Dustin Ashe's page

Maybe you guys would like FR more if you hadn't read the novels?

Do you want pregenerated characters for your Out of Abyss campaign? Or did you experience player death and need to a replacement to get back into the game?

If so, take a look at this product I put together for the DMs Guild. A Motley Crew features each of the prisoners of Velkynvelve as playable PCs, presented at levels 1 through 7. That's 64 stat blocks and weighing in at a whopping 117 pages.

You will also find three new playable Underdark races as well as guidelines for playing and leveling up Stool, the strange myconid creature.

To ants, a kid with a magnifying glass seems evil.

We're playing Out of the Abyss and my players are getting creative.

Say an enemy (quaggoth) falls 100 feet and lands on another creature (another quaggoth). How much damage would that do to the creature below that is crushed? 10d6? Half that?

Also, how would you adjudicate an attempt by an unarmed character to steal a prone enemy's sheathed weapon (shortsword)? I was thinking maybe contested Dexterity checks, but is that too easy?

Thanks!

Dustin Ashe wrote:

@stroVal wrote:

Actually, a final question about the starter characters, since we havent played yet-- is there any way for me to find a pre-made high elf eldtritch knight?

Yes, you can find one on the official D&D website: here.

But isn't that just the regular Fighter with a bit of an Elvish flavor?

At 3rd level, the character takes the eldritch knight archetype. So it's exactly what you asked for. :)

Actually, a final question about the starter characters, since we havent played yet-- is there any way for me to find a pre-made high elf eldtritch knight?

Yes, you can find one on the official D&D website: here.

The Elixir of Health spell is an interesting design choice. Wizards doing the healing.

DOH! I already ordered SCAG.

SCAG is a good one if you're looking for more backgrounds and class archetypes. VGtM is a good one if you're looking for more playable races and more monsters.

Unearthed Arcana gives us two new wizard options this week:

Theurgy and War Magic

Thanks everyone!

The reason this became important to me is I recently started GMing a play-by-post game of The Lost Mine of Phandelver.

When playing PBP, if you have to wait until a long rest after earning enough XP to level up, that can be days or weeks in real life before you get the reward you earned. I little disheartening for players.

I've decided to go with B. Thanks for all that good logic and especially that Sage Advice tweet.

Let's say I have a 1st level PC with 8 maximum hit points, but due to a recent battle with goblins, has 4 current hit points.

Now let's say he levels up. He rolls and adds his Con modifier, adding 6 to his maximum hit points for a total of 14. But what happens to his current hp?

A) Leveling up restores his hp, effectively giving him 14/14 hit points.

B) Leveling up grants him 6 hp, so he is at 10/14 hp.

C) Leveling up only affects his maximum hp, not his current, so he is still at 4/14.

Which is it? Anything in the rulebooks?

Maybe the new setting could have lots of very different environments, so it could support lots of different styles of campaigns. Urban politicking, jungle exploration, desert survival, pirates on the high seas, saving kingdoms from evil witch-kings, delving into dark dungeons, surviving harrowing gothic horrors, battling dragons, wrestling giants, exploring crumbling castles in ancient forests, and more could all exist on the new campaign setting.

Sounds like Golarion :)

I think the problem with using other D&D settings besides Forgotten Realms is that many of them are too niche. Dark Sun is a desert world. Eberron is pulpy. Spelljammer is just bat crazy. Forgotten Realms is classic fantasy. And though that might strike many people as bland, it's their most neutral setting and I think that's why it won the day.

I do think they'll make forays into other settings from time to time (e.g. Curse of Strahd), but I don't begrudge their embrace of FR. It was a smart business move.

Either that or create an entirely new traditional fantasy setting, but why bother?

I wonder how much money Paizo makes selling Adventure Paths vs. Player Companions vs. Campaign Setting.

If the average group consists of a GM and 4 players, you would expect the Player Companions to sell like hotcakes compared to the Adventure Paths or Campaign Setting material.

But somehow my hunch, maybe from the forums and my own buying habits, is that it's not so.

In any case, Wizards of the Coast is reporting that 5e is their best-selling edition despite their slower release schedule.

I'm actually not a big fan of how Proficiency Bonuses work in this game. I like that they don't get penalized for multiclassing (though the fact that ASIs ARE irks me to no end) but everybody being equally good at fighting as another class with the same Str or Dex is weird. The Wizard should not have as accurate a swing as the Fighter.

Except I've never seen a 5e wizard with as good a STR/DEX score as a 5e fighter.

Have fun! To date, I've taught 10+ people how to play tabletop RPGs and I have to admit, I prefer inexperienced players to experienced ones.

They come to the game with new eyes and, as a result, are more imaginative and innovative than experienced players who have a tendency to focus on the game mechanics they know so well.

You also don't have to deal with experienced players' bad habits.

New players or not, I would play to your strengths as a GM. Let the theater buffs be theatrical. If that's not you, try it out and you might be pleasantly surprised. But don't force it too much. You be you. They be they.

Mostly Medium pawns, right? How many of other sizes?

-Golarion over FR

But it's so easy to play 5e in Golarion.

I'd really like to see prestige classes that really wouldn't work at all as class archetypes.

I switched to 5e after playing Pathfinder for three years for the same reason many of you choose PF over 5e. Options.

There are just too many of them for my tastes.

One of my players put it this way: "I always hated picking feats. I would spend a long time poring over the options and then just give up in frustration and choose one on whim."

For players who want to get to the game as quickly as possible, 5e is clearly superior. It's much harder to make a completely flawed character concept. For those who want to be highly rewarded for system mastery and who want mechanics that reflect flavor choices, Pathfinder is the way to go.

No way is wrong but they reflect different play styles.

As a rule, I always try to say yes to my players. It may be "yes and..." or "yes but..." but it will be a yes as often as possible.

Nothing is game breaking about it if I then also give the villains the same. ;)

And, oh gosh, combat got a whole lot easier and faster with 5e.

Besides the options in the 3 core books, WotC has released 16 new races, 11 new subraces, 11 new character archetypes, and 47 new spells.

It's slow, but it's not nothing.

Pathfinder is much better about having a good release schedule.

That's a feature of 5e, not a bug. I can certainly see why some people don't like their slower release schedule, but I love it.

Hard to compare. Pathfinder has been out much longer and has way more content. It might be better to compare Pathfinder back when it was just the CRB, MM, and maybe the APG to today's D&D.

Gorbacz wrote:

Apparently, Realms sell the best, and Hasbro wants a nice bottom line from subsidiaries. That's all they need to know.

I very much suspect that generic-no-place-in-particular would be better for the bottom line than any setting, even the blandest and most nearly generic.

FR is the most generic RPG setting I can think of.

That's not a complaint either. I think it's smart business.

WotC has said that they chose adventures you can easily drop into any setting.

Also, I don't think this product is designed with you guys in mind. It's probably for newer players who haven't played some of the previous editions. (And for the collector's who just gotta have 'em all.)

This is one of those rules that should serve the DM or should be ignored.

In one of my campaigns, I almost never use passive Perception. In mt other campaign, I use it almost exclusively. Different campaigns have different needs.

Ok, just tell me which one you would like to take over :)

Topsy or Turvy, whichever is the outspoken one. Can I build him as a rogue?

If you're still looking for players, I'd be interested.

I could definitely take over one of the existing NPCs, and play any race and class.

Thanks to both of you. I went back and forth on it until I closely read the text of the +1 shield in the DMG.

While holding this shield, you have a bonus to AC determined by the shield's rarity. This bonus is in addition to the shield's normal bonus to AC.

It sounds like the magic bonus only applies to AC. I think I lenient DM might have it apply to attack and damage too, but RAW, doesn't look like it should.

If my character has a +1 shield and uses it as an improvised weapon, do I add the +1 bonus to the attack and damage rolls?

Also, are there any rules on throwing a shield?

(In case you can't tell, this is my Captain America character build.)

Mearls said a while back they were planning their first major expansion for as early as 2017. They are certainly ramping up the potential printable options.

But I'm the DM and allow UA and 3rd party. It's a lot easier to rebalance things I don't like in 5e.

I doubt these show up in early 2017. It's unlikely they'd be able to collect the feedback, redesign the class options, and deliver a finished product in just 4-6 months.

They probably are already doing finishing touches on their early 2017 product.

I have to disagree with that. Gods of the forge are common and important in D&D settings, and the skill of a blacksmith was always favored in cultures that inspired many aspects of the D&D.

It's also a domain of artifice, craft, and flame harnessed in the service of the civilization.

Fletchers and carpenters are people too ;)

Alphabetical class order is correct, Cleric Domains: Forge, Grave, Protection this week.

I really like the flavor of the Grave and Protection domains. But the Forge? That's incredibly niche. Why not a Woodworking domain too?

In the pregenerated character sheets found here, it lists Tool, Weapon, and Armor proficiencies just after Skills in the PC stat block.

I found this to be an informative and entertaining podcast on the upcoming Volo's Guide to Monsters.

Huh. Forgotten Realms seems to fantasy-generic that I could almost reskin any of it and put it into any campaign. (In fact, I do. My campaign is a mix of Forgotten Realms, Golarion, and homebrew.) I guess I don't understand the hate.

As far as Volo and Elminster in this book. I think they'll just make it fun to read, maybe. A narrator with personality instead of a stat block and description. It's been a very long time since I read a Volo guide so I can't say for certain.

A list of Volo races was posted on Reddit recently. I'm looking forward to seeing the Yuanti and Lizardfolk, though a little disappointed Grippli didn't make it.

I'm very excited for this product!

I have used two working CC numbers and both have prompted a "problem with transaction" message when I confirm my order. I know they both work for all kinds of purchases (bought me dinner tonight), including websites. Can anyone push this order through?

I'm just trying to get the Kobold Guide to Plots and Campaigns PDF.

I think they should have made a campaign setting that encompassed more than typical fantasy, kind of like Paizo did. Everyone is happy and you don't split the fanbase.

How has the strategy been working for them?

Their sales figures aren't public, but by all discernible ways, pretty well:

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/stranger-breathes-fire-back-dungeons- dragons-article-1.2739642

Measure your table before buying. I have a dozen or two flip mats and, to my dismay, after buying a new dining room table, found out they don't fit with players' character sheets.

I think the biggest difference between characters would be hit points. So, the highest level person should probably walk in front of everyone else.

Given that all humanoids is now a choice, I wonder what sort of campaign you'd be in where you don't get significant mileage from that choice.

Giantslayer or Storm King's Thunder. Then again, if you don't pick giants in those cases, you might not be reading the player's guide carefully enough.

Paul Weber has done an amazing job making these cards. It's all the equipment from the PHB, plus spell slot cards, treasure cards, condition cards, initiative cards, and more.

He's even got magic item cards in the works right now. I can't wait to see them.

Best of all, it's completely free. You can support him on Patreon (I'm supporting him), but he doesn't even push that. He really is just doing it for the love of the game.

Overall, I believe I like these changes, but I'll have to compare the original and revised ranger side by side.

Dustin, the file(s) you linked look very interesting, but they're behind a contribution paywall, so I can't look as closely as I'd like.

They are? That's strange. I don't have that problem.

I've thought of running a PF conversion of Firefly, but 5th Edition might be more fun!

Not Firefly, but 5e in space

Even though I know it runs counter to the spirit of the edition, I still wish we had NPC classes in 5e. Every time I stat up an NPC for my game...