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Bonus Unearthed Arcana Reveals The Bastion System
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<blockquote data-quote="Dausuul" data-source="post: 9152326" data-attributes="member: 58197"><p>Thoughts on the cantrip changes:</p><p></p><p><em>Acid splash:</em> I like this change. You still won't often get more than two targets, but once in a while you'll be able to blast three or even four. It's now high on my list.</p><p></p><p><em>Blade ward:</em> This seems a smidge too good. Disadvantage on a melee attack as a reaction, for free, at will? Obviously the old <em>blade ward</em> needed fixing, but given that spellcasters don't use their reactions nearly as much as melee warriors, this feels like too much of a "must-have."</p><p></p><p><em>Chill touch:</em> The boost to 1d10 was needed. Getting rid of the debuff to undead... don't agree with that change. This ties into a broader problem I have with D&D (all editions, not just this one): If you specialize in something, damage types often mean you're at your <em>weakest</em> when dealing with creatures matching your specialty. The pyromancer struggles against a red dragon. The necromancer's array of necrotic and fear spells come up short against many undead. Etc. I liked that <em>chill touch</em> gave the necromancer a way to mess with undead even if they were necrotic resistant.</p><p></p><p><em>Friends:</em> Got rid of the automatic hostility on expiration, which is a good thing, but the resulting spell seems very strong at first glance. I'd have to see it in play to be sure, though.</p><p></p><p><em>Poison spray:</em> Giving the spell a 30-foot range brings it up a lot. If it were any other damage type, I'd think this was now a solid contender. Unfortunately, poison damage is unbelievably weak -- about 20% of the monsters in the MM are flat-out immune to poison, and this is true even if you limit yourself to monsters with CR 5 or less. (For comparison, about 10% of monsters are fire immune, and 6% at CR 5 or less.) If you make this your attack cantrip of choice, be sure to have a backup.</p><p></p><p><em>Produce flame:</em> All good changes, nothing drastic. Purely as a combat option, it remains inferior to <em>fire bolt</em>, but the combination of light source and attack spell in a single cantrip somewhat makes up for that, and now you don't lose your light source when using it to attack.</p><p></p><p><em>Shillelagh:</em> Definitely a worthy improvement for the characters who are meant to be using it. However, it is now even more attractive to monks via feats.</p><p></p><p><em>Shocking grasp:</em> This needed a nerf...? Really? At least give it d10 damage, guys, it's a freakin' touch spell.</p><p></p><p><em>Spare the dying: </em>Making this a ranged spell was desperately needed. Scaling the range as a function of level is an interesting approach. I'd still struggle to justify picking it, but at least it isn't total crap now.</p><p></p><p><em>True strike:</em> Hey, they fixed it! Good deal. I love the new version, it's perfect for when you want to play a caster who isn't slinging obvious magic every round. Radiant damage is weird though, I'd have expected force, or just more of the weapon's regular damage type. Also, Eldritch Knights are gonna be all over this spell with the "use a cantrip in place of an attack" option. Though I guess using their casting stat to attack is actually a debuff for them... hmm. Maybe not.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dausuul, post: 9152326, member: 58197"] Thoughts on the cantrip changes: [I]Acid splash:[/I] I like this change. You still won't often get more than two targets, but once in a while you'll be able to blast three or even four. It's now high on my list. [I]Blade ward:[/I] This seems a smidge too good. Disadvantage on a melee attack as a reaction, for free, at will? Obviously the old [I]blade ward[/I] needed fixing, but given that spellcasters don't use their reactions nearly as much as melee warriors, this feels like too much of a "must-have." [I]Chill touch:[/I] The boost to 1d10 was needed. Getting rid of the debuff to undead... don't agree with that change. This ties into a broader problem I have with D&D (all editions, not just this one): If you specialize in something, damage types often mean you're at your [I]weakest[/I] when dealing with creatures matching your specialty. The pyromancer struggles against a red dragon. The necromancer's array of necrotic and fear spells come up short against many undead. Etc. I liked that [I]chill touch[/I] gave the necromancer a way to mess with undead even if they were necrotic resistant. [I]Friends:[/I] Got rid of the automatic hostility on expiration, which is a good thing, but the resulting spell seems very strong at first glance. I'd have to see it in play to be sure, though. [I]Poison spray:[/I] Giving the spell a 30-foot range brings it up a lot. If it were any other damage type, I'd think this was now a solid contender. Unfortunately, poison damage is unbelievably weak -- about 20% of the monsters in the MM are flat-out immune to poison, and this is true even if you limit yourself to monsters with CR 5 or less. (For comparison, about 10% of monsters are fire immune, and 6% at CR 5 or less.) If you make this your attack cantrip of choice, be sure to have a backup. [I]Produce flame:[/I] All good changes, nothing drastic. Purely as a combat option, it remains inferior to [I]fire bolt[/I], but the combination of light source and attack spell in a single cantrip somewhat makes up for that, and now you don't lose your light source when using it to attack. [I]Shillelagh:[/I] Definitely a worthy improvement for the characters who are meant to be using it. However, it is now even more attractive to monks via feats. [I]Shocking grasp:[/I] This needed a nerf...? Really? At least give it d10 damage, guys, it's a freakin' touch spell. [I]Spare the dying: [/I]Making this a ranged spell was desperately needed. Scaling the range as a function of level is an interesting approach. I'd still struggle to justify picking it, but at least it isn't total crap now. [I]True strike:[/I] Hey, they fixed it! Good deal. I love the new version, it's perfect for when you want to play a caster who isn't slinging obvious magic every round. Radiant damage is weird though, I'd have expected force, or just more of the weapon's regular damage type. Also, Eldritch Knights are gonna be all over this spell with the "use a cantrip in place of an attack" option. Though I guess using their casting stat to attack is actually a debuff for them... hmm. Maybe not. [/QUOTE]
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