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theoutcastrogue · 7 months

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[D&D PLAYTEST] Pleasant surprise: 5.5 is actually getting good! And in combat I can FINALLY do something more exciting than "hit it again"

So this was my biggest issue with 5e: when I play a character who's good at hitting things, as opposed to flinging spells at things, I want to do cool shit! I love tactical combat, and I can't stand it when "I hit it again" is the only option of a martial character. Everyone should have options, but especially the Rogue. (I'm biased, yes, but the Rogue is conceptually the one class that fights dirty.) And disappointingly, not even the Swashbuckler got manoeuvres in 5e. For everyone other than Battle Masters and monks with Stunning Strike, our only options in 2014 were a measly Shove / Grapple / Disarm IN PLACE of an attack (for many of us, our only attack), and that was WITH optional DMG features. And Tasha's additions were only a marginal improvement.

You couldn't impose conditions with an attack, which, from a simulation aspect, is just silly. Any two-bit caster could do the craziest shit with spells, but an epic level martial couldn't even say "I hit 'em so hard or so deftly that they got a headache". For the most part, they could only say "I hit it again" and deal damage. And I hate that. It's boring. I even had an unfinished homebrew project of Called Shots, where you could spend a resource to do interesting shit with your attacks (give 'em disadvantage, make 'em dazed, reduce speed, that sort of thing). For Rogues, that resource was Sneak Attack dice. And guess what! In the latest version of the 5.5 playtest, WE GET THAT!

Can I get a fuck yeah, and also a fucking finally.

It's not an automatic win button, and that's good! I don't want win buttons (that's also boring), I want options. Cunning Strike is situationally useful, and that's ideal: if it's always good, you'd do it every time (so why isn't it a standard rule?), and if it's always bad, you'd never do it (so why does it exist at all?). If it's potentially good, depending on the situation, it means I get to THINK what I'm gonna do on my turn, and that's such a joy.

For years now, the only combat decisions my Rogues made in 5e were about movement/positioning, and how to get advantage. And co-ordinating with the others, which always happens, I mean it's a group game. But I had very little to contribute in that department other than flanking, I usually just waited for THEM to help ME to get advantage or something.

With this feature (which I'll be stealing as is, regardless of what happens to the playtest, or if I'm gonna adopt 5.5 as a whole or not), I can set up moves for others, I can impose conditions, so many things. Plus, it's customisable. Now that this basic framework is in place, anyone can fiddle with it and come up with new effects that fit their game and style. (I am NOT in favour of perfect rulesets that cover all bases, needs, and preferences, since that's an impossible and silly thing to ask. I am in favour of solid frameworks, that can be easily tweaked and built upon.) So I am ecstatic. I don't have to hit it again every time! Holy shit!

This is not a blanket endorsement of "One D&D" (I'll keep calling it 5.5, thankyouverymuch). It's still a work in progress, I haven't even read all of it in yet, and I do have issues with it, big and small. (And if my favourite class was the Monk, I'd be thumbs down right now: this one needs a lot of work, oof.) But with Weapon Mastery rules (another interesting development for martial characters), and better feats, and with this enormous improvement, I feel that some of the fundamental problems I had with 5e get... kinda solved. The new Rogue simply KICKS ASS. The whole class, not just Cunning Strike, it's a huge improvement. [Go read it, here's the PDF link.]

It's not overpowered, mind you. In terms of damage output it still lags behind Fighters and Barbarians and whathaveyou (which I'm perfectly okay with: Rogues are experts and skillmonkeys, they got stuff to do out of combat, meanwhile Barbarians have ONE JOB so they better be scary good at it), and full casters still slay. It just does cool shit, and I ask you: why do we even bother with the fuckton of combat rules in D&D if not to do cool shit?

See treantmonk's video below for a nice breakdown of the new Rogue. It's a few months old, and a couple of things have been revised since then: there's no "Arcane" spell list any more, so the Arcane Trickster presumably reverts to the Wizard spell list, and the Weapon Mastery rules are slightly different now. But they're very minor changes, and all the conclusions, with which I wholeheartedly agree, stand: this is simply FANTASTIC.

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#d&d #5e #5.5 #one d&d #how to rogue #crunch #trs #dnd #one dnd

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return2wherever · 1 year

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i love .gif files i wish they would work properly one day

npd mini gifset but it actually gifs this time 5.5/?

#twrp #twrpband #gif #jts twrp gifset #5.5

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aeaeaexxzd · 1 year

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bro is flabbergasted

#house md #my screenshots #fredwatch #greg house #lisa cuddy #5.5 #ID in alt

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tvserie-film · 19 days

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Title: Nyarlathotep (1920) Author: H.P.Lovecraft Vote:5.5/10 The emissary of chaos made flesh and descended to earth as Nyarlathotep. Very esoteric story and with a very vague plot.

#Nyarlathotep #book #horror #1920 #5.5 #h.p.lovecraft #Cthulhu Mythos

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dont-open-dead-inside-25 · 7 months

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is that fucking abraham lincoln

#Finn watches supernatural #5.5 #Is that how you denote the episode and season?#Supernatural #finn says shit

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katarinas-redemption · 2 years

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#olivia n fitz #liv and fitz #liv #fitz #5.5 #olitz #scandal

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saezuru-bird · 2 years

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my 🥔🦔

#mr 100% perfect #hobaen #childrens day #woo in x suk yun #5.5

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cinemacentral666 · 10 months

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Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Movie #1,084 • FRIDAY FILL-IN

This came out 2 years and 9 months before 9/11. There's no way to say if this was a coincidence or not and I am no way insinuating that the release of Shakespeare in Love had anything to do with the towers falling on that fateful day. But facts are facts.

Look, I don't have much to say about this. When I reviewed the very blah Captain Corelli's Mandolin for The Year of Cage project, I thought it was funny that it was Coach John Madden's follow-up to this Oscar-slaying "little movie that could." It's also funny that, at the time, this was scene as such an underdog, because it seems EXACTLY like the type of movie that would clean up at the Academy Awards when viewed today. This is all to say that it's completely fine. It's not my bag but I could totally see how and why it would be someone's favorite film of all-time. I was also struck by its tone, which is explicitly going for a romcom vibe. In my memory, it was a much more serious movie but honestly if that had been the case, it probably would have been even worse.

SCORE: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

#john madden director #1998 #romcom #gwyneth paltrow #joseph fiennes #geoffrey rush #colin firth #ben affleck #judi dench #simon callow #jim carter #martin clunes #antony sher #imelda staunton #tom wilkinson #mark williams #🇺🇸#🇬🇧#5.5

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littlemourningstar · 1 year

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Drew a bit today and uh…that’s it. Sorry.

#wip a day 2023 #5.5 #125/365

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crimsonfluidessence · 2 years

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Prompt 10: Channel

Content Warning: 5.5 Spoilers and slight body horror

It was a strange thing indeed for someone to tell you they were the reincarnation of a saint. No less, the one deemed the original heretic.

Esredes' immediate instinct was not to believe her- but in a world where he'd been hiding the ability to turn into a dragon for so long, he instead opted to say nothing and ask more details. And even after everything, he still didn't believe it was quite what was going on, yet he kept his silence. This meant a lot to her, and it meant a lot to all the others in the movement who believed her wholeheartedly- and her ability to transform into a powerful being was certainly not something normal. It didn't matter to him at that point- she had a power that could deliver Ishgard from the lies which binded it. And that was the most valuable power of all.

A part of him often wondered if it had made a difference if he said anything, if he was honest. But given how she reacted when she finally learned it was all a lie- most of him believed it would have been a negative difference. "It doesn't matter if you are or are not Shiva." He said to her when she came back from her long trip away. "You don't need to embody her spirit to be everything she stands for and was, Ysayle. Have you not been acting in her name for so long? Have you not had the courage to foster peace and understanding when all of your countrymen have chosen hate and violence, just like the original maiden? Have you not worked longer and harder than any of us for peace? You're still Shiva, Ysayle. You have carried on her legacy, and acted as she would have. And if you think this is going to lead to the dream that you always wanted, then go. Don't stand idly by as the truth comes out to them. Get out and fight for it as you always have. Bring this all to the close you wanted, Ysayle. You'll only live with regrets for the rest of your life if you don't."

Most days he wished he hadn't said that last part.

Just as she hadn't been Shiva, Esredes was convinced she wasn't a primal, either. The very concept was insane to him. It didn't matter that they needed a bunch of crystals to make the transformation happen- Primals weren't alive. They were manifestations which lacked sentience, with no will of their own- Shiva was nothing like that.

Sure, over in the Far East the same thing happened and was called a primal- still had to be something else. The Warriors told Esredes that Hydaelyn was a primal- well, that made sense to him. Her actions were so contradictory and illogical that she had to lack proper sentience.

And then the towers appeared.

Problem as they were, Esredes figured they would be just that- a large problem for everyone to solve. And there he was at Whitebrim after the Temple Knights faction of the Alliance assembled, quietly taking in and watching the many faces he had thankfully never seen before, when Kainen motioned for him as he left the dining hall.

Why had he motioned for him? Esredes shouldn't have even asked, for when he came face to face with a woman who was shouting about Shiva in a cell, his blood turned to ice. No, no, no, no, no. That wasn't possible. That didn't make sense. She wasn't a real primal, and Ysayle was- The woman clutched her rosary and began a prayer, after the guards allowed Esredes to give it back to her. “O Lady of the Rime...seal our hearts in ice...health and praise for the Emperor...for glory, Garlemald...” Esredes' hands curled into fists at those words, and his eyes grew intense as if a wildfire was blazing in them. "No... how dare they... They were the ones that murdered her!" "Ser Esredes..." came a voice among the crowd that had gathered by the cell, and he soon recomposed himself. The porxie mage came and did their work, and the woman was soon back to normal- but it did nothing to ease the chill in his bones at the realization that his people were in danger, and they were going to put others in danger- and it was all their own fault.

Soon came the Battle of Carteneau. The Alliance split up to handle the various lunar primals and tempered among the battlefield, and as fate would have it, Kainen was heading an expedition to fight a Lunar Shiva.

That should be impossible. She's gone.

What kind of unholy abomination and impersonation awaited them...? There were other primals he could have gone after, of course, but the moment he heard Kainen speak, he drew in a breath and winced, silently navigating his way over. "Ser Esredes, are you alright?" asked Adelyn, another member of the Ishgard division, as she canted her head towards him ever so slightly. "You needn't join this group if you are having second thoughts..." "I can't possibly stand by. There is no one closer to having an advantage than myself." She nodded. "Then I am glad to have your aid."

She's gone.

When the airship arrived to the arena, it was already mostly ice around a center stage, very reminiscent of the amphitheater itself. Some knights had already been frozen in ice, to which Kainen declared he would get them out and jumped away.

And left there in the center waiting for them was her. While she had a similar outfit, she was not Ysayle, that was for sure, but some other woman who bore no resemblance to anyone. She's gone. That's not her. Beyond the Ishgardians who had come, the majority of the forces were Maelstrom, easily picked out by their bright red outfits. And on order, everyone entered the arena to face off against this thing that had no definition, this imposter that spat in the memory of who she was, a blindly unsentient being that had no right existing. True to his prediction, he did seem to manage something of an advantage. The arena was quickly covered in ice and many of the combatants went sliding, some right into her attacks, but they held true and stubborn. True to being a mostly melee combatant, Esredes had to get right up and close to the thing to attack it- it's not her it's not her it's not her- and by the gods was he going to exercise his right to take out of this world anything that would twist her power for something else.

She loved this world, and all its people. She would never want something in her image made to destroy it. While he held his own against the ice of the arena, even if he had to stab his sword into the ice and use it to ground himself, the thing soon raised its hands heavensward and encased itself in ice, the ice cracking and splitting and exploding to reveal a dragon wing exploding from her clavicle, followed by a second wing, white feathers spilling forth that pulsed with icy energy. A familiar, but not quite right pale dragon formed from the energy, and his eyes glowed with rage. Esredes visibly grimaced. Not long after, Esredes was struck by a blast of icy aether. He flew back and slammed into the arena floor, shards of ice impaled into his lower back and both arms. Even still, he grunted, and pushed himself back up, ignoring the freezing, piercing pain. That thing had to be stopped at all costs.

The lunar apparition made the arena grow colder, and colder. Even for an Ishgardian like himself, it was getting too cold to bear, and gods know how all the Maelstrom people were faring. As the growing blizzard rushed around them, Esredes squinted his eyes to see and let out a shaky breath. It was too cold. They were all going to join those knights and freeze together. Such power, he couldn't contend with it- is this what it was? What Ysayle was yielding, the power they had at their fingertips and yet still wasn't enough to kill that parasite and end their suffering- They had been told at the briefing these Lunars were weaker than true primals, but as the cold closed in on the deepest parts of his bones, Esredes couldn't even comprehend it being stronger than this. Was this what we were going to unleash on Ishgard? Would she have been able to control it enough to prevent mass death? Esredes was still standing, despite it all, yet his balance was beginning to falter in all the shivering.

They were all surely about to succumb to the cold, and it was his fault. He helped bring this abomination into existence. He killed everyone here, including a client of his.

The apparition turned to him, and locked eyes with him. Did it know? A chill ran up his spine, but he stared the thing down. His eyes were still intense like a blazing wildfire, even despite the cold. "You're a disgrace to her memory," each word of that snarl came out with venom. "You'll never... be... Saint Shiva..." And then someone else took advantage of her looking away, and she was pushed back by a wave of dark magic, her icy staff flying out of her hand. Another engulfed her in flames, igniting her wings and burning them to ashes.

As the primal staggered to the ground, her back now to Esredes, she looked up to stare at someone else. Esredes looked past her to see Adelyn, her eyes now glowing blue and icy, with a glowing seal on the glove of her unarmed hand and a layer of rime at her feet, and suddenly, the primal was encased in a pillar of ice. The primal looked down at the Alliance forces, but looked heavensward as she was completely encased. Another fire spell began to crack the ice, and when it shattered, the lunar apparition was no more.

Esredes slowly got to his feet as the sapping cold faded, breathing heavily as he stared with wide eyes at the spot where the abomination had just been. He hadn't even realized that tears had begun streaming down his cheeks as his blank gaze fixated on the spot.

She's gone.

She can't come back.

Every part of Esredes wanted to drop to the ground and scream until he couldn't anymore. Until the ice came back and froze him to death. Until there was nothing but a cold oblivion left. Was it a relief, or a twisted, taunting mockery that he couldn't even look upon something resembling her once last time, before returning to a world where her presence couldn't be felt?

Yet thankfully for that urge, he was soon brought back to reality by people talking to him- multiple people. Some asked if he was okay, one woman even offered a hug he graciously declined, and soon Kainen returned announcing he had completed his mission, and they were back on the airship and off to reconnect with the rest of the Alliance. The Battle of Carteneau had not yet been won, and there was no time for him to rest as he stared out blankly the entire airship ride over.

Shiva had never been anything more than a long passed mortal, and despite the best efforts of so many people, she would never be anything more.

#ffxivwrite2022 #ffxivwrite #writing #in action #ysayle #shiva #adelyn #finriel #kainen #shb spoilers #ffxiv shb spoilers #5.5 #screenshots

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theoutcastrogue · 2 years

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One D&D aka D&D 5.5: Expert Classes (Rogue and others)

I lowkey ignored these new developments, but now I’m plunging in. Latest Unearthed Arcana is out (PDF here) and it’s about Rogues, let’s go!

Changes to the Rogue Class

Weapon proficiencies: From simple weapons, hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers and shortswords in 5e, we get simple weapons, and martial weapons with the finesse property. So we lose longswords which were already not useful for sneak attack, and we get scimitar AND WHIP. Whip has reach! And I mean. Kinky. Wait, did we lose hand crossbows? Am I missing something? That’s a weapon FOR rogues, innit? I wonder if they’re saving it for Assassins only.

Sneak attack: Can only use it once per round (not per turn) with an attack action, so not as a reaction. Aw, that’s a straight nerf. To be fair, setting up a sneak attack reaction was a hassle, required you to stay smack dab in the middle of melee (for squishy rogues, this is The Bad Place), and ate your Uncanny Dodge reaction. So maybe it’s okay.

Thieves’ Cant: You get an extra language in addition to Thieves’ Cant, which can be Standard or Rare. That’s cool.

Evasion: Now at lvl 9, 2 levels later than before. Hmm, I think that’s a bit too late for “iconic class ability”, but it’s true Rogues have a lot of those, and you gotta spread them out somehow. Maybe bring back the older gradual version, of Evasion (only works if you succeed on the save) early and Improved Evasion (the full effect) later?

Subtle Strikes: That’s new. I like it. Despite being often described (and played!) as the loners who scout ahead solo, Rogues have always performed better with allies to distract their enemies. Ganging up on targets is a time-honoured tradition. Replaces Blindsight.

Slippery Mind: Now applies to Charisma too, not just Wisdom. Also cool.

Level 20 Capstone, Epic Boon of Undectability (or another epic boon feat): Well. It’s debatable if that’s sufficiently awesome for level 20, but I really dig the idea of a Rogue who hides and just... can’t be detected. Fuck your magic. And I think it should explicitly ignore blindsight and tremorsense and such, otherwise meh, by that point your Stealth (assuming Expertise and 20 DEX) is 27 minimum.

Changes to the Thief subclass

First of all, all subclasses now get abilities at the same levels: 3rd, 6th, 10th, 14th. For us that’s earlier, neater, and a definite improvement. These came too late in 5e, and sometimes it felt like your subclass didn’t even matter, other than the big boost at 3rd.

Fast Hands: Nerfed, can’t Use an Object as a bonus action any more. That’s bad, I think thieves should have fast hands for any and all purposes. Combat can become way more creative, and situations like “we’re on a vehicle that’s out of control, or a dungeon room filled with levers” way more interesting. That’s when you need a rogue with fast hands. Boo. Now you can only use this ability to pick locks, pick pockets, disarm traps, or Search. But something’s wrong with the Search action.

My first reaction was WISDOM? oh no! But wait a minute. That’s not investigation, that’s not looking for traps or rifling for clues or deciphering codes (these are apparently another type of action, INT-based, called Study). Then why on earth would a Thief get Search and not Study as a bonus action? That makes little sense, and also goes against the Thief archetype stereotype: hot mess, incorrigible fuckup, gets easily distracted, most of all by shinies, inadvisably dumped wisdom. (Am I projecting? OF COURSE I’m projecting.)

Second-Story Work: You get an actual Climb speed equal to your speed (okay), and can Jump with a dexterity instead of a strength check. Trouble is, Jump is an Action, and Cunning Action doesn’t apply. Boo. Still underwhelming ability, doesn’t do what it says on the tin. And mate, look, it’s real simple. Thieves will never be top damage dealers or damage takers, and they got no spells. To compensate, you have to make them incredibly cool, and fast and mobile.

Supreme Sneak: the advantage to Stealth checks applies if you wear Light armor or none. Previously you had to move up to half your speed, so that’s a big improvement. If you play tactical combat on a grid and not vague theatre of the mind, mobility is HUGE for rogues.

Use Magic Device: That’s changed quite a lot (previously it was just ignore attunement requirements). The scrolls thing seems interesting, but without spending a whole feat to gain proficiency in Arcana, it’s just an Intelligence check, i.e. exactly what happens when anyone tries to use a scroll not on their spell list. If no other rules change, it’s bad: it only lets you use 1st lvl spells or cantrips at level 10. The other two abilities depend entirely on how many and what kind of magic items your DM gives you. Having 4 good attuned items is amazing.

Thief’s Reflexes: It’s now 14th lvl instead of 18th, and instead of an extra turn on the first round of combat, you get a second Bonus Action (from Cunning Action only) [Proficiency] times per Long Rest. You know, unless you get into a ton of combats per day, this is arguably better.

Changes to other relevant rules

Duel Wielder / Light weapons: Good news for two-weapon fighters: off-hand attacks don’t take a bonus action any more, you just need 2 Light weapons OR one Light, one non-Two-Handed, and the feat Dual Wielder. Also, since normally “you can equip or unequip one Weapon before or after any attack you make as part of [the Attack] Action”, you can effectively fight with two weapons and still have a hand free before and after to manipulate things, AND your bonus action free for Cunning Action. Very good for Rogues.

Skulker: Useful.

Blindsight: Um. Does “effectively see” mean you can target them with a spell, or attack without disadvantage etc? Or does it just mean you know where they are? That could use a clarification. 5e didn’t have any either.

Hide: For the most part, this is unusually clear and well-defined (5e hiding was neither). The minimum DC 15 even if your enemies crit-fail is an unnecessary nerf, I think, but that’s okay. BUT. I swear no one’s ever managed to figure out the CLASSIC Rogue move “emerge from hiding place and sneak attack opponent” – i.e. attack with the benefits of being hidden; you should only hit once before they register you’re there, but that hit will hurt. Reading this, it looks like if I’m hidden like 5 ft away from my target and emerge from Cover, I’m in melee range but my Hidden condition ended BEFORE I get the chance to make my attack roll. Because now I’m not behind any Cover! So I can only pull it off with ranged weapons OR if I’m hidden and exactly adjacent to the target. I am not pleased.

Y’all. Decide if you want to give this to sneak attackers only or to anyone who hides successfully, give a reasonable distance limit (if I have to run 30 ft from cover to melee range, I’ll probably get made and will surprise exactly no one), say 10 ft, and LET ME DO THIS. Lemme dash out of the darkness or from behind a piece of furniture and stab people in the kidney, that’s the class.

Tools: This is really cool, I’m a skillmonkey, I dig tools, love it.

Unarmed Strike: I AM ONCE AGAIN ASKING WotC TO LET ME KNOCK PEOPLE DOWN USING DEXTERITY. Good god people, haven’t you EVER tripped anyone irl? If you aim at the right spot at the right time, you don’t need any strength at all, you use their own weight and momentum to make them lose balance. Also, can I at least AIM a fist or a kick using dexterity? Never mind damage, just to hit? Is that so unfathomable? And can Unarmed Strike please be considered a finesse weapon, to support brawling Rogues? “Brawler fighting dirty” is a Type of Guy D&D needs. (Also needs ninjas, obviously, but we’ll see what they’ll do with the Monk and/or other Rogue subclasses about that.)

P.S. Also, may I express my profound relief that they rolled back that HUGE nerf in critical hits. They had made it “add an extra weapon damage die” instead of double all damage dice, to the woe and chagrin of martials everywhere and especially rogues and paladins. I mean come on, the sheer JOY of critting on a sneak attack should not be taken away! And it wasn’t, they rolled it back, phew.