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Message: <blockquote data-quote="matskralc" data-source="post: 6862351" data-attributes="member: 6802405">I love puzzles!The cleric 10 and sorcerer 10 have four 5th level slots and six 4th level slots between them. Those two are easy. Unless there's a hidden multiclass here that I missed. So we gotta find two more 5ths and three more 4ths.The paladin 2/bladesinger 8 has one 5th and three 4th (9th level caster for purposes of determining spell slots), but can't actually learn any 5th level spells. We found all our 4ths, but we're still missing a 5th.The ranger/eldritch knight doesn't have any 5th, 4th, or even 3rd. At best, he's ranger 7/EK 3 (4th level caster), giving him four 1st and three 2nd. This PC has a feat and a 20 Dex, so must be a variant human with 2 ASIs? Meaning ranger 6/EK 4 (still a 4th level caster) is his best caster potential, and that's the same deal, four 1st and three 2nd. I'm not sure why a ranger 6 would bother taking more than 3 levels in EK, though, especially since this ranger archetype has proficiency in Wis saves waiting for it at level 7.The warlock/paladin/sorcerer can't have any 5th. At best, he has two 4th, and that's if he's a warlock 1/paladin 1/sorcerer 8 (8th level caster) or warlock 8/paladin 1/sorcerer 1 (1st level caster plus 8th level pact magic). But he can't have any 4th, since the cleric, sorcerer and bladesinger have already accounted for all nine 4th level slots. Probably warlock 1/paladin 6/sorcerer 3 (6th level caster plus 1st level pact magic)? No other division would make any sense. Plus, this means he's one of the paladins with an aura. But he's got 3rd level slots at best.The paladin/warlock can have two 5th if he's warlock 9/paladin 1 (just 9th level pact magic), or two 4th if he's warlock 8/paladin 2 (2nd level caster plus 8th level pact magic). He can't have two 5th, because then the party has seven 5th and he has to be at least a paladin 6 in order to have the party's other aura. He can't have any 4th because we've already accounted for all those. He's probably warlock 2/paladin 8 (8th level caster plus 2nd level pact magic) with access to 2nd level slots.So I'm stumped. Either you accidentally ascribed an extra fifth level slot to the group somewhere, or somebody optimized himself into a 5th level slot he shouldn't have. Or maybe I'm not as good an optimizer as I thought!Anyway, we know the cleric couldn't be casting banishments since he's concentrating on bless. The bladesinger can't be casting banishments since he's casting booming blades or Attacking. So that leaves the sorcerer as the only other character with access to 4th-level spells. He can get off a 5th level banishment in order to get two demons off the battlefield. But at some point, the sorcerer cast haste (it can't be the other sorcerer, since that one can't learn 3rd level spells yet and is busy concentrating on hex, anyway). If he did that first, then he's too busy concentrating on that to cast banishment (and dropping that haste takes the bladesinger and sharpshooter out for a round). But if he didn't cast haste on his first turn but instead waited until after he did some banishing, that's a pretty inefficient use of the spell. At any rate, once he gets one banishment off, he's done, since he can't cast anymore without ending the first one(s).But...there were two 5th level banishments and a 4th level banishment used. Well, I guess ignoring/forgetting about the concentration mechanic is one way to optimize your PC! Probably not one that I'd allow at my table, though. Even weirder is that the demons don't seem to have been paying much attention to the caster who's disappearing their allies left and right? For somebody with an 18 Int, this marilith isn't very bright.So anyway, at best, your spell save DCs are likely going to be 17 (8 + 4 prof bonus + 5 ability modifier). We don't know who was getting banished, but the marilith fails her save 9% of the time, the vrocks 49% of the time, the hezrou 57% of the time, and the chasme 64% of the time. There were five demons targeted, and four failed. Assuming the worst save (the chasme) was always the target, there's a 41% chance of getting at least 4 of them to fail. Not bad, but probably not the best EV play.What's also weird is that between six PCs and six chasmes, not a single PC failed a single DC 12 Con save at the start of their turn, despite the fact that, since these things can fly, each PC should probably have had to make one or two, if not five or six. Four hezrous and six PCs, not a single failed DC 14 Con save. Four flying vrocks and six PCs, not a single failed DC 14 Con save. Although, to be fair, the sorcerer-that-can-concentrate-on-multiple-spells probably banished them, I guess.With a +5 Con and proficiency in Con saves (which it's impossible for every PC to have at this point), they still fail a DC 12 Con save 10% of the time and fail a DC 14 Con save 20% of the time (EDIT: Oh wait! I forgot about the auras on those saves. Well, they don't stack, but I still find it unlikely that all 6 PCs stayed clumped together. Those are really bad tactics). Round 1 should have involved every single vrock emptying his Stunning Screech barrel, every hezrou getting up in as many PCs' faces (or within 10 feet) as they can, and every chasme should have parked itself over top of as many PCs as possible and started droning. The marilith, instead of doing something stupid like getting surrounded by melee fighters while the archer snipes her, sees that big juicy sorcerer sitting over there and wants him. She's got 14 troops on hand: they surround and grapple as many PCs as possible and she enjoys targeting the squishy caster with her 7 attacks per round. Oh, some of the PCs got away? I'm going to teleport over there. DM's call whether the sorcerer she's grappling with her tail comes with her!</blockquote>

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