"Greetings, foundlings, and salutations! You have decided to enter the mystical halls of the Brews, where you might learn some most astonishing mysteries and solve the most tangled of puzzles. Your task is to present us with something we haven't seen before, and have it make us look upon it with delight. You have but a few tendays to create your product and show it to us, so we suggest you get to work!"
- Meyonmon Merridith, Ex-Candlekeep Scholar
The purpose of this thread is to spread a little bit of fun in the form of a competition! Your task: Create an item of homebrew (see below) that is totally original and makes us go "wow"! The end products will be rated by members of the community, and the victors will create the next Finest Brew contest! The previous contests are linked below:
All competitions thus far have contained a multitude of spectacular and inspired entries, so I suggest you check them out if you haven't already . Now, onto the important stuff:
In each Finest Brew contest, there are three categories. These are so that people with skill in creating, say, monsters, don't end up stuck having to make dungeons. Each category is judged separately, and the winners of each category will then be pitted against each other to determine the overall winner, who will be determined by the highest overall average score. There can only be one entrance per category per account. The category types are as follows:
DM Options: Things such as magic items, monsters, terrain, and traps.
PC Options: Things such as classes, subclasses, spells, feats, or race/lineage options.
Inspirational Options: Things such as dungeons/encounters, stories, puzzles and random tables - or even character builds.
This time, our category themes are:
DM Options: That Which Should Not Be - In the depths of the oceans, the deepest dark between the stars, and the spaces outside of structured reality lurk entities alien and inscrutable, mind-shattering hazards, impossible vistas, and objects of incomprehensible power. What terrible truths have you glimpsed from the realms beyond?
PC Options: Mastery of Moments - You are a living paradox. Perhaps you hail from an alternate timeline. Or perhaps you were born in the distant future, destined to shape the conditions of your own birth. What powers have you gained as a result of your special relationship with time?
Inspirational Options: Broken Seals - As the scrolls foretold, the end is near. The seals have cracked. The tree of life has fallen ill. The heart of the world has skipped a beat. What doom awaits the world and the multiverse? When the endtimes begin, who will survive, and what stories will they tell? What trials await those who would delay the inevitable end?
Voting will start May 22nd and will end at noon on June 1st. A Google Forms poll for each category will be posted on this thread, and all may vote on it - including contestants. Please try to take the time to review and vote for every entry in the categories you vote in, as even one vote can easily sway a competition like this. If there's anything you feel very strongly about, also feel free to review it in the thread! Reviews won't count for anything, but it's nice to get feedback!
Contestants will be listed here with a link to their entries so you can easily find and review each option while voting. I will try to keep on top of this to the best of my ability, but there may be some delay between submitting an entry and having it listed here.
I had a strange dream tonight. A dream in which everything had a yellow taint. A dream that promised me with great power... The only thing I must do... is... finding the... Yellow... Sign...! *drifts off into insanity*
For my DM submission, I have nothing else than Hastur himself, the King in Yellow:
For my Inspirational Option, I will likely, if I find enough time, take a glimpse at what looms behind the Gate of Finis... :-) This power is so great, it deserves a whole encounter devoted to it instead of just a mere single statblock.
How are submission accepted? What I mean is, must they be “published” homebrews, or would copying it and pasting it into a post be acceptable? Are other forms of entry accepted? Thanks in advance for the info.
Copying and pasting would work too if you don't want to publish it on D&D Beyond; and of course Homebrewery or GMBinder submissions are allowed too as not everything can be done with D&D Beyond's homebrewing tools.
I know some people (myself included) will consider the presentation as well as the actual brew - if someone goes all-out with a homebrewery document and carefully selected pictures thenI'll consider that in my votes. Though the main thing I look for is consistency and grammar. I think as long as it seems right in the medium you choose then that works (EG if it's put in a post then having it in boxes rather than a massive wall of text is going to make it a lot nicer to read through!).
I am putting forth the spell Draw Potential, which allows a spellcaster to peer into a creature's future (or perhaps a different version of that creature from a different universe/timeline) and temporarily grant the target the knowledge of this future to empower them.
Components: V,S,M (a tiny statue or figurine worth 100 GP)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
You touch a creature and peer into its future, realizing a power it could one day achieve. For the duration, the target gains one of the following benefits (your choice):
Mighty Warrior: The target gains a bonus to attack and damage rolls made with weapons equal to your spellcasting ability modifier.
Arcane Master: The target gains a bonus to its spell attack rolls equal to your spellcasting ability modifier. The target also gains a bonus to its spell save DC equal to half your spellcasting ability modifier (rounded down).
Legendary Assassin: Once per turn when the target hits a creature with a weapon attack , it deals extra poison damage determined by rolling a pool of d6 equal to your spellcasting ability modifier.
Steadfast Bulwark: The target gains a bonus to its AC equal to your spellcasting ability modifier. The target also gains a bonus to all saving throws it makes equal to half your spellcasting ability modifier (rounded down).
Grandmaster: The target can add your spellcasting modifier to any ability check made for a skill or set of tools which they are already proficient with.
Once a creature has been targeted by this spell, this spell cannot affect it again for 24 hours.
My DM Option: the terrain of the Unraveling Lands.
Unraveling Lands
Oftentimes, a failed teleportation spell doesn’t mean anything. Other times, a hole is torn in the place where the teleportation or planar travel was meant to lead. Most of the time, the veil between reality and the Far Realm repairs itself quickly, but in some cases, the Far Realm manages to bleed a little into our reality. Areas touched by the Far Realm do not persist in the usual manner for long. If not properly contained or destroyed, they become corrupted and change in unnatural ways, twisting the wildlife and morphing the terrain.
An area designated Unraveling Lands has the following effects:
Animals and other living creatures with Intelligence 5 or lower in the area become warped. Each type of animal rolls three times on the Flesh Warping table (detailed later in this section) and it becomes hostile to all creatures that have rolled twice or fewer on the Warping table.
Plants and plant creatures in the area become suffused with unnatural energy. Whenever another creature touches an affected plant or plant creature or hits it with a melee attack, it takes 2d8 damage of a random type.
Land formations in this area defy description. Formations roll on the Formation Warping table below to define its changes.
Formation Warping table
d8
Warping
1
The formation is floating 1d100 feet in the air. Roll a d6. The direction the 6 faces on the die determines what direction the side of the formation that normally faces upward now faces.
2
The formation has inexplicably sunk 1d100 feet. Roll a d6. On a 1 or 2, the formation is gradually sinking. On a 5 or 6, the formation is gradually rising.
3
The formation is pulsing in an irregular pattern. Any creature that enters within 10 feet of it must make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or roll on the Flesh Warping table.
4
The formation is an incubator. After 1d100 hours, the formation opens and a monster determined by the DM exits the incubator fully grown.
5
The formation has opened into a volatile pit of energy. Any creature that ends its turn within 15 feet of the formation takes 2d8 damage of a random type.
6
The formation and everything within 15 feet of it has ceased to exist.
The Unraveling Lands have an even more horrible effect on creatures with Intelligence 6 or greater. For every 24 hours such a creature spends within the area, it must make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or gain one warping from the Flesh Warping table below. Additionally, when a creature gains its first, second, and third warpings, it gains a level of Short-Term, Long-Term, or Indefinite Madness respectively, randomly determined using the tables in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Once a creature has its third warping, its Intelligence becomes 5, loses all complex memories it had, and it no longer needs to make Charisma saving throws for warping. A creature with warpings that has the greater restoration spell or greater magic of the same nature cast on it has its most recent warping reversed, and all effects that came from that warping (including madness, Intelligence reduction, and exemption from Charisma saving throws) are removed.
(DISCLAIMER: The following table is identical to the Flesh Warping table from Chapter 3 of Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus.)
Flesh Warping table
d100
Effect
01–05
The color of the target’s hair, eyes, and skin becomes blue, red, yellow, or patterned.
06–10
The target’s eyes push out of its head on the end of stalks.
11–15
The target’s hands grow claws, which can be used as daggers.
16–20
One of the target’s legs grows longer than the other, reducing its walking speed by 10 feet.
21–25
The target’s eyes become beacons, filling a 15-foot cone with dim light when they are open.
26–30
A pair of wings, either feathered or leathery, sprout from the target’s back, granting it a flying speed of 30 feet.
31–35
The target’s ears tear free from its head and scurry away; the target is deafened.
36–40
Two of the target’s teeth turn into tusks.
41–45
The target’s skin becomes scabby, granting it a +1 bonus to AC but reducing its Charisma by 2 (to a minimum of 1).
46–50
The target’s arms and legs switch places, preventing the target from moving unless it crawls.
51–55
The target’s arms become tentacles with fingers on the ends, increasing its reach by 5 feet.
56–60
The target’s legs grow incredibly long and springy, increasing its walking speed by 10 feet.
61–65
The target grows a whiplike tail, which it can use as a whip.
66–70
The target’s eyes turn black, and it gains darkvision out to a range of 120 feet.
71–75
The target swells, tripling its weight.
76–80
The target becomes thin and skeletal, halving its weight.
81–85
The target’s head doubles in size.
86–90
The target’s ears become wings, giving it a flying speed of 5 feet.
91–95
The target’s body becomes unusually brittle, causing the target to gain vulnerability to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
96–00
The target grows another head, causing it to have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, frightened, or stunned.
Casting dispel magic on the point of origin of an area designated Unraveling Lands (DC 22) removes all warpings caused by this area and effectively reverses all effects it created over the course of 24 hours, and the area ceases to have any effects of or be designated as Unraveling Lands.
I had a strange dream tonight. A dream in which everything had a yellow taint. A dream that promised me with great power... The only thing I must do... is... finding the... Yellow... Sign...! *drifts off into insanity*
For my DM submission, I have nothing else than Hastur himself, the King in Yellow:
For my Inspirational Option, I will likely, if I find enough time, take a glimpse at what looms behind the Gate of Finis... :-) This power is so great, it deserves a whole encounter devoted to it instead of just a mere single statblock.
Semako, Master of the Boss Monster makes a triumphant return!
A few comments: first, I don't think you need to list as many spells under Innate Spellcasting. The reason being is that weird being an at-will spell makes many of the other options vastly subpar. WotC seems to have switched its style to include Spellcasting as an action, rather than a trait. In doing so, they've made it a priority to slim down spell lists. This is not critical for your brew, though. On the topic, I like that dimension door is at-will, but it would be very painful from an action economy standpoint to have it absorb Hastur's entire action. Consider adding the Teleport action as a bonus action.
Related: Reveal Visage feels like a mighty shock-and-awe ability that should have a recharge, rather than something you'd want to be available every turn. Totally up to you, though.
Next up, I really like Eldritch Tentacles, but it feels more like a lair action than a trait. As I value brevity in stat blocks, this may come as a shock, but I think you could do well with a set of lair actions, or at least regional effects related to dreams and madness. On the other hand, you may not want to deprive Hastur of Eldritch Tentacles when he incurs into another dimension. On the third hand, there's nothing saying that a DM can't rule that a Hastur's lair is wherever it currently resides. Yellow Mist has a similar feel.
Lastly, related to the spellcasting bit: I don't think this guy is doing enough damage for a level-30 apocalyptic entity. Some back-of-the-envelope math: If it uses Multiattack, it can deal 88 damage with weird (assuming it hits four targets), 128 damage if it uses its attack sequence. Let's say Hastur has two creatures hit by Eldritch Tentacles each round, for another 36 damage. With its legendary actions, let's say two creatures are hit by Devour (which is a great ability BTW, I really like attacks that build on other effects) for another 108 damage. Unless I'm way off, the best sequence it's dealing about 272 damage per round. In the DMG, a level-30 monster should be dishing out 303-320 damage. Here's the solution I think would make sense: just change the Multiattack option form an OR to an AND statement. Keep Unspeakable Appearance, then allow it to cast a spell AND attack thrice. On a related note, the Attack legendary action could probably use a boost to allowing two attacks. Otherwise it'll essentially never be a good choice.
Another stylistic point: consider dropping Fulvous Dreams and Yellow Sign out of the stat block and into the description text. You already have a good description of the Yellow Sign, and it's not an ability that I would see Hastur using in combat, for reasons of action economy. Ditto with Fulvous Dreams on the in-combat part. Remember, a stat block need not contain an exhaustive list of abilities that the monster can access, just what's relevant for the DM to run an encounter.
Now the good news: Cosmic Magic and Reality-Defying Existence are excellent and thematic. I wouldn't change Cosmic Magic except to maybe explicitly affect dispel magic and counterspell. Reality-Defying Existence could be simplified by just stating that while Hastur exists on the Material or Ethereal Planes, it can see and target creatures that exist on both.
If anybody out there is an expert on monster design, my comments could use a second opinion.
I've a few ideas for the lovecraftian horror, and a plan for delivering them!
Looking forward to it. It's possible I was subconsciously mourning the non-confirmation of an official Dark Sun treatment, and missed the apocalyptic vibe.
I know some people (myself included) will consider the presentation as well as the actual brew - if someone goes all-out with a homebrewery document and carefully selected pictures thenI'll consider that in my votes. Though the main thing I look for is consistency and grammar. I think as long as it seems right in the medium you choose then that works (EG if it's put in a post then having it in boxes rather than a massive wall of text is going to make it a lot nicer to read through!).
As a homebrew perfectionist I agree, although my priorities are somewhat different. If a brewer chooses to create a monster, spell, magic item etc. with some crunch, I'm looking to see interesting mechanics that are either new or under-utilized. Of course, 5e has a certain pathos about new rules, namely that simplicity is key. Time magic, in particular, is very difficult to capture in 5e without adding complex new rules or requiring a mountain of record-keeping.
Its gonna need some more fine tuning before the end date, but here is my submission for the Player's Option.
I am putting forth the spell Draw Potential, which allows a spellcaster to peer into a creature's future (or perhaps a different version of that creature from a different universe/timeline) and temporarily grant the target the knowledge of this future to empower them.
<snip>
This is very evocative. I like the idea of seeing a glimpse of myself as a miserable loner in a dead-end job powerful conjurer and bootstrap some skills off of my future self. This could also set up some interesting encounters between a player and their future self. Naturally, those sorts of encounters are dangerous, as information conveyed by the future self could create a paradox! Eg. The future spellcaster gives the current spellcaster the recipe to a spell they invented, creating a loop wherein the spell was never actually created.
My DM Option: the terrain of the Unraveling Lands.
<snip>
I hope I give you all nightmares! :D
Fantastic work. As a DM, this looks like a great way to juice up an alien monster encounter with lair mechanics. One snap observation: on the flesh-warping table, one option involves growing tusks. Did you want to make those into a natural weapon? Also, you could totally add a bit of flavor describing how the unraveling lands phenomenon begins, and the ways in which a party can reverse their effects. Might give you inspiration for a new table or two if you find the idea fun.
(DISCLAIMER: The following table is identical to the Flesh Warping table from Chapter 3 of Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus.)
Also, you could totally add a bit of flavor describing how the unraveling lands phenomenon begins, and the ways in which a party can reverse their effects. Might give you inspiration for a new table or two if you find the idea fun.
That's quite good. The one thing was that one of the features (I think the level 10?) says that you can't use it again for a week. "Week" doesn't really have a definition in D&D; in the Forgotten Realms (and probably other worlds), a week is ten days long (hence the name "tenday"), but in the real world, a week is seven days long. So how many days is your use of "week"?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Join the Competition of the Finest 'Brews XIX!(Or just spectate and vote, that's cool too. Either way, go there. It's awesome, and it'll be even more awesome if you join.)
..how would going back in time as per the 10th-level feature work in roleplay? Are the other characters (in the returned point in time) just accepting that you died and went back in time? Should the players of those characters try to act the same way they did that morning?
Very neat, I like the capstone. I'll raise some questions. First, could Glimpse of the Future not be abused? I declare that an attack is a miss, then ask an ally to kindly punch me for a very small amount of damage? Rinse and repeat as there isn't a limit to the number of times this can be used. Next, Paradox Loop is a bit confusing. Does all of time reset on the PC death? If so, the effect is much much more powerful than any existing spell, as it gives the party a chance to spend 24 hours experimenting, learning important information, and encountering any obstacles after which point they can kill the PC to use all of the information they've gathered and undo any number of bad consequences. If it's just the PC who resets, the ability is still very powerful, as it gives that player free reign as noted above.
..how would going back in time as per the 10th-level feature work in roleplay? Are the other characters (in the returned point in time) just accepting that you died and went back in time? Should the players of those characters try to act the same way they did that morning?
Very neat, I like the capstone. I'll raise some questions. First, could Glimpse of the Future not be abused? I declare that an attack is a miss, then ask an ally to kindly punch me for a very small amount of damage? Rinse and repeat as there isn't a limit to the number of times this can be used. Next, Paradox Loop is a bit confusing. Does all of time reset on the PC death? If so, the effect is much much more powerful than any existing spell, as it gives the party a chance to spend 24 hours experimenting, learning important information, and encountering any obstacles after which point they can kill the PC to use all of the information they've gathered and undo any number of bad consequences. If it's just the PC who resets, the ability is still very powerful, as it gives that player free reign as noted above.
Thanks for the feedback! I did think that Paradox Loop might be able to be abused, and was thinking about making it within 10 minutes of anchoring which would take an action to do, and reusable every long rest. It is intended to reset time, and I would suggest that the players save the point their character sheets were at at that point, so that if time resets they could actually save it. I was also considering allowing the rest of the party to be anchored as well so that main-character syndrome doesn't happen.
Regarding Glimpse of the future, consider this. Yes, it's powerful, but in order to reset, the other player have to waste an attack on hitting the warlock, meanwhile, you don't know if another player will have a chance to attack before a monster does. Nevertheless, I'm probably going to change this to once per rest, as an automatic miss is still pretty powerful.
Again, thanks for the feedback! I wish you all happy brewing!
Hosted a battle between the Cult of Sedge and the Forum Countershere(Done now). I_Love_Tarrasques has won the fight, scoring a victory for the fiendish Moderators.
That's quite good. The one thing was that one of the features (I think the level 10?) says that you can't use it again for a week. "Week" doesn't really have a definition in D&D; in the Forgotten Realms (and probably other worlds), a week is ten days long (hence the name "tenday"), but in the real world, a week is seven days long. So how many days is your use of "week"?
I was intending 7 days, but as noted above, I'll be changing this ability to be less impactful. Thanks for the feedback anyways!
Hosted a battle between the Cult of Sedge and the Forum Countershere(Done now). I_Love_Tarrasques has won the fight, scoring a victory for the fiendish Moderators.
The purpose of this thread is to spread a little bit of fun in the form of a competition! Your task: Create an item of homebrew (see below) that is totally original and makes us go "wow"! The end products will be rated by members of the community, and the victors will create the next Finest Brew contest! The previous contests are linked below:
The Competition of the Finest Brews I - Judged by Yamana_Eajii.
The Competition of the Finest Brews II - Judged by Thauraeln_The_Bold.
The Competition of the Finest Brews III - Judged by TabaxiRogueFighterClericWarlock
The Competition of the Finest Brews IV - Judged by Kaboom979
The Competition of the Finest Brews V - Judged by ThorukDuckSlayer
The Competition of the Finest Brews VI - Judged by Semako
The Competition of the Finest Brews VII - Judged by MilestoGo_24
All competitions thus far have contained a multitude of spectacular and inspired entries, so I suggest you check them out if you haven't already . Now, onto the important stuff:
Timeframe
Entries must be submitted before midnight on May 21st to be considered part of the competition.
Contest Categories
In each Finest Brew contest, there are three categories. These are so that people with skill in creating, say, monsters, don't end up stuck having to make dungeons. Each category is judged separately, and the winners of each category will then be pitted against each other to determine the overall winner, who will be determined by the highest overall average score. There can only be one entrance per category per account. The category types are as follows:
This time, our category themes are:
DM Options: That Which Should Not Be - In the depths of the oceans, the deepest dark between the stars, and the spaces outside of structured reality lurk entities alien and inscrutable, mind-shattering hazards, impossible vistas, and objects of incomprehensible power. What terrible truths have you glimpsed from the realms beyond?
PC Options: Mastery of Moments - You are a living paradox. Perhaps you hail from an alternate timeline. Or perhaps you were born in the distant future, destined to shape the conditions of your own birth. What powers have you gained as a result of your special relationship with time?
Inspirational Options: Broken Seals - As the scrolls foretold, the end is near. The seals have cracked. The tree of life has fallen ill. The heart of the world has skipped a beat. What doom awaits the world and the multiverse? When the endtimes begin, who will survive, and what stories will they tell? What trials await those who would delay the inevitable end?
Voting
Voting will start May 22nd and will end at noon on June 1st. A Google Forms poll for each category will be posted on this thread, and all may vote on it - including contestants. Please try to take the time to review and vote for every entry in the categories you vote in, as even one vote can easily sway a competition like this. If there's anything you feel very strongly about, also feel free to review it in the thread! Reviews won't count for anything, but it's nice to get feedback!
Contestants
Contestants will be listed here with a link to their entries so you can easily find and review each option while voting. I will try to keep on top of this to the best of my ability, but there may be some delay between submitting an entry and having it listed here.
DM Options: That Which Should Not Be
Hastur, the King in Yellow - Semako*
Unraveling Lands - MilestoGo_24
Ring of the Soulless - Sparkletinkercat
Paranormal Zone - Kaboom979
Whisperer of the Black Star - AdultBlueDragon
The Mantle of Somnus - Drumitch
The Rime Gone Mad - _Nano
Astral Barnacles - OldManPsychic
The Drowning Pool, The Hall of Fog, and The Timestone - ThorukDuckSlayer
Player Options: Mastery of Moments
Draw Potential - Kaboom979
The Paradox - Yharim
Time Skip - Drumitch
The Fragment - Hero6Pack
Time Raider - IamSposta*
Order of the Temporal Nexus - HomebrewMindFlayer
Chronobreaker - OldManPsychic
The Streamborne - MilesToGo_24
Sense Opportunity - Densake
Inspirational Options: Broken Seals
Astral Seals - Kaboom979
Ya'aela: The Final Stand - AdultBlueDragon
Galdera, the Fallen - Semako*
The Infinite Pyramid Prison - OldManPsychic
*Winning entry
I had a strange dream tonight. A dream in which everything had a yellow taint. A dream that promised me with great power... The only thing I must do... is... finding the... Yellow... Sign...! *drifts off into insanity*
For my DM submission, I have nothing else than Hastur himself, the King in Yellow:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/2508250-hastur-the-king-in-yellow
For my Inspirational Option, I will likely, if I find enough time, take a glimpse at what looms behind the Gate of Finis... :-) This power is so great, it deserves a whole encounter devoted to it instead of just a mere single statblock.
This is a very apocalyptic theme! I love it!
I've a few ideas for the lovecraftian horror, and a plan for delivering them!
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
DM's Guild Releases on This Thread - latest release; the Harvest Sprite, a playable Jack-o-Lantern Race!
Or check them all out on DMs Guild!
DrivethruRPG Releases on This Thread - latest release: The Promethean Scientist (Dr Frankenstein) Artificer Subclass!!
I also dabble in art on here (my art thread)
How are submission accepted? What I mean is, must they be “published” homebrews, or would copying it and pasting it into a post be acceptable? Are other forms of entry accepted? Thanks in advance for the info.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Copying and pasting would work too if you don't want to publish it on D&D Beyond; and of course Homebrewery or GMBinder submissions are allowed too as not everything can be done with D&D Beyond's homebrewing tools.
Thank you kindly.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
I know some people (myself included) will consider the presentation as well as the actual brew - if someone goes all-out with a homebrewery document and carefully selected pictures thenI'll consider that in my votes. Though the main thing I look for is consistency and grammar. I think as long as it seems right in the medium you choose then that works (EG if it's put in a post then having it in boxes rather than a massive wall of text is going to make it a lot nicer to read through!).
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
DM's Guild Releases on This Thread - latest release; the Harvest Sprite, a playable Jack-o-Lantern Race!
Or check them all out on DMs Guild!
DrivethruRPG Releases on This Thread - latest release: The Promethean Scientist (Dr Frankenstein) Artificer Subclass!!
I also dabble in art on here (my art thread)
Cant wait to come up with stuff for this. Gotta look through my archives to see if theres anything I already have laying around
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
Here is my submission for the Player's Option.
I am putting forth the spell Draw Potential, which allows a spellcaster to peer into a creature's future (or perhaps a different version of that creature from a different universe/timeline) and temporarily grant the target the knowledge of this future to empower them.
Draw Potential
6th-level divination (/dunamancy) (Cleric, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard)
Casting Time: 1 Action
Range: Touch
Components: V,S,M (a tiny statue or figurine worth 100 GP)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
You touch a creature and peer into its future, realizing a power it could one day achieve. For the duration, the target gains one of the following benefits (your choice):
Once a creature has been targeted by this spell, this spell cannot affect it again for 24 hours.
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
My DM Option: the terrain of the Unraveling Lands.
Unraveling Lands
Oftentimes, a failed teleportation spell doesn’t mean anything. Other times, a hole is torn in the place where the teleportation or planar travel was meant to lead. Most of the time, the veil between reality and the Far Realm repairs itself quickly, but in some cases, the Far Realm manages to bleed a little into our reality. Areas touched by the Far Realm do not persist in the usual manner for long. If not properly contained or destroyed, they become corrupted and change in unnatural ways, twisting the wildlife and morphing the terrain.
An area designated Unraveling Lands has the following effects:
Formation Warping table
The Unraveling Lands have an even more horrible effect on creatures with Intelligence 6 or greater. For every 24 hours such a creature spends within the area, it must make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or gain one warping from the Flesh Warping table below. Additionally, when a creature gains its first, second, and third warpings, it gains a level of Short-Term, Long-Term, or Indefinite Madness respectively, randomly determined using the tables in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Once a creature has its third warping, its Intelligence becomes 5, loses all complex memories it had, and it no longer needs to make Charisma saving throws for warping. A creature with warpings that has the greater restoration spell or greater magic of the same nature cast on it has its most recent warping reversed, and all effects that came from that warping (including madness, Intelligence reduction, and exemption from Charisma saving throws) are removed.
(DISCLAIMER: The following table is identical to the Flesh Warping table from Chapter 3 of Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus.)
Flesh Warping table
Casting dispel magic on the point of origin of an area designated Unraveling Lands (DC 22) removes all warpings caused by this area and effectively reverses all effects it created over the course of 24 hours, and the area ceases to have any effects of or be designated as Unraveling Lands.
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Semako, Master of the Boss Monster makes a triumphant return!
A few comments: first, I don't think you need to list as many spells under Innate Spellcasting. The reason being is that weird being an at-will spell makes many of the other options vastly subpar. WotC seems to have switched its style to include Spellcasting as an action, rather than a trait. In doing so, they've made it a priority to slim down spell lists. This is not critical for your brew, though. On the topic, I like that dimension door is at-will, but it would be very painful from an action economy standpoint to have it absorb Hastur's entire action. Consider adding the Teleport action as a bonus action.
Related: Reveal Visage feels like a mighty shock-and-awe ability that should have a recharge, rather than something you'd want to be available every turn. Totally up to you, though.
Next up, I really like Eldritch Tentacles, but it feels more like a lair action than a trait. As I value brevity in stat blocks, this may come as a shock, but I think you could do well with a set of lair actions, or at least regional effects related to dreams and madness. On the other hand, you may not want to deprive Hastur of Eldritch Tentacles when he incurs into another dimension. On the third hand, there's nothing saying that a DM can't rule that a Hastur's lair is wherever it currently resides. Yellow Mist has a similar feel.
Lastly, related to the spellcasting bit: I don't think this guy is doing enough damage for a level-30 apocalyptic entity. Some back-of-the-envelope math: If it uses Multiattack, it can deal 88 damage with weird (assuming it hits four targets), 128 damage if it uses its attack sequence. Let's say Hastur has two creatures hit by Eldritch Tentacles each round, for another 36 damage. With its legendary actions, let's say two creatures are hit by Devour (which is a great ability BTW, I really like attacks that build on other effects) for another 108 damage. Unless I'm way off, the best sequence it's dealing about 272 damage per round. In the DMG, a level-30 monster should be dishing out 303-320 damage. Here's the solution I think would make sense: just change the Multiattack option form an OR to an AND statement. Keep Unspeakable Appearance, then allow it to cast a spell AND attack thrice. On a related note, the Attack legendary action could probably use a boost to allowing two attacks. Otherwise it'll essentially never be a good choice.
Another stylistic point: consider dropping Fulvous Dreams and Yellow Sign out of the stat block and into the description text. You already have a good description of the Yellow Sign, and it's not an ability that I would see Hastur using in combat, for reasons of action economy. Ditto with Fulvous Dreams on the in-combat part. Remember, a stat block need not contain an exhaustive list of abilities that the monster can access, just what's relevant for the DM to run an encounter.
Now the good news: Cosmic Magic and Reality-Defying Existence are excellent and thematic. I wouldn't change Cosmic Magic except to maybe explicitly affect dispel magic and counterspell. Reality-Defying Existence could be simplified by just stating that while Hastur exists on the Material or Ethereal Planes, it can see and target creatures that exist on both.
If anybody out there is an expert on monster design, my comments could use a second opinion.
Looking forward to it. It's possible I was subconsciously mourning the non-confirmation of an official Dark Sun treatment, and missed the apocalyptic vibe.
As a homebrew perfectionist I agree, although my priorities are somewhat different. If a brewer chooses to create a monster, spell, magic item etc. with some crunch, I'm looking to see interesting mechanics that are either new or under-utilized. Of course, 5e has a certain pathos about new rules, namely that simplicity is key. Time magic, in particular, is very difficult to capture in 5e without adding complex new rules or requiring a mountain of record-keeping.
This is very evocative. I like the idea of seeing a glimpse of myself as a
miserable loner in a dead-end jobpowerful conjurer and bootstrap some skills off of my future self. This could also set up some interesting encounters between a player and their future self. Naturally, those sorts of encounters are dangerous, as information conveyed by the future self could create a paradox! Eg. The future spellcaster gives the current spellcaster the recipe to a spell they invented, creating a loop wherein the spell was never actually created.Fantastic work. As a DM, this looks like a great way to juice up an alien monster encounter with lair mechanics. One snap observation: on the flesh-warping table, one option involves growing tusks. Did you want to make those into a natural weapon? Also, you could totally add a bit of flavor describing how the unraveling lands phenomenon begins, and the ways in which a party can reverse their effects. Might give you inspiration for a new table or two if you find the idea fun.
Uh.
Will do! Thanks for the feedback!
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Oops. ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯
Added more information to the Unraveling Lands and some clauses for reversing its effects.
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That's quite good. The one thing was that one of the features (I think the level 10?) says that you can't use it again for a week. "Week" doesn't really have a definition in D&D; in the Forgotten Realms (and probably other worlds), a week is ten days long (hence the name "tenday"), but in the real world, a week is seven days long. So how many days is your use of "week"?
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..how would going back in time as per the 10th-level feature work in roleplay? Are the other characters (in the returned point in time) just accepting that you died and went back in time? Should the players of those characters try to act the same way they did that morning?
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Very neat, I like the capstone. I'll raise some questions. First, could Glimpse of the Future not be abused? I declare that an attack is a miss, then ask an ally to kindly punch me for a very small amount of damage? Rinse and repeat as there isn't a limit to the number of times this can be used. Next, Paradox Loop is a bit confusing. Does all of time reset on the PC death? If so, the effect is much much more powerful than any existing spell, as it gives the party a chance to spend 24 hours experimenting, learning important information, and encountering any obstacles after which point they can kill the PC to use all of the information they've gathered and undo any number of bad consequences. If it's just the PC who resets, the ability is still very powerful, as it gives that player free reign as noted above.
Thanks for the feedback! I did think that Paradox Loop might be able to be abused, and was thinking about making it within 10 minutes of anchoring which would take an action to do, and reusable every long rest. It is intended to reset time, and I would suggest that the players save the point their character sheets were at at that point, so that if time resets they could actually save it. I was also considering allowing the rest of the party to be anchored as well so that main-character syndrome doesn't happen.
Regarding Glimpse of the future, consider this. Yes, it's powerful, but in order to reset, the other player have to waste an attack on hitting the warlock, meanwhile, you don't know if another player will have a chance to attack before a monster does. Nevertheless, I'm probably going to change this to once per rest, as an automatic miss is still pretty powerful.
Again, thanks for the feedback! I wish you all happy brewing!
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I was intending 7 days, but as noted above, I'll be changing this ability to be less impactful. Thanks for the feedback anyways!
Subclass Evaluations So Far:
Sorcerer
Warlock
My statblock. Fear me!
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No worries!