Character Concepts & Campaign Info

Ah, that makes more sense, thanks CancerMan.

I will admit that I did not make the connection that Initiative is an ability check. Good find! Zangua will get a similar bonus at 7th level, if he lives that long!

Gonna roll for HP.

At level 5, I get +1 to my proficiency bonus, Extra Attack (YES), and an extra combat maneuver, with the option to swap out one of my older ones. Also I think my poultices (which I have not used at all :/ ) heal an additional d6 now?

Also, the more I look at these combat maneuvers, the more I'm seeing how they really weren't meant for ranged characters lol

A few of them only work if you do a melee attack, and Trip Attack - which gives the the chance to knock a target prone - is great for melee fighters who would then get advantage against their opponent for each subsequent attack, but for a ranged fighter, that would actually give me disadvantage. Feinting attack would be great as well, but it also is useless for a ranged character, as my enemy has to be within 5 feet of me.

I do have a question about Riposte:
Would this apply even if I'm not currently holding a melee weapon? Would I just drop my bow to draw a sword, and have to pick it back up on the next round?

In the spirit of combat that makes sense, I'd think you'd have to have a melee weapon at the ready while you're receiving the attack you're gonna riposte.

Assuming you're looking at the Battle Master maneuvers, also consider how these abilities might apply to the team. Trip Attack for a ranged attacker would give you disadvantage on a prone opponent, but your teammates would be there (or they should, since there needs to be a melee person to shield you). It is true that for Feinting, a ranged fighter would be required to supplement with the Crossbow Master feat to take advantage, but there are a number of other maneuvers like Menacing and Goading that can severely limit the opponent and help control the battlefield.

I'm running a Fighter with a ranged focus and plan to take the Battle Master archetype, so I've put some thought into which maneuvers I think would benefit the party: Menacing, Precision, and Trip first, Distracting and Goading second.

Menacing is the one I'm looking at the hardest, I think, although Distracting Strike and Command could be a pretty good double-whammy: I use distracting strike, then command Mordred to attack, now with advantage so he could get his sneak attack bonus.

I thought Zangua was a Champion archetype? My understanding is that you pick your archetype at level 3.

Zangua is a Champion. The fighter I referred to is in another game. I apologize for the lack of clarity.

Ah okay. That makes sense.

I think Menacing Attack is the one I'll take next, but I'm considering swapping out Distracting Strike with Trip Attack.

Distracing strike requires no save from the target, it just automatically gives advantage to the next person who attacks them, but it only works for one attack. Trip Attack gives advantage against the target until their turn, potentially letting multiple people utilize it, but it requires a saving throw from the target to work, so there's a chance it might not work at all.

Also haven't ruled out Command. Thoughts, Cancerman? (And Rocksteady, who would probably be on the receiving end of Command the most?)

Commander's Strike is great in the right situations, and like you've intimated it's awesome when you have a Rogue with Sneak Attack.

Level 5!
I can revive from death (actual death not just 0HP) with Revivify.
I can dispell magic with Dispell Magic (probably good against those Hold Persons and Charms).
I can now destroy weaker undead guys with Turn Undead.
I can make a wall of wind with... Wind Wall. Blocks projectiles (arrows etc), damages enemies.
I can improve farmland with Plant Growth. Screw you guys I'm off to start a lucrative agricultural career.

Nice. I like that Revivify a lot. As far as your agricultural career, Revivify should help insulate you from any of your workers 'accidental death and dismemberment' claims...

I should add I have a wealth of AOE spells now from my Nature Domain selection:
Plant Growth (non-agricultural version): 100ft radius; have to spend 4ft of movement to move 1ft. Can leave some areas within the radius clear.
Spike Growth: 20ft radius; moving in the area makes you take 2d4 damage every 5 feet. Is camouflaged.
Wind Wall: 50ft long, 15ft high, 1ft thick wall of wind; is a line rather than a circle but can be shaped to hit multiple enemies (3d8 dam on failed STR save) so could act as AOE.

I don't think I've ever managed to use any of these yet but they're worth keeping in mind if we encounter a group of enemies.

On Continual Flame...
Well, if you do find a way to fit it in to your prepared list for a day (it wouldn't need to be a permanent part of your list, as the spell itself is permanent... make a couple magic torches and never cast it again), you could always cast it at the end of the day, before the next long rest, using any leftover slots still available. I can focus on backing up your heals that day to help conserve your second level slots.

Anyway, just an idea, in case we're ever in a situation where we can't make light via magic (e.g., Silence spell), nature (too windy, torches/tinder are soaked), or the worst case scenario, both at the same time (I'm not sure what the challenge level Octo might have planned for us is).

But yeah, if it seems too tight a fit, that's what regular torches and cantrips are for.

Now Domarc has the plot football! I really should have named this chapter "The Thing What Zora Horked Up"

Hey, as I look at levelling up, I see what seems to be some ambiguity in the Tiefling racial abilities. Can I get a ruling for the future?
But the description of the Darkness spell says
So can Mordred's Darkvision see through his own Darkness?

Nope.