go watch insight checks or DSR’s video if you haven’t seen it yet? but it’s not great. Their smite is just worse divine smite, their channels don’t scale and are very weak compared to genie, vengeance, devotion. death coil sucks until lvl 14. the 15 features aren’t very good. and the capstone is terrible. the lvl 3 is ok? i guess. blood gets temp on kills so worse than new fiend warlock (doesn’t work unless you kill them), unholy gets ignore necrotic resist and a bit of extra damage (necrotic resistance is surprisingly rare though), the frost gives ignore cold resist (ok I guess). overall DK just seems like a worse paladin though. it can’t even vaguely compete in offensive power with devotion or vengeance, and it’s channel compared poorly to genie. the aura is basically ancients so it’s decent. but i dont know if you can even say it’s better than glory since at least glory gets real lay on hands and radiant strikes. it’s just not great. I guess it has some ok unique spells, and it’s better at AOE.

I mean it’s still a good half caster, but it’s weaker than a normal paladin. I think it’s better than a ranger Sure but it’s definitely a disappointment design wise. the “capstone” is insultingly bad, the channels feel super weak after tier 1 and don’t improve or scale. and the lvl 15 is just some not great 1 per LR abilities.

i dont think there is any area it standouts at all, artificer is a much better half caster blaster particularly in tier 3. And regular devotion or vengeance are a better melee DPS chassis. i think the only real advantage it has is some of its AOE unique spells are ok.

I’m running a 20th level PC and was looking to just see what people’s thoughts were for a sort of dark elf knight assassin spy type character.

The idea would be a 15 bard/5 paladin split for 9th level spells and for extra attack as well as the max number for the college of whispers extra damage.

So from there it’s just weighing what people think between the guaranteed benefit of temp hp and the restore on kill, plus the drain on smite channel divinity of death knight, versus the advantage vs a target channel divinity of vengeance and the much better spell list.

Just curious to see what other people are thinking!

Edit: I should add character is dual wielding a Vex weapon and a Nick weapon so that does help with the advantage that is provided by vengeance as well.

So I'm going to play the game with a bunch of new players and we lacked both intelligence and a frontliner for the party so I decided to play an Armorer Artificer, but I'm wondering how I can draw more focus on me rather than my squishy allies. Correct me if I'm wrong as I've never played armorer before, but the soft taunt I'm going to be applying does not seem like its going to be enough to grab the attention of the creatures, especially because with the amount of AC I have there's basically an equal chance of them hitting me as them hitting my allies.

Obviously, the easiest way would be to increase my damage to make myself impossible to ignore, but regardless of what I do, I'm going to get outdamaged by everyone else. Booming blade + Warcaster was also something I was thinking of, but even then it's only stopping one enemy.

So anyways, my biggest question is how I can increase my aggro (or if I need to at all). Any suggestions on building the character would also be appreciated.

Im making a character as a bit of a thought experiment, seeing how good I can make the 2024 Monk class for a campaign me or my friend will be running.

I always loved long death Monks in 2014, so I wanna see how op it can be powerbuilt with the 2024 Monk rules and all 2024 stuff available. Any ideas to make this dude as strong as possible?

Fighter 1. for base and con save proficiency. Options of blind fighting.

Monk 5. Unarmed. Flurry. Astral and Mystic is a good pick for subclass.

Transmuter Wizard 4. Alter self. 2d6 unarmed. advantage to concentration check.

Action to activate Alter self. BA flurry for 2d6+5 twice. after that u can 2d6+5 four times. Average of 12 each hit, totalling 48 wtih 4 hits.

Feedback and suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

Apparently, there is this new Eldritch Invocation in the 5e World of Warcraft book:

Curse of Corruption

Prerequisite: Level 2+ Warlock

When an enemy starts its turn cursed by a Warlock spell you cast (such as Hex), it must succeed on a Charisma saving throw or take Necrotic damage equal to your Charisma modifier.

Okay, well, Hex lasts for hours and offers no initial saving throw. Instead of having the party fight some big bad boss, the warlock instructs the party to just... leave. Then the warlock tags the major enemy with Hex and runs away, maybe with a Dimension Door if the warlock is level 7+.

As far as I can tell, this works on the CR 30 tarrasque (the usual punching bag), and even more mystically inclined enemies are out of luck if they lack Dispel Magic or Remove Curse, as is the case with the spellcasting CR 24 dragons in the 2025 Monster Manual.

A warlock 2/sorcerer 2 can Subtle Spell this to surreptitiously assassinate people in a town or a city, too.

Going to be joining a Storm King's Thunder campaign some time in early January. This gives plenty of time to prep my character, but I'm thinking of rolling up a character that uses ranged weapons, specifically a bow or crossbow. We'll be using a mix of 2024 and 2014 rules, but for the ease of building, let's just say 2024 options only. We begin at 3rd level and get a free feat at first level. The other two party members are going to be a Mystic Arts Monk and a Scribes Wizard. I have a few ideas in mind already but want to know what other people might think/come up with:

- Githyanki Drakewarden - Focusing mostly on damage riders from the Drake, Hunter's Mark, and Gift of the Chromatic Dragon (free feat) to boost bow damage. Use slots for soft control via Ensnaring Strike and Entangle while also keeping the Drake healthy.

- Human Valor Bard - I've seen so many people suggest multiclassing out of Valor Bard, but I want to keep it pure Bard. I was initially thinking Hand Crossbow and shield to maximize AC while focusing largely on spellcasting and utilizing True Strike out of turn via Warcaster. Additionally, they could easily act as the face of the party since we lack a CHA character atm.

- ??? War Cleric - I like the idea of running a ranged War Cleric, but also can help but feel they work better in melee due to Shillelagh. Any suggestions for this one?

Say I want to make a character who’s whole shtick is that they are perfect at destorying or dealing with enemy air battalions/airships, at level 14, how do i go about it?

the stats are bg3 point buy as well

(magic items will also be appreciated up to very rare level)

Normally line Aoes are hard to use because to hit more than one enemy you end up getting a friend too. The 2014 Javelin of Lightning has you roll an attack roll against your target and everyone else gets a saving throw for half damage. If you are bad at throwing javelins the safest place for your buddy to be is directly at the point of impact.

Sorcerers and wizards are not proficient in javelins and they usually don't need str. So it's likely that from lvl 1-20 they will have a -1 modifier to their attack roll. It's also pretty common for a squishy caster to misty step away from an attacker and the Aoe is way better damage than a cantrip. Plus the tank likely has a couple of targets around them that you could get lined up as well.

Just make sure you have disadvantage on your attack roll and if silvery barbs is available have it ready. Your lightning rod should be fine (and if not it will be memorable)

Javelins of lightning don't require attunement so there's no reason not to have one at your side. They're also in the SRD so they appear in loot tables and magic item shops. They're also a more exciting option than a +1 weapon. So your likely to be able to get your hands on one.

I’m trying to build a Cloud Monk using an Air Genasi - Astral Self monk, and i’d like some advice on how to handle the elemental flavor without ruining the monk stuff. The main idea is to reflavor the Astral Self features as clouds and mist. I’m not really looking for optimization of a build, rather just trying to make flavourful without harming the experience for the table

I’m considering either taking one level of druid for water/frost/thunder-themed spells and cantrips, or picking up the druid magic initiate feat so i can get a little elemental magic without delaying monk levels. I’m not sure which path is better, or whether I should skip the magic entirely and just focus on monk features, since I want to actually get the monk stuff and have fun with it rather than feel behind. I also really like the idea of adding fog, gust, shape water, frost, or thunder effects for flavor. I’ve only played barbarian, fighter, and paladin before, nor i had a monk on the table so this is my first time with a monk. Any advice on whether the Druid dip, the feat, or pure monk with just reflavoring is the best way to make this concept work would be appreciated.

Remember this post?

https://www.reddit.com/r/onednd/s/77ip7T99wn

With diviner/sorcerer multiclass, you can get infinite level 5 and below spell slots by using font of magic and lucubration.

With the magic school mastery boon, you can learn any spell of level 7 or lower regardless of what spell list it belongs to.

In the new wow book we have the divine shield spell which makes you immune to all damage for a round. It is a 4th level spell.

It is literally a level 20 build since you need the epic boon, but I still found it pretty neat.

Hello everyone! I'm a Dungeon Master who plays D&D 5.5e.

I've been playing D&D for a long time and have experienced a variety of adventures, but I'm having trouble deciding which adventure to run next.

Here are the adventures I've already played or run:

• Lost Mine of Phandelver
• Curse of Strahd
• Storm King's Thunder
• Tomb of Annihilation
• Dragon of Icespire Peak (Essentials Kit)
• Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
• Candlekeep Mysteries
• Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus
• Chains of Asmodeus
• Tales from the Yawning Portal
• Dragon Delves

I'd love to hear your recommendations for long-form campaigns other than the ones listed above.

I'd also really appreciate it if you could explain why you recommend them.

Thanks in advance!

I just watched the Dungeon's Dudes ranking of weapon masteries, and the only one they put in the D Tier (lowest) was Graze.

I'm kind of baffled by this. I got to use Graze a little bit on a GWM Pallock before the campaign ended, and I wish I had taken it sooner. Topple and Push are great for a myriad of reasons, but martials get two attacks per turn for the majority (if not all) of their career. There will absolutely be turns where you whiff twice, and your contribution to that round is largely in the gutter. With Graze, you at least know you'll always deal some kind of damage in a round.

What do you all think?

Hi all! I just started playing D&D with a group of friends — first time ever, three sessions in so far. Our table is mostly about having fun and laughing rather than optimizing combat. The party dynamic is already pretty chaotic: we have a cleric who constantly misreads scripture and a fighter who's against violence, among others.

I been getting help with Claude, but wanted to hear your opinion.

My character: A Changeling Rogue, currently level 2. We're using 2014 rules.

Stats: STR 10, DEX 16, CON 13, INT 8, WIS 14, CHA 14

Background: Charlatan (also his backstory is that he was born into the circus)

Expertise: Deception and Stealth

Plan: Assassin subclass at level 3

The roleplay concept is lethal but stupid: a killer-for-hire who infiltrates by winning his targets' trust, but who is also the least intelligent member of the party, which creates a lot of funny situations. At the table he ends up being the charismatic, joke-cracking guy.

What I'm considering: multiclassing into Bard, mainly for:

1. Vicious Mockery — so I can humiliate enemies and make jokes with actual mechanical backing

2. Bardic Inspiration — to support the party in a way that doesn't depend on being smart

3. Social spells (Charm Person, Disguise Self, etc.) — more tools for chaos

4. Jack of All Trades at Bard 2, to soften all those low-INT rolls without removing the comedy

My current idea is Rogue 3 (Assassin) → Bard 1–2 → back to Rogue, since I'm not sure I'd go all the way to College of Whispers.

My questions:

1. Does this split make sense, or would you dip earlier/later?

Is 1–2 levels of Bard enough to get the flavor, or is it worth committing to a full Bard subclass?

1. Would you skip the multiclass entirely and just play a charismatic Rogue, given the table's focus?

There is an interaction im looking at and im trying to get a second opinion on if it would work how I assume and if it would be useful.

1. Agonizing blast and repelling blast plus true strike (or other cantrips that prompt a weapon attack)

I know there is some contention on if these work together but for the sake of it let's assume its allowed

1. War caster

Specifically the part that allows you to take an opportunity attack with a cantrip to do the aforementioned cantrip

1. Sentinel to reduce their speed to 0

2. Quarter staff

3. shillelagh

4. Pole Arm Master

This would allow me to use a weapon with shillelagh to do extra damage from the cantrip amd invocation plus knock them back 10 ft and reduce their speed to 0 on a reaction if they enter within 5 ft of me if I have everything correct

Alternatively, I could drop 6 and possibly 4 and 5 and make use of zehentrum tactics for a less expensive but less potent interaction when someone in melee hits me

So for my actual question, does the interactions listed above work and if so is one or both of them actually viable in practice? This could be either for a new campaign im starting up or as a back up for a campaign thats currently at level 10 and about half way through the plot if my current character dies for context