D&D 5E Heroes Feast---holy moly this is an uber spell

[Sacrosanct]

Yeah, it's kind of situational, but the benefits you get from it are HUGE. It lasts 24 hours, and grants immunity for up to 12 people to poison, disease, fear, and grants adv on WIS saves and extra HP.

I'm playing an 11th level tempest cleric in HotDQ and let's just say before we went to take on a green dragon in its lair, I cast that spell and it made all the difference. What very well could have been a TPK turned out to be a relatively easy encounter. Even the immunity to fear alone makes it completely worthwhile when planning on going up against any dragon. The immunity to poison (against not only the dragon, but the spiders right before the dragon) saved probably over 200 points of poison damage.

 

[Staffan]

Yes, it's powerful. However, it does cost 1,000 gp per cast, so it's hardly a spell you can use in a routine situation.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Yeah, it's kind of situational, but the benefits you get from it are HUGE. It lasts 24 hours, and grants immunity for up to 12 people to poison, disease, fear, and grants adv on WIS saves and extra HP.

I'm playing an 11th level tempest cleric in HotDQ and let's just say before we went to take on a green dragon in its lair, I cast that spell and it made all the difference. What very well could have been a TPK turned out to be a relatively easy encounter. Even the immunity to fear alone makes it completely worthwhile when planning on going up against any dragon. The immunity to poison (against not only the dragon, but the spiders right before the dragon) saved probably over 200 points of poison damage.

Is that 200 points of damage before or after you account for Protection From Poison, which you would otherwise have been using?

 

[Uder]

The PCs in my group don't mind the cost. They're currently 16th level and going through Labyrinth of Madness, so it's worth every copper.

I have no plans to nerf it, but IMO the immunity to poison should only be against the condition, with resistance vs. poison damage. Just a side-effect of 5e splitting up poison into two effects.

 

[RulesJD]

Is that 200 points of damage before or after you account for Protection From Poison, which you would otherwise have been using?

That's only advantage and 1/2 damage. HF is immunity, which makes a word of difference. It also targets multiple creatures and lasts for more than 1 hour. Prot Poison is a great spell of course, but it's apples to oranges.

My table at this seasons Epic used it. Made the "dragon" fight laughably easy.

 

[Mercule]

Yes, it's powerful. However, it does cost 1,000 gp per cast, so it's hardly a spell you can use in a routine situation.

I've read some commentary that not having the 3E (implied) idea of a magic item market or the 1E idea of building a stronghold really leaves the PCs with a lot of loot and nothing to spend it on. Is this the case? If so, why not drop some of it on hero's feast whenever in doubt?

My group hasn't hit 11th level, yet, but they already seem to have more money than they need. Another zero on the end might be enough to justify it.

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

If they abuse it you can say they lose 1 point of dex, their armour doesn't fit them any more, and they take 3d6 cholesterol damage.

 

[Azurewraith]

If they abuse it you can say they lose 1 point of dex, their armour doesn't fit them any more, and they take 3d6 cholesterol damage.

How much cholesterol damge can a PC take before heart failure?

 

[Staffan]

I've read some commentary that not having the 3E (implied) idea of a magic item market or the 1E idea of building a stronghold really leaves the PCs with a lot of loot and nothing to spend it on. Is this the case? If so, why not drop some of it on hero's feast whenever in doubt?

My group hasn't hit 11th level, yet, but they already seem to have more money than they need. Another zero on the end might be enough to justify it.

Mine hasn't gotten to 11th level either yet, but the treasure tables (according to those who have done the math) would indicate that each PC should have gotten about 25k gold by then (minus, of course, whatever they spent along the way). The way I see it, that puts a 1,000 gp expense in the "we can do it without too much trouble, but not routinely" category.

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

How much cholesterol damge can a PC take before heart failure?

Depends. Dwarves and halflings probably get higher resistance. But elves are screwed. You could invade and conquer Elfland with a single bacon butty on a stick.

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

You could always have the monsters having access to casting "Full English" as their equivalent, or having the spell Greasy Spoon (basically divine weapon in the shape of a massive glowing fork impaling a greasy sausage, but deals cholesterol damage).

How about:
Dwarves, halflings, gnomes - 50% total max HP
Humans, Dragonborn, half orcs - 33% total max HP
Tieflings, elves, half elves - 20% total max HP

Hit that figure and you suffer from the following:
1 level of exhaustion
Vulnerability to Sleep spell
Fall prone
Make death saves each round or suffer one additional level of exhaustion per fail (three saves and you're fine plus you get a bonus Belch attack - all within 30' range cone must make save v CON or be stunned for one round)



-

 

[Sword of Spirit]

I think more people would have more fun if they completely abandoned the idea of money being there to buy magic iitems. Of course if that is how you are coming into the game you'll be thinking, "what can I spend my money on?" You shouldn't be coming into 5e that way though. You should be thinking, "I'm rich! No more cheap inns and torn clothes for me!" It's time to buy real-estate, pay for expensive cruises, wear that jewelry you found rather than selling it.

These kids today...*Shakes head*

 

[Azurewraith]

You could always have the monsters having access to casting "Full English" as their equivalent, or having the spell Greasy Spoon (basically divine weapon in the shape of a massive glowing fork impaling a greasy sausage, but deals cholesterol damage).

How about:
Dwarves, halflings, gnomes - 50% total max HP
Humans, Dragonborn, half orcs - 33% total max HP
Tieflings, elves, half elves - 20% total max HP

Hit that figure and you suffer from the following:
1 level of exhaustion
Vulnerability to Sleep spell
Fall prone
Make death saves each round or suffer one additional level of exhaustion per fail (three saves and you're fine plus you get a bonus Belch attack - all within 30' range cone must make save v CON or be stunned for one round)



-

Think I could slide it into my game as a bazinga?

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

That's only advantage and 1/2 damage. HF is immunity, which makes a word of difference. It also targets multiple creatures and lasts for more than 1 hour. Prot Poison is a great spell of course, but it's apples to oranges.

My table at this seasons Epic used it. Made the "dragon" fight laughably easy.

Sure, immunity is great for things like abusing Stinking Cloud, but the question stands, because if that 200 points of damage would have been reduced to 60-70 HP of damage by Protection From Poison, the incremental benefit of Heroes' Feast is lower.

Hmmm, I think I might have just talked myself into liking Heroes' Feast. There are lots of things you can do when you're immune to friendly fire. Grapple enemies and drag them into your Cloudkill, for one. Use Cloudkill to provide heavy obscurement for advantage, for another. Being able to proactively exploit Heroes' Feast is an order of magnitude better than just keeping it prepared just in case you ever run into a green dragon with an hour's warning. You can already play many of these tricks with undead skeleton archers and zombies, but if the PCs can benefit too it closes a vulnerability.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

I think more people would have more fun if they completely abandoned the idea of money being there to buy magic iitems. Of course if that is how you are coming into the game you'll be thinking, "what can I spend my money on?" You shouldn't be coming into 5e that way though. You should be thinking, "I'm rich! No more cheap inns and torn clothes for me!" It's time to buy real-estate, pay for expensive cruises, wear that jewelry you found rather than selling it.

These kids today...*Shakes head*

So much this. I think it's a bad habit from video games like Diablo, wherein gold is just a number that you genuinely can't do anything interesting with except buy weapons, because it's not really a role-playing game.

Sometimes you get the impression that some people, when reading the story of the Goose That Laid Golden Eggs, would immediately ask whether you can use those eggs to buy magic swords. "And if not, then what's the point?"

If ever you feel like you somehow have nothing to spend money on in D&D, try:

1.) Offering a giant guard a sack full of gold to skedaddle,
2.) Paying for a new roof for your widowed neighbor,
3.) Buying a fancy car^H^H^Hmanor to impress girls,
4.) Buying orphans out of slavery when you can't feasibly free them by violence without causing legal trouble for yourself,
5.) Hiring a dozen hobgoblin mercenaries to fight for you,
6.) Buying a thousand hobgoblin mercenaries to fight for you.

If none of these choices appeal to you, then I guess you live 24-7 in a dungeon. Hence the name "murderhobo."

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Mine hasn't gotten to 11th level either yet, but the treasure tables (according to those who have done the math) would indicate that each PC should have gotten about 25k gold by then (minus, of course, whatever they spent along the way). The way I see it, that puts a 1,000 gp expense in the "we can do it without too much trouble, but not routinely" category.

Of course, if you're doing it to kill a green dragon each time, you're probably recouping far more than 1000 gp per usage--so it could be routine for dragon-slaying.

Or drow-hunting.

 

[discosoc]

Yes, it's powerful. However, it does cost 1,000 gp per cast, so it's hardly a spell you can use in a routine situation.

1k gold is nothing. There's really nothing you need to buy anyway, unless the setting has made magic items common enough to be sold. My last group actually had a running joke about how frequently they come across "valuable statues and tapestries" as treasure. The don't even bother checking for treasure beyond possible plot items anymore because not only does the treasure never seem to exist, but the raw coin you find has nothing to use it for anyway.

 

[Flamestrike]

I think more people would have more fun if they completely abandoned the idea of money being there to buy magic iitems. Of course if that is how you are coming into the game you'll be thinking, "what can I spend my money on?" You shouldn't be coming into 5e that way though. You should be thinking, "I'm rich! No more cheap inns and torn clothes for me!" It's time to buy real-estate, pay for expensive cruises, wear that jewelry you found rather than selling it.

These kids today...*Shakes head*

Exactly.

Its weird that I see so many peeps complaining they have nothing to spend money on.

Fine clothes, bling jewlery, big houses, fine wine, beautiful women, and investments. The kind of stuff rich dudes spend money on.

Weirded out when you see 10th level PCs with tens of thousdands of gold haggling over a few copper and still sleeping in communal rooms in taverns like 1st level chumps.

 

[Flamestrike]

1k gold is nothing. There's really nothing you need to buy anyway, unless the setting has made magic items common enough to be sold. My last group actually had a running joke about how frequently they come across "valuable statues and tapestries" as treasure. The don't even bother checking for treasure beyond possible plot items anymore because not only does the treasure never seem to exist, but the raw coin you find has nothing to use it for anyway.

Think about this for a bit, and apply it to real life. Who (barring Bill Gates) has ever said this?

What are your PCs living in when they return from the monster and trap riddled rocky and dank dungeons they kick around in? Do they have some kind of aversion to luxury or something? Do they not care about their families (like most people) desiring to set them up for life with investments and status, or seek to donate to orginisations they work for, charities etc?

If you were a treasure hunter and you found a million old Roman gold coins... what would YOU do with your new wealth?

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

Something that I always think when phrases such as "1k gold is nothing." are brought up:

If it truly is nothing, why did the characters bother collecting it when they found it or agreeing to it as their compensation for providing some service?