D&D 5E What is the Deal with the Twilight Cleric?

[Paul Farquhar]

Here's one to add to the mix: an enemy caster that has Vortex Warp prepared - try to send that Twilight Cleric up to 180 feet away

The fly ability means the cleric can very quickly get back within range.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

The fly ability means the cleric can very quickly get back within range.

Good point,

Of course, that flight is a limited resource that requires dim light or darkness and, if the player is concerned with Attacks of Opportunity (like some/most players), requires high/no ceilings, no flying enemies on the way, and not being plopped next to another enemy via the Vortex Warp.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

darkness

On the spell list.

Attacks of Opportunity

No need to care, loads of regenerating temp hp and a high AC.

requires high/no ceilings

No it doesn't. No height requirement on flying.

no flying enemies on the way

No problem, see doesn't care about attacks of opportunity.

not being plopped next to another enemy via the Vortex Warp

No problem, see doesn't care about attacks of opportunity.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

On the spell list

Sorry, how does the Darkness spell come into play here and who exactly casting it?

No it doesn't. No height requirement on flying.

To get out of the reach of enemies on the ground it matters. If they don't care about racking up multiple attacks of opportunity, I suppose it doesn't.

 

[CleverNickName]

I'm not really trying to squash the discussion, but I think most player strategies that involve per-encounter abilities are easily circumvented just by having the monsters play intelligently. I'm not talking genius-level amounts of intellect, with ambushes and boobytraps and multiple contingencies, either...just basic skirmish tactics would shut down most of the issues people are describing in this thread.

Like: what if the monsters all decide to flee on Round Two, then regroup and attack ten minutes later? That's a tactic as old as warfare itself, and doesn't take superhuman intellect to figure out. Even football uses strategic "time outs" to break the opposition's rhythm, and quarterback kneels to run down the clock. So why wouldn't the kobolds (or whatever) use this same tactic against intruders with tons of short-duration abilities?

The answer to this what-if scenario I've described is usually something like "because that's not fun." And hey, fair enough. But if I'm being honest, the extreme cases being described in this thread don't sound like they're much fun either (and are a lot more far-fetched).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Like: what if the monsters all decide to flee on Round Two

Then the party massacres them as they flee, pretty much like real life.

And temporary hp are permanent once granted.

 

[Mannahnin]

And temporary hp are permanent once granted.

Until you take a rest, ja?

 

[CleverNickName]

Then the party massacres them as they flee, pretty much like real life.

And temporary hp are permanent once granted.

I mean sure, if the monsters all flee in the same direction, as a group, in a predictable path, with a clear line of sight. That might not be the case.

As for the temporary hit points, I agree: they are permanent once granted. My point is that the ability to re-grant those temp HP every round is limited to 10 rounds, and only 1-3 times per day...so just a few minutes of skirmish tactics would shut it down.

The reality is this twilight sanctuary is written as a "per encounter" ability, and assumes that every combat scene only lasts 10 rounds or less. When there are more than 2-3 combats per rest, and when the monsters play for time, many of the issues that folks are describing in this thread will go away.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The reality is this twilight sanctuary is written as a "per encounter" ability, and assumes that every combat scene only lasts 10 rounds or less

It’s still a strong ability even if it only grants the temporary hit points once. And at low level rerolling the D6 10 times matters.

That might not be the case.

I’ve never encountered a party who couldn’t easily stop and hammer fleeing enemies.

 

[CleverNickName]

It’s still a strong ability even if it only grants the temporary hit points once. And at low level rerolling the D6 10 times matters.

No argument from me. It's a very strong ability. Obviously my DM didn't think it was ban-worthy, but maybe he knows something the rest of us don't.

I’ve never encountered a party who couldn’t easily stop and hammer fleeing enemies.

For my table, it really depends on how many enemies are fleeing and how long they wait to run, but it happens.

You should check out the book series, "The Monsters Know What They're Doing," by Keith Ammann. It has far more tips, tricks, and examples than I could ever list here.