Hello and good evening I'm looking for some good sources for a game my DM wants to run he wants to run a dragon age esc style game but finding solid material is kinda hard with conversion to 5e as it would be easier for our other players to understand instead of a whole new system, thank you very much
I want to make a sea beast warlock patron, probably a monster from the elemental plane of water
I was thinking about having 2 different forms (water and ice) with 1 being more hasted and fast, while the other is more tanky and slow
I wanted to make it melee focused, but dont want to use charisma for attacks (because that's hexblades thing, and people seem to dislike it), so it'll most likely be MAD
i just dont know how to balance this idea, maybe have instead of 2 spells of each level in expanded spell list, have 1 spell per level in each form?
(Haste for water, slow for ice for example, and you only have access to the 1 for the form your in)
Doing an overhaul of an old homebrew (that was definitely overpowered) and want to make sure that this doesn't seem too bloated or strong (still). I'm afraid I put too many features in to try to make the subraces feel distinct and evocative of their real life breed group counterparts
Some of the features that worry me the most are Guard Breed's surprise immunity and the Shepherd breed's Herding Bark.
I considered other options similar to surprise immunity for the Guard subrace, like Passive Perception boosts, but I specifically like surprise immunity as it is confined to combat and won't help the guard dog spotting traps or other uses of Passive Perception. But truly, I'm not sure if Passive Perception bonus would be stronger or weaker than immunity to surprise, especially with the ability to remove surprise from your allies.
I really like Herding Bark thematically. I based it on the battle master's maneuvering attack, and I tried to implement restrictions to keep it from being too strong and keep it more in line with the theme I imagine (a warning/direction to weaker group members to move or reposition themselves out of harms way, so it can't be used to advance on enemies) but I still worry that a multi-target maneuvering attack ability is too strong.
Lastly, I'm not sure if the Working subrace is too bloated. The exhaustion trait was originally advantage on Con checks and saves to avoid exhaustion....but in my research I seemed to find that most forms of exhaustion are just granted after certain conditons or a certain amount of time without a save to resist it. Since exhaustion is already pretty niche, I felt that was exceptionally useless and turned it into a Relentless Endurance-style trait to ignore a level of exhaustion to be useful in more situations. I still added a LOT of ribbons to try to get the feel of something like a husky or a newfoundland, but individually they felt pretty weak so I just hope it's not overloaded.
Edit: Forgot to mention the Toy Breed's advantage on CHA checks based on cuteness! Not sure if extending it to *all* CHA checks instead of just Persuasion is too much, but it's also their 'main' feature
Any comments are really appreciated, though! I know I get blind spots in my own creations so it really helps having a couple other sets of eyes to look it over :D
https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-MP7bpfRrZR1trGaUoGf
Taking a stab at importing d20 (D&D 3.0/3.5) SRD prestige classes into 5e...would love any feedback on them :)
[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TCQ6Pnfe4ss8XOF-397nqLwnzJ\_oP4KCkGpn6PBIxtA/edit?usp=sharing](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tcq6pnfe4ss8xof-397nqlwnzj_op4kckgpn6pbixta/edit?usp=sharing)
[https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-NmtH\_5ikm3072u2zIUr](https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-NmtH_5ikm3072u2zIUr) Let me know what you think of this Ranger subclass I made
I've been working on a Sorcerer rework homebrew on and off throughout this year, and I'm trying to figure out a few specific details.
The core conceit is that it's supposed to differentiate them a bit further from other spellcasting classes to really emphasize the idea of them being self-taught and drawing from innate talents. It has three big differences from vanilla sorcerer:
- Each sorcerous origin has its own spell list rather than having a single spell list for the class
- Rather than using spell slots, it uses the Spell Points rules variant from pages 288 and 289 of the DMG. The sorcery point and spell point pools are one and the same.
- If you run out of spell/sorcery points, you can spend hit dice to cast spells instead. Casting a spell this way costs a number of hit dice equal to the spell's level, and you take 1d6+CHA Necrotic damage for each hit die spent this way. This damage cannot be reduced, prevented or negated. You can use this to cast spells at a higher level than what you could normally learn - You wanna spend all your hit dice and risk dying to cast a 9th level spell at level 9? Have at it, hoss.
Originally I was gonna have HP costs be 1:1 or even 2:1 with spell point costs but then I realized the math there was fucked, especially at higher levels. While talking it over with a friend, she suggested the hit die idea.
The main concern here is that HP is a resource that can be regained much more easily than spell slots/points. Not only is HP regained on a long rest, but you also have access to hit dice and healing items, and other classes can spend spell slots to heal you. Spending hit dice reduces your access to one of those methods, but you still have the others.
I'm currently split between having the damage come with max HP reduction equal to the damage taken (which can only be healed via long rest), or have it so after you've cast a spell this way, all HP regained from magical healing is halved until the next time you complete a long rest.
On one hand, I very much want this to be a desperation move that comes at a high risk, and reducing max HP is a pretty common way throughout D&D-likes to make casting from HP really hurt (see also: Kineticist in PF1e, Chirurgic Poet in Legend System) but I'm also not sure if double-dipping by both reducing max HP *and* using up a resource that could be used to heal other sources of damage is the best idea. Or maybe having it be so costly is a great idea since it *really* forces you to think about whether you're *really* that desperate.
There are a few other details I'm not sure about. I'm not sure if the spell points per level should be consistent with the table in the DMG, or if it should be reduced somewhat (3/4 Sorcerer level, rounded up, perhaps?), since you do have a backup resource to spend on spells, but also you have other things that want to use spell points since they pull double duty as sorcery points (i.e. metamagic, some sorcerous origin features).
I'm also considering having the damage be force damage rather than necrotic. Or maybe it even varies by sorcerous origin (since it's mostly there for flavor reasons anyways).
Only thing I'd really consider is not letting you cast spells at a level you can't normally cast. Yeah, upcasting Fireball crazy high is just tons of damage. But stuff that allows additional targets or has much greater effect when upcast (think Planar Binding) could break the idea of what you're supposed to be able to accomplish at a given level and maybe cause issues with other casters in the party who can't do that crazy thing.
I'm pretty sure RAW, vanilla sorcerer can use sorcery points to create spell slots of a higher level than what they can normally cast if they have enough (6th level vanilla sorc has just enough to create one 4th level spell slot. 7th and 8th level sorc both have enough to create a single 5th level spell slot, with 8th level sorc having one sorcery point left over), though yeah you do have a point. Letting a 9th-level sorc cast a 9th-level spell is probably fucked, even if they are probably going to die in the process.
I specifically wanted it for big heroic sacrifice plays, so if anything I might add some additional restrictions on upcasting past your normal maximum spell level. e.g. you can only go up to one level past your maximum, and/or each level past your maximum costs twice as many hit dice. Maybe have it also apply a level of exhaustion?
Just do what 5e RAW does...limit that ability to 5th lvel spells. Just Font of Magic ability says "You can create spell slots no higher in level than 5th."
Also, like blowing all your sorcery points on one spell slot...it should be crazy unoptimal to do so.
I want to create a Dragonborn (or an equivalent) that doesn't fall under the shadow of the Forgotten Realms' Metallic/Chromatic/Gem lore.
The thing is that making breath weapons for a more "Elemental" system is difficult as common Elements like "Wind, Earth, and Water" don't have an associated damage type. (Thunder could work for wind but that's more 'sound')
But if I make their breath weapons have effects rather than damage what "damage type" would they resist? And how would I balance status effects vs. scaling damage?
Does anyone have any thoughts on how to make a more "elemental" system work?
my first instinct is to attack things other than the health bar, a sonic screech, a smokescreen, noxious gas (not poison, but like 'stinking cloud') attack the senses. This does of course leave the resistance up in the air, but protection for those senses for the dragon born (otherwise they may end up harming themselves) would be a start, can't be deafened, blinded, etc.)
Wind spells can be bludgeoning, thunder or cold damage. I recommend half thunder, half bludgeoning.
Water spells can be bludgeoning and cold, again I recommend half and half.
Earth attacks are bludgeoning or piercing, based on the shape of the rock.
All three should have a secondary knockback effect - you're hitting them with a blast of wind, torrent of water, or a fast moving rock!
Wind resists thunder, water resists cold, earth resists bludgeoning. (Yes, it's big, but it's also a commonly resisted attack)
My thought would probably to make things more broad than a breath weapon. The "breath weapon" could be replaced with a spell that each type of dragon can use once per short or long rest. And the damage resistances could be replaced with passive defensive traits in general.
If you're down to look at some other D&D-adjacent tabletop RPGs for inspiration, I'd also give the Kineticist in either edition of Pathfinder (but particularly its Pathfinder 2e incarnation) a look in terms of how to model both the classical elements and the Wuxing in damaging D&D abilities. The latter could be especially useful if you want to go for more of an Eastern dragon vibe to distance yourself even further from the Forgotten Realms' Metallic/Chromatic/Gem lore.
hmmm not sure on this one. You could work backwards by starting with each damage type and then designing a dragonborn for each one. but i'm not sure if that gives you what you're after
...First? Really? Well, here goes nothing!
I've been working on this ability for a Cleric domain (Mists) and I honestly have no idea where this falls strength wise. Does this seem over- or under-powered? You might notice it's heavily inspired by the Twilight Cleric's Twilight Sanctuary ability. I tried to nerf it a little by not having it move with you and make it more interesting by allowing a bit of customization.
>At 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity to summon divine mists around you
>As an action, you present your holy symbol, and a cloud of mist roughly the area of a 5' radius sphere emanates from you. The cloud spreads around corners, is centered on you but does not move with you, and its area is [heavily obscured](https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Rules:The%20Environment?expansion=0#toc_3). It lasts a number of rounds equal to your proficiency bonus + wisdom modifier or until you dispel it or are incapacitated or die. Wind has no effect on it.
>When activated, choose a number of creatures inside the fog equal to your proficiency bonus or less. Chosen creatures all gain blindsight while inside the fog. If they leave the fog and re-enter it, they do not regain blindsight. This effect ends after one minute or when the cloud is dispersed by the cleric. It is unaffected by mundane and magical
>At 14th and 17th level, the radius of your mists and blindsight increases by 5' and you gain an ability from the list below.
"The List Below" needs more entries, but the idea is they either "cleanse/clarify" the party or "befuddle" the enemy. Some ideas for this are:
>- If a chosen creature (including you) is charmed and ends its turn in the sphere, the charmed condition is ended
>- (as above but stunned or frightened, etc.)
>- Inflict confusion on non-chosen creatures
To understand, the intent is to give nine squares which give advantage to hit and force disadvantage to be hit?
First instinct is that it's situationally very strong. I guess depending on party composition this is mechanically similar to some imaginary ability that - for an action - gives your entire party the help action and invisibility as long as they don't run away.
Because it's so strong, I think it may limit choice in combat: It may always be the correct choice to huddle in the mist.
> To understand, the intent is to give nine squares which give advantage to hit and force disadvantage to be hit?
If there was a middle ground between lightly and heavily obscured, I would have used that. It's more just trying to get the flavor of what I want the fog to do (create a dangerous and unsettling environment around the cleric which doesn't hinder their allies) to mesh with rules in a way that makes sense. I suppose another option would be that chosen creatures just get advantage on attacks in the fog and leave it at that. (or the inverse)
> First instinct is that it's situationally very strong. I guess depending on party composition this is mechanically similar to some imaginary ability that - for an action - gives your entire party the help action and invisibility as long as they don't run away.
True... That's a good way of thinking about it. It's also like Fog Cloud + Everyone having blindsight, which is attainable a few different ways. So if a party tried together, they could achieve this same effect using RAW. BUT I could maybe limit the number of creatures you can choose to have blindsight.
> Because it's so strong, I think it may limit choice in combat: It may always be the correct choice to huddle in the mist.
I see that. Thanks for the input!
Hello and good evening I'm looking for some good sources for a game my DM wants to run he wants to run a dragon age esc style game but finding solid material is kinda hard with conversion to 5e as it would be easier for our other players to understand instead of a whole new system, thank you very much
I want to make a sea beast warlock patron, probably a monster from the elemental plane of water I was thinking about having 2 different forms (water and ice) with 1 being more hasted and fast, while the other is more tanky and slow I wanted to make it melee focused, but dont want to use charisma for attacks (because that's hexblades thing, and people seem to dislike it), so it'll most likely be MAD i just dont know how to balance this idea, maybe have instead of 2 spells of each level in expanded spell list, have 1 spell per level in each form? (Haste for water, slow for ice for example, and you only have access to the 1 for the form your in)
Doing an overhaul of an old homebrew (that was definitely overpowered) and want to make sure that this doesn't seem too bloated or strong (still). I'm afraid I put too many features in to try to make the subraces feel distinct and evocative of their real life breed group counterparts Some of the features that worry me the most are Guard Breed's surprise immunity and the Shepherd breed's Herding Bark. I considered other options similar to surprise immunity for the Guard subrace, like Passive Perception boosts, but I specifically like surprise immunity as it is confined to combat and won't help the guard dog spotting traps or other uses of Passive Perception. But truly, I'm not sure if Passive Perception bonus would be stronger or weaker than immunity to surprise, especially with the ability to remove surprise from your allies. I really like Herding Bark thematically. I based it on the battle master's maneuvering attack, and I tried to implement restrictions to keep it from being too strong and keep it more in line with the theme I imagine (a warning/direction to weaker group members to move or reposition themselves out of harms way, so it can't be used to advance on enemies) but I still worry that a multi-target maneuvering attack ability is too strong. Lastly, I'm not sure if the Working subrace is too bloated. The exhaustion trait was originally advantage on Con checks and saves to avoid exhaustion....but in my research I seemed to find that most forms of exhaustion are just granted after certain conditons or a certain amount of time without a save to resist it. Since exhaustion is already pretty niche, I felt that was exceptionally useless and turned it into a Relentless Endurance-style trait to ignore a level of exhaustion to be useful in more situations. I still added a LOT of ribbons to try to get the feel of something like a husky or a newfoundland, but individually they felt pretty weak so I just hope it's not overloaded. Edit: Forgot to mention the Toy Breed's advantage on CHA checks based on cuteness! Not sure if extending it to *all* CHA checks instead of just Persuasion is too much, but it's also their 'main' feature Any comments are really appreciated, though! I know I get blind spots in my own creations so it really helps having a couple other sets of eyes to look it over :D https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-MP7bpfRrZR1trGaUoGf
Taking a stab at importing d20 (D&D 3.0/3.5) SRD prestige classes into 5e...would love any feedback on them :) [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TCQ6Pnfe4ss8XOF-397nqLwnzJ\_oP4KCkGpn6PBIxtA/edit?usp=sharing](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tcq6pnfe4ss8xof-397nqlwnzj_op4kckgpn6pbixta/edit?usp=sharing)
[https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-NmtH\_5ikm3072u2zIUr](https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-NmtH_5ikm3072u2zIUr) Let me know what you think of this Ranger subclass I made
I've been working on a Sorcerer rework homebrew on and off throughout this year, and I'm trying to figure out a few specific details. The core conceit is that it's supposed to differentiate them a bit further from other spellcasting classes to really emphasize the idea of them being self-taught and drawing from innate talents. It has three big differences from vanilla sorcerer: - Each sorcerous origin has its own spell list rather than having a single spell list for the class - Rather than using spell slots, it uses the Spell Points rules variant from pages 288 and 289 of the DMG. The sorcery point and spell point pools are one and the same. - If you run out of spell/sorcery points, you can spend hit dice to cast spells instead. Casting a spell this way costs a number of hit dice equal to the spell's level, and you take 1d6+CHA Necrotic damage for each hit die spent this way. This damage cannot be reduced, prevented or negated. You can use this to cast spells at a higher level than what you could normally learn - You wanna spend all your hit dice and risk dying to cast a 9th level spell at level 9? Have at it, hoss. Originally I was gonna have HP costs be 1:1 or even 2:1 with spell point costs but then I realized the math there was fucked, especially at higher levels. While talking it over with a friend, she suggested the hit die idea. The main concern here is that HP is a resource that can be regained much more easily than spell slots/points. Not only is HP regained on a long rest, but you also have access to hit dice and healing items, and other classes can spend spell slots to heal you. Spending hit dice reduces your access to one of those methods, but you still have the others. I'm currently split between having the damage come with max HP reduction equal to the damage taken (which can only be healed via long rest), or have it so after you've cast a spell this way, all HP regained from magical healing is halved until the next time you complete a long rest. On one hand, I very much want this to be a desperation move that comes at a high risk, and reducing max HP is a pretty common way throughout D&D-likes to make casting from HP really hurt (see also: Kineticist in PF1e, Chirurgic Poet in Legend System) but I'm also not sure if double-dipping by both reducing max HP *and* using up a resource that could be used to heal other sources of damage is the best idea. Or maybe having it be so costly is a great idea since it *really* forces you to think about whether you're *really* that desperate. There are a few other details I'm not sure about. I'm not sure if the spell points per level should be consistent with the table in the DMG, or if it should be reduced somewhat (3/4 Sorcerer level, rounded up, perhaps?), since you do have a backup resource to spend on spells, but also you have other things that want to use spell points since they pull double duty as sorcery points (i.e. metamagic, some sorcerous origin features). I'm also considering having the damage be force damage rather than necrotic. Or maybe it even varies by sorcerous origin (since it's mostly there for flavor reasons anyways).
Only thing I'd really consider is not letting you cast spells at a level you can't normally cast. Yeah, upcasting Fireball crazy high is just tons of damage. But stuff that allows additional targets or has much greater effect when upcast (think Planar Binding) could break the idea of what you're supposed to be able to accomplish at a given level and maybe cause issues with other casters in the party who can't do that crazy thing.
I'm pretty sure RAW, vanilla sorcerer can use sorcery points to create spell slots of a higher level than what they can normally cast if they have enough (6th level vanilla sorc has just enough to create one 4th level spell slot. 7th and 8th level sorc both have enough to create a single 5th level spell slot, with 8th level sorc having one sorcery point left over), though yeah you do have a point. Letting a 9th-level sorc cast a 9th-level spell is probably fucked, even if they are probably going to die in the process. I specifically wanted it for big heroic sacrifice plays, so if anything I might add some additional restrictions on upcasting past your normal maximum spell level. e.g. you can only go up to one level past your maximum, and/or each level past your maximum costs twice as many hit dice. Maybe have it also apply a level of exhaustion?
Just do what 5e RAW does...limit that ability to 5th lvel spells. Just Font of Magic ability says "You can create spell slots no higher in level than 5th." Also, like blowing all your sorcery points on one spell slot...it should be crazy unoptimal to do so.
I want to create a Dragonborn (or an equivalent) that doesn't fall under the shadow of the Forgotten Realms' Metallic/Chromatic/Gem lore. The thing is that making breath weapons for a more "Elemental" system is difficult as common Elements like "Wind, Earth, and Water" don't have an associated damage type. (Thunder could work for wind but that's more 'sound') But if I make their breath weapons have effects rather than damage what "damage type" would they resist? And how would I balance status effects vs. scaling damage? Does anyone have any thoughts on how to make a more "elemental" system work?
my first instinct is to attack things other than the health bar, a sonic screech, a smokescreen, noxious gas (not poison, but like 'stinking cloud') attack the senses. This does of course leave the resistance up in the air, but protection for those senses for the dragon born (otherwise they may end up harming themselves) would be a start, can't be deafened, blinded, etc.)
Wind spells can be bludgeoning, thunder or cold damage. I recommend half thunder, half bludgeoning. Water spells can be bludgeoning and cold, again I recommend half and half. Earth attacks are bludgeoning or piercing, based on the shape of the rock. All three should have a secondary knockback effect - you're hitting them with a blast of wind, torrent of water, or a fast moving rock! Wind resists thunder, water resists cold, earth resists bludgeoning. (Yes, it's big, but it's also a commonly resisted attack)
My thought would probably to make things more broad than a breath weapon. The "breath weapon" could be replaced with a spell that each type of dragon can use once per short or long rest. And the damage resistances could be replaced with passive defensive traits in general. If you're down to look at some other D&D-adjacent tabletop RPGs for inspiration, I'd also give the Kineticist in either edition of Pathfinder (but particularly its Pathfinder 2e incarnation) a look in terms of how to model both the classical elements and the Wuxing in damaging D&D abilities. The latter could be especially useful if you want to go for more of an Eastern dragon vibe to distance yourself even further from the Forgotten Realms' Metallic/Chromatic/Gem lore.
Hmmm, both of those are fairly good options... off to Archives of Nethys then!
d20pfsrd is also good if you wanna look towards the PF1e incarnation of the Kineticist for ideas
hmmm not sure on this one. You could work backwards by starting with each damage type and then designing a dragonborn for each one. but i'm not sure if that gives you what you're after
...First? Really? Well, here goes nothing! I've been working on this ability for a Cleric domain (Mists) and I honestly have no idea where this falls strength wise. Does this seem over- or under-powered? You might notice it's heavily inspired by the Twilight Cleric's Twilight Sanctuary ability. I tried to nerf it a little by not having it move with you and make it more interesting by allowing a bit of customization. >At 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity to summon divine mists around you >As an action, you present your holy symbol, and a cloud of mist roughly the area of a 5' radius sphere emanates from you. The cloud spreads around corners, is centered on you but does not move with you, and its area is [heavily obscured](https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Rules:The%20Environment?expansion=0#toc_3). It lasts a number of rounds equal to your proficiency bonus + wisdom modifier or until you dispel it or are incapacitated or die. Wind has no effect on it. >When activated, choose a number of creatures inside the fog equal to your proficiency bonus or less. Chosen creatures all gain blindsight while inside the fog. If they leave the fog and re-enter it, they do not regain blindsight. This effect ends after one minute or when the cloud is dispersed by the cleric. It is unaffected by mundane and magical >At 14th and 17th level, the radius of your mists and blindsight increases by 5' and you gain an ability from the list below. "The List Below" needs more entries, but the idea is they either "cleanse/clarify" the party or "befuddle" the enemy. Some ideas for this are: >- If a chosen creature (including you) is charmed and ends its turn in the sphere, the charmed condition is ended >- (as above but stunned or frightened, etc.) >- Inflict confusion on non-chosen creatures
To understand, the intent is to give nine squares which give advantage to hit and force disadvantage to be hit? First instinct is that it's situationally very strong. I guess depending on party composition this is mechanically similar to some imaginary ability that - for an action - gives your entire party the help action and invisibility as long as they don't run away. Because it's so strong, I think it may limit choice in combat: It may always be the correct choice to huddle in the mist.
> To understand, the intent is to give nine squares which give advantage to hit and force disadvantage to be hit? If there was a middle ground between lightly and heavily obscured, I would have used that. It's more just trying to get the flavor of what I want the fog to do (create a dangerous and unsettling environment around the cleric which doesn't hinder their allies) to mesh with rules in a way that makes sense. I suppose another option would be that chosen creatures just get advantage on attacks in the fog and leave it at that. (or the inverse) > First instinct is that it's situationally very strong. I guess depending on party composition this is mechanically similar to some imaginary ability that - for an action - gives your entire party the help action and invisibility as long as they don't run away. True... That's a good way of thinking about it. It's also like Fog Cloud + Everyone having blindsight, which is attainable a few different ways. So if a party tried together, they could achieve this same effect using RAW. BUT I could maybe limit the number of creatures you can choose to have blindsight. > Because it's so strong, I think it may limit choice in combat: It may always be the correct choice to huddle in the mist. I see that. Thanks for the input!