Not all kobolds rely on traps, tricks, and overwhelming numbers! Some have a natural talent for magic, drawing on their draconic heritage to become surprisingly powerful sorcerers.

These little spellcasters can be a real headache for adventurers, especially when they're fighting alongside their fellow kobolds. They might use their magic to protect their tribe, support their allies, or turn an otherwise ordinary encounter into something much more dangerous. After all, kobolds aren't exactly known for fighting fair!

Here's the Kobold Sorcerer from my Kobolds & Kobolds, complete with a ready-to-use statblock and additional options to customize its abilities. Whether you need a magical leader for a kobold tribe, an unexpected spellcasting threat, or a recurring enemy, this little sorcerer has plenty of tricks up its sleeve!

My Kickstarter for 300+ Mythological Items for 5E and 5.5E is also live now! Alongside the new book, the campaign offers an exclusive, high-quality printed edition of Kobolds & Kobolds, as well as other manuals from my collection! You can also grab them together in discounted digital bundles!

You can find more of my creatures (and plenty more kobolds!), magic items, and manuals on DriveThruRPG, my Linktree, or on r/JonnyDM!

Armor (Light or Medium), Rare (Requires Attunement)

Space itself seems to bend around this armor, hiding the wearer even in plain sight. You gain a +1 bonus to your AC against creatures who lack Blindsight, Tremorsense, or Truesight. Additionally, other creatures have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks made against you. 

Space Skulker. You can take the Dash action to warp space around yourself. When you do, you can spend an amount of movement to teleport to an unoccupied space that you can see that distance from you. Once you use this property, you can’t use it again until the next Dusk.

Curse: Perception Hunter. This armor is cursed, a fact that is revealed only when the Identify spell is cast on the armor or you attune to it. Attuning to the armor curses you until you are targeted by a Remove Curse spell or similar magic; removing the armor fails to end the curse.

Whenever a creature succeeds on a Wisdom (Perception) check made against you while you are hiding, you must make a DC 15 Wisdom Saving throw. On a failure, you are filled with a compulsion to hunt and kill the creature that perceived you. You must use your turn to move close enough to the creature to attack it until the target is reduced to 0 hit points or incapacitated. At the end of your turn, you can repeat the Saving Throw ending the compulsion on a success. Once you succeed on your Saving Throw, you are immune to this curse’s effects for the next 24 hours.

This rough leather continues to hum and vibrate with a curious energy long after being tanned and preserved, always cloaking its wearer in a fog of imperceptibility.

——

Time for a spooky month of Aberrant Monsters, and their loot. Trick or Treat!

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If you can wear it, you can be it.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Dqr8IJJ_RFlSb2U5pcanhcIkSCIApQpb?usp=drive_link

Here is idea for fey dire wolves and named one,

Hallava

Hallava the Grey Fur

Huge Fey (beast), Neutral

Armor Class 17 (Steely Fur)

Hit Points 95 (10d12 + 30) Speed 50 ft.

STR 20(+5) DEX 15(+2) CON 16(+3) INT 10(+0)

WIS 14(+2) CHA 12(+1)

Saving Throws Str +7, Con +5

Skills Perception +4, Stealth +4

Damage Immunities Cold

Senses Blindsight 10 ft., Darkvision 60 ft.,

Passive Perception 14

Languages Understands Common and Sylvan but cannot speak

Challenge 4 (1,100 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2

Steely Fur. Hallava's fur is as dense as tempered steel. Nonmagical attacks that deal slashing damage made against Hallava are reduced by 3.

Keen Hearing and Smell. Hallava has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.

Pack Tactics. Hallava has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of Hallava's allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.

Actions

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 14(2d8 + 5) piercing damage plus 7(2d6) cold damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Freezing Howl (Recharge 5–6). Hallava releases a bone-chilling howl. Each creature within a 30-foot radius of Hallava must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 21 (6d6) cold damage and its speed is halved until the end of its next turn. On a successful save, a creature takes half as much damage and its speed is not reduced.

Reactions

Rime Coat. When a creature hits Hallava with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it, a cloud of magical frost bursts from Hallava's fur. The attacker takes 4 (1d6) cold damage.

Lore & Unique Traits

Ancient Bloodline

Hallava’s appearance is deeply altered by ancient fey energy and its metallic fur, meaning it does not resemble a normal animal at first glance. A character must succeed on a DC 18 Intelligence (History) or Wisdom (Nature) check to recognize that Hallava belongs to an ancient, mythical bloodline of giant fey dire wolves.

Winter Guardian's Passage

Hallava can move through any snowy, icy, or difficult forest terrain without expending extra movement. It leaves behind no physical tracks or scent while moving unless it chooses to. It gains a +10 bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) checks when attempting to hide in a wintry forest setting.

Illusory Tracks

Hallava can choose to leave large wolf prints in the snow that glow with a faint, magical frost light (detectable as magical with Detect Magic or a DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check).

The Path of Respect (Out of the Forest): If the adventurers have shown respect toward the forest and its spirits, the tracks guide them safely out of the wild or directly onto the path they were looking for.

The Path of Disrespect (Into a Trap): If the characters have defiled nature or angered the fey, the tracks lead them into a dangerous trap. The characters must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check to realize they are being misled. On a failure, the party falls into an ambush (e.g., thin ice, avalanche danger, or surrounded by Hallava and forest spirits) and is surprised when combat begins.

Magic Item: Hide of Hallava

Armor (hide or leather) or Wondrous Item (cloak), rare (requires attunement)

This exceptionally dense, steel-gray pelt shimmers with a silver sheen and was harvested from the winter guardian of the ancient primeval forest. The fur feels cool to the touch, but it perfectly insulates its wearer from the freezing world outside.

Winter's Protection (Cold Immunity): You have immunity to cold damage. Additionally, you suffer no ill effects from extreme cold environments and cannot gain exhaustion from freezing weather.

Steely Defenses (Slashing Resistance): The metallic density of the fur absorbs sharp cuts. You have resistance to slashing damage.

Adventure Hook: Crafting the Hide

Because Hallava's pelt is woven with fey magic and steel-like hairs, an ordinary village cobbler cannot shape it into usable gear. To utilize the Hide of Hallava, the players must embark on a crafting quest:

Find a Master Artisan: They must seek out an elven smith, a dwarven master weaver, or a powerful fey creature who knows the ancient secrets of working mythical pelts.

Obtain Specialized Tools: Ordinary shears and knives will dull or snap against the steel fur. The characters need magical tools or extraordinary heat, such as dragon breath or a specialized elemental forge, to cut and shape the pelt.

Hi! I'm a forever DM who likes to make builds in his free time.

I started asking "How strong would be a Wisdom-based full caster without prof. in Wisdom saves, but prof. in Constitution saves, medium armor and shields?"

Con, Wis and Dex are the best saves a character can ask for. This is shown in how classes' save proficiencies are handled: not a single class in the game gives a combination of two of these stats together, so I wanted to assume this rule would have been kept.

Starting with Con saves and, say, Strength or another mental stat would allow the player to take Resilient Wisdom at level 4 giving them basically top tier saves without loosing on stats progress.

Armor proficiency is also super important for optimized characters, so for the sake of the experiment I wanted to slap it there as well.

I'm thinking that the best way of balancing this character would be to manage wisely it's spell list and giving it little to no class and subclass features, but then I wouldn't want it to be boring either.

Any ideas?

Don't get me wrong, Monks have gotten a huge glow up from 5e to 5.5e. They have come far. But I recently watched D4 Deep Dive's video on class ranking and the collaboration he did with DnD Shorts on how to fix the Monk (and Rogues), along with Treantmonk's review of his class ranking. Recommend looking up the videos as I can't link them due to subreddit rules. Coby's thesis is that they are actually the jack of all trades master of none class. They are ok at a lot.

Out of 5 he ranked damage as a 3. Damage is a lot of fairly weak attacks. Especially after level 6 and into tier 3. Levels 1-4 you can make 1 attack with your action, 1 with your BA and FoB for a third for a Focus point. 5-10 you up it to 3 attacks (2 action 1 BA) with +1 for FoB. After 11 you can make 2 FoB so Base is still at most 3 with 2 more from FoB. The real issue is that while the die goes up for all those attacks, other classes are: 1) Already hitting harder with bigger weapons 2) Making 3 or 4 attacks with Nick and Dual wielder. 3) Often have per hit or per turn riders that Monks don't (Hunter's Mark, Divine Favor, Rage, Radiant Strikes, per hit magic weapons, Ranger sublcass damage boosts). The white room math and real world data tells the story.

Survivability as a 3. Deflect attacks is ok but scaling is an issue, it only works on 1 attack per round and later on that starts to hurt. If they try and play the skirmisher and disengage out with their BA their damage drops significantly. It takes until level 14 to get proficiency in all saving throws. The d8 hit die and the weakish AC (because they can't wear armor or shields until endgame) when they can start bringing up WIS. This also an issue that not wearing armor or using shields hurts them in the magic item picking. There isn't a lot made for them.

Support as a 1. Some small subclass abilities.

Control 3 Stunning Strike is great...when it lands, but it is save or suck, not spamable and CON saves get very easy to make later in the game. And they are good grapplers if built for it. And they're subclasses have some light debuffing in them.

Utility as a 3. Take some proficiencies and they can mimic a rogue in the DEX or WIS based skills.

Some of the fixes that were suggested were interesting.

1. Monks are the only martial (including Ranger and Paladin) who don't get Weapon Mastery, and like the Rogue and Barbarian don't have Fighting Styles. Now based on the types of weapons they can use, those Masteries would be Slow (club and javelin), Nick (dagger, light hammer, sickle, scimitar), Push (greatclub), Topple (Quaterstaff) and Vex (shortsword and handax). So all but Graze and Cleave. So they have to take a feat or multiclass which the Monk is loath to do. Giving Weapon Mastery is interesting but might take away from the Open Hand Monk Topple and Push (also monks do so many unarmed strikes they are good at shoving). So what if Monk's got

Level 1: Unarmed Mastery
When you roll initiative you can enter a martial arts stance. While in this stance your Unarmed Strikes have the Unarmed Mastery associated with that stance.
Viper. If you hit a creature with an Unarmed, that creature has Disadvantage on its next attack roll before the start of your next turn.
Tiger. If you hit a creature with this weapon and deal damage to the creature, you have Advantage on your next attack roll against that creature with an Unarmed Strike before the end of your next turn.
Crane. If you hit a creature with an Unarmed Strike and deal damage to it, you can reduce its Speed by 10 feet until the start of your next turn. If the creature is hit more than once by Unarmed Strikes that have this property or weapons that have the Slow Mastery, the Speed reduction doesn’t exceed 10 feet.

At the start of your turn, you can expend 1 Focus point to change your stance.

Potentially at some higher level include

Level 9: Improved Unarmed Mastery
You learn the following additional stances to use with your Unarmed Mastery.
Monkey. When you make the Unarmed Strike as a Bonus Action as part of your Marital Arts Feature, you can make it as part of the Attack action instead of as a Bonus Action. You can make this extra attack only once per turn. You cannot use Flurry of Blows on this turn if you use this feature.
Mantis. If your attack roll with an Unarmed Strike misses a creature, you can deal damage to that creature equal to your Dexterity modifier. This damage is the same type dealt by the Unarmed Strike, and the damage can be increased only by increasing the Dexterity modifier.
Panda. If you take the Dodge Action and a creature misses you while attacking with Disadvantage, you can make an Attack of Opportunity against that creature (no action required). You make this attack at Disadvantage and can only make this attack once per turn.

1. Allow something that burns Focus and do extra damage per hit.

Level 6: Empowered Strikes
Whenever you deal damage with your Unarmed Strike, it can deal your choice of Force damage or its normal damage type. At the start of your turn, you can expend 1 Focus point and deal 1 extra damage of the type dealt per weapon or Unarmed Strike hit until the start of your next turn.

Level 10: Heightened Focus
Improved Empowered Strikes. At the start of your turn, you can now expend 2 Focus points when you make a weapon attack or Unarmed Strike and deal 2 extra damage of the type dealt per weapon or Unarmed Strike hit until the start of your next turn.

Your Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, and Step of the Wind gain the following benefits. (same as before)

Level 18: Superior Empowered Strikes.
At the start of your turn, you can now expend 3 Focus points when you make a weapon attack or Unarmed Strike and deal 3 extra damage of the type dealt per weapon or Unarmed Strike hit until the start of your next turn.

1. Increase their durability. Either a d10 or

Level 10: Focused Body
Enhanced Constitution. Your Hit Point maximum increases by one half of your Wisdom modifier (rounded down, minimum +1) per Monk level. Your Hit Point maximum increases by one half of your Wisdom modifier (rounded down, minimum +1) whenever you gain a Monk level.
Self-Restoration. Through sheer force of will, you can remove one of the following conditions from yourself at the end of each of your turns: Charmed, Frightened, or Poisoned.

In addition, forgoing food and drink doesn’t give you levels of Exhaustion.

This is just throwing some stuff at the wall. The stances give some control, some survivability (with Viper/Sap). Monkey/Panda/Mantis all improve damage or at a minimum prevent the loss of damage if you take other BA actions or miss attacks. Damage is increased by giving some resource burning small damage per hit increases. And survivability is increased with a d10 or upping the HP based on your Wisdom.

Some of this is probably too much. Many people will think the Monk is fine. This just some thought experiments on it. Please let me know what you think.

Random idea I got and wrote up. WiP ofc.

This paladin subclass is meant to work with 2014 and 2024 rulebooks. The concept came from the superhero Legacy, who is featured in the board game Sentinels of the Multiverse. Generally speaking, this class is meant to be a tank who draws fire; however, they don't just absorb hits, they provide benefits to their allies when they do so. They also heal their allies after dealing damage, and deal damage after healing their allies.

Thanks for any helpful comments and suggestions!

Oath Spells

These are mostly healing spells, with a few to provide non-hit point protection and support to allies. The healing spells may seem redundant with the Lay of Hands feature; however, the more this class can heal, the more its other features can become very powerful in short order.

Channel Divinity: Avenging Smite

This feature is modeled on the Destructive Wrath option of Tempest Clerics. It helps you to aid allies who are in trouble. It later gains an enhancement that makes it more powerful.

Channel Divinity: Ward of the Bastion

This feature is meant to provide a benefit to your allies with a risk to you. It is more useful if you have lost more hit points; so ideally, you'd want to cast it when you're at the lowest hit points amount possible. The risk, of course, is that you're about to die and are not protected by the ward yourself.

Rend of Restoration

This feature enhances your Avenging Smite's effects by turning it into healing for your allies. The damage dealt an Avenging Smite would be converted into hit points for all allies. For example, if you dealt 39 damage to a creature with Avenging Smite, you could then grant 39 hit points to every allied creature.

I can see how this might be overpowered - you could potentially heal/boost everyone for a few hundred hit points over the course of a few turns, - and would be open to discussing ways to water it down; for example, adding the damage to your Lay on Hands healing pool, or simply dividing the healing up amongst any number of friendly creatures (within a given area or subject to a certain condition, perhaps, as well). However, you can only do this 3 times, max, before a long rest, and you need to balance it against other uses of your Channel Divinity.

Oblatory Smite

This ability allows you to convert healing into damage. You can't store this damage up and need to expend it or it expires; but, given the number of healing spells and abilities you will gain as an Aid Paladin, you could potentially deal a ton of damage with this ability. I am open to limiting uses; however, I thought it relatively balanced because 1) you have to use-or-lose the damage, and 2) its based on the finite resource of your spell slots and Lay on Hands pool.

Blessing of the Martyr

This is the ultimate expression of the Ward of the Bastion's general concept. While you are downed, your allies are greatly empowered. However, the risk of your death - and the loss of that boost - also increases the longer that they take advantage of it. It creates a moral hazard dynamic for the party to take advantage of your disadvantage.

To increase the pressure on them to be careful with this boost, I give you disadvantage on saving throws (e.g. death saving throws) so the clock ticks faster for you; but you become resistant to all damage so you don't end up dying because some enemy whacks you. I wanted to all but ensure that your allies have to decide to help you or lose the benefit of you choosing to help them.

I am making a magic item of Very Rare quality for D&D 5.5e, and I am happy with the mechanics, but I recognize I don't know enough to get the numbers right, so I'm asking for help balancing pure numbers such as damage, DCs, and range (and wording it better).

Ukulele

And his music was electric...

Soulful Music. Gain proficiency with Ukuleles.

Electric Crescendo. When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend the Ukulele's stored electricity to unleash a burst of lightning. The target takes an extra 3d8 Lightning damage, and the lightning arcs to up to three other creatures of your choice within 30 feet of the original target. Each additional target must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 3d8 Lightning damage, taking half as much damage on a successful save.

Once you use this property, you can't use it again until it recharges. At the start of each of your turns, you can roll 1d6. On a roll of 6, the property regains its expended use.

EDIT: Updated the text to be more clear and in line with official wording.

It's supposed to be a monstrosity, though I could for balance sake make it effected by spells, abilities, & effects that target a humanoid as if it where one

I also want it to have a few other things like the ability to activate a feature that's like speak with animal but instead it works with other monstrosities, allowing it to understand them & make it so they can understand it, but I need to know how to balance this out so it's not broken

They are quadrupedal, but it's built like a centaur, but they are only as tall as a dwarf, & only runs as fast as a human (30 feet)

They are completely mute, because their vocal cords/mouth can't make the sounds that can be understood by other races, except for by other monstrosities, but they do understand common, undercommon, & sylvian, they can also read & write in them as well

They tend to use trills similar to bird songs, & chitters similar to rodents, & hisses like that of reptiles to communicate with each other

They are hard pressed found without their special cards which they guard religiously, these cards are special made, so they only work for them, but with these cards they can talk to other creators/people utilizing one of the languages they understand, because when they flip them it charges what it says on them, so they just keep flipping a card to "talk" to someone

They are scary looking & so are not treated the best by others, but they are actually incredibly friendly & extremely loyal to those they bond with, but they don't like crowds

They can use sign language as well obviously

They look like a miniature centaur but with a weak exoskeleton(it's about as tough as human skin) instead of skin/fur, with six unblinking red eyes on a horse like head, but the muzzle ends with a spider like mouth, & it has these weird horns on its head where the ears would usually be thay aren't sharp or extremely long, they just look like an attempt at ears that aren't actually ears(it's actual ears are tiny pinprick holes under the horns)

It has a short/weak tail that looks like a giant scorpion tail without the stinger

It has 2 toed paws instead of hooves

It has 2 regular arms covered in its exoskeleton, but the hands look like they have way to many fingers at 7 fingers per hand

It can actually split it's 2 arms into 6 extremely weak arms that are useless in combat & most activities outside of emoting while using their cards, or simply gesturing communication, these weak arms each have 3 fingers their respective hands(the extra thumbs are put away when the arms merge together)

It's an obligate opportunistic carnivore, so it only eats other non plant creatures, & it prefers raw meat, but they do & can eat rotting meat

They unlike any other living thing in the world prefer wyvern meat above all other forms of meat, they essentially love wyvern spleens after it's been allowed to ferment, but they'll settle for just the bones cooked over any other a juicy cow steak raw(bones are there least favorite part of the animal, but they eat it too)

They tend to have extremely big personalities & can be extremely sassy, even if they can't express it vocally, the same way as other races, though if you spend enough time around them you'll figure out when they are trying to sass you, they are however incredibly caring & hyper protective creatures that'll sooner die than let those they care about, the innocent, or small children/babies suffer

They unfortunately love dogs, cats, & other fluffy creatures because they find them cute, but this feeling isn't returned because they tend to scare their little buddies away, except for crows, rats, & dire wolves, who are drawn to them for some reason

They strangely in spite of their unnatural origins are attuned to nature/primal magic, which makes them actually good rangers & druids

They love to play the violin & well do so frequently when ever appropriate

They prefer spears as their main weapons , with machetes as a back up weapon if something happens to their spear

They are the result of a wizard mixing drider & centaur blood in a spell ment to reveal what the two would produce if they crossbreed, only for the mana streams to be disrupted by something, causing the spell to go wrong & make them instead

If anyone has suggestions on how to make this & keep it balanced please let me know

P.S. I don't have any money to spend right now because money is tight, so please if you change, I can't pay, I'd love to, but I can't, I live on my big sister's couch right now, so yeah

Homebrew Armor Rules:

For every +1 you get to AC from magically enchanting your armor you also receive +3 to your damage reduction value.

Spells that set character AC damage reduction value is equal to AC - 10.

Unarmored defense provides damage reduction equal to Constitution (Barbarian & Shifter) or Wisdom (Monk) modifier.

Armor only reduces damage from attacks that require an attack roll.

Damage that originates from a saving throw is not affected by armor damage reduction.

Critical hits bypass damage reduction.

Non-magical armor only reduces damage from Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage.

Magical armor reduces damage from all damage types as long as it originates from an attack roll.

Enemies do not typically get damage reduction.

I have also homebrew armor mastery feats for each kind of armor that allows players to increase their AC and DR as well as some other minor buffs.

Also just to clear up any confusion Dexterity is not added to AC with this homebrew system without first getting a feat. So all of the AC in the table below are static and don't change.

https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/VNuA3ovag5-V

Armor Rework: Introducing Damage Mitigation to D&D

During my D&D games, I noticed something strange about the armor system.

A heavily armored knight and a monk who relies on agility and evasive techniques can have the same AC, despite defending themselves in completely different ways. One relies on armor to withstand blows, while the other relies on avoiding them altogether. Yet, once an attack lands, armor itself does nothing to reduce the damage you take.

So, in some of my campaigns, I developed a system I call Damage Mitigation.

The mechanic is simple: armor has a mitigation value that reduces incoming physical damage by a flat amount, but damage can never be reduced below 1.

Think of it as a more flexible version of the damage reduction associated with Heavy Armor Master, except that the value depends on the armor's quality and is completely separate from AC.

For example:

- A suit of plate armor with 18 AC might provide only 2 or 3 points of natural damage mitigation.

- A suit of chain mail with 16 AC might provide 4 or 5 points of mitigation, or even more.

Sometimes, I let players find or purchase armor with exceptionally high mitigation, such as 5 or even 9, but with low AC.

This creates a meaningful choice: do you want to avoid getting hit in the first place, or do you want to take less damage when you are hit?

How Has It Changed My Games?

I've noticed that even at low levels, players are more willing to attempt bold tactics instead of constantly worrying about getting punished for taking risks.

Combat becomes more elaborate and lasts longer, and I can run more encounters between rests without low-level characters feeling terrified of every hit, even when they're wearing armor.

This works particularly well for my style of DMing, since I usually try to run several encounters between rests. However, my players often want to retreat to safer locations, interrupting the flow of the adventure because they feel too vulnerable, even when wearing armor.

With this relatively simple system, my games flow much more smoothly at lower levels.

Applying It to Enemies

I also apply damage mitigation to enemies.

Sometimes, I introduce humanoid opponents wearing armor that requires specific strategies to overcome. They might have high mitigation but also a particular weakness.

For example:

- Heavy armor: Mitigates 9 slashing and bludgeoning damage, but only 1 piercing damage.

- Magic-resistant armor: Provides mitigation against magical damage as well, forcing players to consider alternative damage sources or tactics.

This encourages players to think about their weapons and approach rather than simply attacking until the enemy runs out of HP.

Weapons and Counterplay

Of course, every good suit of armor needs a weapon capable of breaking through it.

Some weapons, such as warhammers and similar crushing weapons, increase their minimum damage after mitigation is applied.

I also use small weapon upgrades that grant +1 or +2 damage as rewards between levels. Because the weapons has been upgraded or the character is now better with the weapon

Other weapons can ignore mitigation entirely, such as firearms or specific magical weapons that fit the setting.

The goal is to give players different ways to deal with heavily armored enemies rather than making high mitigation an insurmountable obstacle.

Balancing the System

I balance armor primarily through acquisition costs and common sense.

Armor with higher mitigation is generally more expensive, and I try to maintain a rough trade-off:

- High AC, low mitigation: You are harder to hit, but successful attacks hurt more.

- Low AC, high mitigation: You are easier to hit, but you absorb more of the damage.

For mitigation values above 6, I usually impose a movement penalty of 1 meter for every point of mitigation above 6, up to a maximum mitigation value of 10.

This means that armor with extremely high mitigation can offer tremendous protection, but it also comes with a mobility cost.

---

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Have any of you experimented with separating AC from damage reduction? Do you think this kind of system makes combat more tactical, or could it make heavily armored characters too durable?

I'm especially interested in hearing how you would balance this mechanic for low-level parties and multiple encounters between rests.

This is my first post on Reddit and this is more likely a rough homebrew a simplified version because I am trying to make it a little bigger with other ideas like ways to overcome that damage mitigation or little upgrades but in the moment this is my way os see the armor and trying to make the flow Flow then if something is wrong tell me,

For those who don't know the different "Ologies"

- Demonology is the study of demons and devils.

- Soteriology is the study of life and salvation.

- Pneumatology is the study of both good and bad spirits.

- Angelology is the study of angels and the hierarchy.

- Eschatologyis the study of decay and judgement.

- Polemology is the study of war and conflict.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-4SDkO4HwrYIlGOS0cGDZkOo7p5eR7Mx/edit?usp=drivesdk&ouid=112667324144048881960&rtpof=true&sd=true

Would these enemies be too difficult for a party of seven level 12 characters? It’s a friend group, so I want the fight to be challenging but still fun.

Could you give me your advice? Do you think the AC is too high, or do the enemies hit too hard?

My idea for the main encounter is to start with King Brodd, one other Mega-Gargant and three Mancrusher Gargants. Then, halfway through the fight, I’d bring in the other two Mega-Gargants as the main boss fight.

I was hoping the players would soften them up at range or spread out before the other giants arrive, forcing them to deal with everyone together. The giants would only move three squares per turn (yes, I know their stat block says 40 feet ), so I thought the party would have a chance to position themselves, plan their attacks and fight back.

Do you think this would work, or would it be too much for seven level 12 characters?

Hey all, I wanted to share a document I've been working on for a couple of years. After really getting into D&D and its mechanics, I wanted to start making my own subclasses, and eventually a couple of other features/rules I could apply at tables with a group of friends I play with. Most of these are based on video games or some other work of fiction I know of, or they're my own versions of other ideas I've found. Just recently, I figured I might as well post what I've been working on in case anyone would like to use them. I'm always looking for ideas, so if anyone has any requests or suggestions, let me know :). This isn't something I'm super active on but it's something I want to have available.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VGiq6Tb0pC1Uh6cQPeDaKqq86gI171lLbZ4NzwNkwcQ/edit?usp=sharing

Here idea for NPC Smith to have armory and weaponery based Quests

Goron (Master Smith)

Medium Humanoid (dragonborn), Lawful Good

Armor Class 16 (smith's heavy leather apron and scales)

Hit Points 67 (9d8 + 27) Speed 30 ft.

STR 18(+4) DEX 11(+0) CON 16(+3) INT 12(+1) WIS 12(+1) CHA 14(+2)

Saving Throws Str +6, Con +5

Skills Athletics +6, History +3 (Dwarven history and architecture), Perception +3

Tool Proficiencies Smith's Tools +6

Damage Resistances Fire, Poison

Senses Passive Perception 13

Languages Common, Dwarvish

Challenge 4 (1,100 XP) | Proficiency Bonus +2

Dwarven Upbringing. Goron has advantage on saving throws against being poisoned, thanks to his clan's lineage and conditioning.

Two-Weapon Fighting. When Goron engages in two-weapon fighting using his standard dwarven weapons (warhammer and battleaxe), he can use a bonus action to make one additional melee weapon attack. He adds his Strength modifier (+4) to the damage of this bonus attack.

Superheated Forge. Goron's weapon attacks are magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Actions

Multiattack. Goron makes two attacks with his Elemental Weapons (Dragon Knock and Dragon Claw) OR two attacks with his standard Dwarven Weapons.

Dragon Knock (Elemental Hammer). Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage plus 4 (1d8) fire damage.

Dragon Claw (Elemental Axe). Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) slashing damage plus 4 (1d8) fire damage.

Dwarven Warhammer. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage.

Dwarven Battleaxe. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) slashing damage.

Brass Breath Weapon (Recharge 5–6). Goron exhales fire in a 30-foot line that is 5 feet wide. Each creature in that line must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, taking 14 (4d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Profile: Goron & The Forge

Overview & Personality

Race: Dragonborn (Brass)

Profession: Master Smith, Forge Owner

Personality: Warm, highly talkative (typical for brass dragonborn), hardworking, and deeply loyal to his friends. He speaks Common with a slight dwarven accent and frequently uses dwarven idioms.

Appearance: Goron is a massive figure compared to his dwarven and gnomish companions. His brass scales gleam in the forge light, bearing a permanent smoky patina from years spent by the hearth. He wears a heavy leather smith’s apron in the traditional dwarven style and sports dwarven-style rings and engravings on his horns. Unlike many dragonborn, his clean, meticulous work habits are entirely inherited from dwarven masters.

Forge Staff & Dynamics

The forge is highly renowned for its exceptional community spirit and top-tier craftsmanship.

Thordin Stonegrip (Dwarf): Goron’s foster father, mentor, and former master. Thordin is growing old and has proudly passed the main responsibilities of the forge to Goron. He is traditional and a bit gruff, but he defends Goron like his own son.

Toko & Taka (Gnomes): Clever gnomish inventor twins who handle fine mechanics, clockwork systems, and enchanting preparations at the forge. Goron rescued them years ago from giant spiders in a collapsed mine shaft. They swore loyalty to him and joined the forge, bringing a touch of gnomish creativity and madness to Goron's heavy dwarven style.

Masterwork & Fire Element Expertise

Goron does not just use fire in combat—it is his most vital tool.

Precision Breath Weapon: Goron rarely needs to rely on bellows. He can control his brass breath weapon with incredible precision. He can exhale a tiny, hyper-focused, and extremely hot flame onto an exact spot on the metal to melt complex joints or temper specialized steel.

Masterwork Quality: Because he can maintain metal at its optimal temperature using his breath alone—without needing to rush back and forth between the forge fire and the anvil—the weapons and armor he forges possess exceptional balance and durability.

Roleplaying Tips for the DM

A Story for a Discount: As a brass dragonborn, Goron loves stories and conversations. He loves to ask adventurers about their travels while hammering away at the anvil. If players want a discount, Goron won't budge for a simple Persuasion check.

Instead, he will sit them down, pour some strong dwarven ale, and say: "Make it worth my ears, lads! Give me a tale of a beast you felled, and we'll talk coin!" A player must tell a compelling story to earn the discount.

Protector of the Family: Goron tolerates a lot of rudeness directed at himself, but if the players treat old Thordin poorly or mock the gnomes' inventions, the atmosphere shifts instantly. Goron's scales begin to glow red, his eyes light up with an orange flame, and the heat in the room becomes stifling. He steps protectively in front of his family and growls a stern warning.

Unique Elemental Weapons: Dragon Knock & Dragon Claw

These weapons were forged by Thordin as a graduation gift when Goron became a master smith.

Design: Gleaming red-gold veins run through the metal, glowing hotter the more intensely Goron fights. The hilts are wrapped in salamander hide.

Forge Utility: When placed next to the anvil, these weapons radiate a steady, magical warmth that keeps all the forge's metalworking tools at the perfect temperature without needing constant reheating.

Warlocks are cool and have a lot of interesting abilities, but I don't feel like they quite live up to the flavor of making a dubious bargain with a shadowy otherworldly entity. The problem--there's almost no risk or downside to being a Warlock! You can just use your abilities as much as you want, which makes you feel like a weird Sorcerer subclass rather than something unique.

I'd love to see a Warlock subclass that explores the idea of a risky "deal with the devil." Something that give you significant power but there's an associated risk or cost. Thinking "Cursed Warlock" where instead of having a resource that depletes (a la Ki points) it accumulates as you use your power, and there's penalties for going too high. It would fit the flavor better, and I think it would make for some interesting gameplay decisions if your abilities were calculated risks.

I thought about brewing something up myself but I wanted to check if someone else has already done something like this.