D&D 5E Help playtest my fantasy stat draft!
- Thread starter TwoSix
- Start date
Snarf Zagyg
Notorious Liquefactionist
Blue
Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal
Hey, the Telepathic feat just completely firmed up what type of paladin I want to make. Okay, first let's see how the ability scores worked out:
Key
w Wild ability
A +1 to 4 ability scores
B +2, +1 for race
C +1 to one stat
D +2 CHR
E +4 to one stat, -1 to all other stats
F Telepathic - INT, WIS or CHR +1
G @ 4th level took the Polearm Master feat - no change to ability scores.
Okay, now how did they come together as a character?
Judgement Demne of the Embereye
LN Leonin Paladin of Conquest
STR 20 DEX 7 CON 16 INT 8 WIS 8 CHR 18
HP: 40
AC: 17 (19 w/ shield)
Speed: 35'
Languages: Common, Leonin
Proficiencies: All weapons, all armor, shields
Skills: Perception, Intimidation, Athletics, Deception, Persuasion, Drum, Thieves' Tools
Background: Urban Bounty Hunter
Feats: Telepathic, Polearm Master
Ear to the Ground: You are in frequent contact with people in the segment of society that your chose n quarries move through. These people might be associated with the criminal underworld, the rough-and-tumble folk of the streets, or members of high society. This connection comes in the form of a contact in any city you visit, a person who provides information about the people and places of the local area.
Darkvision
Claws: natural weapons, can make unarmed strikes for d4+STR slashing
Hunter's Instict: Proficiency in Perception
Daunting Roar: Bonus action, roar and my choice creatures in 10' must make WIS save or frightened of me until end of my next turn. (CON DC)
Divine Sense
Lay on Hands (20 HPs)
Fighting Style: Blind Fighting
Divine Smite
Divine Health
Channel Divinity (1/rest)
Spells:
1st: 3 slots
Conquest: Armor of Agathys, Command
Currently Prepared: Bless, Cure Wounds, Shield of Faith
Gear: Splint, Glaive, 5 Javelins, 3 sets of Manacles, Thieves' Tools, Keoghtom's Ointment, Blue Sapphire Elemental Gem (Air Elemental), Bodhran (traveling drum), Spear, Shield (not included above), starting gear
Attacks:
Glaive (+7 to hit, d10+5 damage + divine smite, 10' reach, may make bonus action attack for d4+5+divine smite if take the Attack action, trigger OA when foe enters 10' reach)
Javelin (+7 to hit, d6+5 damage, 30/120 range)
Spear (+7 to hit, d6+5 damage + divine smite, may make bonus action attack for d4+5+divine smite if take the Attack action, trigger OA when foe enters 5' reach)
Claw (+7 to hit, d4+5 damage + divine smite (since explicitly is a weapon))
Backstory:
As long as she could remember, Demne could occasionally hear the thoughts of others in her head. Many were strong and true, like most of the other members of the Embereye clan, but of those they traded with, less were. Oh, most were not constantly vile, but they did have thoughts. Oh, the thoughts. For those of pure thoughts she learned to share her own with them and speak mind to mind.
When in an argument a group of these outsiders slayed one of her pride and left. She tracked them down. It took over a year to get the last one, deep in one of their cities. While she did that, she helped others finding the same justice, working as a bounty hunter to bring the guilty to her rough karma. She didn't do it for wealth but because it was right, charging just enough to cover her continued hunt. Her ability to hear the thoughts of those around made her very successful at that and her reputation grew, but the more she sampled the sample thoughts of the outsiders, the more she knew that they needed to be lead to the truth, and not let wander.
She made a pilgrimage back to Sun's Mirror, seeking divine guidance. And found it, she believes. She has taken the title Judgement, and feels she has been granted the authority and the requirement to lead all those with sins in their hearts to purity - or to purge them.
Tactics: She can attack twice with an action and a bonus action if she wishes, and can divine smite on both of them. However, another use of a bonus action is to let our a Daunting Roar to make others frightened of her, yet still within reach. She usually won't prepare Smite spells since those also compete with her bonus action. At this point her Channel Divinity of Guided Strike to turn misses into hits will be generally the more useful of the two. She normally has reach and can take an OA against someone entering it, but she also has claws as needed.
She has javelins in a quiver upon her back as a ranged weapon, and if expecting mobs of foes can swap to a spear (still PAM) and shield to increase her AC by 2 more.
Future: At 7th level she will get her Aura of Conquest, when anyone within 10' of her who is frightened has their speed reduced to 0, and takes damage if they start in the area. At that point both her Daunting Roar and her other Channel Divinity, Conquering Presence, really start to play well. At 8th she'll likely take +2 CHR, to help with both her save DCs and her 6th level aura bonus to saves.
A couple of RP notes: She relies on her bursts of being able to read thoughts, so she's not good at normally reading people and is not proficient in insight. Which can be fun to play. She's proficient with thieves' tools, but has a -2 DEX which offsets it. She's learned how to use them while hunting people down, will always try, almost always fail, get angry, and bash the lock in. Her Blind Fighting fighting style flavor between superior lion-like senses and divine guidance. Leonin in general are fierce, regal, and enjoy fighting, but don't tend to carry grudges. If you don't have vile thoughts, she is likely to knock you out as leave you as she goes after those that are - but wouldn't have qualms about killing you if need be. Leonin are also matriarchal, reinforcing that her job to to bring people in line. Lastly, not knowing the setting I didn't list a deity.
Detect Thoughts: Only lasts for a minute, but can be a different creature each turn during that minute. You hear surface thoughts without a save and without the targets knowing they are being probed. A shouted "where is the traitor XX!" does a great if very un-subtle job of focusing those surface thoughts on something specific. She can also drill further, which grants a save (but doesn't end the spell) and alerts the target. Once she hits 5th and gets 2nd level slots she can use those to cast Detect Thoughts as well.
Theros: Leonin are from Mythic Odysseys of Theros. Characters created in that setting also have a divine gift. If actually playing in that setting hers would be Heroic Destiny, which gives advantage on Death saves and once per long rest if reduced to 0 HP but not killed is reduced to 1 HP instead.
STR 16 +4E = 20
DEX 8 -1E = 7
CON 13w +1A +2B +1C -1E = 16
INT 8 +1A -1E = 8
WIS 8 +1A -1E = 8
CHR 14 +1A +1B +2D -1E +1F = 18Key
w Wild ability
A +1 to 4 ability scores
B +2, +1 for race
C +1 to one stat
D +2 CHR
E +4 to one stat, -1 to all other stats
F Telepathic - INT, WIS or CHR +1
G @ 4th level took the Polearm Master feat - no change to ability scores.
Okay, now how did they come together as a character?
Judgement Demne of the Embereye
LN Leonin Paladin of Conquest
STR 20 DEX 7 CON 16 INT 8 WIS 8 CHR 18
HP: 40
AC: 17 (19 w/ shield)
Speed: 35'
Languages: Common, Leonin
Proficiencies: All weapons, all armor, shields
Skills: Perception, Intimidation, Athletics, Deception, Persuasion, Drum, Thieves' Tools
Background: Urban Bounty Hunter
Feats: Telepathic, Polearm Master
Ear to the Ground: You are in frequent contact with people in the segment of society that your chose n quarries move through. These people might be associated with the criminal underworld, the rough-and-tumble folk of the streets, or members of high society. This connection comes in the form of a contact in any city you visit, a person who provides information about the people and places of the local area.
Darkvision
Claws: natural weapons, can make unarmed strikes for d4+STR slashing
Hunter's Instict: Proficiency in Perception
Daunting Roar: Bonus action, roar and my choice creatures in 10' must make WIS save or frightened of me until end of my next turn. (CON DC)
Divine Sense
Lay on Hands (20 HPs)
Fighting Style: Blind Fighting
Divine Smite
Divine Health
Channel Divinity (1/rest)
- Conquering Presence - my choice creatures in 30' make WIS save ir be frightened of me for 1 minute (CHR DC). Can repeat save at end of each turn.
- Guided Strike - +10 to hit, after roll but before hit/miss announced.
- Harness Divine Power - regain spell slot, max half proficiency (rounded up). Only usable 1/day.
Spells:
1st: 3 slots
Conquest: Armor of Agathys, Command
Currently Prepared: Bless, Cure Wounds, Shield of Faith
Gear: Splint, Glaive, 5 Javelins, 3 sets of Manacles, Thieves' Tools, Keoghtom's Ointment, Blue Sapphire Elemental Gem (Air Elemental), Bodhran (traveling drum), Spear, Shield (not included above), starting gear
Attacks:
Glaive (+7 to hit, d10+5 damage + divine smite, 10' reach, may make bonus action attack for d4+5+divine smite if take the Attack action, trigger OA when foe enters 10' reach)
Javelin (+7 to hit, d6+5 damage, 30/120 range)
Spear (+7 to hit, d6+5 damage + divine smite, may make bonus action attack for d4+5+divine smite if take the Attack action, trigger OA when foe enters 5' reach)
Claw (+7 to hit, d4+5 damage + divine smite (since explicitly is a weapon))
Backstory:
As long as she could remember, Demne could occasionally hear the thoughts of others in her head. Many were strong and true, like most of the other members of the Embereye clan, but of those they traded with, less were. Oh, most were not constantly vile, but they did have thoughts. Oh, the thoughts. For those of pure thoughts she learned to share her own with them and speak mind to mind.
When in an argument a group of these outsiders slayed one of her pride and left. She tracked them down. It took over a year to get the last one, deep in one of their cities. While she did that, she helped others finding the same justice, working as a bounty hunter to bring the guilty to her rough karma. She didn't do it for wealth but because it was right, charging just enough to cover her continued hunt. Her ability to hear the thoughts of those around made her very successful at that and her reputation grew, but the more she sampled the sample thoughts of the outsiders, the more she knew that they needed to be lead to the truth, and not let wander.
She made a pilgrimage back to Sun's Mirror, seeking divine guidance. And found it, she believes. She has taken the title Judgement, and feels she has been granted the authority and the requirement to lead all those with sins in their hearts to purity - or to purge them.
Tactics: She can attack twice with an action and a bonus action if she wishes, and can divine smite on both of them. However, another use of a bonus action is to let our a Daunting Roar to make others frightened of her, yet still within reach. She usually won't prepare Smite spells since those also compete with her bonus action. At this point her Channel Divinity of Guided Strike to turn misses into hits will be generally the more useful of the two. She normally has reach and can take an OA against someone entering it, but she also has claws as needed.
She has javelins in a quiver upon her back as a ranged weapon, and if expecting mobs of foes can swap to a spear (still PAM) and shield to increase her AC by 2 more.
Future: At 7th level she will get her Aura of Conquest, when anyone within 10' of her who is frightened has their speed reduced to 0, and takes damage if they start in the area. At that point both her Daunting Roar and her other Channel Divinity, Conquering Presence, really start to play well. At 8th she'll likely take +2 CHR, to help with both her save DCs and her 6th level aura bonus to saves.
A couple of RP notes: She relies on her bursts of being able to read thoughts, so she's not good at normally reading people and is not proficient in insight. Which can be fun to play. She's proficient with thieves' tools, but has a -2 DEX which offsets it. She's learned how to use them while hunting people down, will always try, almost always fail, get angry, and bash the lock in. Her Blind Fighting fighting style flavor between superior lion-like senses and divine guidance. Leonin in general are fierce, regal, and enjoy fighting, but don't tend to carry grudges. If you don't have vile thoughts, she is likely to knock you out as leave you as she goes after those that are - but wouldn't have qualms about killing you if need be. Leonin are also matriarchal, reinforcing that her job to to bring people in line. Lastly, not knowing the setting I didn't list a deity.
Detect Thoughts: Only lasts for a minute, but can be a different creature each turn during that minute. You hear surface thoughts without a save and without the targets knowing they are being probed. A shouted "where is the traitor XX!" does a great if very un-subtle job of focusing those surface thoughts on something specific. She can also drill further, which grants a save (but doesn't end the spell) and alerts the target. Once she hits 5th and gets 2nd level slots she can use those to cast Detect Thoughts as well.
Theros: Leonin are from Mythic Odysseys of Theros. Characters created in that setting also have a divine gift. If actually playing in that setting hers would be Heroic Destiny, which gives advantage on Death saves and once per long rest if reduced to 0 HP but not killed is reduced to 1 HP instead.
Snarf Zagyg
Notorious Liquefactionist
Behold! Blue swerves hard into the stereotype of the lawful stupid Paladin!!!!
TwoSix
Dirty, realism-hating munchkin powergamer
Yea, I love pretty much all of this, both mechanically and conceptually. Really nice job. (Picking one of my favorite races certainly helps!)
Blue
Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal
Ah yes. I really wanted to get the 14 WIS, and but with being near one end of the snake draft I would have been a long time to get back to me, and while CHR was plentiful (14, 14 and 13 were still available) I couldn't risk it.
At a later point I had sent TwoSix what I wanted so it wouldn't hold things up, and then misread the charge and went for a Wild 12 that wasn't really available. The Wild 11 was, and that would have helped a lot for this.
The low DEX was planned from the beginning, and I was willing to sacrifice INT. The WIS wasn't, but it's how luck took me.
I actually had a somewhat different setup with a 10 WIS done but my last pick was between Mobile, +2 DEX, -2 CON which was harmful for my build, or +4 to one, -1 to the other five. So it would take +3 worth of random bonuses to get INT or WIS up to a neutral 10 and with how 5e rewards specialization it was just too much.
EDIT: But you're not wrong. Read the backstory to see how much of a LN zealot she it. Oath of Conquest - let's subjugate people for their own good.
Last edited:
TwoSix
Dirty, realism-hating munchkin powergamer
Just to clarify, those 2 feats are totally your pick. I mean, I can randomize them if you want, but no promises what you'll get....I’m not trading those two feats- so feel free to give me your best shot.
TwoSix
Dirty, realism-hating munchkin powergamer
For more open games like this, I generally like to get a sense of what everyone wants to play, ancestry-wise, and then go from there.
My default pick for a more kitchen-sick list of races would be Eberron, since I know it the best and it's pretty easy to slot in new stuff there. Like, I don't know of a canon place for leonin, but having them as wandering tribes in eastern Khorvaire (neighbors with the halflings, Valenar elves and displaced Cyrans) seems like the best fit to make them uncommon but not alien.
Blue
Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal
Thoughts on the results for the draft.
In hindsight, there are two changes I would do - though neither of these are particularly "bad".
I went for +1 to four ability scores as my second pick, and I should have focused on a set ability score at that point - it likely would have totaled more than +4 (just a 12), and 5e rewards specialization in the first place. Plus that might have still been around at a later point.
The other was there was a point I had three 8s and could have went for a wild 11.
But that's not a lot of regrets. There are "draft" regrets, which are that others saw the value in things and picked them before I could, but that's actually a strength of the draft. For example Athletics+Resilient was +1 STR or DEX and +1 to any that wasn't your starting saves, plus the value of the other feats.
Looking at the actual regrets, I feel that the set bonuses were stronger than the second set. Which was also intentional. And going back to 5e rewarding specialization, picking a few decent ones and then getting boosters for them will likely work out very well mechanically. If I had put my 4th level ASI into +2 ability score I could have started with 20, 20, 16 or 20, 18, 18 - quite powerful for 4th level.
Though, perhaps starting everyone with a single "Wild 10" or "Wild 11" might help be more well rounded while still leaving most people with a penalty ability as a flaw.
I want to see how others final characters are, to see if "the highs are higher and the lows are lower" that I experienced stays true. If that occurs and isn't something wanted, there's always the possibility of draft picks like "+2 to an ability, but can't end up at greater than 15 by end of 1st level."
I enjoyed the random feat a surprising amount - gave me something organic to build on that I normally would not have picked for the character. And since it was at the end it wasn't something I could make a "powerful" feat because I couldn't build around it. Instead I had to think about how it fit in.
The "2 bonus feat, but max CON 10" and the "STR 6 + Gauntlets of Ogre strength" were also interesting ones that would spin things around and make you think in unusual ways on how to build that also gave this an interesting flavor.
All in all, I'd definitely play the character that the draft created. The draft feels successful as a mechanism to me.
In hindsight, there are two changes I would do - though neither of these are particularly "bad".
I went for +1 to four ability scores as my second pick, and I should have focused on a set ability score at that point - it likely would have totaled more than +4 (just a 12), and 5e rewards specialization in the first place. Plus that might have still been around at a later point.
The other was there was a point I had three 8s and could have went for a wild 11.
But that's not a lot of regrets. There are "draft" regrets, which are that others saw the value in things and picked them before I could, but that's actually a strength of the draft. For example Athletics+Resilient was +1 STR or DEX and +1 to any that wasn't your starting saves, plus the value of the other feats.
Looking at the actual regrets, I feel that the set bonuses were stronger than the second set. Which was also intentional. And going back to 5e rewarding specialization, picking a few decent ones and then getting boosters for them will likely work out very well mechanically. If I had put my 4th level ASI into +2 ability score I could have started with 20, 20, 16 or 20, 18, 18 - quite powerful for 4th level.
Though, perhaps starting everyone with a single "Wild 10" or "Wild 11" might help be more well rounded while still leaving most people with a penalty ability as a flaw.
I want to see how others final characters are, to see if "the highs are higher and the lows are lower" that I experienced stays true. If that occurs and isn't something wanted, there's always the possibility of draft picks like "+2 to an ability, but can't end up at greater than 15 by end of 1st level."
I enjoyed the random feat a surprising amount - gave me something organic to build on that I normally would not have picked for the character. And since it was at the end it wasn't something I could make a "powerful" feat because I couldn't build around it. Instead I had to think about how it fit in.
The "2 bonus feat, but max CON 10" and the "STR 6 + Gauntlets of Ogre strength" were also interesting ones that would spin things around and make you think in unusual ways on how to build that also gave this an interesting flavor.
All in all, I'd definitely play the character that the draft created. The draft feels successful as a mechanism to me.
Blue
Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal
That works. Ooh, I can imaging the prides hunting dinos as a right of passage.
As a personal bit, I refuse to use Dragonmarks in a "file-off-the-serial-numbers" kitchen sink world like Forgotten Realms because they are so much more when they have that ingrained connection to to the world - the mechanical expression of them is the least important bit of them to me, and playing them elsewhere feels shallow. But I so want to play a House Jorasco Wizard who describes himself as a "White Necromancer" and is such the rarity of a halfling wizard who has healing spells.
Similar Threads
AD6_gamerati_skyscraper
Recent & Upcoming Releases
-
April 16 2024 -
May 31 2024 -
June 3 2024 -
June 4 2024 -
June 18 2024 -
July 16 2024 -
September 17 2024 -
October 1 2024 -
November 12 2024 -
February 18 2025
