Level Up (A5E) What's In A Capstone?

A capstone feature represents the highest point of your adventuring career: that special ability you get when you reach 20th level in your chosen class. It’s a reward for countless adventures — and, of course, you usually get it just as your adventuring career ends.

With that in mind, we wanted our capstone class features to be something special. Not an interation of a previous ability. Not a numerical improvement in something you can already do. Something new, something special, something to strive for. Something big.

Capstones are intended to feel a little overpowered. After all, you’ll only get to use it for a short time. This is where you get to show off!

The below features are playtest material. With the Kickstarter only 10 weeks away, this will be the final public playtest. As always, we fully expect you to not like some of this stuff — that’s the point of playtesting. It lets us adjust course based on the feedback we get.

All capstone features are gained in their relevant class at 20th level.

What’s In A Capstone? — Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E)

A capstone feature represents the highest point of your adventuring career: that special ability you get when you reach 20th level in your chosen class. It’s a reward for countless adventures — and, of course, you usually get it just as your adventuring career ends.

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[Teemu]

If these capstones are intended to feel a little overpowered, you’re gonna need to amp up the overpoweredness a whole lot more! The bard capstone is basically a subtle mass suggestion, but with a long casting time… that’s overpowered at level 20? Once per day turn a miss into a hit? Gain commoner followers…? These are pretty weak for something that’s supposed to make you feel a little too powerful.

 

[dave2008]

By RAW in Level Up you also double the modifier.

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It was in the Combat playtest.

Thank you for the clarification. The helps the O5e Champion nicely.

 

[dave2008]

If these capstones are intended to feel a little overpowered, you’re gonna need to amp up the overpoweredness a whole lot more! The bard capstone is basically a subtle mass suggestion, but with a long casting time… that’s overpowered at level 20? Once per day turn a miss into a hit? Gain commoner followers…? These are pretty weak for something that’s supposed to make you feel a little too powerful.

Some feel suitably OP to me. The Archdruid comes to mind.

 

[Teemu]

Some feel suitably OP to me. The Archdruid comes to mind.

Really? If the capstone is intended to be something different, not just numbers, and something that you’re not going to keep for very long since the campaign is likely to wrap up, why not go way beyond what the rules offer?

What if a druid could change the climate of a region once per week? What if a cleric could convert an entire nation once? A fighter could strike the earth and crack the continental plate? Something way beyond what you can normally do.

 

[dave2008]

Really? If the capstone is intended to be something different, not just numbers, and something that you’re not going to keep for very long since the campaign is likely to wrap up, why not go way beyond what the rules offer?

Yes, I feel like that is what the Archdruid does.

Now I want to be clear, I am not in favor of OP capstones. I am developing my own epic rules (post lvl 20 play) and that is where I believe OP content belongs, not in capstones.

What if a druid could change the climate of a region once per week? What if a cleric could convert an entire nation once? A fighter could strike the earth and crack the continental plate? Something way beyond what you can normally do.

What if? That, to me, is the realm of post lvl 20 play. But everyone is different. If you want a more OP capstone you are free to house rule want you want, just as I am free to nerf them as I want.

 

[Faolyn]

If these capstones are intended to feel a little overpowered, you’re gonna need to amp up the overpoweredness a whole lot more! The bard capstone is basically a subtle mass suggestion, but with a long casting time… that’s overpowered at level 20? Once per day turn a miss into a hit? Gain commoner followers…? These are pretty weak for something that’s supposed to make you feel a little too powerful.

o5e mass suggestion affects up to 12 creatures and lasts for one day. This affects 50 creatures and lasts for 6 days.

 

[Stalker0]

o5e mass suggestion affects up to 12 creatures and lasts for one day. This affects 50 creatures and lasts for 6 days.

What actually really sells the mass suggestion is that there is NO SAVE.

so it’s got power, I just think it’s awfully clunky.

 

[Teemu]

What actually really sells the mass suggestion is that there is NO SAVE.

so it’s got power, I just think it’s awfully clunky.

There is a save, but it’s made against the initial performance. I think it could be a 1 minute performance and charmed without a save, followed by a 9th-level mass suggestion, no save because you need a minute anyway, and this is intended to be a capstone. Whether it’s 12 or 50 people rarely makes a big difference. 50 or 1,000, yeah, that’s a difference, but not a dozen vs 40 or 80.

 

[Horwath]

Don't forget to take the survey! It's the last playtest, and we've included a few extra general Level Up questions at the end.

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No playtest for feats?

I hope they will not end up as PHB feats...

 

[Kozos]

Hmmm. Have your removed the fourth attack from the fighter or have you moved it to 17th level?
Also the ranger one feels a bit underwhelming? Perhaps let you keep one elemental as a companion permanently that gets resurrected/changed on a long or short rest?