Tag: DnD

Ring Side Report-Esper Genesis Threat Database

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Product– Esper Genesis Threat Database

System-Dungeons and Dragons 5e

Producer– Alligator Alley Entertainment

Price– $ 24.95 https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/285863/Esper-Genesis-5E-Threats-Database?affiliate_id=658618

TL; DR-Solid world building in a monster manual! 95%

Basics-They have a multidimensional cave troll! Esper Genesis Threat Database is Esper Genesis’s Monster Manual, BUT it has so much more. Let’s dig into my thoughts on this.

Mechanics or Crunch-Ok, it’s a monster manual. You follow the basic rules put out by WotC and you get solid, well executed monsters. Alligator Alley Entertainment put in good effort and created good monsters to challenge your heroes. You will always have your favorites. I like Lovecraftian horrors and xenomorphs like the movie Alien. I have both those things, so I’m happy! You will find your own favorite monsters and organizations to throw at your players. The one thing I miss that this system needs to steal wholesale from Starfinder is the monster manual also being a second player guide by providing new races for players. Again, I’m asking for a solid thing to be more. However, since most of the bad guys are not horrible spider animals but humanoid-ish creatures, it fits that players could be them. It’s a small gripe on an otherwise well made crunch book. 4.5/5

Theme or Fluff– Honestly this is where things shine. One of my MAJOR complaints about the base book was who are the bad guys? This books delivers on that by not only having flushed out monsters but a WHOLE SECTION on alien threats and organization. Like all monster manuals you get a page per bad guy that has a picture, some crunch, and some words about the bad guy, but the cherry on top is the fact that this book adds universe to the universe not just by throwing all of that into the book, but also a section on organization that threaten the universe, making this a world building book as well. I love what’s here for the monster and world story! 5/5

Execution– PDF? Yep! Hyperlinked? Yep! Ok, all the things I want standard in a book! Aside from that its a well laid out easy to read monster manual. It’s got all the small issues I hate in a monster manual with the key one being when you have a monster group of things like a bunch of different robots, not all the robots get pictures. You know they exist and you get a picture of one or two of the five, but I need something to throw up on a tablet to show my players so they know what the heck is going on! That’s a pretty small thing in an otherwise amazing book. However, there is one thing this book does that really makes me happy and it’s honestly, quite literally the smallest thing. If there is a picture of the creature in the book, they took a small blue representation of it and set it next to a standard human for scale. That’s it. That right there fills me with with all the happy because if you show me a space cockroach and say this is the key threat to the galaxy I think that might be the size of a planet when you meant as a literal space cockroach and they just swarm their prey and are getting everywhere. I love that as its something again I can throw up on a tablet, show don’t tell my players, and have them get their heads into the fight! Fantastic work on the production of this book! 4.75/5

Summary-Esper Genesis is honestly a sleeper system with some real power in it. It’s got a new take on DnD 5e, and this book proves that Esper Genesis has a solid creative team in it. The Threat Database provides a ton of monsters to throw at your players, great world building, and an excellent example of how to build a book. My gripes are far and few with most of them being things this system needs based on other Sci-Fi systems and problems I see in all monster manuals. Overall, this is an amazing addition to the Esper Genesis universe. 95%

Daily Punch 10-8-19 Ball Lightning spell for DnD 5e

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How about a spell three ways?  First for DnD 5e

 

Ball Lightning

4th-level conjuration

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S, M (a bit of fulgurite )
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

A 5-foot-diameter sphere of lighting appears in an unoccupied space of your choice within range and lasts for the duration. Each round, you may make a ranged spell attack emanating from the sphere at a creature within 30 feet.  Upon hitting the creature, the creature takes 4d8 lightning damage, and you make a two more ranged spell attack at two different creatures in range of the first target.  Upon a hit, each secondary target takes 4d8 lightning damage.  You do not make the secondary attacks again.  This attack takes no action.

As a bonus action, you can move the sphere up to 30 feet.  As an action, you may make a second attack with the spell with the secondary attacks performed as normal.

When you move the sphere, you can direct it over barriers up to 5 feet tall and jump it across pits up to 10 feet wide. The sphere sheds bright light in a 60-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet.

At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 4th.

Daily Punch 10-2-19 College of the Crossroads bardic college for DnD 5e

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How about some more fun for DnD 5e?

 

College of the Crossroads

You might have been the best there was or you might not have been able to pluck a string, but boy after the man or woman in black met you and tuned your fiddle at midnight at the crossroads, you became a titan of stringed instriment.  You made a deal or maybe you won a contest, but either way, you have powers most didn’t think possible all at the low cost of having to watch your back for the rest of your days lest someone come collect

College of the Crossroads Features
Bard Level Feature
3rd Bonus Proficiencies, Fiddle of Gold
6th Dark Songs
14th Hounds of Hell

Bonus Proficiencies

When you join the College of the Crossroads at 3rd level, you double your proficiency for any stringed instrument you use.  You also gain proficiency in arcana and religion if you were not proficient in those or you gain proficiency in another skill for each one with which you were already proficient.

Fiddle of Gold

Also at 3rd level, you learned to summon an instrument you got from the man in black.  The instrument is a golden stringed instrument that always is immaculate, has perfect pitch and counts as a +1 magic club for any melee attacks you make with it.  It can be used as a focus for any spells you cast giving you a +1 bonus to your DC and to any spell attacks you make with it.  At level 11, these bonuses becomes a +2, and at level 17 these bonuses becomes a +3.  You can dismiss the resummon the instrument as often as you want as a bonus action.

Dark Songs

Starting at 6th level, you’ve learned more from your former master.  You gain access to warlock spells when you gain new spells or the chance to replace a spell, but you may not know more than four warlock spells.  These spells count against your normal number of spells.

Hounds of Hell

At 14th level, the devil begins to claim his due, but you’ve becomes a silver tongued fiend in your own right having mastered the first monsters sent to collect you.  Once per day, you may as an action summon three hell hounds.  These creatures obey your commands, but you must use a bonus action each turn to direct them or they act according to their own interests.  If they die or are dismissed as an action, you can resummon them again after a long rest.

 

 

 

Thoughts?

Daily Punch 9-9-19 Undead Spike wondrous item for DnD 5e

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How about an item three ways?  Here is the DnD 5e way.

 

 

Undead Spike

Wondrous item, very rare

This heavy cold iron spike contains some of the oldest necromancy in existence. As an action, you may make a melee weapon attack with with you are proficient with the spike against an undead creature that is adjacent to a surface, either vertical or horizontal.  On a hit against an undead creature, the target must make a DC 19 Constitution save.  On a failure, the creature is impaled against the surface.  The creature cannot remove the spike if it failed the original save nor can it use magic or abilities to cause another creature to remove the spike via mind control.  A creature may willingly removed the spike ending the effect against the original target.  On a successful save, the creature just takes 1d6 magic piercing damage with no other effect.

 

 

Thoughts?

Daily Punch 9-3-19 Dark Cunning gnome feat for DnD 5e

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Bouncing back and forth between 5th Ed and Pathfinder 2nd Ed.  Here is some love for Devils and gnomes in 5th Ed.

 

Dark Cunning

Prerequisite:Gnome

You’ve learned from the best of the best when it comes to being mentally slippery. You gain the following benefits:

  • You have advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saves.
  • Increase either your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20.

 

 

Thoughts?

Daily Punch 8-16-19 Diabolical Ferocity feat for DnD 5e

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More player options to fight devils! Now for the Half-Orc!

Diabolical Ferocity

Prerequisite: Orc or half-orc

You’ve been touched by devils, but that has only increased your powers, not corrupted you. You gain the following benefits:

  • You gain a magic melee bite attack. You are profficient with the attack, it deal 1d6+1 + Strength modifier damage and counts as magic to overcome damage resistance.
  • You can use your Relentless Endurance once per short rest instead of once per long rest.

Thoughts?

Daily Punch 8-14-19 Herne’s Apprentice Ranger Archetype for DnD 5e

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More devil killers for DnD 5e!  Now for the Ranger!

Herne’s Apprentice

Herne hunts his pray long before you were born, and he will do it long after you die.  You grew to love the hunt, and wanted to follow the great hunter.  Along the way you swore allegiance to the man and his masters, one of these masters was the devil himself.  Now, you will use Herne’s training to hunt this master to end the bonds that tie you to that monster!

Initiation

At 3rd level, you initiate yourself as Herne himself did as a sacrifice for to yourself on a tree.  You’re type changes to undead.  You gain damage reduction to cold and necrotic damage.  You also no longer need to eat or breath.

Horned Hunter

At 7th level, you grow antlers like your hunter.  You gain a magic piercing attack that does 1d8+1 magic piercing damage with which you are proficient.  In addition, you gain the wild shape as a druid of your level but you may only change into horned creatures.

Horrors of the Hunter

At 11th level, you begin to frighten even your enemies.  At the start of each round, you can choose to frighten anyone of your choice.  Each creature of your  choice that is within 50 feet of you and aware of you must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute.  The DC is equal to 8 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature’s saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to this effect for the next 24 hours.  Even creatures that are normally immune to fear effects only receive advantage on the saving throw.

Chain and Horn

At 15th level, you gain Herne’s most treasured items.  Gain the following below.

  • Chain: You gain a magic chain the wraps round your enemies.  As a bonus action each round, you can attack an enemy with this melee weapon up to 30 feet away.  The attack deals 1d6+2 magic bludgeoning damage with with you are proficient.  If an enemy is hit, you can drag the enemy up to you.
  • Horn of the Hunter: Once per day, you may use an animal horn as an action.  This summons 6 dire wolves.  These wolves obey you as if summoned via conjure animals.  You regain the use of this ability after a long rest.

 

 

Thoughts?

Ring Side Report-Keeping it Classy: The Bard

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Product– Keeping it Classy: The Bard

System-DnD 5e

Producer–Kim Frandsen 

Price– $5 here https://www.dmsguild.com/product/281863/Keeping-It-Classy-The-Bard?affiliate_id=658618 

TL; DR-Another Solid Entry in the Series.  98%

 

Basics-CAN YOU HEAR ME!  Keeping it Classy: bards is another book in the keeping it classy series this time focusing on bards.  This book has items, bard colleges, a new race, and backgrounds all focusing on the musical characters in the party.

Mechanics or Crunch-What’s here is great!  I like the new mechanics, and they all feel balanced with everything else.  I like the items and the backgrounds as they fit as well. I’ve never been a fan of new races because it’s strange to just have a group of creatures that have always been here just appear out of nowhere, but the new race feels balanced as well.  What I want more of is feats. This book and the bard need some more feats, so this feels like a bit of a missed opportunity. Aside from missing feats, I love the stuff that’s here. 4.75/5

Theme or Fluff-This again feels right.  That’s what I want in a book for a class.  The stuff here feels appropriate for the class and the various settings that the bard plays in.  That means its done well. 5/5

 

Execution–  PDF?  Check!  Hyperlinked?  CHECK! Great layout and ease of readability?  CHECK! This is how I want products made. It’s got some original art, but the art that is there does exactly what it was supposed to do- break up the text and intrigue me.  The layout is nice. The font reads easily, and the overall presentation is top notch. 5/5

 

Summary-This is a 6 dollar book that provides a solid punch of material.  You get great mechanics that build the class in a new direction by playing with some different resources.  You get some new backgrounds, and you get solid items. I always want more,and here I feel a few feats would help round out the product.  But, aside from that, the book has an amazing execution, and all the new toys feel like they belong in the fantasy world of DnD. This is a rock solid book most bards should at least check out!  98%