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the Psi warrior is designed to be a versatile half caster with the option to focus on martial combat or caster prowess. but also it's to fill a gap in class themes without a convoluted psionic system or one poorly translated from 3e. it's the first one I've drafted that I'm happy with. I think the trance was a fun idea for a gimmick but I'm unsure if I executed it very well in the currently only available subclass, let me know?

feel free to leave any feedback or questions but there are some specific points I would like feedback on. I'm looking for feedback for;

the spell list. anything to add / take away?

the concept, does it have a strong enough identity? / how can I make its identity stronger?

and balance. is the autohypnosis feature too strong or too weak? are any of the new spells to strong or to weak?

Have you ever wondered where players can acquire legendary weapons? From a street vendor? A city shop? Nah. Ward of Armor-piercing Magic Missiles or Legendary Rings of Charming don't appear at city vendors so frequently.

And what about when a player wants to unload their useless but highly rare items? How can a fruit seller afford to pay 50,000 gp for The Golden Skull of Rahul? (Hint: he sold all his children for that)

==================

I add a basic idea and some flavor text.

I took the idea from Chinese novel (xianxia, wuxia) where main hero get his stuff at auction house and secret trading market. High end item should not available on every street vendor :D .

What do you think ?

A friend of mine has been planning to run a game based on the trails game series and has proposed some interesting rules for the arcus units.

I realize the amount of crossover in the people interested in 5e and trails is probably very small so let me explain. An arcus unit is a small device that allows humans to channel the same magic monsters do. The unit uses small marbles called quartz, refined from rare minerals called sepith, to grant these powers. This is almost the only way to use magic as a human.

Charge points and prepared spells:

• Use the DMGs spell points optional rule but call them charge points.
• Every character can prepare up to six spells by placing quartz into their arcus units. These quartz can be exchanged for others that the character possesses upon completing a short or long rest.
• Quartz are magic items and not tied to any specific class, classes do not learn spells on their own and are unable to prepare them without quartz.
• The maximum spell level a character can prepare is the highest spell slot they would have at their level. For classes that do not normally cast spells they follow the same third spell progression as eldritch knight and arcane trickster.

Quartz magic item rarity

Casting rules changes:

• Classes that do not usually cast spells use the same third progression as eldritch knight and arcane trickster (including charge points) however unless they are; eldritch knight, arcane trickster, or four elements they do not add their proficiency bonus to their spell attack modifier or spell save DC. for these classes they choose weather their casting ability is; intelligence, wisdom, or charisma
• After casting a spell the character enters a delay period

Delay period:
After casting a spell there is a delay before it takes effect, during this time they are concentrating on the spell, if they lose concentration before the spell takes effect then the spell fails.

The delay period depends on the spell level and caster status of the character. Once calculated as described below, create a marker on the initiative that is the character's initiative minus the delay, that marker is when the spell takes effect.

Calculating delay:

• Non / third caster Delay = 2x spell level

• Half caster Delay = spell level

• Full caster Delay = 1/2 spell level

Introduction

When homebrewing in 5e sometimes you come across the problem of whether a concept has enough of an identity to be its own class or if it should be a subclass. And maybe there is a strong enough identity there for it to be its own class but it has so much overlap with another class that it doesn’t feel like it’s own. Or maybe it’s just for a character concept that can’t quite be achieved through multiclassing.

Well what if there was a homebrew option that could solve this? Well I can’t promise that character kits will solve all of these problems all the time, but it’s an interesting option to consider.

So what is a character kit?

A character kit is a set of modifications to a class that a character can choose that act as a give and take. They give the class a distinct identity while not changing the core aspects of the class or disrupting its compatibility with its subclasses.

The idea of a character kit is not new and neither is it mine. It comes from D&D second edition. And even though it is a concept from a previous edition it works quite well in 5e, I have made some before and even prepared a few as examples here.

Character kit examples

You will probably notice each of these kits has a holy theme, while this was unintentional and I only realized it after preparing them, it does show how kits can be used to greatly expand player freedom in a restrictive campaign theme such as being members of a divine order.

1. Holy assassin (rogue)

A discrete warrior of the church, they take care of zombies, demons, and worse without the public ever suspecting.

Benefits:

Channel divinity At level one you gain the cleric ability channel divinity and can use it to turn undead. When you use your Channel Divinity you must then finish a short or long rest to use your Channel Divinity again. You do not gain more uses of this ability as you gain levels in this class.

Cleansing strike Starting at first level, when you successfully use your sneak attack feature against a fiend or undead your sneak attack dice become d10 for that attack and the attack's damage becomes radiant.

Destroy undead When you reach 5th level in this class you gain the cleric feature destroy undead. This feature improves as you level up as shown on the cleric class table

Religion proficiency You gain proficiency in the religion skill

Hindrances:

At first level you do not gain expertise or thieves cant, in addition you gain one less proficiency

2. Holy lance (paladin)

A divine guardian who operates at a distance, picking off foes with strikes guided by their god.

Benefits:

Ranged smite You may use your divine smite and smite spells on ranged attacks with; spears, javelins, short bows, and longbows.

Fighting style options When you choose your fighting style at second level, the following options are added to the list you pick from.

• Archery. You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.

• Ranged protector. When an ally within 60ft of you becomes the target of a ranged attack you may use your reaction to use your ranged or thrown weapon to intercept the attack reducing the attack roll by 1d8. You may expend a spell slot to increase the amount of dice rolled to reduce the attack roll by 1d8 per level of the spell slot. To intercept a ranged spell attack you must expend a spell slot.

Banners Each aura you get as a paladin is attached to a holy lance rather than originating from you. When you roll for initiative you may throw these lances up to 120ft to a space that you can see (no action required). If you lose these lances or they are destroyed you may perform a one hour ritual over a short or long rest to cause them to appear as new before you.

Hindrances:

Your hit die becomes a d8 for this class and you cannot wear heavy armor

3. Evangelist (bard)

A preacher and orator who specializes in healing through the power of their god.

Benefits:

Strength in faith Starting at level one whenever you cast a spell that restores hit points or gives temporary hit points, that spell restores twice as many hit points or provides twice as many temporary hit points.

Recited verses Beginning at third level you gain a bonus to religion checks equal to your charisma bonus

Enemy of evil At level three you have advantage on Charisma checks against any; aberrations, fiends, and undead, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them, and you can't be charmed, frightened, or possessed by them. you also learn abyssal, infernal, or deep speech.

Spellcasting focus You may use a holy symbol as a spellcasting focus

Hindrances:

You do not gain expertise at third level

Love thy enemy Whenever you cast a spell that deals damage, each target is considered resistant to that damage unless they were already immune.

“Dead” levels, casting, and balancing

Another article designed to help people homebrew in 5th edition.

When reading the players handbook or SRD you’ve probably noticed that each of the classes capable of casting spells have levels that there is nothing written in the “features” column of their class tables. You’ve probably heard this referred to as “dead levels” which, while not a very accurate name for it, is the common name and what I will be using for the rest of the article.

So why are there dead levels? And why do some classes have more of them than others?

The first one is easy, dead levels exist because gaining a new level of spell slot is considered a feature. After all, gaining a new level of spell slot is an increase in both number of options and power.

As for the second question. If you look closely, with only a few exceptions, the only times a caster gets a feature at the same time as a new level of spell slot is; when they gain their first level spell slot, when a feature they already have scales, and halfcasters at 5th level to scale their non-resource combat option. The exceptions are; artificer 9th level, bard 3rd level, cleric 17th level, arguably sorcerer 3rd level, and warlock 3rd level. While I do not have a clear idea why these exceptions exist as they do, they are indeed exceptions and it should be carefully considered whether or not an exception like this is appropriate for any class you design.

Exploring non-standard casting.

In 5th edition there are a few different kinds of casters each with their own purpose;

1. Third caster: for lightly supplementing a classes abilities, these are only used in official content as subclasses

2. Half caster: for an even blend of martial and casting prowess

3. Full caster: for a class that’s biggest feature is casting

4. Pact caster: for sustained but potent casting

With the variety available of proven kinds of casters it’s unlikely that you would need to venture from these to achieve the concept of a class, but maybe you do and that’s what we will explore from here.

Why use non-standard casting?

Maybe you are making a class that has a focus on casting but with an identity formed by abilities outside of casting, like the artificer, in this case you might use a half caster or even a third caster but round up at level one. Or maybe the class you are making has another substantial resource to track.

Whatever your reasons are it is important to keep in mind the following;

1. Fractional casters (third casters, half casters, or others) gain spellcasting at the level where their fraction becomes at least 1. After they gain spellcasting, their spellcasting levels (consult the multiclassing rules) are rounded up rather than rounded down when not multiclassing. For a casting focused class or one that uses spell slots as it’s primary resource give spellcasting at level 1 and round up always.

2. A class should never achieve a higher level of casting than a full caster of equivalent level.

3. There is never a reason to have a caster be less than a third caster as it is low enough casting to not warrant any dead levels.

Not using fractional casting but still using a table that resembles a regular caster would make multi-classing rather difficult, so if you decide a on making a non-standard caster that doesn’t use fractional casting I would suggest making the resource that powers it not spell slots or to model it similarly to pact casting. In any case, if a class would gain a spell slot at the same or a later level than a third caster would then it should not be considered a strong enough feature to be the only feature gained that level.

sample tables for non-standard casting

Introduction

When homebrewing, it is important to understand the values of the game resources both, for creating new ways to use them such as new spells, and for creating new resources as part of; subclasses, magic items, or new classes.

If you don’t care to read this whole discussion, the value of 1 ki is equal to one spell level in 9 out of 10 cases as shown by comparing ki abilities with spells. But that’s not all we will be discussing here, in addition we will look at how ki progression compares to spell progression of half and full casters.

side note: I have looked at the value of a ki point before and came to the same conclusion. But I thought I would do more comparisons to casters this time since I often hear a monk compared to a half caster and this comparison has been used to create full caster psionic classes.

base class comparisons

1. Flurry of blows
   Value: 1st level spell slot
   comparison notes

   At level one we can expect this ability to be dealing around 2d4+6 damage. without calculating for accuracy that’s an average of 12 damage, compared to the DMGs spell creation guide a first level spell should be dealing 2d10 damage (average 12). While this ability does require the use of your bonus action which would be a value increase it is offset slightly by the requirement that it is used on the same turn as the attack action.

2. Patient defense
   Value: <1st level spell slot
   comparison notes

   While this is a powerful ability, when compared to the defensive capability one can get with a 1st level spell slot this pales. For this we are comparing it to the shield spell. Patient defense is used as a bonus action and not a reaction making it less valuable, additionally we can calculate the average roll adjustment by disadvantage as about 3.4 (this article does a good job of explaining). Of course 3 is less than 5 making this ability absolutely not worth a 1st level spell slot

3. Step of the wind
   Value: 1st level spell slot
   comparison notes

   Escaping from a melee is highly valuable to characters with low health, it’s one reason misty step is a common ‘must have’ spell. While this ability can’t get you as far and has less overall functionality, that should be expected since misty step is a 2nd level spell. If you have allies you can position yourself around so pursuers provoke opportunity attacks then this is definitely worth it.

4. Quickened healing
   Value: 1st level spell slot
   comparison notes

   Since this is a simple healing spell we can compare it directly to cure wounds. At 4th level this heals 1d4+2 (average 5) versus cure wounds that we can expect to heal 1d8+2 or +3 (average 8 or 9). With the lower healing and the inability to target allies, why would I place this as a value of 1st level spell slot? Because it scales to 1d6+3 the very next level to an average of 7 and continues to scale after that.

5. Focused aim
   Value: 1 ki to 1 spell level
   comparison notes

   This ones a little tough. Increasing your attack roll by 2 is statistically going to increase your damage for the attack by 10% by increasing your accuracy. For comparison spells that increase your accuracy are… true strike… Well, we will compare it anyway. This ability is made less valuable by comparison because true strike increases your attack roll by 3.4 (I’ll direct you to this article again) and also this ability requires resources. However this ability is made more valuable by; not requiring an action, by being usable after you know the result of your attack, and not needing to use it the turn before you intend to attack. Overall I’d say the positives outweigh the negatives enough for this to be worth it. I’d say that in a vacuum this is in my opinion slightly less valuable than divine smite.

6. Diamond soul
   Value: 1st level spell slot
   comparison notes

   For the comparison we will use silvery barbs. This ability is made less powerful than silvery barbs by; only affecting saving throws, and not also having a second effect. It is made significantly more powerful by not requiring a reaction.

7. Empty body effect one
   Value: indeterminate. I would feel very good using a 4th level spell slot on this however, it is powerful.

8. Empty body effect two
   Value: depends
   comparison notes

   It is still the full effect of the 9th level spell, just with seven less targets. It is only really useful if the DM allows it to be useful and is prepared to handle the spell, which is harder to do when only one member of the party is astral projecting.

Subclass comparisons

To not cause these comparisons to overstay their welcome I’m only going to point out monk subclasses with casting

1. Way of shadow
   The way of shadow subclass can cast four different 2nd level spells from 3rd level, on a 1 ki to 1 spell level rate. This casting is actually a faster progression than half casters have and as fast as a full caster. However the progression is flat as those are the only spells they can cast and they cannot upcast them.

2. Sun soul
   The sun soul has, at 6th level the ability to cast burning hands, a 1st level spell for a 1 + 1 ki per spell level cost. The fact that it is being cast as a bonus action is likely the cause for this 1 ki tax. You might note that with 1 ki placed at one 1st level spell slot of value it is worth 2 sorcery points, enough to use quickened spell metamagic. The only other observation I will make is that it’s a bit late to be getting a 1st level spell.

3. Four elements
   For some reason the monk of four elements is really bad at doing the one thing it’s supposed to do, with the redeeming feature of having spell progression of a half caster as a subclass. Every spell has a 1 ki point tax applied.

Spell slot growth comparisons

These numbers will be presented in both charts and graphs. When looking at these numbers it is important to note that spell slots, with some exceptions, recover at long rests and not short rests like ki points.

Below is a chart and graph comparing the growth of the number of spell slots between half casters, full casters, and the growth of ki points for the monk

and below is a chart and graph comparing the growth of combined spell levels. that is the level of each spell slot added together.

If you read this far. let me know if you want to join me in making a half caster, ki caster. I have some ideas laid out already for an elemental focused class in this fashion, but I would need some help because I am currently working on an update to a previous class I made.

Welcome to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

The Lost Mine of Phandelver is a classic, one of the very first Mini-Campaigns that new DM's run. Hell, it's part of the starter set after all! The issue though, as with many other Campaigns, is that it doesn't describe the best way to transform the contents of the book into an actual session. The Book to session conversion can be difficult. Between figuring out when things should happen, to understanding motivations and even balancing encounters.

Well fortunately for you 99% of that work is done! Only a few things are really left:

1. Consider the needs of your group. As you've heard or are about to hear a million times, every table is different. If you plan on combining this with a campaign you'll have to make tweaks here and there. (Bonus points if you include your players' backstory)
2. These notes aren't meant to be end-all be-all. Tweak to your heart's content and don't consider any of what's written to be set in stone. For me, having notes like this helps give me the confidence to go off the rails and follow along with what my players want. It helps me understand where things were meant to go and why. Having that understanding allows me to guide the players and create other new and interesting stories. These are all things that will come with experience though, so don't freak out and enjoy the journey!

Without further ado:

• Google Docs Notes for The Lost Mine of Phandelver (Part 1 Cragmaw Hideout): DM Notes
• Link to: Intro + Cragmaw Hideout Playlist
• Link to: The Complete Collection

Included in The Complete Collection are:

• A Word document with all my notes including a link to music tracks for ambiance and fights
• Special PDFs for all the encounters. This includes all the enemies' stat blocks organized neatly along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP.
  • An additional PDF with Sildar's stats should he join the party as an ally
• A map of Cragmaw Hideout. I enlarged and printed this out for my players as a battle map!

Index:

The Lost Mine of Phandelver Index

• Part 1 - Intro and Cragmaw Hideout
• Part 2a - Phandalin (Coming Soon)
• Part 2b - Redbrand Hideout (Coming Soon)
• Part 3a - Reign of Iron (Coming Soon)
• Part 3b - Ruins of Thundertree (Coming Soon)
• Part 3c - Cragmaw Castle (Coming Soon)
• Part 4 - Wave Echo Cave (Coming Soon)
• Part 5 - Side Quests (Coming Soon)

Other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and More:

• The Wild Sheep Chase - Click Here
• Death House - Click Here
• We Be Goblins - Click Here
• The Egg of Estyr - Click Here
• Wolves of Welton - Click Here
• To the End of Time - Click Here
• A Most Potent Brew - Click Here
• Moon over Graymoor - Click Here
• A Wild West One-Shot - Click Here
• The Drunken Treasure - Click Here
• A Grimdark Adventure - Click Here
• D&D vs Rick and Morty - Click Here
• A Prison Break One-Shot - Click Here
• The Tavern at Death's Door - Click Here
• Dragons of Stormwreck Isle - Click Here
• Shadow of the Broodmother - Click Here
• L'Arsène's Ludicrous Larceny - Click Here
• The Night Before Wintermas - Click Here
• The Lost Mine of Phandelver - Click Here

As always, If you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,

Advent

Homebrewery Link

Ever wanted to bonk with impunity? Now you can!

Feedback welcome!

Homebrewery Link

Want to be DnD Indiana Jones? Follow your dreams! Whips are awesome and underutilized, so try out this feat to enjoy them in all their greatness!

Feedback always welcome.

Based on a true story:

The Knucklebiter Gnat must be defeated before attempting to go to sleep. If the character fails to destroy it, it will harass them all night and instead of getting the benefits of a long rest, they will gain one point of exhaustion.

It's a fun little thing, I think. Everytime the characters find it (investigation/perception vs. its Stealth) they get to make 1 attack against it. If it is not killed, the character may try again.

Add more Gnats until the characters give up and simply don't care.

Next day hit them with the exhaustion. From now on, you can force your party to have to fight Knucklebiter Gnats now and again because it'll be horribly annoying not to and, as people in real life, they'll get increasingly irritated and extreme in their measures to try and hunt those little monsters down.

Ideal for swamp, temperate and desert climates.

Bonus for storytelling: After a night with one of those around, narrate every failed skill check or attack with "You cannot concentrate due to the horribly itchy bites left by the Knucklebiter Gnat. Being this distracted, you fail to spot the trap."

Homebrewery Link

Take your stabbin' to the next level!

Feedback always appreciated.

Homebrewery Link

Probably one of the least-used weapons in my experience: the club. But if you want to play Gorb the Early Hominid and bonk stuff, I got you covered.

Feedback always welcome!

I hope I'm doing a x-posr right, I'm pretty new here. I assume you can follow this link to join the conversation. Let me know if I messed up 😋

Homebrewery link

I'm working on some feats for underappreciated weapons. Feedback always welcome!

Homebrewery link

Still using your own two legs like a chump? Hop inside your custom mech suit and storm into danger!

Always happy to have feedback.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1155710

You like cantrips? I like cantrips! Is it excessive? Maybe!

I'm not a big fan of the optional rules that allow casters to swap cantrips, as it seems to run against the lore of cantrips themselves. And there are some amazing options that are often passed over because of their niche use cases. This subclass is designed to allow you to live all your cantrip dreams!

Comments and feedback are always appreciated.

Homebrewery link

You've connected with something that is less than nothing.

Happy for feedback!

Homebrewery link

Every time you rage, choose one of the elemental planes and gain advantages based on that element.

Happy to receive general impressions and constructive critiques.

Homebrewery link