D&D (2024) Testing against the Gold Dragon

[MonsterEnvy]

Luca stabs the Dragon with his Shortsword Vexing it for next turn, using the Bonus Action Steady Aim to gain advantage at the cost of his movement, then the cunning strike Withdraw which allows him to move half his speed anyway to go behind the pillar. However at the end of his turn Ellidira is banished by the dragon, and then I remember that the banish also does force damage so I deal that.

Loonas dashes at half speed through the water, and uses a tactical shift to heal and get a bit more movement to get to the shore. The Dragon uses Guiding Bolt on Balamur to add a bit more damage.

Man they are unlucky. Ellidira is returned in front of Belamur to be easy pickings. The Dragon Recharges and uses it's fire breath after moving into position. It's a fairly weak Fire Breath that rolled low but they all botched their saves again.

Elidria tries to use Hold Monster on the Dragon, but it makes the save, she then retreats into the smaller room. Using it's LA it Pounces on Luca again and brings him to 0, and his Epic Boon of Recovery's Last Stand ability heals him back to half HP.

Belamur Casts Blade Barrier to Divide the Main area in two. The Dragon fails it's save and uses an LA to half the damage as Belamur follows Elidira inside. The Dragon banishes Luca after that to end the second round.

 

[ezo]

I know this is supposed to be D&D... but not following most of the 2024 stuff, this hardly seems D&D to me anymore. Maybe just the way it is written up it is harder for me to follow?

EDIT: after a couple read-throughs I was able to follow it all better, so I guess just the way its written is hard for me to follow it. No worries.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

All these new-fangled computers doing the maths for you. In my day I had to play barefoot because I ran out of fingers.

 

[Thommy H-H]

Luca stabs the Dragon with his Shortsword Vexing it for next turn, using the Bonus Action Steady Aim to gain advantage at the cost of his movement, then the cunning strike Withdraw which allows him to move half his speed anyway to go behind the pillar.

Actually, using Steady Aim drops your Speed to 0 for the rest of the turn, so Withdraw has no effect - half of 0 is still 0!

 

[Reynard]

I thought @MonsterEnvy had messed something up but it turns out the dragon's Banishment ability is different from, and superior to, the spell. I wonder why they decided to do that?

 

[dave2008]

I thought @MonsterEnvy had messed something up but it turns out the dragon's Banishment ability is different from, and superior to, the spell. I wonder why they decided to do that?

In the video they said the wanted all LA to be equally effective (no bad choices), so they probably buffed it for that reason. Though reducing the duration to one round is a significant nerf.

 

[Reynard]

In the video they said the wanted all LA to be equally effective (no bad choices), so they probably buffed it for that reason. Though reducing the duration to one round is a significant nerf.

But the victim not ending up where they started is a big deal. Why not just bring that fighter back over a chasm?

 

[UngeheuerLich]

In the video they said the wanted all LA to be equally effective (no bad choices), so they probably buffed it for that reason. Though reducing the duration to one round is a significant nerf.

The most significant buff over the lair action is DC24.

DC15 with new fighter indomitable is an auto success.

For the reappear wherever you want, I think it should state that it needs to be a place the dragon can see to be fair.

 

[dave2008]

The most sognificant buff over the lair action is DC24.

DC15 with new fighter indomitable is an auto success.

For the reappear wherever you want, I think it should state that it needs to be a place the dragon can see to be fair.

I was thinking about the spell banishment, not the lair action. I had completely forgotten what the gold's lair actions were!

Yes, but that was because the previous Lair actions were not figured in the monster's CR. Legendary Actions are included in the CR so it should use the dragon's spell DC. It is also a buff that it causes damage now too.

 

[dave2008]

But the victim not ending up where they started is a big deal. Why not just bring that fighter back over a chasm?

I agree, but it seems appropriate for a CR 24 threat to me.