If you are online, and want to offer me an opinion, I see that 3rd lvl Ranger has a Beastmaster option. I will be reading up on this. To see if shadowfang might be a good tank, and convert this pet to an animal the fits what I think Beastmaster is... the animal tanks, and I range. I will be reading up on this for the next 30 minutes. I may get a different critter for the Beast master thing, and keep Shadowfang as a friendly pet, more on this after I read about it.
Beastmaster is tempting.
I prefer Hunter with Colossus Slayer but Horde Breaker is also pretty good
People like Gloomstalker and Horizon Walker
But, this game is for you to play any way you like. So I support Beastmaster, even if people say that there are better options for pets.
OK, so I need to know about the other "add-in options" we are playing... such as Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. What are we playing with? The only books I've read are the 3 basic ones (DMG, PHB, MM) I can see you have shared others, are they all up for grabs in your campaign? If so, I want to try the most exciting, that make me want to play Thalion. Honestly, none of the words you used above mean anything to me, I'll have to look all that stuff up.
I googled those that you listed, definitely takes the class in different directions. Since this is my first Ranger, I'm going to play him the way I envisioned him, and Beast Master it is. I can see where people who play lots of characters would want something a little different for the next Ranger they build. I'm inclined to convert Shadowfang from pet to beast companion, unless you know something about beast companions that I don't yet know.
I googled those that you listed, definitely takes the class in different directions. Since this is my first Ranger, I'm going to play him the way I envisioned him, and Beast Master it is. I can see where people who play lots of characters would want something a little different for the next Ranger they build.
Sounds good.
I'm inclined to convert Shadowfang from pet to beast companion, unless you know something about beast companions that I don't yet know.
Shadowfang will gain increase AC +2, to-hit +2, and damage +2, that goes up to +3 when you reach level 5, but he can't attack unless you use your Ranger Action.
When you reach level 7, you can attack and use your bonus action to have Shadowfang attack.
This is the reason people shy away from Beastmaster, because it takes 7 levels to gain the same benefit as other classes at earlier levels.
Characters are up to speed.... Alright last comment for the night... I've set up Thalion and Pippin, Shadowfang is Beast Companion. I didn't learn any of these: Beast Bond, Animal Friendship, Speak with Animals, because I think Beast Master gives me friendship, bond and communication ability with my beast companion (right?).
Ranger Action: I found this:
On your turn, you can verbally command the beast where to move (no action required by you). You can use your action to verbally command it to take the Attack, Dash, Disengage, or Help action. If you don't issue a command, the beast takes the Dodge action.
So to keep it simple, if I tell beast companion on my first round to "attack" then from there forward he attacks and keeps attacking. Kind of like a concentration spell where wizard cast in the first round and then they can do other things. I don't have to say "attack," then "attack" then "attack" each round, wasting my personal actions. I have that right don't I? I don't mind giving up my first initiative to get the beast companion into the fight.
... or ... would you allow me to use: Tasha's "Primal Companion" ?
Looking ahead.... I have decided to farm some gold to strengthen my gear and hopefully improve my chances of surviving the next combat. I'm thinking a couple levels and a bunch of gold in my pocket to spend on better gear will help me the next time I run into an owlbear. If some quests for Portwell will earn me a fair amount of gold, I want to purchase or barter for better weapons, armor, and some healing potions. I'm also just willing to do the quests to get better gear and potions and save the steps of getting gold, then buying the gear.
Also Pippin seems to be skilled in herbalism, he wants to start buying or harvesting the ingredients for potions so he can manufacture and turn a profit, as well as have some handy for the party, if that is an option.
Im pretty sure beastmaster cant lock in an action. Rather, some people may houserule this since it's considered the weakest subclass for ranger.
Having a pet that gains stats but cant attack or a pet that tanks but doesnt attack. I think this is the intent.
Take a look at drakewarden. This is a newer subclass but still has limitations. My point as a dm for houseruling, its considered that drakewarden is better than beastmaster because the drake at 3rd level is more durable and can refresh when killed and has a reaction that gives a benefit for the rsngers attack and attacks using a bonus action.
For houseruling, you could balance beastmaster to be as strong as drakewarden
Or
Why dont you choose drakewarden as your sibclass and reskin the pet as a wolf. Thats completely legal, no houseruling
Thanks for the suggestion. Yes, I like what I've read. I like it so much I bought Fizban's Guide to Dragons so I have it in my account. I will be reading up on this a lot more to be prepared when we resume. I don't want to waste your time with the basic questions. I also, want to stay in the rules, as part of my learning, I want to know the RAW because I wear the DM hat for my group. So, your notes about things of your interpretation versus RAW helps me.
I have a few more interpretation questions
Goodberry. My intent: Thalion casts this each evening (assuming he has one spell slot left before the long rest). Then gives half (5) of the berries to Pippin. They expire after 24 hours. Question: (next day, while in combat, one of them fall to zero hit points, and start rolling death saves) Can a player use his action to stuff one in the mouth of an unconscious character, bringing him from 0 hp (with death saves) to 1hp and stable? And then, when it is his turn, can that character get up and run (although with only 1 hp) or take different action ?
Same goes for a healing potion, can someone pour a potion down the throat of an unconscious character, stabilizing him?
I'm going to set up Shadowfang to be a pet on the character sheet (tonight) then the new drake thing to be my beast companion thing. Can you give me the list of what Shadwofang can do? I figure carry stuff in his saddleback, and keep me warm at night and that's about it. Maybe if I use speak with animal I can have him run a simple errand like delivery.
I'll be reading a lot more about drakewarden, I'm very excited about this, I'm leaning toward a "giant wolf" appearance at the moment Mainly because walking around town with a dragon would be alarming/not common. I'd prefer to keep a low profile and a wolf and a big wolf seems more comfortable (thanks for the idea). I'm not smart enough yet to ask any questions about the use of this subclass or it's limitations, but I'm very glad you introduced me to it. I would want to earn / buy armor for him (see #6, below), I see he gets some perks from my proficiencies.
Pippin, going forward I want him to cast a spell, than his bonus action goes into Dire Wolf form, and moves to attack (so he can melee attack next round). I will be selecting spells to plan for this. He will exit DW form to cast spells as needed during combat or post combat. I assume if I pick concentration spells for this combat technique, he can maintain concentration while in DW form, and while biting, right? Is there a better way to play a druid?
As you can see in the above, I'm moving toward having two tanks (drake and Pippin Dire Wolf) and Thalion ranges with bow. After I read drakewarden I'll understand the mechanics, I'm guessing Thalion can command the drake as bonus actions and use Thalion's actions to fight himself. Pippin would get Pack Attack bonus in melee, and can heal himself as well if he draws agro. For this to work best, I'll want to get the drake's armor as high as I can, and have him get and hold agro. Thoughts are appreciated.
Thanks for the suggestion. Yes, I like what I've read. I like it so much I bought Fizban's Guide to Dragons so I have it in my account. I will be reading up on this a lot more to be prepared when we resume.
Very cool
I don't want to waste your time with the basic questions. I also, want to stay in the rules, as part of my learning, I want to know the RAW because I wear the DM hat for my group. So, your notes about things of your interpretation versus RAW helps me.
I hope my options as a DM help. When I find a tricky ruling, I never hesitate to search Twitter, Reddit, or RPG.net, Roll20.net, dndbeyond.com, and an oldie called enworld.org
Can a player use his action to stuff one in the mouth of an unconscious character, bringing him from 0 hp (with death saves) to 1hp and stable?
Yes, fairly standard is that you pull an item off the belt of an unconscious character and then feed that item to them as a "free action" to interact with an item as part of an action, and a "full action" to then force the item into said person's mouth. You get a lot of house rules around this interaction, sometimes the DM rewards the players by making it all "free" or only cost "movement" because you are being selfless. Other DMs will houserule in the middle, to selflessly help a down'ed player, you can spend your "bonus action" and still get your "full action"
And then, when it is his turn, can that character get up and run (although with only 1 hp) or take different action ?
Yes, timing is critical. On PbP, we do something called Initiative Grouping or even players versus monsters. But RAW, each combatant has a separate initiative, dividing combats into phases of 10 or more turns. Technically, a down'ed character will wake up on the initiative turn that they are "healed" so this can be dangerous, so some players will delay or ready the action to feed them a potion for right before their next turn. Depending on if you are playing with OSR DMs or RAW 5e DMs, you can ready for an action to go off, immediately before your next turn, basically stacking two turns together. This was not the case in all previous editions of D&D, and RAW, you can only delay/ready until the top of the initiative, so assuming you have a 20, the monsters have a 15 and the down'ed player has a 1, you don't want to heal the player before the monsters go, you want to wait until the player's turn. Read the section on initiative timing, because bad player decisions during life and death interactions usually contribute to character death and not because of the monsters. Of course if all characters go down in the same round, that's just called a TPK, "total party kill"
Same goes for a healing potion, can someone pour a potion down the throat of an unconscious character, stabilizing him?
Yes, use of your full action is RAW. You can rule bonus action as a houserule, and I've seen this option more than the RAW version. For me, I like the added difficulty of RAW, so I tend to only use houserules when the players are all aligned with the houserule.
I'm going to set up Shadowfang to be a pet on the character sheet (tonight) then the new drake thing to be my beast companion thing. Can you give me the list of what Shadwofang can do? I figure carry stuff in his saddleback, and keep me warm at night and that's about it. Maybe if I use speak with animal I can have him run a simple errand like delivery.
All of that and some more. You can use your action, combined with a Handle Animal Check DC 15 to issue a command, just like your drake, but there is a chance to fail and it uses your action.
I'll be reading a lot more about drakewarden, I'm very excited about this, I'm leaning toward a "giant wolf" appearance at the moment Mainly because walking around town with a dragon would be alarming/not common. I'd prefer to keep a low profile and a wolf and a big wolf seems more comfortable (thanks for the idea). I'm not smart enough yet to ask any questions about the use of this subclass or it's limitations, but I'm very glad you introduced me to it. I would want to earn / buy armor for him (see #6, below), I see he gets some perks from my proficiencies.
I have to check about armor called "barding" for a summons. I don't think it's a problem. You do have to be careful about sizes, since you are only level 3, your drake/wolf will be "small" like a puppy.
Pippin, going forward I want him to cast a spell, than his bonus action goes into Dire Wolf form, and moves to attack (so he can melee attack next round). I will be selecting spells to plan for this. He will exit DW form to cast spells as needed during combat or post combat. I assume if I pick concentration spells for this combat technique, he can maintain concentration while in DW form, and while biting, right? Is there a better way to play a druid?
Wild Shape is not the same power as Spellcasting. So you have Powers that have slots of their own and you have Spellcasting with different slots. If a Power says that it spends a spell slot, like Combat Wild Shape, then you are spending Spell Slots to heal using a different power. When it comes to "Wild Shape" you have two uses that refresh on a short or long rest. Meaning that if you spend two uses of wildshape in one combat, then short rest for 1 hour, the next combat, you can do it twice again. This use of Wild Shape does not take away from your Spell Slots.
And, yes you can concentrate while in DW form, you just can't cast in DW form. When you take damage while concentrating, you must make a Constitution save equal to a DC of 10 unless the Damage is 22 or higher and then the DC is set to half the damage.
As you can see in the above, I'm moving toward having two tanks (drake and Pippin Dire Wolf) and Thalion ranges with bow. After I read drakewarden I'll understand the mechanics, I'm guessing Thalion can command the drake as bonus actions and use Thalion's actions to fight himself. Pippin would get Pack Attack bonus in melee, and can heal himself as well if he draws agro. For this to work best, I'll want to get the drake's armor as high as I can, and have him get and hold agro. Thoughts are appreciated.
The best feature of Drakewarden is that you use your Drake to tank, and then your Drake will use it's reaction to add damage to your Ranger's attacks. You can also use your Drake to attack as a bonus action, but for my sensability, I like to see Rangers use their bonus on Hunter's Mark to add +1d6, let the Drake take the Default Dodge option and tank, then on the Ranger's turn the Drake added +1d6 damage as a reaction. That means that every arrow is 1d8 +1d6 Hunter's Mark, and one arrow each round is 1d8 +2d6 from the Drake
The best feature of Drakewarden is that you use your Drake to tank, and then your Drake will use it's reaction to add damage to your Ranger's attacks. You can also use your Drake to attack as a bonus action, but for my sensibility, I like to see Rangers use their bonus on Hunter's Mark to add +1d6, let the Drake take the Default Dodge option and tank, then on the Ranger's turn the Drake added +1d6 damage as a reaction. That means that every arrow is 1d8 +1d6 Hunter's Mark, and one arrow each round is 1d8 +2d6 from the Drake
Hunter's Mark: I thought Thalion would use Hunter's Mark in Round 1, giving him a buff for the duration of the combat - correct?. Base on your answer it will change my next post on this specific subject. (Thalion's first action is Hunter's Mark, follow up rounds are attacks - I will expand on this during my next post and include his interaction with the drake.)
The best feature of Drakewarden is that you use your Drake to tank, and then your Drake will use it's reaction to add damage to your Ranger's attacks. You can also use your Drake to attack as a bonus action, but for my sensibility, I like to see Rangers use their bonus on Hunter's Mark to add +1d6, let the Drake take the Default Dodge option and tank, then on the Ranger's turn the Drake added +1d6 damage as a reaction. That means that every arrow is 1d8 +1d6 Hunter's Mark, and one arrow each round is 1d8 +2d6 from the Drake
Hunter's Mark: I thought Thalion would use Hunter's Mark in Round 1, giving him a buff for the duration of the combat - correct?. Base on your answer it will change my next post on this specific subject. (Thalion's first action is Hunter's Mark, follow up rounds are attacks - I will expand on this during my next post and include his interaction with the drake.)
You are correct.
Here is the typical flow of combat
1. Move, Bonus Action Cast Hunter's Mark, Action Attack w/HM 2. If the enemy dies in one hit, Bonus Action to move Hunter's Mark, Action Attack w/HM 3. If the enemy is still alive, Bonus Action Drake Attack, Action Attack w/HM
Sometimes you will need your Bonus Action to move Hunter's Mark or to re-cast it. It can get very tricky, the only way to remove Hunter's Mark is to kill the target or to recast it.
That helps. Just so I'm clear, if I tell the Drake to attack (bonus action) then I have to do the every time I want him to attack? so every round I need to spend a bonus action on the drake for him to attack? he does not attack if I am moving the HM to another target that round.
If you say "yes" then The Wizards should consider the logic of this:
Drake turns:
"hey, I'm attacking that dude, got it,
Hey, I'm still attacking that dude,
Hey what happened, you seem distracted maybe you are doing something like moving that mark, I guess I'll just sit here and dodge the guy attacking me, I won't attack back;
ok, just got you message now, I should attack him."
I think this should be "attack him until dead" not "attack him for 6 seconds and wait for further instructions."
That helps. Just so I'm clear, if I tell the Drake to attack (bonus action) then I have to do the every time I want him to attack? so every round I need to spend a bonus action on the drake for him to attack? he does not attack if I am moving the HM to another target that round.
If you say "yes" then The Wizards should consider the logic of this:
Drake turns:
"hey, I'm attacking that dude, got it,
Hey, I'm still attacking that dude,
Hey what happened, you seem distracted maybe you are doing something like moving that mark, I guess I'll just sit here and dodge the guy attacking me, I won't attack back;
ok, just got you message now, I should attack him."
I think this should be "attack him until dead" not "attack him for 6 seconds and wait for further instructions."
I think it's less about realism and more about character balance.
Most classes can only attack and waste their bonus action
I'm going to set up Shadowfang to be a pet on the character sheet (tonight) then the new drake thing to be my beast companion thing. Can you give me the list of what Shadwofang can do? I figure carry stuff in his saddleback, and keep me warm at night and that's about it. Maybe if I use speak with animal I can have him run a simple errand like delivery.
All of that and some more. You can use your action, combined with a Handle Animal Check DC 15 to issue a command, just like your drake, but there is a chance to fail and it uses your action.
I am interested in getting the most out of Shadowfang. Knowing Thalion can do more damage the Shadowfang, it would in limited cases... I can't think of any at the moment. Based on how we could use the owl and wolf to scout an area or look ahead, I'd want the Druid to use certain spells to talk with the pets.
PERHAPS: the party travels with the drake leading the way, maybe 30 feet ahead. The intent is to increase our chance for gaining surprise, or to enter combat more prepared. If you feel our encounters have been pretty standard for PbP, I'll just play as you have been directing. (for the Owlbear to kill Thalion before he gets the bow off his back seems like more than just bad luck rolls - I want to make sure I'm playing this as well as I can.) Advice is welcome.
I think we are good to go, I'll learn as I go. I think I've got the basics of how to play with these characters.
The Darkwoods Adventurers of:
Thalion "Wolfwarden" Windrunner, Pippin "Neverdie" Thistlefoot ... with Emberclaw (the firebreathing Drake that looks like a big wolf), Shadowfang the best wolf pet ever, and Wisperwing, the cutest possible pet owl,
Assuming my service to the military has warranted the gift, Thalion accepts and makes sure the fit is perfect for Emberclaw. "My good man..." I say to the armorer, "... it's a perfect fit. This will certainly come in handy. Thank you very much."
Thalion turns to Pippin... "Now, let's see how our friend Portwell is doing, perhaps we might earn some coin."
Assuming my service to the military has warranted the gift, Thalion accepts and makes sure the fit is perfect for Emberclaw. "My good man..." I say to the armorer, "... it's a perfect fit. This will certainly come in handy. Thank you very much."
Thalion turns to Pippin... "Now, let's see how our friend Portwell is doing, perhaps we might earn some coin."
Portwell wipes down the counter as he tells you a tale of hidden treasure in a secret cave, "The rumor goes that some outlaws were cornered out here near Far Outpost, when they found an old Crag Cave. They hid in the cave with their loot and treasure for a time, but succumbed to monstrosities living in Crag Cave. There has been a bounty on their treasure but several who have ventured into Crag Cave have left running and screaming."
He points to a notification wall, where you see all manner of bills and wanted posters. Including a stained and faded posting, several years old, of the Crag Cave, complete with a rough map of this area and the location marked out about 1-2 days travel East of Far Oupost.
Portwell says casually, "A lot of those bills are expired or the lawmen who put them up aren't lawmen anymore. However, if the treasure from Crag Cave was found, I would have heard something by now. I'm sure you can read all about it in the posting."
"Bandits Wanted for treason and theft. Last whereabouts were Crag Cave. Be warned Monsters with Hook Hands have been spotted."
The Commissary will supply 1 potion of healing each and 1 potion of healing, greater to share. Along with 10 days of trail rations each, fresh water and waterskins, along with anything from a standard explorer's kit
Beastmaster is tempting.
I prefer Hunter with Colossus Slayer but Horde Breaker is also pretty good
People like Gloomstalker and Horizon Walker
But, this game is for you to play any way you like. So I support Beastmaster, even if people say that there are better options for pets.
OK, so I need to know about the other "add-in options" we are playing... such as Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. What are we playing with? The only books I've read are the 3 basic ones (DMG, PHB, MM) I can see you have shared others, are they all up for grabs in your campaign? If so, I want to try the most exciting, that make me want to play Thalion. Honestly, none of the words you used above mean anything to me, I'll have to look all that stuff up.
I googled those that you listed, definitely takes the class in different directions. Since this is my first Ranger, I'm going to play him the way I envisioned him, and Beast Master it is. I can see where people who play lots of characters would want something a little different for the next Ranger they build. I'm inclined to convert Shadowfang from pet to beast companion, unless you know something about beast companions that I don't yet know.
Sounds good.
Shadowfang will gain increase AC +2, to-hit +2, and damage +2, that goes up to +3 when you reach level 5, but he can't attack unless you use your Ranger Action.
When you reach level 7, you can attack and use your bonus action to have Shadowfang attack.
This is the reason people shy away from Beastmaster, because it takes 7 levels to gain the same benefit as other classes at earlier levels.
Characters are up to speed....
Alright last comment for the night... I've set up Thalion and Pippin, Shadowfang is Beast Companion. I didn't learn any of these: Beast Bond, Animal Friendship, Speak with Animals, because I think Beast Master gives me friendship, bond and communication ability with my beast companion (right?).
Ranger Action: I found this:
On your turn, you can verbally command the beast where to move (no action required by you). You can use your action to verbally command it to take the Attack, Dash, Disengage, or Help action. If you don't issue a command, the beast takes the Dodge action.
So to keep it simple, if I tell beast companion on my first round to "attack" then from there forward he attacks and keeps attacking. Kind of like a concentration spell where wizard cast in the first round and then they can do other things. I don't have to say "attack," then "attack" then "attack" each round, wasting my personal actions. I have that right don't I? I don't mind giving up my first initiative to get the beast companion into the fight.
... or ... would you allow me to use: Tasha's "Primal Companion" ?
Looking ahead....
I have decided to farm some gold to strengthen my gear and hopefully improve my chances of surviving the next combat. I'm thinking a couple levels and a bunch of gold in my pocket to spend on better gear will help me the next time I run into an owlbear. If some quests for Portwell will earn me a fair amount of gold, I want to purchase or barter for better weapons, armor, and some healing potions. I'm also just willing to do the quests to get better gear and potions and save the steps of getting gold, then buying the gear.
Also Pippin seems to be skilled in herbalism, he wants to start buying or harvesting the ingredients for potions so he can manufacture and turn a profit, as well as have some handy for the party, if that is an option.
Im pretty sure beastmaster cant lock in an action. Rather, some people may houserule this since it's considered the weakest subclass for ranger.
Having a pet that gains stats but cant attack or a pet that tanks but doesnt attack. I think this is the intent.
Take a look at drakewarden. This is a newer subclass but still has limitations. My point as a dm for houseruling, its considered that drakewarden is better than beastmaster because the drake at 3rd level is more durable and can refresh when killed and has a reaction that gives a benefit for the rsngers attack and attacks using a bonus action.
For houseruling, you could balance beastmaster to be as strong as drakewarden
Or
Why dont you choose drakewarden as your sibclass and reskin the pet as a wolf. Thats completely legal, no houseruling
You coukd be a Wolfwarden.
Thanks for the suggestion. Yes, I like what I've read. I like it so much I bought Fizban's Guide to Dragons so I have it in my account. I will be reading up on this a lot more to be prepared when we resume. I don't want to waste your time with the basic questions. I also, want to stay in the rules, as part of my learning, I want to know the RAW because I wear the DM hat for my group. So, your notes about things of your interpretation versus RAW helps me.
I have a few more interpretation questions
And then, when it is his turn, can that character get up and run (although with only 1 hp) or take different action ?
Very cool
I hope my options as a DM help. When I find a tricky ruling, I never hesitate to search Twitter, Reddit, or RPG.net, Roll20.net, dndbeyond.com, and an oldie called enworld.org
Yes, fairly standard is that you pull an item off the belt of an unconscious character and then feed that item to them as a "free action" to interact with an item as part of an action, and a "full action" to then force the item into said person's mouth. You get a lot of house rules around this interaction, sometimes the DM rewards the players by making it all "free" or only cost "movement" because you are being selfless. Other DMs will houserule in the middle, to selflessly help a down'ed player, you can spend your "bonus action" and still get your "full action"
Yes, timing is critical. On PbP, we do something called Initiative Grouping or even players versus monsters. But RAW, each combatant has a separate initiative, dividing combats into phases of 10 or more turns. Technically, a down'ed character will wake up on the initiative turn that they are "healed" so this can be dangerous, so some players will delay or ready the action to feed them a potion for right before their next turn. Depending on if you are playing with OSR DMs or RAW 5e DMs, you can ready for an action to go off, immediately before your next turn, basically stacking two turns together. This was not the case in all previous editions of D&D, and RAW, you can only delay/ready until the top of the initiative, so assuming you have a 20, the monsters have a 15 and the down'ed player has a 1, you don't want to heal the player before the monsters go, you want to wait until the player's turn. Read the section on initiative timing, because bad player decisions during life and death interactions usually contribute to character death and not because of the monsters. Of course if all characters go down in the same round, that's just called a TPK, "total party kill"
Yes, use of your full action is RAW. You can rule bonus action as a houserule, and I've seen this option more than the RAW version. For me, I like the added difficulty of RAW, so I tend to only use houserules when the players are all aligned with the houserule.
All of that and some more. You can use your action, combined with a Handle Animal Check DC 15 to issue a command, just like your drake, but there is a chance to fail and it uses your action.
I have to check about armor called "barding" for a summons. I don't think it's a problem. You do have to be careful about sizes, since you are only level 3, your drake/wolf will be "small" like a puppy.
Wild Shape is not the same power as Spellcasting. So you have Powers that have slots of their own and you have Spellcasting with different slots. If a Power says that it spends a spell slot, like Combat Wild Shape, then you are spending Spell Slots to heal using a different power. When it comes to "Wild Shape" you have two uses that refresh on a short or long rest. Meaning that if you spend two uses of wildshape in one combat, then short rest for 1 hour, the next combat, you can do it twice again. This use of Wild Shape does not take away from your Spell Slots.
And, yes you can concentrate while in DW form, you just can't cast in DW form. When you take damage while concentrating, you must make a Constitution save equal to a DC of 10 unless the Damage is 22 or higher and then the DC is set to half the damage.
The best feature of Drakewarden is that you use your Drake to tank, and then your Drake will use it's reaction to add damage to your Ranger's attacks. You can also use your Drake to attack as a bonus action, but for my sensability, I like to see Rangers use their bonus on Hunter's Mark to add +1d6, let the Drake take the Default Dodge option and tank, then on the Ranger's turn the Drake added +1d6 damage as a reaction. That means that every arrow is 1d8 +1d6 Hunter's Mark, and one arrow each round is 1d8 +2d6 from the Drake
Hunter's Mark: I thought Thalion would use Hunter's Mark in Round 1, giving him a buff for the duration of the combat - correct?. Base on your answer it will change my next post on this specific subject. (Thalion's first action is Hunter's Mark, follow up rounds are attacks - I will expand on this during my next post and include his interaction with the drake.)
You are correct.
Here is the typical flow of combat
1. Move, Bonus Action Cast Hunter's Mark, Action Attack w/HM
2. If the enemy dies in one hit, Bonus Action to move Hunter's Mark, Action Attack w/HM
3. If the enemy is still alive, Bonus Action Drake Attack, Action Attack w/HM
Sometimes you will need your Bonus Action to move Hunter's Mark or to re-cast it. It can get very tricky, the only way to remove Hunter's Mark is to kill the target or to recast it.
That helps. Just so I'm clear, if I tell the Drake to attack (bonus action) then I have to do the every time I want him to attack? so every round I need to spend a bonus action on the drake for him to attack? he does not attack if I am moving the HM to another target that round.
If you say "yes" then The Wizards should consider the logic of this:
Drake turns:
I think this should be "attack him until dead" not "attack him for 6 seconds and wait for further instructions."
I think it's less about realism and more about character balance.
Most classes can only attack and waste their bonus action
I am interested in getting the most out of Shadowfang. Knowing Thalion can do more damage the Shadowfang, it would in limited cases... I can't think of any at the moment. Based on how we could use the owl and wolf to scout an area or look ahead, I'd want the Druid to use certain spells to talk with the pets.
PERHAPS: the party travels with the drake leading the way, maybe 30 feet ahead. The intent is to increase our chance for gaining surprise, or to enter combat more prepared. If you feel our encounters have been pretty standard for PbP, I'll just play as you have been directing. (for the Owlbear to kill Thalion before he gets the bow off his back seems like more than just bad luck rolls - I want to make sure I'm playing this as well as I can.) Advice is welcome.
I think we are good to go, I'll learn as I go. I think I've got the basics of how to play with these characters.
The Darkwoods Adventurers of:
Thalion "Wolfwarden" Windrunner,
Pippin "Neverdie" Thistlefoot ... with
Emberclaw (the firebreathing Drake that looks like a big wolf),
Shadowfang the best wolf pet ever, and
Wisperwing, the cutest possible pet owl,
are eager to have an adventure.
Can we get Emberclaw some barding?
The craftsman at the military outpost has animal barding in studded leather
Assuming my service to the military has warranted the gift, Thalion accepts and makes sure the fit is perfect for Emberclaw. "My good man..." I say to the armorer, "... it's a perfect fit. This will certainly come in handy. Thank you very much."
Thalion turns to Pippin... "Now, let's see how our friend Portwell is doing, perhaps we might earn some coin."
Portwell wipes down the counter as he tells you a tale of hidden treasure in a secret cave, "The rumor goes that some outlaws were cornered out here near Far Outpost, when they found an old Crag Cave. They hid in the cave with their loot and treasure for a time, but succumbed to monstrosities living in Crag Cave. There has been a bounty on their treasure but several who have ventured into Crag Cave have left running and screaming."
"Interesting, indeed, and what do we know of these monstrosities?" "Are you able to give us directions to this cave?"
He points to a notification wall, where you see all manner of bills and wanted posters. Including a stained and faded posting, several years old, of the Crag Cave, complete with a rough map of this area and the location marked out about 1-2 days travel East of Far Oupost.
Portwell says casually, "A lot of those bills are expired or the lawmen who put them up aren't lawmen anymore. However, if the treasure from Crag Cave was found, I would have heard something by now. I'm sure you can read all about it in the posting."
"Bandits Wanted for treason and theft. Last whereabouts were Crag Cave. Be warned Monsters with Hook Hands have been spotted."
"We'll bring these back when we return." and take the bills that might show us the way, resembling maps.
I don't have any money, so I'm wondering if Pippin can make us some cure wounds potions... "Pippin, can you make us up some potions before we leave?"
"Portwell, we will depart Far Outpost in the morning, do need to know anything else?"
The Commissary will supply 1 potion of healing each and 1 potion of healing, greater to share. Along with 10 days of trail rations each, fresh water and waterskins, along with anything from a standard explorer's kit