D&D 5E messy's 5e newbie questions thread

[Len]

31. while it's good to see that paladins aren't restricted to lawful good (or any other alignment), it seems that the tenets of all paladin oaths are geared toward good characters. am i missing something?

You're missing the basic idea of the paladin, I guess. From the PHB:

Whatever their origin and their mission, paladins are united by their oaths to stand against the forces of evil.

and:

A paladin swears to uphold justice and righteousness, to stand with the good things of the world against the encroaching darkness, and to hunt the forces of evil wherever they lurk.

 

[billd91]

let's call david's initiative question 26...

27. there seem to be three kinds of spellcasters:

wisdom-based/can prepare spell from a large list- cleric, druid, paladin, ranger.
charisma-based/can prepare from a small list the player chooses- bard, sorcerer, warlock.
intelligence-based/can prep from a personal spellbook- wizard.

why did they deviate from this with the arcane trickster and eldritch knight (intelligence-based/can prepare from a small list the player chooses)?

Don't think of it as a question of deviating from a particular rule structure. Think of it as holding true to a long-standing trope in D&D - that of the multi-class fighter/wizard or rogue/wizard of editions past. Those would have been Intelligence-based casters. And so they still are in 5e.

29. sleep doesn't seem to allow a saving throw to resist its effects. am i reading this right?

That's right. It affects a limited number of creatures based on their hit points, weakest first. It's a bit more like earlier editions in that respect.

32. is there a fan-friendly spell list somewhere? flipping back and forth from spell lists to spell descriptions is a bit of a hassle.

I find the spell cards by Gale Force Nine to be pretty useful. Alternatively, photocopy the list pages to have them readily available as you flip pages into the descriptions.

 

[kolya]

27. there seem to be three kinds of spellcasters:

wisdom-based/can prepare spell from a large list- cleric, druid, paladin, ranger.
charisma-based/can prepare from a small list the player chooses- bard, sorcerer, warlock.
intelligence-based/can prep from a personal spellbook- wizard.

why did they deviate from this with the arcane trickster and eldritch knight (intelligence-based/can prepare from a small list the player chooses)?

Paladin is Charisma. The pattern was broken from the start.

 

[Charlaquin]

27. there seem to be three kinds of spellcasters:

wisdom-based/can prepare spell from a large list- cleric, druid, paladin, ranger.
charisma-based/can prepare from a small list the player chooses- bard, sorcerer, warlock.
intelligence-based/can prep from a personal spellbook- wizard.

why did they deviate from this with the arcane trickster and eldritch knight (intelligence-based/can prepare from a small list the player chooses)?

Not quite. Warlocks, sorcerers, bards, paladins, and Rangers (as well as arcane tricksters abs Eldritch knights) don’t actually prepare spells. They just have a number of “known spells” chosen from their spell list that they can cast using their spell slots without having to prepare. Clerics and druids prepare spells from their full spell list, and can cast any of their prepared spells using spell slots. This is, in effect, like being able to choose their “known spells” every day, which gives them a lot of versatility compared to other casters. Wizards are the odd class out. They prepare the list of spells they can cast from each day like clerics and druids do, but instead of choosing their prepared spells from their full class spell list, they prepare from the spells in their spell book. This is a feature unique to wizards, and seems to exist mostly for legacy reasons.

Which ability a class’s spell attacks and DC key off of is unrelated to whether the class prepares spells or has a set of known spells.

28. can a warlock with pact of the blade choose any weapon to create? so he/she could create a greatsword?

Yes, although it’s probably a good idea to use a one-handed weapon to keep the other hand free for somatic and material components.

29. sleep doesn't seem to allow a saving throw to resist its effects. am i reading this right?

You’re right that it doesn’t allow a save. Don’t get too excited though, it’s actually really bad. You roll for how many “hp worth of creature’s it can affect.” Then you start with the lowest HP creature in the area, and subtract its HP from the total you rolled. If there are points remaining, it’s affected and you move on to the creature with the next lowest hit points. Unless you really want to keep the targets alive, you would be much better off using literally any AoE damage spell.

30. does the writing at the bottom of the (beautiful) tapestry on page 73 mean something? or is it gibberish?

If I recall correctly it translates into something silly. I don’t remember what though.

31. while it's good to see that paladins aren't restricted to lawful good (or any other alignment), it seems that the tenets of all paladin oaths are geared toward good characters. am i missing something?

There are more evil-themed paths in other books. But Alignment doesn’t really mean anything in 5e. The number of mechanics that actually care abut your alignment is vanishingly small.

32. is there a fan-friendly spell list somewhere? flipping back and forth from spell lists to spell descriptions is a bit of a hassle.

Probably. Try google.

 

[MarkB]

27. there seem to be three kinds of spellcasters:

wisdom-based/can prepare spell from a large list- cleric, druid, paladin, ranger.
charisma-based/can prepare from a small list the player chooses- bard, sorcerer, warlock.
intelligence-based/can prep from a personal spellbook- wizard.

why did they deviate from this with the arcane trickster and eldritch knight (intelligence-based/can prepare from a small list the player chooses)?

It feels like you're making associations that don't actually exist here. There are multiple ways of preparing and knowing spells, yes, and there is also spellcasting keyed off each of the three mental ability scores. But any association between those two things is purely coincidental.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

Not quite. Warlocks, sorcerers, bards, paladins, and Rangers (as well as arcane tricksters abs Eldritch knights) don’t actually prepare spells. They just have a number of “known spells” chosen from their spell list that they can cast using their spell slots without having to prepare. Clerics and druids prepare spells from their full spell list, and can cast any of their prepared spells using spell slots. This is, in effect, like being able to choose their “known spells” every day, which gives them a lot of versatility compared to other casters. Wizards are the odd class out. They prepare the list of spells they can cast from each day like clerics and druids do, but instead of choosing their prepared spells from their full class spell list, they prepare from the spells in their spell book. This is a feature unique to wizards, and seems to exist mostly for legacy reasons.

Actually paladins do prepare spells...as well as get a list of oath spells they always have prepared. Rangers got hit twice with the short end of the stick here.

 

[Charlaquin]

Actually paladins do prepare spells...as well as get a list of oath spells they always have prepared. Rangers got hit twice with the short end of the stick here.

Oh yeah, they do. Shows how many Paladins I play.

 

[messy]

33. is a shield considered an improvised weapon?

34. can a shield be used in dual-wielding? thinking about warduke here...

 

[iserith]

33. is a shield considered an improvised weapon?

If used as such, sure.

34. can a shield be used in dual-wielding? thinking about warduke here...

I don't see anything about the feat that would preclude it, but notably donning or doffing a shield is an action so the drawing and stowing part of the feat may be in conflict. DM will have to sort that out.

 

[Dausuul]

33. is a shield considered an improvised weapon?

That is an issue subject to much debate. Jeremy Crawford says a shield isn't a weapon but can be used as an improvised weapon. However, the answer at your table is up to your DM.

34. can a shield be used in dual-wielding? thinking about warduke here...

Even if allowed, it's highly impractical. Improvised weapons do not count as Light, so you need the Dual Wielder feat; and the only way to get proficiency with improvised weapons is to take the Tavern Brawler feat. So you're investing two feats to do this, and giving up your bonus action, for a small amount of extra damage and +1 to your AC.

Now, to the question of whether it is in fact allowed: Jeremy Crawford says no, but his reasoning is kinda unclear. He seems to be saying that you can't dual wield improvised weapons, which is an odd place to end up.

My personal ruling is that you can treat your shield as an (improvised) weapon, or as a non-weapon, but you have to choose one or the other - you can't call it a non-weapon for the Dueling fighting style and then turn around and say it's a weapon for dual wielding.

Given all this, I suggest taking the Shield Master feat instead. Then you can wade into the debate about whether you're allowed to use the bonus action to shove before you make your regular attacks.