What are some thoughts on changing the War Caster feat to allow the character to choose between making a Con save to try and maintain concentration on a spell. Or make the same d20 roll and take that amount damage to maintain concentration on the spell... this damage would be added to the damage from the initial attack.
What are some thoughts on changing the War Caster feat to allow the character to choose between making a Con save to try and maintain concentration on a spell. Or make the same d20 roll and take that amount damage to maintain concentration on the spell... this damage would be added to the damage from the initial attack.
Their needs to be at least some possibility of loosing or at least changing the spell. Being able to cast a spell is just too awesome a thing for nothing bad to happen if something interrupts it/your somatic or verbal components while casting. It might be interesting if after a failed concentration check, you had to roll on the wild magic table for a random magical effect in place of the spell you were trying to cast.
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Thank you for your time and please have a very pleasant day.
Taking extra damage to avoid having to make a saving throw to avoid losing concentration on a spell as a result of taking damage? That might not be the worst proposed house rule I've ever heard, but it's got to be pushing it.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Taking extra damage to avoid having to make a saving throw to avoid losing concentration on a spell as a result of taking damage? That might not be the worst proposed house rule I've ever heard, but it's got to be pushing it.
Honestly, if it were changed to "The spell instead does its maximum potential damage to you"? I'd consider it.
Taking extra damage to avoid having to make a saving throw to avoid losing concentration on a spell as a result of taking damage? That might not be the worst proposed house rule I've ever heard, but it's got to be pushing it.
Honestly, if it were changed to "The spell instead does its maximum potential damage to you"? I'd consider it.
It's still just a way of gaming the system. Consider whether you're ok with taking the damage to guarantee not losing concentration - if yes, that's great; if no, you don't lose anything compared to the old War Caster and roll the dice as per usual. It's a serious upgrade to an already seriously strong feat.
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It's also more than a bit nonsensical: taking damage requires you to make a saving throw to avoid losing your spell, the DC of which is determined by how much damage you take. But now you can avoid having to make the saving throw by taking more damage.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
War Caster is already the most chosen feat at my tables. It's considered a basic necessity for casters who get anywhere close to the middle or front line. If I was going to alter it, I'd nerf it, not buff it.
It was just a random thought. Or maybe rather than being part of the war caster it is it's own thing. there have been a few situations where I would have risked taking more damage than losing concentration. risk my characters own well being to save the group
sometimes you must make such a sacrifice to save the campaign or group. there are times I would have been willing to take double a damage roll to counter a failed concentration saving throw.
sometimes you must make such a sacrifice to save the campaign or group. there are times I would have been willing to take double a damage roll to counter a failed concentration saving throw.
I'm sure you would, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be bad for the game. You're basically asking for can't-fail-now button. Casting a concentration spell and getting targeted for it is already risking life and limb for the party, but with the possibility that you don't succeed. That possibility matters. Concentration spells are game changers, it's important that there is a chance of countering them.
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True, except there is a cost. Sure the spell would not fail, but the cost would be the extra damage. This in itself could cause the character to die much quicker than if they hadn't used that ability. Especially if the damage is twice of whatever was rolled. I don't imagine it would be something used often especially in combat where every HP counts. I would imagine it could only be used once per long rest, where the CON save is used with every damage attack. You could possible even add an extra d4 damage to each following attack. I'm not thinking of over buffing the character, just giving them a different option.
True, except there is a cost. Sure the spell would not fail, but the cost would be the extra damage. This in itself could cause the character to die much quicker than if they hadn't used that ability.
If you're doing this to save the party, you're really acknowledging that without it there's likely going to be a lot more damage getting to done to the party - including yourself - if the spell you were concentrating on was dropped. You need to weigh "double damage on my character from this attack" against "all the bad stuff that will happen if my Polymorph spell on that horribly powerful demon lord ends", and I think you'll find the latter will often outweigh the former. Damage can be healed up in a number of relatively convenient ways as long as you win fights and don't die. Un-losing fights after the fact is impossible, and undoing PC death is rarely easy.
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Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
What are some thoughts on changing the War Caster feat to allow the character to choose between making a Con save to try and maintain concentration on a spell. Or make the same d20 roll and take that amount damage to maintain concentration on the spell... this damage would be added to the damage from the initial attack.
Warcaster is a strong enough feat as it is, I don't see a lot of reason to make it even stronger.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Their needs to be at least some possibility of loosing or at least changing the spell. Being able to cast a spell is just too awesome a thing for nothing bad to happen if something interrupts it/your somatic or verbal components while casting. It might be interesting if after a failed concentration check, you had to roll on the wild magic table for a random magical effect in place of the spell you were trying to cast.
Thank you for your time and please have a very pleasant day.
Taking extra damage to avoid having to make a saving throw to avoid losing concentration on a spell as a result of taking damage? That might not be the worst proposed house rule I've ever heard, but it's got to be pushing it.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Honestly, if it were changed to "The spell instead does its maximum potential damage to you"? I'd consider it.
It's still just a way of gaming the system. Consider whether you're ok with taking the damage to guarantee not losing concentration - if yes, that's great; if no, you don't lose anything compared to the old War Caster and roll the dice as per usual. It's a serious upgrade to an already seriously strong feat.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
It's also more than a bit nonsensical: taking damage requires you to make a saving throw to avoid losing your spell, the DC of which is determined by how much damage you take. But now you can avoid having to make the saving throw by taking more damage.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
War Caster is already the most chosen feat at my tables. It's considered a basic necessity for casters who get anywhere close to the middle or front line. If I was going to alter it, I'd nerf it, not buff it.
It was just a random thought. Or maybe rather than being part of the war caster it is it's own thing. there have been a few situations where I would have risked taking more damage than losing concentration. risk my characters own well being to save the group
sometimes you must make such a sacrifice to save the campaign or group. there are times I would have been willing to take double a damage roll to counter a failed concentration saving throw.
it is ok to be a bit nonsensical when playing a game that is so fantisical :-)
"Fantastical" does not mean that it should be random or counterintuitive. It's a game, and the rules should try to have internal consistency.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I would buy into that.
I'm sure you would, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be bad for the game. You're basically asking for can't-fail-now button. Casting a concentration spell and getting targeted for it is already risking life and limb for the party, but with the possibility that you don't succeed. That possibility matters. Concentration spells are game changers, it's important that there is a chance of countering them.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
True, except there is a cost. Sure the spell would not fail, but the cost would be the extra damage. This in itself could cause the character to die much quicker than if they hadn't used that ability. Especially if the damage is twice of whatever was rolled. I don't imagine it would be something used often especially in combat where every HP counts. I would imagine it could only be used once per long rest, where the CON save is used with every damage attack. You could possible even add an extra d4 damage to each following attack. I'm not thinking of over buffing the character, just giving them a different option.
Anyway.. it is just a thought.
If you're doing this to save the party, you're really acknowledging that without it there's likely going to be a lot more damage getting to done to the party - including yourself - if the spell you were concentrating on was dropped. You need to weigh "double damage on my character from this attack" against "all the bad stuff that will happen if my Polymorph spell on that horribly powerful demon lord ends", and I think you'll find the latter will often outweigh the former. Damage can be healed up in a number of relatively convenient ways as long as you win fights and don't die. Un-losing fights after the fact is impossible, and undoing PC death is rarely easy.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
It's hard to overstate just how powerful being able to automatically succeed a saving throw is.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.