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Really like this fellow - the Millitaur.

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Interesting. Looks like they are finally going down the Pathfinder archetypes route. Instead of new sub-classes we're getting alternative class features to change your character up a bit.

 
Interesting. Looks like they are finally going down the Pathfinder archetypes route. Instead of new sub-classes we're getting alternative class features to change your character up a bit.

I'll have to ponder on this. While I like more options, this could be opening up a mess. I liked the simplicity of archetypes instead of making new classes.
 
I am generally in favor of a high degree of flexibility in classes. This stuff I like.

however, they’ve pretty much eroded the role of the wizard to nothing at this point. The bard gets virtually the same spells and gets additional class features. Everyone is all flexible now, replacing things left And right. i didn’t read it but I saw they even have metamagic for sorcerers now.

just really seems like the wizard just has no design space left to work with.
 
however, they’ve pretty much eroded the role of the wizard to nothing at this point. The bard gets virtually the same spells and gets additional class features. Everyone is all flexible now, replacing things left And right. i didn’t read it but I saw they even have metamagic for sorcerers now.

just really seems like the wizard just has no design space left to work with.

In 5e, metamagic has always been a sorcerer thing, which is one of the motivations for dips into sorcerer. I think the idea is that magic is a natural part of them so they can manipulate it more easily rather than rotely following recipes. But yea, switching out spells every day is too much for other arcane casters - what's the point of having a spellbook?

Many of the unearthed arcana articles look quickly dashed off, with either very weak or game breaking abilities. Luckily, only a fration of them have ever made it into official rules.
 
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There needs to be a more serious look at the subclasses for the wizard, really. That’s the core problem. They were lackluster at Best early on (save for a couple of them that literally everyone took), and now they are just not distinct enough from anything else to stand on their own. Functionally, everyone is a wizard with a schtick now.
 
Gotta say, i'm playing a Bard at the moment and none of the alternate abilities appeal to me tbh. I think additions to the spell list is fair enough, but not liking being able to swap a spell after a long rest. As a DM I might consider it if the bard has spent some time creating a new ballad or masterpiece as his music stirs new magic in his soul - but that won't happen overnight.
 
Gotta say, i'm playing a Bard at the moment and none of the alternate abilities appeal to me tbh. I think additions to the spell list is fair enough, but not liking being able to swap a spell after a long rest. As a DM I might consider it if the bard has spent some time creating a new ballad or masterpiece as his music stirs new magic in his soul - but that won't happen overnight.

Yea, a new downtime task or when they level up would be fine for switching spells. But every day feels like a wizard without a book.
 
Gotta say, i'm playing a Bard at the moment and none of the alternate abilities appeal to me tbh. I think additions to the spell list is fair enough, but not liking being able to swap a spell after a long rest. As a DM I might consider it if the bard has spent some time creating a new ballad or masterpiece as his music stirs new magic in his soul - but that won't happen overnight.
Yea, a new downtime task or when they level up would be fine for switching spells. But every day feels like a wizard without a book.

yep, this is exactly the issue. a wizard without a book, and with way more class features. Portent is a good ability, there are maybe 2 others in the entire set of schools. I'll give one exception - the Lore Master is very strong, very distinct. Maybe a bit too strong, but definitely distinct.

really, the 5e design is just not friendly to a classic (pre-4e) wizard, and then they stripped the flavor/role it had in 4e. 4e wizards had a strong role - it may not have been all batman wizard, but it was clear, and a good one.

bah, I've gotta go to work, so I can't have a 2 page rant on the 5e wizard.
 
Is it out yet? And if so, how do you like it?

I presume it's out as I've ordered it from Amazon (who only had 1 copy). Not arriving until next week, so i'll post some initial thoughts when it arrives.

Going back to Tome of Beasts, the pocket edition is worth every penny. I kind of wish more publishers did these pocket editions for people on a budget (says the guy who has plopped £40 on a book i'm not sure i'll be using) - they look great and are handy for lugging around.
 
Just struck by an insight on the spell Death Ward. Unless the spell is used up by neutralising something that would result in instant death, you could well be better off without it. The other usage is that the first time you take enough damage to reduce you to zero hit points, you are reduced to 1 hit point instead. Considering many monsters have multiple attacks you could quite easily get hit again in the same round the spell was used up and many attacks give a lot of damage. Dying through negative hit points is on the table if you start off with 1 hit point before the subsequent attack hits. In quite a few instances I would rather be put down by the first hit than potentially take lots more damage when I've only got 1 hit point. Seeing as Death Ward is a 4th level spell, Clerics can get it at 7th level - death by negative hit points is still a possibility for some at that point.

Same applies to the half-orc ability it seems. Anyone have any experience of the half-orc ability in play?
 
Just struck by an insight on the spell Death Ward. Unless the spell is used up by neutralising something that would result in instant death, you could well be better off without it. The other usage is that the first time you take enough damage to reduce you to zero hit points, you are reduced to 1 hit point instead. Considering many monsters have multiple attacks you could quite easily get hit again in the same round the spell was used up and many attacks give a lot of damage. Dying through negative hit points is on the table if you start off with 1 hit point before the subsequent attack hits. In quite a few instances I would rather be put down by the first hit than potentially take lots more damage when I've only got 1 hit point. Seeing as Death Ward is a 4th level spell, Clerics can get it at 7th level - death by negative hit points is still a possibility for some at that point.

Same applies to the half-orc ability it seems. Anyone have any experience of the half-orc ability in play?
I do. It's saved a few parties, as instead of losing the Barbarian or Paladin's 'firepower' it stayed around for one more round, which helped keep at least ONE other character up in at least... 3 occasions? I don't get many Half-Orc players.
 
There needs to be a more serious look at the subclasses for the wizard, really. That’s the core problem. They were lackluster at Best early on (save for a couple of them that literally everyone took), and now they are just not distinct enough from anything else to stand on their own. Functionally, everyone is a wizard with a schtick now.
I disagree, the wizard is a powerful class in 5e; people just play the class sub-optimally (direct damage). A 5e wizard is unmatched in battlefield control and utility; they are a force multiplier. Their biggest limitation is the availability of new spells; a generous or stingy DM can make a big difference.

Is it out yet? And if so, how do you like it?
My campaign has a heavy Lovecraft influence so I've mined it (Sandy Petersen's Cthulhu Mythos for 5E) for a lot of useful stuff. Unfortunately the crunch needs work. System-wise it is inelegant and fiddly; I am willing to bet money it was a case of Pathfinder crunch being shoehorned into 5e by someone who doesn't grok the later edition. I was also annoyed by the typos and the shitty font used for the HPL quotes.

Bottom line it's a decent supplement if you're willing to put some work into the crunch.

I recommend Realms of Crawling Chaos if you wish to incorporate the Mythos into your B/X or Labyrinth Lord game. It happens to be my favorite D&D Mythos supplement.
 
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I checked out the Dungeons & Tombs: A Young Adventurers Guide at the local bookstore and if I was a kid I would have loved the interior artwork and I think it would be a good introduction to get kids into D&D.

It even has a little section on how to build your own dungeon that I think will spark a lot of imaginations. I think the series is a great idea, I know it is popular to decry the supposed 'kiddification' of D&D (that it was ever some sophisticated 'adult' game I think is largely a myth) but I think developing the next generation of gamers is an important part of maintaining the health of the hobby.

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I checked out the Dungeons & Tombs: A Young Adventurers Guide at the local bookstore and if I was a kid I would have loved the interior artwork and I think it would be a good introduction to get kids into D&D.

It even has a little section on how to build your own dungeon that I think will spark a lot of imaginations. I think the series is a great idea, I know it is popular to decry the supposed 'kiddification' of D&D (that it was ever some sophisticated 'adult' game I think is largely a myth) but I think developing the next generation of gamers is an important part of maintaining the health of the hobby.

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I want a copy...
 
So for their annual Extra Life fundraiser stream event WotC released an adventure called Infernal Machine Rebuild (cool title) that sounds like it could be fun. Most awesome of all the dungeon Temple of Moloch is based on the sample dungeon from the 1e DMG and happily they had the very talented Jason Thompson draw a map of it (high res version available in the link). The playable map is here. After my wallet has recovered from the holidays I think I'll pick this up to check out.

Descending the stairs, adventurers first encounter the temple’s resident “pet”—the mutant spider, Thacko. From there, it’s a dizzying exploration of rooms in service to the alchemist Thessalar and his many experiments—including creation of the world’s first owlbear! Meanwhile, other sections of the dungeon house the temple area—including an appearance by the game’s famed statue of Moloch and its massive (and oh so tempting) ruby eyes!


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Next 5e book to be announced on 9th January apparently. A new dice set has already turned up on Amazon.
 
Next 5e book to be announced on 9th January apparently. A new dice set has already turned up on Amazon.

Any pointless speculation as to what it could be? I’m wondering if we’ll get the long-teased Spelljammer adventure? I should check the Dragontalk podcast, usually Chris Perkins comes on during their Lore to Know section and whatever he talks about is a big hint on what is coming up.
 
Any pointless speculation as to what it could be? I’m wondering if we’ll get the long-teased Spelljammer adventure? I should check the Dragontalk podcast, usually Chris Perkins comes on during their Lore to Know section and whatever he talks about is a big hint on what is coming up.

Well, the dice set is called Laeral Silverhand's Explorer's Set or something. I've seen speculation that the book will be Laeral Silverhand's -blank-blank-blank like the named books we've had from Xanathar, Volo, and Mordenkainen.
 
It's a Q1 book, so probably more of a GM-side book than player-side.
 
Well, the dice set is called Laeral Silverhand's Explorer's Set or something. I've seen speculation that the book will be Laeral Silverhand's -blank-blank-blank like the named books we've had from Xanathar, Volo, and Mordenkainen.

Ah I see she is a FR Lord of Waterdeep who was a ‘one of the most prolific magic item creators in recorded history’ according to the FR wiki so I suspect we may be getting a collection of new magic items, magic subclasses, artifacts and new spells, similar to the old 2e Tome of Magic and Book of Artifacts.

I quite liked both of those original books, especially for the expansion of options for clerics that was mechanically simple but flavourful.

The Book of Artifacts was imaginative and each artifact had an adventure seed built into it.

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Wizards has a product page for the dice set. It includes dice, a map of the Sword Coast and cards detailing places and people of the sword coast.
 
So this new book is yet another campaign setting tome about the forgotten realms? A more detailed version of the Sword Coast they already published?

BOOOOORRRIIINNGGG
 
So this new book is yet another campaign setting tome about the forgotten realms? A more detailed version of the Sword Coast they already published?

BOOOOORRRIIINNGGG

Impressive precognition.
 
Interesting, not scientific or likely, seems like a lot of wishful thinking but the Spelljammer love is both ironic and awesome.



Hmm...

 
I completely and unironically love Spelljammer and if it comes out I'd probably run it... in Savage Worlds.

Actually man Savage Spelljammer sounds awesome I should write that up.

I meant ironic because it used to be cool to shit on Spelljammer but now it gets lots of love. Just like Basic D&D.
 
I didn't even know it was ever cool to bash on Spelljammer. I've been hilariously in love with the setting for years. It's my #1 official D&D setting, and it has been since the first time I played it.

It's the combination of the plain whackiness of the lore itself, plus the fact that they just changed whatever laws of physics they needed to to make things work they way they wanted them to.
 
They've been playtesting psionics for a while. I'm always been meh on psionics but the 5e versions look fun (though still needed adjusting here and there). I had hoped that Eberron would have it, no luck. I wouldn't be surprised to see either a standalone psionics book or a book that uses psionics in a place like eastern Eberron late this year.

But I think the recent announcement is something else. I'm not big on the FR but a couple of the books have been set in FR but are really about X (where X would be rules and an adventure around something). Then my potential enjoyment would be determined on how much I like X. If it's just an FR setting book, I'll pass.
 
Next 5e book to be announced on 9th January apparently. A new dice set has already turned up on Amazon.
Did we ever find out what this book is for certain? I don't see anything on the WotC website, but it's past the 9th already.
 
There's an almost accidental reference to Spelljammer in Dungeon of the Mad Mage, in level 16.

In the map of Stardock, there is shown the gravity plane, just like in Spelljammer ship maps. Edit - I forgot, in level 19 there is an actual spelljamming ship, from which Halaster has stolen the spelljamming helm and stores it somewhere lower in his dungeon.
 
Did we ever find out what this book is for certain? I don't see anything on the WotC website, but it's past the 9th already.

They put the announcement back to the 13th. Office gremlins put the wrong date out apparently.
 
Amazon have leaked the title - Explorer's Guide to Wildemount. Another setting book, this one apparently based on Critical Roll's online game. The setting allegedly has more Eastern European flavour to it, which makes WotC saying they will be visiting cultures they don't normally seem rather disappointing to be honest.


Hard pass from me on that one.
 
Hmmm. As someone who has watched critical roll for only minutes and knows nothing about the setting, I'm leaning towards no. Can someone give a very brief summary of the setting?
 
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