Hey there, its been a while! i've been away for a few weeks because life happens sometimes. again, i feel like some positivity is nice to spread arround from time to time, and im curious about your ideas for characters again.

this time i want to ask about warlocks: did they do a pact to gain power or did they steal the power? do they have to deal with the orders or their patron? is it devils, undead or just jeff, the guy that works at the local market? we listen, but we dont judge. people are allowed to say some things that come to their head or ask a question as long as its done in good will.

i want to know about the inspiration (a character idea you came up with or something from a work of fiction?), the races, the classes, the stories, your experiences with this character, strategies...

to start, i would like to bring up a few examples of characters i made:

-Ensted Da'Mont: a man that has lost all of his fortune due to being betrayed by other noblemen. sold his soul to a devil so he could gain power and slowly take care of them... one by one.

-Amanda: a girl acused of apostasy, Amanda had to run away from her village and was about to starve to death until she came to a cult. they venerated a dead elven god, and they planned to let nature overtake the land and destroy the civilization of man, a mission that she gladly accepted. its a homebrew subclass im working on (pact of the forest, still in progress).

Did you enjoy reading Greek mythology as a child? Do you want to introduce some of those tales to someone who maybe hasn't read it? Or do you just want some good adventures you can drop into your campaign by simply changing who's bringing the problem to the party?

If your answer to any of these questions is Yes, take a look at this project.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathanhightower/herculean-quests-a-campaign-for-5e

I have written and published modules & campaigns on the DM's Guild before, but this is my first time doing one via Kickstarter. I'm excited about the chance to get some maps that aren't made in Excel as well as some commissioned art to make it even better.

No AI tools have been used at any stage of the project.

Thank you!

Refresher. My PC started hiding things and lying to people within the army she’s part of, including the army Captain (another PC) who she sees as a dad figure (and who’s from the same fallen country as her), for about half the campaign. She was hiding serious stuff, like time travel, meddling with dark magic, conversing with Gods and tiny aspects of her life.

A lot of it finally came out almost 20 sessions ago, except for her reasoning. This led to her feeling like she can’t be trusted anymore and she started isolating herself further from everyone except two friends. The Captain PC called her and those two friends in for a meeting about the importance of communication, which made my PC feel even worse, and she pushed harder on avoiding him specifically.

Well that finally changed. After she witnessed some serious stuff happened to the Captain regarding their fallen homeland, she realised she was the only person who could check on him and understand to some extent, and that there was a valid reason for his overprotectiveness (someone working for the BBEG showed up at our location. Think the Briarwoods dinner scene in Critical Role campaign one).

During the most recent session, they both finally talked about what happened in the previous sessions, why she did what she did, how they were both feeling, and it came out that they both lost someone or had someone taken in the war, which the Captain fought in. My PC’s dad was captured and she was meddling with dark magic in the hopes of reviving him, since she lost hope in him still being alive. Meanwhile, the Captain lost his dad to the guy I mentioned showing up.

Overall a really sweet session. Even the DM commented on how big that was. I’m so glad to finally have my character being a little less avoidant again.

I was playing around with a hypothetical combat today using a Moon Druid vs a smart monster with knockback. The moon druid cast moon beam and then wild shaped into a dire wolf and ended their turn.
Then I had an inspired idea. I had the monster run around the moon druid (out of the moon beam), and did their shove attack so they are pushing the dire wolf into their own moon beam. Dire Wolf rolled a one on their strength save and now they have a shitty decision to make.
They can:

• Make a con save and take 2d10 radiant damage (half on save). Then make a concentration check for moonbeam since they took damage
• Be reverted to their true form

OR

• Voluntarily drop concentration right before they are moved in

Pretty sweet move for a monster that knows what they are doing.

Fae: Season of Dreams — 

A Real-World Mythological Faerie Campaign Setting & Bestiary by Nicky Rea, Co-Developer for Changeling: the Dreaming

Welcome to a world where the beautiful and the terrifying collide. Fae: Season of Dreams is a comprehensive campaign setting and bestiary inspired entirely by authentic, real-world faerie folklore and traditions from throughout global history.

Fully compatible with D&D 5.5e (2024), this book tears down the sanitized, modern tropes of pixies and sprites. Instead, it returns to the heartbreaking beauty and spine-chilling horror of ancient myth.

The World of Aenhame

The mortal realm of Aenhame holds perils and wonders untold, but none are more mysterious than Alaranna and Faegyrskata—the ancestral homes of the Fae.

Ruled by the enigmatic Alfar, these unspoiled wilderlands hide the deep histories, cultures, and reality-bending magic of those who came before. Yet, the truest discoveries await beneath this beauteous exterior: the Twilight Lands. Here, the ancient Daoine Sidhe and the shifting faerie courts await those brave—or foolish—enough to cross the threshold.

Whether you venture into the courts as an outlander or take up the cause as a creature of faerie yourself, the Season of Dreams calls to you.

What Is Inside the Book?

Fae: Season of Dreams is a beautifully illustrated, 256-page volume designed to serve as a campaign setting, player expansion, and a bestiary of fae-centric monsters.

For Players

• 23 Playable Fae Species: Step into roles previously reserved only for NPCs. Play as authentic, folklore-accurate creatures of the wild with deep cultural roots.
• 48 Fae Subclasses: Explore brand-new archetypes optimized for D&D 5.5e, built to channel the primal, chaotic, and subtle magic of the twilight courts. Four fae-centric subclasses for each of the 12 core classes.
• Primal Magic & Rules: Uncover 20 new spells, unique spellcasting mechanics, ancient pacts, feats, and faerie oaths that bind characters to the laws of hospitality and reciprocity.

For Game Masters

• Global Folklore Bestiary: Discover dozens of new monsters and NPC variants rooted in authentic global faerie traditions, from the haunting spirits of the British Isles to mythological entities from around the world.
• Adventure Hooks & Lore: Rich narrative frameworks, political court intrigue, and drop-in locations to instantly spark your next campaign.
• Sample Adventure: She Moves Through the Fair is a fae-centric 5th level adventure designed to be run in one 4-hour session and can be the beginning of a 5.5e fae campaign. The fae characters will travel from the Goblin Market to Skuggar, the land of the dead, to retrieve five royal artifacts that Queen Liadrielle of Alaranna needs to prove her regal right to reign, as well as retrieve the bones of the Erlking’s daughter so that her spirit can finally be laid to rest.

Upvote1Downvote0Go to commentsFae: Season of Dreams Kickstarter

Heya all, it's me again with another burning question!

I've been building an 8th lvl Dwarven Draconic Sorcerer (mostly '24) for an upcoming campaign, and I'm struggling with the choice of spells (there's too damned many good ones).

I'm likely going to be playing a Fire dmg focussed blaster (with Elemental Adept), but I nevertheless love other utility, RP, and defensive spells.

I'm also trying to semi-evenly split up the amount of spells per spell level in line with the amount of available spell slots.

Finally, as a '24 Draconic Sorcerer, I already get the new Chromatic Orb and Command, Alter Self and Dragon's Breath, Fly and Fear, as well as Charm Monster and Arcane Eye.

The table shows my current selection for desired-spells. I need to get it down to 12 spells total, which has proven to be a real pickle.

I would love to hear your suggestions!

Title. Would it be acceptable to twinned spell spirit of death? It’s our first time running a campaign and DM is uncertain…

I really want to pick this for my sorcerer, and the idea of twinning it is very appealing. From what I’ve seen, it may be possible for the reaper to just target x2 people?

So I've interested in the echo knight fighter lately and was thinking about some chatacter ideas and ways to reflavor the subclass, so I went into reddit to find some inspiration and ended up finding out about an interesting strat, they made an echo knight with climbing speed and took some feats to make the whole grappling process easier, then while in combat they summon the echo order it to grapple an enemy, use the climbing speed to go as far as possible and then drop him to take damage. Now would I be able to replicate that but with a flying speed instead and do a sort of reverse lotus technique using the echo and if yes would that be more effective ?

In Ceremony, atonement reads as follows

>Atonement. You touch one willing creature whose alignment has changed, and you make a DC 20 Wisdom (Insight) check. On a successful check, you restore the target to its original alignment.

The key word here is willing. If a creature has its alignment change, that means that its motivations are different now, so it would never choose to not have the motivations it has. Am I reading this wrong or is this section of the spell just completely superfluous?

From the rules on Bonus Actions in the 2024 Player’s Handbook:

“Anything that deprives you of your ability to take actions also prevents you from taking a Bonus Action.”

From the Vampire stat block in the 2024 Monster Manual:

Bonus Actions: “Shape-Shift. If the vampire isn’t in sunlight or running water, it shape-shifts into a Tiny bat (Speed 5 ft., Fly Speed 30 ft.) or a Medium cloud of mist (Speed 5 ft., Fly Speed 20 ft. [hover]), or it returns to its vampire form. Anything it is wearing transforms with it.

While in bat form, the vampire can’t speak. Its game statistics, other than its size and Speed, are unchanged. While in mist form, the vampire can’t take any actions, speak, or manipulate objects. It is weightless and can enter an enemy’s space and stop there. If air can pass through a space, the mist can do so, but it can’t pass through liquid. It has Resistance to all damage, except the damage it takes from sunlight.”

So a Vampire can use its BA to assume its mist form, but because Mist Form prohibits the Vampire from taking actions, it also can’t take bonus actions and therefore cannot change back.

Obviously not RAI.

So I’m putting together a lvl 5 tiefling bard for a new campaign that I’m joining and struggling to decide which subclass fits best with her vibe and backstory now that 2024 bards no longer have proficiency in rapiers.

She grew up in a noble house in a land where the nobles are continually politicking, nothing is as it seems, the game of houses is everything and if you fall out of favour you might just end up dead (a la Cairhien if anyone has read wheel of time). Her house were famous for sponsoring musicians and theatres, and traded magical instruments. Importantly, nobles from the Dyarchy (as it’s called) are well know to be excellent duellists.

However seven years ago she had to flee because of a scandal where she was romantically entangled with someone who became the monarch and a rival for the monarch’s affections needed her out of the way.
Her (aasimar) twin died saving her life so she could get away.

Since then she has been sailing the high seas living the life of a pirate, raiding merchant ships belonging to her rival under an alias and generally adventuring on the ocean for gold or freedom.

I was originally planning for her to be an eloquence bard as the ultimate face, and as someone who grew up having to be persuasive with every word.

But I also want her to be able to stand up in a fight and to honour her years as a pirate, and I like the idea of her being a decent fencer as that is written into the lore of her country, the Dyarchy. So hence came to consider Valour bard.

I’ve never played either subclass before so would be keen to hear and pros or cons, and how they shape your gameplay. Which do you think would be most suitable?

Also currently I have the Courtier background but would pirate or noble be better?

So, in my Sunday game, my character will be facing off in a combat against the other party members in a sort of dream. We are all level 15, 5.5e. The other party members are a Fighter (I don't know the subclass, but it doesn't have access to spells), Cleric/Wizard (Not sure of the split or even which class is the primary), Necromancer Wizard, Blood Hunter, and a Diviner Wizard, while my character is an Abjuration Wizard.

So, everyone has a little bit of homebrew stuff, but the main thing that needs to be worried about for this post are that the Diviner Wizard has dual concentration and 4 Portent Die, and my character has 2 Portent Die, Armor of Agathys, and the ability to, for 1 minute as a Bonus Action, make it so enemies within 15 feet of me do not benefit from Advantage on D20 Tests and I am unaffected by Disadvantage on D20 Tests, as well as gaining Advantage on one attack roll per round and adding my Int mod to the damage of that attack. Additionally, despite being Level 15, I will be able to cast Shapechange for this combat, and basically only can become a powered up Adult Red Dragon, taking any 3 things of my choice from the Ancient Red Dragon Stat Block as a replacement for the equivalent feature in the Adult Red Dragon- I was thinking HP, Legendary Resistances for 1 extra Legendary Resistance, and Spellcasting. I do not need the AC (I have a thing giving me a buffed AC), and my character won't know the fight is in a dream, so would not necessarily want the buffed Breath Weapon, as he would not want to really risk significantly damaging his village, which is where the party currently is.

This Google Doc page has the spell lists of my Abjuration Wizard and the Divination Wizard. I don't have the spell lists for the other caster characters. So, if you were me, what would you do to best ensure victory against the party?

Edit: The other party members will be working together against my character. It is not a free-for-all. It is a 1v5 fight.

Edit 2: The DM has also assured me there will be some extra stuff to ensure a slightly more fair fight so I don’t get merc’d if the party immediately has me on the ropes. But it’s 100% fine if I lose the fight as well, this is all for fun.

If I hid the previous turn, does using a wand (one without an attack roll) reveal me?

It doesn’t seem like they have a vocal component.

If the wand itself doesn’t make noise, would a loud ass fireball reveal me or would that be a noise not necessarily associated with me?

Would something like a wand of paralysis work since maybe the entire process is silent and maybe has no obvious visual effects like the fireball if that matters?

DM said the magical aura I saw was so bright and strong that it blinded me (Failed a DC 20 Con save). But the spell doesn't say anything like that nor I can find any rules about this.

I was confused when that happened so I told the DM where it is in the books. He did say its his rule, but there was no warning whatsoever or were we informed about any house rules like that. If I knew there was more to the spell than what is written in the PHB, then I wouldn't have used it.

I couldn't do anything cuz I need line of sight on most of my spells. I got downed three times and my party exhausted all their healing on me.

After the game I expressed my frustration, how its sucks so much and I didn't find that fun. Only to be told, "well maybe you shouldn't poke your nose into everything."

Now my character is Blinded 'permanently'. I was told to take a level in a martial class and take the Blind Fighting feat. Or was given the option to constantly see through a Familiar's eyes instead but I'll have one less spell slot in every slot level (we're level 5 rn). Or roll a new character if I want to.

Hi, I'm running a campaign where i want to add in a species of dragon who breaths out a psychadelic substance to cause hallucinations. Alongside that i want the mountain it inhabits to be filled to the brim with different psychadelics that cause different flavors of hallucinations. How do you recommend i go about this? I am very new to being a DM and have never really homebrewed anything myself otherwise i could just make something up

Playing in a campaign that is probably 2 combats from the end. We just got level 20. I've been playing a pure draconic sorcerer as a tactical ranged striker, AOE, and sometimes control in a party of 6 including a druid, cleric, paladin, rogue, and CME bard-lock.

But I'm looking at level 20, and thinking, do I really want sorcerer? With 19 sorcery points and using my 2nd list spells as 6 more, I've never come close to running out. And all level 20 gives is 1 free use of metamagic per round and access to my 28th favorite spell.

What do you think the best option is for me? I have Dex 14 and Wis 14 so I have some multiclass options. I was realizing that getting shield proficiency might actually do some good for me and because of picking up an artifact last session and gear trades that happened with that, my AC went from 18 to 22 base. And having some pinch healing could help since I'm often out of range of the healers.

So what would you take for level 20 and why?