To celebrate our 100th episode and the launch of our Patreon, the Total Party Thrill podcast is taking a look back at the origin and evolution of one of the party members in Mourning Glory, our D&D 5e Eberron campaign, which we recapped in the first 73 episodes of the podcast.
We’ve had many requests from listeners to see the character sheet for Shane’s PC Brand, but that’s tough, because there were several iterations of Brand over the course of the campaign, and his earliest version was created with the 5e playtest rules.
At the same time, we’ve also been wanting to demonstrate how a Game Master and a player might work out a character concept together, both during character creation and over the course of a campaign. So we figured, why not combine the two?
The chats Shane and Mourning Glory GM I-Hsien had about lore, background, and mechanics resulted in the creation of Brand Talandro, Silver Flame inquisitor and champion of the greater good. Here’s how it happened.
– I-Hsien & Shane
[I-Hsien’s note: Five months after the first version of Brand, the 5e Player’s Handbook was finally released, along with the real character creation rules, so every player needed to rebuild with the new rules. They also had the opportunity to switch to a new character if they preferred. Shane, of course, split the difference.]
August 14, 2014
Shane <[email protected]>
To: I-Hsien
Subject: 5E Sorc-lock Crunch
How do you feel about Half-Elf Dragon Sorc 3/Blade Warlock X? Don't think it's OP by any means, but is it survivable?
At level 13, you'd look like:
20 Charisma, 18 Dex, assuming racial bonus was +2 to both, or maybe 20/16 with War Caster (not sure how many AoO you'd get, because I don't think the Concentration part will be that useful.)
Sorcerer 3 (Dragon Origin)
-13+Dex AC and custom-colored dragon scales
-+1 HP per level
-3 Sorcery Points (with Flex casting up to 8 more from sorc slots)
-4 level 1, 2 level 2 spell slots
-Metamagic:
--Quickened Spell
--Empowered or Twinned Spell (not sure if Twinned Spell works with Eldritch Blast... I'm guessing it doesn't, so Empowered might be better)
Warlock 10 (Fiend Patron/Pact of the Blade)
-Use a Returning Dagger for pact weapon
-Cantrips: Eldritch Blast + 2 others
-2 spell slots up to level 5 with Fireball and Flamestrike on the spell list
-Gain 15 temp HP every time you kill something
-+d10 to a save or check once per day
-Resistance to damage type of your choice each day
-Level 6 spell as a Daily
With Invocations, you'd have 2 attacks with the pact weapon at +8 or +9 to hit as an action with +dex and +cha damage (at warlock 12), and you could use Sorcerer metamagic to cast Quickened Eldritch Blast as a bonus action for another 3 attacks at +10 to hit for 1d10 +cha damage. That's 2d4 + 8 + 3d10 +15 damage with a decent chance of hitting. At warlock 12, you get an extra +5 damage on the Pact blade.
Sorcerer's spell flex lets you eat slots to recharge your Quickened Eldritch Blast, and before every short rest, you can spell flex unused Warlock slots to regain 5 sorcery points/slot. After the rest, you regain the Warlock slots. By taking 9 hour rests, you could effectively start the day with 12 sorcery points. That's enough for 1-2 combats.
Obvi you take Acid Splash as a cantrip, in case you accidentally awake the Tarrasque.
[Shane’s note: The recurring theme between these builds was levels of Sorcerer. This came about because of a few factors. First, neither Sorcerer nor Warlock were available in the final D&D Next playtest packet, so they were shiny new options for me. Second, because I like social interaction and roleplay as a player, Brand was increasingly leaning on Charisma. Third, I didn't particularly enjoy the Cleric as an archetype, so I wasn't attached to the class. Sorcerer is an old favorite, and Dragon Sorcerer gets freakin’ wings. Fourth, the way other players’ class choices worked out, we were conspicuously missing a high level arcanist in the party. Finally, as more and more about Brand’s personality and background emerged through play, I began to solidify my idea of how a devout Inquisitor-Spy needed to feel at the table, what types of abilities and tricks were up his sleeves, and how to represent that mechanically.
Also, keep in mind that these discussions were happening in the very first moments of 5th Edition’s release. There was a lot to ingest, compare, and consider.]
Shane <[email protected]>
To: I-Hsien
Also, page 101 says of Sorcery Points: "You can never have more sorcery points than shown on the table for your level." It's another spot where WOTC got fast and loose with the language that's liable to be errata'd to read "than your Sorcerer level," so I guess it's not worth theorycrafting the whole way on this one.
I-Hsien <[email protected]>
To: Shane
I think it's definitely playable, and probably a lot of fun. Its effectiveness depends on several rulings that need clarification.
Does Agonizing Blast affect every bolt of your Eldritch Blast? Can you twin it before level 5, or if you target the same creature with multiple bolts?
I've seen some number-crunching that says it's equally effective to pump DEX to avoid attacks or CON to absorb damage. From my experience playing a Hell'lock in 4e, there will definitely be times when you'll want to kill steal or target weaker creatures for some quick temp HP, and you get a bit shafted when you face solos, who tend to dish out the most damage. Shield and Blur every encounter should help.
But you'll be super versatile. I was actually considering respeccing to something like this for the pirates game.
[I-Hsien’s note: Shane had run a short-lived 5e pirate game.]
Shane <[email protected]>
To: I-Hsien
Half the fun would be in exploiting the stupid language of the Sorcery Points to buy extra spell slots in exchange for an extra couple hours of rest each morning, lol.
As much as I would probably enjoy the character, I don't think I could stomach the total retcon. The Hat of Disguise can only explain so much... I can't just arrive in Cyre and suddenly have lost not only Paladin Smite but ALL divine casting.
For Eberron I was actually thinking of going for Cleric/Great Old One Warlock. GOO Patron even gives Entropic Ward, which is a slightly buffed version of my "throw light in their eyes to grant disadvantage" Cleric move. Add in telepathy/anti-mind reading, Beguiling Influence, One with Shadows, Mask of Many Faces, etc, and Warlock looks like a better spy/inquisitor.
The retcon wouldn't even be that hard. The GOO spells don't line up as perfectly with Light Domain as Hell-lock, but it fits the concept and I already had a Hat of Disguise to address my appearance. I could've been hiding the fact that I'm not actually a buff and stout Cleric-Paladin, and am in fact a rather weakly Cleric who made a deal with an entity whom I believe is The Silver Flame. Of course, a GOO probably doesn't even realize I exist, so it's lack of active participation with regards to my patronage would look just like the Silver Flame (absence of evidence is the evidence of absence and such)
August 15, 2014
I-Hsien <[email protected]>
To: Shane
Lots of ways this can play out. First off, there will be reasons for Brand to continue with the party.
But if you want to switch things up, everyone's getting a free retcon if they want it. Bahar used to be a half-orc from Tharashk, not a half-elf from Medani, but he's the same guy. And Kallick wasn't there when the party found Cube, but he was, ya know?
If you want to maintain continuity, though, that's cool. You can reflavor as much as you want, so a GOO could be almost anything mysterious and unfathomable, not even necessarily alien. Brand could also be new to the pact. You literally were just in the presence of a daelkyr, about as close as Eberron gets to actual GOOs. Maybe you stole some of it's power as it died, or some of the energy clung to you.
Or maybe your "pact" is with the vestige of Siberys itself. You just witnessed the largest Siberys shard in history break. The Silver Flame was created by the sacrifice of the couatls, who were created from the blood of Siberys when the world was made, soo…
[I-Hsien’s note: The entire Mourning Glory campaign began as just a dry run through the first Caves of Chaos 5e playtest module. At the time, Bahar was a half-orc, and Kallick’s player Jim hadn’t even joined the group yet. It wasn’t until the party finished the Caves of Chaos at level 5 that they discovered Cube, the sentient artifact NPC that guided the rest of the storyline. About a year before Shane joined the group, we decided this was going to be a long-term campaign and elected to set it in Eberron.]
Shane <[email protected]>
To: I-Hsien
Woah this could be some heavy character development shit... The way I see it, Brand kind of has three problems right now.
First is that he's operating on the fringes of the Church as an organization, and he’s frustrated that the Church admonished him for bringing up the Drow Queen/Demon binding ("Don't start a crusade."). That doesn't sit well with him, as he's now amongst the most powerful members of the Church in terms of abilities, but has almost zero political capital, credibility, or influence, and just got his lack of influence shoved in his face. He feels like "destroying thousands of powerful demons bound to shards" should be somewhere around top priority for a group nominally dedicated to stomping out evil.
Second is that Brand does still have a mission: Nystrum. And while preventing a second Day of Mourning is obviously important, it's doesn't seem to be as much of an immediate threat as Nystrum with 1,000 demon shards. It's likely that Nystrum is somehow involved in the Day of Mourning plot, probably the power source for a doomsday machine, but from the party's perspective, it's better to destroy the doomsday machine than it is to chase down the power source. From Brand's perspective, it's also unlikely that they would need 1,000 shards, and Nystrum doesn't really seem the type to get too invested in a Day of Mourning plot; Brand is assuming Nystrum has his own agenda with at least some of the shards. That agenda is more personally relevant, and may not be thwarted if he doesn't split from the party.
Third is that this is really the first time that Brand has worked closely with a group outside of the Church; maintaining underworld contacts, infiltrating heretics, and purifying the unfaithful within the Church has put him in the company of a lot of BAD people, but not so many good ones. The party certainly lives in the moral grey area in its technique (bargaining with Drow, etc), but is clearly on a righteous mission; this would resonate with an Inquisitor who operates for large stretches on his own, in a way that wouldn't make sense to the more cloistered members of the Church. Brand likes working with the group; he recognizes that they've already accomplished more together than he would have on his own (especially since he was a Vampire Thrall until they rescued him), and that he's going up against powerful enemies.
I can kind of see two ways to go forward:
One is that Brand breaks off from the party to chase Nystrum directly. He might succeed or he might fail, but he's still a Lawful Good Paladin, and he has a duty to complete his mission. I would basically retire the character, let him become an NPC for you to use however you want, and I'd roll a new character entirely (Mournland Druid-Ranger? Mournland Druid-Ranger!)
The other is a big character shift for Brand, and for that I actually really like the idea of a pact with Siberys... Somewhere in those tunnels, Brand sensed a higher power that he thought was the Silver Flame, and it gave him clarity of action (Brand was pretty gung ho about going murderhobo on the Lord of Eyes and keeping Lu from going nutso.) Then in the warp (for lack of a better word) to the Mournland, he finally understood that it wasn't the Silver Flame he felt, but was in fact Siberys; he made the pact with Siberys in order to both save the world from a second Day of Mourning as well as save the Church of the Silver Flame, which she and Brand both believe is misguided.
That way Brand is still serving the same ideal and believes he is still a member of the Church, but his personal ideology has been irreversibly divorced from the ideology and structure of the Church; he's basically rejecting the Church's interpretation of the Silver Flame and wants to return to the source material... I'm basically becoming Martin Luther and my pact with Siberys is my 95 Theses.
Now he's just gotta find a door big enough to nail them to, and that door is preventing the Day of Mourning Part Deux. And along the way, he's pretty sure he's going to settle a score with Nystrum.
If we do that, instead of retconning, could we lampshade? Brand is basically a different person when he arrives in the Mournland than he was in the Citadel of Eyes. He isn't as physically strong or vital, he looks very spiritually and intellectually burdened, emotionally sapped, etc. Whereas he once looked physically imposing and intimidating, he now has that weatherbeaten look of someone being propped up with arcane power, like his physical body is just a crumbling vessel for his incredible will. And then he'll immediately cast Disguise Self on himself and return to form.
I-Hsien <[email protected]>
To: Shane
I dig option #2. Change in appearance makes sense, as Siberys is dead, and any sort of communion with him probably required a sacrifice, perhaps a bit of Brand's personality, vitality or memory.
Let me know whether you want to stick with Brand or let him walk off into the sunset, as it affects the hooks that come up next.
[I-Hsien’s note: This is a win-win for a GM. Yes, we’d spent a lot of time on Brand’s backstory, but if Shane switched characters, I get a fully-fleshed out NPC with ties to the party. I would need to figure out how to introduce a new character that would care about the party’s mission to find the cause of the Day of Mourning, though, so I started brainstorming.
In the meantime, I also switched to character-creation-therapist mode. If Shane was going to bounce character ideas off me, I didn’t want to sway him away from something he’d be happy with just because it fit with something I was planning. Instead, I tried to stay objective about any idea he threw out but still let him know if he was picking any options that wouldn’t come into play, all while trying not to reveal anything about the coming plot. It’s tough to be a GM.]
Shane <[email protected]>
To: I-Hsien
I thought Siberys was female, and Eberron and Khyber were male. Did the internet lie to me?
Dragon Sorcerer/GOO Warlock would really fit this so perfectly, what with Siberys being a dragon and all.
I hate to punt on the decision, but have you spoken to Susie about what she's thinking for Lu? You had mentioned that she might go for Warlock. If she does, I don't want to step on her toes just so I can Mary Sue around as a religious heretic of the thinly veiled Catholic Church metaphor with a build that will probably be errata'd and actually need a retcon.
[I-Hsien’s note: Susie had been playing the daelkyr half-blood ‘Lu as an enchanter during the playtest, but Great Old One warlock, which had just been released in the PHB, fit the character perfectly.]
I-Hsien <[email protected]>
To: Shane
Well, I'll rule now that it's Sorcery points equal to your Sorc level so you don't have to wait for errata. But good point about Susie. GOO/Tome Warlock seems just like 'Lu. Blade will likely play differently, though. I'll try to send out updated character creation specifics this weekend, so I'll ask her.
Could also reflavor Infernal pact. Golden fire instead of red or silver, and the fire/blinding/fate control features work well with Siberys as original source of light and magic. Actually, Archfey would work fine too, with more emphasis on Siberys as creator of the "Weave," though inadvertently.
Sourcebooks definitely differ on genders; I think there was some retconning during the production run. Most often I've seen Eberron (Mother of Mortals) and Khyber (Mother of Monsters) as female and Siberys as male. But those are mortal approximations of aspects of the primordial universe, so their gender is probably fluid.
August 19, 2014
Google Hangouts
10:21 a.m.
Shane
Yo, any word on Suzie's plans?
I-Hsien
last i heard, goo bladelock. though she was having some misgiving about the performance of blade vs spamming eldritch blast
should be able to get some specifics tomorrow night. what's most important for you, build, flavor, or combo?
Shane
combo for sure... I'm worried that "trying to start the Protestant Reformation" and "trying to become the Lord of Eyes" are kind of parallel objectives
And then if we were ALSO both warlocks, I'm feeling like a copycat
I-Hsien
well, flavor is mutable, and we have a lot of classes and combos to work with, so what do you want to play mechanically? Siberys dragon sorc fits the flavor well, but i don't know if you dig the class
Shane
I like the sorc-warlock combo... that seems steeped in flavor. If Brand is going to develop a messiah complex, that seems the way to do it
I-Hsien
even without tons of sorcery points?
Shane
Eh, I'm not even sure it makes sense to build for combat. Sorcery points or not, a Pseudodragon Familiar/Great Old One powers fit the flavor better
But again, Susie's toes
I-Hsien
so a GOO chainlock? that should play significantly differently from a bladelock (and if she doesn't go blade, it'll prob be tome). and while your patrons are similar mechanically, they're very different in terms of flavor and goals. and we could even switch up the mechanics for you, different expanded spells, maybe replace create thrall
Shane
Hurl through Heaven
I-Hsien
The Fault in Your Stars
Shane
10d10 psychotic damage (depression)
Con save for half damage, target gets advantage on the role if prescribed Zoloft
roll*
I-Hsien
Zoloft, level 3 illusion. Concentration, up to eight hours, no more than twice a day. The target feels as if it can fly with a speed of 60 feet.
When this spell ends, you crash
Shane
If you cast it on yourself yesterday, until you cast it on yourself today, you get Level 1 exhaustion.
Wait, does Warlock even make sense... Should I go for Warlock 3/Sorcerer 17?
I guess then I would lose the flavorful Invocations I wanted
I-Hsien
you still get 2. which ones do you want? and can they be replicated by spells?
Shane
Well Agonizing Blast is kind of mandatory (+cha to Eldritch Blast)
I-Hsien
eldritch spear plus distanct spell would be impressive
Shane
The Chain Pact invocation seems logical, Mask of Many Faces (disguise self at will), and Beguiling Influence
Haha, plus Spell Sniper?
I-Hsien
what's that, a quarter mile?
Shane
Oh wait, shit
Spell Sniper can grant Shilleleigh
nevermind, it would still be a Wisdom cast
I-Hsien
so 4 or 5 invocations means level 8 or 9 warlock, which means you top out at level 6 spells from sorcerer. but you can twin the shit out of a long range eldritch blast
Shane
I dont think you can twin eldritch blast
I-Hsien
it's gonna need clarification. also whether agonizing blast applie to each bolt
Shane
I would bet that Sorcery Points are based on Sorcerer level, twinned spell cant be used on eldritch blast, and agonizing blast applies to each bolt.
If I go to 8 or 9 in warlock, then i'll never get my dragon wings
And who is going to trust a Dragon Messiah if he doesnt even have wings
[I-Hsien’s note: Good bets, Shane.]
I-Hsien
good point. ok, how many invocations do you really need to feel real?
agonizing blast. i think it's meh to talk through your familiar. just shapechange into a dragon
Shane
Well, Pseudodragon can already communicate images telephatically
And emotions
So all i give up there is actually talking
I-Hsien
feeeeelings
do pseudodragons have a language?
Shane
I'm founding a religion here... FEELINGS MATTER
They understand common and draconic
I get draconic for free from sorcerer
They dont speak at al
all*
I-Hsien
there's also cube
Shane
and the telepath without language
Strangers cant Cube
I-Hsien
that you know of, right
Shane
Well I mean, we cant communicate with NPC Bob through Cube
I initially felt that telepathy was a meaningful flavor power to lend legitimacy to the Siberys claim, but now Im wondering if it's not just more a manipulation tool
I-Hsien
how much do you want mask of many faces. this is eberron. you could go changeling and get that for free
Shane
And if its so important, am I really even a prophet?
I'm wondering how much any of the Deception stuff makes sense
Persuasion half of beguiling influence makes sense, but deception might not. I'm not an inquisitor any more... i dont need to lie
I-Hsien
who nows what really happened in that cave? what is really siberys? how does one worship a dead god? does it even want worship? how do you want to proselytize? shining example, compulsion, deception. as far as the stories say, siberys was Good, as are all of the creatures born from it, angels and couatls, and the Silver Flame
*who knows, was it really
Shane
Totally gonna proselytize
But I think brand would have to believe it was real
And if he believes, why would he need to lie about it
He's nailing his 95 Theses to the door. There's no hiding after that.
I-Hsien
right, seems more like persuasion, maybe even performance.
sorcerer, splash bard?
Shane
Pal-Bard-Sorc?
I-Hsien
like a gentleman samurai. with fireballs
Shane
Pal 5-Bard 1-Sorc 14?
Nah, that wont work
I-Hsien
no? gets you wings and extra attack
although bard 6 gets extra attack if you drop pally altogether
pally only really gives you melee options. divine sense sucks now, and you don't need lay on hands since bards can heal
Shane
hmm
I gotta look at Bard again
Hmm... College of Lore with Perform (Preach)
Then I can get all the social skills I want, I can max Cha, keep a good Wis and Dex... but I lose the very pleasing flavor of the Warlock Pact
I-Hsien
if you go lore, no extra attack, so you don't need to go all the way to 6th level
and you can cram in a couple levels of warloc
k
sorce 14/bard 3/lock 3?
or sorc 14/bard 4/lock 2, gets you another ASI in exchange for no pseudodragon. not sure how central that is to the concept
Shane
How common are warlocks and/or pseudodragons in Eberron? Would a pseudodragon familiar seem like a firm sign of legitimacy? Actually, the Spells Known are still a huge PITA. You'd have to spread out the Bard levels in order to keep increasing the level of spells known, and since you can only retrain one spell per level, you'd have to miss out on some spell levels.
you'd be very limited in the spell options about 6th level
above*
I-Hsien
take a look at college of lore Additional Magical Secrets at level 6
Shane
Yea that was the target ability for Bard 6/Sorc 14
So here's the headache: the order you take levels affects which spells you have access to. If you got Bard 3/Sorc 6/Bard 1, you'd be able to learn up to two 5th level spells from the sorc list and up to two from the bard list.
I-Hsien
eberron is heavy on magic, so pseudodragon wouldn't be very impressive. the keeper has a dragonhound for a pet: http://eberron.wikia.com/wiki/Skaravojen
Shane
If you did Bard 4/Sorc 6, you'd have access to second level bard spells and 5th level sorc
I-Hsien
bard and sorcs can retrain spells when the level up though, right?
Shane
Yeah, but only 1
And only on their list
I-Hsien
pain in the ass. OP if i just handwave and you make sure you have the right number of spells of the right levels?
Shane
Probably
That's what keeps you having full spell list access for taking 1 level of a class
Wait, actually, it doesn’t
Sorcerer 19 would have full sorc, and a single bard level at the end would give you full bard
Late-game splash is OP
I mean, you'd have 4 bard spells of any level, but still.
Basically, you should save Bard 6 for Character 17, so you can pick two of any spell
I-Hsien
multiclassing says spells known follow single class rules. bard says spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots *as shown on the table* so spells known follow single-class advancement, not the multiclass table
at least, that's my reading of intent for something pretty poorly worded
Shane
Check the Retrain rule
"From the Bard list, of any level you can cast"
"for which you have spell slots" is the actual quote
"Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the bard spells you know and replace it with another spell from the bard spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots."
I-Hsien
yeah, they didn't repeat "as shown on the table" under retraining
Shane
I think it was a fa/tg/uy who said "multiclassing and feats are broken because "optional" means "we didn't playtest this""
The more I look at it, the more I think that's true
not sold on how broken it is, but the classes seem to have been written with no consideration for multiclassing
I-Hsien
it's not as bad as 3.5, but there are still a lot of trap combos. i'm disappointed that if we play long-term, we'll prob need a decent list of houserules
Shane
Toolkit edition, not tactical combat edition
(caster edition)
I think the way we're reading that rule is more restrictive in a good way. Obviously getting 4 bard levels and access to 9th level bard spells makes no sense, but at least this puts some timing into it
If we were rolling from level 1, you'd at least have a playable multiclass the whole way; adding your second bard level as your 8th character level wouldn't mean you wasted a level and fell behind the power curve
Though I guess Martials never get any comparable form of scaling, but this is caster edition so suck it, martials.
I-Hsien
but good design should mean that it doesn't matter, or matters little, what order you take your classes.
Shane
What's the impact if you change Retrain to any spell you know, retrained to any spell on that list
If I know it because of Bard, I can get a new Bard spell, even if I just gained a sorcerer level
Lunch time. Think about it.
I-Hsien
seems like 5e isn't meant to be read like a technical document. not sure that i buy that, but anyway. if we interpret spells known fpr classes in a way that put those classes on par with other spellcasters, you get spells known as a single-classed character. so a Bard 2/xxx 18 knows 2 Bard cantrips and 5 Bard spells, whatever else the other classes might be.
Shane
I guess it doesnt matter much
It really only matters for spells up to 5th level... it's not like there's an 8th or 9th level spell that is going to break the game if a certain class gets access to it
is this working?
I-Hsien
bueller?
Shane
"guest wifi" 1, shane 0
I-Hsien
and no class gets more than 1 spell per day higher than 5th sans arcane recovery, so maybe it's just not an issue
Shane
well not until 17
oh, 19
I guess the counterargument is that the sorcerer gets 15 spells for 20 spell slots at level 17
Getting 6 more spells from Bard gives you 21 for 22
Bard 6/Sorc 14 has 9 + 15 for 22 slots, so that's actually quite a bit of flexibilityy added in the 3rd through 5th level slots, which do tend to have late-game use
Then again, with bounded accuracy, +1d4 to hit from Bless is relevant at level 20
I-Hsien
tarrasque has 25 ac
with a good arcana, could cast 9th level spells from a scroll, assuming you can get your hands on them
Shane
Were the 3.5 item creation rules in the PHB or the DMG?
There's been so much contradictory info leaked about 5E ("it doesn't assume magic items" taking the fucking cake) that I'm not sure when omission from the PHB means it doesnt exist
3.5 used feats for item creation, right?
I-Hsien
yup, feats. many of them were in the phb, but you had to refer to the dmg to see what you could make. eberron added a lot with the artificer, and the magic item compendium greatly expanded the kinds of items and properties available.
Shane
And 4E introduced ritual casting, right?
I-Hsien
yup. in 3.5 it cost gold, xp and lots of time. 4e greatly reduced time and only cost gold
Shane
5E only costs your DM's integrity
I-Hsien
renewable resource
Shane
All of the ritual casting looks very underwhelming, tbh
I-Hsien
rituals prob ended up a little too powerful in 4e. i always took it.
Shane
It looks pretty reigned in. Since Rituals count against your spells known or your spells prepared, there's only so much utility you can get from them
Only Tome Warlock can use rituals without sacrificing anything
other than the gold to learn it, i guess, but thats what grinding in the starting town is for
August 22, 2014
Google Hangouts
11:08 a.m.
Shane
Uggggh I had a thought last night of an alternate build for Brand
I-Hsien
of course you did. druid/sorc splash arcane trickster
[I-Hsien’s note: Don’t play this. I was trying to come up with the most difficult multiclass combination I could think of. Hmm, maybe a candidate for the Character Creation Forge…]
Shane
Divination Wizard, maybe with Warlock (and TERRIBLE saves) or Eldritch Knight (still heavily armored)
Rather than trying to found a more pure religion, he's been touched by Siberys and is trying to get closer to the source
Rather than gaining an understanding of Siberys and trying to spread it, he knows that he DOESNT understand and is trying to learn
I-Hsien
not knowledge domain cleric?
Shane
Meh, Cleric
I dunno... I'm still leaning toward Sorc-Bard
I-Hsien
DivWiz and SpellSinger both fit the character. depends on which you think would be more fun to play
Shane
Oh yeah, it's gonna be Perform (Oration) for sure. That's gonna be Space Marine Chaplain-style charge into combat.
I guess I'm a ranged caster, so it's more like Barry Pepper in the clocktower in Savings Private Ryan. Just sniping and praying and sniping and praying
I-Hsien
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
Shane
I cant rip bible quotes man
I-Hsien
I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.
Shane
Im just going to rip off the Ecclesiarchy and replace "Emperor" with "Siberys"
From the lighting and the tempest,
Our Emperor, deliver us.
From plague, temptation and war,
Our Emperor, deliver us,
From the scourge of the Kraken,
Our Emperor, deliver us.
From the blasphemy of the Fallen,
Our Emperor, deliver us,
From the begetting of daemons,
Our Emperor, deliver us,
From the curse of the mutant,
Our Emperor, deliver us,
A morte perpetua,
Domine, libra nos.
That thou wouldst bring them only death,
That thou shouldst spare none,
That thou shouldst pardon none
We beseech thee, destroy them.
Change "mutant" to "abberation" and we're golden
I-Hsien
militant priest of a vestige overgod? i like it
Shane
Thats a really dark turn
That isn't like Martin Luther, that's like... Jerry Falwell
I-Hsien
WWSD
fucking die and make the stars
Shane
That's a tough act to follow, and Jesus had to do was not be a dick
all Jesus*
Honestly most of these quotes from WH40k fit the Silver Flame really well
I-Hsien
maybe during the lycanthropic purge. jaela daran is a kinder, gentler keeper
Shane
Isn't she like 16
I-Hsien
11
Shane
Can't wait for her to get to her moody, emo teenage phase
I-Hsien
i hate you, tira! get off my case! i Wish i'd never been born! oh, shit
Shane
DM: /retcons her birth to C-Section
MacDuff: /approves
I-Hsien
"honey, that's not stigmata. you're becoming a woman"
Shane
Children should not be allowed in RPGs
Google Hangouts
3:44 p.m.
Shane
If someone were going to take a detour and acquire a ruby mine
Where might one go to do so
I-Hsien
IRL?
Shane
Eberron
In keeping with the Ecclesiarchy, I feel like Forcecage + Wall of Fire is an appropriate way for heretics and traitors to go
but Forcecage is greedy and demands 1,500 in rubies. Snuffing out heretics is expensive
I-Hsien
you could be a transmuter and make them yourself
or you can buy rubies. don't even need to shop around. whatever you get for 1500g is what you need, whether it's 5 carats or or .5
Shane
yea transmuter still spends the gold
I-Hsien
i heard there's a village of ruby-rich sahuagin nearby
Shane
Crossover Campaign!
I-Hsien
the party is approached by sahuagin refugees from the lhazaar principalities offering a reward for tracking down the murderhobos who killed their kin while they were sleeping
Shane
In exchange, they offer an unlimited supply of ruby dust, a really shiny rock, and a glass bead
I-Hsien
payment upon completion of services
[I-Hsien’s note: In that ill-fated pirates game, we slaughtered an entire village of sahuagin. Before we found out they had free will. Whoops.]
[Shane’s note: You were told, you just refused to listen. Though 3E’s Stormwrack, which I adapted to 5E for the pirates game, had an awful lot of racial enmity.]
August 26, 2014
Google Hangouts
9:02 p.m.
Shane
yo, you there?
I-Hsien
Yup
Shane
How are we treating retraining Known Spells?
Do I have to retrain bard spells based on the bard table, or the multiclass table
"Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the bard spells you know and replace it with another spell from the bard spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots"
I-Hsien
Bard table. Treat spells known or prepared as if you were single classed.
Shane
I'm torn on whether to multiclass Bard
or just go straight Sorc
At level 3 I get super skill monkey proficiency in all the social skills I want
But the only spells I gain access to are Identify, Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Unseen Servant, and Magic Mouth
If I go to level 6, I also gain Feign Death, Glyph of Warding, Nondetection, and Sending. (Explosive Runes costs 200gp to cast so... extra not-prankable)
I-Hsien
and you delay your high level spells
Shane
And then 2 spells level 3 or lower from any list
Yea
And at level 11, I'm casting Level 4 spells instead of level 6
I-Hsien
or an extra attack
Shane
Not enough bonus spells for that to be beneficial, i dont think
I-Hsien
do you need the expertise? you only get it in 2 skills, and your CHA will be high anyway. may as well take 1 level of rogue
Shane
Well, I also get Jack of all Trades
I-Hsien
max +3 in skills you're not great in anyway? it's ok
and it's a 2-level sink
Shane
That's 15% better than I had before
I kind of like the idea of Performance being preaching
did you see healing word got nerfed?
It's better at level 1, but it doesnt scale as well
I-Hsien
you can still perform. you just won't have bardic inspiration, but bardic performance isn't really a thing anymore. draconic presence at 18 would be a pretty sweet performance.
yeah, healing in combat is a lot less worthwhile, unless you’re built to heal every round as a bonus action
August 27, 2014
Google Hangouts
1:37 p.m.
Shane
Polearm Master + War Caster melee cleric?
I-Hsien
thought you didn't like cleric
Shane
I don't... Just curious if its viable
I mean, I guess any caster could do it with a Quarterstaff and not have Reach
I-Hsien
war cleric is pretty nice. good proficiences, self healing. but is siberys a god of war?
sorcerer polearm master war caster?
Shane
I dont think it's for me
But I like the idea of a Paladin getting charged by someone, and just being like "Ehhh... Banishment"
I-Hsien
i want to play a brawler wizard that insists on forcecagematches. "I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with me!"
Shane
Haha
He's have to be one of those annoying Dexy brawlers
Like sherlock holmes, who just dodges the whole time until his opponent gets tired
I-Hsien
or maybe Polymorph-reliant
Shane
True Polymorph Elemental Army
I also like the Simulacra Bard
Comes with his own audience!
August 28, 2014
Google Hangouts
11:16 a.m.
Shane
Are we still doing 30 for point buy? Or 27 like the PHB?
I-Hsien
phb. and max buy is 15, so max starting stat is 17
Shane
well I think I settled on stats
Not sure if my level 8 bump should be a feat though
I-Hsien
remember your free feat at level 1. plus i'm assuming you're going with alt.Human
Shane
Half-Elf
I'm a diplomat now
I'm doing Level 1 Bard, and level 1 feat is probably War Caster. Not sure if I need a +1 to all my CHA stuff at Sorc level 8, or if Im better getting proficiency in Con saves with Resilience.
I-Hsien
how badly do you need to pass concentration checks?
Shane
I have a google doc spreadsheet with all the spells and their class list assignments... I need to figure out which ones are also Concentration
I dunno, probably a couple times a day
Also I am the sole priest of a "dead" dragon god who believes he was granted power from said god and seeks to reform his church based on this newfound enlightenment
That's going to take a LOT of concentration.
I-Hsien
i can't wait til you get to argonnessen
if it's only a few times a day, you might be better off taking lucky
Shane
I see how that goes:
/takes lucky to maximize con saves
//blows all three lucky points trying to win 5 gp from some guards
///upsets guards, gets smashed in the face
////fails Con save
I-Hsien
http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/exc.gif
does brand still need a reason to stay with the party?
and not head straight off to flamekeep?
Shane
No I think when he got touched by a dragon, he got some perspective
I-Hsien
show me on the golem where the dragon touched you
Shane
I dont want to. i dont want to get in trouble.
I-Hsien
no one will believe you anyway
Shane
I mean, Nystrum has a bunch of demons, but that's not really going to end the world on its own, right?
Its only if they are used to fuel some Cannith doomsday device
I-Hsien
as far as you can surmise, the reason for the demons is to power a recreation of the day of mourning
and according to your data, the original source is in the mournland, on your map
Shane
Right. So Brand can go chase Nystrum and always be a step behind, hoping to get to the same place as the party... or he can stick with the party and try to beat Nystrum to the punch
And honestly, Nystrum is kind of a nice-to-have at this point.
Totally gonna go crazy and murder Jaela Daren though, right? I mean how else does this turn out for a guy who believes a dead god is the source of his dramatic change in power
I-Hsien
that would be a sweet battle
Shane
Alternatively: assume the Sovereign Host and the Silver Flame under the banner of a single religion, forming the Imperium of (hu)Man(oid), mortally wound myself while ascending to godhood, and exist in magically preserved stasis for millennia as the god-emperor of a thousand planes
Also, rename everything in fake-latin names and get grimdark as hell up in here
I-Hsien
killing an 11-year-old LG avatar would be pretty grim. but maybe she'll join you.
Shane
Burn the heretic, kill the abberant, purge the unclean
September 2, 2014
Google Hangouts
12:02 p.m
Shane
Well I've gotten as far as spell selection
And now I don't know wtf to do. Between that and reading too much Dark Heresy, its making me wonder about this new character turn
I-Hsien
you have the same issues i do. i spent 3 weeks just buying equipment for my Eclipse Phase character.
what's up in the air now?
Shane
Well, the sorcerer list is pretty striker-heavy
I-Hsien
what do you want instead?
Shane
But that doesn't really fit the whole "founding a religion to the not-dead ancient god-dragon" thing
Nothing about slinging quickened fireballs really screams "venerated founder of the true faith"
It's more like "tip of the spear in the war against evil and the wrong beliefs"
I-Hsien
sounds like you want a cleric or pally
Shane
Ha, no
I-Hsien
hell, even druid, since siberys is kind of a force of nature
land druid
Shane
No, I just want to take Sorc-Bard in a different direction. A more militant one
Brand spent his life working in the shadows to cleanse the world of evil
Siberys is the spark of firey vengeance
The Silver Flame should be MORE active in smiting its enemies. In the name of Siberys, Brand will take up that mantle
No more infiltrating organizations and convincing soldiers he's Nystryum... New Brand is just praying and spraying arcane fire
I-Hsien
i dig it
what's the end goal? who are the enemies?
Shane
The immediate goal is stop this plot
The secondary goal is to grow the ranks of the devoted willing to take up swords for the cause
And I think longterm the goal is to unite the metallic dragons of Argonessen in service of Siberys
I-Hsien
in eberron, alignment isn't based on color, but there are certainly militant dragons who might be interestd in your cause. or consider it blasphemy. but from here on, when you make knowledge checks, i'll let it be possible to know things about dragons you wouldn't otherwise be able to know
Shane
"alignment isnt based on color" like "all drow arent evil"? If they arent evil, then why was that Meteor Swarm so satisfying?
Yea so for skill proficiency should I take History or Religion or both?
I'm thinking of skipping Arcana... I dont really care about *how* things are magical
I-Hsien
Both will be helpful.
Take a look at 1 level of knowledge cleric
Shane
I'm havent figured out how many skills I get yet, but I'm thinking History, Religion, Insight, Intimidation, Performance, and Persuasion
with Intimidation and Performance being on the bubble to cut
I-Hsien
Performance doesn't get you much that Persuasion doesn't give you.
Shane
I'm thinking I'll have 5
Use the Acolyte background
Bard is 3 of anything, Acolyte is Insight and Religion
Also Knowledge cleric is out... I cant add that many more spells to my selection
Analysis Paralysis is already crippling
I-Hsien
Well Jack of All Trades means you won't be terrible at anything, so doesn't really matter what you pick
Shane
Wait, wait... if I do Knowledge Cleric 1/Rogue 1/Sorc 18 I get my level 18 sorc ability, dont have to pick a bunch of bard spells permanently, get 1 or 2 more skills
I'd have to wade through the Cleric spell list, but it's only one level and lets be honest, it's going to be Bless
I-Hsien
And expertise or fake expertise in 4 skills
Shane
Or I could do Cleric 2/Sorc 18
Give up skills but get a floating proficiency from Channel Divinity
I-Hsien
competes with turn undead, but nice for use during downtime, since you can use it once per hour
Shane
Not much competition
Cleric save DC wont be great, only +1 WIS
Actually, +0
I-Hsien
ah, ok. and read thoughts compulsion will be lame, too
but you don't lose any spellcasting levels
Shane
Soooo many skill if I start Rogue though
And Rapier
I-Hsien
but med armor and shield if you start cleric
Shane
I get draconic AC
for Sorc13 + Dex
Dex is +3. I guess that's not great. AC sucks.
D&D: Naked and About to Get Stabbed Edition
I guess with Shield/Blur it isnt a big deal
I-Hsien
plus blasting. you're not front line
Shane
Dont tell me what I cant do!
But yeah
I-Hsien
you got this. melee the nightstalker
Shane
I should keep my AC squishy so I dont get tempted to, say, charge an Aberrasaurus Rex
[I-Hsien’s note: The party already did that in Xen’drik]
I-Hsien
once you get 9th level spells, you can just make yourself a dragon and melee all you want
Shane
wah wah
No True Polymorph
I wish i took the form of a vivacious, ancient gold dragon!
I-Hsien
sorc doesn't get it? lame. you could let 'lu do it for you...
Shane
I need to recruit Lu to the cause
Spellcaster Bros
its the new Paladin Bros
She thinks she's made a pact with Cthulu but it's actually Siberys
I-Hsien
or the other way around?
Shane
Other way around is irrelevant. I'd be dead before it mattered. Safety in mortality!
I-Hsien
i'm super excited to see how this plays out. you realize you've basically started a Cult of the Dragon Above, right?
[I-Hsien’s note: Canonically, Eberron’s Cults of the Dragon Below revere Khyber, the evil progenitor dragon that killed Siberys.]
Shane
Oh yeah
DEFINITELY a messianic cult leader
No shame in this preacher's game
Also, what would you say has been the most common damage type we've faced thus far? Fire?
Or I guess what would be the most fitting damage type to represent Siberys?
I-Hsien
you've def faced more fire-based (and fire resistant) creatures. siberys is stylized as a gold dragon in art. siberys shards glow golden
Shane
So what you're saying...
I AM A GOLDEN GOD
We have completely discounted the fact that I also have sneak attack
Just sorcing and sneaking and sorcing and sneaking and founding a cult and gettin money
I-Hsien
so cleric 1/rogue 1, not cleric 2? that's what i would have gone with, too
Shane
yes
cleric 1/rogue 1/sorc 9
Thoughts on Witch Bolt?
Thinking of a combo with Lightning Dragon (+5 damage) and Quickened Spells during concentration period
Also, since I will still be the damn healer (stupid cleric level), I can lockdown a target and Bonus heal
[Shane’s note: Finally, I’ve arrived at Brand’s actual build: Cleric 1/Rogue 1/Sorcerer X]
I-Hsien
i like it, but if your concentration gets broken, you lose a lot.
if you start sorc, you do get con proficiency. or you can take resilient
and you need to stay within 30 feet, so they can end it if they run away or go behind a table
Shane
Yeah, I was thinking about Spell Sniper
to boost the range
I wont take the metamagic boost
I-Hsien
helps. but also ends when they die
Shane
Careful and Quickened at my jams
well its only a level 1 spell
I-Hsien
ok, so not regularly casting in higher slots. it's a nice trick. i wouldn't build too heavil around it unless you're grabbing features you want anyway
Shane
higher slots dont boost the recurring damage, so its not super attractive scale-wise
Especially since there's no half-damage on a miss
oh look, 5pm
see you tomorrow
I-Hsien
later
September 10, 2014
Google Hangouts
2:01 p.m.
Shane
Do you have a price on Amulet of Health from the DMG?
DM Basic
http://media.wizards.com/2014/downloads/dnd/DMDnDBasicRules_v0.1.pdf page 59
I-Hsien
as far as you know, it doesn't exist
Shane
I wish magic item crafting was a thing that already existed
So that I could figure out what I needed to make that stupid amulet
And then bump THAT stat instead of Con
Physical stats are sooooo two thousand and late
I-Hsien
play the long game. go low con and heal thyself
Shane
I had to reconfigure all my stats actually
I realized I needed 13 WIS for cleric multiclass
But yea, I dump CON, die before the DMG comes out, and then learn it's a level 6 item I could have had the entire time. MEEEEEEARLS
I-Hsien
houserules doc says no multiclass requirements
Shane
Or better yet, there's no crafting in the DMG and I can't even create it and then I'm stuck with shitty CON and Mike Mearls is still roaming around free
Your email said to use multiclass reqs
I-Hsien
which one? eberron for realsies?
Shane
thought so
welp i guess not
I-Hsien
more points! i hope the items get amended. wtf would a potion of invisibility be much more rare than a CON 19 amulet that everyone should own
Shane
Somehow I got "no flanking" twisted into "RAW multiclassing"
8 CON!
I'll do it
I-Hsien
oof, -1 HP per level
def take polymorph
Shane
negated by my sorc
Gonna take it on the chin with Concentration though
"Polymorph into myself wearing an Amulet of Health"
also if i retcon my HP, I'm like... dead
I-Hsien
just keep your HP the same and lower your max
Shane
Oh i guess we short rested, but the 37 damage or whatever was like... KO
Alright, I'm headed out. Good luck tonight, I'll be back in business next week
I-Hsien
cool, have fun. brand is retreating into his despair
Shane
He was discouraged long before he got there, when his attempts to share the word of Siberys were met with scorn and derision
September 17, 2014
[I-Hsien’s note: During the session Shane missed, the party entered the Mournland and found a stream that turned all non-living objects into solid gold (Episode 13). Then they hid in a rope trick to avoid warforged loyal to the Lord of Blades.]
Google Hangouts
3:22 p.m.
Shane
I finally had a chance to read the session summary
Did no one dump all of our copper pieces into the river? I feel like we were sitting on a gold mine
I-Hsien
everyone had already converted all their currency to platinum in new cyre, less to carry
there was much discussion
Shane
Sigh... high fantasy economies are such BS
I-Hsien
why do you need coins? throw in your bedroll, now it's solid gold
Shane
because I also need a bedroll
I-Hsien
plenty of rocks lying around
Shane
/edits character sheet
i have back problems OK
I assumed that natural items wouldn't be affected, or else the river would be a golden aquaduct
I-Hsien
time to experiment. except you're hiding in a rope trick and there are warforged around
Shane
Also what does it say that I have no problem suspending disbelief about demihuman races, magic, abstract hit points, etc... but you show me a war torn continent that has never witnessed a bank run and I'm ruined
I-Hsien
the invisible mage hand of the market
Shane
Stop propping up our currency with Tenser's Floating Disc
#OccupyMordenkainensMagnificentMansion
I should've bought more ladders. Only 1 SP for 25 pounds worth of stuff to dump in the alchemy river
I-Hsien
you're looking for volume, not weight
Shane
Well the PHB lists weight and not volume or density
Besides, carrying capacity is based on weight, not volume, so we must assume that density in this world readily changes to fit the needs of the carrier
But I suppose Blankets would be the best cost-volume ratio
I-Hsien
you want volume to transmute. a cubic foot of dried mushrooms and a cubic foot of basalt both yield the same amount of gold
Shane
Oh nevermind, Barrel is only 2 gp. That's more volume than 4 blankets and you can fill it with dirt
Or, like, dead warforged or whatever
I-Hsien
might be plenty of those soon
Shane
Damnit, I'm gonna need a new sheet for inventory
I took a bag of holding so I figure I might as well fill it like Santa's sack
I-Hsien
mrs. claus?
Shane
I *have* a 10 foot pole and I'm not touching that one
Concentration works normally for spells cast from wands right?
I-Hsien
and potions, yes. at least for now
Shane
Do Cantrip wands exist?
I-Hsien
nope.
Shane
And are the attack bonuses for wands fixed like for scrolls?
Or do I get to use my spellcasting ability mod/proficiency
I-Hsien
good question. what do the wands/staves in the dmg basic rules do
Shane
Well there are no staves
And the wands are Detect Magic (barf) and Magic Missile
I-Hsien
okay, for now let's use the same DCs as scrolls.
Shane
Though Magic Missile lets you use extra charges to cast it as a higher level
He said, hinting at a Wand of Hex
(which is actually weak for me without Eldritch Blast and also is a Concentration spell but whatever)
I-Hsien
no extra charges. you can buy a wand of Hex, Level 2 for 5k and Level 3 for 10k
Shane
I'll stick with Wand of Bless because I'm not wasting my level 1 slots on these jokers any more
And Bless is kind of a staple spell for Brand.
God, this is so bad... Without having to buy armor, it's so hard to spend money
How would Wand of Shield work? Can I hold the wand in my actual shield hand to use it?
I-Hsien
you do have to buy your armor (unless you're taking the shortcut and keeping the same gear you had before +2k gold
Shane
My armor is my beautiful golden scales, sir
I-Hsien
what are the rules on arcane focus? replaces which components?
ah, right
Shane
I have a focus and a component pouch
And my cleric spells have no DCs or attack rolls so I don't need a +1 divine focus
Can I combine my arcane and divine focuses? I want to do an amulet shaped like Siberys for the divine focus, and the +1 Crystal for Arcane would be, like, his cleansing breath
I paid for a +1 Arcane and a normal Divine
Or like a pendant or something. Some piece of jewelry
I-Hsien
divine focus can be painted on a shield or whatever, just needs to be worn. or you can roll it together, paying the combined cost. you have to hold the wand to use it, but with warcaster, you can ignore the somatic components. so yeah, hold it in your shield hand, and you just need to be able to speak
Shane
Maybe I'll just keep the money
My companions are deadbeats and I have a cult to found
I-Hsien
unless you get robbed again #drowqueen #didyouseeabody
Shane
I'll just be better about hiding it
I've got 3 sacks, now
As well as 3 jugs, 5 flasks, 4 pouches, 3 waterskins, and 2 blankets
And a hat of disguise
That's a lot of places to hide coins
Also, those stupid scrolls of rope trick
September 17, 2014
Shane <[email protected]>
To: I-Hsien
Subject: 5E Rogue-Cleric-Sorcerer skill monkey Brand
I've got to fix the current hit points/dice, and I have the languages written down on the physical sheet at home, but I think its done. Can you make sure I didn't do anything stupid?
I dropped Shield in favor of a Wand of Shield, but I didn't know what to do with the extra spell. I put it into Lightning Bolt, but I don't love it. Any ideas on either (1) a better level 1 spell to take for a wand, so I could drop Lightning Bolt for Shield or (2) a better replacement than Lightning Bolt.
I feel like Shield is gonna be a "multiple casts per day" type of spell because I do stupid things, so it seems to make sense for a wand... but then, Level 4 is kind of a weirdly controller level for me, and all my spells scale, so I'd have a lot of level 1 slots to use for Shield.
Attachment: cleric.xlsx
Character Name: Brand Talandro
Alignment: NG
Race: Half-elf
Class: Rog 1/Cler 1/ Sorc 9
Gender: M
Hair:
Eyes:
Size: Medium
Age: 42
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 160
Level: 11
Ability Scores: STR 8, DEX 16, CON 14, INT 10, WIS 12, CHA 20
Initiative: +3
Speed: 30
Vision: Darkvision
Languages: Common, Elvish, Thieves' Cant, Draconic
HP: 80
Hit Dice: 2d8, 9d6
AC: 18
Background: Acolyte
Saving Throws: DEX, INT
Tools: Thieves' Tools
Weapons: Simple, hand xbows, longsword, rapier, shortsword
Armors: Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shields
Skills: Acrobatics, Stealth, Arcana, History, Religion, Insight, Perception, Deception, Intimidation, Persuasion
Class Features
Darkvision (Half-Elf)
Fey Ancestry (Half-Elf)
Sneak Attack 1d6 (Rogue)
Shelter of the Faithful (Acolyte)
Spellcasting (Cleric, Sorc)
Knowledge Domain (Cleric)
Channel Divinity 1/day (Cleric)
Turn Undead (Cleric)
Font of Magic (Sorc)
Gold Dragon Ancestor (Sorc)
2x Prof on CHA check with Dragons
Draconic Resilience (Sorc)
Elemental Affinity (Sorc)
Metamagic (Sorc)
Quickened Spell, Careful Spell
Ability Score Imp x2, CHA +4 (Sorc)
Advantage on Conc Saves (Feat)
Perform Somatic with hands full (Feat)
Cast Spell instead of Opp Attack (Feat)
Racial Traits: Ability Scores: +2 CHA, +1 DEX, +1 CON, Common, Elvish + 1 language, Skill Versatility: 2 skill proficiencies
Feats: War Caster
Spells
Clertrips: Resistance, Guidance, Light
Sorctrips: Acid Splash, Fire Bolt, Message, Ray of Frost, Shocking Grasp
Level 1: Burning Hands, Chromatic Orb, Healing Word, Sanctuary
Level 2: Misty Step, Scorching Ray
Level 3: Fireball, Fly, Lightning Bolt
Level 4: Banishment, Polymorph
Level 5: Cone of Cold
Attacks
Rapier, Attack +7, Damage 1d8+3 Piercing
Hand Crossbow+1 (30/120), Attack +8, 1d6+4 Piercing
CHA spell +10
WIS spell +5
GP: 141
Equipment: Rapier (x2), Shield (+2 AC), Hand Crossbow +1, Pendant of Siberys +1, Hat of Disguise, Potion of Healing (x4), Bag of Holding, Dagger (x2), Javelin (x6), Crossbow Bolts (100), Backpack, Ball bearings (x5), Caltrops (x5), Bedroll, Blanket (x2), Block and Tackle, Bottle, Glass (x2), Candle (x50), Case (crossbow bolt), Chalk (x10), Clothes (traveler's), Component Pouch, Crowbar, Fishing tackle, Flask (x5), Grappling Hook, Hammer, Healer's Kit, Ink (1 oz bottle), Ink pen (x2), Jug (x3), Latern (Hooded), Lock (x2), Manacles (x5), Mess Kit, Mirror (steel), Oil (flask) (x8), Paper (sheet) (x50), Pouch (x4), Rations (x20), Robes, Silver Flame, Robes (Siberys), Rope, hempen (50ft) (x4), Rope, silk (50 ft), Sack (x3), Sealing Wax (x2), Shovel, Signal Whistle, Signet ring, Soap (x3), Spikes (iron) (10), Tinderbox, Torch (x3), Waterskin (x3), Whetstone, Dice Set (Carved from Obsidian), Three-Dragon Ante Set, Thieves' Tools, Thrane Army Lieutenant's Badge, Eternal Wand of Bless, Scroll of Rope Trick (x2), Eternal Wand of Shield
September 18, 2014
I-Hsien Sherwood <[email protected]>
To: Shane
Fear is thematic for a kind-of dragon.
There are also a lot of nice 1st-level spells, though it's hard to beat effectively unlimited Shield, unless you're using your reaction regularly. Protection from Evil and Good (prevents possession), Ray of Sickness, Armor of Agathys. Nice opportunity to get a spell off another list.
Google Hangout
1:59 p.m.
Shane
I'm gonna take Fear instead of Lightning Bolt
That way all of my L3 spells will start with an F
And also kind of describe my character in three words: Fear, Fly, Fireball
I'm pretty happy with how this character ended up, though I wish I could've just gotten the CON from Amulet of Health and had 14 INT instead for all my knowledge skills
So this is the first time it's happened. Where did we settle as far as having spell slots above class access?
I have a 6th level slot from being level 11 caster, but I'm only level 10 Sorcerer (up to 5th)
Can I learn 6th level spells?
I-Hsien
no, only 5th level, but you can boost a lower level spell to 6th (even a Cleric spell)
Shane
Or trade it in for two twinned 3rd level spells lol
I-Hsien
even better
Shane
I know that I should take Haste because twinned Haste is a stupidly strong party buff, but I just don't want to be that much of a team player
I-Hsien
i am happy not to have a hasted party
Shane
We have a crit-fishing monk and a smiting paladin
Two crit-fishing monks, at times
I-Hsien
haste the bard
or the shield guardian
Shane
I'm gonna trade Haste for the Shield Guardian
Having two party martials take the haste debuff because I don't have Con save proficiency seems like a good enough reason to give me a place to park half my damage.
I-Hsien
it's a good argument. emori found the amulet, so you'll ahve to convince her to part with it
Shane
I will trade her a haste
Or a wand of Bless
I-Hsien
60 pounds of gold
Shane
Do you know how much 60 pounds of gold is worth?
NEITHER DO I
According to the PHB, actually it's only worth 50 gold per pound
I-Hsien
3k is a good haul
Shane
I am going to spend it on 30 rope tricks
And just peace out every round
I-Hsien
don't close the door. you can still cast out and heal yourself
Shane
Close the door when I hop in, open it up when I want to cast, close it at the end of the round
Actually, I think that might be the move
That would kill Tarrasque even sooner. All you need is levitate + rope trick instead of fly.
I guess you don't need levitate you could just stand in his face
level 3 single-class Tarrasque kill
[Shane’s note: This is referencing an early 5th Edition theorycraft of how to kill the Tarrasque at very low levels, utilizing the Fly spell, Rogue's Cunning Action, and the Acid Splash cantrip.)
I-Hsien
unless he walks away
Shane
why would he
3 INT. At most he would try to ready actions to smash you, right?
I-Hsien
it hurts over here. i will leave.
Shane
"The angry, rampaging Tarrasque watches you crawl in your pocket of extradimensional space and... calmly leaves."
I-Hsien
after it hits about half HP, yup
Shane
Provoking an Opportunity Attack!
(human variant/War Caster)
Though I suppose you couldn't Acid Splash with an AO, since it has two targets.
[I-Hsien’s note: In the Mournland, the party discovered answers, and a portal that sent them back in time to Cyre on the Day of Mourning (Episode 20). Part 5 and the conclusion is coming soon!]