The last year's worth of character creation options...

Nevvur · Jun 10, 2019

I've been out of the loop for the last year or so, not really in touch with all the content that's come out for 5e in that time. Nor do I want to spend much time researching it, even as I prepare to launch a new campaign where all official resources will be available. My concern is whether other DMs consider any of the new character creation options imbalanced, and if so, which ones?

My approach, generally speaking, will be to let them pick and choose as they please and spend time researching those specific options so that I can adapt my DM style to them. However, I thought it might be helpful to identify some of the nastier or subtler options I might overlook. My players coordinate well, so combinations of classes and tactics emerging from new content is also of interest to me.

jgsugden · Jun 10, 2019

There is nothing from the last year that is shockingly unbalanced. If people ranked the least balanced elements of 5E, the top winners would pretty much al come from the PHB... mostly from the feats area.

Larrin · Jun 10, 2019

Assuming we're using only the official printed Books: The Majority of options I've heard complained about being unbalanced, too weak or too strong, are in the Players hand book (

polymorph shenanigans,

Ranger-too weak, Great weapon master too strong, etc.).

Some play test material is a bit out of line, I've heard complaints in both directions on Psion/mystic, Tunnel fight weapon style gets pretty dumb with polearms, and if you're using DMsGuild who knows. But of the recently published book stuff the haven't been many complaints of REAL problems that I recall. There hasn't really been that much published to begin with.

Oh, wait, Spirit of healing in Xanathar's guide. It is very contentious. Essentially a 2nd level spell that in a minute can do 10d6 healing to everyone provided you have time to make a conga line (ie out of combat). There are many pages of arguments for and against it being a problem, as well as a hundred different proposed fixes. [personally I feel when cast as a 3rd level spell it is a reasonable 3rd level spell, in the way that fireball is a reasonable 3rd level spell

]

Edit: Ah, it says "within the last year", well, not much has changed in the last year...

Nevvur · Jun 11, 2019

Thanks guys, popping back in real quick while the thread is fresh to shift the goal posts a bit. I barely permitted anything outside the PHB for my previous campaigns, so it's germane to remark on XGTE, SCAG, etc.

@Larrin I'm aware of the Spirit of Healing one, was still hanging around here a bit when that came out. My table gets the nerf-it treatment FWIW. This is precisely the thing I'm asking about, though, thanks for calling it back to attention!
@jgsugden Good to hear. Though secretly I was hoping for a new peasant rail gun...

Radaceus · Jun 11, 2019

my Moon Druid (10th atm), in Mad Mage campaign uses Healing Spirit often as post combat (self-mitigating it's potential to avoid DM nerfhammer

), and at higher level slot, it pretty much is a full party heal for one spell slot. I've contemplated casting it pre wildshape, and using it to heal myself during combat...I also have warcaster feat...

MonkeezOnFire · Jun 11, 2019

The only releases since Xanathar's that have player options would be the Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron and the Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica. I haven't looked through Wayfinder's but I can speak for Guildmaster's. While the class options are presented in the context of Ravnica the subclasses and many of the races are generic enough to find into any fantasy setting. From my play experience I'd say that nothing falls out of line of the power level of the existing player's handbook options.

Swarmkeeper · Jun 11, 2019

MonkeezOnFire said:
The only releases since Xanathar's that have player options would be the Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron and the Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica. I haven't looked through Wayfinder's but I can speak for Guildmaster's. While the class options are presented in the context of Ravnica the subclasses and many of the races are generic enough to find into any fantasy setting. From my play experience I'd say that nothing falls out of line of the power level of the existing player's handbook options.

Don't forget Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, which was also released in 2018. Several PC race options in there.

More to the point, nothing in MToF screams "overpowered" by itself or when considered in combination with any class/subclass options from the PHB, SCAG, XGtE, or GGR.

MonkeezOnFire · Jun 11, 2019

DM Dave1 said:
Don't forget Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, which was also released in 2018. Several PC race options in there.

More to the point, nothing in MToF screams "overpowered" by itself or when considered in combination with any class/subclass options from the PHB, SCAG, XGtE, or GGR.

I totally forgot about the races in MToF! The only thing I can think of that even comes close to pushing boundaries is the Githyanki which gets free proficiency with greatswords and afaik it's the only race to grant proficiency with a two handed weapon. But that's very much a stretch and I don't think having a wizard with great sword proficiency really breaks anything.

The races in Volo's were far more variable imo.

Stalker0 · Jun 11, 2019

Hex blades- some people see them as the answer to all warlock problems, others see them as raw power creep. You decide!

Radaceus · Jun 11, 2019

from Volo's, Yaun-ti seem pretty powerful as a player race, and I agree on the Gith races from MToF having some OP potential. But both these examples have not occurred as an issue yet in my campaign, thanks to my players racially profiling them as evil

Stalker0 said:
Hex blades- some people see them as the answer to all warlock problems, others see them as raw power creep. You decide!

I currently have a player playing a Hexblade, and I cant say it stands out any more than the PHB warlocks, the Celestial Warlock in another campaign I play in seems to be a better option if you want to crunch performance. Granted, only two examples, so it probably depends on the driver and not so much the machine, YMMV