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Topics - Kikkenass

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1
D&D 5e / New 5E DM, What can be broken and what should I be aware of
« on: January 25, 2016, 09:29:46 AM »
As the title says I am a new 5e DM. I have played 3.5 for many years so when the group decided to step away from 3.5 and its easily broken rules and go to 5e I agreed to take the helm.

SO ....... what can be broken in 5e?

What I am looking for is signs to watch for early on. We are starting at 1st level with the Starter Set and the Lost Mine of Phandelver module. So I don't think I have to worry about much at 1st level but as we progress what should I watch out for.

Let me be clear I don't mind a little optimization, as a matter of fact I encourage it. I find that if players do a little optimizing they know how to play their characters better.

What I don't want is a broken and unbalanced character compared to the rest of the party. We have an assortment of characters and I suspect we will end up going through every class and race combination at some point during our run with 5e. (Ok maybe not every one but still there will be diversity)

The party is 6 players so I am going to have to scale up a little on the Mines adventure but I don't want it to be a cake walk and I don't want the party near death all of the time either.

Any suggestions, advice, or experience you guys can offer would be appreciated. The goal is to run through the mines campaign and then transition into Princes of the Apocalypse.

Thanks in advance and please keep the advice coming. It will be really helpful


2
D&D 5e / First time running 5th Edition and need some advice!
« on: January 01, 2016, 01:42:37 PM »
So my long time D&D 3.5 group is making the plunge into 5th Edition. I could use some advise, I got wrangled into running the game and I know ZERO about 5th edition. I have the PHB and the Starter Set so far. Any advice is welcome. How different is 5th from 3.5 as far as game mechanics. I know there are advantages and disadvantages, what is the best way to use them? Can someone explain to me how Inspirations work? I am reading over the PHB and I will be getting the DMG soon but any advance help I can get is appreciated.

Thank you.

3
Min/Max 3.x / Solid Build (Not Broken) V3.0 Tank build
« on: November 12, 2015, 01:40:27 PM »
Hey Guys,

I am in need of assistance in building a solid combat character dish out some pain and take a beating too.

We are currently playing in a Forgotten Realms setting.My party has been decimated and half of us are starting new characters. The surviving characters are Wizard/Blood Mage and Cleric and Druid. We have a Paladin currently but he is going to retire that character and bring in something new (possibly a Bard) The characters that died were Swift Hunter (mine) Half-Giant Fighter (DM Run NPC) and Raptorian Fighter (Ranged).

What D&D books you can use? PHB, PHB II. DMG, DMG II, Complete Adventurer, Complete Arcane, Complete Champion, Complete Divine, Complete Mage, Complete Scoundrel, Complete Warrior, Complete Psionic (Non Psionic Feats only), Magic Item Compendium, Miniatures Handbook, Races of Destiny, Races of Stone, Races of the Dragon, Races of the Wild, Spell Compendium, Player's Guide to Faerûn

What type of character you want it to be? I want to make a TANK, the kind that is seen as the biggest threat on the table and can go toe to toe with the meanest baddies. Druid tanks are not allowed as we already have a druid in the group and the DM has seen how a broken tank druid can be played.

What levels will this character be played at? My character would be level 13 with intent to go to epic levels.

Any house rules or particular details about your DM or the other characters in the game? There are a few house rules Psionics are not allowed, Repeatable trip attacks are not allowed. Flaws are not allowed. Since there is a druid in the group currently we cannot have a second druid. No Undying Barbarians, No Psionics and No Broken Characters (The DM made sure my Swift hunter can never come back again)
 
What specifically you are looking for help with? I have never made a tank so I really am open to suggestions. My main goal is to be a BAMF without being broken. I would like to limit the character to a single class or no more than 2 classes. I don't want to create a broken character, I do however want to make a character who is "Solid"

Since my swift hunter was also our utility character I don't want to leave the party without any means of dealing with traps and locks and what not. So I am willing to sacrifice "some" things to make sure that I am a good utility character if possible but this is not a priority.

My DM is not the Monty Hall type who just gives us free reign on magic items. Most have to be either acquired via structured shop inventory or "ordered" and delivered at a later date.

Since I will be building this character straight to Level 13 to start I will have 88k gold to spend and he utilized the rule that no starting character can spend more than 25% of their starting gold on a single item (which equals 22000 gp iirc)

I have already rolled out the stats and did extremely well

Level 1 attributes came out to be, 17 13 12 17 16 18. I will have two ability points to add to this as I level up the character as well.

I wanted to build a different character that would be more balanced and solid in both the areas of combat and skills (I don't want to die because I can't swim) so I am open to suggestions.


Thanks in advance for all your help.

4
Min/Max 3.x / Solid Build (Not Broken) V2.0 Sorcerer type
« on: November 12, 2015, 01:31:44 PM »
Hey Guys,

I am in need of assistance in building a solid combat character who can blow stuff up but also serves as a good support character

We are currently playing in a Forgotten Realms setting.My party has been decimated and half of us are starting new characters. The surviving characters are Wizard/Blood Mage and Cleric and Druid. We have a Paladin currently but he is going to retire that character and bring in something new (possibly a Bard) The characters that died were Swift Hunter (mine) Half-Giant Fighter (DM Run NPC) and Raptorian Fighter (Ranged).

What D&D books you can use? PHB, PHB II. DMG, DMG II, Complete Adventurer, Complete Arcane, Complete Champion, Complete Divine, Complete Mage, Complete Scoundrel, Complete Warrior, Complete Psionic (Non Psionic Feats only), Magic Item Compendium, Miniatures Handbook, Races of Destiny, Races of Stone, Races of the Dragon, Races of the Wild, Spell Compendium, Player's Guide to Faerûn

What type of character you want it to be? I am looking to make a Sorcerer (Or any variant of) I want to really serve as a crippling force against our opponents and to help support the group with buffs and damage. I would like to limit the character to a single class or no more than 2 classes if possible.

What levels will this character be played at? My character would be level 13 with intent to go to epic levels.

Any house rules or particular details about your DM or the other characters in the game? There are a few house rules Psionics are not allowed, Repeatable trip attacks are not allowed. Flaws are not allowed. Since there is a druid in the group currently we cannot have a second druid. No Undying Barbarians, No Psionics and No Broken Characters (The DM made sure my Swift hunter can never come back again)
 
What specifically you are looking for help with? I want to really serve as a crippling force against our opponents and to help support the group with buffs and damage. I don't want to create a broken character, I do however want to make a character who is "Solid"

Since my swift hunter was also our utility character I don't want to leave the party without any means of dealing with traps and locks and what not. So I am willing to sacrifice "some" things to make sure that I am a good utility character if possible

My DM is not the Monty Hall type who just gives us free reign on magic items. Most have to be either acquired via structured shop inventory or "ordered" and delivered at a later date.

Since I will be building this character straight to Level 13 to start I will have 88k gold to spend and he utilized the rule that no starting character can spend more than 25% of their starting gold on a single item (which equals 22000 gp iirc)

I have already rolled out the stats and did extremely well

Level 1 attributes came out to be, 17 13 12 17 16 18. I will have two ability points to add to this as I level up the character as well.

I wanted to build a different character that would be more balanced and solid in both the areas of combat and skills so I am open to suggestions.


Thanks in advance for all your help.

5
As the subject says "Can Dispel Magic remove Travel Devotion feat effects?" This topic came up in my recent game.

Travel Devotion

( Complete Champion, p. 62)

[Domain]

You can move quickly around the battlefield.

Benefit
Once per day as a swift action, you can activate this ability to move up to your speed as a swift action each round. Thus, you can move your speed and then take a full-round action, or move and take two other actions (two move actions or one move action and one standard action). This effect lasts for 1 minute.

Special
You cannot take a 5-foot step in the same round that you use this feat to move as a swift action.
You can select this feat multiple times, gaining one additional daily use each time you take it.
If you have the ability to turn or rebuke undead, you gain one additional daily use of this feat for each two daily turn or rebuke uses you expend.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My DM ruled that since it is an "activated ability" that is granted by my characters deity that is a granted divine spell that can be affected by dispel magic. And subsequently that since my character has only 1 level of Cleric, the DC for the dispel is the same dispelling a level 1 spell.


Thoughts? How would you rule on this? Are there any rules in any book for this scenario? This would be for 3.5

Thanks in advance.


*** FOUND THE ANSWER ***

6
As the subject says "Can Dispel Magic remove Travel Devotion feat effects?" This topic came up in my recent game.

Travel Devotion

( Complete Champion, p. 62)

[Domain]

You can move quickly around the battlefield.

Benefit
Once per day as a swift action, you can activate this ability to move up to your speed as a swift action each round. Thus, you can move your speed and then take a full-round action, or move and take two other actions (two move actions or one move action and one standard action). This effect lasts for 1 minute.

Special
You cannot take a 5-foot step in the same round that you use this feat to move as a swift action.
You can select this feat multiple times, gaining one additional daily use each time you take it.
If you have the ability to turn or rebuke undead, you gain one additional daily use of this feat for each two daily turn or rebuke uses you expend.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My DM ruled that since it is an "activated ability" that is granted by my characters deity that is a granted divine spell that can be affected by dispel magic. And subsequently that since my character has only 1 level of Cleric, the DC for the dispel is the same dispelling a level 1 spell.


Thoughts? How would you rule on this? Are there any rules in any book for this scenario? This would be for 3.5

Thanks in advance.


** FOUND THE ANSWER! **

7
Hey Guys,

I am in need of assistance in building a solid combat character who can do more than just hit stuff.

My current character is a Level 11 Dwarven Rogue 8/Ranger 3. He has become the walking joke of the party since his attacks aren't strong enough to damage any of the creatures we face (most have high DR and AC  making it almost impossible for him to do much in the way of damage. He himself only has an AC of 23 he isn't very effective in doing any backstab damage since he can't ever get in close enough to provide flanking and use the BS Damage. Even if he were to succeed in getting in range to do BS damage he is lacking in the right equipment to be able to do anything worth while. Unfortunately he is just dead weight because we aren't in a dungeon or in a place where his skills can be put to use. When the character came on board I had built him as a former rogue who was trying to convert to a Ranger and change his ways. However the adventure really needed a rogue at the time so I continued down that path. I basically painted him into a stereotyped corner and I have no way to get him out of it.

He has feats of Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, Precise Shot, Iron Will, Endurance and Weapon Focus (Cross Bow)

Base Stats of 14 Str, 19 Dex, 17 Con, 16 Int, 12 Wis and 15 Cha.

We are at a point in the campaign where I have the option of retiring this character and bringing in a replacement.

We are currently playing in a Forgotten Realms setting. I am burdened by a Paladin in the group, a cleric who would rather battle than heal and a party who doesn't know anything less than "If it moves kill it" Since we are in a campaign designed for 4 players and we a 7-8 player group with a couple of party NPC's the DM Automatically doubles all HP's and Increases the AC of almost everything to very challenging levels. Our Party is made up of a Paladin, A cleric (who doesn't heal very often and serves as a second tank) A Druid (who heals most of the time) Bard who also serves as patch healer, A Sorcerer (Working toward Blood Mage) a Warrior and myself (Ranger/Rogue)

What D&D books you can use? PHB, PHB II. DMG, DMG II, Complete Adventurer, Complete Arcane, Complete Champion, Complete Divine, Complete Mage, Complete Scoundrel, Complete Warrior, Complete Psionic (Non Psionic Feats only), Magic Item Compendium, Miniatures Handbook, Races of Destiny, Races of Stone, Races of the Dragon, Races of the Wild, Spell Compendium, Player's Guide to Faerûn

What type of character you want it to be? I am partial to Rogues and Rangers (or any variant of)

What levels will this character be played at? My character would be level 11 with intent to go to epic levels.

Any house rules or particular details about your DM or the other characters in the game? There are a few house rules Psionics are not allowed, Repeatable trip attacks are not allowed. Flaws are not allowed.
 
What specifically you are looking for help with? I would like to create a character that is Optimized for combat but still able to do skill checks. I enjoy being the skill monkey but I dislike being worthless in combat. I don't want to create a broken character, I do however want to make a character who is "Solid"

Spellward Sniper, Unseen Seer, Swift Hunter..... These are the builds I am most interested in.

As I am "retiring" my Rogue/Ranger I don't want to leave the party without any means of dealing with traps and locks and what not. So I am willing to sacrifice "some" things to make sure that I am a good utility character but I do not want to get to a point to where I am useless in combat.

My DM is not the Monty Hall type who just gives us free reign on magic items. Most have to be either acquired via structured shop inventory or "ordered" and delivered at a later date.

Since I will be building this character straight to Level 11 to start I will have 66k gold to spend and he utilized the rule that no starting character can spend more than 25% of their starting gold on a single item (which equals 16500 gp iirc)

I have already rolled out the stats and did extremely well

Level 1 attributes came out to be, 17 15 14 17 16 18. I will have two ability points to add to this as I level up the character as well.

I wanted to build a different character that would be more balanced and solid in both the areas of combat and skills so I am open to suggestions.


Thanks in advance for all your help.

8
Min/Max 3.x / Its time for a rebirth, Suggestions welcome
« on: July 16, 2015, 08:06:40 PM »
Hey Guys,

I am in need of assistance in building a solid combat character who can do more than just hit stuff. Currently I am playing a Level 11 Dwarven Rogue 8/Ranger 3

We are at a point in the campaign where I have the option of retiring this character and bringing in a replacement who is one level below.

We are currently playing in a Forgotten Realms setting. I am burdened by a Paladin in the group, a cleric who would rather battle than heal and a party who doesn't know anything less than "If it moves kill it" Since we are in a campaign designed for 4 players and we a 7-8 player group with a couple of party NPC's the DM Automatically doubles all HP's and Increases the AC of almost everything to very challenging levels. Our Party is made up of a Paladin, A cleric (who doesn't heal very often and serves as a second tank) A Druid (who heals most of the time) Bard who also serves as patch healer, A Sorcerer (Working toward Blood Mage) a Warrior and myself (Ranger/Rogue)

What D&D books you can use? PHB, PHB II. DMG, DMG II, Complete Adventurer, Complete Arcane, Complete Champion, Complete Divine, Complete Mage, Complete Scoundrel, Complete Warrior, Complete Psionic (Non Psionic Feats only), Magic Item Compendium, Miniatures Handbook, Races of Destiny, Races of Stone, Races of the Dragon, Races of the Wild, Spell Compendium, Player's Guide to Faerûn

What type of character you want it to be? I am partial to Rogues and Rangers (or any variant of)

What levels will this character be played at? My character would be level 10 with intent to go to epic levels.

Any house rules or particular details about your DM or the other characters in the game? There are a few house rules Psionics are not allowed, Repeatable trip attacks are not allowed.
 
What specifically you are looking for help with? I would like to create a character that is Optimized for combat but still able to do skill checks. I enjoy being the skill monkey but I dislike being worthless in combat. I don't want to create a broken character, I do however wantto make a character who is "Solid"


Thanks in advance for all your help.

9
Deleted and moved to Min/Max boards

10
Introduce Yourself / Hello Fellow Gamers!
« on: July 16, 2015, 02:27:14 PM »
Greetings fellow players!
My name is Mike and I have been playing D&D off and on for 20+ years. I have been a lot more loose with the rules than most DM's and I tend to think outside of the box when it comes to being a player. The one area that I am least knowledgeable about is the technical side of the rules and my knowledge doesn't really expand much past the core books.

So here I am looking for help in builds that aren't stupid overpowered but instead just smart progression choices that do not paint my character into a corner.

I play a lot of various game. MTG, Catan, D3, Starcraft, WoW, EQ, CAH, Superfight.

I am a photographer in addtion to my corporate day job.

I own a Red Eared Slider Turtle, 3 Leopard Geckos and I am a noob to doing planted aquariums.

I live just south of Des Moines, Iowa

Twitter - @Jarron27
Facebook - Don't really use it anymore
G+ - Haven't adopted

Anthing else you want to know. Please let me know

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