I’ve been messing around with this idea for a party composition;
3x Gaze of Two Mind Plasmoid warlocks (at least one with Mounted Combatant) in saddlebags and one centaur who ends up looking like some sort of demi-god!
How would you build each character?
“Packhorse” Centaur Artillerist Artificer 6
8str 10dex 16con 18int 10wis 10cha??
Feats: Tough and Telekenetic
Half Plate +1 and Shield +1
Giving temp hp to everyone every turn works really nicely for letting Warlocks tank hits using Mounted Combatant.
OR Grappler Elements Monk
“Health” Plasmoid Celestial Warlock 6
8str 14dex 18con 8int 10wis 16cha
Feats: Tough, Mounted Combatant
Invocation #1 Repelling Blast (True Strike)
Invocation #2 Agonising Blast (True Strike)
Invocation #3 Eldritch Mind
Invocation #4 Gaze of Two Minds
Invocation #5 Fiendish Vigor
Hellish Rebuke works with Mounted Combatant
Eventually picking up Push mastery weapon and archery fighting style (or protection if needed)
I, the DM, made the general of a foreign army this way.
She was a centaur draconic sorceress so she had wings. She had bodyguard barbarian gnome with a bag of endless hand axes and the mounted combatant feat.
She would fly around above the battle, casting. He would sit on her back, raging and throwing axes. Any attack that would hit the squishy caster actually hit the barbarian gnome. https://omegle****/
Honestly, pretty solid setup (though vulnerable to saving throws that drop her out of the air.)
Tactics: Pal is mounted on Monk and provides saving throw and initiative aura to the team. Pal tanks Monks’ hits using Mounted Combatant and shares the damage with Sorc.
Plasmoid: ‘lock’
Genie (Dao) Warlock 10
8str 16dex 13con 8int 12wis 17cha
Origin Feat:Alert
ASI: Telekinetic (+1 cha) & Crusher (+1 con)
Invocations: Agonising Blast, Repelling Blast, Grasp of Hadar, Gaze of Two Minds, Lance of Lethargy, Eldritch Spear & Blessing of the First Ones: Zhentarim Ruffian
Initiative: +11 at Advantage
Tactics: Lock is stashed in Monk’s saddlebag and watches through Pal’s eyes. Genie 10 means Lock can provide ten minutes short rests to the team.
Plasmoid: ‘sorc’
Divine Soul Sorcerer 4 Genie (Dao) Warlock 6
8str 10dex 16con 8int 14wis 17cha Perception and Insight Expertise)
Origin Feat:Tough
ASI: Warcaster (+1 cha) & +2 Constitution
Invocations: Agonising Blast, Repelling Blast, Blessing of the First Ones: Musician, Gaze of Two Minds & Grasp of Hadar
Initiative: +4 at Advantage
Tactics: Sorc is stashed in Monk’s saddlebag and watches through Pal’s eyes. Sorc is built to tank hits… it casts Warding Bond on Pal to share the damage or Fly on Monk.
One problem I can see is that watcher paladin's oath would probably be broken in like 70 different ways.
Good point, I’ve changed all the Warlock subclasses to Genie (Dao) so there is a plausible reason for the party to be together and this to be a terristial entity that is empowering the party to guard from external threats.
Its a fun concept. Problem is carrying capacity of centaurs vs weight of plasmoids.
Plasmoids (I believe) are extremely heavy, possibly 2,000 lbs or more.
This is compounded by the fact that your centaur has 8 strength so isn’t even a peak centaur in carrying capacity.
I haven’t thought it all out nor crunched all the numbers with armorer….. but I think a better option would be to have fairies riding in saddle bags and that pretty much solves the saddlebags size problem and the centaur carrying capacity problem all at once.
Additionally plasmoids really only make sense in a space/high tech setting…. is that the plan?
Its a fun concept. Problem is carrying capacity of centaurs vs weight of plasmoids.
Plasmoids (I believe) are extremely heavy, possibly 2,000 lbs or more.
That was second edition, they are now standard small creature weight and comfortably fit within the weight capacity of a backpack and the carrying capacity of a centaur.
The low strength also isn’t really an issue because Centaur’s count as one size larger for carrying capacity.
I consider this build setting agnostic as slimes are bloomin’ everywhere… centaurs less so
Its a fun concept. Problem is carrying capacity of centaurs vs weight of plasmoids.
Plasmoids (I believe) are extremely heavy, possibly 2,000 lbs or more.
That was second edition, they are now standard small creature weight and comfortably fit within the weight capacity of a backpack and the carrying capacity of a centaur.
The low strength also isn’t really an issue because Centaur’s count as one size larger for carrying capacity.
I consider this build setting agnostic as slimes are bloomin’ everywhere… centaurs less so
It’s a fascinating concept for a Big Boss.
I think the challenge would be convincing the party to go along with the idea….. most people want the freedom to build their character and not being locked in to somebody else’s idea.
But for a one shot I think anyone would be able to see why this would be a fun concept.
I think mechanically you’d have to justify how riding in a saddle bag is the same as being mounted. You might convince me as a DM to allow it. But I am not sure if half-cover or full-cover would apply. How much protection would a saddle bag even offer? At best you might say the characters pop out on their turn and pop back in. But as a DM I would just have archers attempt to fire at the saddle bags and pierce the thin leather as I’m sure they could. Maybe half-cover?
If you went genie warlock and the players just went into their genie vessel then transportation is not an issue. But I think that would lose the mounting bonus.
I think what would be really interesting would be to do a centaurs + 3 Trickster Clerics build and have the Trickster Clerics project themselves elsewhere to give the illusion that they are not in the saddle bags. Even if the illusion was detected they would still be dangerous and change the dynamic of gameplay.
But I see why 3 warlocks would be desired because you could multiclass them with other classes and still have the Eldritch Blast cannons you want.
This is a really terrifying boss concept, actually. They just wouldn’t know how to beat this thing.
Thank you for the encouragement and I totally agree. The updated build in my comment above has one rider and then the other two in bags are not being counted as mounted - they use Gaze of Two Minds so that they do not have to emerge and so as far as an enemy knows - there is only two creatures.
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Thank you for the encouragement and I totally agree. The updated build in my comment above has one rider and then the other two in bags are not being counted as mounted - they use Gaze of Two Minds so that they do not have to emerge and so as far as an enemy knows - there is only two creatures.
This is insanely scary……
A faceless rider on top of a centaur, with two secret allies that simply wreak havoc.
I suppose this is the best case for a level 9 fireball in the history of D&D but I’m not sure it would do much more than drop some concentrations for a round, and all four could upcast Absorb Elements and then unleash hell.
This is one of those battles that would be a blast to read or watch as an outsider.
Funnily enough the centaur would probably take no damage from a fireball thanks to +12 to save and evasion from the Paladin’s mounted combatant.
The warlocks are safe behind total cover but one is using warding bond… so if the Paladin saved they would take 1/4 damage and share 1/2 damage with the Warlock who as you say would use absorb elements.
I’ve been messing around with this idea for a party composition;
3x Gaze of Two Mind Plasmoid warlocks (at least one with Mounted Combatant) in saddlebags and one centaur who ends up looking like some sort of demi-god!
How would you build each character?
“Packhorse” Centaur Artillerist Artificer 6
8str 10dex 16con 18int 10wis 10cha??
Feats: Tough and Telekenetic
Half Plate +1 and Shield +1
Giving temp hp to everyone every turn works really nicely for letting Warlocks tank hits using Mounted Combatant.
OR Grappler Elements Monk
“Health” Plasmoid Celestial Warlock 6
8str 14dex 18con 8int 10wis 16cha
Feats: Tough, Mounted Combatant
Invocation #1 Repelling Blast (True Strike)
Invocation #2 Agonising Blast (True Strike)
Invocation #3 Eldritch Mind
Invocation #4 Gaze of Two Minds
Invocation #5 Fiendish Vigor
Hellish Rebuke works with Mounted Combatant
Eventually picking up Push mastery weapon and archery fighting style (or protection if needed)
“Spikes” Plasmoid Genie (Dao) Warlock 5 / Sorcerer 1
Feats: Alert, Musician and Telekinetic (every other turn)
8str 14dex 16con 8int 10wis 18cha
Invocation #1 Repelling Blast
Invocation #2 Agonising Blast
Invocation #3 Grasp of Hadar (2014)
Invocation #4 Gaze of Two Minds
Invocation #5 Lesson of the First Ones
Turn 1: Spike Growth
Turn 2: Eldritch Blast for 2d10+8 Force +12d4 Piercing (49 damage)
Cast Sanctuary if needed! Use reaction for Silvery Barbs
“Wings” Plasmoid Archfey Warlock 6
8str 14dex 16con 8int 10wis 18cha
Feats: Zhentarim Ruffian, Tireless Reveler and Telekinetic (every other turn)
Invocation #1 Repelling Blast
Invocation #2 Agonising Blast
Invocation #3 Grasp of Hadar (2014)
Invocation #4 Gaze of Two Minds
Invocation #5 Lesson of the First Ones
Turn 1: Fly
Turn 2: Plant Growth (can lead to auto-win)
Magic Items:
Saddle of the Cavalier / Protection fighting style
Horseshoes of Speed
I, the DM, made the general of a foreign army this way.
She was a centaur draconic sorceress so she had wings. She had bodyguard barbarian gnome with a bag of endless hand axes and the mounted combatant feat.
She would fly around above the battle, casting. He would sit on her back, raging and throwing axes. Any attack that would hit the squishy caster actually hit the barbarian gnome. https://omegle****/
Honestly, pretty solid setup (though vulnerable to saving throws that drop her out of the air.)
That vulnerability to Saving Throws is why I think a Paladin is essential. But also it is good to take advantage of full cover from bags.
I’ve also decided it is probably a step to far to ask a DM to accept full cover AND being mounted, so this is my refined team so far:
Centaur: ‘monk’
Elements Monk 3 Bladesinger Wizard 7
8st 17dex 12con 16int 13wis 8cha
Origin Feat: Alert
ASI: Grappler (+1 dex)
Initiative: +12 at Advantage
Tactics: Monk kites or grapples and shreds enemies in Spike Growth. Monk uses Haste when necessary to kill tough enemies (with no risk, thanks to Pal).
Human
Watcher Paladin 8 Warlock 2
14str 8dex 16con 8int 10wis 17cha
Origin Feat: Tough & Magic Initiate: Wizard,
Fighting Style: Defence (or Protection if can’t get Saddle of the Cavalier)
ASI: Mounted Combatant (+1 str) Spell Sniper (+1 cha)
Invocations: Devil Sight, Agonising Blast & Repelling Blast
Initiative: +3 at Advantage
Tactics: Pal is mounted on Monk and provides saving throw and initiative aura to the team. Pal tanks Monks’ hits using Mounted Combatant and shares the damage with Sorc.
Plasmoid: ‘lock’
Genie (Dao) Warlock 10
8str 16dex 13con 8int 12wis 17cha
Origin Feat: Alert
ASI: Telekinetic (+1 cha) & Crusher (+1 con)
Invocations: Agonising Blast, Repelling Blast, Grasp of Hadar, Gaze of Two Minds, Lance of Lethargy, Eldritch Spear & Blessing of the First Ones: Zhentarim Ruffian
Initiative: +11 at Advantage
Tactics: Lock is stashed in Monk’s saddlebag and watches through Pal’s eyes. Genie 10 means Lock can provide ten minutes short rests to the team.
Plasmoid: ‘sorc’
Divine Soul Sorcerer 4 Genie (Dao) Warlock 6
8str 10dex 16con 8int 14wis 17cha Perception and Insight Expertise)
Origin Feat: Tough
ASI: Warcaster (+1 cha) & +2 Constitution
Invocations: Agonising Blast, Repelling Blast, Blessing of the First Ones: Musician, Gaze of Two Minds & Grasp of Hadar
Initiative: +4 at Advantage
Tactics: Sorc is stashed in Monk’s saddlebag and watches through Pal’s eyes. Sorc is built to tank hits… it casts Warding Bond on Pal to share the damage or Fly on Monk.
One problem I can see is that watcher paladin's oath would probably be broken in like 70 different ways.
Any sufficiently widespread magic is indistinguishable from technology.
The second funniest thing to make a D&D party do is explain morality
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Good point, I’ve changed all the Warlock subclasses to Genie (Dao) so there is a plausible reason for the party to be together and this to be a terristial entity that is empowering the party to guard from external threats.
Its a fun concept. Problem is carrying capacity of centaurs vs weight of plasmoids.
Plasmoids (I believe) are extremely heavy, possibly 2,000 lbs or more.
This is compounded by the fact that your centaur has 8 strength so isn’t even a peak centaur in carrying capacity.
I haven’t thought it all out nor crunched all the numbers with armorer….. but I think a better option would be to have fairies riding in saddle bags and that pretty much solves the saddlebags size problem and the centaur carrying capacity problem all at once.
Additionally plasmoids really only make sense in a space/high tech setting…. is that the plan?
But I think its an interesting concept!
That was second edition, they are now standard small creature weight and comfortably fit within the weight capacity of a backpack and the carrying capacity of a centaur.
The low strength also isn’t really an issue because Centaur’s count as one size larger for carrying capacity.
I consider this build setting agnostic as slimes are bloomin’ everywhere… centaurs less so
It’s a fascinating concept for a Big Boss.
I think the challenge would be convincing the party to go along with the idea….. most people want the freedom to build their character and not being locked in to somebody else’s idea.
But for a one shot I think anyone would be able to see why this would be a fun concept.
I think mechanically you’d have to justify how riding in a saddle bag is the same as being mounted. You might convince me as a DM to allow it. But I am not sure if half-cover or full-cover would apply. How much protection would a saddle bag even offer? At best you might say the characters pop out on their turn and pop back in. But as a DM I would just have archers attempt to fire at the saddle bags and pierce the thin leather as I’m sure they could. Maybe half-cover?
If you went genie warlock and the players just went into their genie vessel then transportation is not an issue. But I think that would lose the mounting bonus.
I think what would be really interesting would be to do a centaurs + 3 Trickster Clerics build and have the Trickster Clerics project themselves elsewhere to give the illusion that they are not in the saddle bags. Even if the illusion was detected they would still be dangerous and change the dynamic of gameplay.
But I see why 3 warlocks would be desired because you could multiclass them with other classes and still have the Eldritch Blast cannons you want.
This is a really terrifying boss concept, actually. They just wouldn’t know how to beat this thing.
I mean this is just insane at high levels.
Thank you for the encouragement and I totally agree. The updated build in my comment above has one rider and then the other two in bags are not being counted as mounted - they use Gaze of Two Minds so that they do not have to emerge and so as far as an enemy knows - there is only two creatures.
This is insanely scary……
A faceless rider on top of a centaur, with two secret allies that simply wreak havoc.
I suppose this is the best case for a level 9 fireball in the history of D&D but I’m not sure it would do much more than drop some concentrations for a round, and all four could upcast Absorb Elements and then unleash hell.
This is one of those battles that would be a blast to read or watch as an outsider.
Funnily enough the centaur would probably take no damage from a fireball thanks to +12 to save and evasion from the Paladin’s mounted combatant.
The warlocks are safe behind total cover but one is using warding bond… so if the Paladin saved they would take 1/4 damage and share 1/2 damage with the Warlock who as you say would use absorb elements.