise round against us is a new flavour of pain Yes, I'm going to play a sorcerer for my next character I think. Other than the cleric, none of the other spellcasters really appeal to me - I don't want to make a dumb pact in exchange for power, nor am I particularly into nature, nor do I want to spend years studying to cast magic missile. I want to be all "Boom, natural magical genius coming through". In fact, the character concept I'm working on is a mostly human Earth Genasi-Stone Sorcerer, from a very wealthy noble family that have used their affinity with metals to become ridiculously wealthy over the generations and bought their way to nobility. While the boys in the family are allowed to pour their magic into the family fortunes via various mining and smelting companies, the ladies are expected to turn it toward the fine arts and further the family through social functions. Unfortunately Madeline can barely get through even the simplest concerto, her painting and sculpture are most charitably described as 'enthusiastic', and if she attends another ball full of dull-witted heirs and scheming debutantes she'll scream... Anyway, long story short, she'll be an Earth and Fire magic sorcerer but incredibly snooty and raised to believe that A) Working is for commoners, B) Nobles are necessary and that commoners don't have the education to make decisions, and C) Raw magic is unladylike and undignified. This last point means that I'll be inefficient and waste most of my sorcery points fuelling Subtle spells, but waving your arms around and speaking nonsense is terribly gauche. She'll also spend her adventuring time trying to convince her father that she's still studying at a conveniently distant temple so that he doesn't cut off her funds and order her home. I'm thinking I'll further hurt her efficiency by putting 14 into INT, because I'm playing a dumb character at the moment and it can be frustrating, and also because a splash into Wizard gets her just enough spellcraft for useful utility spells like Unseen Servant, Find Familiar, Absorb Elements etc. Using her expensive Arcanum education to avoid chores like cleaning clothes and tidying fits her character well. Granted I could have splashed Bard, but (to her famous Harpist mother's regret) her magic comes from her father's side. I'm torn between the Evocation school (can shape explosions around allies) and Transmutation (minor transmutation fits the metal and earth magics theme). I'm looking forward to her!
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Post by Zejety on Sept 23, 2017 22:08:39 GMT 1
Yeah, Counterspell is considered one of the top choices for Magical Secrets, all things being equal.
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Post by ExSeth on Sept 24, 2017 2:53:34 GMT 1
I'm in the opposite camp: I always feel that if your magic doesn't come through some sort of personal sacrifice, then what's the point?
Also that sounds like a fun character I would actually like to play with, Plum.
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Post by flagrantangles on Sept 26, 2017 13:19:00 GMT 1
I'm all about that Sorcerer life and mechanically speaking, Subtle is a truly excellent metamagic option, particularly if you want to be sneaky.
I am currently playing a phoenix sorcerer in a campaign my friend is running. My character is a Tiefling named Iados and he comes from a family of costumers and clothiers so he's always got the NICEST CLOTHES. Also, he has a grandmother who's a total badass matriarch.
Furthermore, because I'm a phoenix sorcerer, I also have a compulsion to light things on fire. I kinda took one of the flavor abilities you get where you can light flammable things on fire with your hands and made it a mild addiction.
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Post by Plum on Sept 26, 2017 15:53:19 GMT 1
Ah yeah I was looking at the Phoenix sorcerer but (and this is a general RPG problem that I have), I have trouble roleplaying a character too mentally dissimilar from myself. I would struggle to play as a firebug because I as a player would be worried about accidentally ruining some poor commoners house, or clothes, or hair, or whatever. I get genuinely upset when our slightly murderous druid kills a guard that was just doing his job rather than incapacitating him.
Does anyone have trouble divorcing their own personality and alignment from the character they are playing?
Playing a dumb, lovable barbarian is easy for me because she does what I would do (if I was an unstoppable combat juggernaut). Playing a stroppy, snooty noblewoman seems feasible because having seen the recent state of the world, I suddenly find myself thinking that maybe the majority really don't know what's good for them. Playing a lazy student using gifts and powers that most people can only dream of to avoid doing chores, yep I reckon I can handle that.
Playing an amoral character who kills for convenience? Someone who would break a dog's jaw because it won't stop barking? Someone who would see a child crying and rob them while they were distracted? That I just can't bring myself to do. And it's only roleplay in an imaginary world, but I just can't bring myself to pretend that a character who doesn't even exist would do something wicked to another character that doesn't even exist.
Does anyone else have this problem, where they are locked into playing their own alignment?
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Post by Bomber678 on Sept 26, 2017 16:23:37 GMT 1
Ah yeah I was looking at the Phoenix sorcerer but (and this is a general RPG problem that I have), I have trouble roleplaying a character too mentally dissimilar from myself. I would struggle to play as a firebug because I as a player would be worried about accidentally ruining some poor commoners house, or clothes, or hair, or whatever. I get genuinely upset when our slightly murderous druid kills a guard that was just doing his job rather than incapacitating him. Does anyone have trouble divorcing their own personality and alignment from the character they are playing? Playing a dumb, lovable barbarian is easy for me because she does what I would do (if I was an unstoppable combat juggernaut). Playing a stroppy, snooty noblewoman seems feasible because having seen the recent state of the world, I suddenly find myself thinking that maybe the majority really don't know what's good for them. Playing a lazy student using gifts and powers that most people can only dream of to avoid doing chores, yep I reckon I can handle that. Playing an amoral character who kills for convenience? Someone who would break a dog's jaw because it won't stop barking? Someone who would see a child crying and rob them while they were distracted? That I just can't bring myself to do. And it's only roleplay in an imaginary world, but I just can't bring myself to pretend that a character who doesn't even exist would do something wicked to another character that doesn't even exist. Does anyone else have this problem, where they are locked into playing their own alignment? It's about tapping into those parts of you, your ugly desires and selfishness. It's like acting. Though these are things that you would never, ever do in real life, sometimes pretending to do them can be somewhat empowering, or at the very least, a bit cathartic. All of us have violent or evil desires, but most of us deny them, as we should. One could say that expressing them in a fantasy setting might not be the best way of dealing with them, but I'm not a psychologist. It can certainly be fun though....
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Post by Zejety on Sept 26, 2017 17:05:38 GMT 1
AFAIK, Sorcerer is one of the most-criticized classes in the 5e community, and I can emphasize after playing one in an online game. Their spell selection is so restrictive, that it is hard to convince myself to pick flavorful options over mechanical superior ones. It feels a bit unsatisfying after working out a cool theme first. I think my view is a little distorted because I'm playing a sub-par UA Sorcerous Origin (Sea) though.
I've heard a commonly suggested improvements is to allow Sorcerers to use the optional Spell Points magic system from the DMG. But I haven't taken a look at it personally.
Yeah, I often end up playing myself unless I purposefully create a character that is at odds with my personality. One of my longest-running DSA chars was an unpleasant swordsman. Short temper, liked to get into arguments. Had to one-up the NPCs at every turn. I don't think I#ve ever put as much emphasize into the acting part of RPGs as with him. Can't always play unpleasent chars tho... ^^
Our last Curse of Strahd session had the party in a very tight spot. They are currently exploring Ravenloft and had gotten around rather safely until they met a powerful foe that managed to separate the party. The Rogue gave chase and got dropped to 0hp. She proceeded to fail a death saving throw and got executed by a second opponent (auto crit for 2 failed death saving throws). However, we realized 1 round later that the paladin's Aura of Devotion affects death saving throws too and that she actually made her first save; so we retconned her death. I guess Tabaxi have 9 lives, too!
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Post by Plum on Sept 27, 2017 13:10:28 GMT 1
I'll be curious to see the Sorcerer - Favoured Soul that comes out in Xanathar's, since giving access to the Cleric spell list seems super nice. Blade in the Dark turned up! I'm really excited to dig into this, hopefully it'll be a good fit for our group and I can live out my Locke Lamore fantasies
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Post by Southpaw Hare on Sept 27, 2017 15:38:56 GMT 1
I'll be curious to see the Sorcerer - Favoured Soul that comes out in Xanathar's, since giving access to the Cleric spell list seems super nice. Blade in the Dark turned up! I'm really excited to dig into this, hopefully it'll be a good fit for our group and I can live out my Locke Lamore fantasies My one friend has quickly grown to love Blades in the Dark lately. As something that's made by Harper and also Powered By The Apocalypse (kind of), it seems like a really refined contemporary work.
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Post by Zejety on Sept 27, 2017 23:21:19 GMT 1
I'll be curious to see the Sorcerer - Favoured Soul that comes out in Xanathar's, since giving access to the Cleric spell list seems super nice. Blade in the Dark turned up! I'm really excited to dig into this, hopefully it'll be a good fit for our group and I can live out my Locke Lamore fantasies To say that review makes me curious is an understatement. But buying yet another 300-page rulebook for a system I probably end up never running...?
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Post by Plum on Sept 28, 2017 9:23:09 GMT 1
I'm sixty pages into the rulebook now and the systems just seem so interesting. I've just reached the section for when characters get retired. When the stress or injuries get too much for a character, they retire from crime and the amount of loot that they've stashed away then determines how they live out the rest of their days. Do badly and they'll end up destitute and living on handouts or begging. Do amazingly well and they'll buy their way into society, setting themselves up for life. Your character could be just hanging on by their fingernails and realise that one more job will be it - do you persuade the group to do something fairly safe, giving you just enough reward to lift yourself from "Living in a hovel" to "Buying a small house and living a nice life"? Or do you go for glory and persuade the group to pull off one big score, making enough coin to buy up a business or three and securing an income for your retirement... but the whole gang might pay the price for your greed and none of you make it back. And assuming that your character does survive, Doskvol is a closed city - your character will still be floating around in the background, maybe as a future contact for the new blood in the gang, or as someone that might come to you for a favour. Maybe they just disappear without a trace. Maybe they buy a small business making shoes and start a family, turning their back on crime entirely. Maybe their reputation was so impressive and they stole so much that the rest of the gang is now living in their shadow and need some way to take that reputation for themselves. Or maybe it was so bad that the very existence of your former member is an embarrassment that needs to be somehow corrected. And that's just at the end of your character's career! There's so much rich juicy narrative steak here
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Post by Zejety on Sept 28, 2017 11:31:18 GMT 1
Plum, the shipping calculator on the Blades in the Dark page seems to be broken for me. How much was the shipping for you?
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Post by Plum on Sept 28, 2017 11:46:11 GMT 1
Zejety Ah, Evil Hat don't ship internationally anymore, but they do have European partners. I got mine from the UK partner, Leisure Games, for around £28. It looks like they're out of stock again but they seem to restock every couple of weeks. My German isn't great but it looks like the German partner, Sphaerenmeisters have it in stock, so that might be your best bet
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Post by scymrian on Sept 28, 2017 14:59:05 GMT 1
My tabletop RPG "career," such as it is, has gone like this: 13 years ago I became interested in the hobby and have never been able to keep a group together for more than two sessions due to a lack of GMs. I've been too persnickety to pick it up and /be/ the GM. So mostly, I read rulebooks when I can.
I've been into Savage Worlds lately and am currently kind of but not really working on two settings I wish to GM someday: -My take on the Fantasy Kitchen Sink, with the original concept being that I would be satisfied for all of the Paizo-official Pathfinder races existing. Originally for Pathfinder but now if I ever run it, I'll do it in Savage Worlds. -A setting based on classic Beat 'Em Ups like Final Fight, Streets of Rage, and Captain Commando. Probably near-future like Captain Commando - low-sci-fi type stuff.
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Post by Southpaw Hare on Sept 28, 2017 15:06:12 GMT 1
My tabletop RPG "career," such as it is, has gone like this: 13 years ago I became interested in the hobby and have never been able to keep a group together for more than two sessions due to a lack of GMs. I've been too persnickety to pick it up and /be/ the GM. So mostly, I read rulebooks when I can. I've been into Savage Worlds lately and am currently kind of but not really working on two settings I wish to GM someday: -My take on the Fantasy Kitchen Sink, with the original concept being that I would be satisfied for all of the Paizo-official Pathfinder races existing. Originally for Pathfinder but now if I ever run it, I'll do it in Savage Worlds. -A setting based on classic Beat 'Em Ups like Final Fight, Streets of Rage, and Captain Commando. Probably near-future like Captain Commando - low-sci-fi type stuff. I was similar for many years. In my youth, my dad introduced me to D&D with some of the really old books. However, for the longest time, I had literally zero people to play with, so I basically just sat there and read the books, alone, imagining I was playing (which is kind of extra sad considering the game is already about imaging you're doing things). I tried and failed to get a group going in middle school and high school. Then I was introduced to a group of older people and that lasted for a while, and it seemed fun at the time, but it turned out that that was a bad group that ran a pretty crap game and I just didn't know it due to having no frame of reference. Then I met like-minded friends in college, and we actually had really amazing games that literally changed my life. And since then, that group of friends has slightly expanded and we've also expanded what we play, but it's all continued to be great. Short story is that it's tough to find a good group, but also very worth it.
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Post by Plum on Sept 28, 2017 16:38:59 GMT 1
I'm lucky enough to have access to great RPG groups (as an offshoot of my boardgame club) but if I didn't, I think I'd give roll20 a try. There are plenty of virtual groups that run every RPG under the sun - hopefully you'll find a fun group that works with your schedule! A virtual group isn't quite as good as a meatspace one, but it's a close second place if you don't have any other option
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Post by Zejety on Sept 28, 2017 18:15:04 GMT 1
I can second Plum. I have looked for another D&D group online and found one within a day or two. The search tools on Roll20 are great!
P.S.: I've oredered Blade of Darkness. Thanks for the recommendation and shop-finding help, Plum! Not sure if I'll get around to running it, but it's inexpensive enough to be worth buying just for the read IMO.
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Post by scymrian on Sept 28, 2017 18:26:11 GMT 1
I have some... reservations, I think is a good way to put it, about playing a tabletop RPG with strangers online. It's a bit too intimate of an activity for that, for my tastes, I think. Very happy for everyone who's had success with it, though!
Anyone listen to good RPG podcasts? I don't like actual plays so much, and don't have any (RPG) podcast that I make sure to listen to every single episode of, but I like to catch the occasional episode of Fear the Boot, Happy Jack's, and The Wild Die. The first two are roleplaying in general, and the last is Savage Worlds specific, but I've enjoyed a lot about all of them (and disliked some about all of them as well. that's the way)
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Post by mysticjuicer on Oct 3, 2017 16:49:42 GMT 1
I really enjoyed 'The Adventure Zone' but that's because I like the McElroy brothers. I don't really have any desire to start listening to any other actual play stuff.
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Post by scymrian on Oct 4, 2017 1:22:50 GMT 1
Yeah, I probably should have clarified that I definitely meant not-APs because I just really don't like them. I tend to forget they exist unless someone's talking about TAZ actively. Which I guess will be starting up again soon.
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Post by Southpaw Hare on Oct 9, 2017 17:52:59 GMT 1
So, Hasbro at last released an officially-licensed My Little Pony tabletop RPG, dubbed Tails of Equestria.
It looks quite excellent. It's surprisingly not one of the more abstract-style RPGs. Rather, it is actually a pretty traditional, D&D-inspired system with stats, skills, levels, and equipment, and in which actions result in their logical consequences. The big thematic difference is that it's kid-friendly and, as per the show, puts emphasis on solving conflicts peacefully. While there are rules for combat (called Scuffling), the concepts of killing and death are severely limited for both players and gamemaster alike, while it is made clear that most villains are redeemable if you talk them down enough. Also, the book is very high quality. There's full-color art on literally every single page in some form. Granted, a lot of it is just ripped screencaps right from the show, but they're used appropriately in any case. It's astoundingly colorful, and a treat just to look at. I'm going to try it out with the Albany Bronies later this week; I'll give a more in-depth review after that.
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Post by Plum on Oct 10, 2017 9:09:23 GMT 1
5e CoS Amber Temple spoilers, be warned... {Spoiler} Ok, so amazingly we survived our previous predicament in the Amber Temple. I was three hours late to the session sadly so I had the DM drive my Barbarian and when I finally turned up, Things Had Happened. I won't go into all the weird details but... When our Warlock was Revivify'd, she came back to life rather different and now has a weird raven motif going on. Our druid coughed out all of his teeth and now claims to be immortal. Our usually pacifistic bard can now walk up walls and was keen to test the immortality of the druid (the druid then backed down and said he was 'joking'). The bard also seems to be very twitchy and while warning the rest of the party not to trust the voices, touched another amber block. He now has stars for eyes. Our ranger is so far resisting the voices, but as her wolf companion was just killed she's grieving and will probably be susceptible to the right voice. Finally my barb is also resisting - she's used to hearing spirit voices in her head and generally doesn't trust evil benefactors. Also most of the offers so far do not interest her - she's of Norse stock, so she's quite looking forward to a glorious death and boozy afterlife. Walking up walls is a party trick, she already has power over life and death (she can turn alive things into dead things) and being able to see everything would probably make it difficult to get a good night's sleep.
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Post by Southpaw Hare on Oct 11, 2017 17:58:11 GMT 1
...so, I just got the joke.
Tails of Equestria has a trait you can take called "Pony Sense". Flavor-wise, it acts like Pinkie Pie's "Pinkie Sense" from, the show, causing you to have various spasms that can predict disasters in the immediate future. On the surface, it seems to be nothing more than a simple copy-paste of this pre-existing power.
But actually, it's a rather elaborate pun. "Pony Sense" is a wordplay on the real-life expression "Horse Sense", which in turn means "Common Sense". "Common Sense" is the name of a trait in many RPGs that lets the GM forewarn you about the negative consequences of your actions, which is, mechanically, how this power functions. So, it's really just a funny way of naming their otherwise by-the-book Common Sense advantage.
Pinkie Sense -> Pony Sense == Horse Sense == Common Sense
The cleverness here makes me laugh.
...wait a second... Pinkie Pie? Element of Laughter?! ILLUMINATI!
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Post by Plum on Oct 12, 2017 10:13:56 GMT 1
That's awesome! I was expecting it to be quite a cynical cash-in, but from everything that I've heard it's actually a pretty well put together product. Likewise the MLP CCG, which I've heard good things about. It's nice when a big company does something properly Rolled up a new 5e character for a level five one-shot that we're running next weekend. We ran with randomly generated and assigned stat blocks and I got 17 in Dex, 15 in Int and 14 in Wis. I was torn between a rogue and a monk but eventually settled on a tarot-card reading artefact hunter. Here's the description I sent along to the group: Flyer in a bakery window...Business card found near an auction house…
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Post by Southpaw Hare on Oct 16, 2017 14:17:20 GMT 1
So, we didn't end up playing Tails of Equestria just yet due to some logistic issues. However, we now have an even bigger group of 6 players to try again with this week. People are making their characters beforehand, and it's clear that they're really enjoying the character creation process. I'll keep everyone informed as it progresses.
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Jude
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Posts: 111
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Post by Jude on Oct 18, 2017 2:38:22 GMT 1
I am a big Eberron fan. Even though neither of the campaigns I've started have played to completion. I would love for Wizards to publish some 5E stuff for it. They would get my money even if I wasn't playing 5E. Scymrian, I enjoy listening to manifest.zone/I also agree that player with random strangers online feels weird. Our group tried to get a Roll20 game going since we live a few hours apart now and only meet up in real life every handful of months. It fell through after a couple of sessions though. I do think it could be a good option for geographically challenged friend groups. Right now this is an itch of mine which is not getting scratched. Not sure how/when I could change it. I could check out the game store when we move and try to make new friends but that feels like a lot of effort.
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Post by Plum on Oct 18, 2017 9:43:54 GMT 1
I googled Eberron after you mentioned and had absolutely no idea that D&D wasn't just Faerun (the D&D world that most people, including myself, play in). I also hadn't realised that Ravenloft was its own world and setting - we're currently playing through the Curse of Strahd and I just assumed it was in a quiet corner of Faerun.
Can anybody who has played these other world version of D&D persuade me that I need to dig into them further?
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Post by Bomber678 on Oct 18, 2017 11:15:57 GMT 1
Yeah considering my group literally lives all over the world, we use roll 20. It does the job.
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