D&D 5E Dragonborn (w/Fizbans) Still Suck?

[Paul Farquhar]

I think the idea was more to motivate different players to push the group rests in different directions at different times in practice, more than whiteboard balance.

Even in 5.0 heavily short rest characters (warlocks, monks) where something of a minority. The single short rest guy just gets outvoted by the rest of the party.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I think people underestimate how closely many people hew to the guidelines, but a Sswitch to "proficiency per long rest" format would make the Class less dependent on table format: if I had a dollar for every claim I've seen of Monks being underpowered due to not taking three novas a day into account...

Sure, but my campaigns tend toward 1-3 encounters per day, with many adventure days without any combat. The monks kick ass.

 

[Marandahir]

Wait, why would anyone ever take that feat? I'd take Linguist before I'd even put that feat on a short list.

I was spitballing based on what low-level flight looks like in other lineages, and trying not to make the 14th-level Draconic Bloodline sorcerer feature feel underwhelming by comparison.

How would you write a Draconic Wings feat?

 

[Parmandur]

Sure, but my campaigns tend toward 1-3 encounters per day, with many adventure days without any combat. The monks kick ass.

I'll believe it: but the Paladin will kick more ass in that scenario because of nit being constrained to 1/3 of their intended power base, which is fine if everyone is having fun.

 

[Stormonu]

I was spitballing based on what low-level flight looks like in other lineages, and trying not to make the 14th-level Draconic Bloodline sorcerer feature feel underwhelming by comparison.

How would you write a Draconic Wings feat?

For general use, I’d write it exactly like the PC aarakorkra flight ability, with the option at 5th level that you can increase the flight speed to 2x ground speed for 1 minute a number of times equal to Con modifier (min 1). Maybe a kicker at 10th that you can double speed for an hour, but that may be too much.

Screw if it steps on the Draconic bloodline, the player chose a “dragon” race in the first place.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I was spitballing based on what low-level flight looks like in other lineages, and trying not to make the 14th-level Draconic Bloodline sorcerer feature feel underwhelming by comparison.

How would you write a Draconic Wings feat?

I just give flight equal to speed. That’s it. Earliest it can be taken is level 4, and they’re spending a huge resource for it.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I'll believe it: but the Paladin will kick more ass in that scenario because of nit being constrained to 1/3 of their intended power base, which is fine if everyone is having fun.

Will they? They don’t IME. They do exactly 1 thing more, and that’s deal damage in big spikes.

 

[Parmandur]

Will they? They don’t IME. They do exactly 1 thing more, and that’s deal damage in big spikes.

Well, yeah, but the Smite and any Ki ability are equivalent mathematically: the Paladin with one long rest gets the same amount that the Monk would need to nova, short rest, nova and short rest to have access to.

I'm sure that's not a problem for most tables, but I can see why WotC might go towards the Proficiency bonus for scaling to even things out in the big picture.

 

[CleverNickName]

Thank goodness. I may be weird, but I wish darkvision was a lot rarer than it currently is. Along the veins that the only PHB player race to have it would be Drow - with their sunlight vulnerability.

You're not weird...there are a lot of DMs out there who hate darkvision (myself included). So much so, that there is a whole slew of memes that mock darkvision and the players that rely on it.

I'm probably going to house-rule it out in my next campaign, so that dwarves are the only playable ancestry with darkvision. (Or I'll go the easy route, and just put torches in every dungeon.)

 

[Faolyn]

I’d consider that an overvaluing of the spell. I mean, I know it’s how the game values it, but… It’s a bad spell. It’s useless to characters of all but a few races, and those that can use it get a greater benefit from the light cantrip. Or a 1cp torch. The only time you’d ever want to use it is if you’re a human or halfling (or dragonborn) who wants to sneak around a dark place and either has the Skulker feat or doesn’t mind disadvantage on perception. In that specific situation is it worth a 2nd level spell slot? I don’t know, maybe. But I’m inclined to say probably not.

The (reborn) druid in my game actually cast it two sessions ago! I was stunned. I'd forgotten the spell even existed.