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akitoscorpio · 1 year

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I want to talk about a game I like.

So it's 2023, were in year 456 of the Covid pandemic, I'm feeling nostalgic for my old days of Tabletop gaming, and I just found my Crown Royal bag of dice I thought I lost like five years ago.

So I want to talk about a tabletop RPG game, the last one I was able to actually play for a bit. a game about...

A not to distant future where a unknown viral pandemic infects 80% of humanity and either.

A.) Does fuck all

B.) Gives you superpowers and a ticking timebomb to insanity

C.) Drives you insane and gives you super powers.

Yes.. Yes I am.

The game Double Cross came out in the states in 2014, published by a small indie game company called Ver Blue. Who... doesn't exist anymore? The released the first two books of the original Japanese game in a single 500 page core rule book, and then later published three of the games supplements before disappearing into the void due to heath problems. Which is fine, but there is like... 22 other supplements in Japan we'll never get.

Mechanically, it's a very, very, simple game of rolling a pool of D10's based on one of four stats in the game, keeping the highest and then adding your skill rating to it. 10's "Explode" meaning you reroll any 10's you get and adding them until you stop rolling 10's.

Which is why it's possible to get like, a 54 on a d10 die, also holy shit you can break this game over your knee with shockingly ease with the right setup.

(The Art is also very very good, where there is some)

The setting is, for me the selling point, because, it's special kind anime nonsense and crazy shit that you could just park your ass on and raise a family in.

In the setting, The Virus didn't just infect people, it infected "everything" It infected rocks, trees, buildings, *Concepts*. and it can turn itself into a living personification of said thing. It's very possible that your investigation gets interrupted because a Viral infected *rock* got up and decided in it's newly found sentience and insanity to throw hands. Also one of your characters could either literally be a moth that was infected and turned into a human form. Or you can have someone literally be just idealized version of the concept of your favorite anime character.

(This is just another Tuesday in Japan aparently)

Now how the hell are you supposed to survive the super power psycho pandemic, by also having superpowers of course!. You get your choice of 13 syndromes, strains of the virus that gives you different super power sets (12 in the core book and a 13th in the last American released supplement).

You can choose to pick up to three of them. The more you take, the weaker each strain is overall, Single strain characters can make the individual powers stronger, and you get exclusive powers, but you lack diversity. Taking two is the "default" and you miss out on some "Pure strain only powers" but you don't lose out otherwise. Taking three means you have a large swath of power picks, but the maximum strength of each power is weaker.

Each Strain can also determine your starting stats, picking one means you look at what stats it gives you, and then you double it, picking two means adding the two strains together, having three means you only get stats from two of them.

Each strain is, very different and often builds off of each other and really fun ways, one strain lets you shoot lasers and bend light to cloak yourself. One strain lets you affect heat, meaning you can either set shit on fire, or remove heat to create ice weapons and attacks. One of them lets you create drugs in your body. one of them lets you affect electricity and allows yourself to become a cyborg. One lets you be a god damn lycanthrope.

It's very very fun to just think of combos of power sets in this setting.

For me though, the most interesting part of this game is the way you can create your backstory. You see the super powers, are slowly driving you insane, the more you use them the more likely the virus is going to take you over and turn you into the next Charles Manson. in fact, every "scenario" has your encroachment, aka the amount the virus is gripping your mind. Normally start off in the 30ish percent range. If you end a scenario over 100%, your character goes insane off screen and you loose the character. But the closer to this line you go, the more dice you get. hell even going past the line can turn you into an absolute beast. But your pretty much screwed if you push to far past it.

So how do you keep from losing a character if your riding over 100% at the end of the session?

You see, as part of character creation, you roll, on several different tables to get what the game calls "Loises" Aka things or people that are important enough to you for you to grab on to so you don't go insane. You can collect more of these in a given scenario if it the GM allows it, but by default, you only have three permanent Loises. This could be something mundane like your parents, or your lover. Or you could be holding on to sanity by the sheer burning hatred of that asshole at work that's constantly fucking you over and taking credit for your hard work (Fuck you STEVE!)

Point is, at the end of the scenario, each of these becomes a D10 roll that you can roll to reduce your end game encroachment and hope you can get it under 100, you actually do get more Experience at the end for riding the line, so your encouraged to use those damn powers. Gm's are also encourged to really push at you to use your abilities to the fullest so you don't die in the process.

I also hope you like tables because there is a *metric shit-ton* of them for determining these things.

So yeah, there's a lot to love about this but this is already an insanely long post so I might add more to it later in another post, but this was just me wanting to write off some of that built up very Neurodivergent "Damn I miss playing this" game energy that I started building up in the last day or so for this crazy ass game.

(I didn't even get into the fact it's possible to play the literal personification of Facebook as a character concept..)

#ttrpg #JTTRPG #Double Cross #I also forgot to mention one powerset is just Alex Mercer from Prototype

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nerdythebard · 3 years

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#21: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd [Fire Emblem: Three Houses]

His first name is Dimitri and his last name looks like the word blyat... HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO NOT SEE THIS GUY AS RUSSIAN!? ...Ekhm, anyway, this is the second leader from Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Dimitri Blaiddyd. Let's get to work, blyat!

Next Time: If you do not FEAR THE DEER, you are a FOOL! AND A CLOWN! GOODBYE TO YOU, SIR!

Right, let's see our goals for the build first:

Sir Lance-a-lot: Dimitri (I still try to spell it Dmitri AS IT SHOULD'VE BEEN) is a noble and his chief weapon is a lance. Plus, he's the one you need if you want to take out multiple enemies effectively.

Respect Mah Authoritah: Like Edelgard, Dimitri is an upper-class nobleman and commands respect. We need followers and good leadership skills.

The Power of Blyat: Dimitri the Angry Protector has a Crest that lets him a 10% chance to crit, so let's focus on scoring some high rolls here. We also need to get a horse, for the Winged Hussars charge!

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The leader of the Blue Lion is not a lion, nor is he blue. He does, however, have a Crest and he's a human, so once again we jump into Eberron for those Dragonmarks: Human with the Mark of Sentinel gets a +2 Constitution and +1 Wisdom, and they known Common and one more language of their choice. We get Sentinel's Intuition, which lets us add a d4 to any Insight or Perception check that we make... I know, ironic. Guardian's Shield lets us cast the Shield spell once per long rest. The Vigilant Guardian feat lets us switch places with a creature that's being attacked within 5 feet of us once per long rest. We also get some spell options opening for us if we take a spellcasting class (spoiler alert: we do).

Much like Edelgard, Dimitri is a nobleman. He is the prince of Faerghus and he cares for his fellow Lions deeply. Let's push that part of his personality further, by giving him the Soldier background. This gives us proficiency in Athletics and Intimidation, one type of gaming set and proficiency with land vehicles, and we get the Military Rank feature. Soldiers loyal to our former organization (remember, D&D is about leaving everything and start a new life as an adventurer) recognize us and our former status and may agree to help us with some tasks that wouldn't incriminate them directly. This may also grant us access to military facilities and camps.

ABILITY SCORES

We'll start with Strength - Dimitri is one of the strongest units in the game, and his strength growth is the highest of all units. Constitution will be next, we have a very good HP and defence growth. Charisma must be high, we're the charismatic leader and a nobleman.

Dexterity will be next, we're more mobile than Edelgard, but lances and swords are Strength-based, so we need to prioritize that. Intelligence is lower than I want it to be, but we need other abilities more. Finally, we'll dump Wisdom... yeah, our sanity and judgment are not great. This is ironic on more than one level...

CLASS

Level 1 - Paladin: ...because of that, yes. Paladins' Hit Dice is d10 and they start with [10 + Constitution modifier] initial Hit Points. We gain proficiency with light armour, medium armour, heavy armour, shields, simple weapons, and martial weapons. I'd say Dimitri's armour is more of medium variance, so let's give him a half-plate and of course a lance (with a longsword on the side). Our saving throws are Wisdom and Charisma, and we get to choose two class skills (Religion and Persuasion).

We start with Divine Sense, which lets us detect the presence of any celestial, fiend, fey, or undead within 60 feet of us. We also get Lay on Hands, which gives us a pool of healing energy equal to [our Paladin level x5] that we can distribute however we please (or spend 5 points to remove one disease or poison from one target).

Level 2 - Paladin: First, we get to pick a Fighting Style. For Dimitri, who uses a two-handed weapon and has a better chance to crit, we're gonna pick Great Weapon Fighting. When we roll a 1 or a 2 on our damage rolls, we can re-roll the die. We must use the new roll, though, even if it's once again a 1 or a 2. We can also use Divine Smite: whenever we hit a creature with a melee attack, we can burn one spell slot to add extra radiant damage (2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, +1d8 for each level above).

Finally, Paladins get Spellcasting. Charisma is our casting ability, and we only get to learn regular spells. We do get to access the entire Paladin spell list, but each day we can prepare [Charisma modifier + half of our Paladin level rounded down] spells. We start with two 2st-level spell slots.

Heroism imbues one target of our choice with bravery. Until the spell ends (1 minute, concentration), the target cannot be frightened and gains Temporary Hit Points equal to our spellcasting modifier each turn.

Command lets us issue a one-word order to one creature within 60 feet of us. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw, or interpret and follow the command on its next turn. The command cannot be directly harmful to it.

Level 3 - Paladin: Thanks to our Divine Health feature, we are now immune to disease. Additionally, this is the level where we pick our subclass, our Divine Oath... and what's better for the angry bean known as Dimitri than Oath of Vengeance.

We get access to some Oath spells, at certain levels we get two spells automatically added to our list (we always have them prepared):

Bane targets up to three creatures of our choice within 30 feet of us. Each creature must make a Charisma saving throw or take a 1d4 penalty to each attack or saving throw it makes before the spell ends (1 minute, concentration).

Hunter's Mark places a brand on a target within 90 feet of us. Until the spell ends (1 minute, concentration), our weapon attacks deal extra 1d6 damage to the target, and we have an advantage on Survival and Perception checks related to tracking the target. If the target dies before the spell ends, we can use a bonus action to mark a new target.

After taking their Oath, Paladins gain access to Cleric's Channel Divinity feature. They can use it once per short or long rest, and can choose between the following effects:

Abjure Enemy: We present our holy symbol and mutter a prayer, directed at one creature within 60 feet of us. They must make a Wisdom saving throw (fiends and undead roll with a disadvantage). The effect doesn't work if the target is immune to being frightened. On a failed save, the target's speed drops to 0 and they're frightened until they take damage. On a successful save, the target's speed is halved for 1 minute or until they take damage.

Vow of Enmity: As a bonus action, we vow enmity against one creature we can see within 10 feet of us. We gain an advantage on the attack against the object of our enmity for 1 minute or until it drops to 0 Hit Points or falls unconscious.

Level 4 - Paladin: Time for our first Ability Score Improvement! Let's put one point into our Strength and one into Wisdom to get rid of the negative modifier.

We can also get one more 1st-level spell: Compelled Duel attempt to force one creature within 30 feet of us to one-v-one us. The creature must make a Wisdom saving throw, or be forced to approach and fight us. For the duration of the spell (1 minute, concentration), it has a disadvantage on attack rolls against creatures other than us and must make a Wisdom saving throw each time it attempts to move more than 30 feet away from you.

Level 5 - Fighter: Jumping classes into Fighter. Luckily, our Hit Dice stay the same. We do get to pick another Fighting Style and to get some of that extra special lance tricks, let's get Superior Technique. It allows us to pick one Manoeuvrer from the Battle Master subclass, and we get one d6 Superiority Die.

Commander's Strike lets us forgo an attack and give one creature we can see a reaction to make an immediate attack. They add the Superiority Die to the damage roll.

We also get Second Wind that lets us heal [1d10 + our Fighter level] Hit Points once per short or long rest.

Level 6 - Fighter: We get Action Surge. Once per short or long rest, we can take one extra Action on one of our turns.

Level 7 - Fighter: Here, we choose our second subclass, our Martial Archetype. For Dimitri, we're going to choose Cavalier. The reason's pretty obvious, I think. We have a horse, the horse is a badass. When we pick this Archetype, we gain proficiency in one skill of our choice from the list (let's grab Animal Handling), and the Born to the Saddle feature reduces our speed penalty when mounting or dismounting our warhorse (and we gain an advantage on saving throws against being knocked off).

Finally, Unwavering Mark acts similarly to the Hunter's Mark spell. Whenever we hit a target with a melee weapon attack, we leave a mark on it until the end of our next turn. The target has a disadvantage on any attack roll that isn't made against us, when within 5 feet of us. Additionally, if the target deals damage to somebody other than us, we can make an attack as a bonus action on our next turn. We have an advantage on the attack roll, and if we hit, we deal extra damage equal to half of our Fighter level.

Level 8 - Fighter: Time for our first Ability Score Improvement! Let's raise our Constitution by two points for those good Hit Points.

Level 9 - Fighter: We get Extra Attack. Whenever we use the Attack action on our turn, we can now attack twice instead of once.

Level 10 - Fighter: Halfway through the build and we get another ASI. Let's put one point into Strength and one into Dexterity.

Level 11 - Fighter: We get our first subclass upgrade. Warding Manoeuvre lets us protect ourselves, our mount, or people around us from attack. If an attack hits us or any creature within 5 feet of us, we can use a reaction to roll a 1d8 (we must be wielding a melee weapon or a shield). The result is added to the target's AC for that attack. If the attack still hits, the target gains resistance to the attack's damage for this attack.

Level 12 - Fighter: One more ASI for the road. Let's round those Strength and Dexterity scores.

Level 13 - Fighter: We gain access to the Indomitable feature. Once per long rest, we can choose to re-roll a failed saving throw. We must use the new result, however, even if it's the same or worse.

Level 14 - Fighter: We get another subclass feature: Hold the Line. Creatures now provoke attacks of opportunity for us if they move 5 feet or more while within our reach (since we have a lance, we have a reach of 10 feet). Additionally, if we hit the creature as an opportunity, its speed drops to 0 until the end of the current turn.

Level 15 - Fighter: Our Extra Attack feature improves. We can now attack three times during one Attack action.

Level 16 - Fighter: More ASI. Let's round up our Charisma and Intelligence, by giving each a point.

Level 17 - Fighter: We can now use the Indomitable feature twice between long rests.

Level 18 - Fighter: Another ASI. Let's cap our Strength at 20.

Level 19 - Fighter: We get our final subclass upgrade: Ferocious Charger. If we move at least 10 feet in a straight line before attacking a creature (and we successfully land a hit), the target must make a Strength saving throw (DC = 8 + our proficiency bonus + our Strength modifier) or be knocked prone. We can use this feature once per turn.

Level 20 - Fighter: Our capstone is Fighter 16 and the final ASI of the build. Let's get some more Dexterity for better Initiative.

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And that is Dimitri. I know, it took some time. Let's see what we have:

We're a mounted combatant with some nice reach and tactical ability on the battlefield. We have some more spell options than Edelgard and our Channel Divinity features give us some Crowd Control options.

With a half-plate armour our AC is 17, we have a +3 to our Initiative, and we have 196 Hit Points on average.

Once again, we had to sacrifice more mental-oriented abilities, so our Intelligence and Wisdom are pretty low, which might make us vulnerable to magic.

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There we go, 2/3 of the Fire Emblem request done. I'll see you in the next one, lovelies!

- Nerdy out

#fire emblem: three houses #fire emblem #dimitri #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #blue lions #human #paladin #fighter #oath of vengeance #cavalier #dnd #d&d 5e #d&d build #dungeons and dragons #character building

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grailfinders · 3 years

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Fate and Phantasms #141: Jeanne d’Arc Alter Santa Lily

That’s right, an unseasonably warm Christmas is upon us yet again, because it’s time for another Santa build! Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re making Jeanne d’Arc Alter Santa Lily yes that is her entire name. J Lils is a Divine Soul Sorcerer for some Christmas magic, but she’s also an Eloquence Bard, so she can deliver presents to good kids and stern lectures to bad ones. Plus, it makes all your spells Christmas carols!

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: Look up in the sky! It’s a bird! A plane! Its... Venus?

Race and Background

Normally we cheat a bit and call servants humans, but you’re on the losing end of Six Degrees of Separation with Mortality, so your Lineage is as Custom as it gets. (Seriously, you are the kid version of the evil version of the good version of Jeanne d’Arc.) This gives you +2 Charisma, a Small size, Performance proficiency for your next stage show, and the Lucky feat. This lets you re-roll your saves, checks, or attacks three times per long rest. You can also force attacks targeting you to be re-rolled using the same luck pool.

Like your big sister you’re getting the custom Magic Doppelganger background, giving you proficiency in Arcana and Religion.

Ability Scores

Like your even bigger sister, we’re going with the standard array here. Feel free to roll if you really want to, but make sure your Charisma is your highest stat. You’re a cute kid, and you can also dish out a mean tongue lashing when you need to lay down the law. Second is Constitution, because that’s not just how beefy you are but how lucky you are too, and you’re lucky to be alive. Your Strength isn’t bad, you’re good with a spear but you’re still a kid. You are a bit clumsy when you get worked up, so your Dexterity isn’t great. Your Intelligence isn’t amazing, at least one version of you is illiterate and I don’t know how much that affects you, but we’re dumping Wisdom. Honestly a wiser servant probably would have logic-bombed themselves out of existence by now, so this might be a blessing in disguise.

Class Levels

1. Bard 1: Going into bard first gives you proficiency with Dexterity and Charisma saves, as well as three skills from the bard list. That is to say, the entire list of skills. Intimidation is probably the closest thing to lecturing people, but that might also be Persuasion, it depends on how you word it. You also get Deception proficiency, because you absolutely did not steal any cookies from the cookie jar.

You also learn Spells that you can cast using your Charisma Modifier, as well as some Bardic Inspiration. These are a number of d6 equal to your charisma modifier that you can give to allies to help with their checks, saves, and attack rolls. They recharge on long rests.

For cantrips, Friends and Vicious Mockery run you through D&D’s gamut of social interactions. Healing Word and Heroism make for nice gifts under the tree; Sleep and Comprehend Languages give you skills any santa will need to keep on top of their duties, and Identify will make sure you get the right gift to the right person!

2. Sorcerer 1: I was going to save the multiclassing for a bit, but you really don’t wear heavy armor and your dexterity isn’t great, so here we are.

As a Divine Soul sorcerer, your Spells are augmented with Divine Magic, letting you choose sorcerer or cleric spells when you level up, and you can cast them with your Charisma. You’re also Favored by the Gods, letting you add 2d4 to a failed save or attack roll once per short rest.

For your cantrips, Control Flames will make going down the chimney a bit less hazardous. Fire Bolt gives you a quick and dirty noel ball, otherwise use Light on an ornament and just throw that. You can also Spare the Dying for a last minute gift.

For spells, Mage Armor is almost mandatory for you, and Bless and Cure Wounds are both great gifts, just in time for the holidays. The former adds 1d4 to all attacks and saves three targets make for the duration, and the latter is healing! Everyone loves healing, it’s almost like money.

3. Bard 2: Second level bards are a Jack of All Trades, adding half of your proficiency bonus to all checks that aren’t already proficient. Santa-ing requires all sorts of skills. You also learn a Carol of Rest, adding 1d6 to the healing your party does over short rests. Your Magical Inspiration also lets your allies use your bardic inspiration to increase their spells’ healing and damage rolls.

You can also cast Unseen Servant to deliver presents with the utmost secrecy!

4. Bard 3: Third level bards graduate from a college, and the college of Eloquence lets you lecture on par with the sternest of professors while also properly enunciating your Christmas carols. Your Silver Tongue lets you treat rolls of 9 or lower as 10 when you make a deception or persuasion check- naughty or nice, it’s up to you.

You can also use your Unsettling Words to point out all the naughty things a creature has done lately, spending a bonus action and an inspiration die to reduce the next save it makes based on the inspiration roll.

You also get Expertise in two skills- Persuasion to rally your party members, and Deception to pointedly ignore how you refuse to let other people help you and bottle up all your problems due to a crippling lack of self-worth.

By that I mean you also learn Knock. That’s exactly what I meant.

5. Bard 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to round up your Strength and Charisma scores for stronger spells, more inspiration, and a better time actually using your spear as a class named after a weapon.

You also get the cantrip Dancing Lights for more decorations, and Silence so that Knock from last level doesn’t wake up the house.

6. Sorcerer 2: Going back into sorcerer makes you a Font of Magic, giving you sorcery points equal to your sorcerer level. Right now you can turn those into more spell slots and vice versa, but better uses are coming.

You also learn the other half of Bless, Bane. Up to three creatures need to make a charisma save (DC 8 + proficiency + charisma modifier) or they subtract a d4 from their attacks and saves for the duration of the spell. By the way, yes, that does mean you can subtract 10 from an enemy’s save before blasting them. Life’s fun like that.

7. Sorcerer 3: At third level, sorcerers learn Metamagic, ways of altering their spells to suit their individual style by spending sorcery points.

Careful spells will let you protect your friends from the splashback of your choices in life. That’s not much of an issue right now, but we get scarier spells later. Otherwise, Twinned spells let you basically cast two spells at once, as long as the original could only target one thing. Now you can have red and green lights at the same time!

Speaking of spells that use neither of these options, Prayer of Healing will heal your entire party for a little bit! It has a casting time of 10 minutes though, so I’d save it for out of combat.

8. Bard 5: Heading back to bard for a bit improves your bardic inspiration, growing them to d8s. You also become a Font of Inspiration, meaning you regain inspiration dice on short rests instead of long ones.

You also learn Mass Healing Word. It’s Healing Word, but Mass.

9. Bard 6: At sixth level bards can waste their action on Countercharm, giving nearby allies advantage against being charmed or frightened. More usefully, you also get Unfailing Inspiration so your inspiration dice don’t go away until they’re used on a successful roll.

You also learn Universal Speech, spending an action to make yourself understandable to any number of creatures within 60′ of you for an hour, regardless of the languages they speak. Now you can bring the joy of Christmas all over the world! You can use this once per long rest or by spending a spell slot.

If you’re still dealing with naughty children though, you can use Fear to put them in their place.

10. Bard 7: Seventh level bards get fourth level spells. There aren’t any here we really need for the build, but Hallucinatory Terrain will help you make sure it’s always a white Christmas.

11. Sorcerer 4: Use this ASI to bump up your Strength. Now your stabbing’s good. Yay!

You also learn Thaumaturgy for more of a stage presence and Magic Missile as a stand in for that green and red thing you do. You know the one.

12. Sorcerer 5: Fifth level sorcerers can use Magical Guidance to re-roll a failed skill check by using a sorcery point. They can also cast third level spells, like Gaseous Form, which makes your whole body a bit dreamlike to pass through solid objects.

13. Sorcerer 6: Sixth level divine souls get Empowered Healing, letting you re-roll any healing dice near you at the low cost of one sorcery point. You can only do this once per turn though.

In keeping with the tradition of “getting cool sorcery abilities and spells that 100% don’t use them”, you can now cast Sleet Storm to really let it snow.

14. Bard 8: Use this ASI to max out your Charisma. You also learn Greater Invisibility, so you can personally deliver presents to kids whether they’re sleeping or awake.

15. Bard 9: At ninth level, bards see their song of rest grow to a d8 as well. They also learn 5th level spells, like Mass Cure Wounds. It’s Cure Wounds, but Mass.

16. Bard 10: At this level your bardic inspiration grows again to d10s.

I know we’ve been calling your healing spells “gifts”, but we also said they were like money- appreciated, but not really in the spirit of things. Thanks to Magical Secrets you learn two spells from any spell list. Grab the Mending cantrip for your normal cantrip this level, then grab Creation to make any sort of toy you could imagine out of thin air. Then use Conjure Volley for some mass production!

You also get Expertise in two more skills- Arcana and History are good picks here.

17. Bard 11: Eleventh level bards get sixth level spells, like Heroes’ Feast, for a great Christmas dinner.

18. Bard 12: Now that your magic’s stupid good, we should probably beef up your defenses. Normally we’d go with dexterity, but honestly your AC isn’t amazing anyway so we’ll go with Constitution. More health to burn through, and better concentration!

19. Bard 13: Your song of rest joins your inspiration in d10ville, and you get seventh level spells! Etherealness is next to ephemeralness, as the saying goes, so grab that spell and hop on the Ethereal Plane for the ultimate in home burglary skills. Now you can pass straight through objects and are completely undetectable to anything except ghosts. And blink spiders. Watch out for the blink spiders.

20. Bard 14: Our last eloquent goody is Infectious Inspiration, letting you spend a reaction to shuffle your inspiration to another person after it helps out the first person. You know how Christmas music is suddenly everywhere as soon as one radio station starts playing it? This is why. You can use this a number of times per long rest equal to your charisma modifier.

You also get one last round of Magical Secrets, and since we’ve covered most of our bases as far as presents and santa-ing goes, let’s spend these last two on Heal and Regeneration. Healing never goes out of style.

Pros:

Thanks to your maxed out charisma and unsettling words, your spells come with very difficult saves. Getting a 19 or higher on a d20-d10 is rough.

You also come packing a little bit of everything. You’re not terrible with a spear if you really need it, but you’ve also got some utility spells, healing, damage, social spells... you’ve got plenty of spread.

Speaking of being social, your guaranteed 10s on persuasion and deception, plus your expertise with both, means it’ll never be hard for you to sway crowds to your side of an argument.

Cons:

Despite having super tough saves you don’t really use them that much since you’re mostly a healer, or dealing with threats through indirect means.

We didn’t do much with your dexterity this time around, so your AC is honestly pretty terrible, especially for a caster class build. Your HP almost makes up for it, but it’s still not a great look for you.

Those levels in sorcerer we took might make your healing spells stronger and give you your only source of decent AC, but that also splits your spell list, keeping you from getting 9th level spells. Like every build, almost no benefit outweighs the wish spell.

#Fate Grand Order #D&D 5e #FGO #Jeanne d'Arc Alter Santa Lily #Fate and Phantasms #Bard #Sorcerer

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toxicdogars · 4 years

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Clair + D&D! Excited to see what comes of this. :)

Tumblr Meets D&D - Your Muse as a D&D Character

Clair

Ah yes, Clair. The final gym leader you fight before reaching the League for the first time in all Johto games. And that’s generally all we really get of her in those games, aside from her rivalry with Lance and how much of a haughty sore loser she is. Though this is not the Clair we are looking at today, today we approach @draconscious and their interpretation of Clair, who I firmly believe has developed more into her own person and away from the second-place ruthless girl of old. Let’s start with a few goals. The obvious one is this- Dragons. It’s Clair’s type specialty and we need to put some of that into her D&D counterpart. Let’s also draw some focus toward her ruthless battling style and get some physical damage sources as well. On that same note, we should also make sure that she’s durable. This girl can take Pokemon attacks with ease. That’s gotta mean she’s got high hit points or defenses, right? Once again, we’ll be using Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition and all books and articles related to it.

Ability Scores

These ventures will use standard array, a set of numbers given as a sort of average stat pool. Feel free to roll for stats if you wanted to use this character, just treat this arrangement as a general order for what stats are most important. Make sure to keep some multiclassing minimums in mind but it shouldn’t be that difficult. Personally? I think Clair needs higher stats than what I have available here. So definitely consider rollling.

Strength: 13 (She’s pretty strong, but we just need other stats more) Dexterity: 14 (Will be needed for our armor and attacks) Constitution: 12 (A positive modifier is always good) Intelligence: 15 (A core stat) Wisdom: 10 (Definitely not the best at insight checks but I wouldn’t dump it) Charisma: 8 (She’s attractive, but not the best with people)

Race

In a surprise will be change of pace, I’m going to make Clair an Elf. She’s haughty, comes from a long line of respected warriors, and just look at her. She practically screams elven princess. On that note, let’s push further on that royalty aspect and make her a High Elf. High Elves get the typical 30 feet of movement and get +2 to their Dexterity and +1 to their Intelligence, bringing our core stats up to 16 each. She’d also get Darkvision and free proficiency in Perception to see well in the low light of the Dragon Den. Her Fey Ancestry would also give her advantage on charm saves and she wouldn’t be able to be put to sleep by magic, which is good, since elves don’t sleep anyway. Instead she has a Trance, which gives her the benefits of a long rest over four hours instead of eight. More time for training, right? As a High Elf, Clair would also have free proficiency in the longsword, shortsword,shortbow, and longbow, as well as an addition language of her choice in addition to the Common and Elvish she’d already know. Take Draconic, perhaps? And lastly, High Elves get a free cantrip to start that relies on Intelligence, which is going to be your casting modifier anyway so that’s excellent. Here’s a solid choice:

Green-Flame Blade: An evocation cantrip that uses a weapon attack to strike a foe, causing green flames to leap to another nearby foe. Cantrips scale by character level, not class level, so it will eventually grow stronger, adding extra fire damage to the initial strike. A bit of a substitute for Dragon Breath if you ask me.

Class and Background

Some might be expecting me to go Sorcerer again and take the Draconic Soul, but I wanted to highlight more than just her draconic connection and focus on her personality, what she would do if she was actually growing up in a fantasy world with magical creatures and teens traveling the world fighting monsters. Oh, wait, she does live in a world like that. Well, make it more medieval and then you’d get... a Fighter! Yes, I would say that Clair has plenty of martial experience. But I also think that she has plenty of focus on study and research- especially after realizing the errors of her ways. So we also will stack in a couple levels of Wizard For now, let’s start with some Fighter levels..

Fighters start with a d10 hit die (excellent), proficiency in Strength and Constitution saving throws, simple weapons, martial weapons, light armor, medium armor, heavy armor, shields, and two skills from a short list. Of the options listed, Acrobatics and Athletics will reflect her athletic ability pretty darn well. Gonna need both if she’s running around ancient caverns looking for the rarest of Dragon Pokemon. Toss on some light armor, I’d recommend studded leather. As for what weapons to focus on, I’d suggest any Finesse weapon to pair well with her Dexterity. Could be a dagger or a rapier, but I personally think a whip is the most appropriate for her character.

As for her background, let’s focus on training with the Blackthorn Dragon Clan and call her a Noble. Let’s adapt the background a bit and give her History and Intimidation instead of Persuasion, another language of her choice, and a gaming set of her choice. My bet is chess, she’s probably challenged the Elder to many games to get in his favor.

We’ll start with some early Fighter levels and then proceed to her levels in Wizard, and then go back to Fighter to round off the build. At Fighter 1, Clair can pick a Fighting Style. She’s got some options, but what I would recommend is:

Dueling: When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

This means that whip of hers deals 1d4 + 3 (from Dexterity) + 2, which is already the maximum damage of a whip in the hands of someone with 20 Dexterity. This should make up for the lower damage of the whip pretty well. Fighter 1 also nets her a recovery ability in the form of the following feature, which will help when she’s taking those Pokemon attacks:

Second Wind: On your turn, you can use a bonus action to regain hit points equal to 1d10 + your fighter level. Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.

At Fighter 2, she gets a nifty feature called Action Surge:

Action Surge: On your turn, you can take one additional action on top of your regular action and a possible bonus action. Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.

By the way, this is the second reason we’re starting Fighter. The first is getting proficiency in Constitution saving throws to make her concentration saves to maintain her wizard spells really damn good. Speaking of magic, let’s get some more. Spamming that Green-Flame Blade can’t be all ya wanna do, right?

At Fighter 3, Clair can pick a martial archetype, and we’re going to get that magic going with Eldritch Knight. Eldritch Knights gain the ability to cast wizard spells, relying on their Intelligence modifier just like her cantrip from High Elf. This means her Intelligence modifier is added to the attack rolls of spells and the difficulty check of saving throws her spells require. She gains two cantrips from the wizard list and three first spells, two of which must be evocation or abjuration with the third being free of that restriction. In case someone doesn’t know the difference, cantrips are simple magical tricks you can pull off at will, while leveled spells require expending one of your spell slots of a level equal to or higher than the spell’s level. Here’s some options:

Fire Bolt: An evocation cantrip that deals fire damage from a distance- a pretty solid Ember attack, if you ask me. Her Salamence likely knew it when it was a Bagon after all. Lightning Lure: An evocation cantrip that forces a Strength saving throw lest the target be drawn up to 10 feet closer, and deals lightning damage if the target is pulled within 5 feet of her. A handy Thundershock if you ask me. Earth Tremor: A first level evocation spell that forces a Dexterity save by shaking up the ground in a localized quake, dealing bludgeoning damage if they fail the save. A solid Bulldoze. Shield: A first level abjuration spell that increases your armor class by 5 for a round of combat as a reaction. Pretty good use of Protect if you ask me. Feather Fall: A first level transmutation spell that basically saves people from a falling damage up to a point. Rather handy if she falls off a dragon.

Additionally, she gets a nice ribbon ability from the EK, which can be applied to her whip so that she always has access to a weapon:

Weapon Bond: Over the course of 1 hour short rest, you can bond a weapon to you. Once bonded, you cannot be disarmed unless you are incapacitated and if the weapon is on the same plane of existence, you can summon it to your hand as a bonus action. You can bond up to two weapons at once.

At Fighter 4, Calir gets her first Ability Score Improvement (ASI) and let’s dump the +2 into Dexterity to make her weapon attacks all the better. She also gets another spell from the wizard list, which must also be either evocation or abjuration. Here’s a good choice:

Burning Hands: A first level evocation spell that releases a gout of flame, burning a line of foes if they fail a Dexterity saving throw. A solid Flamethrower if you ask me.

At Fighter 5 she gains a simple level that gives you the most useful skill a martial character can have, the ability to hit more times with her weapon:

Extra Attack: You can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

It should be noted that this wouldn’t stack with Green-Flame Blade, as casting the spell is not taking the attack action. However, we will gain a way around that restriction soon. But first, let’s lean in to Clair’s dragon research with some levels in Wizard.

At Fighter 5/Wizard 1, Calir gains some buffs to her spellcasting. Since we’re multiclassing two separate casters, it’s worth mentioning that the spell slots Clair has will be modified a bit, since wizard is a full caster and eldritch knights are 1/3 casters, she’ll have a slightly higher amount and level of spell slots. Just look up the effects of this online or in the player’s handbook. The modified spell slots do not change what each of her classes could learn normally, so we will proceed as if she only had the slots of her respective classes. Wizards, unlike Eldritch Knights, can use a spellcasting focus to ignore material components- let’s make that a Dragon Fang or Dragon Scale- as well as cast spells tagged as rituals without using a spell slot as long as she takes extra time doing so. With the caveat that those spells have to be within the Spellbook, a tome of knowledge that the wizard has filled out with their magical secrets. The Dragon Pokedex, perhaps? Wizards can prepare a number of spells from their spell book equal to their Intelligence modifier plus their wizard levels, which will cap out for her at seven. She starts with six of these spells and can add more to her book if she finds them and has the time and money to do so. For every additional level in Wizard she takes, she also gets two more added. Since all these spells will be first level, use it to hold the spells she can’t grab due to the restrictions on Eldritch Knight. Here’s six solid options to add to her book:

Comprehend Languages: A first level divination ritual spell that lets the caster understand any spoken or written language while it’s in effect. Pretty handy when investigating old sites. Find Familiar: A first level conjuration ritual spell that, to reduce the massive amount of rules around familiars to a few sentences, basically allows the summoning a special pet that can do a number of things for her in and out of battle. Use this to summon a snake, perhaps, and make a baby Dratini! Absorb Elements: A first level abjuration spell that uses a reaction to deflect elemental damage that you take and apply it to your next attack. Handy for adding some extra damage to her whip, I’d say. Fog Cloud: A first level conjuration spell that requires concentration to throw up a cloud of mist, which can be used to hide from enemies. Handy. Ice Knife: A first level conjuration spell that deals cold damage by hurling icy shards, almost like the move Ice Shard. It also has the fun side effect of forcing a Dexterity save for extra piercing damage in an as the knife explodes. Detect Magic: A first level divination ritual spell that does what it says on the tin, requires concentration to sense magical auras. Could be useful in locating all manners of old relics and the like.

Clair also gains a nifty Wizard feature at this level that helps with the brunt of the spell slots she’ll be spending when casting leveled spells so frequently:

Arcane Recovery: Once per day when you finish a short rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spell slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than half your wizard level (rounded up), and none of the slots can be 6th level or higher.

At Fighter 5/Wizard 2, Clair gains an Arcane Tradition, and I don’t know if she as trained in folk music as a kid, but we’re giving her the Bladesong tradition anyway to make her martial skills even more magical. The Training in War and Song feature nets her proficiency in light armor, a one handed weapon of her choice, and in the Performance skill. Two of those things she’s already got, but that’s not why we dipped wizard. This is:

Bladesong: You can invoke a secret elven magic called the Bladesong, provided that you aren't wearing medium or heavy armor or using a shield. You can use a bonus action to start the Bladesong, which lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if you are incapacitated, if you don medium or heavy armor or a shield, or if you use two hands to make an attack with a single weapon. You can also dismiss the Bladesong at any time you choose. While your Bladesong is active, you gain the following benefits: -You gain a bonus to your AC equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of +1). -Your walking speed increases by 10 feet. -You have advantage on Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks. -You gain a bonus to any Constitution saving throw you make to maintain your concentration on a spell. The bonus equals your Intelligence modifier (minimum of +1).

You can use this feature twice. You regain these uses each time you complete a short or long rest.

She’d also gain two more first level wizard spells to toss into her book, and really any of those first level spells have some use. Especially if it’s a ritual spell.

At Fighter 6/Wizard 2 she gets another ASI, cap her Dexterity at 20 for +7 additional damage every time she strikes with her d4 whip.

At Fighter 7/Wizard 2 Clair unlocks second level spells, and gains a feature that finally lets her cast a spell like Green-Flame Blade and also strike with her whip in the same turn without having to rely on Action Surge. Let’s also take a second level spell:

War Magic: You can use your action to cast a cantrip and make one weapon attack as a bonus action. Chromatic Orb: A first level evocation spell that hurls a ball of elemental energy for big damage. Nice because she can choose the type of energy from a small list of acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, or thunder.

At Fighter 8/Wizard 2 she gets another ASI, use it to bring up her Intelligence to 18, which as a reminder will let her prepare more wizard spells and enhance her spells’ power. The spell she learns at this level can come from any school, so I suggest one that finally gets us some real dragon representation:

Dragon’s Breath: A second level transmutation spell that is actually Dragon Pulse, not Dragon Breath. A creature she touches, say, herself or her Familiar, can release blasts of elemental force (acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison damage) from their mouths for the spell’s duration. Pretty damn awesome if ya ask me.

At Fighter 9/Wizard 2 she gains a feature that helps with her durability, making her insanely hard to take down. She also gets another spell:

Indomitable: You can reroll a saving throw that you fail. If you do so, you must use the new roll, and you can't use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

At Fighter 10/Wizard 2 she gains a handy ability that will make decimating her foes all the easier as well as another spell.

Eldritch Strike: Any creature you hit with a weapon attack has disadvantage on its next save it makes against a spell you cast before the end of your next turn. Scorching Ray: A second level evocation spell that launches off a multitude of rays of fiery energy, which can strike one or multiple targets. A solid spell and a great interpretation of Flame Burst or other Fire moves.

At Fighter 11/Wizard 2 she gains another attack as a part of her Extra Attack feature, bringing her total attack when she takes the attack action up to three, dealing 24 damage minimum. Not the best with the d4 whip, but definitely pretty terrifying, especially if she’s got other boosts up. Or uses Action Surge for another three attacks, bringing her total up to a minimum of 48, and very likely over 50 damage in one turn. Not better than others with stronger weapons, but pretty darn good for a whip. And let’s pick another spell:

Gust of Wind: A second level evocation spell that can force a Strength save on her foes to push them around with lines of wind. Seems like a good representation of her Dragonite’s Hurricane, I’d say.

At Fighter 12/Wizard 2 she gets another ASI, use that to cap her Intelligence for the best spell saves and attacks possible and some handy bonuses from her Bladesong.

At Fighter 13/Wizard 2 Clair gains another use of Indomitable, now able to use it twice before a long rest. She also unlocks third level spells, let’s take a classic one, one that every madlad wizard takes:

Fireball: A third level evocation spell that deals insane fire damage in an area. It’s stupidly strong, and forcing a foe to make the save at disadvantage through her Eldritch Strike feature is pretty terrifying. Sounds like a good representation of her Pokemons’ Fire Blast move, no?

At Fighter 14/Wizard 2 she gains another ASI (Fighters get a ton of these) but her stats look pretty good, so let’s exchange that for a Feat that will make her hit point pool pretty damn crazy. Her spell this level can come from any school, and there’s some pretty dang good stuff in there, but she should take:

Tough: Your hit point maximum increases by an amount equal to twice your level when you gain this feat. Whenever you gain a level thereafter, your hit point maximum increases by an additional 2 hit points. Haste: A third level transmutation spell that offers a whole slew of bonuses including an additional +2 to AC, advantage on Dexterity saving throws, and the ability to use an additional action for another attack, dash, disengage, hide, or use an object actions. It’s concentration for one minute, but that’s still ten rounds of combat if it lasts the whole duration. When the spell ends, the target can’t move or take actions until after its next turn as a wave of lethargy sweeps over them. This stacks really well with Bladesong, but it should be mentioned that you can only have one concentration spell going at a time. Choose carefully.

At Fighter 15/Wizard 2 Clair gains the rather inaccurate ability to be incredibly scary and teleport right in front of her foes. While it doesn’t really fit her, it certainly fits the dark presence she’s got:

Arcane Charge: You can teleport up to 30 feet to a space you can see when using your Action Surge. The teleport can take place before or after the Action Surge.

At Fighter 16/Wizard 2 she gets the last ASI of the build, and lets drop that into Constitution to further buffen-up our girl. Increasing Constitution buffs hit points retroactively, so she’ll actually gain 16 hit points this level instead of an additional one. She also gains her last spell:

Lightning Bolt: A third level evocation spell that is the Fireball of the lightning damage type, blasting foes in a straight line with electrical power for massive damage if they fail a Dexterity saving throw. A terrifying Thunderbolt attack. It also pairs extremely well with her Eldritch Strike, since she wouldn’t be in the blast radius like she’d likely be with Fireball.

At Fighter 17/Wizard 2 she gains a third use of Indomitable. Should be mentioned that this feature can be used to reroll death saves, which is incredibly handy. Though with her beef, she might not need it.

Fighter 18/Wizard 2 is our capstone, a feature that pairs well with the number of spells she’s got, especially like Fireball and Haste.

Improved War Magic: You can make one weapon attack as a bonus action whenever you use your action to cast a spell.

Final Thoughts

Clair is terrifying. I feel like that needs to be said. Fighters are really good, with their ridiculous physical damage potential and the ungodly amount of ASIs, it was easy to load her up with all the stats she needed. If you rolled well, it might even be possible to cap her Dexterity, Constitution, and Intelligence at 20, instead of only two of them. Then we have that Bladesong to make her even harder to hit and make it easier to maintain her concentration spells. Add in all the damage types she has access to with her spells and the versatility she has in when she can cast them, and you have a recipe for an absolutely terrifying foe. Probably my favorite build so far. Can we talk hit points for a second? Fighters start with 10 base hit points from their d10 hit die, and if we take the average for every level, she’d get 6 x 17. Even with the wizard levels giving her two d6 hit dice that yield a 4 x 2 bonus to hit points, that’s still 110 hit points before we even add in Constitution or the Tough feat. Adding Constitution at a modifier of +2 for every level bumps it to 150 and adding Tough gives a +40 bonus bumping her to 190 hit points. If you rolled well on the hit dice, it’s entirely possible- actually, very probable- that she’d have over 200 hit points. That’s really freaking good. And how about AC? Studded leather + dexterity mod gives her a base AC of 17, Bladesong bumps that to 22, Haste brings it to 24, and Shield would temporarily kick it to 29. You do realize that that is really hard to hit, right? Even if a foe had a +12 bonus to their attack, they would still need to roll a 17 or higher on the d20 if they wanted to actually hit. That’s terrifying.

There’s not many cons. I mean... spell slots are a limited resource, I guess? While you can get a second level spell back during a short rest thanks to wizard’s Arcane Recovery, the wizard dip might not have been all that handy. Dropping the wizard levels would give her more hit points and another ASI as well as the option to attack four times in one turn. It would make her a terrifying martial powerhouse if we dropped the wizard levels entirely.

Just. I do not want to run into this Clair in a dark alley. She’d obliterate everything in her past for sure. And if anything dared to stand up after the blasting, she can just smash them harder.

I hope you enjoyed this. Feel free to tell me how wrong I am with my choices

#[Memes]#draconscious

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tabletopinfinities · 5 years

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7th Sea

Swashbuckling and Sorcery Piracy and Exploration Espionage and Intrigue Welcome to the New World

What’s the premise?

7th Sea is a world of swashbuckling fantasy, in a setting that’s very much like our Earth circa the Age of Sail, but filled with sorcery, monsters, and the mysterious ruins of a pre-human civilization. The core book focuses on Théah, the 7th Sea world’s equivalent of Europe, which is currently recovering from a bloody war between the traditional Vaticine Church and the reformist Objectionists and emerging into a new age of nationalism and humanism. Monarchs play games of espionage while secret societies work behind the scenes. Traders sail to the New World in search of exotic treasures and pirates follow in their wake. Some nations are even beginning to experiment with a bold new idea - democracy.

The technology level of Théah is slightly higher than our world’s was at the time, thanks partly to a Vaticine Church that values knowledge and discovery and also partly to ancient Syrneth artifacts that are centuries beyond human science. Sorcery and magic are not uncommon - but are primarily the domain of the nobility. Spirits, monsters, and other beings haunt the wild places, and any given folktale has a chance to be true.

The characters you play are all very explicitly Heroes, doing noble deeds to fight tyrannical Villains. The world of 7th Sea has a lot of problems besieging it right now - the looming specter of the Castillian Inquisition, the depredations of the Atabean Trading Company, the tyranny of l’Empereur du Montaigne, just to name a few. It’s a world on the brink of becoming something wonderful - it just needs a few good heroes to show it the way.

You’d like it if you’re into: The Princess Bride, Pirates of the Carribean, Zorro, The Three Musketeers, Brotherhood of the Wolf, old Errol Flynn movies

Why do you recommend it?

If you’ve ever wanted to swing from chandeliers, plunder treasure, cut feathers off caps with a swish of your rapier, and woo the fair maiden / handsome prince / other attractive individual, 7th Sea is the game for you. Magic and strange technology add a great twist to an otherwise straightforward historical fantasy.

7th Sea, the new 2nd edition in particular, is one of the most inclusive and welcoming mainstream RPGs out there. Women and people of color can be characters of all kinds, and queer, trans, and nonbinary characters are littered throughout the books and accepted within the setting itself. That, plus the emphasis on your character being a capital-H Hero, make 7th Sea an unapologetically wholesome game. It’s lighthearted and silly, while still allowing for serious dramatic moments.

Plus your character practically cannot die, no matter how much you screw up.

What are the rules like?

The core idea of 7th Sea is that you will almost always succeed at what you’re trying to do. You’re a Hero, after all. If you don’t roll well enough, though, your success might not be total. The way they mechanically represent this is very narrative-driven and plays quite differently from the standard RPG.

There’s three kinds of rolls to make in 7th Sea. The most basic, the Risk, is when your character is trying to bypass a simple obstacle. For instance, they might be trying to escape from a burning room. You decide what your character’s Approach to that will be, and what combination of skills and traits to use. In this case, they might use Finesse + Athletics to dodge and and jump over falling beams, or perhaps Brawn + Weaponry to use their axe to hack a hole in the wall, or even Panache + Tempt to bat their eyes at the fleeing henchman and tell him that if he rescues you, you’ll surely owe him a favor. Then you roll a d10 for each point you have in the chosen trait and skill. If you’re using a skill you haven’t used yet this scene, roll another die, and if you take the time to describe your action a little, roll a further die. Each set of dice you can add up to 10 is one success - here called Raises.

All it takes to succeed in the Risk is a single Raise. The catch is: there will always be Consequences and Opportunities associated with the Risk. You’ll need to spend additional Raises to either avoid the Consequences or activate the Opportunities. In this scenario, the consequences might be something like “take 3 damage from fire” - and each Raises you spend towards that will remove 1 damage from that. Or perhaps you’ll need to keep your clothes free of ash so you can sneak into the ballroom after like nothing happened. For Opportunities, it might be something like “grab the important-looking letter on the table before it burns” or “lead the poor henchman along enough that he switches sides.” So success or failure is never just binary - unless you roll really well, you’ll have to make some choices about what the effects of your actions on the story will be.

The two other kinds of rolls work in a very similar way. Action Sequences represent fights, chases, and the like, and Dramatic Sequences are extended challenges like sneaking into the castle or snooping around town to find information on the wicked viscount’s plans. You make your Approach, and then each character gets to spend Raises from their pool to take actions. As before, all you need is a single Raise to do something, but if a Hero and a Villain are trying to contest, whoever spends more Raises on it wins. During Action Sequences, you can spend Raises to do damage - yes, this means anything can be used as an attack skill if you’re creative enough (“I use Wits + Scholarship to whip up a gas grenade and throw it at her!”). Action Sequences can have Consequences and Opportunities just like a Risk can, including Brute Squads, which are the nameless flunkies your hero mows through without a second thought. A single point of damage takes out a single brute, but any brutes left alive get to deal damage at the end of the round. There might also be events that happen at certain points in the Action Sequence once everyone’s down to a certain number of Raises - the storm hits the ship at 4 Raises, and it hits the rocks and starts to sink at 1.

Dramatic Sequences are the same but paced over a more extended period of time, and are more about seeing how far you can get in your task before you run out of Raises. As before, each Raise you spend lets you change the scene in some way - climb over the castle wall, for instance. Next, you might have to spend a Raise to sneak past the guards, then to steal the jailer’s key. If you run out, though, you’ll be unable to change the scene any further - so after you’ve rescued your ally from jail and you hear someone’s footsteps approaching, if you don’t have another Raise left to hide you may just have to fight your way out.

Every character is pretty tough and can take a fair amount of damage before going down. For every 5th point of damage you take (or any time you get hit with a firearm, because those things are nasty), you take a Dramatic Wound. Your first Dramatic Wound actually helps you - just like the hero in an adventure story, you become driven to succeed and get a bonus on all your rolls. For your second Dramatic Wound, the tables start to turn and now all the Villains get a bonus on their roles. For the third, you get an even bigger bonus as your heroic determination kicks in - and then at the fourth, you become helpless. Not dead, just unconscious or incapacitated - it takes an explicit act from the GM to actually kill you.

Finally, there’s Hero Points. These work a bit like an expanded version of Inspiration from D&D 5E, and other similar mechanics. Basically, you can spend them for bonuses to your roll, a bonus to someone else’s roll, to fight on for a round after you’re incapacitated, and a few other things. You can also spend them to activate your Knacks, which are big character abilities with effects like “knock out an entire Brute Squad in one go” or Come Hither, which lets you lure a character into another room and return without them… no rolling required. Everyone gets one Hero Point to start, and you can earn more by acting in accordance with your character. You can also get one at any time by choosing to fail a roll - so if you think the odds are overwhelming, or you just want to see what happens if your character gets captured or can’t stop the villain’s plan from succeeding, you can just say “I fail” and bank up another Hero Point for the challenge ahead.

What’s my character like?

Your character is a Hero. They come from a particular Nation that gives them some bonuses, and they have two Backgrounds that tell you what their professions are/were and give them some bonus skills and Advantages, as well as determining what in-character actions give them Hero Points. They have a Virtue and a Hubris, each based off the Major Arcana of the tarot (or Sorte deck, in this world). The Virtue is a powerful special ability they can activate, and the Hubris is a character flaw that you can get a Hero Point for roleplaying. Beyond that, there are no classes per se - the character is yours to define as you see fit. Advantages are the main way of customizing your character and giving them special abilities.

You can choose to take Advantages join a Swordsman School or take Sorcery from your nation of origin. Swordsman Schools give you the option to do some fancy Maneuvers in combat, which let you hit for lots of damage, parry opponents’ attacks, etc, as well as a unique Maneuver for each school based on its preferred weapons and fighting style. The difference in combat effectiveness between a swordsman and a non-swordsman is huge, so if you’re planning on making a character that excels at combat, swordsman is definitely the way to go. You also get to be a part of the Swordsman’s Guild, who are legally allowed to challenge people to duels.

The Core Rules present character creation options only for the primary Théan nations - if you want to play a character from another culture, you’ll need the appropriate book. (See What books should I get?, below.)

Avalon, seat of the Triple Crown, is a green and enchanted land touched by the Sidhe - elves, faeries, goblins, and other creatures. The Sidhe are sometimes beautiful, sometimes hideous, always inhuman, and frequently downright nasty. Queen Elaine recently ascended to the throne after recovering the Graal, throwing off the yoke of Montaignois conquest and bringing the Sidhe back to our world - but now the Sidhe are starting to encroach on human lands. This is a land of faerie tales, and those don’t always end happily.

The other two nations in the Triple Crown are the Highland Marches, a craggy land of proud clans and chieftains, and Inismore, a land with a fondness for stories, whiskey, and a good bar fight. Neither of these two is necessarily happy about being part of the Triple Crown, and there’s a growing separatist movement looking to break the alliance, no matter how much gunpowder and blood it takes.

Avalon’s Sorcery takes the form of becoming one of the Knights of Ellilodd, each one the embodiment of an ancient knight of legend. In exchange for taking a vow to the Graal to be a righteous protector of justice, you can tap into that knight’s legendary powers. Should you break your vow, you’ll need to atone before you can regain your powers, however.

Castille is a sun-dappled nation with a deeply passionate people. They recently held off a Montaignois invasion at dear cost, only to fall under the yoke of the Inquisition. Cardinal Verdugo controls their young king like a puppet while he conducts a reign of terror across Théah aimed at rooting out anything he deems heresy. Castille is the seat of the Vaticine Church, and its people are often devoutly religious and very highly educated thanks to the nation’s excellent universities.

While Castille has no Sorcery in the Core Rules, Nations of Théah, Volume 1 introduces Alquimia as an option, letting you invent various alchemical and technological marvels and advancing along a path of self-improvement towards a grand goal.

Eisen was the center of the fighting between Vaticine and Objectionist, and it left the land a blood-soaked mudhole full of traumatized survivors, divided between small princedoms, some of which seek to unite the nation under their banner. Worse, something about the concentrated misery has spawned literal Horrors, monsters of all shapes and sizes that roam the land and prey on innocent victims. But the people of Eisen are a grim, determined lot, and the nation’s not ready to give up without a fight.

Eisen’s Sorcery, Hexenwerk, is a particularly gruesome art dedicated to refining potions and unguents from dead bodies - and then consuming them to gain powers to fight undead horrors and other foes. Hexen are often hunted down as grave-robbers, but they do what they have to do to survive and stop the Horrors.

Montaigne is often considered the center of Théan culture, or at least the Montaignoise themselves certainly think so. Their courts set the standard for fashion across the continent, and their nobles throw the most lavish parties. Unfortunately, all of this has been built on the backs of the peasantry, who have been pushed to their limit by harsh taxes and conscription to serve in L’Empereur’s frivolous wars. L’Empereur sits on his grand throne, surrounded by an endless party of gilded nobility, oblivious to the whispers of revolution coming from below.

Montaignois Sorcery is passed down through noble bloodlines, but it’s quite ungenteel. The art of Porté lets you rip bleeding holes in reality and slip through the space between to walk to other places, or to pull objects out of thin air. Just never open your eyes while you’re in-between.

The Sarmatian Commonwealth is actually two lands under a single crown - the cosmopolitan Reczezpospolitans, and the more traditional Curonians, who still venerate the old spirits. Recently, the king, disgusted with gridlock in the houses of parliament, made a proclamation of Golden Liberty. This made everyone in Sarmatia was now a noble with voting power, marking the beginning of a chaotic experiment in democracy. Some Sarmatians seek to lead their country into a populist new era, some try to take advantage of the chaos to seize power, and others, resentful of the new order, plot to depose the aging king.

Sanderis, the Sarmatian Sorcery, is about making deals with devils. Dievai, to be more precise. They’ll do anything you wish, from snuffing a candle up to unleashing a firestorm that destroys an entire city - provided that you are willing to pay their price.

Ussura is a massive, wild country with long winters and sparse civilization. The Ussurans are pragmatic and hardy folk, and highly superstitious with good reason - spirits both good and evil thrive in these lands. The greatest among them, Matushka, watches over the Ussuran people like an overprotective mother, rewarding the just and punishing the wicked. The Czar recently died under suspicious circumstances, leaving the nation divided by two potential successors - one dedicated to modernization, the other seeking to preserve the old ways.

Ussura’s form of Sorcery, Dar Matushki, are the gifts of Matushka herself - often given as the reward for overcoming painful lessons. Those who fall out of favor with her will earn her wrath, however.

Vestenmannavenjar, another cold northern country, is a land of fierce raiders and warriors who have completely reinvented themselves as a modern nation. In recent years they presented the world with a standard, unified currency - the Guilder - that has come to dominate world trade and finance, all to the benefit of the Vesten, of course. Rather than the High King of olden times, they are ruled by the Vendel League, made up of the heads of all the various trade guilds. Now, rather than conquest and pillage, they extract their plunder from fees and interest. Some Vesten mourn for what used to be, a nation of honor and blood replaced by silver and greed.

Vesten has no Sorcery in the core book, but Nations of Théah, Volume 1 introduces Galdr, a magic derived from runic words of power. Each rune grants strengths tempered with weaknesses, to maintain the balance.

Vodacce is a nation of intrigue, divided up between seven Merchant Princes who constantly scheme against each other. Like Castille, they are devoutly Vaticine, but they have a very unorthodox interpretation of sin, believing that it is better to indulge yourself than let desire fester in your heart.

Vodacce’s magic, Sorte, is the exclusive province of women. The Sorte Strega can manipulate the strands of Fate itself, and can be distinguished by their long black veils, to hide the glazed look they get when manipulating destiny. Too much tugging on the strands risks them lashing back out at you, however, giving you bad luck at the worst times. The men of Vodacce all fear the power of Sorte, and keep the women of Vodacce oppressed and illiterate.

In addition to being from a particular nation, your Hero can also join a secret society. In 1st edition, all of these societies had hidden secrets to them that were presented in their own books. Given that some of the 2nd edition versions differ radically from their older incarnations and the book devoted to secret societies hasn’t come out yet, it’s unknown if those secrets still hold true, or if they hold the keys to different world-shattering truths.

Die Kreuzritter are a former order of crusader knights, since gone underground. They hunt monsters and defend the innocent, using the legendary metal called Dracheneisen, which has great powers against monsters and the supernatural.

The Knights of the Rose and Cross, one of the few secret societies with a significant public face, publicly fight injustice and protect the society’s Patrons. There are rumors of hidden occult secrets only revealed to the initiated.

The Invisible College are a loosely-affiliated band of scholars, artists, scientists, and philosophers who seek to preserve knowledge from those who would destroy it - especially the forces of the Inquisition. They have access to devices on the cutting edge of Théan science.

The Brotherhood of the Coast are pirates who have banded together under a shared code of honor, providing protection to ships that pay them and plundering those that don’t.

Močiutės Skara, “Grandmother’s Shawl,” is in its public face an order of nice old ladies who tend to the victims of disasters and wars, and are welcomed across Théah. In private, however, they seek to prevent wars and achieve peace through any means necessary.

Los Vagobundos are dedicated to upholding the reigns of good monarchs and overthrowing unjust ones. Their leader, the masked man called “El Vagobundo,” can appear many places at once - but unbeknownst to outsiders, it’s always a different member under the mask, channeling the power of the legend.

The Rilasciare are anarchist free thinkers who oppose oppression and tyranny in all its forms, but especially seek to do away with the very concept of monarchy. Some accomplish their goals through pranks and subterfuge, others through bombs and daggers.

Sophia’s Daughters, a small branch of the Rilasciare, are more specifically dedicated to aiding the Fate Witches of Vodacce, spiriting them to safety in other nations, educating them in secret, and making strides towards liberation whenever possible.

What’s the campaign like?

In a game where the characters all play Heroes, there’s a strong focus on defeating Villains. Before you fight them directly, you have to defeat their Schemes, upon which they stake some of their influence. Stop the Scheme, and they lose what they wagered, otherwise, they gain back double their investment. Foil enough Schemes, and they’ll be dramatically weakened for the final confrontation. Thus, most campaigns are focused around a central Villain and their underlings that the Heroes can work their way through.

Each of your characters also has their own separate Stories to pursue, which is how the experience system works. You pick what story your Hero will follow, such as “avenge my father’s death,” figure out what benefit they get at the end of the Story, like “Weaponry 5,” and then figure out how many steps the story will have in the story based on what you want. Although you probably know the beginning step of the story (“find the name of the woman who killed my father”) and what the end will be (“I challenge her to a duel”), you and the GM can work together to figure out the most interesting twists along the way (“Step 3: I discover she was secretly my half-sister”). If you want, there’s nothing stopping you from making the ending a tragic one at the last minute, or even deciding that your Hero should fail so that they can be led into a future Story (“She defeated me into the duel and threw me into the sea - but not before she told me the real reason she killed my father!”) In between these main story points, the GM will also weave in their own side stories and recurring stories, which grant rewards in the same way as you complete them.

Odds are also good your party will get access to a ship at some point, this being a setting with an emphasis on seafaring. Ships have their own abilities based on where they were built and their history, and can gain new abilities as the party completes various types of adventures, like unlockable achievements. Players are encouraged to work with the GM and flesh out the ship’s NPC crew. Of course, the crew will also need to be paid regularly lest they turn mutinous.

What books should I get?

It should be noted that 1st edition and 2nd edition are radically different, both in rules and setting. While the 1st edition books are still useful as inspiration, most of the material in them isn’t canonical any more, and a good chunk of the setting is completely new to 2nd edition anyway. Frustratingly, there’s some characters in both editions that didn’t get described in the 2nd edition books on the grounds that they were already described in 1st edition. If you prefer rules that work like a more traditional RPG, 1st edition is probably more for you (and it also has cross-compatibility with the d20 system in its later supplements). Otherwise, stick to the 2nd edition books. You’ll need a copy of the Core Rulebook, and then the other books describe and provide character creation rules for the other nations and continents not described there.

Nations of Théah, Volumes 1 and 2 flesh out the western and eastern nations respectively, adding some more geographical and historical material as well as some new character rules suited for those nations.

Pirate Nations is very useful for a seafaring campaign, covering the various groups in the Atabean Sea, from pirate republics to native sea-monster hunting Rahuri, a slave colony that cast off its chains, and the villainous Atabean Trading Company. It also includes the Théan nation of Numa, once the cradle of Théan civilization.

The Crescent Empire introduces the Middle Eastern-inspired nations, flourishing under a new Caliph who banished her wicked brother from the throne. These five nations are united as one despite their differences, but loyalists to the old Caliph still plant seeds of dissent for his return.

The New World has the Central/South American continent of Aztlan, once ruled by Old Gods that caused a great cataclysm when they were overthrown that made the land itself shift and change. The Aztlani now venture into this uncharted territory to reclaim what they once had, balancing cultural independence against unifying the continent under one flag, whether by alliance or conquest, while wondering how long they can hold back the greedy Théans eyeing the continent’s treasures.

Lands of Gold and Fire presents the African continent, Ifri, home to several wealthy and highly advanced civilizations. They are under threat both from expansionist Théan powers and the Atabean Trading Company, whose campaign of slavery has empowered an ancient evil in the land.

Several other books are forthcoming for 2nd edition, including one with more information on the secret societies, and The Colonies, which will detail the North American continent. Khitai, the Asian continent, will have its own separate game system (called, appropriately, Khitai), with similar but slightly different rules.

What equipment do I need?

7th Sea uses d10s only, and you’ll want about 6-8 on hand per player, plus a decent stockpile for the GM. Sharing dice isn’t recommended here because it’s easier to keep the dice you rolled in front of you to count Raises during Action Sequences. You’ll also need some method of keeping track of Hero Points - poker chips work well, but you can get creative. Official 7th Sea versions of both are available.

There’s also the Sorte Deck, which makes a great in-universe prop (especially for Fate Witches), although you should note that it differs slightly from real-world tarot decks and has a few arcana cards that aren’t detailed even in the Core Rules. You could use it to guide your characters’ fates, or suggest the next step in their Stories.

Notecards are also helpful for tracking ongoing Stories.

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bailesu · 5 years

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Why Minako Isn’t Allowed to Play Call of Cthulhu

This is actually a segment of a much larger, unfinished project, but it largely stands on its own and I felt like sharing it with those who read my Tumblr.

Rei had lied, as Mars, to Tom, claiming they had ‘important sailor business’ because she didn’t want them to know about her less cool hobbies. A lot of guys would make fun of her for it and she enjoyed dating Tom enough to not want to just scuttle it all like that.

But to do this, she’d had to let Minako come with them, leading to the current crisis.

“I run up the aisle, touching *every* pillar,” Minako said. “I bet something cool and sanity-destroying will happen.”

“Minako, if we all go mad, we’ll be eliminated!” Rei shouted at her.

“This is why I suggested she and I stand guard duty outside,” Ryo moaned.

The GM, a tall dark haired guy named Hanzo, laughed softly. “As you light them up, each one sucks out a magic point; this reduces you from fifteen to seven.”

“I can see all this outside because of the headcams, right?” Naru said. She and Umino had ended up on guard duty; they feared the cultists might come back soon.

“Yes,” Hanzo said.

“I back up the truck,” Naru said, then pointed to the map. “To here.”

“Okay,” the GM said.

“Can I shoot her before she finishes?” Rei said, feeling frustrated that Minako was about to piss everything down a hole for *no reason*.

“You could shoot her now but not before since you don’t have a gun out,” Hanzo said.

“I get my gun out,” Rei said grimly.

The altar shimmers and a voice begins to sing a horribly discordant, powerful song,” Hanzo said. “Sanity checks, D10 loss on a fail. Those outside only lose 1d4 as the full impact can’t be transmitted via the headsets.”

Naru lost nothing and Umino lost four, sighing, dropping to 46. Minako lost nothing, and Rei lost 9. “I still have 63, so no temporary insanity,” Rei said, giving a sigh of relief. Ryo lost six and dropped to 49. Ami lost 2, dropping to 56.

“Hmm, I probably need to…” Minako began.

“We dogpile Minako… I mean ‘Amelia’… before she can touch anything else,” Rei said.

“I assist,” Ryo said, grimacing.

“I consult the book of Thoth,” Ami said nervously.

“I put the truck in drive, but keep my foot on the brake,” Naru said.

“I fret, as I can’t do anything else out here,” Umino said, tugging his hair nervously. Naru took his hand and clasped it, then kissed it gently. He smiled at her, a little less nervous.

“Roll your Unarmed to tackle her,” Hanzo said. Rei rolled a 88 and Ryo got a 65 and they both missed.

“I run and touch the altar!” Minako said.

“Minako, please don’t do it, I want to win this year. I have lost in this tournament SIX times, I don’t want to lose a seventh,” Rei pleaded.

“You… when you were eleven?” Minako asked, surprised.

“Wow, I didn’t start RPGs until I was twelve,” Umino said.

“Grandpa got me started when I was nine because I didn’t have any friends,” Rei said. She mumbled something incoherent. Then she said, “But this group is the first pre-assembled team I was part of; before, I just entered the random pool at cons and I didn’t… People…” She stared at the ground.

“Dammit,” Minako said. “Can I cancel my action? I didn’t realize how important this was to Rei.”

“I told you a million times!” Rei said in frustration.

“But you didn’t really *show* it, it was just the way you also will shout at the toaster if it doesn’t work *just* right,” Minako told her.

“If I don’t shout, you assume it isn’t important!,” Rei shouted.

“You two lovers can continue your fight later,” Hanzo said. “There are no takebacks, so Amelia rushes the altar, touches it, loses her remaining magic points and collapses.”

“Mmm, lovers,” Minako purred.

“We are not lovers! I have a boyfriend!” Rei shouted.

“Wait… you have a boyfriend?” Ryo said in surprise.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Naru asked.

“Hmm, yes, who is he? My records are out of date now,” Umino said.

Rei tugged her hair in frustration. Dammmit.

“While you all have your lover’s quarrel, the music turns triumphant and a man of Mediterranean complexion appears, dressed in a nice suit and holding a saxophone; he plays a riff and two Hunting Horrors appear. Make a sanity check; you lose d6 on success, d20 on failure,” Hanzo said.

Umino got a 99 on his roll, blowing it and losing 20 sanity points to his shock; this dropped his character to 26 and another roll meant that Professor Oxbridge was now catatonic. Naru rolled a 43, so just lost 2 sanity and dropped to 59. Minako rolled 73 and so her 68 sanity dropped 15 to 54. This caused Amelia to begin hallucinating she was at the beach and she began ‘swimming’ on the carpet. Rei got 25, so she only lost 3, dropping to 60. Ryo rolled 88, then rolled a 17, dropping to 32; his character, Richard Burton, ran in terror, now deathly afraid of churches. Ami rolled a 21, lost 5 and dropped to 51.

“Fools! Nothing can stop the coming of the New Age!,” Hanzo said, his voice gravelly now. “Nylarathotep gestures at you all. “Your death will find its meaning in how you were used to bring about the end of this false veneer of civilization.”

“While he rants, I put the truck in gear, crash through the wall and drive over him,” Naru said.

Hanzo paused. “You what?”

“Flimsy wooden walls, falling apart, right? This thing weighs several tons. If I read the collision rules right, he’s going to take 20d6 damage on impact.”

Negotiations and rule consulting followed, followed by a drive check and a failed dodge check, followed by Naru rolling 103 points of damage.

“You crush him flat and his Hunting Horrors too,” Hanzo said. “Unfortunately, killing him means he comes a second time in his monster form.”

Naru stared in surprise.

“Also, you ran over Amelia, squashing her flat; roll sanity check, losing d10 on a fail and d4 on a success.”

She succeeded and dropped two points to 57.

“He comes forth as the Bloody Tongue, since I have the stats for that one, a huge humanoid but with a giant tongue for a head. Roll sanity, d100 loss, d20 on a success,” Hanzo said, grinning.

Umino dropped to zero sanity; his character rolled around in the passenger’s footwell of the truck, gibbering. Naru blew it and dropped to 12 sanity and was overwhelmed by homicidal mania. Minako didn’t have to roll; her character was *dead*. Rei made her sanity check and lost 1 point, dropping to 59. Ryo didn’t have to roll as his character had already fled the room. Ami lost 22 points, dropped to 29 and her character developed a fear of tongues and fled, then realized she had a tongue *inside her mouth* and collapsed, gibbering.

“And then he leaves, right? As it says on page 328 of the rulebook?” Rei said.

Hanzo consulted it, then sighed. “Yes, he vanishes, cursing you all. Osaka, you want to kill, so you drive out the other wall, turn around and come after Hino.”

“I’m sorry, Rei,” Naru said.

“I jump onto the hood and shoot her dead, then jump off,” Rei said, sighing.

“That won’t be easy, but…”

Rei made the Hard check to jump on the hood, then scored a critical hit, killing Naru’s character with one shot, then her character slipped, fell and twisted her ankle.

A luck roll, however, kept her alive but trapped when the ceiling collapsed as the truck took out more of the wall. Ryo’s character fled never to return and Umino’s died in the crash. Ami failed her luck roll and died too, leaving Rei the only survivor.

“Sorry, guys, sometimes things get ugly in this game,” Hanzo said. “But you did get extra victory points by taking down Nylarathotep. Eighty extra.”

“I know, it’s why I touched the pillars,” Minako said, grinning.

Rei stared. “Wait, you knew the victory point conditions?”

Minako whistled idly while blowing a kiss to the air.

“Dammit, you have a boyfriend too!” Rei said.

“Wait, what?” Naru said.

Ami buried her face in her hands.

“I foresee Rei chasing Minako across the con,” Ryo said, but he didn’t need psychic powers for that.

Man, I am losing my touch, Umino thought. He would badger then later, when the chase was over.

They got third place, which mollified Rei somewhat; it would have been first if everyone hadn’t died (running into the woods had gotten Ryo eaten off screen). But now she had new problems to deal with, like the whole boyfriend thing.

For now, though, she would just bask in glory.

#Fanfiction #Sailor Moon

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dunamanticarchivist · 6 years

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The Munchkin Nein - Budgerigar Beau

Explaining this series

Budgerigars, or budgies for the aussies, are.....small parrots. Yes. Long and pretentious name. Simple idea. Kinda like our monk. Beauregard of House something something of the Cobalt Reserve of the Dwendalian Empire, praised be his nam-zzzZZ. In light of the Molly’s bloodhunter update, I was considering postponing Beau’s munchkin-ing, maybe because Cobalt Soul is also one of Matt’s/Tal’Dorei additional archetype for the monk class. But nah, don’t really see it getting changes for now. Also, I suspect this cute little thing might be a budgie. Could be wrong. Anyway, onto our boisterous monk!

Level 5 Monk, Way of the Cobalt Soul. Armed with a bo staff, her almighty fists and her sass of a personality. At this level, if she is wielding her staff one-handed, they deal equivalent damage to fists (d6 +4). On the other hand, there isn’t really a downside to her wielding it double handed, so the staff does d8+4 damage. She’s got 2 attacks with her Attack action, and can make an unarmed strike as a bonus action.

What usually happens however, is that we see Beau spend a Ki point to do Flurry of Blows, which is 2 unarmed strikes. Ki points are basically monk spell slots, or sorcerer sorcery points. There are a variety of things monks can do with their Ki points.

Defensively, Beau can spend a Ki point to take dodge as a bonus action, giving disadvantage on attacks aimed her. So it gives her the option of a balanced attack and defence round, instead of all out attack. We saw this kinda save her in ep22, preventing a couple of nat 20s (2 I think).

Another Ki option is while Deflecting Missiles, a monk feature that uses Beau’s reaction to reduce an incoming ranged attack’s damage by d10 + 4 (DEX mod) + 5 (monk level); if the damage is reduced to 0, a Ki point can be spent to hurl the projectile back, at a standardized 20/60 feet regardless of weapon, with her usual modifiers.

Beau is very speedy, at 40 feet per round. She can also spend another Ki point to Disengage or Dash as a bonus action. At the same time, her jump distance is doubled. High jumps haven’t come up yet and parkouring is mostly RP rather than jumping a large distance, but it could be useful in furthering that RP or navigating the various obstacles Matt puts on.

The two other significant Ki combat options are Extract Aspects and Stunning Strike. Both require a CON save from the target, but the former requires 2 successful melee hits first, while the latter only one before being able to use the ability. On a failure on Extract Aspects, Beau can help figure out one of the mechanical stats/vulnerabilities of the target. There has been some discussion that this ability (which comes from the Cobalt Soul archetype) may not be sufficiently useful and a buff might be in the works. Considering we haven’t actually seen it (aside from Dairon using it on Beau) I can’t really assess its utility for the Mighty Nein or Beau herself, since their general approach so far is basically, KILL IT WITH FIRE and SMASH FACE.

On the other hand, Stunning Strike perfectly sets up many a combo with the rest. Stunned is a really powerful condition to inflict: The target can’t move, barely speak, can’t take actions, bonus actions or reaction, automatically fails all STR and DEX saves, and to top it off all attacks against it have advantage. The only saving grace for the poor sod that fails that CON save is that it only lasts until the end of Beau’s next turn. Which given Beau’s usually high initiative (+4), will give the Mighty Nein plenty of time to wail on the target. Of note, a successful Stunning Strike allows Caleb’s Maximilian’s Earthen Paw to automatically succeed on restraining the target, at least for another turn. Reminder, all following attacks will be also be at advantage, so RIP whoever gets CC locked. But so far, most the enemies worth stunning seem to have a rather strong CON mod, so it depends on whether Matt can beat DC 14.

All this fancy monk shit, is however capped by the number of Ki points, which are recovered on short/long rests by meditating 30mins. At level 5, Beau has 4 5 (thanks abeautifulelegy for picking up my mistake, I was referring to critrole stats which also has the mistake) Ki points to burn in a single encounter. Then she’s running on fumes and fury alone. Which reminds me, I think I’m going to do another series detailing what the Mighty Nein have left after each encounter, how able are they to handle another etc.

Not having Ki doesn’t mean Beau is out of tricks. She also has the sentinel feat, which is quite the Crowd control feat on its own. If Beau hits with an attack of opportunity, the target can’t move. Opportunity attacks are also allowed even if the target Disengaged. Finally, it gives another opportunity for Beau to use her reaction, to melee attack once, when a target in melee range attempts to attack anyone other than Beau. This opens up spellcasters and ranged attackers who try to disengage or are not focusing on the angry blue monk in front of them.

It should also be mentioned that Beau had the highest AC of the Nein at the lower levels. Now Fjord and Jester have got their shields, they are pretty much on par at 17 (Jester the Cleric somehow has highest at 18). However, they dont have the highest of HP pools, so there’s a strange spread of tanky-ness among the Nein, where Caleb and Nott evasion tank with Shield and Uncanny Dodge. Jester, Fjord and Beau have the highest AC with middling health pools. And Molly and Yasha have the highest HP pools with middling AC. Yasha’s rage does give her effectively twice the HP pool against physical damage though. On the plus side, each character can off-tank for a while if needed. On the other hand, no one really handles being focused exceptionally well.

I suppose it would be good to have someone else alongside Beau, and have the other person be the target so Beau can strike out with the sentinel feat. If she pairs with Yasha, it doesn’t matter who the monster attacks, the other will be able to get a strike in and pin them down. Sentinel doesn’t stack between PCs, so no BeauYasha for me :( So if Yasha pairs with Beau it lessens the opportunities to attack and allow the enemies to corner the rest of the team. Caleb has no business being in melee, but in a pinch, Beau could dive in and save the squishy wizard. Pretty much the same with Jester, except Jester handles melee far better. Nott could use Beau as a distraction to get in a sneak attack. Fjord can be an attractive tank with Armor of Agathys to punish hitting him, but then targeting Beau becomes more attractive. Molly probably only benefits if flanking, though he has a Blood Curse of the Eyeless to help Beau tank better by inflicting disadvantage on the enemy if the enemy decides to focus on Beau. So there are potentially many combinations available for melee.

Ranged wise, well she’s a monk you can’t really expect that much. Still, throwing stars are very appropriate and dope. d4 + 4 DMG x2 at 20/60 range, its something. Also, ball bearings are an interest terrain setting tool, for less dexterous foes to trip over.

So there we have it, Beauregard, a whirlwind of blows and still having the tools to defend. Although, she is almost always first to the fray, rushing into the closest foe to begin beating face. Has gotten her into trouble of late. Doubt that’s gonna change anytime soon. Really love the very visceral way Marisha plays Beau in combat. Gives fights a lot of energy, as well as occasional awesome and fail moments in equal measure.

Good talk, friend? (This is probably the most awkward post I’ve made thus far, wordwise, so I think its appropriate to end with a very recent Beau quote.) Uuughh that scene was so hilariously wholesome, can’t wait for everyone to catch up with that.

#critical role #cr2 #beauregard #monk #cobalt soul #monk shit #power of roleplay #the munchkin nein #theorycrafting #mine

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purplelizardman · 7 years

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A 5E Super Sad Tank

In this post, we’re going to cover building an extremely effective, Single Attribute Dependent tank in 5e. This character can hit hard, has good HP and AC, phenomenal saves, and a ton of in and out of combat utility.

Pretty much how the GM felt.

A bit of background: my D&D group had just finished a campaign where we relied on stealth and trickery to overcome (bypass) most encounters; between a rogue/bard who had godly skills, a shadow monk with Pass Without Trace, a ranger/rogue, an Eldritch Knight with Boots of Flying, and a Wizard/Sorcerer so paranoid that he was ALWAYS prepared to cut and run, there were not a lot of encounters that we couldn’t just sneak by.

It was fun, but it quickly became a game of “everyone into the Bag of Holding while we buff someone to sneak past the encounter, or fly over it, or talk our way out of it, or etc…”

In the new campaign, we decided to take a more traditional “kick in the door” type of approach and we would probably need a tank. I decided that I would make the tankiest tank that ever tanked. But I don’t have fun just doing things directly, so I added another restriction: he would also have to be the most SAD character that I could make. In other words, super tanky and relying only on a single attribute: I picked Charisma just for fun.

What we want in a tank

If my tank was going to be incredibly tanky, he needed multiple ways of staying up and useful ways of supporting the party while he was up. This meant high HP, high saves, darkvision (to maintain effectiveness in the dark), and enough spells and/or damage to “hold aggro” or at least keep the enemies’ attention. Lastly, as a matter of good character design we should optimize our action economy to make sure that we have viable options for all 3 types of actions: bonus, reaction, and action.

Enter the Paladin: the perfect chassis. It had everything I needed: HP, great support spells, healing, and phenomenal saves once the level 6 aura came on-line. We can also pick up the Protection fighting style which will allow us to use our reaction to impose disadvantage on an attack against an ally. However, a vanilla Paladin is not very SAD at all: you need Constitution, Strength, and Charisma to make an effective character. Could I simplify it? Yes I could: enter the Hexblade. (Recently published in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything).

With just a single level of Hexblade, we now had a character on the front-line and who uses Charisma for attack and damage. The Hexblade’s Curse ability also gives us increased damage and crit range (19-20) on a single target once per short rest. We can take advantage of that increased crit range to smite enemies, ensuring we remain a threat while also optimizing our damage dice pool. On top of that, we can now add Shield, one of the best defensive spells in the game to our repertoire. The extra level 1 spell slot that recharges on a short rest was just a bonus.

Now all our Paladin needs is Charisma and Constitution. While I couldn’t find a way to fully remove the need for Constitution from a tank, I did find a way to feed Charisma back into survivability. Enter the Shadow Sorcerer (Recently published in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything). While a level of Sorcerer adds some oomph to our spellcasting and some additional spell slots for smiting, it also brings darkvision to the table, and more importantly an ability called “Strength of the Grave”.

Starting at 1st level, your existence in a twilight state between life and death makes you difficult to defeat. Whenever damage reduces you to 0 hit points, you can make a Charisma saving throw (DC 5 + the damage taken). On a success, you instead drop to 1 hit point. You cannot use this feature if you are reduced to 0 hit points by radiant damage or by a critical hit. After the saving throw succeeds, you cannot use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

Now any time our Paladin would be dropped to 0 he makes a CHA save to instead drop to 1 HP. While the DC will be too high to be reliable for most boss fights, it will certainly help against ranged attacks and large groups of enemies. In addition, Paladin’s have the spell Bless on their spell list enabling us to gain an additional +1d4 to our save and attack rolls while also buffing two other allies.

Could we get more durability out of Strength of the Grave? Absolutely.

At our 6th level of Paladin we are adding CHA to all of our saves from Aura of Protection. This means at character level 8, when the whole build comes together, if we have an 18 in CHA and we take we are adding +4(CHA) +3(Prof) +4(AoP) = +11 to our CHA save, with bless active we now have a minimum of +12, meaning that our tank can never be dropped by less than 9 points of damage and on average it will take at least 17 damage in a single hit to knock out our tank.

An Emergent Theme

At this point we’ve got a character who’s mostly a Paladin, with at least one level of Hexblade and one level of Shadow Sorcerer. It seemed clear to me that we were building toward a fallen paladin. Fortunately for us, the Oathbreaker subclass was not only thematically appropriate, but offered a ton of benefits for battlefield control and maximizing our action economy.

In addition to completing the dark, shadowy theme of our character we gain the spell Hellish Rebuke which allows us another option for reaction. More importantly though, we gain Dreadful Aspect, an important channel divinity feature:

As an action, the paladin channels the darkest motions and focuses them into a burst of magical menace. Each creature of the paladin’s choice within 30 feet of the paladin must make a Wisdom saving throw if it can see the paladin. On a failed save, the target is frightened of the paladin for 1 minute. If a creature frightened by this effect ends its turn more than 30 feet away from the paladin, it can attempt another Wisdom saving throw to end the effect on it.

For the low cost of a single action we can, once per short rest, force all creatures within 30ft to make a Wisdom save or have disadvantage on all attacks against us and our allies as long as we’re conscious and they’re within 30 ft. This is important because it heavily encourages enemies to either attack us or to run away. In other words, it’s a phenomenal feature to “draw aggro” and it can change the course of an entire fight.

Since our allies are already heavily incentivized to stay close to us thanks to our +CHA to saves aura, and Protection FIghting Style, this puts us in a win-win scenario: we either draw the fire of enemies (being a good tank) or force the enemies to temporarily retreat from the party (battlefield control).

The Shadow-Steeped Oathbreaker

The build comes together nicely with only two one-level dips to enhance our Paladin chasis. If we go with the Human variant in the Player Handbook, we can easily start with Resilient(CON) to have a 16 CON and 16 in CHA by level 1. Of course, the build works well with Aasimar too and if you are playing a Human, you could pick up the Warcaster feat instead of Resilient(CON).

The full build is online from level 1, but gets a definite bump in effectiveness at levels 7 and 8 when we gain our second attack, 2nd level Paladin spells, and Aura of Protection. We end up with a character with the following abilities:

Tankiness

Paladin’s d10 hit for all except 2 levels and 16 CON mean high HP

Monstrous saves with ability to buff through spells

Prof in CON, CHA, and WIS saves

CHA added to all saves and saves of allies via Aura of Protection

Strength of the Grave means we will never be dropped by mooks and only rarely be dropped by ranged attacks

Battlefield Control/Aggro Management

Dreadful Aspect – protects the party and causes all eyes to be on us as enemies take disadvantage on all their attacks

High melee damage- Between smiting, two melee attacks, CHA added to damage from the Hexblade and then added a second time from Aura of Hate, and the Hexblade’s curse guarantee that our damage output is always relevant and we stay a high-priority target

Support

Healing – Lay on Hands, cure spells, and eventually (if you play to 14 levels of Paladin) Cleansing Touch ensure that we can always add a bit of sustain to the party

Buff and debuff spells- Keeping bless up adds to our durability and helps the party to hit and save, then there’s many other abilities such as Aura of Vitality for healing, and many others. We can always take additional levels of sorcerer to gain metamagic if we find that we need to quicken spell or need to make enemies fail their saves more often.

Protection Style – A highly underrated fighting style that allows us to impose disadvantage on a single attack against an ally as long as we’re wielding a shield and the ally is next to us. Preventing heavy hits helps keep our strikers, off-tanks, and unfortunately positioned casters from going down during the fight.

SADness

CHA to attack, damage twice thanks to Hexblade and Aura of hate

CHA to all saves and the saves of allies within 10ft thanks to Aura of Protection

CHA save to avoid being reduced to 0 HP except by radiant damage and crits, thanks to Strength of the Grave

CHA based spellcasting for save DCs

All those abilities and it’s CHA based. So far we’ere looking pretty good.

The action optimization breaks down to the following:

Action

Attack – 2 attacks with +CHA to hit and + 2xCHA to damage, ensuring our average damage will be extremely high.

Spellcasting – Bless, Aura of Vitality, Dispel Magic, Daylight, Heroism, etc. Because of our high saves we need to receive more than 24 damage from level 8 onwards before we even have to roll a CON save to maintain concentration, making us an ideal party buffer even on the front lines.

Channel Divinity – Control Undead or Dreadful Aspect are both almost always worth the cost of an action when they’re needed.

Lay on Hands – Not the best use in combat, but a great way to guarantee that an ally pops up with a decent amount of health.

Bonus Action

Hexblade’s Curse – A good debuff, especially to take down bosses, it increases damage, grants advantage, and restores HP when the target goes down.

Smite spells – Not the best choice, but often good when an enemy needs to go down now and you’re not already concentrating on a spell.

Expeditious Retreat – A level 1 spell found on both the Sorcerer and Warlock spell lists. It has a Bonus Action cast time, and allows the caster to dash as a bonus action. This spell is a top-notch pick because it allows our Paladin to always be where he needs to be on the battlefield, closing great distance into melee rather than relying on sub-optimal ranged attacks.

Aura of Vitality – While this is a 3rd level spell, we can now use a single bonus action to heal an ally for 2d6 per round, there is not a better healing spell short of wish. With a single bonus action we can bring any ally within 30 ft back into the fight or patch up wounded allies.

Quicken spell – While not in the base build, if we do take sorcerer to third level, instead of one, then we have the ability to transform into the ultimate gish and quicken action length spells into bonus actions. Highly recommended if building as a striker instead of a tank.

Reaction

Shield – Buff your AC to stop attacks from hitting you.

Protection Style – Impose disadvantage on an enemy attack against an ally.

Hellish Rebuke – Deal damage to a foe who just struck you.

Opportunity Attack – Punish a foe for leaving your range.

Absorb Elements – One of the best level 1 spells in the game, perfect fit for our character. Reduce incoming elemental damage and add damage to the next attack.

All in all, it looks like our reaction has a healthy amount of choice without being overloaded as each choice is for a somewhat different scenario. We have plenty of actions thanks to Divinity, Spellcasting, and our two melee attacks.

The only area lacking is our bonus action which has preciously few options. Some would suggest filling that gap with the warlock spell Hex but an extra 1d6 per hit (only our hits) that requires concentration pales in comparison to the other party-wide buffs on which we could use our concentration. Instead, if we decide that we really need to fill up our bonus action options, taking additional levels of sorcerer will allow us to quicken spells and guarantee that we always have a good option for our bonus action.

Summary

In a quest for a super-tanky SAD character we came up with a Variant Human Paladin 1/Hexblade 1/Shadow Sorc 1/Paladin X build with an incredible amount of support, healing, damage, and durability. Theme seems to suggest a darker, Oathbreaker, type of character but there’s absolutely no reason that we couldn’t use other Paladin subclasses.

The recently published Paladin of Conquest from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything would also provide most of the same benefits as the Oathbreaker.

Our character can hold the front-line, maintain enemy attention, buff the party, debuff enemies, spike damage, and should always be the last one down in a fight. Best of all, we’re a phenomenal tank from the get go and an unstoppable one at level 8 when we gain our 6th level of Paladin.

Thoughts, comments, suggestions? Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter @FinlamElmanor comment on this post. Talk to you next time!

If you enjoyed this article you may also like A Fistful of Dice or the Eldritch Sniper.

Update 3-7-2018: Corrected typo – Hold Person cannot be cast without additional investment in either Warlock or Sorcecer. Thank you, Althexia, for catching that!

A 5E Super Sad Tank was originally published on Friendly Neighborhood Lizard Man

#5e #Build #character builds #character optimization #D&D #DnD5e #Dungeons and Dragons #Oathbreaker #Optimization #PurpleLizardMan #Super Tank

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