D&D 5E Xanathar's Guide to Everything: Hexblade Subclass

[Gadget]

I’ll be curious to read the full fluff on it. It Hex and Blade seems odd for the patron; it almost feels like a stealth fix for the Blade pact boon. A Hexer as a type of warlock, one who curses, I can see, and tying it to shadows I can see. I think I’d rather they just patched Blade, because every warlock player I’ve had at my table wanted Blade until they realized that EB+agonizing blast was better than Blade+Extra attack+Cha to Damage.


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I've felt this way ever since they posted the original UA article on the Hexblade.

 

[gyor]

Its a mix of wanting to bring the popular Hexblade into 5e and improve the options for bladelock.

 

[Sacrosanct]

After watching that video, I'm pretty sure I would never want Mearls as a player at my table. He likes to create inner party conflict, and to have other players distrust his character, and thinks that's a good thing. I can't think of a worse thing, to be honest. There are plenty of other challenges PCs face in the game, they shouldn't have to keep questioning the motives of another PC and always worry about not trusting a fellow party member. I get that it's a matter of opinion and taste, but it's huge red flags for me whenever I see or hear someone say they like to play evil PCs because 99% of the time, that person thinks it's all fun and the other players are annoyed AF and aren't enjoying the game.

 

[Chaosmancer]

After watching that video, I'm pretty sure I would never want Mearls as a player at my table. He likes to create inner party conflict, and to have other players distrust his character, and thinks that's a good thing. I can't think of a worse thing, to be honest. There are plenty of other challenges PCs face in the game, they shouldn't have to keep questioning the motives of another PC and always worry about not trusting a fellow party member. I get that it's a matter of opinion and taste, but it's huge red flags for me whenever I see or hear someone say they like to play evil PCs because 99% of the time, that person thinks it's all fun and the other players are annoyed AF and aren't enjoying the game.

I somewhat agree, but personally, I'm more interested in the guy doing that sort of "should we trust them fully" type of thing on purpose instead of what I see more commonly, which is people at each other's throats by accident.

At least if one guy is planning it you can find ways to dial it down if it gets to be too much, but when the party is just full of people who don't like each other its just a massive headache.


Also, I do enjoy players who can be tempted or who could make poor "moral" decisions that don't involve "I kill the barmaid for not bringing my drink fast enough". I love using demons and devils, but when everyone's first and last reaction is "No" without any thought and even when they are offered things like the return of a loved one or the object of their quest then it kind of losses the fun.

They are playing smart, but playing everything smart and by the book can be very dry storytelling sometimes.

 

[JackOfAllTirades]

I somewhat agree, but personally, I'm more interested in the guy doing that sort of "should we trust them fully" type of thing on purpose instead of what I see more commonly, which is people at each other's throats by accident.

At least if one guy is planning it you can find ways to dial it down if it gets to be too much, but when the party is just full of people who don't like each other its just a massive headache.


Also, I do enjoy players who can be tempted or who could make poor "moral" decisions that don't involve "I kill the barmaid for not bringing my drink fast enough". I love using demons and devils, but when everyone's first and last reaction is "No" without any thought and even when they are offered things like the return of a loved one or the object of their quest then it kind of losses the fun.

They are playing smart, but playing everything smart and by the book can be very dry storytelling sometimes.

This is spot-on, and I think it's a matter of knowing the difference between inter-party tension v. inter-party conflict. A little dramatic tension can make things interesting; but open conflict will completely de-rail a game session. My last gaming group was great at generating and dealing with tension between characters; I miss those guys! When one of our characters (including mine) did something "questionable" they knew how to roll with it. ("Hey look guys, I charmed that succubus we've been looking for! She's totally under my control now!" She totally wasn't... talk about a disaster.)

 

[gyor]

This is spot-on, and I think it's a matter of knowing the difference between inter-party tension v. inter-party conflict. A little dramatic tension can make things interesting; but open conflict will completely de-rail a game session. My last gaming group was great at generating and dealing with tension between characters; I miss those guys! When one of our characters (including mine) did something "questionable" they knew how to roll with it. ("Hey look guys, I charmed that succubus we've been looking for! She's totally under my control now!" She totally wasn't... talk about a disaster.)

I can totally see a Succubus topping from the bottom like that.

 

[JackOfAllTirades]

I can totally see a Succubus topping from the bottom like that.

It wasn't my fault. She tried to charm me first! But oh no, you just try explaining that to a Paladin....