I have seen the Dungeon Dudes video on the Epic Boons from HoF. When they get to Boon of Exquisite Radiance they don't seem to be very amused by it as no area spell that deals Radiant damage seems to deal more then 80 max damages. Half of a Meteor Swarm. So they arrive to the conclusion that the Feat is not that extraordinary for a Epic Boon.
I was wondering instead.. what about using it on a Smiting character?
Boon of Exquisite Radiance says:
When you make a damage roll that deals Radiant damage, you can instead use the highest number possible for each damage die. Once you use this benefit, you can’t do so again until you finish a Long Rest.
Let's say you are a 19th lev Padlock (12 Pal/7 War) and you use your pact weapon (a greatsword) plus upcasted Divine Smite (4th), Divine Favor and Improved Divine Smite for 2d6+6d8+1d4+1d8 radiant damage dices.. and you crit. That would be 4d6+12d8+2d4+2d8 radiant damages.
Could you use Boon of Exquisite Radiance to deal max damage (1x long rest)? 😮
Or would you be able to maximise only one of those dice types, like the one from Divine Smite, or from Divine Favor as they come from different sources?
It's not clear to me as they are all rolled together in a single damage roll but are completely different spells and effects so they could also be seen as 4 damage rolls.
If allowed it, would that be worth spending the precious Epic Boon? It would be 144 radiant damages +5 Charisma and +6 Proficiency (GWM) in 1 attack, also radiant. That would be 155 radiant damages on the boss. Which could stack with a 5d8 Eldritch Smite (4th level slot) that crit at 10d8 Force damages. Plus you have another attack in the same round.
I was wondering instead.. what abLet's say you are a 19th lev Padlock (12 Pal/7 War) and you use your pact weapon (a greatsword) plus upcasted Divine Smite (4th), Divine Favor and Improved Divine Smite for 2d6+6d8+1d4+1d8 radiant damage dices.. and you crit. That would be 4d6+12d8+2d4+2d8 radiant damages.
For reference, Divine Smite and Divine Favor. Improved Divine Smite is now Radiant Strikes. Divine Smite upcast to 4th level deals 2D8 + 3D8 or 5D8 damage.
Note that you have to take your 12th level of Paladin as your 19th or 20th character level in order to choose Boon of Exquisite Radiance (but can take another Boon with Warlock 8). If however, you go Paladin 11, Warlock 9, you can take Lifedrinker to deal an additional 1D6 Radiant damage once per turn and give you access to 5th level slots. In this case, Warlock 8 has to be your 19th character level. Also, instead of attacking with a normal attack, you have Warlock levels, attack with True Strike for an extra 3D6 radiant damage (you could do this instead of taking any Warlock levels but then couldn't access Lifedrinker). You could also add in Charger for an extra 1D8 on a charge. I am not going to include it below because the bonus damage would be Radiant but would likely only be on the initial attack. There may also be additional ways to increase the damage dealt, such as Strike of Giants (Hill).
From just die damage, that will be 2D6 + 6D8 (smite) + 1D4 (Divine Favor) + 1D6 (Lifedrinker) + 1D8 (Radiant Strikes) + 3D6 (True Strike). You'll want to try, of course, to attack with advantage for the almost 9 point something % crit chance and, ideally, use this when you crit in order to maximize the damage dice on double the dice. This isn't an option on a spell with a save, like Meteor Swarm.
Average damage from the dice will be 55, 110 on a critical.
The damage using Powerful Radiance will be 96, 192 on a critical.
It's about a 75% increase in radiant damage over the average damage and is most effective on damage rolls from attacks that critically hit. It, unfortunately, only works once per long rest, but it makes a big nuke bigger. However, that's to one target. Compared to Meteor Swarm, against a few targets, that's not much in terms of total damage.
Also, if you are building around Radiant damage, consider Spellfire Adept (from Faerun) to ignore resistance.
I have seen the Dungeon Dudes video on the Epic Boons from HoF. When they get to Boon of Exquisite Radiance they don't seem to be very amused by it as no area spell that deals Radiant damage seems to deal more then 80 max damages. Half of a Meteor Swarm.
Crown of Stars produces multiple motes and it would only apply to one, but that one would be 48 or 96 on a crit, but is, again, only against one target.
Spellfire Storm is a new one from HoF and deals a maximum of 90 damage with an impressive radius and duration when cast as a Circle Spell. However, the Boon will only affect one damage roll.
As far as multitarget, scenarios, Boon of Exquisite Radiance is not going to make a Radiant AoE compete with a Meteor Swarm except that Fire Resistance is one of the more common resistances. The 140 average damage of meteor swarm could easily become 105, which is still high. It both cases, you have to be wary of affecting your allies (or did until Circle Magic), while some Radiant AoEs innately allow you to exclude allies without depending on secondary casters. Being able to do 140 average damage in the AoE isn't great when you're in the AoE...
So you agree with me that the Boon would maximise all radiant damages happening in the same attack even if they are from different spells or abilities correct?
Yeah correct, the original idea was having 2 boons, 1 at lev 19 from Warlock 8 and 1 at the lev 20 from Pal 12.
I like the true strike cantrip a lot, but a paladin can attack twice per round, ncreasng the chance of a crit, and that is not possible if you take the magic action of True Strike.
Also remember to add Eldritch Smite to the damage calculation ;) it is force so it isn't maxed but it still is doubled.
So you agree with me that the Boon would maximise all radiant damages happening in the same attack even if they are from different spells or abilities correct?
Yeah correct, the original idea was having 2 boons, 1 at lev 19 from Warlock 8 and 1 at the lev 20 from Pal 12.
I like the true strike cantrip a lot, but a paladin can attack twice per round, ncreasng the chance of a crit, and that is not possible if you take the magic action of True Strike.
Also remember to add Eldritch Smite to the damage calculation ;) it is force so it isn't maxed but it still is doubled.
Yes, I believe the Boon would maximize all the damage dice in one roll, not just from one source. True Strike will yield higher damage on a crit, but using Extra Attack gives about a 18.55% chance of at least one crit per turn versus 9.75%, assuming advantage on the attack. Extra Attack is better for reliability, but True Strike is better for maximized results. From the perspective of maximizing reliability, dual-wielding light weapons with the Nick Mastery would be give you 3 Pact Attacks per turn one other light weapon attack for about a 26% chance to crit at least once with the Pact Weapon and 34% chance to crit at least once with any weapon on a given turn. This change only affects the weapon damage.
I didn't include Eldritch Smite since it wouldn't be affected except by a very liberal reading of the Boon and would misrepresent the effect of the Boon.
Oh yes, I meant Eldritch Smite would add to the total damages. It wouldn't be maximised of course, as it is force.
Dual wielding would give 2 Pact attacks to a PAL11/WAR9 and 1 off hand attack, as the BA is needed for Smiting in 2024.
I was thinking, if someone would instead be using a quarterstaff pact weapon and Shillelagh.. it would be 2d6 damages, but Force or Radiance? Which effect would have the priority?
So you agree with me that the Boon would maximise all radiant damages happening in the same attack even if they are from different spells or abilities correct?
Yeah correct, the original idea was having 2 boons, 1 at lev 19 from Warlock 8 and 1 at the lev 20 from Pal 12.
I like the true strike cantrip a lot, but a paladin can attack twice per round, ncreasng the chance of a crit, and that is not possible if you take the magic action of True Strike.
Also remember to add Eldritch Smite to the damage calculation ;) it is force so it isn't maxed but it still is doubled.
Yes, I believe the Boon would maximize all the damage dice in one roll, not just from one source. [...]
I agree. And if it helps in the conversation, this is from the Dev (by coincidence, it also mentions Divine Smite):
@quadhund If I make 1 attack with a longsword as a part of casting Green Flame Blade, while having the Hex spell affecting the target, and then I use Divine Smite once the attack hits, how many damage rolls are there? @JeremyECrawfordWhen something in the game (Sneak Attack, Divine Smite, hex, etc.) causes your attack/spell/etc. to deal extra dice of damage, those dice are added to the damage the effect is already dealing, if any. It's one big damage roll, extra damage included. @DaveWil33 Would only be a second damage roll if there was something locked behind a save like poison damage, yes? @JeremyECrawford If an attack has a damage roll but also a second damage roll (not extra damage) that is contingent on a saving throw, the damage of that second source is a different damage roll from the first. @RubiksMoose how do you distinguish between second damage roll and extra damage? @JeremyECrawford Separate damage rolls are delivered by separate attack rolls, saving throws, or other processes. Extra/bonus/additional damage is called extra/bonus/additional damage.
I was thinking, if someone would instead be using a quarterstaff pact weapon and Shillelagh.. it would be 2d6 damages, but Force or Radiance? Which effect would have the priority?
I have seen the Dungeon Dudes video on the Epic Boons from HoF. When they get to Boon of Exquisite Radiance they don't seem to be very amused by it as no area spell that deals Radiant damage seems to deal more then 80 max damages. Half of a Meteor Swarm. So they arrive to the conclusion that the Feat is not that extraordinary for a Epic Boon.
I was wondering instead.. what about using it on a Smiting character?
Boon of Exquisite Radiance says:
When you make a damage roll that deals Radiant damage, you can instead use the highest number possible for each damage die. Once you use this benefit, you can’t do so again until you finish a Long Rest.
Let's say you are a 19th lev Padlock (12 Pal/7 War) and you use your pact weapon (a greatsword) plus upcasted Divine Smite (4th), Divine Favor and Improved Divine Smite for 2d6+6d8+1d4+1d8 radiant damage dices.. and you crit. That would be 4d6+12d8+2d4+2d8 radiant damages.
Could you use Boon of Exquisite Radiance to deal max damage (1x long rest)? 😮
Or would you be able to maximise only one of those dice types, like the one from Divine Smite, or from Divine Favor as they come from different sources?
It's not clear to me as they are all rolled together in a single damage roll but are completely different spells and effects so they could also be seen as 4 damage rolls.
If allowed it, would that be worth spending the precious Epic Boon? It would be 144 radiant damages +5 Charisma and +6 Proficiency (GWM) in 1 attack, also radiant. That would be 155 radiant damages on the boss. Which could stack with a 5d8 Eldritch Smite (4th level slot) that crit at 10d8 Force damages. Plus you have another attack in the same round.
If you hit it would be 225 damages in a round.
For reference, Divine Smite and Divine Favor. Improved Divine Smite is now Radiant Strikes. Divine Smite upcast to 4th level deals 2D8 + 3D8 or 5D8 damage.
Note that you have to take your 12th level of Paladin as your 19th or 20th character level in order to choose Boon of Exquisite Radiance (but can take another Boon with Warlock 8). If however, you go Paladin 11, Warlock 9, you can take Lifedrinker to deal an additional 1D6 Radiant damage once per turn and give you access to 5th level slots. In this case, Warlock 8 has to be your 19th character level. Also, instead of attacking with a normal attack, you have Warlock levels, attack with True Strike for an extra 3D6 radiant damage (you could do this instead of taking any Warlock levels but then couldn't access Lifedrinker). You could also add in Charger for an extra 1D8 on a charge. I am not going to include it below because the bonus damage would be Radiant but would likely only be on the initial attack. There may also be additional ways to increase the damage dealt, such as Strike of Giants (Hill).
From just die damage, that will be 2D6 + 6D8 (smite) + 1D4 (Divine Favor) + 1D6 (Lifedrinker) + 1D8 (Radiant Strikes) + 3D6 (True Strike). You'll want to try, of course, to attack with advantage for the almost 9 point something % crit chance and, ideally, use this when you crit in order to maximize the damage dice on double the dice. This isn't an option on a spell with a save, like Meteor Swarm.
It's about a 75% increase in radiant damage over the average damage and is most effective on damage rolls from attacks that critically hit. It, unfortunately, only works once per long rest, but it makes a big nuke bigger. However, that's to one target. Compared to Meteor Swarm, against a few targets, that's not much in terms of total damage.
Also, if you are building around Radiant damage, consider Spellfire Adept (from Faerun) to ignore resistance.
As far as multitarget, scenarios, Boon of Exquisite Radiance is not going to make a Radiant AoE compete with a Meteor Swarm except that Fire Resistance is one of the more common resistances. The 140 average damage of meteor swarm could easily become 105, which is still high. It both cases, you have to be wary of affecting your allies (or did until Circle Magic), while some Radiant AoEs innately allow you to exclude allies without depending on secondary casters. Being able to do 140 average damage in the AoE isn't great when you're in the AoE...
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.
So you agree with me that the Boon would maximise all radiant damages happening in the same attack even if they are from different spells or abilities correct?
Yeah correct, the original idea was having 2 boons, 1 at lev 19 from Warlock 8 and 1 at the lev 20 from Pal 12.
I like the true strike cantrip a lot, but a paladin can attack twice per round, ncreasng the chance of a crit, and that is not possible if you take the magic action of True Strike.
Also remember to add Eldritch Smite to the damage calculation ;) it is force so it isn't maxed but it still is doubled.
Yes, I believe the Boon would maximize all the damage dice in one roll, not just from one source. True Strike will yield higher damage on a crit, but using Extra Attack gives about a 18.55% chance of at least one crit per turn versus 9.75%, assuming advantage on the attack. Extra Attack is better for reliability, but True Strike is better for maximized results. From the perspective of maximizing reliability, dual-wielding light weapons with the Nick Mastery would be give you 3 Pact Attacks per turn one other light weapon attack for about a 26% chance to crit at least once with the Pact Weapon and 34% chance to crit at least once with any weapon on a given turn. This change only affects the weapon damage.
I didn't include Eldritch Smite since it wouldn't be affected except by a very liberal reading of the Boon and would misrepresent the effect of the Boon.
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.
Oh yes, I meant Eldritch Smite would add to the total damages. It wouldn't be maximised of course, as it is force.
Dual wielding would give 2 Pact attacks to a PAL11/WAR9 and 1 off hand attack, as the BA is needed for Smiting in 2024.
I was thinking, if someone would instead be using a quarterstaff pact weapon and Shillelagh.. it would be 2d6 damages, but Force or Radiance? Which effect would have the priority?
I agree. And if it helps in the conversation, this is from the Dev (by coincidence, it also mentions Divine Smite):
Oops, right!
On your turn, you get to pick.
How to add Tooltips.
My houserulings.