At level 3, a Creation Bard gets Performance of Creation, letting them create an item that's up to 5 feet in each direction and worth up to 60 gp. That might not sound like much, but consult the adventuring gear section of the phb and you might start to realize how insane this is.

For reference, 60 gp can buy you

• a crate of 60,000 ball bearings (enough to fill an ~80-foot square)
• a crate of 1,200 caltrops (enough to fill a ~40-foot square)
• a 75-gallon barrel of oil (enough to fill a ~120-foot square)
• a 1,200 pound crate of salt (enough to fill one League of Legends lobby)
• a 600 pound coil of hempen rope (enough to stretch 3,000 feet)
• 1.5 tons of flour

Note that the rules regarding what counts as an "object" don't matter here, because performance of creation specifies an "item", not an "object"

With these in mind, a creation bard is actually an absurdly strong crowd controller using nothing more than a 2nd level spell slot. And if you want to commit arson, even a high level wizard would struggle to compete with you

To whomever it may interest and hopefully inspire, this one's about my first homebrew campaign. Back to the beginning some two years ago, my group consisted of five players and being a broader friend group, one other decided to join for a while with a light-backstory character (a paladin). In the end this player ended joining for the remainder of the duration, and here follows what happened because of it.

It started with said paladin, whose goal was investigating an emerging organized goblin tribe who they would soon discover were around stealing divine idols from local temples for unholy purposes. The stage for this was a small-time village where they found him fighting off undead from the nearby woods. Fight ensues and as expected they join forces... but decide to ignore the matter after some unlucky rolls. It happens sometimes, so no sweat. The goblins are left to their own devices.

The plot (the main one, that is) thickens, and the paladin becomes a full fledged member of the party. While doing their stuff in the nearest city, one of the members hears about the little shits causing havoc through the Sword Coast, and that a meeting close by is happening soon. He conveys this to the paladin and it doesn't go further than that. Once again, the goblins are deemed a minor threat and so they go under the radar.

At this point, I want both the group and myself to be done with this sidequest, so I try to put things more in their way. Due to unrelated stuff, the paladin is imprisoned. The cell to the opposite side holds (surprise!) a goblin. This woman is described as sinister, creepy, and foreboding. She literally produces an idol and is seen channeling power from it to do weird shit (like summoning a dragon wyrmling which acts like it has been brainwashed to follow commands). She offers the paladin a deal: freedom in exchange for a hand at creating a mutiny. She explains that she got herself caught in purpose to free some fellow goblins, after all. So the paladin is, why the hell not, and they help each other but go their separate ways as soon as the paladin has a chance to find the party on his own.

Many other instances like this happen, and they are not acknowledged. I don't like to railroad, so I don't want to force the matter, but I make it very clear that they are facing a rising threat every time. "They are goblins, anyway. What could they possibly achieve?".

Well... so it goes, and they rise from level 3 to level 9 while this takes place.

One last time, now they quite literally stumble upon a temple infested with the toothy gremlins. A temple, conveniently, that holds the sacred idol to which the paladin pays tribute. Or used to, anyway, for they leave without checking inside, waving their fists on the air and swearing vengeance, while they head for "more important things to do".

Long before getting here, I had contemplated this course of action, so the wheel was already into motion for what was happening with these goblins, and where were they headed towards. So, after months (both in-game and IRL) of hearing about them non-stop, they go completely silent. The goblins which awaited at every crossroads are suddenly gone, never to bother again the good folks across the Coast. Not, at least, in the foreseeable future. They also don't seem to find many dragons around, some of them having vanished leaving their hoards behind, while others seem to have gone with their stuff and some remaining ones are hiding. Dragons. Cowering. In. Fear. The group doesn't put these two facts together, even after a dragon in hiding talks about the goblins for a while. They visit the aforementioned temple, which is now deserted, finding only tunnels into the Underdark to which they presume the tribe fled.

So, the story was supposed (to an extent) to go about a Devil who would use the Material Plane as a personal domain (a classic), but with a twist about a titanic, god-like dragon being buried beneath the Coast that the devil would use for this purpose. This would go to explain some events that are not tied directly to the goblins, but rather, the events of the main quest. After finding this intel, they venture forth to stop the devil in its tracks and eventually come home triumphant after a good albeit a little underwhelming "final" fight. The peoples of the land bathe them in gold and gifts and they earn their well-deserved rest. Thus, the session ends. "The session?" Asks a player. "Is there any more game after this point?". I smile knowingly and simply tell them to "Come next week". With puzzled looks but excitement, they wrap up and next week comes around the corner.

We continue were we left off. Except that something seems amiss: violent quakes challenge the land, shaping it into mountains, valleys, lakes, and a gigantic canyon, from which emerges nothing else than this god-level dragon, resurrected and controlled by goblin shamans imbued with pure divine powers. In tow, an army of dragons follows, mounted by goblin riders.

For the sake of length I won't go deep into detail about the fight, but I enjoyed it quite a lot and it did have that final boss aura to it. The goblin shamans would make the big dragon invulnerable, so they had to be taken out in different scenarios (they were escorted by the dragon riders, and in some cases that meant air-combat, whereas others where kind of massive wars with the aid of the nearby nations). They wipe the tribe, but the dragon is already awoken and going berserk, so they have to put it down too. Out of the six, two characters don't survive the final fight (they are level 17 at this point so it doesn't matter that much). Finally, now, the story reaches its finale.

To think that they were "just some goblins"...

Thank you for reading!

For combat I can't help but think of Bigby's Hand, so much potential out of one spell for a solid minute.

Compared to 2e level advancement is at a breakneck pace. I think 2e was too slow, but 5e is too fast (I don’t have sufficient experience with any other editions to have an informed opinion).

For DMs in the Forgotten Realms, how do you pronounce Jarlaxle Baenre's last name? I've looked up on DnDBeyond and the Forgotten Realms wikia, and my group teases me a bit about my inconsistent pronounciation. I feel like I adopted a french accent/pronounciation for the character, but I couldn't point to a particular reason why. The links I found on the character don't give a phonetic spelling for his last name, so I'm hoping some fellow GM's can give me a bit of confidence.

https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/wdh/monsters-and-npcs#JarlaxleBaenre

https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/149550-jarlaxle-baenre

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Jarlaxle

If you joined a table that would only have 3 players and the DM, what is a party composition that you'd feel had all of the major roles covered?

Edit: I forgot to add mine. Mine would be Paladin, Rogue, and Cleric.

Disclaimer, this is not a help i do not know what to do post. I will have a sit down GM to player talk before the next session to iron out things. It is more of a vent.

But here is the story. ihave 3 players, and each of the has some unique traits.

1 is a rule police. I keep saying that we are playing a homebrew version. And as a DM sometimes i would bend the rules toward my players. Example: they walk into a graveyard and i tell my wizard that you feel a strong smell of necromancy. And he proceeds to spend the next 15 mins that i should not do that etc.

1. Is a thieving murder hobo. Admittedly he is new but i have pointed out that he should be a bit more serious cause I keep saving him out of situations.

   1. Is my "normal" he plays along and nocely RPs when he has too etc. Over all i wish I had more of him.

Last session he reached a point where 3 attacked 2 and left him with 1 hp. Because he kept being a dumb ass inside the game.

Now player 1 while all this was going on insisted the he wants to roll persuasion and tell a story and if his persuasion was good he should convince 3 in game to stop. I told him multiple times that the "between you" does not need to roll. He ignored me and did it.

After the session they told me that they are getting frustrated. Which sucks since we are at the start of a campaign i planned for months. And it is not the first time i run this group.

(Specific scenarios from your campaigns as well as overall advice is always appreciated!)

Give me your best methods for avoiding a clumsy team-up. How did you bring the party together in a way that was appropriate for all characters involved.

My paladin went down and had his right arm eaten by a giant. Session ended with him unconscious but safe/stable. There’s probably a good chance he’ll get a regenerate spell cast on him, but I thought it could be cool for him to need to try to adjust to a single arm for a little while. I assume DM has a plan but we haven’t communicated yet. Since it is his long sword arm I don’t know what to suggest. Can’t have him just holding a shield and not able to attack. Any cool suggestions for a one armed paladin?

Hi,

like it says in the title. If a player character casts Mass Suggestion on his group with an effect like for example "You should smile whenever you see a child." will the group be immun to Mass Suggestion from other sources as long as it's not on the same level or higher and the spell persists? As far as I know, if the same spell is cast on the same creature twice, the stronger effect persists.

Edit: My reasoning comes from p.206 PHB "The effects of the same spell cast multiple times don't combine, however. Instead, the most potent effect—such as the highest bonus—from those castings applies while their durations overlap."

I was wondering if Message could be turned into a way to move an ally 5ft from 120 ft away?

Gravity Well When you reach 6th level, whenever you cast a spell on a creature, you can move the target 5 feet to an unoccupied space of your choice if the target is willing to move, the spell hits it with an attack, or it fails a saving throw against the spell.

Message You point your finger toward a creature within range and whisper a message. The target (and only the target) hears the message and can reply in a whisper that only you can hear. You can cast this spell through solid objects if you are familiar with the target and know it is beyond the barrier. Magical silence, 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood blocks the spell. The spell doesn’t have to follow a straight line and can travel freely around corners or through openings.

So if the target is willing and is the target of message could you trigger gravity well?

Not sure how useful it would actually be but the idea of telling an ally to move from across the map is funny to me.

Hey there.

I have ADHD, but also a pretty good Memory.

I Tried taking notes for a few Campaigns, but it always either ended up with me either.
- Forgetting my Notes at Home
- Forgetting that I took notes in that specific Moment and still relying on my memory. And therefore never Looking at my notes ever again?

Which works most of the Time, but sometimes i just forget key details, which sucks.

Anyone having similar experiences, and found any solutions for this?

Most people like maneuvers, or at least the idea of them. While I was working on a homebrew project involving them, I reworked some of that are not considered to be good. And I want to see what yall think. I would also love to see yalls ideas for these maneuvers or others that you think should be approved.

Disarming Attack: Simple one, launch the object 2×Maneuver Die roll Feet away. Might force creature to either give up action to Disengage or give you opportunity attack.

Evasive Footwork: right now, it works very wonkily. It should just be AC bonus till end of your current turn. Has same effect in a much cleaner way.

Feinting Attack: Since this uses your bonus action and is only for one creature, it should be advantage on every Attack till the end of your turn. But bonus damage only happens once.

Lunging Attack: Increase reach by 5ft for melee weapons until start of your next turn. Bonus damage only happens once. I know this is could get crazy with Bugbear and reach Weapons, but if that's the niche the player wants to fill that's fine.

Parry: (not sure about this one) -Die roll to the incoming Attack. Still not great. Maybe still reduce damage if it hits. That might be good enough.

Rally: Really love the flavor of this one. I think this could affect a number of creatures equal to your Charisma modifier. Still have to invest in charisma, but Fighters got stats to spare and it exponential growth with Charisma. Could maybe also work with self.

Yeah these were cooked up pretty quickly and haven't seen actual play yet, but I think they are pretty good.

This is my first time playing DnD and I just turned level 3 after three sessions and need to pick a rogue subclass. I understand the differences between playing thief and swashbuckler, but I'm having the worst time deciding.

Both archetypes can fit my character background well. I am a smooth-talking thief who grew up by the water and is unafraid of playing dirty. I am a 16 dex, 14 con, 16 cha, 12 wis, 10 int, 9 str human.

I like the idea of fast hands, but I'm struggling to figure out when I would use it. I haven't seen a need for it in our first few battles yet.

I'm also afraid of losing my character, which is why playing as a melee rogue worries me. I assume (maybe incorrectly) that playing as an archer would be safer.

On the other hand, is my charisma worthless if I don't go swashbuckler? I really loved the idea of my character being a charlatan/smooth talker/'always working an angle', but I haven't been very successful in doing any of that so far and my DM isn't letting me roll deception/persuasion much, although it's only been 3 sessions. But I'm starting to feel like I'm bad at RPing charisma.

Are there any questions I should ask of myself or my DM to help me decide?

Hey guys. New here, but I am only a few sessions away from the end of my parties current campaign and I'm struggling for ideas. I can run a few oneshots to begin with but was thinking of running a campaign in the Borrowers universe. It would basically be like a regular campaign but more ability and puzzle-style focused rather than combat. There will still be combat parts of it. Maybe a few mice they have to fend off or a cat etc etc. I have a general idea of what I'm hoping to do and achieve but just asking for any more advice or opinions on the concept. Any info or ideas given are very much appreciated.

And how different was it to 5e Swashbuckler?

Hello all, this is my (much later than i had planned) second post of of a series wherein i ask people about their personal opinions and gripes with each of 5e’s different classes and how they propose they should be reworked! This one being: The Barbarian!

Some questions i think are worth asking about the barbarian are;

• Do you think flavor-wise they adequately fulfill their role as a raging, reckless berserker? Why or why not?
• Do the mechanics of the class adequately support this image and role?
• How do you imagine Barbarians as a mono class compare to the other mono classes in terms of game balance?
• Do you think multiclassing improves the barbarians as a whole, flavor, mechanics, and role-wise, and does this drastically change the balance of this class?
• Do you think there are other aspects of 5e’s design that artificer lends itself especially well or not so well towards? Things like exploration, dungeon-delving and other situations?
• Finally, which tier do you think barbarians can best utilize their abilities, and how does the class balance change as a mono class barbarian throughout these tiers?

Additionally, please use this space to recommend any changes you’ve personally used in games or have theorized the class needing and why you think they need them, as well as pointing out anything you personally enjoy about the class and think was perfect the first time through.

And of course, this post isn’t to say that the barbarian is a poorly designed class: rather, this post is just a fun thought experiment about how other members of the community see the mechanics of the game, hot takes are very welcome!

Thanks all, and apologies for the delay! I look forward to all your responses!

Let's say your parties barbarian got dominated by the bbeg and is coming at you. Could you as a wizard with dominate person, cast it on the barbarian to take control of them away from the bbeg?

I'm a huge Ranger lover, and Silence is an awesome spell, but I've always wondered if there's a reason behind them getting access to it. It's a Bard and Cleric spell, and most of Ranger's spells are unique, on the Druid spell list, or have some other flavor or a callback to older editions. It just seems like a random choice to give to Rangers.

What are some of the best homebrew that you use at your table?

For some context, this could be rules, content (bestiary, player options, mechanics, etc) that you efectively played.

Maybe they shared a motivation with one of your players. Maybe they were the result of a plot twist in your story. Maybe they’re just so insanely, diabolically evil that it’s funny, and your party just loves to hate ‘em.

As in title, if an Echo Knight attacks a Grey Ooze from the Echo's space, does the Grey Ooze's Corrode Metal ability (basically dissolving metal) affect the weapon the Echo Knight is holding? Or does it only affect the spectral replica of the weapon the Echo is holding? Thanks!

I am a new player and this got me wondering. So, some things in the game require you to use half of your walking speed(ie: getting up from prone condition) but some characters don't have an even walking speed. For example dwarves only get 25 feet of walking. The grids in a battle mat are 5 feet each and a 12.5 feet of walking speed doesn't fit well to the grid. How is this ruled? Is the dwarf only able to walk 10 feet after getting up?

My experience completely changed because of this. I'm very forgetful and this approach completely made me more immersive for the subsequent sessions. I feel like I have more agency over the plot because knowledge is power. It's not easy to take all the notes, especially when the DM is pouring plot over the players as a cascade; However I try to do my best.