D&D 5E Paladin/Hexblade+Options

[Shiroiken]

This. So much this. (Emphasis mine.)

Power-gamers focus on combat typically and that is easy enough to compensate for IMO. So, yes, my larger issue is players who not paying attention or on their phones, etc. They hardly seem invested in the game and it annoys me to no end.

Sadly IMO they're often the same player. When someone focuses on combat powergaming, they tend to not enjoy or pay attention to the social and exploration pillars.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Sadly IMO they're often the same player. When someone focuses on combat powergaming, they tend to not enjoy or pay attention to the social and exploration pillars.

YMMV, but IME powergamers tend to at least be somewhat involved in the game, if nothing more than looking/hoping for a time to shine. It is the other players (who certainly can be powergamers) that you have to tell them what is going on when their turn comes because they weren't paying attention that are more of a problem. shrug

 

[Ancalagon]

A lot of players don't get themes. Advertise a Darksun game and you'll get a wannabe Triton player.

I would totally let someone play an aquatic race in a desert setting. serves them right

 

[Ancalagon]

A Triton Hexblade/Paladin would be really annoying later on.

Just to be sure I understand you, what would be annoying about this? I think if you outline the problems, then we can discuss it better. I'm particularly curious about why the triton doesn't work for you? Do you want everyone on the sea to be a terrestrial race?

 

[Shiroiken]

A lot of players don't get themes. Advertise a Darksun game and you'll get a wannabe Triton player.

My favorite is the warforged in Darksun, made up of precious, precious iron/steel. Had a DM state that the player was immediately killed by his first party, who then sold his metal to become rich.

 

[Zardnaar]

Just to be sure I understand you, what would be annoying about this? I think if you outline the problems, then we can discuss it better. I'm particularly curious about why the triton doesn't work for you? Do you want everyone on the sea to be a terrestrial race?

In it's because I have some underwater adventures planned where Truth be are the antagonists and wizards packing dispel magic for surface breathers.

Another reason is I have set up various interactions between the races and the major ones are phb, yuan ti and Warforged so I don't really want random races beyond the campaigns focus on the decay of the Elves and corruption of the yuan ti.

I've only played with him once but he was trying to get people to fluff about trying to knock people prone to make himself better while undermining the ranged attackers.

Player type seems to be try hard power gamer. Wants powerful stuff but lacks the ability to put it togather.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

While I think it's certainly fine to ban character races not represented in your world, if there are Tritons in the setting then it seems unfair to put a blanket ban on players playing them.

What I would suggest instead is telling the player that Tritons have a particular place in your setting and that they will have to work with you to craft a logical backstory for their Triton. Even if no Triton would normally hang with these other races, PCs are exceptional people. Presumably he can be a Triton who washed ashore as an orphaned infant and was raised by gnomes, or whatever. There is a good chance having to cooperate at all on backstory will make the player realize they aren't all that committed to playing a Triton anyway.

As for this Hexblade dip business, I would advise a similar compromise position of "okay, but we need to start you a Paladin and actually work that artifact weapon into the game, not just say you met it and give you a pile of mechanical benefits." This makes for it being less likely to be pure, cheesy powergamery, makes it fit into your actual game, and again makes sure the player actually cares enough to make it worth your distaste.

 

[humble minion]

Hexblade paladin absolutely screams character optimiser to me. Which is not necessarily a bad thing depending on how you and your group prefer to game, of course. I wouldn't allow it at my table without a GOOD and in-character reason, but to be honest I'd more likely have a sit down with the player and have an honest talk about expectations and who he wants the character to be - in terms of personality, traits, history and ideals, rather than mechanical build. Remember the PC will have to be either a level 1 paladin or level 1 hexblade starting out, but (in my head at least) both paladin and warlock are classes that you need to go out of your way to enter. It's not like, i dunno, fighter, where you can just start training harder with a sword. If he starts out paladin, what's the plan for having him make his hexblade pact in-character, so he can take that 1st warlock level? How will he contact his patron, and seal the deal? If he's planning to start at level 1 hexblade, then the opposite applies - is there a process for becoming a paladin? Will he have to take a vow, or undergo a ceremony or something at a temple? Especially if he's a traditional LG devotion paladin, his church/superiors/whatever may have issues with his sworn pact to some sort of unpleasant creepy extraplanar sentient weapon. But it seems a bit weird to me just having a random paladin (for instance) suddenly wake up one morning and make a warlock pact before starting his breakfast porridge.

 

[Zardnaar]

Hexblade paladin absolutely screams character optimiser to me. Which is not necessarily a bad thing depending on how you and your group prefer to game, of course. I wouldn't allow it at my table without a GOOD and in-character reason, but to be honest I'd more likely have a sit down with the player and have an honest talk about expectations and who he wants the character to be - in terms of personality, traits, history and ideals, rather than mechanical build. Remember the PC will have to be either a level 1 paladin or level 1 hexblade starting out, but (in my head at least) both paladin and warlock are classes that you need to go out of your way to enter. It's not like, i dunno, fighter, where you can just start training harder with a sword. If he starts out paladin, what's the plan for having him make his hexblade pact in-character, so he can take that 1st warlock level? How will he contact his patron, and seal the deal? If he's planning to start at level 1 hexblade, then the opposite applies - is there a process for becoming a paladin? Will he have to take a vow, or undergo a ceremony or something at a temple? Especially if he's a traditional LG devotion paladin, his church/superiors/whatever may have issues with his sworn pact to some sort of unpleasant creepy extraplanar sentient weapon. But it seems a bit weird to me just having a random paladin (for instance) suddenly wake up one morning and make a warlock pact before starting his breakfast porridge.

I don't mind a bit of power gaming, he kind of knows enough that this is a good combo but doesn't know how to really make it sing.

I was an earlier adopter of warlock abuse in 5E, spotted the cheese back in 2014 a few weeks after the phb dropped.

 

[Zardnaar]

While I think it's certainly fine to ban character races not represented in your world, if there are Tritons in the setting then it seems unfair to put a blanket ban on players playing them.

What I would suggest instead is telling the player that Tritons have a particular place in your setting and that they will have to work with you to craft a logical backstory for their Triton. Even if no Triton would normally hang with these other races, PCs are exceptional people. Presumably he can be a Triton who washed ashore as an orphaned infant and was raised by gnomes, or whatever. There is a good chance having to cooperate at all on backstory will make the player realize they aren't all that committed to playing a Triton anyway.

As for this Hexblade dip business, I would advise a similar compromise position of "okay, but we need to start you a Paladin and actually work that artifact weapon into the game, not just say you met it and give you a pile of mechanical benefits." This makes for it being less likely to be pure, cheesy powergamery, makes it fit into your actual game, and again makes sure the player actually cares enough to make it worth your distaste.

I don't personally buy into just because it exists player get to play it.

I normally allow around 20 odd races into the game and vary them by campaign.