Tabletop Roleplaying Games (D&D, Pathfinder, CoC, ETC.)

[derpherp2]

These sound really bad.

You'd think so but concentration rules actually even it out, since you have to choose an extra action (out of a potential 4 max btw), banishing enemies, cursing them, or taking away their action.

If you want to nerf it a bit, maybe have it so that the caster has to spend a bonus action so that the target can spend a reaction to use an action during the round? Though there's also haste potions.

Also haste and it's potion also grants a debuff called "lethargy" when the condition ends (ie. if someone dispels it) where they spend an entire round stunned, though I'd go so far as turn it into a full-on stun. So if you want, you could also lower haste's duration. The potion lasts 3 rounds and it's p nice for example.

 

[Coelacanth]

And thus my DnD group has fallen apart. Yay.

 

[Judge Dredd]

How did it happen?

 

[Coelacanth]

How did it happen?

One of the guys switched over to being DM. Everything was fine until a couple of weeks ago when he didn't let us know if a session was on that day. I thought it was weird, but went into town anyway and found him at the shop we usually play at. I asked where the others were, to which he responded: "dunno" which raised my eyebrows a bit. Fast forward to almost closing time when the others show up - DM's gone to get a bite to eat while the other players ask me where he is. They assumed it wasn't on and held off until the TCG event the shop had in the evening and when we all confronted him about it, he literally said: "I didn't check discord lol."

When I got home I politely told him that I needed to know if we were playing because petrol in the UK is becoming expensive and it was practically wasted on that trip into town. He didn't really say anything. Another few weeks go by - a new shop has opened up nearby (we're basically located in a mall) and the owner's kids are running around, knocking things over, screaming and being hellspawns. I can't handle the noise because of an ear infection and have to leave. When I get home, I find that the DM has left a message in the chat saying "Yeah I'm not staying in this group. Hope you enjoy having other adventures together."

The three of us discuss it a bit, but ultimately the decision is made to disband the group. I of course ask them if I was the problem. If I'm being a douchebag IRL, I want to know so that I can make amends and be an adult about it, but the others didn't think I was and told me not to worry about it.

The problem is that I've seen them still playing Warhammer and things in the shop and certainly don't seem to resent the DM for just ditching us like that. And it stings.

 

[Ghostse]

The problem is that I've seen them still playing Warhammer and things in the shop and certainly don't seem to resent the DM for just ditching us like that. And it stings.

Feel bad, man.

I wonder if there's something going on with DM that the other players are aware of and not saying anything about. If he's not checking discord and such, or didn't confirm attendance, that sounds like someone checking out and I think he was looking for an excuse not a reason.

People also have different tolerance levels for that sort of thing; I put in a lot of effort and thought when TTRPGing so just ditching won't sit well with me. I know other people take it much less seriously and "group done, oh well, what's on the tellie?".

 

[Coelacanth]

Feel bad, man.

I wonder if there's something going on with DM that the other players are aware of and not saying anything about. If he's not checking discord and such, or didn't confirm attendance, that sounds like someone checking out and I think he was looking for an excuse not a reason.

The thing is the other two looked just as pissed as I was when he told us he didn't check discord. What confuses me is why would they just be willing to let it slide like that so easily? The only reason I can think of is secretly they started thinking I was insufferable or ruining the group dynamic something. Either way it left a bad taste in my mouth and has me questioning if I really want to keep playing RPGs as a whole. Most of the other groups were pretty pozzed with the usual social justice bullshit and playing online isn't any better.

 

[Ghostse]

The thing is the other two looked just as pissed as I was when he told us he didn't check discord. What confuses me is why would they just be willing to let it slide like that so easily? The only reason I can think of is secretly they started thinking I was insufferable or ruining the group dynamic something. Either way it left a bad taste in my mouth and has me questioning if I really want to keep playing RPGs as a whole. Most of the other groups were pretty pozzed with the usual social justice bullshit and playing online isn't any better.

I don't think its you. It sounds like those guys hung out more than just on D&D night and DM might have something going on or they talked it over. I know its really hard, you have those "am I the baddie?" thoughts in your head as you replay every negative interaction. I think its just down to, for whatever reason, those guys aren't taking the DM flaking out as hard as you (maybe they knew going in the DM wasn't really into DMing or w/e)

And its normal to feel that way after a bad group experience. Take some time, do something else. chances are the spark will come back.

 

[derpherp2]

So a recent tard fight just led me to an interesting question.

How many of you current 5E players have actually gone long enough through a campaign to reach level 9 spells/start a high level campaign?
How was it?
Cuz I just remember making infinite clones and subsuming everyone into a borg wizard collective.

 

[Judge Dredd]

Are there any good character builders for 5e (and other games) you guys would recommend?

I've been using PathBuilder for my PF2 game since it makes character creation a fairly simple process.

However, when I needed to make a character for a 5e one shot, I googled for something similar. I found a site called Fast Character. You choose a few options, and it roles according the the official books. It doesn't create meta builds or anything, or sometimes does dumb things like taking great weapon fighting and protector (a shield feat) but it did what I needed it to do short notice. It also works for BX.

But looking at other character creators, they are extremely limited unless you pay up.

Edit:

How many of you current 5E players have actually gone long enough through a campaign to reach level 9 spells/start a high level campaign?
How was it?

The DM of a game I play in likes to run campaigns from 1-20, leveling every session or two, then starting a new campaign with a different theme. The thing is, he runs a fairly linear campaign. PCs can change the story by doing different things, but it's more Mass Effect than west marsh. Encounters are always scaled to level, so by the time we're throwing around level 9 spells, so are the enemies.

And honestly, it didn't really play different. Fighting a low level mummy with a fear aura isn't much different than a high level hag hitting us with level 9 weird. The only real high level spell that feels different is when prismatic spray starts getting thrown around. Even Wish is limited in it's game breaking application, as there's usually a plot reason why we can't just wish the villain into the void or summon a Tarrasque. I'm sure the DM would let us if we wanted, but the format doesn't really allow that unless we specifically want to mess up his game.

 

[Dante Alighieri]

Are there any good character builders for 5e (and other games) you guys would recommend?

I've been using PathBuilder for my PF2 game since it makes character creation a fairly simple process.

However, when I needed to make a character for a 5e one shot, I googled for something similar. I found a site called Fast Character. You choose a few options, and it roles according the the official books. It doesn't create meta builds or anything, or sometimes does dumb things like taking great weapon fighting and protector (a shield feat) but it did what I needed it to do short notice. It also works for BX.

But looking at other character creators, they are extremely limited unless you pay up.

https://aurorabuilder.com/ with https://github.com/aurorabuilder/elements

 

[Corn Flakes]

So a recent tard fight just led me to an interesting question.

How many of you current 5E players have actually gone long enough through a campaign to reach level 9 spells/start a high level campaign?
How was it?
Cuz I just remember making infinite clones and subsuming everyone into a borg wizard collective.

Both our longest-running campaigns ended at level 16 so... nope, only level 8 spells for us.

It was still more than enough for our spellcasters to raise ungodly amounts of hell, though.

 

[derpherp2]

Are there any good character builders for 5e (and other games) you guys would recommend?

I've been using PathBuilder for my PF2 game since it makes character creation a fairly simple process.

However, when I needed to make a character for a 5e one shot, I googled for something similar. I found a site called Fast Character. You choose a few options, and it roles according the the official books. It doesn't create meta builds or anything, or sometimes does dumb things like taking great weapon fighting and protector (a shield feat) but it did what I needed it to do short notice. It also works for BX.

But looking at other character creators, they are extremely limited unless you pay up.

I remember orcpub and anvil for 5E but that was a LOOONG time ago.
Looking into it a bit more, and shallowly at that orcpub turned into: https://www.dungeonmastersvault.com/pages/dnd/5e/character-builder

There should be an archive that has the latest xpac files somewhere.
*:Anvil got fucked by wotc and turned private then went silent apprently

Both our longest-running campaigns ended at level 16 so... nope, only level 8 spells for us.

It was still more than enough for our spellcasters to raise ungodly amounts of hell, though.

Yeah I've only gotten to cast actual level 9 spells on one campaign and I just spammed wish over and over via infinity simulacrums

 

[Spergetti]

The three of us discuss it a bit, but ultimately the decision is made to disband the group. I of course ask them if I was the problem. If I'm being a douchebag IRL, I want to know so that I can make amends and be an adult about it, but the others didn't think I was and told me not to worry about it.

After he let a session basically fall apart due to poor communication, your flaky DM might have just realized that making the effort to manage clear communication with your group was more work than he could manage. I know that sounds weird because it's really not that hard to just check your discord/groupchat/email/whatever and post a brief announcement about setting a date and a time, but I have met people who are just genuinely incapable of maintaining a clear line of communication if they have anything else going on that competes for their attention on a day-to-day basis (a job, a kid, etc.). Idk why they are like this, but they are out there and I have seen them do to others what this DM did to your group. They just go radio silent for weeks without any warning or explanation, and when someone finds them in-person again all they can say is they forgot or they were busy with no further elaboration. So, all of that is to say, if you weren't trying to be abrasive or rude then this very likely wasn't your fault.

 

[Capsaicin Addict]

So a recent tard fight just led me to an interesting question.

How many of you current 5E players have actually gone long enough through a campaign to reach level 9 spells/start a high level campaign?
How was it?
Cuz I just remember making infinite clones and subsuming everyone into a borg wizard collective.

One of the things I've heard from a 5e veteran is that high level play tends to turn sideways fast. It's either a slog, or the PCs pulverize the opposition (one GM just stopped tracking HP and opted for cinematic finishes!).

 

[Corn Flakes]

One of the things I've heard from a 5e veteran is that high level play tends to turn sideways fast. It's either a slog, or the PCs pulverize the opposition (one GM just stopped tracking HP and opted for cinematic finishes!).

5e veteran here. Yes, past level 14 the only way for the GM to challenge the party is to either throw patently unfair shit that exploits their weakest saves, or to turn every fight into a damage race. Absolutely zero playtesting went into it.

 

[Ghostse]

After he let a session basically fall apart due to poor communication, your flaky DM might have just realized that making the effort to manage clear communication with your group was more work than he could manage. I know that sounds weird because it's really not that hard to just check your discord/groupchat/email/whatever and post a brief announcement about setting a date and a time, but I have met people who are just genuinely incapable of maintaining a clear line of communication if they have anything else going on that competes for their attention on a day-to-day basis (a job, a kid, etc.). Idk why they are like this, but they are out there and I have seen them do to others what this DM did to your group. They just go radio silent for weeks without any warning or explanation, and when someone finds them in-person again all they can say is they forgot or they were busy with no further elaboration. So, all of that is to say, if you weren't trying to be abrasive or rude then this very likely wasn't your fault.

Backing that up (and the other players response)
I had a flaky player who was friend-of-a-player. I was warned in advanced "They are really flaky", and had been to events with friend where this person was supposed to show up and just radiosilenced, sometimes for months.
Normally I have zero tolerance for that sort of shit, but I was warned to expect this, he was a nice enough guy when he showed up (and had shit going on in his life like his girlfriend drank drain cleaner, went to the hospital for stomach pump, and told him she was there because she had cancer and milked that shit for months but that's another story) and it was very clearly just who he was and treated everyone and everything the same. So it wasn't personal and so you never expected anything else out of him. He also... I had him most for one shot that people wanted to keep playing and once it started to get plotty and he did his vanishing act I stopped inviting him and it never affected interactions going forward so he knew.

 

[Agent of Z.O.G.]

Turns out Cthulhutech 2e isn't dead after all since they just put out a quickstart.
It's a part continuation part retcon of the original, likely to scrub away the rape stuff everyone bitched about.
Not that much to go on, it's not using the dumb poker dice system instead being just a regular dice pool system with the pointless gimmick of being "dice agnostic" and counting evens as hits instead of using d6's, also they use "gender expression" in the pregen character descriptions, not going full fag with pronouns but I'll stay pessimistic.

The quickstart is focusing on Tagers, the biosuit sentai guys and I'm not sure if they'll also support mundie or mecha play.
They also got a bunch of eldritch hybrids as character options instead of just humies and drow like the original,
The adventure was pretty meh even for a quickstart tutorial so I doubt they'll be able to pull off anything of value on the module front.

 

[Ghostse]

also they use "gender expression"

Faggot shit. Clear avoid.
Just use "Sex". If they want to be a faggot tranny on top of the, they'll always remember YWNBAW.

 

[AnOminous]

One of the things I've heard from a 5e veteran is that high level play tends to turn sideways fast. It's either a slog, or the PCs pulverize the opposition (one GM just stopped tracking HP and opted for cinematic finishes!).

Are the PCs getting too powerful and arrogant? Whip out Tomb of Horrors and see just how tough they really are.

 

[Agent of Z.O.G.]

Wait actually it's #based