Re: DnD Thread

by vhamelin Sun May 31, 2015 5:40 am

Alexandra wrote:Some of my old players want to get a new 4e group started up, and I'm all for it, but there's only three of us right now. I'm DMing, obviously, so that gives us two players, which...blargh. >_<

I need a way to talk my non-DnDing friends into DnDing.

Actually, I'm in a campaign with just four of us. (DM plus three players) Believe it or not, it's pretty fast paced with three people. Smile

by Alexandra Sun May 31, 2015 5:50 am

I can do things with three people. Three people is easy to work with.

Two people is not. >__<

by vhamelin Sun May 31, 2015 6:36 am

Give it time. You'll find someone to fill in the gap. Smile

by **Kelsea** Mon Jun 01, 2015 1:31 pm

My group of friends have recently swapped 4e to 5e... I tended to be the GM while we played 4e however as I haven't felt motivated enough to read up the rules on 5e, someone else is doing it. Unfortunately he is not the most creative of fellows, so the campaigns he ran with us last time was the same as I would have expected in 4e (battle after battle with little mystery/intrigue or talking encounters)..

If you are going to be playing like that, you might as well stick to 4e, at least you can bring fight tactics into it a little more.. I really wish they would explore more roleplaying and mystery element to D&D like I try to bring into the campaigns I create

by Harrier Mon Jun 01, 2015 1:39 pm

I feel that 4e fluff is simply great, the monster manuals are very detailed and the add ons for dragons and planes were usually superb. If only battles did not take so long! We barely did anything else on a good evening than to fight 1 battle, not much room for character play.

5e monster compendium is also very good, but for different reasons. The range of monsters is smaller, the options are smaller, but it gives you this back to basic feeling. And the roleplaying opportunities are much better, 4e does not have a good system for skills if I remember well(played it years ago, not sure about this). The players handbook, while good, is...clumsy. Spelllist is horrible, if you don´t know the exact name, you have to search your ass of for it, just to name one of the things I do not like about it.

by vhamelin Mon Jun 01, 2015 3:17 pm

4e had a card system to help with skills/abilities. I've been playing a paladin since I got back into it via 4e and transitioned to 5e. I thought the card system was a very nice touch since you didn't have to scramble through the pages of the handbook to remember what each skil/abilitty did, plus you know what skill you could use and what you should use sparingly. It had all the information there for you. Then again, this is from the sheet generator that WotC offered for players on their website I think. I think the Spell list was the same way. Granted their are some skills/spells that should be used a certain number of times per day or per each encounter.

Granted this was through the generator which we used to build our characters. 5e took that away and changed it. So now I have to be careful and time my abilities accordingly. 4e had a second wind thingy I think. I don't remember exactly. It's been a while and we play maybe every few months or so. It depends on when I have some free time.

The Paladin had a really nice selection to choose from. Their wasn't just one "Smite" to use but a slew of different variations to choose from and what kind of a Pal you could be. Right now I'm a Vengeful Paladin but I still have the different Smites I picked from 4e. Just modded for the new rules. Besides, I tend to be more creative with my attacks and utilize my environment if I can. ^^;

The one thing I thought that did suck for 4e is when WotC decided "Hey! Lets reduce down the alignment list!" So instead of having 9 different alignments to choose down you had 5. I always had a rule of thumb about the different alignments and how they handle situations. I use the "Keep off the Grass, someone is being" Robbed theory with the Three Good guys.

by mnpinner Fri Jun 12, 2015 3:07 am

So there's probably plenty of information that I could read in the past 14+ pages of posts, but I'm already behind on making my own RP posts as it is Razz

A group of my friends and I are gearing up to try D&D (5e) for the first time (most of us are at least familiar with the genre and all). Regardless, I'm in the fun and seemingly complicated process of making my first character, a Half-Elf Ranger with a Half-Orc Fighter brother where we're more or less the most muscle we have going right now in the group. Just wondering what pointers and tips (I know, very broad there) you guys can throw my (and by extension, our) way like character building tips and resources you typically like to use.

For the record, I do have the Player's Handbook and don't intend to be a DM any time soon.

by Harrier Fri Jun 12, 2015 4:18 am

If you start, I wouldn´t be too worried about stats. The 5e encounter table with appropriate monsters is a cakewalk compared to former editions. A maximum strength/dexterity warrior/ranger/thief/barbarian for example has a +7(2 basic +5 strength or dex modifier) to hit, and most monsters of a low level have between AC 11 and 13, so you hit them pretty easy.

All Fighting styles for the ranger are useful. If you plan to be part of a longer running campaign, I personally would have to choose between Defense and Two weapon Fighting. For archetype, I would say Hunter > Beastmaster, but not by much.

Favored enemy is tricky. As you get as free language, I would not take Oozes, Beasts, Constructs or Undead, maybe if the DM likes to run these types of opponents often. Unlikely with Oozes, they are more a type of low level monster.

by kiranar Fri Jun 12, 2015 6:11 am

My own group just transitioned to 5E which I am happier because it is back to a simple style without those crazy last minute rescue ability that gave some players a chip on their shoulder that they could randomly attack other players with no fear of lasting retribution. Those 5E spell reference cards are so useful along with the increase hit die on sorcerers is nice. We are running the legendary Total party destruction campaign Princes of the Apocalypse otherwise known as Temple of Elemental Evil.
I chose Wild Origin Sorcerer even though I know it will come back to screw me, but some of those abilities are worth the risks of that origin and so far Minor Illusion has been so much fun especially when they keep failing and think they lost their mouth for 1 min or suddenly a paladin that shield bashed them appears infront of the poor prisoner.

mnpinner just try keep your stats 10 or higher and you should be fine just try and pair a good backround to the class and compare the class gear plus backround gear if it is better combo that you can purchase then use that. Then make sure if you always play out your flaws being it will be rewarded with the inspiration points.

by mnpinner Sun Jun 14, 2015 1:09 am

Harrier wrote:All Fighting styles for the ranger are useful. If you plan to be part of a longer running campaign, I personally would have to choose between Defense and Two weapon Fighting. For archetype, I would say Hunter > Beastmaster, but not by much.

I honestly no clue what kind or how long our campaign is going to be, but I believe our DM (who is a first timer as well) is going with one of the pre-made campaigns for our first one. I was honestly underwhelmed when reading the Beastmaster archetype. I mean it's cool to have the option of a companion/mount in battle, but when it's seeming like there won't be many of us physical fighters, Hunter just seems like a good route to go for taking down our enemies. Still not sure about fighting style yet though.

Harrier wrote:Favored enemy is tricky. As you get as free language, I would not take Oozes, Beasts, Constructs or Undead, maybe if the DM likes to run these types of opponents often. Unlikely with Oozes, they are more a type of low level monster.

I'm not sure about my first favored enemy. I was considering that from a story standpoint it might make sense to be orcs and some other humanoid. My friend (the guy playing my half-orc brother) came up with the idea that the way he was born was our human mother was raped by an orc. So when he was born in our mostly-elf village, he became an even bigger outcast than a half-orc would normally be. Just a thought really.

kiranar wrote:mnpinner just try keep your stats 10 or higher and you should be fine just try and pair a good backround to the class and compare the class gear plus backround gear if it is better combo that you can purchase then use that. Then make sure if you always play out your flaws being it will be rewarded with the inspiration points.

I still have yet to read up on the backgrounds and flaws, but it's starting to feel like building a character (at least in this edition) is all about getting the right pairings that just maximize everything you get. It seems like you get to start out with a lot of stuff already set pretty nicely for your character. Is that just the simplified nature of 5e or has it always been this way?

by Sponsored content