D&D 5E How to "fix" (or at least help) the fighter/wizard dynamic. (+)

[Lanefan]

Why not employ mages to build the stronghold magically?

METAGAME:
Build it magically how?

Mages are pretty good at taking castles apart in all sorts of different ways but I'm having a hard time thinking of any of their spells that could help with building one (other than Dig, maybe, for initial excavation).

IN-CHARACTER
I'm currently in process of looking into this avenue.

 

[Lanefan]

Not possible.

Even using Marvelous Surge for 12 attacks and a bonus action attack, no Fighter class is going to deal an average of nearly 77 points of damage per hit, assuming all 13 attacks hit.

@Yaarel raises a good point, though: whatever all these ideas finally coalesce into, it might be an idea to take the end result to one or two char-op boards, post it there, and say "here, break this".

Then, fix whatever they can break.

 

[DND_Reborn]

@Yaarel raises a good point, though: whatever all these ideas finally coalesce into, it might be an idea to take the end result to one or two char-op boards, post it there, and say "here, break this".

Then, fix whatever they can break.

I never said it wasn't, but I won't assume something is too much until I have more than one or two people's input.

I had people ask for getting Extra Attack 2 and 3 back, I could see putting Extra Attack 2 back, but not Extra Attack 3. I am working on a rewrite to accomplish what I intended for Surge, but I also want more feedback before I just change things again.

 

[Staffan]

METAGAME:
Build it magically how?

Mages are pretty good at taking castles apart in all sorts of different ways but I'm having a hard time thinking of any of their spells that could help with building one (other than Dig, maybe, for initial excavation).

IN-CHARACTER
I'm currently in process of looking into this avenue.

Wall of stone and fabricate seem like they'd speed the process up significantly. Moreso if the caster has various tool proficiencies.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

I'd suggest merging the discarded UA Feat Tandem Tactician and the Expert's (sidekick) Coordinated Strikes and Inspiring Help somewhere in there.

 

[Yaarel]

METAGAME:
Build it magically how?

For example,

Slot 8 Mighty Fortress: "A fortress 120 feet on each side. ... Casting this spell on the same spot once every 7 days for a year makes the fortress permanent."

So. Hire one or more Wizards levels 15 and higher, to cast it, and for addons cast it several times a week for a huge structure, and reinforce it over a year.

Moreover one can cast slot 6 Move Earth for clay brick structures, and slot 5 Wall of Stone for sections of stone walls.

Slot 4 Fabricate is for more artistic finishing touches.

Plus, with these official spells as a guide, do spell research to create a new spell that makes a fortress that is exactly as you like it.

 

[DND_Reborn]

I'd suggest merging the discarded UA Feat Tandem Tactician and the Expert's (sidekick) Coordinated Strikes and Inspiring Help somewhere in there.

I'll look into those later. Thanks!

 

[Lanefan]

For example,

Slot 8 Mighty Fortress: "A fortress 120 feet on each side. ... Casting this spell on the same spot once every 7 days for a year makes the fortress permanent."

So. Hire one or more Wizards levels 15 and higher, to cast it, and for addons cast it several times a week for a huge structure, and reinforce it over a year.

Moreover one cast Move Earth for clay brick structures, and Wall of Stone for sections of stone walls.

Plus, with these official spells as a guide, do spell research to create a new spell that makes a fortress that is exactly as you like it.

Wall of Stone is a good call, though I'm not sure how much fine-tuning the caster gets in terms of size etc. Move Earth helps, but doesn't shape what's moved, it just takes a pile of material from one place and dumps it in another - you've still got to hand-build the structure.

Mighty Fortress (whatever that is) doesn't exist in our games.

Spell research is one potential avenue. Interesting idea.

 

[Yaarel]

Wall of Stone is a good call, though I'm not sure how much fine-tuning the caster gets in terms of size etc. Move Earth helps, but doesn't shape what's moved, it just takes a pile of material from one place and dumps it in another - you've still got to hand-build the structure.

Mighty Fortress (whatever that is) doesn't exist in our games.

Spell research is one potential avenue. Interesting idea.

Mighty Fortress is in Xanathars. It is a decent guide for spell research.

The Move Earth spells allows the creations of structures, such as a "wall" or "pillar" upto 20 feet high, presumably made out of "clay" brick, but not stone.

An other avenue, is to somehow make Magnificent Mansion permanent.

 

[Staffan]

Wall of Stone is a good call, though I'm not sure how much fine-tuning the caster gets in terms of size etc.

From the spell description:

A nonmagical wall of solid stone springs into existence at a point you choose within range. The wall is 6 inches thick and is composed of ten 10-foot- by-10-foot panels. Each panel must be contiguous with at least one other panel. Alternatively, you can create 10-foot-by-20-foot panels that are only 3 inches thick.
[...]
The wall can have any shape you desire, though it can't occupy the same space as a creature or object. The wall doesn't need to be vertical or rest on any firm foundation. It must, however, merge with and be solidly supported by existing stone. Thus, you can use this spell to bridge a chasm or create a ramp.

If you create a span greater than 20 feet in length, you must halve the size of each panel to create supports. You can crudely shape the wall to create crenellations, battlements, and so on.

It is a bit unclear because in one place it says the wall needs to be composed of ten 10-foot by 10-foot panels, which sounds like it's kind of inflexible, and in another it says you only get half as much effective "wall" if it crosses too great a span because of needed support, which indicates that you can shape the wall to create said supports. But either way, it's a good basis from which to work, even if it doesn't get you a finished castle.

The stone of the wall seems to be a bit softer than regular stone, having AC 15 instead of 17. We can't really compare its 15 hp/inch per 10-foot section to what a real stone wall would have, because the rules on object hit points are somewhat rudimentary (there are plenty of rules for siege weapons, the earthquake spell specifically deals damage to structures, and quite a few monsters have the Siege Monster ability letting them deal double damage to objects, but there's very little on how much a wall can take).