D&D 5E 5th Edition -- Help Me Break the Game!

[Mouseferatu]

The old "time stop + DBF" also still works. But if we're talking about 9th level spells, the game is kind of already broken. (Although meteor swarm can only hit a single target once now, even if it is caught in all four 40d6, 40' radius blasts.)

Hmm. I'm not sure it does, actually.

"This spell ends if one of the actions you use during this period, or any effects that you create during this period, affects a creature other than you..."

I think that could be read in a couple different ways, where DBF is concerned.

 

[evilbob]

Only if you were foolish enough to let it blow up before Time Stop ended.

But it's not really the same, since before you could cast Time Stop and throw down like 5 Delayed Blast Fireballs (each with a timer 1 round shorter than the previous), then Teleport. That was super-cheese. Now you can just add 1d4+1 d6s to the damage total. Pff. Hardly a good use of that spell.

 

[Dausuul]

Okay, I got one. It's a variant on the necromancer abuse already discussed. But worse.

Play a warlock 5/wizard 6 (combined level 11). The wizard should be Necromancy school. The warlock's choices don't much matter.

As a warlock, you can cast two 3rd-level spells per short rest--and you can use those slots to cast wizard spells! If you can pack 8 short rests into a day, that means 16 castings, letting you sustain 64 skeletons. (Add a long rest and you still have a solid 8 hours a day for adventuring, which should be more than enough. For travel, just relax in a palanquin. You're not short on litter-bearers.) And unlike the necromancer who burns up every slot above 2nd level, you don't sacrifice firepower during the adventure. You still have all your spells and invocations. If a few of your skeletons get killed, a short rest will let you replenish their ranks.

The real horrorshow, however, comes if you keep advancing in warlock. When you reach level 13, you go up to 96 skeletons. At level 15, you go up to 128 skeletons. At level 17, you go up to 196! And you're an 11th-level warlock and a 6th-level wizard.

After that point, you don't get any more undead for leveling up further. Your final 3 levels should be in bard. Get proficiency in Performance (Dance), put on red leather armor, and switch from skeletons to zombies.

 

[evilbob]

Okay, I got one. It's a variant on the necromancer abuse already discussed. But worse.

Play a warlock 5/wizard 6 (combined level 11). The wizard should be Necromancy school. The warlock's choices don't much matter.

As a warlock, you can cast two 3rd-level spells per short rest--and you can use those slots to cast wizard spells! If you can pack 8 short rests into a day, that means 16 castings, letting you sustain 64 skeletons. (Add a long rest and you still have a solid 8 hours a day for adventuring, which should be more than enough. For travel, just relax in a palanquin. You're not short on litter-bearers.) And unlike the necromancer who burns up every slot above 2nd level, you don't sacrifice firepower during the adventure. You still have all your spells and invocations. If a few of your skeletons get killed, a short rest will let you replenish their ranks.

The real horrorshow, however, comes if you keep advancing in warlock. When you reach level 13, you go up to 96 skeletons. At level 15, you go up to 128 skeletons. At level 17, you go up to 196! And you're an 11th-level warlock and a 6th-level wizard.

After that point, you don't get any more undead for leveling up further. Your final 3 levels should be in bard. Get proficiency in Performance (Dance), put on red leather armor, and switch from skeletons to zombies.

Oh my god you win the thread.

I mean, necro-cheese aside, unlimited 3rd level wizard spells are pretty good. That's like having fireball as an encounter power. But +necro cheese = beyond broken.

 

[Dausuul]

Oh my god you win the thread.

I mean, necro-cheese aside, unlimited 3rd level wizard spells are pretty good. That's like having fireball as an encounter power. But +necro cheese = beyond broken.

I should also add that you don't have to spend 8 hours every day sustaining your army. You can destroy your undead or let them go during down time (be sure to keep their gear, though, you don't want to have to procure a wagonload of bows and swords on short notice). When you're gearing up for an adventure, go to a graveyard and put in one 16-hour day animating skeletons, and you're ready to roll.

 

[Werebat]

After that point, you don't get any more undead for leveling up further. Your final 3 levels should be in bard. Get proficiency in Performance (Dance), put on red leather armor, and switch from skeletons to zombies.

What a thrilling concept!

 

[Lalato]

this thread is pretty disappointing so far. I was hoping for more brokenness. So far all we have is bupkis.

 

[evilbob]

I should also add that you don't have to spend 8 hours every day sustaining your army. You can destroy your undead or let them go during down time (be sure to keep their gear, though, you don't want to have to procure a wagonload of bows and swords on short notice). When you're gearing up for an adventure, go to a graveyard and put in one 16-hour day animating skeletons, and you're ready to roll.

Checking the book, this is pure cheese, that's for sure. And it does work, because they specifically spelled out that you can use other classes' spells for your warlock spell slots when you multiclass.

Now, it doesn't work at all until 11th level - so you really don't want to actually play this character from level 1. And warlock / wizard doesn't synergize at all otherwise; "you still get your full wizard spells" means you still are a 6th level wizard, with 6th level wizard spell slots at level 11. But you're also right in that it can be even worse, if you didn't mind giving up sleeping for a little bit. Given that you can control 4 undead per cast, and get 2 casts per short rest, that's really 8 x 23 (23 hours of short resting) per day you could control - or 184 skeletons, + 12 more from the wizard slots if you wanted. At level 11. (Shooting with +4 to hit and doing 10 damage, with 24 HP each.) I don't have the book in front of me but that goes up to at least double that amount at higher levels.

I'm starting to get the idea for a neat villain... Maybe the party can figure out how to take out ~400 skeletons before they all die?