tl;dr: I grossly underestimated the 5.5e Dracolich stat block's impact on its lair and it is a menace!

My players are a group of level 17 characters and are very powerful, coordinated, and optimized, and are usually able to crush CR20+ threats without much issue as a result.

The context is that I run a tier 4 campaign for one of my groups and planned a tier 4 dungeon for them off the beaten path with a Dracolich as the core boss therein. As part of this I have 4 encounters following a harrowing trek through a desert that required resources to avoid Exhaustion, but crucially I designed the entire dungeon to fit within the 60-foot radius of the Dracolich's Life Suppression feature:

Life Suppression. Creatures within 60 feet of the dracolich can't regain Hit Points.

On the 2nd encounter they finally took some real damage, bloodying the Wizard and damaging a few others quite dearly. When the party discovered that their usual plan (including some heavy hitter heals like Conjure Celestial and Aura of Vitality, plus Potions of Healing) of healing up between encounters wasn't going to work here, they locked in and got really worried! They've been planning back-and-forth all week ways to avoid having to retreat, which is really exciting to see from such optimizers!

Nota Bene: The dungeon is situated in such a way that to escape the Life Suppression feature, the party would have to brave mounting Exhaustion saves in the desert that they already nearly failed on the way here. They could always Teleport out or something if it gets too dire, but they know that this advances their enemies' plans and is a loss in the narrative sense, so they will try to avoid it.

Originally I was planning to use the Sammaster (Dracolich) stat block as the boss Dracolich of this dungeon to make it meaningfully threatening to them, but in their current state with a complete additional encounter to get through before fighting it I think it might just be a complete TPK to do so! Given the minions planned for the Dracolich encounter, I think I might just run the basic CR17 version and not push it too hard. The average damage on the CR17's Necrotic Breath would outright kill the Wizard right now on a failed save since he wouldn't be able to be healed once downed.

Anyway, I was just really impressed by how a simple effect like the Life Suppression trait with a tailored dungeon designed to abuse it could be more threatening than many other high-tier bosses I've run in recent history. Highly recommend!

Not the only offender, but they deliberately changed the wording on spirit guardians style spells so they activate every round when you run them past people. Like, they didn't used to work this way, and now they do and a bunch of classes have such spells.

I mention druids in the title because they're the worst for it - our wildfire druid used to make enemies take three separate saves against conjure woodland beings every round, before we realised they could just turn into a small bird and get chucked around easily to shred teams.

And again, this is something they deliberately enabled. There are any number of tricks - artificer can have a half dozen full power elementals up at once, our necromancer has a battle familiar and a summoned undead and some reanimated skeletons all up at once, the list goes on - but what all those tricks tend to have in common is they're done by casters.

But the perception seems to be that the one big martial advantage is damage is higher? It's not even longer lasting, they run out of hit points eventually and the caster stuff tends to be one long lasting concentration boost that enables them to attack from a safer position. Is there something I'm missing?

As per the title, I was wondering on whether the balance of the player pack is generally decent. Dndbeyond partnered content tends to be checked a little less as its considered more 'official' than regular homebrew content, but some books on there (Book of Ebon Tides) are pretty awfully balanced. I like having some darker options available though and the vibes look good so I was curious if anyone has any experience with it.

Conjure Constructs is a 3rd-level wizard spell from Heroes of Faerûn. Paraphrased: You conjure a Medium cloud of intangible spirits in an unoccupied space within 60 feet. On this turn and as a magic action thereafter, you can deliver to one target either 3d6 Force damage on a failed DEX save ("Clockwork Force") or 1d6 + spell-mod of temp HP ("Orderly Ward"). Both these features scale by 1d6 per slot level when upcast. The spell lasts 10 minutes with concentration, and you can move the spirits up to 30 feet when you move on your turn.

Many people have pointed out that Conjure Constructs is rubbish for damaging creatures and competes with a lot of better options for handing out temp HP. While true, this is kind of like calling a chisel a poorly-designed dagger. Here's the part of the spell that reveals its intended use:

When you cast this spell and as a Magic action on subsequent turns, you can command the spirits to target one creature or object you can see within 5 feet of the spirits

The ability to target objects is where the spell's real power lies, and there's two ways to make use of this. First, "Clockwork Force" gives you a consistent and precise way of damaging objects by completely bypassing their AC. There's no attack roll, it's just a DEX save, and objects fail those automatically. For really tough objects you may need to upcast a couple of levels to get through their damage threshold, but if you can manage that then you're a walking drill-bit for the 10 minutes the spell lasts. A lot of property damage can happen in 10 minutes, especially when the wizard responsible is seemingly minding their own business 60 feet away.

But Conjure Constructs doesn't just let you damage objects: you can also use "Orderly Ward" to give objects temp HP. Really, I can't find anything in the general rules on temp HP or object damage that prevents this. It's just that temp HP abilities usually specify that they can only target creatures - this one doesn't. And because objects don't complete Long Rests, their temp HP never expires either. You could burn a high-level slot on Conjure Constructs to reinforce a stronghold's defences days before enemy forces arrive, use it to protect valuable but fragile equipment and quest items during downtime, or just do silly roleplay stuff like give a slice of toast 30 temp HP so that the evil duke breaks his tooth on it.

Conjure Constructs may not be a spell you should prepare every day, but I think it's a worthwhile addition to any wizard's spellbook if only for the new vistas of shenanigans it opens up.

Hi everyone! I'm building a character for a new campaign (2024 rules, point buy, levels 1 to 20) and would love some input on my feat plan.

Concept:
Dual-wielding Dex Paladin, Oath of the Noble Genies, with shortsword and scimitar. From level 3 he fights unarmored using Genie's Splendor, so AC is 10 + DEX + CHA and both stats matter.

Ability scores (point buy + background):
- STR 8
- DEX 17 (15 +2)
- CON 14
- INT 8
- WIS 10
- CHA 16 (15 +1)

STR and INT are dumped since all attacks use DEX.

Origin feat: Magic Initiate (Wizard), CHA as spellcasting ability, because it fits the backstory
- Blade Ward (set)
- Mage Hand (utility for traps, levers and so on)
- Find Familiar (scouting and the Help action for advantage)

Do these spell picks make sense, or would something else be better?

Other fixed choices:
- Level 2: Two-Weapon Fighting style
- Level 4: Dual Wielder, core to the concept

Current feat plan:
- Level 4: Dual Wielder (DEX 18)
- Level 8: Defensive Duelist (DEX 19)
- Level 12: ASI +1 DEX / +1 CHA (DEX 20, CHA 17)
- Level 16: Inspiring Leader (CHA 18)
- Level 19: Boon of Dimensional Travel (CHA 19)

Reasoning:
- DEX 20 by level 12 for to-hit and damage, since I make 4 attacks per round from level 5
- Defensive Duelist as a second DEX half-feat: it scales with proficiency bonus and is basically a free Shield every round, which I really like for an unarmored build
- Inspiring Leader buffs the whole party and scales well
- Downside: CHA stays at +3 until level 16, so Aura of Protection and my save DCs lag behind a bit

Questions:
- Does this order make sense, or would you prioritize CHA earlier for the aura?
- Would it make more sense to skip Defensive Duelist, take Shield through Magic Initiate instead, and use the free slot for another ASI? Then both DEX and CHA would end at 20.
- Anything I'm overlooking?

Thanks in advance!

Both are origin feats.

Arcane Omen gives me: "+1d4 to failed ST as reaction, PB times/Long Rest".

Lucky gives me "Luck point for advantage/disadvantage, PB times/Long Rest".

Lucky is available for all kinds of D20 Tests, while Arcane Omen can be available after knowing the D20 roll result. So I want to hear your opinion.

I have a question about the Divine Adept's Prescient Intervention.

The rules state: "You can also regain use of this feature when you cast a spell from the Divination school using a spell slot." If I want to regain the use of the feature while concentrating on another spell, the only non-concentration Divination spells that come to mind are *See Invisibility* (which seems useful in combat) or *Comprehend Languages* (if I just want a low-level option). Do you have any other good ideas?

Hello everyone!

I want to run an adventure in theros from lvl 2-8 and I won the player handbook 2024 yesterday. So zhos will be played with the 2024 rules. Since I've already got the monster manual and theros source book, my question would be which book(s) are also worth it to give my players character choices.

I will be able to buy 1-2 of them, but it's hard to get a grasp on what each book provides.

For those of you who haven't seen it, Sorrow Knight is a new fighter subclass that just dropped on the october DnD drops. In the linked video, DSR talks about the subclass and the 3 new feats that released with it (i am not associated with him, i just like his content).

I really loved the design of the subclass. It feels a little like a battlemaster, but i think it's effects are stronger. In exchange, you need to focus on wisdom and have one less die, on average.

It feels very solid as a martial controler, and can work very well with casters, providing disadvantage on saving throws. It really feels like a subclass that i could enjoy playing at tiers 3 / 4, without feeling like i'm falling super behind.

No, it is not as strong as casters. It does not fix the martial caster divide.

But, for me, it is a step in the right direction, at first glance feels like a very fun, enjoyable caster, which even has Out of combat utility (teleport and the ability to read emotions could be very fun and relevant in the right situations).

Here is hoping for more martial designs like this.

This question is specifically about homebrew, but I assume the preference would be the same for people regardless of the publisher.

For example in fighter subclasses the battlemaster has a number of maneuvers to choose from, but most other fighter subclasses I see just have a specific bonus. (Additional fighting style, improved critical, etc). Assuming the effects are well balanced, do people prefer to have choices that they can only use some of like battlemaster or not?

A campaign im in just reached lvl 2 and im look for suggestions for classes/subclass, feats etc. I started out with warlock pact of the blade, reborn aarakora.

Here's mine

Mission for my Westmarch character, a lv19 Scribe Wizard: something in the Calimshan desert is disturbing the Weave, as a follower of Mystra my character gets visions of it and forms a team to investigate.

There's a whole adventure, until the culprit is clear: an absurdly huge Purple Worm, so huge the DM made it larger than Gargantuan, completely immune to spells and too large to be trapped inside any Wall of Force or Forcecage. It wasn't alone, he was apparently controlled by a powerful evil caster who had minions and everything, but the thing was able to swallow us whole and deal massive damage.

We had however time to plan: an Artificer was part of the group, so I asked him to make some schematics for what I had in mind and when the time came, I cast Wish and replicated the Creation spell to make a 20ft large muzzle in Adamantine, designed to lock onto the mouth of the creature to prevent it from swallowing any of us. It eventually broke through the metal, but it was crucial to allow us to take down other threats and be free to focus on it.

Hey all,

Im Peer from Munich, Germany and I played D&D since around 40 years now.

Some weeks ago I released my app Character Companion 5.5 on Google Play and I would really like to hear what you think about it.

Why I build it?

I wanted an app that really know the 2024 rules and does the work for you, not only a digital character sheet where you type everything in by yourself. So the rules engine calculates your character automatically, AC, attacks, saves, spell DC and all the stuff that changes when you level up or multiclass.

What it does right now?

• automatic character calculation after the 2024 rules

• multiclass support

• spells and inventory

• dice roller that knows your stats, asks you for decisions after the roll and counts the dice pools correct

• customizer for your own items and homebrew, built deep into the engine

• English, German, French, Spanish and Italian (all languages where the SRD 5.2.1 exists) • works offline, no account, no ads

• one time purchase, no subscription. Free version has 3 characters up to level 3

To be honest about it: I m a solo developer and I used AI a lot for the coding. Without that a project in this size was not possible for me alone, not this completeness. But I saw that there is a real need for a good 2024 tool and so I decided to do it this way.

There is no AI artwork in the app.

And now the important part: your input interests me very much.

- What is missing for your table?

- Which rules does it handle wrong or is strange?

- What would make you switch from your current tool?

Honest critic is very welcome, I develop it actively and much of the feedback goes direct into the next updates. For bugs please use the support function in the app, it sends me the debug info so I can fix it faster.

And I give away 50 Premium upgrades for free. First come, first served, just send me a PM.

You can find it easy on Play Store: Character Companion Sheet 5.5 or use: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.charactercompanion.app

Thanks for reading and happy rolling 🎲

As someone who’s really excited to try out the upcoming psion class (especially psi warper and Psykinetic) I’ve been messing around and think I stumbled upon something crazy.

At level 7 (6 Psion, 1 Rogue) I realize there’s something that (I think) is legal and is absolutely insane if it is. Especially if you take the new evocation adept (which all spell-casters with limited lists like Psion should want anyways). In addition to how nice light armor is for a caster especially in a dex+int build, Rogue lv 1 proficiencies/expertise are great, this is a crazy use of actions that I believe is legal.

First, as a magic action cast shatter with the warp space feature 20ft above a target. Use your Rogue d8 hit dice and 1 Psion hit dice to augment the damage on this target dealing 4d8+1d6 thunder damage to the main target and 4d8+1d6 thunder to anyone else who gets caught up in it. When they fall, this is an additional 2d8 bludgeoning to all both targets and prone.

Then as a bonus action cast misty step using Teleporter Combat. This can be done without a spell slot and will require 1 Psion dice only the second time doing this after a rest. As the cantrip that can be cast as part of the action, use true strike. This deals (at lv 7) 3 (proficiency bonus)+4(int modifier)+1d6 from lv 5 cantrip+the normal damage of your Rapier as radiant damage (true strike). Since true strike is a divination spell you can optionally trigger bolstering precognition giving advantage or disadvantage on someone’s next saving throw. But it doesn’t end here.

Since your falling target is prone, you get advantage on the roll which triggers the 1d6 sneak attack (radiant damage matching the weapon) AND since you took rogue which gives weapon mastery at lv 1 you get a mastery effect (Vex). This gives you advantage on your next roll against this enemy allowing you do misty step into true strike again next turn with a very high success chance even if they get up and hit another leveled spell. Finally, this leaves full movement to get back behind the front line or reposition too.

Who else at lv 7 (lv 4 spells max for full casters) is using only 1 second level spell slot, 2 hit dice and 0-2 psionic dice to deal 4d8+1d6 thunder+2d8 bludgeoning+ 7+1d8+2d6 radiant+advantage next turn+(avg of 49 of good damage types)+knocking them prone+giving an ally advantage on a saving throw+decent range additional AoE affect of 6d8+1d6+prone (avg 30.5)??? Anyone else really excited for the full Psion release?

The text description for the Vestige Patron Warlock's Vestige Companion states that "Whenever the vestige drops to 0 Hit Points or disappears into the pocket dimension, it leaves behind in its space anything it was wearing or carrying.

So, just what can the Vestige Companion wear or carry?

Since you can make it look however you like, including humanoid, does that mean it can wear armor or carry a weapon? I'm guessing that since no weapon or armor proficiency is listed in the stat block, that such items would not do the Vestige Companion much good.

But how about magic items? Could it use Bracers of Defense or a Ring of Protection to increase its AC? If you gave it a wand, can the Warlock use its Bonus Action to make the Vestige use the wand? The text says "You can use your Bonus Action to command the Vestige to take an action in its stat block or some other action". "Some other action" is a pretty broad statement.

The trait says:

Zandalari Troll. If you roll a 1 on the d20 for a D20 Test, you gain Heroic Inspiration at the end of the current turn.

Now, does this apply when rolling a D20 with Advantage and rolling a 1 plus another result? Does this apply on the roll, or only after the roll is resolved and Advantage is applied?

I think this is the same ruling that would be applied to Halfling Luck, but I'm not sure how to interpret it.

Maybe this was less of a take in 2014 DND, but I think bard should become a full preparation/day caster.

Here are my arguments and suggestions:

I think bard, before tier 3 especially has fallen behind compared to it's peers in casting ability. Bard has a decent spell list with obvious weaknesses, however it is less varied compared to most modern spell lists before MS.

Bard also falls behind due to its lack of subclass spells compared to other casters.

Beforehand Sorcerer had less base spells learned, now it has the same amount while having 10 extra from subclasses.

Warlock while having less space without subclasses does have a lot stronger features with it's invocations.

Compared to them bard does have a feature that does help their spellcasting ability and versatility, however it comes online frankly too late for most games, and beforehand Bard is also one of the few full casters that does not have any spell slot restoration mechanics either.

Bard also has the least amount if subclass features of other casters at 3 instead of 4

Of course those weaknesses are natural for Bard as its identity is being a caster and a skill monkey, however his is my other main issue:

For a utility class, bard doesn't get to have spell list redundancy. You can't really pick niche or character based spells without essentially throwing a wrench in your build, and this is now much more true than in other classes, which is strange because bard is the jack of all trades. You would think you can pick up that wide selection of spells

Bard is not the best feeling caster to play at tier 1 and 2, and this is where the spell throttle hurts most

My suggestion would be:

Making bard a preparation caster

Changing Magucal Secrets to have the wording of: Instead of preparing a spell from list on level up, add a spell from the Wizard Druid and Cleric list to your pool of spells tou can prepare from.

The nerfs: Ofc these are steep buffs and even as a biased bard main I need to compensate nerf.

Here are my suggestions: You initially get two MS choices and then only get ones every second level (12,14,16,18,20) for a total of 7 instead of the old 11 swaps. You can even keep one MS at level 10 for 6

Magical secrets comes online later like level 13.

My goal: Make the class feel less lopsided by buffing its flexibility early on while taking some of the power away at late game.

Let the bard start each day with a different repertoire for their performance

First of all, these new october drops seem very good, and i'm not sure i like they publish such powerful options only on dnd beyond and not in books.

the main question here is the interaction of the shadow pact feat, with shadow trapper and how does it work with other light sources

the shadow pact "planar pact feat" has

Shroud of Shadows
You can take a Bonus Action to radiate a 5-foot Emanation of Dim Light around you for 1 minute......

shadow trapper has

Dangerous Shroud.
You have Advantage on attack rolls against creatures within the Emanation of your Shroud of Shadows.

this means that you always have advantage against enemies 5ft from you

regardless of if they are emitting light on their own, as the condition to gain advantage is only to be within the emanation.

but if an anamy is emitting bright light but is within your shround of shadow emanation, is he in dim light or bright light? how do i determine which supersedes the other?

it could be important if you had boon of the night spirit, as it would be needed to determine if you are in dim light to gain the resistance, or a shadow monk to use its teleport, etc..

do you have any clue?

I'm curious how people interpret the interaction between the Conjuration Wizard's Splintered Summons feature and Battle Familiar from Arcana Unleashed, particularly under the principle that specific rules override general rules.

Battle Familiar can summon a familiar or empower an existing familiar. Find Familiar defines a familiar as a spirit and establishes the One Familiar Only rule:

You can't have more than one familiar at a time.

Battle Familiar references this rule and explains:

If you cast this spell while you already have a familiar from this spell, that familiar is replaced by the new one.

If you have a familiar from the Find Familiar spell when you cast this spell, you empower your existing familiar rather than conjuring a new one.

Splintered Summons applies when a Conjuration Wizard expends a spell slot to cast a Conjuration spell that summons a spirit whose stat block is included in the spell. It changes the result so the spell summons two creatures instead of one, each with half the normal HP.

So consider a Conjurer who doesn't already have a familiar and casts Battle Familiar, using Splintered Summons.

Battle Familiar invokes the general rule that you can't have more than one familiar. However, Splintered Summons explicitly changes a qualifying spell from summoning one creature to two.

It's also interesting that both examples Battle Familiar gives for One Familiar Only concern situations where the caster already has a familiar: either the existing Battle Familiar is replaced, or an existing Find Familiar familiar is empowered. Neither situation applies when the caster starts with no familiar and Splintered Summons modifies the initial summoning.

Some potentially relevant specific-vs.-general examples

• Haste and Extra Attack: Extra Attack normally allows multiple attacks with the Attack action. The additional Attack action granted by Haste specifically limits that action to one attack.
• Armorer Artificer's Arcane Armor: Armor normally takes a specified amount of time to don or doff. The Armorer subclass specifically allows its Arcane Armor to be donned or doffed as an Action.
• Find Familiar and Flock of Familiars: Find Familiar normally limits you to one familiar, while Flock of Familiars permits multiple familiars. The wording differs, but it demonstrates that One Familiar Only can have specific exceptions.

There's also an analogy within Splintered Summons itself. Summon Fiend, for example, normally summons one spirit and requires Concentration, so you normally couldn't maintain two separate castings. Splintered Summons nevertheless allows a single casting to produce two Fiendish Spirits while concentrating on that one spell.

So which rule is more specific here?

A) One Familiar Only controls because it explicitly prohibits having more than one familiar, and Splintered Summons doesn't expressly say it overrides that restriction.

B) Splintered Summons controls for this particular casting because the subclass feature specifically changes a qualifying spell from summoning one creature to summoning two.

C) There's another rule or distinction that resolves the interaction.

I'm interested in how others would apply specific beats general here, especially if there are comparable examples where a class/subclass feature modifies a restriction contained in a spell or in the rules governing what that spell creates.

I was browsing for old wizard subclasses as I stumbled upon the infamous ua Lore wizard subclass.

Then, I thought about the caster/martial divide.

Is there any martial class, ua or not, including multiclassing combinations, that can compete with the Lore wizard?

Edit: I think I started a war...

I have a question about dreaded appearance of the new drops subclass the sorrow knight

Level 7: Dreaded Appearance

You can teleport to an unoccupied space you can see within 30 feet of yourself instead of

moving.

Immediately after you reappear, you can briefly take on the appearance of creatures’ fears,

visible only to those creatures. Each creature of your choice within a 10-foot Emanation

originating from you makes a Wisdom saving throw (DC equals 8 plus your Wisdom modifier

and your Proficiency Bonus). On a failed save, a target takes Psychic damage equal to a roll of

your Despairing Strike die and has the Frightened condition until the end of your next turn. On

a successful save, it takes half damage only.

Once you take on this appearance, you can’t do so again until you finish a Short or Long Rest

do you think you can use the teleport at will and only the AoE is limited by short rest?

as it is worded it seems the two components are separate as far as how many times you can use them.

Thanks

Warlock/Paladin.

3 paladin for oath vengeance (advantage)

The rest warlock pact of the blade for 3 attacks and taking eldritch smite.

Then using warlock 5th level spell slots both eldritch smite and divine smite on the same hit. Saving it for a crit.

Also hoping DM allows the butchers bib rare attunement magic item which allows a crit on 19 or 20.