Cyber-Dave
Explorer
Session's 1 and 2 (Level 3)
Hello. So, I am playing a halfing ranger, outlander, with a wolf companion. Our group is 3rd level. Long story short, up to now, our group was shipwrecked on the north shore of the Moonsea as we were on our way to Phlan. We ended up in a small town close to Phlan. The town has been plagued by gnolls and bandits/slavers. Our group agreed to help the town by hunting down a group of bandits/slavers that had just attacked to try and save the people the bandits had captured. We tracked them to a fort. With some clever thinking and trickery, we managed to lure 7 of the bandits out of their fort (including one of the most important/toughest bandits) and ambushed them. We still need to figure out what we want to do next. We need to get into the fort and save the remaining town folk/deal with the remaining bandits.
Observations of note:
1) I do have the highest damage potential of our party. So far, our best ranged resource is our human fighter/battlemaster (built to be an archer/xbowman), but we haven't really had the chance to force enemies to travel a significant distance under his fire. I have a feeling that when we do, he will be the character that shines brightest. Our best "tank" is our half-orc 1st level barbarian/ 2nd level fighter. The character is a required front-liner for our group. Without that character, our party's battle lines would fold in half. Our best healer would be our cleric. Our best "support" character would be our wizard. We also have a really interesting changeling 1st level druid/2nd level monk. Right now, that character has shined brightest through RP utility and deception, but I think he also has the 2nd highest damage potential of the group at our current level.
2) While I have the highest damage potential of the the party, that is somewhat mitigated by the fact that my companion requires a LOT of healing to keep it valuable. During our last fight (the ambush) our cleric had to spend a 1st level and 2nd level spell slot on my companion to keep it in the fight. During a fight we had just before that (we got ambushed by gnolls while tracking down the bandits) I had to spend a 1st level spell slot to heal my companion (after the fight, though I very nearly had to run up and use one during the fight). That is roughly 1/2 of all the spell slots used to heal the group spent on my companion so far, and it is most of the healing that we have had to cast during combat (which means that 2 rounds of potential attacks made by the cleric were lost on my companion alone). As a result, much of my damage potential comes at the cost of party resources and the overall damage potential of the group... I got the sense that the cleric was a little annoyed that two of his turns had to be spent keeping the wolf standing instead of doing something like casting guiding bolt.
3) So far, in terms of overall group capability, I find that at 3rd level the revised ranger is well balanced. My increased damage output has, in practice, come at the cost of tactical choices that decreased the group's damage output in other areas. As a result, the final output of the group is roughly what it would have been had I chosen some other build instead. I am still learning to play this character. I, for example, think that I will have to keep my wolf back a little (so that it won't take as much damage/so much of the healer's time in combat). I am also finding that I don't want to cast "hunter's mark" as I worry that my spell slots are better saved for healing my companion (so that my allies don't need to spend so much of their own time healing the companion). (For context, so far, I have cast goodberries twice and hunter's mark once during our last adventuring day. I used one of my goodberries to stop the cleric from using a "cure wounds" out of combat, as I felt the cleric's spell slot would be better spent in combat.) That being said, I can see how a group could get frustrated with a beastmaster due to the way the beastmaster is forced to steal group resources in order to help the beastmaster shine as bright as he theoretically can. Such frustrations are likely to lead, in practice, to a beastmaster being forced to be a little more conservative with their own spells/use of the beast. This would self-police the beastmaster's actual damage in praxis, meaning that over time I doubt my actual output is going to match my theoretical output (or the output I have tried to keep dealing so far). It is a curious quality which is probably not evident in a white-room. I plan to keep an eye out for how my 4th level feat and 5th level "coordinated attack" play out in this context.
4) I did not find that it took me more time to choose what I do in combat than any other character, despite the fact that I am virtually running two characters. The simplicity of my own actions make it fairly simple, and quick, to run both the wolf and the master. I did not find that this resulted in any more time being spent than, for example, a monk making at least two attacks a turn or a spellcaster thinking about which spell to cast. I am not sure, however, that I am the best judge. My group probably has more valuable input on that front than I do.
5) The new primal awareness could become a problem. My DM was immediately put off by the power. In fact, I am going to copy and paste the content of an e-mail he sent me, as I think his observations and fears as a DM have a lot of merit:
I agree with him. As a result, I have tried to make sure that I only use primeval awareness when I am trying to gain very specific information and I have already placed myself into a situation where it is logical that I might be able to use the ability to gain that specific data. I also try to never say, "I am using primeval awareness; tell me X knowledge," but rather to ask permission. For example, "is it possible for me to use some combination of my tracking ability, to check the tracks in the area, and a minute spent on primeval awareness to learn roughly how many humanoids are inside the fort?" If he says yes, great. If he says no, for whatever reason, that's cool too. If he says yes, but you need to use X skill checks in combination with the feature to learn the knowledge you seek, fine by me. As written, however, I imagine that primeval awareness will cause tension at some tables. Hell, as it is, every time I use the ability I feel a little worried that I am annoying my DM (and I would like to think that our group is good at communicating and avoiding such tension).
My 2 cents so far.
Session 3 (Level 3)
So, I got another game in. This time around, after we interrogated one of the survivors from the raiding party that we lured out of the slaver's fort, we discovered that the villagers we went to try and save had already been sent to market at Zhentil Keep. Moreover, they had been sent about a day go, and their trip would only take them a day and a half total travel time, so we didn't think we would be able to catch up with them before they would get to market; the caravan would be moving at caravan speeds, but with a lightly encumbered gnome in the group and no horses, we wouldn't be moving any faster. So, we used a nearby river to escape without leaving a traceable trail and took a long rest.
The next morning we debated over what we should do next. In the end, we decided to hunt down some nearby gnolls and try and lure them to the slaver's fort in order to get the gnolls and the slavers to kill each other. Our camping spot was close to an old battle between some gnolls and slavers, and it hadn't rained since that battle, so I tried to track down the gnolls for the group. As a result of a bad roll, I lost the trail. Primeval Awareness, however, let me know that a large group of humanoids was coming towards us from the east (opposite the fort, which was to the west of us). I rolled a poor check when using my DM's house-rules to pinpoint the exact number of incoming foes. As a result, I knew that there were between "25-50" humanoids incoming, but I didn't know the exact number. We looked for a decent hiding spot on the plains. Our best option was a set of large rocks. We used them for cover and hunkered down to see what would pass us by.
A group of about 18 slavers (8 cavalry and 10 infantry/archers) were leading 10 slaves back towards the fort. Unfortunately, as a result of a few bad stealth checks spread out amognst the party, they spotted us (or at least spotted something that caused them to send a small contingent of riders and archers to check our hiding spot out). We hunkered down and waited for them to get within 120 feet of us. At 120 feet, both our primary archer and I started to launch bolts at the riders and our spellcasters (arcane domain cleric and wizard) start launching magic missiles at them. During the ensuing fight, we used range to strong effect and destroyed the opposition. When the few remaining riders tried to run away, we gave chase. The two surviving riders ended up booking it for the fort and leaving the infantry that were guarding the slaves behind. We killed all the slavers, saved the slaves, and escorted them back to the town they were taken from.
Observations of Note:
1) Sure enough, this game's encounters highlighted the stark contrast between my theoretical damage and my actual damage in praxis. I kept my wolf hidden behind the rock while our group used its ranged potential to attack the slavers. My wolf's low HP made it too much of a risk to send him running out against them; they would have cut him apart with arrows. Thus, while our fighter/barbarian did run out and deal some damage to a couple of riders as they reached us, my wolf didn't add any damage to this week's encounters. Likewise, when attacking with just my hand-crossbow, my character's ranged abilities were overshadowed by our archer's specialty and our caster's use of spell slots. When I hit, my damage was decent, but without using Hunter's Mark it wasn't great, and I made most of my attacks with disadvantage, so missed more than a few times as well.
2) Being small and being able to ride my wolf was a huge boon. I was able to use my wolf's movement to close distance and attack when the slaver's tried to run. If I had been a human with a longbow, I would have dealt more damage this fight, but would not have been able to close range and chase after the runners nearly as well. All in all, the result was a wash. Either way, I would have been effective; I would merely have been effective at different things. Either way, the end result of this encounter was likely to have been the same.
Overall Opinion So Far: I'm really enjoying the new beastmaster so far. I don't feel overpowered or underpowered. Sometimes I shine. Sometimes I don't. When I shine, considering the group's overall use of resources, I do not think I have shined to an absurd quantity. For the most part, we have almost used Primeval Awareness by the rules as written. Even if my DM had told me the exact numbers today, the end result would likely have been the same. I still think, however, as it rubs so many people the wrong way, it should be tweaked just a little. My DMs adjudication of it didn't make it feel worthless and didn't make it any less fun.
Session 4 (Level 4)
This week, we travelled south of the slaver's fort and set up camp on the trail between that fort and Zhentil Keep. The idea was to ambush a few caravans heading south with slaves to weaken the fort's population before attacking the fort directly. While there, we found a campsite that appeared to be a regular stopping point for the slavers. We then saw a group of about 15 humans make camp there. Some stealth, disguise, and deception allowed us to discover that these humans do not work for the same slaver, though they are still (in some ambiguous way) affiliated with Zhentil Keep. We took a group vote and decided to let them go unmolested (as our current goal is to rid the region of the specific group centred in the fort, and we didn't want to waste the resources on a fight that would not necessarily aid with that goal). Unfortunately, the group had a few trolls hot on their heals. We tried to hide from the trolls, but a few bad stealth checks gave us away, and we got stuck taking them on. After killing 2 trolls, 1 ran away, and we went back to camping out on the trail (without further incident this session).
Observations of Note:
I am now level 4. Even with crossbow expert and a total of 3 attacks a round (1 beast, 1 hand crossbow, 2nd bonus action hand crossbow) the game is staying balanced. Our human archer (with crossbow expert, sharpshooter, and a heavy crossbow) probably dealt the most damage this session (using all of his superiority dice). I would say that he was the MVP of damage this week. I started the fight dealing very decent damage, but then my wolf went down, and my overall damage over the course of the encounter was much lower than what he put out (I went 2 rounds without making a single attack, and he managed to deal as much with some single hits as all my damage for that round put together). Our druid/monk and I probably dealt about the same total damage this week. Our barbarian's ability to soak damage and our cleric's healing kept our group alive. I don't think we would have survived without either of them. Our cleric was having trouble manoeuvring around the battlefield as an encumbered gnome, and so had trouble splitting her healing between players. I wanted to try and get her mounted on my wolf, after my wolf went down once, to improve her manoeuvrability, but I was too late, and the idea didn't bear much fruit (the injured barbarian ran to our healer instead of waiting for the healer to make it to him). All in all, in practice, I am pleased with how the class is playing. It feels neither too weak nor too strong.
Session 5 (Level 4)
Today, our group went north to check out the slaver fort. It looked like they had recently been through a battle. There were still about 20 people in the fort, but we decided that we could probably take them... their lookout posts were not all manned. Our mage walked up to a shadowy section of wall and misty stepped up to an unmanned post. He then dropped down some rope. The rest of the group climbed over. Then we began a fight as our barbarian made it to the fort's gate and opened it for my wolf to join the fray. My damage, this time around, was fantastic. As we were fighting humanoids, my wolf and I were getting a +2 bonus to damage against everything we attacked. There were a lot of low AC "minions." My wolf only went down on the very last round of the fight (due to a combination of luck and smart positioning). As a result, my wolf added damage to the entire fight. I felt quite accomplished, and I think my character might have been responsible for the most amount of damage dealt this fight. It was still a very close fight. Our cleric brought a number of us back from the brink of death. Our barbarian soaked an insane amount of damage. Our archer was a HUGE help as well (and seriously reduced the effectiveness of their primary archer by disarming her, which allowed our monk to stop on the enemy's bow and break it). I was responsible for the death-shots of at least two of the bigger/more dangerous slavers and a number of the minions.
Observations of Note:All in all, I still feel that the new version is fairly well balanced. If I performed this well every session/fight, that would be a problem, but I have seen first hand that I don't. My character was just very effective at fighting the type of foes we were fighting this time around. I am, however, a little worried about the +4 favored enemy damage bump at 6th level. I will wait to pass any real judgment, but I felt just how beneficial a +2 was during this fight. +4 at 6th level might be a bit much...
Session #6: Missed, due to real life...
Session #7 (Phlan) (Recap Written by my DM)
Old Wan (changeling, Monk 3, Druid 1)
Pinky (gnome, cleric 4)
Jove (human, wizard 4)
Delilah (half orc, fighter 3, barbarian 1 )
Alistair (human, fighter 4)
Cade and Toothless (halfling, ranger 4, with wolf animal companion)
Cade passes through the gates of Phlan just before they close after a few days of exploring the settlements around the town. In town he learns that some of his companions have been staying at the Laughing Goblin Inn, and he heads south on Podol Street towards the docks where the inn is situated. On his way he runs into Alistair and Jove who are also on their way to the Laughing Goblin to meet up with Pinky and Delilah. They aren’t sure what Old Wan has been up to, and none of them are aware that he has taken on the guise of Turk the half orc bouncer.
Meanwhile, inside the Laughing Goblin, Turk inadvertently convinces Delgar that he should go talk to Pinky to see if Pinky will help him get Dimble out of Grossettgrottle and lure him into a trap so that he can have his revenge for the theft of Dancing Flame. Turk is worried about violence starting in the inn, especially since Olstag, one of Delgar’s men, is most eager to start a fight. To solve the problem, the “half orc” bouncer decides to try to lure Delgar and his men out of the tavern. He moves to the door and then holds up Dancing Flame. “Is this what you were looking for Delgar?” he calls out.
Delgar is shocked to see the half orc holding the enchanted dagger. He turns towards Turk, but before he can say anything, Turk runs out the door into the street. Delgar gives chase, following after him. He crashes past Alistair and Jove just as they are about to enter the inn. Cade sees Turk run out and notices he’s carrying Dancing Flame. He’s mounted on Toothless, and he wheels his wolf around and starts calling out for Turk to stop, accusing him of being a thief. Jove makes his own attempt at stopping the “thief” by blasting him with a magic missile barrage.
A chase ensues with Turk running at uncanny speed up Podol street, Cade chasing after him on his wolf and Delgar running along behind both of them. Turk soon realizes he’s loosing Delgar and he slows down. This allows Cade to close on him, and he quickly informs Cade that he is actually Wan in disguise.
Back at the tavern Delgar’s men come out to see what is going on. Alistair and Jove are still standing in front of the doors trying to figure out what is going on when the sell swords step out. Olstag is still looking for a fight, and he immediately starts insulting Alistair. The big north man sees the slim noble as an easy target and throws an unprovoked punch at him. Then Rool the half orc takes a swing at Jove. Delilah and Pinky see the fight starting and move to help their companions. Pinky attempts a couple of hold person spells on Rool, but the half orc resists both of them. Delilah takes a more direct approach and engages the man in a fist fight, allowing Jove to back away.
Cade notices the commotion erupting in front of the tavern, and he hurries back down the street to help. He passes Delgar on the way, and he notices that the sell sword has drawn a gorgeous longsword, the blade of which is sheafed in a coating of magical frost. The halfling soon reaches his companions, and he tries to end the fight by raising his hand crossbow and aiming it at Olstag. He orders the man to stand down or be shot. Olstag ignores the halfling, and Cade makes good on his threat. A hand crossbow bolt grazes the man’s neck, enraging him. He draws his great axe. As he does so, Alistair gets his cross bow off his back and loaded with amazing speed. He too fires, but Olstag knocks his weapon to the side and the shot goes wide. Jove then blasts the sell swords with a thunderwave spell, sending some of them hurtling backwards. Rool and Delilah continue to brawl, but the remaining men draw their weapons and a full on battle erupts in front of the Laughing Goblin.
While that is going on, Turk sees a patrol of Blackfist guards coming down the wide, muddy street up ahead of him. Delgar sees them as well, and he calls out for them to arrest the thief. Turk ducks into a nearby alley. He alters his form and assumes the guise of harmless beggar. He finishes his transformation just as Delgar enters the alley. In his new form, he convinces Delgar that the half orc thief has run off down the alley, and he sends Delgar after him. The guards then enter the alley and start asking him what is going on. Before they can ask him more than a handful of questions, the guards notice the fight happening down the street in front of the Laughing Goblin, and they hurry off to intervene.
By the time the Black Fist get to the inn, Olstag is lying seemingly dead on the ground with a crossbow bolt in his back. Jove, Alistair and Cade are fending off two other sell swords, while Delilah and Rool continue their fist fight. The arrival of the guard ends the fight, as neither party wants to end up on the wrong side of the Black Fist. Alistair’s status as a noble gives him some sway with the guards, and probably saves him from being immediately arrested. It also helps that Olstag is actually still clinging to life. He receives healing magic from the heroes, saving his life and preventing a murder charge. Once he gets back on his feet the mouthy adventurers hurl some more insults at him, and he flies into a rage and attacks again. The guards tackle him and arrest him before he can hurt anyone or get himself killed. Alistair offers them a small sack of gold for their trouble, which helps to placate them, and The Black Fist order both groups to clear the streets and not be found causing any more trouble. and the heroes head on their way.
Pinky and Cade end up spending the night at Nat Wyler’s Bell. There Cade inquires with the gnome innkeeper about about the whereabouts of a yellow eyed halfling named Pip Weedbottom. Cade has reason to suspect that the Pip may be his only surviving halfling kin (the yellow eye connection). Yellow eyed halflings are a rarity, and the hostler recalls seeing a halfling that fits Pip's description staying at the inn a few weeks prior. The gnome recalls him mentioning that he was heading for Melvaunt. Why a halfling that has spent the last several years living in the distant town of Dagger Falls, suddenly pick up and head north is somewhat of a mystery to Cade, but one he wishes to find the answer to.
The rest of the party, spends the night at the Crooked Crown, and the following morning they gather at the gates to head back to Mill Hill where they hope to aid the Black Fist in fighting the gnoll band that has recently started savaging the region. It is long day’s journey. The monotony of the plains is broken when a pack of death dogs (feral, two-headed hounds) crests a rise and starts running to catch them. Fortunately, they have swift horses, except for Pinky, who is riding on the mule. Pinky hops on Jove’s steed, and they leave Betsy behind. The poor mule becomes the victim of the death dog pack, but her sacrifice allows the heroes to get away and avoid what might have been a deadly fight.
By evening the weary travellers reach their destination, and the session ends here.
My observations: during the fight, I stayed mounted on my wolf. As a result, the wolf didn't get any of it's attacks in. Other characters were, by far, the bigger contributors. I don't have much else to say about this session, but we did level at the end of it. I will put a report up about session 8 soon.
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