Search results

  1. Fanaelialae

    D&D 5E (2014) Should martial characters be mundane or supernatural?

    Technically you don't even have to do a "hard" taunt that forces enemies to attack you. You could have a "soft" taunt where the penalties for attacking anyone other than the fighter are so severe that most enemies will choose to do so. Let's imagine that the fighter has an ability where, when...
  2. Fanaelialae

    D&D 5E (2014) Should martial characters be mundane or supernatural?

    Which would be fine if Joe the human wizard was just doing the equivalent of card tricks and pulling rabbits out of a hat. On the other hand, if Joe can cast Wish or True Polymorph, then Bob needs something to be able to stand on same field. He can't simply be Bob the better-than-average mall cop.
  3. Fanaelialae

    D&D 5E (2014) Should martial characters be mundane or supernatural?

    1e had magic item tables that were weighted towards martial magic items. Characters were expected to obtain magic items. 3e tossed the weighting and 5e (technically 4e, if you count the optional rule) tossed the assumption of magic items. Additionally, 5e added attunement which severely limits...
  4. Fanaelialae

    D&D 5E (2014) Should martial characters be mundane or supernatural?

    A gargantuan dragon doesn't lose the ability to fly or belch fire just because it's in an anti-magic zone. However, at least by the standards of the real world, those things certainly seem magical. I would be very much in support of all martials becoming increasingly more supernatural as they...
  5. Fanaelialae

    D&D General Should NPCs be built using the same rules as PCs?

    Anything that's not a PC. Or at least anything that's not a PC and also has combat stats.
  6. Fanaelialae

    D&D General Should NPCs be built using the same rules as PCs?

    You might not like it, but I strenuously disagree that it's bad design. It's not an overstatement to say that I hated 3e monster design, and so did the other DMs I know. There were a lot of things I enjoyed about the design of 3e for a long time, but not that. The only DM I knew that didn't have...
  7. Fanaelialae

    D&D General Should NPCs be built using the same rules as PCs?

    If I were to restrict myself to only giving "monster" NPCs non-PC abilities, then I'd only be able to do that for the most extreme monster types. Generally speaking, if a player asks to play a monster, it's a reasonable request, and I have the time to stat it up, I'll allow it. Sometimes this...
  8. Fanaelialae

    D&D General Cozy Sunday Discussion: Everyday Magic In Your World

    In my current campaign, I have special fey commonly known as Mungers, that derive their sustenance from spreading rumors, requiring both rumors that have a basis in truth as well as falsehood. These annoying little buggers are almost impossible to keep out, and you never know when one will...
  9. Fanaelialae

    D&D General Should NPCs be built using the same rules as PCs?

    That's cool. In my games it varies to a degree. Sometimes the PCs are more special and sometimes less. At a minimum, I always treat classed characters as elite. Effectively, they're the equivalent of Special Forces in our world. Not every guardsman is a fighter, in the same sense that not...
  10. Fanaelialae

    D&D General Should NPCs be built using the same rules as PCs?

    I'm sorry, but from a world building perspective, that doesn't make sense to me. If I want to make a man who's trained 20 years with the halberd but has never laid eyes on plate mail, I need to give him proficiency in plate mail (even if he's never even seen a suit of plate)? Or make him a...
  11. Fanaelialae

    D&D General Should NPCs be built using the same rules as PCs?

    I don't see any inconsistency in your example. If you don't want to give the constable 5 attacks, don't give him 5 attacks. Presumably the GM has a brain and if they give the constable 5 attacks there's some reason for that, such as the constable being one of the world's foremost masters of the...
  12. Fanaelialae

    D&D General Should NPCs be built using the same rules as PCs?

    The game totally allows for those things. You make them an NPC, and they don't have to follow the rules for PC design. Want to make an NPC constable who is proficient with a halberd but can't wear armor heavier than leather. 5e lets you do that. Want to make an urchin with expertise in slight...
  13. Fanaelialae

    D&D General Should NPCs be built using the same rules as PCs?

    My point was more along the lines that the vast majority of pickpockets aren't rogues. If every 5 year old pickpocket got sneak attack and the rogue's compliment of weapon proficiencies, that would be a silly world indeed (IMO).
  14. Fanaelialae

    D&D General Should NPCs be built using the same rules as PCs?

    No. While there's nothing wrong with designing an NPC as a PC, I don't think it makes sense in many cases. If every guard in the campaign is at least a 1st level fighter, then that means they're all proficient in plate mail. Why would Bob, the constable of a tiny, poor fisher town, be...
  15. Fanaelialae

    D&D 5E (2014) [+] Ways to fix the caster / non-caster gap

    As much as I'd like to see them slaughter all the sacred cows, there's simply too much value in brand recognition for that to be realistic.
  16. Fanaelialae

    D&D 5E (2014) [+] Ways to fix the caster / non-caster gap

    That's true, but not really accurate. Firstly, Rand is an exceptionally powerful channeler, vastly more powerful than virtually all other channelers. Even in the Age of Legends, the Dragon was one of the most powerful channelers, and in the time the books are set even weaker channelers from...
  17. Fanaelialae

    D&D 5E (2014) [+] Ways to fix the caster / non-caster gap

    Why wouldn't harnessing the power of magic be just as exhausting as swinging a weapon? It might be mental/spiritual exhaustion, as opposed to physical, but if the DM allows the wizard to cast infinite cantrips but imposes exhaustion on a fighter hacking down a door, that clearly speaks to a...
  18. Fanaelialae

    D&D 5E (2014) [+] Ways to fix the caster / non-caster gap

    Yeah, at 5th it's still arguably okay. I do think the gap widens significantly over the course of T2, with spells like Polymorph, and Wall of Force. Fighters would benefit a moderate boost in T2, but primarily in terms of utility, IMO. It's really in T3 where that gap widens to a chasm, with...
  19. Fanaelialae

    D&D 5E (2014) (+) Balancing Gritty Rest

    If you want the option to run longer adventures (more that 5-8 encounters) or denser adventures (a rescuing a prisoner in a castle dungeon, with multiple encounters in the same day) you might want to have some mechanic in place that allows for quicker rests. Maybe something like fairy circles...
  20. Fanaelialae

    D&D 5E (2014) [+] Ways to fix the caster / non-caster gap

    I think the issue is more fundamental than something that can be solved with bigger numbers or the feats that currently exist. Assuming they have the proper support (such as a magic weapon for dealing with monsters that are immune to non-magical damage, or a way to engage with flying enemies)...
Top