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Official Dungeons & Dragons Thread... (2 Viewers)

Not sure what the 5th edition ranger is like but I have an Archer Ranger that is a complete bad ass.
Love rangers !!! I also have a high level cleric and monk.
My cleric is my richest character by far. He ran with some unsavory characters who made quite a bit of gold and magic.
He did most of the classic campaigns from the old days. I mean totally rich with his own city on a huge slice of land we carved up for ourselves.
My monk is the most powerful as far as abilities and since he can only hold a few magic items in his possession he has some rare and powerful items, one being the rod of rulership.
My archer ranger does the most damage out of all my characters, I love the lore behind the ranger type (Think Legolas or Aragorn from Tolkien). Make sure you read up on the Ranger class, not sure what the 5th edition ranger is like but the old one had some restrictions.
My DM let me use the class description from the best of Dragon Magazine vol 3. Here it is.

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I haven't tried a Ranger in 5E yet, but consensus seems to be that it is the worst of the core classes unfortunately. Which is too bad because in earlier editions Rangers could be a lot of fun and very useful to the party. WOTC was working on a revamp of the Ranger, but I'm not sure what the status is. This document has some info, but I don't know if this is official or final:
https://media.wizards.com/2016/dnd/downloads/UA_RevisedRanger.pdf

Over the past year, you’ve seen us try a number of new approaches to the ranger, all aimed at addressing the class’s high levels of player dissatisfaction and its ranking as D&D’s weakest class by a significant margin.
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:(
 
One Eyed Dollar said:
I haven't tried a Ranger in 5E yet, but consensus seems to be that it is the worst of the core classes unfortunately. Which is too bad because in earlier editions Rangers could be a lot of fun and very useful to the party. WOTC was working on a revamp of the Ranger, but I'm not sure what the status is. This document has some info, but I don't know if this is official or final:
https://media.wizards.com/2016/dnd/downloads/UA_RevisedRanger.pdf



:(
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That's very interesting. Not really knowing what authority this has, is it just a matter of confirming that the DM will accept the updates? I'm comparing this to a PDF of a Player's Handbook I found online, so not sure if it's the most recent publication. I do see your doc is from 2016, so it was at least 4 years ago. Seems like enough time to determine if these changes have been recognized.

There seems to be some damage increases against favored enemies. Adept at traveling in ALL terrains, as opposed to choosing a favored terrain. And the Ranger Archetypes are replaced by Ranger Conclaves with some additional features and modifications to the attacks and defenses added from this. There's a lot of cool stuff here, but I have nothing to compare it to, so no way of knowing how this effects the overall abilities of the Ranger to keep up with the other classes.
 
TX_Golf_N_Poker said:
So I've been reading for a grand total of 2 1/2 days. Yup, I'm a real expert now. :ROFL: :ROFLMAO: :ROFL: :ROFLMAO::ROFL: :ROFLMAO:

I've been thinking about the type of character I would want to be. The elf or half-elf race interests me, and the two classes that are speaking to me are Paladin and Ranger. I'm thinking either a half-Elf Paladin, or a Wood Elf Ranger. I like the Paladin because of their commitment to justice and righteousness, and to battle against the forces of evil. I also like their ability to heal wounds and diseases. I like the Paladin being a half-Elf due to +2 charisma points.

On the other hand, what I like least about Paladin is a lot of close combat and heavy armor. So I like the Ranger because they are proficient with ranged weapons, and can take advantage of the dexterity of a wood Elf. Less need for heavy armor. Quick in a fight with good reflexes and extra speed.

Am I on the right track? Any suggestions? Pros or cons of my choices?
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Play what you like. I'll let you know, though, that the latest supplement (Tasha's Cauldron of Everything) gives some new guidelines on character creation in terms of race. Gone are the "restrictive" race/species-based attribute bonuses - they are more fluid now. You get +2 to one score, and +1 to another score, your choice for both. Player characters are already considered "exceptional" compared to others of their race. So why not be able to play a rather dextrous dwarf? Or a particularly strong gnome? Or a charismatic lizardfolk? Or an exceptionally intelligent half-orc?

Paladins can be of any alignment, so "justice" and "righteousness" might mean something very different depending on the paladin's personal ethos or his/her divine connection.

If you're looking to min/max, there are lots of character build guides out there for the discovering.

Personally, I prefer to start with a character's backstory, and go from there. Here's one concept that I haven't yet had a chance to try out but I'm looking for the opportunity:
Imagine a stalwart dwarf soldier, a family man and natural leader, respected by his comrades for his skill and his kindness. A dwarf's dwarf. But disaster befalls when a demonic incursion into a mining outpost results in the unwitting sacrifice of dwarven noncombatants (including his family) in order to prevent a breach into the city proper. His grief is unbearable. He starts to lose faith in his leaders. He has recurring nightmares regarding his family's slaughter. But something is speaking to him. Something from behind the veil of sleep when he closes his eyes. Something he sees in the embers of the hearthfire which gives him less warmth than before. Something that is offering him power, and a means for revenge.
In game terms, this would be a dwarf blade pact warlock of the fiend. As a character build he would be front-line fighter, with an advancement that would take his warlock invocations toward a more martial bent. His patron would be a devil, and he would use the powers granted to him forever against their ancient enemy, the demons. Once lawful good (as most dwarves are), his fiend pact and his bitterness and lust for vengeance has moved shifted his alignment to lawful neutral, and the temptations of his patron and the power represented has him sliding toward evil. Yet for the memory of his family he also resists, and still uses his tainted gifts only reluctantly. What would his fate be?
 
allforcharity said:
Play what you like. I'll let you know, though, that the latest supplement (Tasha's Cauldron of Everything) gives some new guidelines on character creation in terms of race. Gone are the "restrictive" race/species-based attribute bonuses - they are more fluid now. You get +2 to one score, and +1 to another score, your choice for both. Player characters are already considered "exceptional" compared to others of their race. So why not be able to play a rather dextrous dwarf? Or a particularly strong gnome? Or a charismatic lizardfolk? Or an exceptionally intelligent half-orc?

Paladins can be of any alignment, so "justice" and "righteousness" might mean something very different depending on the paladin's personal ethos or his/her divine connection.

If you're looking to min/max, there are lots of character build guides out there for the discovering.

Personally, I prefer to start with a character's backstory, and go from there. Here's one concept that I haven't yet had a chance to try out but I'm looking for the opportunity:
Imagine a stalwart dwarf soldier, a family man and natural leader, respected by his comrades for his skill and his kindness. A dwarf's dwarf. But disaster befalls when a demonic incursion into a mining outpost results in the unwitting sacrifice of dwarven noncombatants (including his family) in order to prevent a breach into the city proper. His grief is unbearable. He starts to lose faith in his leaders. He has recurring nightmares regarding his family's slaughter. But something is speaking to him. Something from behind the veil of sleep when he closes his eyes. Something he sees in the embers of the hearthfire which gives him less warmth than before. Something that is offering him power, and a means for revenge.
In game terms, this would be a dwarf blade pact warlock of the fiend. As a character build he would be front-line fighter, with an advancement that would take his warlock invocations toward a more martial bent. His patron would be a devil, and he would use the powers granted to him forever against their ancient enemy, the demons. Once lawful good (as most dwarves are), his fiend pact and his bitterness and lust for vengeance has moved shifted his alignment to lawful neutral, and the temptations of his patron and the power represented has him sliding toward evil. Yet for the memory of his family he also resists, and still uses his tainted gifts only reluctantly. What would his fate be?
Click to expand...
OK, that's very creative. I'm guessing you've been playing for years. I could not think up something like that at this point without having ever played a single game of D&D. My writing skills tend to be technical and persuasive. Not the imaginary and creative like that. I've read a little bit about the backstory stuff, but I mostly skip over that to get to the skills, weapons, classes, races, spells, etc. I'm just not there yet. I want to roll dice and attack monsters! But it is something I guess I need to think about.
 
Aw that's too bad to hear what they did to the Ranger class, was a fun class to play back in the day. My main character was my monk and a close second was my cleric, I wonder how those classes are to play in 5th edition.
 
Darthhoodie said:
Aw that's too bad to hear what they did to the Ranger class, was a fun class to play back in the day. My main character was my monk and a close second was my cleric, I wonder how those classes are to play in 5th edition.
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Personally, I do have no problem with the Ranger class as presented. My son played a ranger for his first character (as a specialist archer) and he had a lot of fun and fulfilled his niche in the party quite effectively.
 
allforcharity said:
Personally, I do have no problem with the Ranger class as presented. My son played a ranger for his first character (as a specialist archer) and he had a lot of fun and fulfilled his niche in the party quite effectively.
Click to expand...

Yes my Ranger was also an archer, love that variant.
 
TX_Golf_N_Poker said:
OK, that's very creative. I'm guessing you've been playing for years. I could not think up something like that at this point without having ever played a single game of D&D. My writing skills tend to be technical and persuasive. Not the imaginary and creative like that. I've read a little bit about the backstory stuff, but I mostly skip over that to get to the skills, weapons, classes, races, spells, etc. I'm just not there yet. I want to roll dice and attack monsters! But it is something I guess I need to think about.
Click to expand...
I agree, that was a great backstory. Don't worry if you're not there yet. Some groups are more into the "hack and slash" and some lean more towards roleplaying. I like a mix of both. Last year we were playing online with Roll20 for a while, and my friend was DMing, and I think we had three sessions in a row without rolling any dice. We were doing stuff like haggling with a drunk owner of a lumberyard over the price of timber for a palisade for our town and it just got tedious. On the flip side, I love to do things in character that aren't necessarily the best strategic choice but are keeping with the character.

Years ago I rolled up a character who was a middle-aged fighter and very beaten down and pessimistic. He grew up as part of a tribe of nomadic bandits called the Redhooves who were feared for attacking caravans and leaving no survivors. His family was cursed by a witch before they killed her, and he grew up under the burden of this curse his whole life, and he trusted nothing. The first adventure, we looted some treasure from a dungeon, and my character refused to handle anything because he assumed it was all cursed. The rest of the party got wary too, and decided to have the gear checked out before they tried anything. The DM was so annoyed because he actually HAD put a cursed item in there that he wanted somebody to put on, and my character ruined it. :LOL: :laugh:
 
Found another store that recently opened just up the road from the place I've been playing. They are a smaller footprint so not as many gaming tables, but have a really nice looking setup, do session streams, etc.

They're running their Arms & Arcana League where partys of 4 compete over a period of 3 months playing weekly sessions at $10/person (they provide the DM and homebrew campaign, each session is 2 hours) and you earn points for:

Roleplaying
Combat
Puzzle Solving

At the end of the League the party with the biggest score wins cash prizes plus gets their party name up on the Wall of Valor. I'm trying to put together a party, figured this would be right up my alley. They list only Fri/Sat sessions but I went there today and the guy said they can accommodate other days if there's interest.

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Place looks very cool!
I notice the Curt Schilling game poster on the wall, "Reconing". He took a lot of heat for the failed business but the game wasn't that bad, sold over a million copies. I got it for $10 after they went belly up.
 
TX_Golf_N_Poker said:
OK, that's very creative. I'm guessing you've been playing for years. I could not think up something like that at this point without having ever played a single game of D&D. My writing skills tend to be technical and persuasive. Not the imaginary and creative like that. I've read a little bit about the backstory stuff, but I mostly skip over that to get to the skills, weapons, classes, races, spells, etc. I'm just not there yet. I want to roll dice and attack monsters! But it is something I guess I need to think about.
Click to expand...

Well, when it comes down to it, you're playing an avatar in a fantasy world. You get to choose every aspect of how your character is going to be, from mannerisms to motivations to goals to flaws. You don't have to base it on anything in particular, but perhaps there was some character in a movie that you'd like to emulate, or something you read in a book, or maybe even somebody in real life. Everybody's got ideas and prejudices and quirks - you just get to decide as you go along. And if it doesn't work out, you can change it. The imagination is a living thing, and the more you feed it, the more it will grow, and sometimes in wild and unpredictable ways.

I love to roll dice, attack monsters, discover treasure, build power. I'm into the mathematics of the system, too. But it doesn't really work if it's the sole focus. Character-driven narratives are satisfying, because then you feel you have a personal stake in the game, reaching a goal that's important to you.

Believe it or not, I like the idea of starting with a character's flaws, because it takes a lot of effort to imagine how someone would develop them, or hide them, or display them, or perhaps ultimately overcome them. Addicted to alcohol or drugs? Sure. But in a fantasy world, maybe you could twist it into an addiction to necromantic spell damage. Painfully shy? Okay. But maybe more people would understand if you get psychic impressions of impending death from random strangers that you meet. Compulsive gambler? Maybe you literally sold your soul, and only an astronomical amount of money can buy you the one thing that your puppet master would willingly exchange for its return.
 
A new series blending D&D play with some scenes also puppeted. My wife doesn't really get much into D&D, but she was cracking up at the wacky goblins in this one

 
So I'm close to getting a party of 4 to commit to the 3-month league which would run weekly and have prizes up for grabs. We'd need to come up with a party name so I made some up, stole a couple and I'm still working on ideas, but figured I'd share them here and see if anyone else has some fun/punny party names

Party All The Time
Holy Rollers
The Four Amigos (stolen)
Ready, Set, Roll
Critical Miss
Rage Against The DM
Liches Get Stitches (stolen)
Wizards of the Ghost
The Rules Lawyers
The Rollshakers
Keep Rolling
Dice Dodgers
Critical Wit
Florida Man
 
Session 3 last night. Only got part way through our encounter because we spend 1.5 hours trying to kill the nilbog... Our tank spent 8 or 9 rounds straight laughing on ground at Tasha's Hideous Laughter and nobody could make a Cha ST... We never actually killed it but our druid went giant hyena and just kept "grappling" him in her jaws. DM gave us a "narrative" kill- I think that fight will be talked about for sessions to come
 
Just learned of this site/tool in a D&D group. It's called Inkarnate and there's a completely free version (which is what I'm playing around with) to create world, regional, city, etc maps.

You can also pay a monthly or yearly fee if you want more features and assets to use.

But could be really useful for someone looking to build their own game world or just provide players with maps.

There's also a feature where you can add a grid to your map, in case you wanted to make encounter maps you can put minis on.

Anyway, finding it pretty cool so far.

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I played DnD, Version 0.0, up through college. Now 30 years later, my son has taken it up and DMs (5E) for his friends. When I get to play with them, I usually run a cleric, as they are all noobs that seem to die quickly. With an experienced healer, it makes the night last longer. Still just as fun as it ever was.
 
Picked up almost FORTY new miniatures today to add to my growing collection

I got too excited and didn't get a shot of all of them in boxes.

Thanks to the fine folks over at Humble Hero Games - New Port Richey for the quick turnaround on my order, fair price and some bonus minis to boot!

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About to start a new campaign tonight in that sweet gaming shop I found. From what other party members have stated we're going to have:

Aasimer Monk
Hexblade Warlock
Rogue
Barbarian
Bard

My original plan was to go Peace Domain Cleric, but I'm considering multi-classing instead and using the Warforged Race, here's my thoughts:

I can essentially be a tanking buffing front-line character if I go this route. As Warforged and starting fighter I can start with:

Chainmail Armor (absorbed into my warforged body) for 16 AC
Shield for 2 AC
Warforged gives 1AC bonus
Defensive Fighting Style as Fighter for 1AC Bonus

So I'd start right off the bat with 20AC

I take 2 Levels of Fighter which unlocks Action Surge

Then I take 1 level of Peace Domain Cleric, giving me Emboldening Bond ability plus access to the Bless spell. So I can use my regular action plus my action surge at the start of combat to do Emboldening Bond and Bless to stack 2d4 of bonus dice onto some of the party, which should really buff the fuck out of us for attacks or savings throws.

My problem is figuring out where to go from there. I can go 2 more fighter levels, unlocking Eldritch Knight for some wizard spells (most likely taking ones that don't rely on Intelligence to boost them, depending on what stats I roll) and also unlocking my first Ability Score Improvement

But then I'm also tempted to keep going fighter because at 5th lvl I get a 2nd attack, and at 6th lvl I got another Ability Score Improvement. And then at 8th ANOTHER ability score improvement plus I'll be gaining some Wizard spells as I progress.

And now I'm deviating too far from my Cleric abilities. Although it seems like 5th edition is more about dishing out damage rather than healing it, which to me is a plan B (i.e. kill the stuff before it can harm you)

So I could do Fighter 2, Cleric 1, Fighter 2, then Cleric 3, then back to Fighter. But I feel like going to Fighter 8 makes more sense with the bonus ability score improvements and extra attack I'd get.

Maybe I go Fighter 2, Cleric 4, then back to Fighter?

Would love input on this one
 
TX_Golf_N_Poker said:
OK, that's very creative. I'm guessing you've been playing for years. I could not think up something like that at this point without having ever played a single game of D&D. My writing skills tend to be technical and persuasive. Not the imaginary and creative like that. I've read a little bit about the backstory stuff, but I mostly skip over that to get to the skills, weapons, classes, races, spells, etc. I'm just not there yet. I want to roll dice and attack monsters! But it is something I guess I need to think about.
Click to expand...
Alright let's do this. Schulenburg every other Saturday for all day sessions. See you in two days.
 

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