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You going on huge tangent. Is there a reason? You are taking a totally random example I used to make a judgement on how I play the game and calling me a hypocrite. Is there a reason why you are making personal attacks instead of talking about the ‘usefulness of the dodge action?’

He asked "Any Thoughts?" I told him my thoughts, directly answering his question.

Personally I would not have undead use spells and the like to supplement their movement when they are turned. 'Turned' to me is not that the undead is "afraid" and thus has to get away in whatever manner they can. After all... skeletons and zombies can be Turned, but they are mindless and have no emotions for which "fear" could be considered one of them. Instead, I see Turned as a magical...

As James pointed out, Dual Wielder gives +1 AC in addition to other benefits so it's inarguably more powerful than just a +1 AC. Toughness gives the same HP benefit as +2 to con, which I think is at least on par with +1 AC. The -5 to hit, +10 to damage feats (even without their other benefits) outclass +2 to hit or reroll 1s and 2s on damage IMO. The 'extra attack that gets stat bonus' from...

I have them only use their spells to escape as a last resort in place of using Dodge. My rationale is essentially that it's only when they are truly cornered that their instinct to flee gives way slightly to seeking rational, more complex means of escape.

Which you must be dual-wielding in order to use. The Defense fighting style gives you a +1 bonus, while also letting you benefit from a shield and heavy armor. It pushes the envelope forward one step, instead of helping you to offset the AC penalty associated with not using a shield. Which is only useful in situations where you have those penalties. Again, you're offsetting penalties rather than...

Who knows why James Grover was asking the question. Perhaps it was to figure out if he should multiclass to fighter or take a feat/ASI level. Perhaps he's looking at doing system tweaking or designing a new class. "Hmm, should I give another fighting style at 6th or an extra feat?". He had a reason to ask it, why shoot down the question?

Ditto. And ditto again

And less likely to pull an AoO when switching targets. And in general better able to target high value targets (casters/commanders) The question shouldn't be "are melee or ranged more important" but "Once you've got your tanks and your healers, does it make sense to go ranged or melee." I think the answer is too obviously ranged, and it should be a harder choice.

If i need 11+ to hit you You give me disad then i have to make two 11+ rolls which is a 25% chance. Thats the same as a net 5 on the d20 shift. Thats dropping me from 50% to 25% or a net half the original chance etc etc etc. No idea what leads you to see it as not altering a roll by 1. Thats not math.

It doesn't really matter what the right answer is to the which is stronger question, though. Feats are not the same thing as fighting styles, and there's really nothing to be gained from comparing them unless you're considering creating feats that give fighting styles. I wouldn't do that unless I was also a bunch of other feats that granted class features like Sneak Attack, Flurry of Blows...

It's not just feats, it's feats/ASI. +2 DEX, for example, can be +1 AC, +1 to hit/damage for every ranged and finesse attack, +1 to Dex saves, +1 Init, +1 dex checks and skills. As a side note "+2 to every attack roll you ever make" seems to be referring to a fighting style that actually only applies to ranged weapons. There is no fighting style that will grant +2 to hit with melee...

It is not a +/- 5 at 50% see here. This topic comes up a LOT in forums. At 50% chance to hit ADV/DIS has the least effect on the outcome, not even altering a roll by 1. So when there is a 50% chance to succeed, then dodge is a bad option. This is like saying why have the dash action, its a terrible option for action assuming the enemy is within 25ft of you. That being said, you are correct...

That was my thinking at first. I thought the Fighting Styles, being a core feature of the Fighter, should be quite powerful but really aren't after further thought. Actually, Dual Wielder grants a +1 AC bonus. And Sharp Shooter negating the disadvantage for long-range shots equates to about a +3 attack bonus, not to mention removing penalties for cover (which equal out to a +2 attack...

Well, when you put it that way . . . . . . Maybe it's just because I took the TWF style.

Agreed. Of course, I was also one of those kids devouring the Appendices in Return of the King - so we might be outliers... Rereading Tolkien reminds me of the original flavor of much of my campaign world, it's been somewhat lost over the years, but I can still see hints of it when I look. D.

You say that, but in your example of displeasure how did you know who the Ankheg was going to target? If you didn't have an in-character reason to be sure the Ankheg was going to target you, you had no reason to expect it to move 30' to attack you and then waste its attack if you cast sanctuary on yourself. And in your other objection (the second quote above), how would you know that the enemy...

My experience has been that it can be fun in many ways (focus on NPC interaction, exploring PC backstory and connections, less decision-paralysis since there's only one person making decisions). That said unless the GM is willing to end the whole thing due to a few bad rolls or bad decisions by the player, it is pretty minimal in the way of tension. Killing valued NPCs gets old after a while.

Okay, so today. . . Physio first and then I'll work on the next post tonight. But it likely won't go up until tomorrow.

I love a fate of the world philosophical debate. Uncle Uru is a fine fey titan.

Fighting styles are significantly more powerful than feats, in my opinion. There's no feat which is as powerful as +1 to AC, or +2 to every attack roll you ever make. They aren't flashy, but they apply so frequently that they're on par with raising your primary stat, which is more than can be said for the vast majority of feats.

Elemental Command 6 Feather Falling 19 Free Action 23 Invisibility 16 Shooting Stars 22 Spell Storing 20 Spell Turning 20 Telekinesis 22

Gimlak, laconically as always, says "Yes it was swift, and I pledge to avenge him. Him, and the others the Korrund dogs have hurt or killed." He then looks at the crystal. It's beauty is lot to him, as it brings back too many years of suffering and hardship.

Fighting styles are definitely not as strong as feats, and I think that's a good thing. The two weapon fighting style felt like a nice boost to my dual-wielding battlemaster but it wasn't so overwhelmingly good that I felt like I was losing out when I picked up a bow, or grabbed a shield. There's only two ways to get more than 1 fighting style: be a champion or multiclass. If the fighting...

If you are worried about divination spells, remember that many divinations like detect magic, locate object etc...are stopped by a thin sheet of lead. So, if you are smuggling illegal magical items, lead-lined boxes will prevent detection, as well as 'safe rooms'. Nystul's Magic Aura can make any item's aura look like anything else. Or make any person's aura look like something else. Make...

Practical issues: 1. Scrying costs money. A caster that can cast scrying has far more important and lucrative things to do then be in Law Enforcement. Most likely he would be an expert for hire, charging market rates for casting of that spell. Even wealthy cities won’t pay that rate except for exceptional circumstances. 2. Speak with dead - you need a body and that body can only...

Nalvis brandishes his axe and says, "Hostile it is." He will charge the Medderin that threw the rock at him. Mekric curses and draws back her bow to shoot at her best target. Arbrine feels her temper spike at this unprovoked attack. She will charge her best target, eager to use her new harnin knuckles and use Way to burn her opponent with fire when she strikes.

As the rock leaves his hand Adi has a brilliant idea...he runs and finds a new stone...this one he charges with electromagnetic way...he approaches the ledge on his belly again, and throws the stone at the nearest bird.

How the heck are you still missing my thread about the dodge action that I started yesterday BEFORE you even asked me to

A feat / asi is stronger.

Alternatively you could homebrew a few feats that would allow some very warlords abilities and the fighter could focus on them.

valor bard / battlemaster fighter Choose the right spells and make them fluff-wise "un-magic" (if needed). Heroism is a short command like "you can go on". Vicious Mockery is some military scolding of the enemy. Hypnotical Pattern is some bad "stand-and-deliver" gaze & gesture, ....

Taylar stays with Vittero while his mind clears. He sees what Adi is doing and nods in approval, saying to himself. "Good idea, Adi. Kill those birds and lets eat 'em to gain their power."

Not even close to that PHB's d*** effin' index! :mad: So the who-can-cast-this-spell-problem is easily solved by a paper bookmark in a paper book.

Better still, every time a zone of truth results in a wrongful conviction, wait a few months and then leak evidence that proves their innocence. After a few such cases, you can spark a backlash leading to evidence gathered using zone of truth being considered inadmissible in court.

It can go either way. There's examples of both in the book. But it would make more sense...

Merin nods to Tor, as if giving him a silent command. Tor nods in return, sensing what Merin is up to. Tor hands over his bow and sword; he makes no attempt to hand over his shield, nor does he do anything to draw attention to the fact. He simply hands over his weapons, and returns to his place. Merin then hands over the only weapon he carries, which is his bow. Merin says, "Yes, indeed....

I'd certainly allow the use of abilities (including spells) to flee. In fact, I think that's fantastic. I turn the lich! Poof! He teleports.

Still playing their parts, Sannit looks affronted at the suggestion that he lay down his weapons. Bolo puts a hand on his arm and gives a condescending laugh, saying to the rest of the Seekers and loud enough for all to hear, "The powerful magisters of Asylim fear what we eight can do with our little weapons. How droll." To the soldiers she says, "Very well. We will disarm, trusting in the...

Oh gods, that guy’s dragon t-shirt; I've seen it on so many hardcore gamers! For my part, I think there’s some essential alchemy to D&D that gets lost when you have fewer than three players. It’s a collaborative game, and as the amount of collaboration dwindles, so does the game. That being said, I’m a twin, and growing up my brother and I would often run games with just one player and one...

Elemental Command 8 Feather Falling 19 Free Action 22 Invisibility 16 Shooting Stars 22 Spell Storing 20 Spell Turning 20 Telekinesis 22

The folks who investigate the crimes and the folks who commit the crimes have significant overlap or other strong, close ties.

Interesting. You are being a bit sanctimonious about morality/ethics, and yet you seem skeptical that some of us may choose to act ethically even when nobody's watching and there's no impact on anybody's sales. I actually use lots of those other resources (subclasses, monsters, etc.) AND I purchase the books. I also download PDFs of other games, in order to see what they are like (sort...

Yeah, when you use inaccurate math and take the dodge action in the least favorable circumstances, it’s absolutely a waste of time. It’s complete garbage in social interactions and only occasionally useful during exploration, too.

I think the error is in trying to estimate value divorced from challenge when you are looking at a choice. Against a beast/monstrosity like say a bear or a troll, getting one guy close and dodging can be great. It's not a very bright enemy and it's not very versatile - so if the guy hit it early to draw its ire then starts dodging that's a lot of attacks made at disad. Even if it decides...

Depends. I might rule that their fear prevents rational thought. Spellcasting is complicated and requires a degree of focus. If one is too terrified, they are more likely to fumble the spell or even forget that they have them. I mean, when you are scared think about how hard it can be just to get a key out and open a door, possibly dropping the key. If something that mundane can be so much more...

It goes beyond that. Everything WootC does has consequences in attitudes. When the favored soul and the storm magic sorc came out, many DMs openned to homebrew and o make concessions for the sake of a character. Then hings died out a bit, but then when the Storm Magic was modified for publication DMs received a message "The favored soul is overpowered" and "the sorcerer is perfect" some even...

Be a battle master fighter. Prioritize charisma. Use inspiring leader and the rally maneuver and the positioning maneuver and the maneuver that lets an ally attack in place of you. That covers most things the 4e battlemaster could do. You can’t do them as often. Throw on 2 levels of mastermind rogue if desired and that should cover the concept though it’s still not as satisfying as if the...

So as long as you don't do the stealing/infringement, you are ok with the use of it? So why don't you (or do you?) download all your RPG content from various websites? They are all available and since you wouldn't be doing anything wrong (only the person hosting the infringing content is) you would be morally justified. It sounds to me though like you do purchase at least some of what you use....

Vik adds, "The Spiofthest fellow did not mention any other people in the area. I wonder who these might be." Veera says, "Good idea." At Abrine's wise offer, Veera knocks an arrow to her bow, though she keeps the weapon at her side. The crew moors their boat and ties the leader to a tree to secure it from drifting back out. As everyone disembarks, Veera comments. "This is really much...

Loving this work so far! My request is a revamp of the mummy lord. To this date the absolute most disappointing creature for its CR my group has seen to date. Its defense is so low a stiff breeze can kill it.

Sorry for the improper format of numbering, I pasted this from Word and they didn't port over right

The Sticks and their allies cautiously worked their way through the beginning of the swamp to parlay with the Aldani. The isolated lobster-folk saw them coming, and some shuffled off into deeper water while a few others silently held their ground; neither threatening nor passive in their stance. I'd like a few rolls: Your choice of: Insight (to see if you can figure out their attitude);...

Raven Elk sees Adi passing him as he was returning with an armful of pecans, lost in thoughts of shelling roasting, seasoning and eating the warm toasty nuts with their dinner, sharing them, of course. Raven Elk believed Adi saw what he was doing and was going down to get more pecans. He was completely surprised when he got to the ledge where the rest of the crew was, that he turned back to the...

What happens if Dodge has no effect, which it wont in some cases? I will start a separate thread on this.

I think that is fair. The point is it won't try to come closer or attack. Fleeing in the most efficient manner seems reasonable. It might just leave and plot and come back later with reinforcements if it's smart enough to dim door.

In my idea of a warlord, I would combine Bardic Inspiration Dice and Superiority dice. You could then use it to directly buff an ally on the roll of their choice or pull off a sweet maneuver. I think that would give me a lot of what I would want out of a Warlord. So a Bard/Battlemaster mix (maybe some Mastermind too) would be my choice for an existing class build that gets the job done.

After Maka has offered his words, he thinks of palming his own forehead. Obviously, Adisakti who has effectively deafened himself, can hear not a single word Maka has said. Render Mental Aid: Aid(Commercial) + Soothe(Collegiate) + d100 Taylar: 20 + 18 + 50 = 88 x 2 (leaves) = 176 Maka: 24 + 19 + 50 = 93 Time: 18 days / (6 + 5 + 176 + 93) = 1 hour, 33 minutes Like Taylar, Maka too lacks the...

Adi sees Maka’s mouth moving but can’t hear him... so convinced by the excellence of his idea he smiles at Maka, assuming that he is saying something encouraging, and gives him a thumbs up....Adi notices the stone and thinks...-if I can’t catch one, at least it’ll be fun to harass them- he grabs the stone, rolls over and throws it, from the prone position, at the nearest bird.

In addition to the excellent suggestions above, I'll just throw in that in my campaign world not all magic is available to the PCs. NPCs create new spells and rituals, some of which may have a cost that PCs are unwilling to pay. For example, some of the member of the guild get tattoos that effectively allow them to alter self at will. The tattoos are created from the life blood of the...

I’ll respond more in depth later but what tactics do a mix of melee and range allow if not the ones i’ve been talking about?

Just need corwin's perception. Charwoman Gene

OverlordOcelot I think you're making this out to be a big deal when it isn't. When I dm, I play the opponents in a way that would be logical to their motives and their intelligence and their tactical and arcane knowledge guides the kind of decisions I make for them. I, personally, don’t change an action based on what a player does unless I feel it makes sense to change the action. ...

I can't say I've let it creep into my character, but that isn't to say I haven't let it creep into play. The urge to rules lawyer is somethings strong. Some deep breaths help it pass though.

In addition to dodging while holding a choke point, I find characters that can dodge and attack in the same turn can get a lot out of Dodging. Monks, Somebody with a reliable Reaction attack like Sentinel, or even the oft forgotten Frenzying Berserker. I personally don't use Dodge a lot since I play a lot of Barbarians, and unless you are a Frenzying Berserker, its a fairly sure way to end a...

Maka frowns at Adi, and says: "Don't be foolish, brother. If the birds have some instinctive talent with The Way, they might be able to affect you regardless of whether or not you actually hear their song. Come, help me with Vittero." Maka will attempt to enhance Taylar's attempt to aid Vittero.

In a few moments of examination, while sliding the tips of his fingers over the etched design, Adisakti confirms his suspicion that Way Lines have been altered with regard to the door. Mundanely, he also that a physical "key" in the shape of a triangle is missing from the center and needed to complete the design. Vittero, still mindless to his surroundings, does not notice that Adisakti has...

Did you post for the round?

For the life of me, I don't understand why a player would choose to create conflict in the party when there's a whole world of villains and monsters with whom to have conflicts. Those that do try to create drama in the party find they don't get invited back to our games.

Hiya! Two things come to mind. ONE: Every "made man/woman has to take a dip in The Black Pool". Those that survive, have a permanent selection of resistances/wards on them (non-detect, mind blanking type stuff), those that don't, well, aren't alive to talk about it. Now this can be done in one of two ways... --One A: It's magic, Jim. Yup...magic pool. Maybe it was where the Goddess of...

Jumbled Aura. Any creature entering within 5 feet of a jumblie or starting its turn within 5 feet of a jumblie must make a DC 9 Intelligence saving throw. For every additional jumblie whose area the creature is within, rather than require multiple saves, increasing the DC by +1. On a failed save, the creature can't speak intelligibly and any spells with verbal components that it casts while...

"Insight?" Not per se. My guess would be (and personal rationale has always been) because Clerics are the "dealing with other planes" guys, in general. Their whole magic shtick is about contacting/receiving power from other (generally, the "higher" or "lower") planes. Makes sense Clerics get plane shift a little earlier. And, as you noted, the arcane "teleport" is a 5th level spell. So...

Alarmed by the incident with the birds but chalking it up to being on a grand adventure, Adi is eager to continue exploring. He "feels" the door to find if it is imbued with way lines like the portals. He also examines the markings... He considers for a moment attempting to open the door...but hears Taylar say something about waiting until everyone is well and thinks twice. He nods...

Okay, so Hiromi is at HP 2/16 (when you take the Drained condition into account).

Let the music play- clap, clap- Down in Fraggle Rock- clap, clap..

Stalker0 My thoughts were perfectly stated by OverlordOcelot. I'd just add three things. First, having the entire organization wear masks or a homebrew common magic item cowl of face hiding in public really curtails scrying. I wouldn't permit "that masked man we saw yesterday" as a "particular creature" for scrying. Second, a mask or illusion magic can fool the senses of a dead person...

My groups just had one in our last Starfinder session. Facing an undead solarian who is building up energy and preparing to unleash a supernova AoE attack. "Hey guys... I've still got this fire extinguisher in my pack!" It was pretty funny watching somebody spritz down Goku and foil his attack. The rest of the group wailed on the solarian while the fire extenguisher guy suppressed his...

If the Ankheg started off 30 feet away from you, how did you know that you were its target to begin with? Since your objection is that the GM switched to a different target, not that he just picked the wizard to begin with, you had to have knowledge of who he was targeting. I don't see how your character would know that unless you were using some (unmentioned) mind reading ability, which means...

Too Cute to Die- It has advantage to saves and attacks against it are at disadvantage like it is always dodging. You could always have giant teeth on the bottom side where it floats down upon your head causing you to wear it like a hat while it eats you. It then uses its alter self ability to appear like you.

Location: Warehouse Basement; Encounter: Hobgoblin Command Staff The hobgoblins looked at Dandin in disbelief for only a moment until the one closest to the general said (in Goblin), "Escaped prisoner." To which, General Shorgg responded, "Kill it." Two thuggish-looking hobgoblins, (presumably the lowest ranked in the room), moved to murder Dandin, but then one of them spotted Tommi...

Taylar uses the measure of leaves of Soothing. Render Mental Aid: Aid(Commercial) + Soothe(Collegiate) + d100 Effectiveness: 20 + 18 + 50 = 88 x 2 (leaves) = 176 Time: 18 days / (6 + 5 + 176) = 2 hours, 19 minutes Taylar lacks the actual Mystic talent necessary to to unravel the the effects of the song that has lulled Vittero into his current state of mind, but his manipulation does...

I'm a mastermind criminal and I know the city has access to all kinds of divination magic. Perrrrfect. Excuse me while I pause to steeple my fingers. Ahhhh... The pitfall of spells like detect thoughts and zone of truth is that the casters of such spells have a proclivity to take the information as truth. I will use that to my advantage. I will lie not only to the city officials, but my...

You keep on ignoring that Spreading damage around is useful in itself. All your arguments are against dodging preventing damage. It’s not always good at preventing damaging. But it is either good at preventing damage or spreading damage around. Both of which are team wins.

The figs have passed their due time; and though the fruit had littered the ground, only the aroma remains of their presence. The small denizens of the hidden valley must have consumed the fallen fruit. The pecans, however, are in prime and have begun to burst from their casings to fall upon the fertile soil. The small varmints are diligently collecting their new fare, even as Raven Elk collects...