Character creation

trying again -- I got something like 30 rolls out of that last attempt.

Taking the acolyte background, btw

Ok -- have the raw stats submitted and whatnot. Working on the backstory given how I rolled up the background and motivation.

That is weird! I didn't even notice they took the bonus spells away from Sorcerers. I figured that was why they only got 2 spells known at first level. That their origins would give them four total, vs the typical wizard has 4+ prepared at first level.

Yes, that's fine.

The new mechanic of Sorcery points is meant to help with extra spells -- but it doesn't kick in until level 2.

Introducing Klak Jarnskjoldur:

Alas -- poor Klak. A member of Clan Ironshield -- or Jarnskjoldur in his native tongue. As a young dwarf he was -- as many dwarves can be -- enamoured of Clangeddin Silverbeard and became an acolyte of the god early on in his life. Unfortunately for Klak, his innate perception of the universe -- and ability to remember all those complex rituals was not up to the task. There are those in his clan who suggest that perhaps his mother may have spent a little too much time above ground cavorting with those guileless, but harmless and not particularly bright, halflings not far from the mountain. Like all children -- even Klak heard these mutterings and took them to heart -- giving rise to a mistrust of strangers -- of outsiders, especially to non-dwarves. The mistrust isn’t pathological, but Klak -- in his limited way -- cannot help but think that perhaps the strangers are siphoning off what little cleverness he has left. Either way, Klak was not destined to rise in the order as a cleric of Clangeddin.

Still, his strength and devotion could not be doubted, and he entered service as a temple warrior, taking to martial forms in a way that he was not able to take to scrolls and rituals. As an early initiate, Klak came across the Illustrated History of Fus Bardagaskegg, Champion of Clangeddin. The pictures helped quite a bit and Klak became enamoured of Fus and his deeds. This was the one area of "study" where Klak was able to go deep and learn the minutiae -- turning into something of a trivia disciple of Fus Bardagaskegg, frequently recounting the proverbs and stories around the champion -- usually accurately. What began as kind of an … adorable devotion became somewhat annoying to his superiors as Klak showed no sign of letting up.

Nonetheless, in due course Klak became a full Paladin of Clangeddin Silverbeard with the battleaxe to match. Though not the brightest, he is aware of the scorn that some of his teachers have for his limited scope. One martial trainer, in particular, who -- scandalously as far as Klak was concerned -- favored the Warhammer has gotten under Klak’s skin. Durik Battlebeard was known to say things like, "Klak, since you cannot think through this any better -- just rush the line of goblins. We’ll be right behind you." Or, "Klak, the best place for you defensively is in the middle of the corridor, where your thickness will inhibit the passage of the enemy! Har har har!" To prepare for his upcoming Oath -- Klak has ventured out on a quest to find a relic of Fus Bardagaskegg -- the mighty battleaxe wielded by the famed hero himself. He will find it, and he will return home and shove it up Durik Battlebeard’s… um. beard. Yes.

I'm finalizing my spell selection. What specific changes are you changing for the following EE spells: Catapult, Gust, Thunderclap, and Ice Knife? Thanks!

Yes, I owe you that; sorry for the delay. I had two separate trips into SF today. I'll get it to you tonight.

Edit (later that night): Catapult is the only one I'd change, and that how I said before: the object projectile must be able to reach an apex and come down on the target in order to deal 3d8 damage. I'm going to add that, for every 30' of elevation, the missile will deal 1d8 on a hit, up to the maximum. That way, you'd be devastating as artillery (effectively a mortar), rather than the mobile landmine as originally written ("You know that rock you're standing on? It explodes through your body!").

I actually think that the required arc was intended in the original, just poorly written.

Well, it does say straight line in the spell description. I think it's intended to be more like a bullet, they just gave it a name that doesn't fit. Your way gives it more flavor though than just "Damage Spell Z"

I like Spaceseeker's version as well. I doubt you'll want to go into actual projectile motion calculations (I was a physics major in college but it's all rusted away after 20 years haha!) but changing the elevation means changing the launch angle. Elevation and range both increase as you change angle up to 45 degrees. Between 45 and 90 degrees elevation continues to increase but range starts to suffer. At 90 feet (staright up) range is of course zero. One needs a given launch velocity to even guess at the actual values for range and elevation. I'm sure that's all a bit too fiddly for a fantasy game but surely we'll need a simplified guide of some sort if I'm going to try for max 3d8 damage by aiming for the full 90 feet of elevation, because at max elevation I won't be doing the spell's max attack range (90 feet). Unless you just rule that the spell lets me launch stuff 90 feet regardless, in which case I would just declare max elevation every time unless there's a roof or other obstruction over our heads that prevents me from doing that. :-D

If it's going to be variable damage, shouldn there be a possibility of it doing more damage than it's normal amount? Giving it a range of 1d8-3d8 makes it simply worse than things like Chromatic Orb, which don't have that variance.

That is the restriction I was thinking; you choose the angle and elevation based on the available clearance, and the damage varies accordingly. Story-wise, a successful DEX save then might mean that the target dodged it, or (if there was a roof overhead) that you misjudged the clearance and hit the roof instead.
It's a save rather than an attack roll, for one thing. It's a lot of discussion for this one spell, but I'm happy to consider further tweaks. Here are some possibilities I can imagine:
* Casting the spell at a higher level will either: throw a larger object (increasing damage) or throw an object farther (increasing range). Given the premise of a catapult, I feel like an additional d8 per spell slot level isn't enough for a larger object at the same velocity. Each spell level increase allows the caster to increase the weight of the object 100%. What would be preferable from a gameplay standpoint, increasing the damage by 100% - which would require multiplication: 1-3d8x(spell slot level) - or boosting the damage die, which would be more customary addition (1-3d8+6 at second level, 1-3d8+8 at third level, 1-3d8+10 at 4th level, etc)?
* Casting the spell at a higher level allows an increase to damage AND range, but it doesn't allow one to toss a larger object, it allows one to toss the same object higher/farther. 90' max for 1st level, adding 30' to the "ceiling" and range for every additional spell level. So damage is still 1d8 per vertical 30'.
* Casting the spell at a higher level only increases damage, not range, as you toss a heavier object. The spell slot level corresponds to the size of the object. Damage is normal 1-3d8 (based on elevation) + (spell slot level -1)d10. For example, tossing a heavier object 60' into the air using a 2nd-level spell slot would be 2d8+1d10, while using a 3rd-level spell slot at 90' would be 3d8+2d10.

What do you think?

Final cast of characters recap:
* Sara, the half-elf forest ranger (UA variant) outlander (Candi)
* Aanbo, the dwarven monk hermit (CancerMan)
* Ogbar, the human barbarian outlander (Naatkinson)
* Thacogygax, the dragonborn sorceror slave/soldier(Jabes.plays.RPG)
* Quest, the half-elf mystic of the Awakened Mind (UA class) entertainer (foolsmask)
* Klak, the dwarven paladin acolyte (falryx)
* Morgran, the dwarven tempest cleric acolyte (Biscuitfiend)

I think the spell is inaccurately named. See spell text - "The object flies in a straight line". The only other thing messed up about this spell is the awful, confusing text, Apparently, the save basically means nothing and 3d8 damage is not reduced. Thanks Wizards...

Wow, you're right, the save does absolutely nothing by the text... I feel like it should really just be an attack roll, honestly.

Well, I'm interpreting it as artillery, particularly given Thacogygax's background. Story-wise, the save is to avoid both the impact and the shrapnel from the impact as the object slams to earth again.

But it is interesting, as written. As written, it's a cannonball. The save dodges it as it flies past; it only does damage when it impacts something (a failed save or it hits an inanimate object).

Interesting that the object also takes the same damage, so you potentially could not use the same rock over and over again...but you could craft something that would break (like a cask of acid or oil) when it takes that damage. Thacogygax and the other walking artillery pieces were probably great assets in sea battles.

Ok, I've settled n this spell selection for Thacogygax:
0 - Frostbite
0 - Mage Hand
0 - Mending
0 - Message
1 - Catapult
1 - Fog Cloud
1 - Shield
1 - Thunderwave

I made good on what I said about having more utility rather than offensive cantrips as these are from before the war. Fog Cloud and Thunderwave are bonus spells Storm Sorcerers.

About Catapult tweaks: All the possible options are pretty awesome and I'd be ok with any one of them. Having said that, the first option seems optimal:
As for the two damage boosting methods below, the first one seems to pack more bang for buck:
I had to say goodbye to Chrmatic Orb as I didn't have enough "known" slots but I may pick it up later (if Thacogygax survives that long) and will definitely use the cool backstory attached to it!

Here goes nothin'!

Stats:
15
12
15
11
15
9

Will have to figure out character details this weekend... but for some reason my first impulse is to go with a Gnomish Warlock Urchin.

Those are some darn good rolls!