I have a question about my DM option, Fenrir. Does it make sense to include him as a giant? He is giant and he is the son of a giant and Loki who might be a celestial, but I would say that their other children would be a dragon, and a fiend. Giants in Norse mythology were often shapeshifting titans that could take different forms, and I like the idea of him being considered a giant, but would something else make more sense? Maybe Monstrosity?
As always, I would appreciate other feedback as well.
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 have a question about my DM option, Fenrir. Does it make sense to include him as a giant? He is giant and he is the son of a giant and Loki who might be a celestial, but I would say that their other children would be a dragon, and a fiend. Giants in Norse mythology were often shapeshifting titans that could take different forms, and I like the idea of him being considered a giant, but would something else make more sense? Maybe Monstrosity?
As always, I would appreciate other feedback as well.
From the monster manual, to help you decide:
“Celestials are creatures native to the Upper Planes. Many of them are the servants of deities, employed as messengers or agents in the mortal realm and throughout the planes. Celestials are good by nature, so the exceptional celestial who strays from a good alignment is a horrifying rarity. Celestials include angels, couatls, and pegasi.
…Monstrosities are monsters in the strictest sense — frightening creatures that are not ordinary, not truly natural, and almost never benign. Some are the results of magical experimentation gone awry (such as owlbears), and others are the product of terrible curses (including minotaurs and yuan-ti). They defy categorization, and in some sense serve as a catch-all category for creatures that don’t fit into any other type.”
I would personally classify Fenrir as a celestial or monstrosity.
For the DMs option, before I move forward with making my submission I want to check if the basic concept fits the theme. Since the theme seems to boil down to "approaching doom" or "dread hanging over one's head", would a dungeon or encounter in which the party has some looming time constraint (after which they die or some other poor fate befalls them) be able to work for it?
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For the DMs option, before I move forward with making my submission I want to check if the basic concept fits the theme. Since the theme seems to boil down to "approaching doom" or "dread hanging over one's head", would a dungeon or encounter in which the party has some looming time constraint (after which they die or some other poor fate befalls them) be able to work for it?
Yes, so long as that time constraint is not external to the dungeon.
Thanks MilestoGo_24 for those excerpts, they were helpful. I think I will change Fenrir to a monstrosity not only because he is a monstrous wolf, but because he was formed from the union of a giant and a celestial and monstrosities are often the combination of different natures.
I was going to make an adventure based on a Dr. Seuss story for the DM options, but it is hard not to go back to mythology.
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.
Mistress Misfortune declares you her champion. Although her attention is not always a good thing to the masses, you are different. She gazes upon you with favor, giving you the ability to evade the hardships of life while guiding your enemies onto the path of tragedy. Who needs luck to bring you success when you can just cause everyone else to fail miserably?
This subclass plays with the concept of 'equivalent exchange', where many of the features grant you benefits in exchange for having you roll with disadvantage. Conversely, this encourages strange playstyles. Since your attacks are going to have disadvantage, anyway, why not do other weird things? Use a heavy weapon as a Small creature, drop prone and make attacks from the ground, permanently shoot from long range, etc. Disadvantage doesn't stack in 5e, so go hog-wild! Now, the flavor of the class is pretty thematic overall, and pretty easy to understand in comparison to other subclasses, in my opinion. Also, I just love the idea of critting on a 1!
Anyway, please comment any thoughts or concerns you might have. I'm all ears! Thank you for your time, and have a great day!
Hey guys! This is my go at the CotFB, a fighter subclass: The Calamity! Thanks to IAmSposta and Helmut_McQuack for bringing the CotFB to my attention! Please look upon me favorably.
Mistress Misfortune declares you her champion. Although her attention is not always a good thing to the masses, you are different. She gazes upon you with favor, giving you the ability to evade the hardships of life while guiding your enemies onto the path of tragedy. Who needs luck to bring you success when you can just cause everyone else to fail miserably?
This subclass plays with the concept of 'equivalent exchange', where many of the features grant you benefits in exchange for having you roll with disadvantage. Conversely, this encourages strange playstyles. Since your attacks are going to have disadvantage, anyway, why not do other weird things? Use a heavy weapon as a Small creature, drop prone and make attacks from the ground, permanently shoot from long range, etc. Disadvantage doesn't stack in 5e, so go hog-wild! Now, the flavor of the class is pretty thematic overall, and pretty easy to understand in comparison to other subclasses, in my opinion. Also, I just love the idea of critting on a 1!
Anyway, please comment any thoughts or concerns you might have. I'm all ears! Thank you for your time, and have a great day!
Hey guys! This is my go at the CotFB, a fighter subclass: The Calamity! Thanks to IAmSposta and Helmut_McQuack for bringing the CotFB to my attention! Please look upon me favorably.
Interesting concept. I'm not sure the Blessing of Bad Luck is ever really worth the trade. I'd probably only use it if I had DA already.
Harbinger of the Catastrophe has the potential to be incredibly unbalanced depending on who is in the party. A critical hit by a 10th level rogue is 2d6+5+10d6 = average 47 damage, whereas max damage = 77. A 5th level Inflict Wounds as a max damage critical hit = 140 damage, or a 5th level Guiding bolt = 96 damage.
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.
The way it deals with ranged opponents is with it's at will Dimension Door. The 10ft move speed meant that melees could kite Death and still participate in the fight. But now I've increase it to give Death a 30ft move speed, so that it is at least necessary for casters to cast Fly or Haste or use a potion of Flying or a potion of Speed or something similar to increase melee's move speed so that the melees can kite (this is also why Death doesn't get any reactions, to enable safe kiting by melees). Since Death is immune to almost all conditions it means most concentration spells are useless against him, so using a concentration spell to buff the melees gives casters a use for their concentration. The one thing that is impossible against Death is to tank, but that's why it is a puzzle fight rather than a "boink it till it is dead" fight. The whole point is that some strategies will make the combat extremely easy, and other strategies will make the combat a TPK, and that it forces players to think outside their standard go-to spells and strategies.
Mistress Misfortune declares you her champion. Although her attention is not always a good thing to the masses, you are different. She gazes upon you with favor, giving you the ability to evade the hardships of life while guiding your enemies onto the path of tragedy. Who needs luck to bring you success when you can just cause everyone else to fail miserably?
This subclass plays with the concept of 'equivalent exchange', where many of the features grant you benefits in exchange for having you roll with disadvantage. Conversely, this encourages strange playstyles. Since your attacks are going to have disadvantage, anyway, why not do other weird things? Use a heavy weapon as a Small creature, drop prone and make attacks from the ground, permanently shoot from long range, etc. Disadvantage doesn't stack in 5e, so go hog-wild! Now, the flavor of the class is pretty thematic overall, and pretty easy to understand in comparison to other subclasses, in my opinion. Also, I just love the idea of critting on a 1!
Anyway, please comment any thoughts or concerns you might have. I'm all ears! Thank you for your time, and have a great day!
Hey guys! This is my go at the CotFB, a fighter subclass: The Calamity! Thanks to IAmSposta and Helmut_McQuack for bringing the CotFB to my attention! Please look upon me favorably.
Interesting concept. I'm not sure the Blessing of Bad Luck is ever really worth the trade. I'd probably only use it if I had DA already.
Harbinger of the Catastrophe has the potential to be incredibly unbalanced depending on who is in the party. A critical hit by a 10th level rogue is 2d6+5+10d6 = average 47 damage, whereas max damage = 77. A 5th level Inflict Wounds as a max damage critical hit = 140 damage, or a 5th level Guiding bolt = 96 damage.
A friend actually brought up your first point and I'm inclined to agree. I'm thinking of making it last a minute (so the missed attacks stack) with prof bonus per long rest, or give the bonus itself a buff to maybe +2 or something. Or maybe just being able to make more attacks? Also, Harbinger Of Catastrophe will probably be changed to once per short rest. I won't change the effect, though, because I contend that it doesn't have much power elsewhere, so it balances itself out.
Mistress Misfortune declares you her champion. Although her attention is not always a good thing to the masses, you are different. She gazes upon you with favor, giving you the ability to evade the hardships of life while guiding your enemies onto the path of tragedy. Who needs luck to bring you success when you can just cause everyone else to fail miserably?
This subclass plays with the concept of 'equivalent exchange', where many of the features grant you benefits in exchange for having you roll with disadvantage. Conversely, this encourages strange playstyles. Since your attacks are going to have disadvantage, anyway, why not do other weird things? Use a heavy weapon as a Small creature, drop prone and make attacks from the ground, permanently shoot from long range, etc. Disadvantage doesn't stack in 5e, so go hog-wild! Now, the flavor of the class is pretty thematic overall, and pretty easy to understand in comparison to other subclasses, in my opinion. Also, I just love the idea of critting on a 1!
Anyway, please comment any thoughts or concerns you might have. I'm all ears! Thank you for your time, and have a great day!
Hey guys! This is my go at the CotFB, a fighter subclass: The Calamity! Thanks to IAmSposta and Helmut_McQuack for bringing the CotFB to my attention! Please look upon me favorably.
Interesting concept. I'm not sure the Blessing of Bad Luck is ever really worth the trade. I'd probably only use it if I had DA already.
Harbinger of the Catastrophe has the potential to be incredibly unbalanced depending on who is in the party. A critical hit by a 10th level rogue is 2d6+5+10d6 = average 47 damage, whereas max damage = 77. A 5th level Inflict Wounds as a max damage critical hit = 140 damage, or a 5th level Guiding bolt = 96 damage.
A friend actually brought up your first point and I'm inclined to agree. I'm thinking of making it last a minute (so the missed attacks stack) with prof bonus per long rest, or give the bonus itself a buff to maybe +2 or something. Or maybe just being able to make more attacks? Also, Harbinger Of Catastrophe will probably be changed to once per short rest. I won't change the effect, though, because I contend that it doesn't have much power elsewhere, so it balances itself out.
But then what is the point of the DisAdv if they end up just as good at hitting things with a stick as any other fighter? I was thinking about this and what this character might be like in universe. I ended up thinking about Rincewind from Disc World and the main character in Bullet Train. As that sort of character that is useless at hurting their enemies but where their enemies just seem to suffer misfortune that leads to their own death. Or where they do something incredibly dumb or unlikely to work and somehow it does. So here are some mechanics concepts that might kind of replicate that (I haven't really thought about balance here):
1) [concept: Reverse Reckless - your bad luck is also bad luck for your opponents] All of your attacks are at disadvantage, and all attacks made against you are at disadvantage. When an enemy misses you with an attack, you can use your reaction to force them to make a Dexterity saving throw (DC = 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus) on a failure they deal damage to themselves equal to the damage they would have dealt to you, or half as much damage on a success. { higher level abilities could grant AC bonuses when you use actions other than the Attack Action.} 2) [concept: the Lucky DA->triple Adv - turn bad luck into good luck] When you make an attack roll at disadvantage, you can use one Fate point to roll a third d20 and choose which one of the three results to use. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining all uses when you finish a long rest. (later abilities might change it to short rest recharge) 3) [concept: turn attacks into saving throws - instead of attacking you do something whacky like tie their shoes together] When you take the Attack action, you can give yourself disadvantage on all attack rolls made as part of that action. Whenever you make an attack, you can instead force the target to make a Strength, Dexterity or Constitution saving throw (DC = 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus) - you choose which saving throw they make. On a failure, you deal bludgeoning damage to them equal to your Strength modifier + your Dexterity modifier and can cause one of following effects: they fall prone, their movement speed is reduced by 1/2 until the end of their next turn, or they are pushed up to 15 ft in a direction you choose, on a success they take no damage and suffer no other effects.
Mistress Misfortune declares you her champion. Although her attention is not always a good thing to the masses, you are different. She gazes upon you with favor, giving you the ability to evade the hardships of life while guiding your enemies onto the path of tragedy. Who needs luck to bring you success when you can just cause everyone else to fail miserably?
This subclass plays with the concept of 'equivalent exchange', where many of the features grant you benefits in exchange for having you roll with disadvantage. Conversely, this encourages strange playstyles. Since your attacks are going to have disadvantage, anyway, why not do other weird things? Use a heavy weapon as a Small creature, drop prone and make attacks from the ground, permanently shoot from long range, etc. Disadvantage doesn't stack in 5e, so go hog-wild! Now, the flavor of the class is pretty thematic overall, and pretty easy to understand in comparison to other subclasses, in my opinion. Also, I just love the idea of critting on a 1!
Anyway, please comment any thoughts or concerns you might have. I'm all ears! Thank you for your time, and have a great day!
Hey guys! This is my go at the CotFB, a fighter subclass: The Calamity! Thanks to IAmSposta and Helmut_McQuack for bringing the CotFB to my attention! Please look upon me favorably.
Interesting concept. I'm not sure the Blessing of Bad Luck is ever really worth the trade. I'd probably only use it if I had DA already.
Harbinger of the Catastrophe has the potential to be incredibly unbalanced depending on who is in the party. A critical hit by a 10th level rogue is 2d6+5+10d6 = average 47 damage, whereas max damage = 77. A 5th level Inflict Wounds as a max damage critical hit = 140 damage, or a 5th level Guiding bolt = 96 damage.
A friend actually brought up your first point and I'm inclined to agree. I'm thinking of making it last a minute (so the missed attacks stack) with prof bonus per long rest, or give the bonus itself a buff to maybe +2 or something. Or maybe just being able to make more attacks? Also, Harbinger Of Catastrophe will probably be changed to once per short rest. I won't change the effect, though, because I contend that it doesn't have much power elsewhere, so it balances itself out.
But then what is the point of the DisAdv if they end up just as good at hitting things with a stick as any other fighter? I was thinking about this and what this character might be like in universe. I ended up thinking about Rincewind from Disc World and the main character in Bullet Train. As that sort of character that is useless at hurting their enemies but where their enemies just seem to suffer misfortune that leads to their own death. Or where they do something incredibly dumb or unlikely to work and somehow it does. So here are some mechanics concepts that might kind of replicate that (I haven't really thought about balance here):
1) [concept: Reverse Reckless - your bad luck is also bad luck for your opponents] All of your attacks are at disadvantage, and all attacks made against you are at disadvantage. When an enemy misses you with an attack, you can use your reaction to force them to make a Dexterity saving throw (DC = 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus) on a failure they deal damage to themselves equal to the damage they would have dealt to you, or half as much damage on a success. { higher level abilities could grant AC bonuses when you use actions other than the Attack Action.} 2) [concept: the Lucky DA->triple Adv - turn bad luck into good luck] When you make an attack roll at disadvantage, you can use one Fate point to roll a third d20 and choose which one of the three results to use. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining all uses when you finish a long rest. (later abilities might change it to short rest recharge) 3) [concept: turn attacks into saving throws - instead of attacking you do something whacky like tie their shoes together] When you take the Attack action, you can give yourself disadvantage on all attack rolls made as part of that action. Whenever you make an attack, you can instead force the target to make a Strength, Dexterity or Constitution saving throw (DC = 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus) - you choose which saving throw they make. On a failure, you deal bludgeoning damage to them equal to your Strength modifier + your Dexterity modifier and can cause one of following effects: they fall prone, their movement speed is reduced by 1/2 until the end of their next turn, or they are pushed up to 15 ft in a direction you choose, on a success they take no damage and suffer no other effects.
I definitely agree on the potential. However, I think the main thing I wanted to focus on was less a 'luck' theme (although it worked out like that, and more of a 'how to make disadvantage a good thing'. The thing is, the suggestions you've made move away from that fantasy towards the 'luck' theme, which is totally understandable. But, I would like to stick to my initial idea.
On the other hand, I think you made a fantastic suggestion with the idea of 'Super Disadvantage'. The problem with Silvery Barbs is that it's too readily available all the time. Maybe by tying it into the Calamity subclass somehow, not only can I introduce a very cool effect to the subclass, but also allow a way to introduce a (usually) banned mechanic into the game in an easily accepted way. Thank you!
If you have any ideas on how to change the subclass in line with my original idea, I'd be very grateful. I understand where your idea comes from, but the subclass is based more around 'being purposely unlucky for more power' than 'causing others to hurt themselves with misfortune' type of deal, except Harbinger Of Catastrophe.
I have updated my original post for the Order of the Nemesis Blood Hunter subclass. I replaced the Brand of the Lingering Spirit ability with Brand of Internment. I felt the original was a little too clunky and mechanically dubious. I think the new ability still fulfills what I envisioned for it (imparting some debuff when you are reduced to 0 HP) while being more mechanically simple and providing somewhat unique effects.
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For the Interactive Options: Gravitational Mayhem I have a trap/hazard to submit.
Amplified Gravity Corridor
This hazard should be placed in a long corridor or hallway with some sort of reward at the end such as a treasure chest, a door, or some other visible thing the players will want. When the characters first enter the corridor, they will not be able to detect any danger aside from detect magic or some similar effect which will reveal strong transmutation magic along part of the corridor. This hazard is meant to test the players determination and resolve for the farther they go down the corridor, the more dangerous it becomes. Every step they take is a step away from safety. Only one character needs to travel through the trial to retrieve the reward, but the other characters are allowed to help by casting spells and/or taking the help by shouting words of encouragement or some other helpful action.
The suggested dimensions of the corridor are a hallway that is 10 to 15 ft wide, 70 to 80 ft long and about 10 ft tall. The first 10 feet should be a safe space where the whole party can stand without suffering any ill effects. The hazard covers 40 to 50 feet of the hallway after the 10 foot safe zone, and then there should be a 20 to 30 foot safe area after the danger zone to provide a safe spot in the end and to thwart calculating the length of the danger.
When a character steps past the ten foot safe zone in the beginning, they should feel the force of gravity increase dramatically. Each step they take feels weighted with lead, and it becomes a challenge to keep from collapsing to the ground. This area of increased gravitational force is considered difficult terrain as movement takes more effort. For every 10 ft of space they move across they must make a DC 15 Strength check, taking 1d6 force damage on a fail and half as much damage on a success. If they fail this check by 5 or less they also drop prone. Standing up takes a DC 15 Strength check. A creature that counts as one size larger than they are has resistance to this damage. For every ten feet that is traveled, another Strenght check must be made, but the DC rises by 1 each time. This includes going back the way that they came. Every 20 feet traveled means that if the creature fails the check, they gain one level of exhaustion as well as taking force damage.
At the end of the stretch with increased gravity, there should be some sort of reward. This could be a treasure chest full of gold, a door to another part of the dungeon, or some other thing. Examples of good magic items to include at the end of the corridor are the ring of feather falling, ring of telekinesis, immovable rod, ring of jumping, or the adamantine armor.
There also is a hidden switch or lever that can only be seen by someone on the other side of the increased gravity field. They can then use the switch to turn off the gravitational effects, allowing the rest of the party to come across safely, or allowing them to return to the party without having to go through all that again.
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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.
Nice! But I'm a little confused by this: "but if they decide to return the way they came, then the harm they receive doubles" - what is the purpose of this? And does this include the exhaustion? It seems like it would create a death spiral if the player was unlucky and failed against the first exhaustion point but then decided to continue on.
As a note about balance, a character with +6 STR save (reasonable for a level 3 character) is expected to have 3 fails with straight rolls and only 1 fail with Adv, so it might be a little on the easy side.
Nice! But I'm a little confused by this: "but if they decide to return the way they came, then the harm they receive doubles" - what is the purpose of this? And does this include the exhaustion? It seems like it would create a death spiral if the player was unlucky and failed against the first exhaustion point but then decided to continue on.
As a note about balance, a character with +6 STR save (reasonable for a level 3 character) is expected to have 3 fails with straight rolls and only 1 fail with Adv, so it might be a little on the easy side.
Sorry, I ain't good at wording stuff. Every step they take in one direction is a step away from safety. If the characters chicken out and decide to go back, they will have to make the same amount of saving throws on the way back, and so they might be taking just as much damage as they did going forward. It doesn't automatically double, but if they go 20 ft forward, they will have to go 20 ft back, meaning 40 ft in total and potentially taking more damage. Does that make sense? Should I reword what I said in my entry?
3 fails would be 3d6 force damage, which ain't a lot. And I am expecting them to receive some aid from the other players in some way, so that does make it low. While it does run the risk of exhaustion, you are right and I think I should make it a little more difficult. Would making it into a Strength check instead of a saving throw be better? The players aren't really reacting to something, they are going into it on purpose, and it would lower the roll by a bit. Also, what if I increased the damage, would 2d4 be good? I like 2d4 because it makes it more likely to be a solid amount of damage instead of a 1d8 which could roll a one. Would it help to raise the DC? How about starting it at 15, and raising it by 1 every ten feet that they traverse? With these changes, the character will be rolling a + 3 or + 4, they will be taking 2d4 damage on each fail, run the risk of falling prone and gaining exhaustion, and the DC will go from 15 to 21. At most, that is 14d4 force damage, and a couple levels of exhaustion. Is that too much, too little, just right?
I was also thinking about changing it so that instead of rolling every ten feet, they roll every round. The distance would have to increase, otherwise they will be rolling two or three times. Increased distance would make it more intimidating, which is good. And then, if they try to take the dash action or something similar, they have to roll for exhaustion. But if they go at a slower, steadier pace, they might have to roll for more damage, but they will be rolling less for exhaustion. How does that sound?
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.
Assuming a 3rd level party (b/c 3rd and 4th level teleport spells would wreck it), Then I'd probably just increase the DCs a bit to make there be more chance for failure even with Adv from your party helping you but leave it as saving throws - damage depends a lot more on the level of the party you intend it for b/c the difference between 3rd level and 5th level in terms of HP is huge, and yeah you need to clarify that they need to make the checks in reverse order as they did when moving forwards potentially taking the same damage. B/c I read it as moving backwards dealt double the damage as moving forwards.
Assuming a 3rd level party (b/c 3rd and 4th level teleport spells would wreck it), Then I'd probably just increase the DCs a bit to make there be more chance for failure even with Adv from your party helping you but leave it as saving throws - damage depends a lot more on the level of the party you intend it for b/c the difference between 3rd level and 5th level in terms of HP is huge, and yeah you need to clarify that they need to make the checks in reverse order as they did when moving forwards potentially taking the same damage. B/c I read it as moving backwards dealt double the damage as moving forwards.
Okay, thanks for the feedback. I think I will be raising the DC some, and raising the damage will probably be fatal for lower level characters. I am still toying with the idea of changing it to per round rolls instead of per movement rolls, but I am not sure about that yet.
I will be updating it soon, but I can't right now.
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 have updated my interactive option submission slightly. I raised the starting DC to 15 and it increases by one each time and I changed the saving throw to a strength check.
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.
But maybe you already have some feedback for me? Note that this monster will require the party to have special preparation such as good thrown weapons for melee characters and in general great long-range firepower. Attempting to fight a black hole in melee range will not end well... :-)
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I have a question about my DM option, Fenrir. Does it make sense to include him as a giant? He is giant and he is the son of a giant and Loki who might be a celestial, but I would say that their other children would be a dragon, and a fiend. Giants in Norse mythology were often shapeshifting titans that could take different forms, and I like the idea of him being considered a giant, but would something else make more sense? Maybe Monstrosity?
As always, I would appreciate other feedback as well.
From the monster manual, to help you decide:
“Celestials are creatures native to the Upper Planes. Many of them are the servants of deities, employed as messengers or agents in the mortal realm and throughout the planes. Celestials are good by nature, so the exceptional celestial who strays from a good alignment is a horrifying rarity. Celestials include angels, couatls, and pegasi.
…Giants tower over humans and their kind. They are humanlike in shape, though some have multiple heads (ettins) or deformities (fomorians). The six varieties of true giant are hill giants, stone giants, frost giants, fire giants, cloud giants, and storm giants. Besides these, creatures such as ogres and trolls are giants.
…Monstrosities are monsters in the strictest sense — frightening creatures that are not ordinary, not truly natural, and almost never benign. Some are the results of magical experimentation gone awry (such as owlbears), and others are the product of terrible curses (including minotaurs and yuan-ti). They defy categorization, and in some sense serve as a catch-all category for creatures that don’t fit into any other type.”
I would personally classify Fenrir as a celestial or monstrosity.
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For the DMs option, before I move forward with making my submission I want to check if the basic concept fits the theme. Since the theme seems to boil down to "approaching doom" or "dread hanging over one's head", would a dungeon or encounter in which the party has some looming time constraint (after which they die or some other poor fate befalls them) be able to work for it?
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Yes, so long as that time constraint is not external to the dungeon.
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Thanks MilestoGo_24 for those excerpts, they were helpful. I think I will change Fenrir to a monstrosity not only because he is a monstrous wolf, but because he was formed from the union of a giant and a celestial and monstrosities are often the combination of different natures.
I was going to make an adventure based on a Dr. Seuss story for the DM options, but it is hard not to go back to mythology.
Hey guys! This is my go at the CotFB, a fighter subclass: The Calamity! Thanks to IAmSposta and Helmut_McQuack for bringing the CotFB to my attention! Please look upon me favorably.
Interesting concept. I'm not sure the Blessing of Bad Luck is ever really worth the trade. I'd probably only use it if I had DA already.
Harbinger of the Catastrophe has the potential to be incredibly unbalanced depending on who is in the party. A critical hit by a 10th level rogue is 2d6+5+10d6 = average 47 damage, whereas max damage = 77. A 5th level Inflict Wounds as a max damage critical hit = 140 damage, or a 5th level Guiding bolt = 96 damage.
The way it deals with ranged opponents is with it's at will Dimension Door. The 10ft move speed meant that melees could kite Death and still participate in the fight. But now I've increase it to give Death a 30ft move speed, so that it is at least necessary for casters to cast Fly or Haste or use a potion of Flying or a potion of Speed or something similar to increase melee's move speed so that the melees can kite (this is also why Death doesn't get any reactions, to enable safe kiting by melees). Since Death is immune to almost all conditions it means most concentration spells are useless against him, so using a concentration spell to buff the melees gives casters a use for their concentration. The one thing that is impossible against Death is to tank, but that's why it is a puzzle fight rather than a "boink it till it is dead" fight. The whole point is that some strategies will make the combat extremely easy, and other strategies will make the combat a TPK, and that it forces players to think outside their standard go-to spells and strategies.
A friend actually brought up your first point and I'm inclined to agree. I'm thinking of making it last a minute (so the missed attacks stack) with prof bonus per long rest, or give the bonus itself a buff to maybe +2 or something. Or maybe just being able to make more attacks? Also, Harbinger Of Catastrophe will probably be changed to once per short rest. I won't change the effect, though, because I contend that it doesn't have much power elsewhere, so it balances itself out.
But then what is the point of the DisAdv if they end up just as good at hitting things with a stick as any other fighter? I was thinking about this and what this character might be like in universe. I ended up thinking about Rincewind from Disc World and the main character in Bullet Train. As that sort of character that is useless at hurting their enemies but where their enemies just seem to suffer misfortune that leads to their own death. Or where they do something incredibly dumb or unlikely to work and somehow it does. So here are some mechanics concepts that might kind of replicate that (I haven't really thought about balance here):
1) [concept: Reverse Reckless - your bad luck is also bad luck for your opponents] All of your attacks are at disadvantage, and all attacks made against you are at disadvantage. When an enemy misses you with an attack, you can use your reaction to force them to make a Dexterity saving throw (DC = 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus) on a failure they deal damage to themselves equal to the damage they would have dealt to you, or half as much damage on a success. { higher level abilities could grant AC bonuses when you use actions other than the Attack Action.}
2) [concept: the Lucky DA->triple Adv - turn bad luck into good luck] When you make an attack roll at disadvantage, you can use one Fate point to roll a third d20 and choose which one of the three results to use. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining all uses when you finish a long rest. (later abilities might change it to short rest recharge)
3) [concept: turn attacks into saving throws - instead of attacking you do something whacky like tie their shoes together] When you take the Attack action, you can give yourself disadvantage on all attack rolls made as part of that action. Whenever you make an attack, you can instead force the target to make a Strength, Dexterity or Constitution saving throw (DC = 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus) - you choose which saving throw they make. On a failure, you deal bludgeoning damage to them equal to your Strength modifier + your Dexterity modifier and can cause one of following effects: they fall prone, their movement speed is reduced by 1/2 until the end of their next turn, or they are pushed up to 15 ft in a direction you choose, on a success they take no damage and suffer no other effects.
I definitely agree on the potential. However, I think the main thing I wanted to focus on was less a 'luck' theme (although it worked out like that, and more of a 'how to make disadvantage a good thing'. The thing is, the suggestions you've made move away from that fantasy towards the 'luck' theme, which is totally understandable. But, I would like to stick to my initial idea.
On the other hand, I think you made a fantastic suggestion with the idea of 'Super Disadvantage'. The problem with Silvery Barbs is that it's too readily available all the time. Maybe by tying it into the Calamity subclass somehow, not only can I introduce a very cool effect to the subclass, but also allow a way to introduce a (usually) banned mechanic into the game in an easily accepted way. Thank you!
If you have any ideas on how to change the subclass in line with my original idea, I'd be very grateful. I understand where your idea comes from, but the subclass is based more around 'being purposely unlucky for more power' than 'causing others to hurt themselves with misfortune' type of deal, except Harbinger Of Catastrophe.
I have updated my original post for the Order of the Nemesis Blood Hunter subclass. I replaced the Brand of the Lingering Spirit ability with Brand of Internment. I felt the original was a little too clunky and mechanically dubious. I think the new ability still fulfills what I envisioned for it (imparting some debuff when you are reduced to 0 HP) while being more mechanically simple and providing somewhat unique effects.
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For the Interactive Options: Gravitational Mayhem I have a trap/hazard to submit.
Amplified Gravity Corridor
This hazard should be placed in a long corridor or hallway with some sort of reward at the end such as a treasure chest, a door, or some other visible thing the players will want. When the characters first enter the corridor, they will not be able to detect any danger aside from detect magic or some similar effect which will reveal strong transmutation magic along part of the corridor. This hazard is meant to test the players determination and resolve for the farther they go down the corridor, the more dangerous it becomes. Every step they take is a step away from safety. Only one character needs to travel through the trial to retrieve the reward, but the other characters are allowed to help by casting spells and/or taking the help by shouting words of encouragement or some other helpful action.
The suggested dimensions of the corridor are a hallway that is 10 to 15 ft wide, 70 to 80 ft long and about 10 ft tall. The first 10 feet should be a safe space where the whole party can stand without suffering any ill effects. The hazard covers 40 to 50 feet of the hallway after the 10 foot safe zone, and then there should be a 20 to 30 foot safe area after the danger zone to provide a safe spot in the end and to thwart calculating the length of the danger.
When a character steps past the ten foot safe zone in the beginning, they should feel the force of gravity increase dramatically. Each step they take feels weighted with lead, and it becomes a challenge to keep from collapsing to the ground. This area of increased gravitational force is considered difficult terrain as movement takes more effort. For every 10 ft of space they move across they must make a DC 15 Strength check, taking 1d6 force damage on a fail and half as much damage on a success. If they fail this check by 5 or less they also drop prone. Standing up takes a DC 15 Strength check. A creature that counts as one size larger than they are has resistance to this damage. For every ten feet that is traveled, another Strenght check must be made, but the DC rises by 1 each time. This includes going back the way that they came. Every 20 feet traveled means that if the creature fails the check, they gain one level of exhaustion as well as taking force damage.
At the end of the stretch with increased gravity, there should be some sort of reward. This could be a treasure chest full of gold, a door to another part of the dungeon, or some other thing. Examples of good magic items to include at the end of the corridor are the ring of feather falling, ring of telekinesis, immovable rod, ring of jumping, or the adamantine armor.
There also is a hidden switch or lever that can only be seen by someone on the other side of the increased gravity field. They can then use the switch to turn off the gravitational effects, allowing the rest of the party to come across safely, or allowing them to return to the party without having to go through all that again.
Nice! But I'm a little confused by this: "but if they decide to return the way they came, then the harm they receive doubles" - what is the purpose of this? And does this include the exhaustion? It seems like it would create a death spiral if the player was unlucky and failed against the first exhaustion point but then decided to continue on.
As a note about balance, a character with +6 STR save (reasonable for a level 3 character) is expected to have 3 fails with straight rolls and only 1 fail with Adv, so it might be a little on the easy side.
Sorry, I ain't good at wording stuff. Every step they take in one direction is a step away from safety. If the characters chicken out and decide to go back, they will have to make the same amount of saving throws on the way back, and so they might be taking just as much damage as they did going forward. It doesn't automatically double, but if they go 20 ft forward, they will have to go 20 ft back, meaning 40 ft in total and potentially taking more damage. Does that make sense? Should I reword what I said in my entry?
3 fails would be 3d6 force damage, which ain't a lot. And I am expecting them to receive some aid from the other players in some way, so that does make it low. While it does run the risk of exhaustion, you are right and I think I should make it a little more difficult. Would making it into a Strength check instead of a saving throw be better? The players aren't really reacting to something, they are going into it on purpose, and it would lower the roll by a bit. Also, what if I increased the damage, would 2d4 be good? I like 2d4 because it makes it more likely to be a solid amount of damage instead of a 1d8 which could roll a one. Would it help to raise the DC? How about starting it at 15, and raising it by 1 every ten feet that they traverse? With these changes, the character will be rolling a + 3 or + 4, they will be taking 2d4 damage on each fail, run the risk of falling prone and gaining exhaustion, and the DC will go from 15 to 21. At most, that is 14d4 force damage, and a couple levels of exhaustion. Is that too much, too little, just right?
I was also thinking about changing it so that instead of rolling every ten feet, they roll every round. The distance would have to increase, otherwise they will be rolling two or three times. Increased distance would make it more intimidating, which is good. And then, if they try to take the dash action or something similar, they have to roll for exhaustion. But if they go at a slower, steadier pace, they might have to roll for more damage, but they will be rolling less for exhaustion. How does that sound?
I greatly appreciate the feedback, thanks.
Assuming a 3rd level party (b/c 3rd and 4th level teleport spells would wreck it), Then I'd probably just increase the DCs a bit to make there be more chance for failure even with Adv from your party helping you but leave it as saving throws - damage depends a lot more on the level of the party you intend it for b/c the difference between 3rd level and 5th level in terms of HP is huge, and yeah you need to clarify that they need to make the checks in reverse order as they did when moving forwards potentially taking the same damage. B/c I read it as moving backwards dealt double the damage as moving forwards.
Okay, thanks for the feedback. I think I will be raising the DC some, and raising the damage will probably be fatal for lower level characters. I am still toying with the idea of changing it to per round rolls instead of per movement rolls, but I am not sure about that yet.
I will be updating it soon, but I can't right now.
IAmSposta has sent me their submission for the PC category: the Way of the Fateweaver.
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My homebrew stuff:
Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Feats, Subclasses.
I am an Archfey, but nobody seems to notice.
Extended Signature
I have updated my interactive option submission slightly. I raised the starting DC to 15 and it increases by one each time and I changed the saving throw to a strength check.
As always, I am open to feedback.
I'm working on my DM submission. I have taken my oldest homebrew here on D&D Beyond and I am giving it a massive rework. It is still work in progress: https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/3366749-the-hungering-void
But maybe you already have some feedback for me? Note that this monster will require the party to have special preparation such as good thrown weapons for melee characters and in general great long-range firepower. Attempting to fight a black hole in melee range will not end well... :-)