is a 3rd level dragonborn fighter who prefers to savor the small things in life, because he knows that the next day he may go to the heavens, and I mean that literally. Furōto was raised by the Jūryoku arrokokra family. He always knew he wasn’t a true member and yearned for the ability of flight, just so he could fit in with the people he was around his whole life. When he turned 14, he got his wish, just not in the way he was hoping.
On the night of his birthday, the village was attacked by elven raiders. His family had escaped, but the young Jūryoku was asleep. He heard the sounds of chaos, but he couldn’t wake up. A being as strong as the gods whispered in his ear. “Your family is gone” it said, “But I can help you get to them. A wish you had for years will save you. I’ll grant this wish. Unless you wish to be captured?” “No!” he yelled, “I wish for flight! Give me flight!”
Furōto opens his eyes to find himself floating in the sky, unable to control his movement. He would’ve have died from starvation if his family hadn’t found him. His brothers and sisters dragged him to the ground and put him in a set of plate armor. He knows if this armor came off, he would float to his death.
And so, he swore vengeance against the being that made it so that he will never live the same way again. But he needs help from an adventurer party to do that.
(This is an NPC, not a plot hook or character background)
NPCs need statblocks like monsters get with stats and stuff.
Yeah, but I’m making a stat block for the PC option, but if I need to, ok. Give me a bit.
Added “5 & 5” clause encouraging contestants to vote 5 & 5 on their own submission, and all scores will have -5 when being calculated.The idea is to encourage contestants to vote, and to prevent imbalance in the number of votes or unfair voting. The previous “don’t vote on yours” was wholly unreliable. This way, contestants will only be at a disadvantage if they do not vote or if they vote lower on their submission.
Ugh. This is quite a depressing change, to be honest. Not everyone has time to vote, and not everyone is able to keep up and rate everyone else's entries. Quite frankly, "encouraging" people to vote in this way will only lead to rushed votes that skew the results and don't faithfully represent the skill demonstrated in each piece of homebrew.
Now, contestants have an additional large task load of work that they are effectively required to do, if they care about the competition and recognition part of this, or if they care about being able to choose the categories and get to see cool pieces of homebrew for topics they're actually interested in. If they don't go out of their way to read and rate dozens of submissions, then they are at a significant disadvantage, merely because of the time they have available and the level to which they want to participate here.
This method is still extremely flawed in other regards too, and it does little to stop troll votes or users who vote multiple times with different accounts. Why couldn't we just make most of the poll optional and allow each person to only skip to their entry to rank, should they so choose?
In all honesty, I am very upset and discouraged by all the worrying over potential problems that haven't and likely won't occurred, and methods that are being implemented as safeguards against potential problems but that harm the people participating in COTFB. I wish we had a chance to discuss these changes as a whole, because we had discussed this together several times before but never decided on a change like this, since all the faults of this system have been repeatedly hashed out every other iteration here.
I'm sorry to be an aura of negativity, I'm not usually like this. That being said, hopefully this rule will change, because it really makes me not feel like I want to participate or share any homebrew here if everything requires more work outside of actually designing and sharing our free stuff and ideas. I'll probably try to enter something, maybe even a bunch of things. The April Fools idea is great, and the themes are nice too. This was just a really depressing thing to see in the rules and change log.
Unfortunately, asking people to vote on a variety of submissions at all already skews the votes, so there is truly nothing new there.
As Kaboom says later, if you are going to ask for others to evaluate your HB, you may as well repay that with some evaluation of your own.
Nothing’s going to stop troll votes besides proactive ignoring of those voters. Regarding optional voting, that not only might make it seem like some submissions are worth less notice than others, but also simplifies the results of the ignored submissions, making it less possible to get an accurate general opinion (the greater the number of results, the greater the accuracy). Also, what would be the point of only voting for one’s own submissions? The poll is meant to provide an accurate depiction of the popular opinion on your piece, not help you to evaluate your own. If you are so inclined, that could be done on your own.
What you aren’t seeing, I believe, is that no one, and that does indeed mean no one, is impartial. Voting on your own submission always skews the results, and though I wouldn’t call it a problem per se, I would call it a grievance when trying to calculate the votes to find out who made the best homebrew in the community’s eyes. Additionally, this change was meant to be experimental, to see if it would work to stir up voters and accurate results. I know and apologize that I neglected to mention its purpose sooner, and that I made the change without announcing it or consulting the community.
I apologize for making you feel that way. What change, aside from changing the rule back to its original state (which is on the table), do you believe would help alleviate that feeling?
I dunno. Some people only have time to participate, not to vote. Voting takes a significant amount more work and time, and it can often feel dull or uninteresting (to me at least). Feedback and recognition works because each person or most people give a bit, and everyone else gets a decent amount of those things in total thanks to the group. Going through every submission and accurately rating it goes beyond a little, and it goes into the territory of doing a lot.
I wish we could make voting take less work. I wish that we could make it more attractive and appealing without penalizing people. Different people have different things they want from COTFB, and everyone should be able to get as many of those things as possible. When additional work is heaped on those who just wanted to have a bit of fun and maybe look at a couple other things people submitted, then it really starts to feel un-fun.
Perhaps we could make it so that you don't have to vote for everything? So, if I decide I want to read through X pieces of homebrew, I don't have to look at a bunch of other thins that don't interest me too. I honestly don't know what to say or how to solve this. Thank you for your thoughts, because they are insightful and intelligent (as always), and they do a lot to reassure me on this.
That being said, I think this is not the answer, and the old way of doing things mostly worked fine. Perhaps bringing back written feedback will help? There were a lot more votes (11) for the survey where people could share their thoughts and skip around, and the next two competitions that didn't have that experienced a massive drop in participation.
I think it would make sense to try this rule out with a survey where people have the choice of skipping around and skipping voting entries, and where they can supply written feedback too.
I dunno. I just really don't know lol.
If what you want is not to receive a score or to give a score, then I recommend showing your homebrew and then not voting. Seeing as you do not mind your score, then you don’t need to put the effort in to vote, and can receive the penalty without care. I don’t mean to sound rude here, if I’m coming across as that. What I’m trying to say is what I have said, and no connotation was intended.
Written feedback was always intended to be a part of the survey, and I was surprised it wasn’t on the last one or two, I can’t remember and won’t take a break from writing this to find out. I will ensure it is on this one. I think encouraging “skipping around” is a bad idea, as I have stated before.
Your discomfort is valid. We will change the rule back if that is the consensus. At present, we seem to only have two opinions on the matter, besides mine.
As Kaboom says later, if you are going to ask for others to evaluate your HB, you may as well repay that with some evaluation of your own.
True, it's just that not everyone can easily vote and evaluate sometimes, and giving some feedback or voting on some entries does seem like repaying things somewhat. I get that allowing people to skip around some isn't a perfect method, but it might work decently or well. We wouldn't be encouraging doing this, we would merely be presenting it as an option for those who wanted to use it.
Last time the questions on the poll were optional and there was written feedback, nearly everyone voted on all or most submissions. That being said, it was still good that people had the option of not voting on everything, and it appeared to have been utilized to a small extent. This may not be an excellent way of doing things, but I think it's worth trying it out some time and seeing whether or not it works when compared to this system. Sure, a few entries may get 1 or 2 less votes, but to me at least, that doesn't convey the impression that the submission in question is worse or less interesting than the others. All it conveys to me at least is that people have things they have to do and not unlimited time.
As a side note, perhaps we could give people the opportunity to edit and expand their votes if they skipped around? That might raise problems, but it isn't too flawed.
Nothing’s going to stop troll votes besides proactive ignoring of those voters. Regarding optional voting, that not only might make it seem like some submissions are worth less notice than others, but also simplifies the results of the ignored submissions, making it less possible to get an accurate general opinion (the greater the number of results, the greater the accuracy). Also, what would be the point of only voting for one’s own submissions? The poll is meant to provide an accurate depiction of the popular opinion on your piece, not help you to evaluate your own. If you are so inclined, that could be done on your own.
If every submission has -5, then giving yours a 5 and skipping voting on others' entries makes it so the vote is not skewed against you, because your vote is effectively no longer there when the penalty is applied. This allows people to not have lower scores due to time limitations, but it's just an idea and I do understand that only voting for yourself would/should only be a method that is utilized in extremely rare situations.
If what you want is not to receive a score or to give a score, then I recommend showing your homebrew and then not voting. Seeing as you do not mind your score, then you don’t need to put the effort in to vote, and can receive the penalty without care. I don’t mean to sound rude here, if I’m coming across as that. What I’m trying to say is what I have said, and no connotation was intended.
The thing is, I care about both getting cool ideas from the prompts + sharing my work, and getting some feedback and recognition along with potentially getting to see homebrew related to a theme I'm interested in and picked.
With all this being said, both you and Kaboom have made some very important points. Are you an Archfey? You sure have a really high Charisma (Persuasion) bonus.
Jokes aside, I think it makes sense to try this new voting system and rule out and see how it goes, even if I still like the old honor system a bit better. Everything might work perfectly with the 5/5 - 5 Rule, and experimentation is always the way to improve things. My apologies for misunderstanding you; I wasn't aware of how this was just testing a rule, and reacted as if it was a permanent change.
With all this being said, both you and Kaboom have made some very important points. Are you an Archfey? You sure have a really high Charisma (Persuasion) bonus.
My cover is blown. Now to go into hiding for the next century, two centuries just to be safe.
Nice. I can't believe I didn't think of this seeing as how I am playing Death in a tavern and the Grim Sweeper is a major character in my homebrew world. I know that CR is hard for super high level monsters, but since it automatically hits and kills, I feel like it should be CR 30.
Appreciator of all things Weird, Wondrous, and/or Yummy
In the Autumn Country, days end quickly, the gloaming hours linger, and the midnights pile one upon the other till the air is thick and flows like twilight syrup.
Yeah, it's inspired by something from a video game. I think I've captured it's essence, but I'm not sure about the CR or how it would really play in combat - from a DM perspective I think it is relatively easy to defeat if you know what it can do, but from the player perspective having to figure it out mid-combat it might be more of a TPK machine.
Yeah, it's inspired by something from a video game. I think I've captured it's essence, but I'm not sure about the CR or how it would really play in combat - from a DM perspective I think it is relatively easy to defeat if you know what it can do, but from the player perspective having to figure it out mid-combat it might be more of a TPK machine.
CR 30 sounds pretty reasonable. I'll change it.
Is it inspired by Spelunky?
Anyways, I don't know if CR 30 is reasonable for a monster with 10 foot speed and no ranged attacks. Even if it takes out a couple melee fighters, they could be revived pretty easily after the ranged people take the monster out.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny. Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
I didn’t notice the movement speed. Why is it so slow? I would think that Death would need to move quickly in order to reach everyone who has died in time.
Appreciator of all things Weird, Wondrous, and/or Yummy
In the Autumn Country, days end quickly, the gloaming hours linger, and the midnights pile one upon the other till the air is thick and flows like twilight syrup.
is a 3rd level dragonborn fighter who prefers to savor the small things in life, because he knows that the next day he may go to the heavens, and I mean that literally. Furōto was raised by the Jūryoku arrokokra family. He always knew he wasn’t a true member and yearned for the ability of flight, just so he could fit in with the people he was around his whole life. When he turned 14, he got his wish, just not in the way he was hoping.
On the night of his birthday, the village was attacked by elven raiders. His family had escaped, but the young Jūryoku was asleep. He heard the sounds of chaos, but he couldn’t wake up. A being as strong as the gods whispered in his ear. “Your family is gone” it said, “But I can help you get to them. A wish you had for years will save you. I’ll grant this wish. Unless you wish to be captured?” “No!” he yelled, “I wish for flight! Give me flight!”
Furōto opens his eyes to find himself floating in the sky, unable to control his movement. He would’ve have died from starvation if his family hadn’t found him. His brothers and sisters dragged him to the ground and put him in a set of plate armor. He knows if this armor came off, he would float to his death.
And so, he swore vengeance against the being that made it so that he will never live the same way again. But he needs help from an adventurer party to do that.
(This is an NPC, not a plot hook or character background)
-Odin asking the wise jotunn Vafthruthnir where the new sun will come from after Fenrir Vanagandr devours the current one.
Deep, in a far corner of the Beastlands, there dwells a horrible beast. Fenrir Vanagandr, the wolf son of Loki, is bound to an enormous stone by silk thin chains. He can be heard from miles away, howling in agony and in rage. His bestial maw is wedged open with a sword, a river of drool tinged with blood flows from his mouth, the River Van. Fenrir's eyes glow like red hot coals, full of rage, for he was betrayed by the gods, judged for a crime he had not yet committed.
(Note: I am going to be using the names of the characters from Norse myth throughout the story. It can easily be placed in most settings by switching out Odin with whoever the king of the gods is, Loki with some trickster deity or mother of monsters, Thor with a god of strength, war or might, and Tyr with any honorable, good god who is missing a hand. )
Loki had spawned many children, some monstrous, others magnificent. Odin had already imprisoned Jormungandr at the bottom of the sea, and placed Hel in Hel but Loki's son, Sleipnir had proven himself to be very valuable. Loki had fathered a new son with the evil giantess Angrboda. This new child had taken the form of a giant wolf of great might and ferocity. This son was named Fenrir, and was being a little troublesome. He was already quite large, and Odin knew that he would become even larger, and he could be incredibly destructive. Tyr, the god of justice, was the only one brave enough to approach and feed him. Odin had to find out who this wolf would become, and if he would be an enemy or ally in the calamity war of Ragnarok.
So Odin went down to the Norns, three old hags who could see into the past, present and future, and he consulted them about the troublesome wolf. Their news was of the most dreadful sort. This wolf beast of Loki's brood would swallow the sun, cause great destruction during Ragnarok, and worst of all, devour the king of the gods himself. These tidings filled Odin with dread. He couldn't allow Fenrir to roam free when he knew the wolf would be his doom. He decided that he must imprison Loki's son in an attempt to cheat fate.
Odin revealed the future to the other Aesir, who all agreed that Fenrir must be restrained even though he had not yet committed any foul deed. They forged a massive set of chains, so heavy that Thor, the mightiest of the Aesir, could barely lift them. These chains were named Leyding, and they were the strongest chains in existence. The Aesir approached Fenrir and told him that the chains were practically unbreakable and that they wanted to see if the wolf was powerful enough to break them. Fenrir was young and desired great fame. He knew that if he could accomplish this feat of strength he would gain great renown. So he accepted the challenge. The chains were wrapped around him and in one powerful pull, the mighty wolf burst from the iron fetters.
Dismayed, the Aesir praised him before quickly going off and forming chains of even greater strength. These new iron chords were called Dromi, and several of the most powerful gods were needed to lift them. They repeated the challenge to Fenrir, and, hungering for more fame, he accepted. He was bound, and he began straining at the metal bands. These were much more strong, but Fenrir was stronger, and he shattered Dromi.
Then, the Aesir turned to the Elves of Svartalfheim (Or in Dnd Arborea works) for aid. Odin begged them to craft unbreakable chains to bind the terrifying wolf. In a few days, the elves sent him their handiwork. Their unbreakable chord was but a fine, silky thread. The elves named the chain Gleipnir and explained that it was made of six substances:
The breath of a fish
The sound of a cat's footsteps
A woman's beard
The roots of a mountain
The spittle of a bird
The sinews of a bear
All of these ingredients were impossible to obtain, likewise they would be impossible to break.
The Aesir brought Gleipnir to Fenrir and challenged them like they did before. Seeing the ribbon thin chain, Fenrir grew suspicious. He knew he could easily break the thin chords, so why did the gods want to test his strength against it? He had snapped chains of much greater size before, so they should know that this one would pose no problem. Unless it was enchanted. Magic must be involved, it had to be a trick. Fenrir refused to be bound by the thin chain for fear of some cunning act of trickery. Odin responded by claiming that if he was not strong enough to break such a thin chord, then he was obviously not a threat to them and they would free him immediately. Fenrir was still hesitant, but he didn't wish to be seen as a coward, so he answered that he was willing to be tied up as long as one of the gods placed their hand in his mouth so that if they refused to free him, he would bite off their hand. The Aesir all looked at one another in dismay. They knew that whoever placed their hand in the wolves fanged maw would lose their hand. Finally, Tyr stepped forward and confidently placed is right hand in the mouth of the beast. This reassured Fenrir, Tyr had always been kind to him. Surely the fact that Tyr was willing to put himself in such a vulnerable position proved that he was safe.
The great wolf did not struggle as the Aesir wrapped Gleipnir around him and tied it tight. Fenrir's muscles flexed, his back arched, his legs pulled, and his claws tore at the ribbon like thread. He struggled for a long while before finally admitting defeat. But to his horror, the gods did not release him as they had promised. Instead they fastened the chain to a giant slab of stone called Gjoll (Old Norse for "scream") and rejoiced in his defeat. Tyr screamed in pain as Fenrir tore his hand off, but Tyr's pain was nothing compared to the seed of hatred and agony that was planted in Fenrir's heart on that day. The giant wolf snapped at the surrounding gods who seized a sword and stuck it in his jaws so that he could not close his snout without piercing himself. Fenrir's howls of hatred and betrayal echoed long after the Aesir had returned to their comfortable halls in Asgard.
They left the huge wolf chained by a thread to a stone called Scream. His toothy maw was levered open by a sharp blade allowing the River Van to flow forth from his saliva. The wolf's tears mingled with his endless drool in the river of Hope, as it is called in old Norse. Chained for eternity for a crime he had yet to commit. Prophesy predicts that one day, Fenrir, son of Loki will be freed from his chains, and on that day he will rampage across the world, causing it to crumble under his rage. He will swallow the sun, and kill the god king Odin, and be slain in the process by Odin's son Vidarr. Fenrir's heart has grown hard and is gripped with hatred. The wolf of Ragnarok eagerly awaits the day of his freedom when he can unleash his wrath upon the world that has betrayed him. One has to wonder if he would have become a different being if he hadn't been betrayed by the gods. Maybe he became the twisted embodiment of rage that he is because he lost all trust in the Aesir and in the world. What would have happened if Odin had treated the wolf kindly, raised him as his grandson, and not treated him as a dangerous beast? What if, in an attempt to change his fate, Odin sealed his doom?
We cannot know the answer to this, but Fenrir blames his current state on Odin's treachery and will poison the heart of anyone who will listen to him, seeding their mind with distrust and causing them to lose faith in the gods. Fenrir will bargain and beg with anyone who crosses him, asking them to free him from his bondage. There is no known way to break the chains, but Fenrir has a small following of cultists and werewolves who are searching for a way to free their master. Those who follow him, are gifted with a form of lycanthropy that they have some control over. These werewolves still hunger for blood, but they are able to restrain their primal craving for as long as Fenrir is restrained by Gleipnir. The wolf may promise power to any who release him, and he may claim that he will spare their lives in the coming apocalypse, but he wants to watch the world burn and as soon as he is freed he will begin his destruction.
Gleipnir cannot be destroyed by any known method. If anyone holds the secret to its destruction, it is the elves who crafted them. We can also assume that if the materials used in the chains crafting were collected, or maybe other equally impossible substances, then they could be used to forge a weapon with the capability of freeing the wolf. While Fenrir is bound in the chains, he cannot attack anyone, and is restrained.
Fenrir is mostly likely chained in the Beastlands, though Ysgard also makes sense. He could also be placed in the Abyss or in a layer of the Nine Hells, but it says that he was kept in the home of the gods and lived among the Aesir, so a dark, secluded wasteland in an Upper Plane makes more sense.
Fenrir's statblock:
Fenrir
Huge monstrosity, Chaotic evil
Armor Class
19 (natural armor)
Hit Points
405 (30d12 + 210)
Speed
60 ft.
STR
30 (+10)
DEX
24 (+7)
CON
25 (+7)
INT
15 (+2)
WIS
22 (+6)
CHA
18 (+4)
Saving Throws
Str +18
Skills
Perception +14, Stealth +15
Damage Resistances
fire
Damage Immunities
bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Condition Immunities
frightened
Senses
darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 24
Languages
Celestial, Dwarvish, Giant, telepathy 60 ft.
Challenge
27 (105,000 XP)
Keen Hearing and Smell.
Fenrir has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
Pack Tactics.
Fenrir has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the wolf's allies is within 5 ft. of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.
Frightening Destiny.
Even creatures immune to the frightened condition can be frightened by Fenrir.
Siege Monster.
The Fenrir deals double damage to objects and structures.
Blood Frenzy.
Fenrir has advantage on melee attack rolls against any creature that doesn't have all its hit points.
Rampage.
When Fenrir reduces a creature to 0 hit points with a melee attack on his turn, Fenrir can take a bonus action to move up to half his speed and make a claw attack.
Legendary Resistance (3/day).
If Fenrir fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Savage Attacks.
When Fenrir scores a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, he can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.
Actions
Multiattack.
Fenrir makes three attacks. One with his bite and two claw attacks.
Bite.
Melee Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 28 (3d10+ 10) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 20 Strength saving throw or be grappled. While Fenrir grapples in this way, he can not use the bite attack on another target. Fenrir gains temporary hit points equal to half the damage he does with this attack.
Claw.
Melee Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, reach 10 ft, one target. Hit: 28 (3d10+10) slashing damage and the target must succeed on a DC 19 strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Frightful Presence.
Each creature of Fenrir's choice that is within 120 feet of Fenrir and aware of him must succeed on a DC 24 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to Fenrir's Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours.
Howl of Rage (Recharge 6).
Fenrir lets out a howl filled with fury. All creatures within 120 ft of him and who aren’t deafened must make a DC 22 Wisdom saving throw. On a fail, they take 75 (8d12) thunder damage and are frightened of Fenrir until the end of their next turn. On a successful save they take half as much damage and aren’t frightened.
Devour.
Fenrir makes one bite attack against one medium or smaller creature or object he is grappling. If the attack hits, the target takes the bite attack’s damage, is swallowed, and the grapple ends. While swallowed, the creature is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside Fenrir and it takes 56 (16d6) acid damage at the start of each of Fenrir’s turns.
If Fenrir takes 60 damage or more on a single turn from a creature inside him, the Fenrir must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate all swallowed creatures, which fall prone in a space within 10 feet of Fenrir. If Fenrir dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by him and can escape from the corpse by using 30 feet of movement, exiting prone.
Legendary Actions
Fenrir can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. Fenrir regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Appreciator of all things Weird, Wondrous, and/or Yummy
In the Autumn Country, days end quickly, the gloaming hours linger, and the midnights pile one upon the other till the air is thick and flows like twilight syrup.
is a 3rd level dragonborn fighter who prefers to savor the small things in life, because he knows that the next day he may go to the heavens, and I mean that literally. Furōto was raised by the Jūryoku arrokokra family. He always knew he wasn’t a true member and yearned for the ability of flight, just so he could fit in with the people he was around his whole life. When he turned 14, he got his wish, just not in the way he was hoping.
On the night of his birthday, the village was attacked by elven raiders. His family had escaped, but the young Jūryoku was asleep. He heard the sounds of chaos, but he couldn’t wake up. A being as strong as the gods whispered in his ear. “Your family is gone” it said, “But I can help you get to them. A wish you had for years will save you. I’ll grant this wish. Unless you wish to be captured?” “No!” he yelled, “I wish for flight! Give me flight!”
Furōto opens his eyes to find himself floating in the sky, unable to control his movement. He would’ve have died from starvation if his family hadn’t found him. His brothers and sisters dragged him to the ground and put him in a set of plate armor. He knows if this armor came off, he would float to his death.
And so, he swore vengeance against the being that made it so that he will never live the same way again. But he needs help from an adventurer party to do that.
(This is an NPC, not a plot hook or character background)
What do you think?
Didn't you already post this? Please refrain from repeat posts. Asking for feedback plainly is fine (anyone who wishes can view the submission via the link under Contestants), and I'm sorry that those on the thread have neglected to show respect to your requests for feedback. Nobody should feel invisible.
Just so you know, I also posted for the Sword of Damocles challenge. What do you think of this and my npc?
Cool lore!
Unfortunately, in terms of rules.... It seems wildly unbalanced, fairly useless, very unorganized, and violating the standard format of artifact-rarity magic items all at once. I would use an already-existing item like the sword of kas as an example, and maybe cut back on the variance in how useful the trident is.
Additionally, I'm not very certain that it fits the theme. Perhaps if you elaborate on how the trident is causing the world's slow death, it would work better.
I am sorry. I am incredibly technologically challenged and am still trying to attach the statblock of Fenrir in my last post. I used a new thingy ma jobber to create the statblock, and I can't find a way to attach it. This is what I used, https://tetra-cube.com/dnd/dnd-statblock.html
Appreciator of all things Weird, Wondrous, and/or Yummy
In the Autumn Country, days end quickly, the gloaming hours linger, and the midnights pile one upon the other till the air is thick and flows like twilight syrup.
Appreciator of all things Weird, Wondrous, and/or Yummy
In the Autumn Country, days end quickly, the gloaming hours linger, and the midnights pile one upon the other till the air is thick and flows like twilight syrup.
I didn’t notice the movement speed. Why is it so slow? I would think that Death would need to move quickly in order to reach everyone who has died in time.
Symbolically, it is the slow march everyone takes towards Death. Lore/Theme wise it is because Death is in no hurry, he is eternal and inevitable, he will get you eventually, so what need he to run? Mechanically, it is to make it a puzzle-fight rather than a regular fight, where the primary objective is for everyone to stay far enough away from Death, to avoid being insta-killed. However, since there are now so many spells & abilities to increase PC move speed. I might need to increase it to at least 20 ft to keep the encounter challenging.
I didn’t notice the movement speed. Why is it so slow? I would think that Death would need to move quickly in order to reach everyone who has died in time.
Symbolically, it is the slow march everyone takes towards Death. Lore/Theme wise it is because Death is in no hurry, he is eternal and inevitable, he will get you eventually, so what need he to run? Mechanically, it is to make it a puzzle-fight rather than a regular fight, where the primary objective is for everyone to stay far enough away from Death, to avoid being insta-killed. However, since there are now so many spells & abilities to increase PC move speed. I might need to increase it to at least 20 ft to keep the encounter challenging.
That makes sense and makes it more usable too. Moving it to 20 ft is probably a good idea though.
Appreciator of all things Weird, Wondrous, and/or Yummy
In the Autumn Country, days end quickly, the gloaming hours linger, and the midnights pile one upon the other till the air is thick and flows like twilight syrup.
I didn’t notice the movement speed. Why is it so slow? I would think that Death would need to move quickly in order to reach everyone who has died in time.
Symbolically, it is the slow march everyone takes towards Death. Lore/Theme wise it is because Death is in no hurry, he is eternal and inevitable, he will get you eventually, so what need he to run? Mechanically, it is to make it a puzzle-fight rather than a regular fight, where the primary objective is for everyone to stay far enough away from Death, to avoid being insta-killed. However, since there are now so many spells & abilities to increase PC move speed. I might need to increase it to at least 20 ft to keep the encounter challenging.
That makes sense and makes it more usable too. Moving it to 20 ft is probably a good idea though.
I am not sure if that thing should even have a statblock. An avatar of a deity of death could for sure (there's Bhaal's statblock in Minsk & Boo's for example), but Death itself...?
I can't see how that would be fun to fight. Against ranged characters it has the Tarrasque problem of lacking any tools to deal with with them, even a level 1 aarakocra with a bow or ranged cantrip can defeat it. Melee characters on the other hand cannot do anything against it as they are killed immediately by its attack. At the very least you need to give melees more agency against it, it should not automatically hit and automatically kill them. But if it does not, is is it still Death itself? That brings us back to the question whether it should even have a statblock.
is a 3rd level dragonborn fighter who prefers to savor the small things in life, because he knows that the next day he may go to the heavens, and I mean that literally. Furōto was raised by the Jūryoku arrokokra family. He always knew he wasn’t a true member and yearned for the ability of flight, just so he could fit in with the people he was around his whole life. When he turned 14, he got his wish, just not in the way he was hoping.
On the night of his birthday, the village was attacked by elven raiders. His family had escaped, but the young Jūryoku was asleep. He heard the sounds of chaos, but he couldn’t wake up. A being as strong as the gods whispered in his ear. “Your family is gone” it said, “But I can help you get to them. A wish you had for years will save you. I’ll grant this wish. Unless you wish to be captured?” “No!” he yelled, “I wish for flight! Give me flight!”
Furōto opens his eyes to find himself floating in the sky, unable to control his movement. He would’ve have died from starvation if his family hadn’t found him. His brothers and sisters dragged him to the ground and put him in a set of plate armor. He knows if this armor came off, he would float to his death.
And so, he swore vengeance against the being that made it so that he will never live the same way again. But he needs help from an adventurer party to do that.
(This is an NPC, not a plot hook or character background)
What do you think?
Didn't you already post this? Please refrain from repeat posts. Asking for feedback plainly is fine (anyone who wishes can view the submission via the link under Contestants), and I'm sorry that those on the thread have neglected to show respect to your requests for feedback. Nobody should feel invisible.
Just so you know, I also posted for the Sword of Damocles challenge. What do you think of this and my npc?
Cool lore!
Unfortunately, in terms of rules.... It seems wildly unbalanced, fairly useless, very unorganized, and violating the standard format of artifact-rarity magic items all at once. I would use an already-existing item like the sword of kas as an example, and maybe cut back on the variance in how useful the trident is.
Additionally, I'm not very certain that it fits the theme. Perhaps if you elaborate on how the trident is causing the world's slow death, it would work better.
I reposted it because I needed to post the stat block.
It’s supposed to be unorganized, because it’s a weapon of chaos (Wild magic sorcerer). If you’re telling me to put more negative wild effects and give the weapon sentience, will do. I’ll also flesh out the plot hook.
is a 3rd level dragonborn fighter who prefers to savor the small things in life, because he knows that the next day he may go to the heavens, and I mean that literally. Furōto was raised by the Jūryoku arrokokra family. He always knew he wasn’t a true member and yearned for the ability of flight, just so he could fit in with the people he was around his whole life. When he turned 14, he got his wish, just not in the way he was hoping.
On the night of his birthday, the village was attacked by elven raiders. His family had escaped, but the young Jūryoku was asleep. He heard the sounds of chaos, but he couldn’t wake up. A being as strong as the gods whispered in his ear. “Your family is gone” it said, “But I can help you get to them. A wish you had for years will save you. I’ll grant this wish. Unless you wish to be captured?” “No!” he yelled, “I wish for flight! Give me flight!”
Furōto opens his eyes to find himself floating in the sky, unable to control his movement. He would’ve have died from starvation if his family hadn’t found him. His brothers and sisters dragged him to the ground and put him in a set of plate armor. He knows if this armor came off, he would float to his death.
And so, he swore vengeance against the being that made it so that he will never live the same way again. But he needs help from an adventurer party to do that.
(This is an NPC, not a plot hook or character background)
What do you think?
If he is always wearing armor, maybe it would be cool to add one level of exhaustion to him. Because he is always armor clad, he can barely get a good night's rest and always lugging around a suit of armor is tiring. So he always has one level of exhaustion at all times unless it is taken away by magical means. That doesn't have to be added, it could easily be hand waved, but it might also be an interesting addition.
It sort of reminds me of The Light Princess by George MacDonald.
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In the Autumn Country, days end quickly, the gloaming hours linger, and the midnights pile one upon the other till the air is thick and flows like twilight syrup.
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Yeah, but I’m making a stat block for the PC option, but if I need to, ok. Give me a bit.
Hi, I’m DrakenBrine, here’s my Sig and characters
I am The Grand Envisioner!
Unfortunately, asking people to vote on a variety of submissions at all already skews the votes, so there is truly nothing new there.
As Kaboom says later, if you are going to ask for others to evaluate your HB, you may as well repay that with some evaluation of your own.
Nothing’s going to stop troll votes besides proactive ignoring of those voters. Regarding optional voting, that not only might make it seem like some submissions are worth less notice than others, but also simplifies the results of the ignored submissions, making it less possible to get an accurate general opinion (the greater the number of results, the greater the accuracy). Also, what would be the point of only voting for one’s own submissions? The poll is meant to provide an accurate depiction of the popular opinion on your piece, not help you to evaluate your own. If you are so inclined, that could be done on your own.
What you aren’t seeing, I believe, is that no one, and that does indeed mean no one, is impartial. Voting on your own submission always skews the results, and though I wouldn’t call it a problem per se, I would call it a grievance when trying to calculate the votes to find out who made the best homebrew in the community’s eyes. Additionally, this change was meant to be experimental, to see if it would work to stir up voters and accurate results. I know and apologize that I neglected to mention its purpose sooner, and that I made the change without announcing it or consulting the community.
I apologize for making you feel that way. What change, aside from changing the rule back to its original state (which is on the table), do you believe would help alleviate that feeling?
If what you want is not to receive a score or to give a score, then I recommend showing your homebrew and then not voting. Seeing as you do not mind your score, then you don’t need to put the effort in to vote, and can receive the penalty without care. I don’t mean to sound rude here, if I’m coming across as that. What I’m trying to say is what I have said, and no connotation was intended.
Written feedback was always intended to be a part of the survey, and I was surprised it wasn’t on the last one or two, I can’t remember and won’t take a break from writing this to find out. I will ensure it is on this one. I think encouraging “skipping around” is a bad idea, as I have stated before.
Your discomfort is valid. We will change the rule back if that is the consensus. At present, we seem to only have two opinions on the matter, besides mine.
Thank you for giving your thoughts.
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Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Feats, Subclasses.
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True, it's just that not everyone can easily vote and evaluate sometimes, and giving some feedback or voting on some entries does seem like repaying things somewhat. I get that allowing people to skip around some isn't a perfect method, but it might work decently or well. We wouldn't be encouraging doing this, we would merely be presenting it as an option for those who wanted to use it.
Last time the questions on the poll were optional and there was written feedback, nearly everyone voted on all or most submissions. That being said, it was still good that people had the option of not voting on everything, and it appeared to have been utilized to a small extent. This may not be an excellent way of doing things, but I think it's worth trying it out some time and seeing whether or not it works when compared to this system. Sure, a few entries may get 1 or 2 less votes, but to me at least, that doesn't convey the impression that the submission in question is worse or less interesting than the others. All it conveys to me at least is that people have things they have to do and not unlimited time.
As a side note, perhaps we could give people the opportunity to edit and expand their votes if they skipped around? That might raise problems, but it isn't too flawed.
If every submission has -5, then giving yours a 5 and skipping voting on others' entries makes it so the vote is not skewed against you, because your vote is effectively no longer there when the penalty is applied. This allows people to not have lower scores due to time limitations, but it's just an idea and I do understand that only voting for yourself would/should only be a method that is utilized in extremely rare situations.
The thing is, I care about both getting cool ideas from the prompts + sharing my work, and getting some feedback and recognition along with potentially getting to see homebrew related to a theme I'm interested in and picked.
With all this being said, both you and Kaboom have made some very important points. Are you an Archfey? You sure have a really high Charisma (Persuasion) bonus.
Jokes aside, I think it makes sense to try this new voting system and rule out and see how it goes, even if I still like the old honor system a bit better. Everything might work perfectly with the 5/5 - 5 Rule, and experimentation is always the way to improve things. My apologies for misunderstanding you; I wasn't aware of how this was just testing a rule, and reacted as if it was a permanent change.
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Come participate in the Competition of the Finest Brews, Edition XXV?
My homebrew stuff:
Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Feats, Subclasses.
I am an Archfey, but nobody seems to notice.
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I updated my post with my submission for the DM Options: (https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/homebrew-house-rules/166382-competition-of-the-finest-brews-xiv?comment=31).
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Nice. I can't believe I didn't think of this seeing as how I am playing Death in a tavern and the Grim Sweeper is a major character in my homebrew world. I know that CR is hard for super high level monsters, but since it automatically hits and kills, I feel like it should be CR 30.
Yeah, it's inspired by something from a video game. I think I've captured it's essence, but I'm not sure about the CR or how it would really play in combat - from a DM perspective I think it is relatively easy to defeat if you know what it can do, but from the player perspective having to figure it out mid-combat it might be more of a TPK machine.
CR 30 sounds pretty reasonable. I'll change it.
Is it inspired by Spelunky?
Anyways, I don't know if CR 30 is reasonable for a monster with 10 foot speed and no ranged attacks. Even if it takes out a couple melee fighters, they could be revived pretty easily after the ranged people take the monster out.
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny.
Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
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I didn’t notice the movement speed. Why is it so slow? I would think that Death would need to move quickly in order to reach everyone who has died in time.
Interactive Options: Gravitational Mayhem
furōto-jūryoku
What do you think?
Hi, I’m DrakenBrine, here’s my Sig and characters
I am The Grand Envisioner!
Just so you know, I also posted for the Sword of Damocles challenge. What do you think of this and my npc?
Hi, I’m DrakenBrine, here’s my Sig and characters
I am The Grand Envisioner!
For the DMs Option: Sword of Damocles:
"Much I have travelled, much have I tried out,
Much have I tested the Powers;
from where will a sun come into the smooth heaven
when Fenrir has assailed this one?"
-Odin asking the wise jotunn Vafthruthnir where the new sun will come from after Fenrir Vanagandr devours the current one.
Deep, in a far corner of the Beastlands, there dwells a horrible beast. Fenrir Vanagandr, the wolf son of Loki, is bound to an enormous stone by silk thin chains. He can be heard from miles away, howling in agony and in rage. His bestial maw is wedged open with a sword, a river of drool tinged with blood flows from his mouth, the River Van. Fenrir's eyes glow like red hot coals, full of rage, for he was betrayed by the gods, judged for a crime he had not yet committed.
(Note: I am going to be using the names of the characters from Norse myth throughout the story. It can easily be placed in most settings by switching out Odin with whoever the king of the gods is, Loki with some trickster deity or mother of monsters, Thor with a god of strength, war or might, and Tyr with any honorable, good god who is missing a hand. )
Loki had spawned many children, some monstrous, others magnificent. Odin had already imprisoned Jormungandr at the bottom of the sea, and placed Hel in Hel but Loki's son, Sleipnir had proven himself to be very valuable. Loki had fathered a new son with the evil giantess Angrboda. This new child had taken the form of a giant wolf of great might and ferocity. This son was named Fenrir, and was being a little troublesome. He was already quite large, and Odin knew that he would become even larger, and he could be incredibly destructive. Tyr, the god of justice, was the only one brave enough to approach and feed him. Odin had to find out who this wolf would become, and if he would be an enemy or ally in the calamity war of Ragnarok.
So Odin went down to the Norns, three old hags who could see into the past, present and future, and he consulted them about the troublesome wolf. Their news was of the most dreadful sort. This wolf beast of Loki's brood would swallow the sun, cause great destruction during Ragnarok, and worst of all, devour the king of the gods himself. These tidings filled Odin with dread. He couldn't allow Fenrir to roam free when he knew the wolf would be his doom. He decided that he must imprison Loki's son in an attempt to cheat fate.
Odin revealed the future to the other Aesir, who all agreed that Fenrir must be restrained even though he had not yet committed any foul deed. They forged a massive set of chains, so heavy that Thor, the mightiest of the Aesir, could barely lift them. These chains were named Leyding, and they were the strongest chains in existence. The Aesir approached Fenrir and told him that the chains were practically unbreakable and that they wanted to see if the wolf was powerful enough to break them. Fenrir was young and desired great fame. He knew that if he could accomplish this feat of strength he would gain great renown. So he accepted the challenge. The chains were wrapped around him and in one powerful pull, the mighty wolf burst from the iron fetters.
Dismayed, the Aesir praised him before quickly going off and forming chains of even greater strength. These new iron chords were called Dromi, and several of the most powerful gods were needed to lift them. They repeated the challenge to Fenrir, and, hungering for more fame, he accepted. He was bound, and he began straining at the metal bands. These were much more strong, but Fenrir was stronger, and he shattered Dromi.
Then, the Aesir turned to the Elves of Svartalfheim (Or in Dnd Arborea works) for aid. Odin begged them to craft unbreakable chains to bind the terrifying wolf. In a few days, the elves sent him their handiwork. Their unbreakable chord was but a fine, silky thread. The elves named the chain Gleipnir and explained that it was made of six substances:
All of these ingredients were impossible to obtain, likewise they would be impossible to break.
The Aesir brought Gleipnir to Fenrir and challenged them like they did before. Seeing the ribbon thin chain, Fenrir grew suspicious. He knew he could easily break the thin chords, so why did the gods want to test his strength against it? He had snapped chains of much greater size before, so they should know that this one would pose no problem. Unless it was enchanted. Magic must be involved, it had to be a trick. Fenrir refused to be bound by the thin chain for fear of some cunning act of trickery. Odin responded by claiming that if he was not strong enough to break such a thin chord, then he was obviously not a threat to them and they would free him immediately. Fenrir was still hesitant, but he didn't wish to be seen as a coward, so he answered that he was willing to be tied up as long as one of the gods placed their hand in his mouth so that if they refused to free him, he would bite off their hand. The Aesir all looked at one another in dismay. They knew that whoever placed their hand in the wolves fanged maw would lose their hand. Finally, Tyr stepped forward and confidently placed is right hand in the mouth of the beast. This reassured Fenrir, Tyr had always been kind to him. Surely the fact that Tyr was willing to put himself in such a vulnerable position proved that he was safe.
The great wolf did not struggle as the Aesir wrapped Gleipnir around him and tied it tight. Fenrir's muscles flexed, his back arched, his legs pulled, and his claws tore at the ribbon like thread. He struggled for a long while before finally admitting defeat. But to his horror, the gods did not release him as they had promised. Instead they fastened the chain to a giant slab of stone called Gjoll (Old Norse for "scream") and rejoiced in his defeat. Tyr screamed in pain as Fenrir tore his hand off, but Tyr's pain was nothing compared to the seed of hatred and agony that was planted in Fenrir's heart on that day. The giant wolf snapped at the surrounding gods who seized a sword and stuck it in his jaws so that he could not close his snout without piercing himself. Fenrir's howls of hatred and betrayal echoed long after the Aesir had returned to their comfortable halls in Asgard.
They left the huge wolf chained by a thread to a stone called Scream. His toothy maw was levered open by a sharp blade allowing the River Van to flow forth from his saliva. The wolf's tears mingled with his endless drool in the river of Hope, as it is called in old Norse. Chained for eternity for a crime he had yet to commit. Prophesy predicts that one day, Fenrir, son of Loki will be freed from his chains, and on that day he will rampage across the world, causing it to crumble under his rage. He will swallow the sun, and kill the god king Odin, and be slain in the process by Odin's son Vidarr. Fenrir's heart has grown hard and is gripped with hatred. The wolf of Ragnarok eagerly awaits the day of his freedom when he can unleash his wrath upon the world that has betrayed him. One has to wonder if he would have become a different being if he hadn't been betrayed by the gods. Maybe he became the twisted embodiment of rage that he is because he lost all trust in the Aesir and in the world. What would have happened if Odin had treated the wolf kindly, raised him as his grandson, and not treated him as a dangerous beast? What if, in an attempt to change his fate, Odin sealed his doom?
We cannot know the answer to this, but Fenrir blames his current state on Odin's treachery and will poison the heart of anyone who will listen to him, seeding their mind with distrust and causing them to lose faith in the gods. Fenrir will bargain and beg with anyone who crosses him, asking them to free him from his bondage. There is no known way to break the chains, but Fenrir has a small following of cultists and werewolves who are searching for a way to free their master. Those who follow him, are gifted with a form of lycanthropy that they have some control over. These werewolves still hunger for blood, but they are able to restrain their primal craving for as long as Fenrir is restrained by Gleipnir. The wolf may promise power to any who release him, and he may claim that he will spare their lives in the coming apocalypse, but he wants to watch the world burn and as soon as he is freed he will begin his destruction.
Gleipnir cannot be destroyed by any known method. If anyone holds the secret to its destruction, it is the elves who crafted them. We can also assume that if the materials used in the chains crafting were collected, or maybe other equally impossible substances, then they could be used to forge a weapon with the capability of freeing the wolf. While Fenrir is bound in the chains, he cannot attack anyone, and is restrained.
Fenrir is mostly likely chained in the Beastlands, though Ysgard also makes sense. He could also be placed in the Abyss or in a layer of the Nine Hells, but it says that he was kept in the home of the gods and lived among the Aesir, so a dark, secluded wasteland in an Upper Plane makes more sense.
Fenrir's statblock:
Fenrir
Huge monstrosity, Chaotic evil
Armor Class
19 (natural armor)
Hit Points
405 (30d12 + 210)
Speed
60 ft.
STR
30 (+10)
DEX
24 (+7)
CON
25 (+7)
INT
15 (+2)
WIS
22 (+6)
CHA
18 (+4)
Saving Throws
Str +18
Skills
Perception +14, Stealth +15
Damage Resistances
fire
Damage Immunities
bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Condition Immunities
frightened
Senses
darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 24
Languages
Celestial, Dwarvish, Giant, telepathy 60 ft.
Challenge
27 (105,000 XP)
Keen Hearing and Smell.
Fenrir has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
Pack Tactics.
Fenrir has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the wolf's allies is within 5 ft. of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.
Frightening Destiny.
Even creatures immune to the frightened condition can be frightened by Fenrir.
Siege Monster.
The Fenrir deals double damage to objects and structures.
Blood Frenzy.
Fenrir has advantage on melee attack rolls against any creature that doesn't have all its hit points.
Rampage.
When Fenrir reduces a creature to 0 hit points with a melee attack on his turn, Fenrir can take a bonus action to move up to half his speed and make a claw attack.
Legendary Resistance (3/day).
If Fenrir fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Savage Attacks.
When Fenrir scores a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, he can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.
Actions
Multiattack.
Fenrir makes three attacks. One with his bite and two claw attacks.
Bite.
Melee Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 28 (3d10+ 10) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 20 Strength saving throw or be grappled. While Fenrir grapples in this way, he can not use the bite attack on another target. Fenrir gains temporary hit points equal to half the damage he does with this attack.
Claw.
Melee Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, reach 10 ft, one target. Hit: 28 (3d10+10) slashing damage and the target must succeed on a DC 19 strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Frightful Presence.
Each creature of Fenrir's choice that is within 120 feet of Fenrir and aware of him must succeed on a DC 24 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to Fenrir's Frightful Presence for the next 24 hours.
Howl of Rage (Recharge 6).
Fenrir lets out a howl filled with fury. All creatures within 120 ft of him and who aren’t deafened must make a DC 22 Wisdom saving throw. On a fail, they take 75 (8d12) thunder damage and are frightened of Fenrir until the end of their next turn. On a successful save they take half as much damage and aren’t frightened.
Devour.
Fenrir makes one bite attack against one medium or smaller creature or object he is grappling. If the attack hits, the target takes the bite attack’s damage, is swallowed, and the grapple ends. While swallowed, the creature is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside Fenrir and it takes 56 (16d6) acid damage at the start of each of Fenrir’s turns.
Legendary Actions
Detect.
Fenrir makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
Claw Attack (2 actions).
Fenrir makes one claw attack.
Rush.
Fenrir moves up to his movement speed.
Didn't you already post this? Please refrain from repeat posts. Asking for feedback plainly is fine (anyone who wishes can view the submission via the link under Contestants), and I'm sorry that those on the thread have neglected to show respect to your requests for feedback. Nobody should feel invisible.
Cool lore!
Unfortunately, in terms of rules.... It seems wildly unbalanced, fairly useless, very unorganized, and violating the standard format of artifact-rarity magic items all at once. I would use an already-existing item like the sword of kas as an example, and maybe cut back on the variance in how useful the trident is.
Additionally, I'm not very certain that it fits the theme. Perhaps if you elaborate on how the trident is causing the world's slow death, it would work better.
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Come participate in the Competition of the Finest Brews, Edition XXI, and share your work!
Be not afraid.
Wait. Actually, be very afraid.
I am sorry. I am incredibly technologically challenged and am still trying to attach the statblock of Fenrir in my last post. I used a new thingy ma jobber to create the statblock, and I can't find a way to attach it. This is what I used, https://tetra-cube.com/dnd/dnd-statblock.html
I finally got it up there, sorry about the bad formatting. I don't know how else to do it.
Symbolically, it is the slow march everyone takes towards Death. Lore/Theme wise it is because Death is in no hurry, he is eternal and inevitable, he will get you eventually, so what need he to run? Mechanically, it is to make it a puzzle-fight rather than a regular fight, where the primary objective is for everyone to stay far enough away from Death, to avoid being insta-killed. However, since there are now so many spells & abilities to increase PC move speed. I might need to increase it to at least 20 ft to keep the encounter challenging.
That makes sense and makes it more usable too. Moving it to 20 ft is probably a good idea though.
I am not sure if that thing should even have a statblock. An avatar of a deity of death could for sure (there's Bhaal's statblock in Minsk & Boo's for example), but Death itself...?
I can't see how that would be fun to fight. Against ranged characters it has the Tarrasque problem of lacking any tools to deal with with them, even a level 1 aarakocra with a bow or ranged cantrip can defeat it. Melee characters on the other hand cannot do anything against it as they are killed immediately by its attack. At the very least you need to give melees more agency against it, it should not automatically hit and automatically kill them. But if it does not, is is it still Death itself? That brings us back to the question whether it should even have a statblock.
I reposted it because I needed to post the stat block.
It’s supposed to be unorganized, because it’s a weapon of chaos (Wild magic sorcerer). If you’re telling me to put more negative wild effects and give the weapon sentience, will do. I’ll also flesh out the plot hook.
Hi, I’m DrakenBrine, here’s my Sig and characters
I am The Grand Envisioner!
If he is always wearing armor, maybe it would be cool to add one level of exhaustion to him. Because he is always armor clad, he can barely get a good night's rest and always lugging around a suit of armor is tiring. So he always has one level of exhaustion at all times unless it is taken away by magical means. That doesn't have to be added, it could easily be hand waved, but it might also be an interesting addition.
It sort of reminds me of The Light Princess by George MacDonald.