Heya, I'm messing about with making magic items for the Fighter fighting style - Unarmed, and was wondering if it was possible to make an item that changes unarmed bludgeoning damage to something else, in this particular case thunder. Can't really figure out how to do this, pls send help :D
The only way I can think of off the top of my head (without being in front of my pc to play around) is to create a feat instead to grant a custom action. I believe there it allows you to specify unarmed and the damage die.
I see, that is rather unfortunate as I was planning to make a series of unarmed based magic items, but thank you for your support! I was unaware of what you mentioned, so hey, I did get new stuff to use, many thanks!
I see, that is rather unfortunate as I was planning to make a series of unarmed based magic items, but thank you for your support! I was unaware of what you mentioned, so hey, I did get new stuff to use, many thanks!
You are welcome!
DDB is both a blessing and a curse in that regard. You can do a bunch of cool stuff and share it with the community, but sometimes good ol' pen and paper still the winner.
I am having a similar issue with the subclass I am working on. All the mechanics are in place in the text, but implementing them in a satisfying way to make use of the tools available can be difficult. I have felt the need to change stuff only because I could not get it to work how I wanted it to originally. May even be better off because of it, but... you don't have that trouble with a sheet of paper.
True enough, but two of my players, one being the monk, are new to D&D so the website is a bit more player friendly than paper. So I've been trying to do things here, plus it's easier to keep track where things are xD
On DDB, the damage types are only a word on the screen, nothing more since nothing actually interacts with anything else. You could make the item and include the damage type changes in plain txt and the player can customize the action an add a note to remind themselves of the change to the damage type.
I am having a similar issue with the subclass I am working on. All the mechanics are in place in the text, but implementing them in a satisfying way to make use of the tools available can be difficult. I have felt the need to change stuff only because I could not get it to work how I wanted it to originally.
What exactly are you trying to make it do? Maybe I can help.
I am having a similar issue with the subclass I am working on. All the mechanics are in place in the text, but implementing them in a satisfying way to make use of the tools available can be difficult. I have felt the need to change stuff only because I could not get it to work how I wanted it to originally.
What exactly are you trying to make it do? Maybe I can help.
Thank you, but it is just me discovering the limitations of the toolset. I can print out the main text and it is usable, maybe even balanced, but the challenge has been hooking it up to the DDB backend. Not 100% successful, but I am pretty satisfied with the current soon-to-be published version.
For some more recent specific examples:
I tried to have a feature use half of an ability modifier to limit usage, but the tool only allows addition and multiplication and does not allow decimals. Made it a flat value and added some flavor text to make a secondary layer to it.
I wanted to add a custom action to mimic a cantrip since adding anything outside of the basic rules makes it unable to be published, but making it a "spell attack" messed with either the attack roll (not adding the modifiers) or the damage roll (adding the modifiers). Ended up making it a save roll instead and it better matched other features anyway.
I have a late feature that upgrades an early feature, and I had struggled to find a way to implement the changes I wanted while not having a ton of custom actions filling the sheet. I finally remembered the "has options" bit and used that to have two separate actions but have only one present on the sheet at a time. It still clutters the features and traits tab on the sheet and requires a little more user engagement, but I think that is a fine trade off to have the actions squared away.
Spell attacks always add the modifiers and bonuses to the attack roll, that was likely a caching issue. If you make it a “general action” instead of a spell action it won’t add the modifier to the damage roll.
As to your upgraded action, I don’t know exactly what it is supposed to be, but I can tell you what I do sometimes in a similar situation‘s. I will put the higher level feature with a description about the upgraded action, but to implement it I sometimes directly upgrade the action on the initial lower level feature instead of attaching the upgrade to the higher level feature. Some of the official stuff was done that way too.
On DDB, the damage types are only a word on the screen, nothing more since nothing actually interacts with anything else. You could make the item and include the damage type changes in plain txt and the player can customize the action an add a note to remind themselves of the change to the damage type.
Yea, I'm aware that's an option, but as mentioned before, the goal is to make it easy for my players, that'd just add a thing for them to remember and I don't wanna do that. But thank you for the option!
As DM you have admin privileges on their sheet and can add the note yourself. I suggested it it because it will display directly next to the damage rollable as a reminder to make it easy for them to remember. It was just a suggestion, if you have a better approach for your players then do that instead.
On DDB, the damage types are only a word on the screen, nothing more since nothing actually interacts with anything else. You could make the item and include the damage type changes in plain txt and the player can customize the action an add a note to remind themselves of the change to the damage type.
Yea, I'm aware that's an option, but as mentioned before, the goal is to make it easy for my players, that'd just add a thing for them to remember and I don't wanna do that. But thank you for the option!
The best I have been able to do after playing around for a bit was to create magic item, set host weapon as club, then add modifier to change damage to thunder. lets see if I can tool tip the published item [Tooltip Not Found]
Alternatively, as I was doing that, I saw an option to add a feat. Should be able to create a feat with the custom action and have a magic item grant the feat.
Spell attacks always add the modifiers and bonuses to the attack roll, that was likely a caching issue. If you make it a “general action” instead of a spell action it won’t add the modifier to the damage roll.
That is what I ended up doing, more so that it does not interact with Spell Sniper as well. That was another issue with trying to set it as a spell attack.
As to your upgraded action, I don’t know exactly what it is supposed to be, but I can tell you what I do sometimes in a similar situation‘s. I will put the higher level feature with a description about the upgraded action, but to implement it I sometimes directly upgrade the action on the initial lower level feature instead of attaching the upgrade to the higher level feature. Some of the official stuff was done that way too.
The issue I had with that method was that I have two separate values that get upgraded within the feature. I used the "scale value" to set one in the snippet and ended up using the "has options" to get those values in values dialed in for the custom actions.
The increased range from Spell Sniper only works with actual Spells, not “Spell Actions.” As for the ignoring cover, as long as long ou call it a “ranged spell attack” in the description that’s as good as anything. The only thing that’s different between them other than not adding the extra damage is the symbol next to the action.
The increased range from Spell Sniper only works with actual Spells, not “Spell Actions.”
If I am understanding you properly, that is incorrect. By selecting the "spell" option from the drop down and having a set range, it absolutely interacted with spell sniper. Thankfully I noticed it since my copied playtest character had spell sniper. Not that it matters much at this point.
The increased range from Spell Sniper only works with actual Spells, not “Spell Actions.”
If I am understanding you properly, that is incorrect. By selecting the "spell" option from the drop down and having a set range, it absolutely interacted with spell sniper. Thankfully I noticed it since my copied playtest character had spell sniper. Not that it matters much at this point.
When you cast a spell that requires you to make an attack roll, the spell’s range is doubled.
Your ranged spell attacks ignore half cover and three-quarters cover.
If the system was applying that bonus to a spell action, it was likely due to a limitation of the program. RAW, it only applies “when you [Tooltip Not Found] that requires you to make an attack roll,” not “when you take a different action that grants you a spell attack.” For example:
The Artillerist Artificer’s Force Ballista Eldritch Cannon
The Way of the Sun Soul Monk’s Radiant Sun Bolt
The Circle of Stars Druid’s Archer Starry Form
All three of those👆features grant a PC a ranged spell attack, but RAW not one of them should benefit from the range bonus granted by the first bulletpoint of Spell Sniper because none of them are actual spells, and do not require the [Tooltip Not Found] action. However, as they are all “ranged spell attacks,” RAW all three features should benefit from the second bulletpoint of Spell Sniper and ignore half cover and three-quarters cover. Specific, nuanced language like that permeates D&D, and always has.
It’s the same type of language technicality that lets a Rogue with the Sharpshooter feat apply both Sneak Attack damage and utilize the third bulletpoint of Sharpshooter to trade accuracy for power (-5 to hit, +10 damage) whenever they use a sling to attack with a magic stone because it would be “a ranged spell attack made using a ranged weapon.” If that Rogue threw the magic stone by hand without using a sling, they could not add Sneak Attack damage to the attack, nor could they use Sharpshooter’s third bulletpoint as the attack would just be a normal ranged spell attack, and not “made using a ranged weapon.” Although, since the attack would not actually be “a ranged weapon attack,” it would not benefit from either of Sharpshooter’s first two bulletpoints, so the attack would gain no additional range, nor would it ignore cover due to Sharpshooter. However, if that Rogue also had the Spell Sniper feat, then that “ranged spell attack made using a ranged weapon” would at the very least ignore cover as it would still be a “ranged spell attack,” and as long as the Rogue was the one who had actually cast magic stone, then the attack would benefit from the range increase. (If the Rogue used magic stones that the Druid had handed them, then their attacks with those stones would not benefit from Spell Sniper’s range increase either.)
The increased range from Spell Sniper only works with actual Spells, not “Spell Actions.”
If I am understanding you properly, that is incorrect. By selecting the "spell" option from the drop down and having a set range, it absolutely interacted with spell sniper. Thankfully I noticed it since my copied playtest character had spell sniper. Not that it matters much at this point.
When you cast a spell that requires you to make an attack roll, the spell’s range is doubled.
Your ranged spell attacks ignore half cover and three-quarters cover.
If the system was applying that bonus to a spell action, it was likely due to a limitation of the program.
That must of been the case. And I am not saying you are wrong about spell sniper and the RAW, just that it was most certainly applied to the custom action for whatever reason.
No worries neighbor, I was pickin’ up what you were puttin’ down.
Sometimes I give particularly whole answers more for the benefit of everyone who will likely stumble upon a thread in future than for the individual to whom I am responding. People semi-regularly reply to (or occasionally PM me about) posts I have made over the last two& a half years, this way I won’t have to explain it all two years from now when it won’t be fresh in my mind.
If it’s any consolation to you, the DDB Devs have to deal with the same exact issues you mentioned when attempting to implement similar features. That’s why features like the Artillerist’s Eldritch Cannon, and items like the bloodwell vial, amulet of the devout, rod of the pact keeper, and others are all not quite programmed correctly in one way or another.w
Heya, I'm messing about with making magic items for the Fighter fighting style - Unarmed, and was wondering if it was possible to make an item that changes unarmed bludgeoning damage to something else, in this particular case thunder. Can't really figure out how to do this, pls send help :D
The only way I can think of off the top of my head (without being in front of my pc to play around) is to create a feat instead to grant a custom action. I believe there it allows you to specify unarmed and the damage die.
I see, that is rather unfortunate as I was planning to make a series of unarmed based magic items, but thank you for your support! I was unaware of what you mentioned, so hey, I did get new stuff to use, many thanks!
You are welcome!
DDB is both a blessing and a curse in that regard. You can do a bunch of cool stuff and share it with the community, but sometimes good ol' pen and paper still the winner.
I am having a similar issue with the subclass I am working on. All the mechanics are in place in the text, but implementing them in a satisfying way to make use of the tools available can be difficult. I have felt the need to change stuff only because I could not get it to work how I wanted it to originally. May even be better off because of it, but... you don't have that trouble with a sheet of paper.
True enough, but two of my players, one being the monk, are new to D&D so the website is a bit more player friendly than paper. So I've been trying to do things here, plus it's easier to keep track where things are xD
On DDB, the damage types are only a word on the screen, nothing more since nothing actually interacts with anything else. You could make the item and include the damage type changes in plain txt and the player can customize the action an add a note to remind themselves of the change to the damage type.
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What exactly are you trying to make it do? Maybe I can help.
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Thank you, but it is just me discovering the limitations of the toolset. I can print out the main text and it is usable, maybe even balanced, but the challenge has been hooking it up to the DDB backend. Not 100% successful, but I am pretty satisfied with the current soon-to-be published version.
For some more recent specific examples:
I tried to have a feature use half of an ability modifier to limit usage, but the tool only allows addition and multiplication and does not allow decimals. Made it a flat value and added some flavor text to make a secondary layer to it.
I wanted to add a custom action to mimic a cantrip since adding anything outside of the basic rules makes it unable to be published, but making it a "spell attack" messed with either the attack roll (not adding the modifiers) or the damage roll (adding the modifiers). Ended up making it a save roll instead and it better matched other features anyway.
I have a late feature that upgrades an early feature, and I had struggled to find a way to implement the changes I wanted while not having a ton of custom actions filling the sheet. I finally remembered the "has options" bit and used that to have two separate actions but have only one present on the sheet at a time. It still clutters the features and traits tab on the sheet and requires a little more user engagement, but I think that is a fine trade off to have the actions squared away.
Spell attacks always add the modifiers and bonuses to the attack roll, that was likely a caching issue. If you make it a “general action” instead of a spell action it won’t add the modifier to the damage roll.
As to your upgraded action, I don’t know exactly what it is supposed to be, but I can tell you what I do sometimes in a similar situation‘s. I will put the higher level feature with a description about the upgraded action, but to implement it I sometimes directly upgrade the action on the initial lower level feature instead of attaching the upgrade to the higher level feature. Some of the official stuff was done that way too.
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Yea, I'm aware that's an option, but as mentioned before, the goal is to make it easy for my players, that'd just add a thing for them to remember and I don't wanna do that. But thank you for the option!
As DM you have admin privileges on their sheet and can add the note yourself. I suggested it it because it will display directly next to the damage rollable as a reminder to make it easy for them to remember. It was just a suggestion, if you have a better approach for your players then do that instead.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
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The best I have been able to do after playing around for a bit was to create magic item, set host weapon as club, then add modifier to change damage to thunder. lets see if I can tool tip the published item [Tooltip Not Found]
That's a no. how about a direct link? https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/4167522-raijins-handwraps
Alternatively, as I was doing that, I saw an option to add a feat. Should be able to create a feat with the custom action and have a magic item grant the feat.
And to continue with IamSposta:
That is what I ended up doing, more so that it does not interact with Spell Sniper as well. That was another issue with trying to set it as a spell attack.
The issue I had with that method was that I have two separate values that get upgraded within the feature. I used the "scale value" to set one in the snippet and ended up using the "has options" to get those values in values dialed in for the custom actions.
The increased range from Spell Sniper only works with actual Spells, not “Spell Actions.” As for the ignoring cover, as long as long ou call it a “ranged spell attack” in the description that’s as good as anything. The only thing that’s different between them other than not adding the extra damage is the symbol next to the action.
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If I am understanding you properly, that is incorrect. By selecting the "spell" option from the drop down and having a set range, it absolutely interacted with spell sniper. Thankfully I noticed it since my copied playtest character had spell sniper. Not that it matters much at this point.
It should not have done:
If the system was applying that bonus to a spell action, it was likely due to a limitation of the program. RAW, it only applies “when you [Tooltip Not Found] that requires you to make an attack roll,” not “when you take a different action that grants you a spell attack.” For example:
All three of those👆features grant a PC a ranged spell attack, but RAW not one of them should benefit from the range bonus granted by the first bulletpoint of Spell Sniper because none of them are actual spells, and do not require the [Tooltip Not Found] action. However, as they are all “ranged spell attacks,” RAW all three features should benefit from the second bulletpoint of Spell Sniper and ignore half cover and three-quarters cover. Specific, nuanced language like that permeates D&D, and always has.
It’s the same type of language technicality that lets a Rogue with the Sharpshooter feat apply both Sneak Attack damage and utilize the third bulletpoint of Sharpshooter to trade accuracy for power (-5 to hit, +10 damage) whenever they use a sling to attack with a magic stone because it would be “a ranged spell attack made using a ranged weapon.” If that Rogue threw the magic stone by hand without using a sling, they could not add Sneak Attack damage to the attack, nor could they use Sharpshooter’s third bulletpoint as the attack would just be a normal ranged spell attack, and not “made using a ranged weapon.” Although, since the attack would not actually be “a ranged weapon attack,” it would not benefit from either of Sharpshooter’s first two bulletpoints, so the attack would gain no additional range, nor would it ignore cover due to Sharpshooter. However, if that Rogue also had the Spell Sniper feat, then that “ranged spell attack made using a ranged weapon” would at the very least ignore cover as it would still be a “ranged spell attack,” and as long as the Rogue was the one who had actually cast magic stone, then the attack would benefit from the range increase. (If the Rogue used magic stones that the Druid had handed them, then their attacks with those stones would not benefit from Spell Sniper’s range increase either.)
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That must of been the case. And I am not saying you are wrong about spell sniper and the RAW, just that it was most certainly applied to the custom action for whatever reason.
No worries neighbor, I was pickin’ up what you were puttin’ down.
Sometimes I give particularly whole answers more for the benefit of everyone who will likely stumble upon a thread in future than for the individual to whom I am responding. People semi-regularly reply to (or occasionally PM me about) posts I have made over the last two& a half years, this way I won’t have to explain it all two years from now when it won’t be fresh in my mind.
If it’s any consolation to you, the DDB Devs have to deal with the same exact issues you mentioned when attempting to implement similar features. That’s why features like the Artillerist’s Eldritch Cannon, and items like the bloodwell vial, amulet of the devout, rod of the pact keeper, and others are all not quite programmed correctly in one way or another.w
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting