D&D 5E Companion thread to Survivor:Proficiencies

[Tonguez]

So I did it.

As promised, I took the Top Five "surviving" options and made a playable character out of them. I didn't do the full character sheet, but there's enough bits and pieces here to work with if someone decided to stat it up.

D&D 5E - 5E Survivor - Proficiencies

Alchemist's Supplies 9 Cartographer's Tools 7 Cook’s Utensils 8 - 2 = 6 Disguise Kit 9 Herbalism Kit 11 Survival 2+1=3

www.enworld.org

Note that I didn't say "winning" options, because it's pretty clear that y'all are the reason I can't have nice things.

I love what you’ve done with Boxley as an apprentice alchemist, my favourite character Orbril the Gnome started as an apprentice alchemist who was kicked out because he kept blowing things up.
I also had a friend who created a character who was a cook in the castle kitchens who would collect wild herbs for her recipes and thus learnt their medicinal and poison qualities via herbalism.

they were fun characters even if they werent combat optimised, and well Boxlet being a Star Druid gives some nice options for his future

 

[CreamCloud0]

how is cartographer's tools even one of the final two? who even USES cartographers tools, and you just voted out DISGUISE KIT over it???

 

[Tonguez]

while I do approve of alchemy being the winner I must say that this was a truly gruelling list to try get through, I certainly did not expect tools to overwhelm skills so thoroughly, nor that the tools that endured - cartography And cooking would endure. It really was an ordeal of volatility and sublimation

 

[CreamCloud0]

while I do approve of alchemy being the winner I must say that this was a truly gruelling list to try get through, I certainly did not expect tools to overwhelm skills so thoroughly, nor that the tools that endured - cartography And cooking would endure. It really was an ordeal of volatility and sublimation

while i basically agree with cartography as 'how did this even make it this far?' i do like cook's utensil's ability to prepare a meal during a short rest that adds +1 HP per hit die spent for up to 5 creatures.

 

[CleverNickName]

Herbalism Kit is one of my favorites, right up there with Poisoner's Kit and Alchemist's Tools.

I've worn plenty of disguises in D&D, but never needed a Disguise Kit to put one on. Being proficient with something I don't needed in the first place just seems obtuse to me.

 

[Tonguez]

Herbalism Kit is one of my favorites, right up there with Poisoner's Kit and Alchemist's Tools.

Yeah I’m still not sure why those are even three seperate kits instead of combining them all into a single “portable laboratory” kit, separating out poisons, healing salves and potions into different proficiencies always seemed unnecessary to me.
Especially with seperate Medicine and Nature skills existing.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

how is cartographer's tools even one of the final two? who even USES cartographers tools, and you just voted out DISGUISE KIT over it???

Or calligraphy. Y'know, the thing LITERALLY EVERY MAGE should know in order to scribe scrolls?

 

[Argyle King]

I wanted Cobbler's Tools to win.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Yeah I’m still not sure why those are even three seperate kits instead of combining them all into a single “portable laboratory” kit, separating out poisons, healing salves and potions into different proficiencies always seemed unnecessary to me.
Especially with seperate Medicine and Nature skills existing.

In my D&D 4e heartbreaker (or, really, heartmender, since WotC already did the breaking), I would be perfectly happy creating a condensed list of tools one can be trained to use, just as one can be trained in a skill. As you say, poisoner's, alchemist's, and herbalism can all be folded together. Forgery and cartography can be folded into calligraphy. Etc. I'm pretty confident you could get it down to a reasonably concise list, perhaps a baker's dozen.

Restore Thieves' Tools to being the skill it always should have been
Fold together Alchemist, Herbalism, and Poisoner into a Chemistry Kit
Fold together Calligraphy, Cartography, and Forgery into a Scrivener's Kit
Either delete vehicle proficiency (because honestly what even is the point) or merge Navigator into Water Vehicles
Merge Cobbler's into Leatherworker's
Though my father would cry blasphemy, merge Brewer's into Chef's Tools because the only unique tool involved is a bloody siphon
Merge Woodcarver's into Carpenter's because why are these even separate
Slightly unorthodox (like brewing above), but merge Glassblowing into Jeweler's.
Merge Tinker's into Smith's Tools

That at least gets it down to 16 from 27. Or 15 if you do as I would and eliminate vehicle proficiency, merging land vehicles into Animal Handling (because almost all pseudomedieval vehicles involve animals) and water vehicles into Navigator's Tools. Musical Instruments could also just be folded into the Performance skill, perhaps with players choosing a number of instruments up to to their highest mental ability modifier if they are trained in Performance, with the option of more by investing into that skill more. Doing all these would get it down to only 14 tools, reasonably manageable and most of those tools could be given real utility if they don't already have some.

 

[RealAlHazred]

And so, we may have reached the end of the Survivor 5E threads.

Just in time for ONE SURVIVOR THREADS!

Keep an eye out for threads relating to content that may or may not make it into a book, or that may refer to systems that don't even make it into the final game!