Level Up (A5E) Vampersan's Rules Inquiry Thread

Vampersan

Explorer
Hello All.

I have a few rules questions I'd like to get some clarification on. I do not, however, want to clutter up the forum with multiple threads asking just one question. So, I figured the respectful thing to do would be to gather all of my questions (that I have now, and those that I might have in the future) into this personal thread. :)

1. The Mending Cantrip: Upon reading the spell, it sounds largely similar to the O5e version. However, now that maintenance and damage/broken are a mechanic in A5e, I was wondering if this cantrip is capable of repairing "broken" weapons/armor/shields to their normal functionality? For example, could a PC use mending to repair a broken longsword (and thus returning it to full damage potential), or use mending on a shield broken by a critical hit (and thus making capable of absorbing a future critical hit in the same combat)?

By RAW, the spell does not explicitly state that either scenario is possible. I'm just curious if a RAI view on this cantrip would unbalance it. I'm inclined to believe that it would, given that it would seemingly invalidate the maintenance sub-system. But, then again, the cantrip states that magic items and constructs can be repaired (although their magic is not restored), and the argument could be made that most constructs at least are built from materials such as wood, stone, metal, and so forth (the same as weapons, armor, and shields).

2. The Armor of Agathys Spell: Was this spell not included in A5e due to copyright/OGL issues? I think I recall another thread here stating that certain spells were not part of the OGL and thus could not be re-printed. Would including this O5e spell upset A5e's balance? Or could it, and the other spells that have been omitted, be added as "rare" spells for PC's to obtain or research?

3. Eldritch Scythe and Free Hands: Forgive me if this has been explained already, or if I missed it during my read through, but I was wondering if it's possible to use Eldritch Scythe while your hands are full (such as from holding a two-handed weapon). Can the blast by "channeled" through your weapon? Obviously the weapon provides no base damage increase, I'm just curious if it can be done for roleplaying purposes. Full disclosure: I've converted my O5e Warlock to the A5e version, and during one of her previous adventures, her family heirloom greatsword was broken by an attack. Rather than repair the weapon, I thought it would be cool if she incorporated her broken sword into her Eldritch Scythe attack(s), with the missing pieces of the weapon being briefly replaced by ghostly, ethereal energy whenever she swings it.

I'm just not certain if this is permissible by RAW.

Thank you to anyone able to answer these questions for me.
 

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tetrasodium

Legend
Supporter
Epic
Given persistent mending(ag296) I think mending could often help with damaged gear, but broken gear is more advanced problem. Given the material DCs it would also be reasonable for the GM to require either an arcana check against that DC or the caster needing to have a spell save dc that exceeds the DC of the material needing repair
 

Vampersan

Explorer
Given persistent mending(ag296) I think mending could often help with damaged gear, but broken gear is more advanced problem. Given the material DCs it would also be reasonable for the GM to require either an arcana check against that DC or the caster needing to have a spell save dc that exceeds the DC of the material needing repair
I do like the idea of performing an Arcana check against the DC of a broken item, as if you were trying to repair it using the appropriate mundane tools.

This seems like a reasonable solution, keeping both the damage sub-system and the cantrip relevant. :)
 

Timespike

A5E Designer and third-party publisher
2. The Armor of Agathys Spell: Was this spell not included in A5e due to copyright/OGL issues? I think I recall another thread here stating that certain spells were not part of the OGL and thus could not be re-printed. Would including this O5e spell upset A5e's balance? Or could it, and the other spells that have been omitted, be added as "rare" spells for PC's to obtain or research?
Yep. There's a surprising amount of content that isn't in the OGL. All of the paladin "smite" spells except Branding Smite, Armor of Agathys, and a bunch of others. All the feats except Grappler. Almost all of the subclasses. Someone has probably compiled a list and put it up somewhere.

That said, Level Up is backwards-compatible and you can use O5E spells without much worry unless they were unbalanced in their original incarnation. Armor of Agathys is not one of those and should be fine.

EDIT: this is a minor soapbox of mine and YMMV, but I do think it's worthwhile for anyone who is buying 3PP stuff that depends on an OGL to familiarize themselves with what's allowed by that OGL. The 5E SRD is up and accessible in multiple places online; I personally like 5thsrd.org, but there are other places, including WotC's own website where it can be downloaded as a PDF.

Knowing what can and can't be used by other publishers helps set expectations and explain limitations.
 

Vampersan

Explorer
Yep. There's a surprising amount of content that isn't in the OGL. All of the paladin "smite" spells except Branding Smite, Armor of Agathys, and a bunch of others. All the feats except Grappler. Almost all of the subclasses. Someone has probably compiled a list and put it up somewhere.

That said, Level Up is backwards-compatible and you can use O5E spells without much worry unless they were unbalanced in their original incarnation. Armor of Agathys is not one of those and should be fine.

EDIT: this is a minor soapbox of mine and YMMV, but I do think it's worthwhile for anyone who is buying 3PP stuff that depends on an OGL to familiarize themselves with what's allowed by that OGL. The 5E SRD is up and accessible in multiple places online; I personally like 5thsrd.org, but there are other places, including WotC's own website where it can be downloaded as a PDF.

Knowing what can and can't be used by other publishers helps set expectations and explain limitations.
Thank you for the reply. I figured it had something to do with the OGL.
 

Vampersan

Explorer
A new question that has come to mind:

Strongholds: How do you upgrade a stronghold? Is there a specific cost from going from Grade 1 to Grade 2? Is it a matter of increasing the size of said stronghold, or increasing it's luxury? Or both?
 

Timespike

A5E Designer and third-party publisher
A new question that has come to mind:

Strongholds: How do you upgrade a stronghold? Is there a specific cost from going from Grade 1 to Grade 2? Is it a matter of increasing the size of said stronghold, or increasing it's luxury? Or both?
Size. To upgrade a stronghold, just buy more square footage. To change its luxuriousness, pay the difference between its current and desired luxury values.
 

Vampersan

Explorer
Mask of Many Faces Invocation: This invocation states that you may cast the disguise self spell without using spell points. Does this allow you to cast the spell at higher levels (since the A5e version allows for higher-level castings of this spell) without spending spell points, or is it restricted to the 1st-level version base version?

I am assuming the spell is restricted when gained via the Mask of Many Faces invocation, I'm just checking to make sure given the re-written nature of disguise self.
 

Xethreau

Josh Gentry - Author, Minister in Training
Mask of Many Faces Invocation: This invocation states that you may cast the disguise self spell without using spell points. Does this allow you to cast the spell at higher levels (since the A5e version allows for higher-level castings of this spell) without spending spell points, or is it restricted to the 1st-level version base version?

I am assuming the spell is restricted when gained via the Mask of Many Faces invocation, I'm just checking to make sure given the re-written nature of disguise self.
When you cast a spell without spell points, it follows the same rules as a spell cast without spell slots--it is only at its lowest possible level. You have no resource by which the spell can be up-cast.
 


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