#bravely second subclass

[fgg5ebrewery]

Subclasses for the last 6 classes

Mood music

Drive Link and Mobile Friendly Link

I know I said the prior group was the last, but then ideas came to round out the other 6 classes. All 12 subclasses are bundled into 1 file.

The White Monk is the Monk's subclass Way of the White First/Warrior of the Divine, a more divine themed subclass.

Geomancer is a Ranger archetype that focuses on spell casting based on their various favored terrains, and gain other bonuses based on these choices.

The Mime is the Bard's College of Mimicry (represented by the Morpher), copying the actions of others.

Warlock's have Bravely Second's Guardian (represented by the Defender), able to link it's soul to others.

Phantom Sorcery, themed off of Espers, is a subclass focusing on the use of Metamagic, and has the option to choose any spells for it's spell list.

Mirage Domain for Clerics is themed after Yuna and using Rydia for some more inspiration, focuses on summoning spells.

[masterqwertster]

Orym in Daggerheart

Little murder man, go!

Ancestry

Halfling

Orym has an obvious one-to-one on Ancestry. With a little sort of Halfling Luck in that Daggerheart Halflings reroll 1s on their Hope die, and a little Bountiful Luck, sort of, in that they grant 1 Hope to everyone in the party at the start of each session.

Community

Wanderborne

While Zephrah itself is more Ridgeborne or Wildborne, Orym's wanderings since the attack on Zephrah do give him a taste of Wanderborne. And I think the Nomad's Pack feature suits Orym better as being someone prepared than the Lightfoot sneaking of Wildeborne or navigational skills of Ridgeborne.

Though I would concede an argument for Ridgeborne given how Orym hops around and navigates a world much bigger than him.

Class/Subclass

Call of the Brave Warrior -Courage: fail with Fear, gain a Hope -Battle Ritual: Once per long rest, before you do or face something incredibly dangerous, describe preparations/ritual you do, clearing 2 Stress and gaining 2 Hope. Specialization-Rise to the Challenge: Vigilante in the face of danger, use a d20 Hope die when 2 or less HP left with Stalwart Guardian multi-class -Unwavering: permanent +1 to Damage Thresholds -Iron Will: taking physical damage, you can mark an additional Armor Slot to reduce severity Specialization-Unrelenting: permanent +2 to Damage Thresholds -Partners-in-Arms: When an ally in Very Close range takes damage, you can mark Armor to reduce the severity by 1 threshold

So Orym's an interesting one because you could absolutely go full Call of the Brave Warrior with him. His background as a Tempest Blade leans well into the flavor of Warrior and Orym builds quite a bit out of the Bone Domain. Plus the Mastery is the ability to initiate 2 Tag Teams per session and it only costs 2 Hope for someone else to team up with you, which is a good deal.

On the other hand, Stalwart Guardian plays into Orym's hardy defense of his friends and gets him the Valor Domain for some more skills to support that. Despite Orym maybe not playing into the mechanics of Unstoppable as much. Given how he toughs things out anyways, I wouldn't say Unstoppable is entirely unsuited.

And honestly, if you multi-class, you really can go either way for which one to Specialize in, as the Call of the Brave descriptor is a practically perfect match to Orym's bonkers Perception. While the Stalwart Guardian really does play into Orym's Bait and Switch Maneuver.

Domain Cards

Get Back Up (lvl 1, blade)

Given Orym's very Captain America "I can do this all day" approach to things, the name of the card speaks to that, and damage reduction by spending a Stress when it's Severe helps keep Orym in the fight

Deft Maneuvers (lvl 1, bone)

For Orym's maneuverability via the Boots of Springing and Striding as well as his later Misty Step.

I am Your Shield (lvl 1, valor)

Bait and Switch, basically. Except instead of boosting AC it is actually taking the attack. Though you can use all the Armor Slots you'd like to reduce damage when you do this.

Soldier's Bond (lvl 2, blade)

Orym likes to compliment his friends. Might as well both get 3 Hope out of it a day.

Tactician (lvl 3, bone)

Orym helps his friends out, now just a little more. A d20 for Tag Team rolls and the ability to spend a second Hope when Helping to add one of your Experiences to their role.

Brace (lvl 3, bone)

In helping Orym take those hits, use a Stress to mark a second Armor Slot when reducing damage.

Boost (lvl 4, bone)

I do like the few times Orym has tried a Throw Me maneuver, and how he'll bounce off of allies to get higher. This card does that, for a Stress you can bounce off an ally out to Far range to hit with an extra d10 of damage as you stick the landing.

Goad Them On (lvl 4, valor)

Say hello to the new and improved Goading Attack. If you succeed on a Presence roll to taunt a target in Close range, mark a Stress so their next move must be to attack you with disadvantage. So not only can the goaded enemy not attack your allies, it also has poorer odds to hit you.

Know Thy Enemy (lvl 5, bone)

Much like the D&D Know Your Enemy, this is about getting some extra info on observed enemies. Plus, if you succeed on the roll to observe them, you can also mark a Stress to remove a Fear from the GM's pool, making the next bit of combat/trouble a little safer.

Vitality (lvl 5, blade)

In the vein of Orym's Tough feat, it's some extra durability. Gain two of +1 Stress Slot, +1 HP, +2 to Thresholds. Then the card is forever vaulted and not taking up space.

Rapid Riposte (lvl 6, bone)

Much like the Riposte Maneuver Orym has, it's the chance to attack back when the enemy misses (for 1 Stress). And this one auto hits.

Recovery (lvl 6, bone)

As a sort of parallel to Second Wind, this allows you to boost one Short Rest action to a Long Rest Action. And spend a Hope to let an ally do the same.

On the Brink (lvl 9, bone)

Besides the fact that the art looks kind of like Orym, this is a card that lets a character keep pushing while flirting with their limits, which Orym often does towards the end. If you've got 2 or less HP left, Minor damage doesn't happen.

Swift Step (lvl 10, bone)

Considering I've gotten Orym some options to get in the way of attacks on others, I think Stress relief when an attack misses him (or Hope gain if there's no stress) is very helpful for rounding out Orym. Especially since he's got several options for extra Armor via Stress.

At the End

I think Orym is one where you have options for building him out in Daggerheart while still feeling like you've made Orym. Like I said above, you don't have to multi-class him (though the two Valor cards I picked are essentially his signature moves). And if you do, either Specialization fits. And there were a handful of other cards that could have fit in his loadout instead. I guess that's what happens when you build a solid basic fighter who's all about protecting and helping his friends.

[crowtrobotx]

Lottie’s BG3 run so far has been appropriately Unhinged. It would make mansplaining DMs cry as they furiously try to explain “party balance” to me but I gave the rogue/fighter arcane subclasses and when I tell you Lottie, her fellow gremlin friends Lae’zel and Astarion and her favorite manwhore to bully Gale have to stand there unmoving for like 45 seconds after each fight concludes to let things Calm Down.

Flammable surfaces? On fire. Water? Electrified. Reanimated corpse allies walking into walls. Leftover acid bombs decorating every hallway. Everyone has taken friendly AOE damage from the waist high storm sorcerer but no one is brave enough to complain out loud. All is as it should be.

[cagemasterfantasy]

Banneret (2024) (Homebrew)

This is my own take on Banneret using the 2024 rules for Fighter. This post will be deleted if this subclass gets updated to 2024 rules. Changes are described at the end.

From: Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

A banneret is a knight who inspires greatness in others by committing brave deeds in battle. The mere presence of one in a hamlet is enough to cause some orcs and bandits to seek easier prey. A lone banneret is a skilled warrior, but a banneret leading a band of allies can transform even the most poorly equipped militia into a ferocious war band.

A banneret prefers to lead through deeds, not words. As a banneret spearheads an attack, their actions can awaken reserves of courage and conviction in allies that they never suspected they had.

Level 3 Royal Envoy: Knights of high standing are expected to conduct themselves with grace in anyone’s presence. You learn two languages of your choice and you have proficiency in Persuasion. If you already have this proficiency you have Expertise in it instead and you can choose one other skill to have proficiency in.

Level 3 War Banner: Your waving banner provides your allies an inspiring sight in battle. You have 3 Banner Dice, which are d10s. A Banner Die is expended when you use it. You regain 1 Banner Die when you finish a Short Rest and all expended dice when you finish a Long Rest. You gain an additional Banner Die at level 10 and another at level 15. You can use your Banner Dice in the following ways:

Invigorate. As a Bonus Action you can choose up to three creatures of your choice that can see or hear you within 60 of you. Each creature regains a number of Hit Points equal to a roll of your Banner Die. The number of Hit Points regained increases by 1 extra roll of your Banner Dice at level 10 (2 rolls) and at level 15 (3 rolls).

Instruct. When a creature that can hear or see you within 60 feet of you misses an attack, you can use your Reaction to let it roll a Banner Die and add it to the result, potentially causing the attack to hit instead. If the attack still misses, the Banner Die isn’t expended.

Level 7 Lead by Example: Your actions in combat serve as an example to your allies.

Pinpoint. When you use Instruct and the attack hits, it deals extra damage equal to half of your Fighter level.

Assemble. When you use Instruct, you can choose a creature that you can see within 60 feet of you. It can immediately move up to half its Speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks.

Level 10 Commander: You make your allies shine by utilizing your combat prowess and experience.

Apprise. When a spell or effect forces up to 3 of your allies to make a saving throw, you can expend a Banner Die to let each creature roll a d10 and add it to its save.

Single Out. Whenever you attack a creature, you can expend a Banner Die and choose one ally that can hear or see you within 60 feet of you. It can use its Reaction to make one attack against your target.

Level 15 Flanking Position: When you attack a creature and you don't have Disadvantage on the attack, all creatures that can hear or see you within 60 feet of you have Advantage on their first attack against it before the start of your next turn.

Level 18 Warlord: Your commanding presence reaches its peak.

Rally. When you use Assemble you can choose up to three creatures that can move with you.

Expose. When you use Single Out you can expend a second Banner Die to turn the attack of your ally into a Critical Hit.

Changes:

Royal Envoy now gives two languages and Expertise in Persuasion

Apart from Royal Envoy all features are new, using a dice pool called Banner Dice. These can be used for different features that aid your allies.

[articskele]

Which Warhammer 40k factions I think my OCs would like!!

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Dove: The Adepta Sororitas, aka Battle Sisters. She would LOVE these gals. She already has that archangel with a flaming sword / divine rage / Joan of Arc thing going on, and the sheer force of human will used to create literal miracles on the battlefield is right up her alley. And she's a brutal motherfucker like them too- AND THE STORY OF SAINT CELESTINE

For context, just like how the Space Marines have different chapters (or subclasses for a D&D comparison lol), the Battle Sisters have six orders based on six saints. All of these saints are dead except for one, Saint Celestine.

She basically has the ability to come back from the dead, and each time, she must brave the terrors of the warp (basically this universe's hell), going through various trials to find pieces of herself. The last trial being to find and comfort a crying little girl that represents her hope.

But her bones appear in this realm everytime she dies, so when she no longer has the strength to climb the growing pile of bones is when she will truly die. And OUGHHHH that hits Dove HARD.

Suffice to say she's a ride or die Sororita enthusiast, she either has cosplayed one or REALLY wants to, and in a Warhammer AU she would absolutely be one.

---

Mel: Oh they're an Adeptus Mechanicus girlie >:D She adores the vibes of the Ad Mech, the robes and the agumentations and the quest for knowledge. And the goofy aspects are just as important to her as the serious ones!

There's the Sydonian Skatros, a skitarii model with comically long stilt legs so it doesn't need to climb up to a vantage point in order to use a sniper rifle.

There's the Ironstrider Ballistarius, which is basically a self-powered chicken walker. The only person who knew how it worked died, and everyone's afraid that if they turn it off they won't be able to turn it back on, so when they're not in battle they're just left running in circles-

Tech priests will literally recite instruction manuals, like when they do the ritual for turning something on they're basically saying "press the power button and hold for three seconds" in High Gothic or Binaric.

Speaking of Binaric, tech priests have invented a variety of languages designed to transmit information as efficiently as possible, but to those without the augmentations to understand it, it just sounds like electronic noises. And they get noticeably miffed with having to speak normally because it's suboptimal-

Mel relates to these funny cyborgs more than they'd like to admit, they're a firm believer in tech priests having autism bc "THEY'RE JUST LIKE ME FR," and she insists that playing the Mechanicus OST will make your electronics work better.

Though my second choice would be Orks! I don't know nearly as much about them, but they're basically hulking green giants with rough british accents who make their shoddy craftsmanship work way better than it should through sheer force of collective will. And they're just plain fun!

I saw this one photo of a book, where it had this formal Ad Mech prayer, and right below it was the ork battle cry "cmon cmon cmon!!" and I think both sum her up very well gjhsdfksd

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Stone: The Astra Militarum, aka Imperial Guard. The appeal of the Guard is that they're the underdogs of the galaxy. In a world where the weakest weapon is a laser gun that can blast through concrete, in a world where the literal gods of chaos lay waste to all that oppose them, there are regular humans. And they fight on.

I've heard that it's been quoted ad nauseam, but one of the most badass phrases I've heard is about the fall of Cadia. Cadia was a planet situated right next to the Eye of Terror, basically a giant warp rift. Thus making the planet the cork that kept everything from exploding out of control.

Countless demons kept coming out of it to attack the planet, among other things as the conflict heated up, but eventually the planet itself was obliterated. The Eye of Terror spread, isolating all who stood on the other side of the galaxy, but there are still people over there who fight to the bitter end.

The planet broke before the Guard did.

And I've heard that the demographic of Guard fans, at least for people who actually play the tabletop, are older dudes? So that fits him too ouo

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Petra: She's giving Salamanders! Despite the bright red eyes and all-consuming flame weapons of these Space Marines, they're known for their appreciation of humanity and the arts. Salamanders will go out of their way to ensure the safety of civilians, and they pride themselves in crafting weapons that are both effective and beautiful.

It reminds me of how Petra would've been a blacksmith had she never been torn from her homeworld, and come to think of it, I could see her going on to pursue that career after the trio beats Percy!

And I imagine she'd really resonate with the idea of super intimidating self-sufficient warriors who are more than what meets the eye, being someone who hides her emotions behind fire and explosions. Also dragons are hella cool >:D

[aokozaki]

Assign yourself a bravely default class, and if you're feeling spicy, add a subclass. Or also me, while we're here.

Swordmaster main, Hawkeye sub.

This combo isn't too crazy at super effective synergy, but I really like the Fast Sword vibes of Swordmaster, and Hawkeye is essentially a cooler Magic Knight. Using Hawkeye's Warhead to give your weapons an elemental edge can pretty much melt Second's final boss, who has a notable wind weakness.

The synergy doesn't really work though. Swordmaster is about carefully lying in wait to counterattack, while Hawkeye is about using BP to attack groups of enemies agressively.

But it's such a cool combo!

For you, I definitely see you going Thief main. It's the "go fast" class of the series, coming with the increase speed passive abilities, and also having Godspeed Strike to attack based on speed.

I don't know what your subclass would be though. For one, because I can't envision it, and for two, because you care more about synergy than me but I don't really know what pairs with theif.

[demilypyro]

To expand on what I said in the reply's all three bravely default games have a class system that lets you just, change class whenever, they level separately from your characters and you can also have a subclass that I believe gives you access to all their spells.

The first two, bravely default and bravely second, are on the 3DS while the newest one, bravely default 2, is on the switch. I believe only bravely second is an actual sequel. And they also contain like all your favorite classes.

I don't think I've heard any real major complaints about them other than the first one which has an endgame that lasts a bit too long.

Hm, it sounds nice but I don't have 40 bucks to throw around

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #144: Quetzalcoatl

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re making the Ruler of the West, Lord of the Day and the Winds, and the White Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl! She’s a Battle Master Fighter to get her lucha techniques, an Ascendant Dragon Monk to throw in muy caliente jumps and drops, and a Circle of the Land Druid for some extra bonuses and her faithful companion.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here, yes!

Next up: I’ll sleep when I’m dead!

Race and Background

As a divine demiservant, you certainly fit the mold of an Aasimar, but given the fact that you’re half bacteria, you’re probably closer to a Scourge Aasimar. This gives you +1 Strength and +2 Charisma, as well as Darkvision, Celestial Resistance to necrotic and radiant damage, Healing Hands to help your loyal followers, and the Light cantrip.

Raising your own personal army out of anyone brave (or stupid) enough to face you makes you the Goddess Alliance Legionnaire. This gives you proficiency with Athletics and Intimidation, as well as an expanded spell list we’ll get into when it comes up.

Ability Scores

If you’re planning on flipping Ivan the Terrible on his back, mammoth and all, you’ve got to invest in Strength. Lucha’s also just as much about how you hit people as it is about how hard you hit them, so make Dexterity number 2. After that is Wisdom, yes! You are a great judge of character! (Character is found by fighting people, right?) Your Constitution isn’t particularly amazing, but you typically got your opponents in a crater somewhere before they can hit you. Sadly we couldn’t make your Charisma as high as I’d like, but your racial bonus helps a bit. Finally, dump Intelligence. Like a lot of these builds, it’s just the least bad ability to dump. Sorry Quetz.

Class Levels

1. Fighter 1: Starting in the fighter class gets you proficiency in Strength and Constitution saves, as well as two fighter skills. Acrobatics will make your mid-air maneuvers more amazing, and Animal Handling will help you control your pets. And Jaguar Warrior.

You also get the Unarmed Fighting Style, giving your unarmed strikes a serious power boost. Now they deal 1d6 damage, or 1d8 if both your hands are available.

You can also take a little siesta once per short rest thanks to Second Wind, healing yourself as a bonus action.

2. Monk 1: Bouncing over to monk real quick for a second, just here to pick up Unarmored Defense, giving you an AC of 10 + your dexterity modifier + your wisdom modifier as long as you’re not wearing armor. You also can’t wear a shield which is unfortunate, but trust me, it’ll be worth it. 

Your Martial Arts also lets you use your dexterity when attacking with a monk weapon or your fists. You can also make an unarmed attack as a bonus action after attacking with your main action, and all your monk attacks can do at least a d4 of damage. That last one doesn’t really apply, given the circumstances, but it’ll get bigger over time. Again not to a point that matters, but it tries, dammit.

3. Fighter 2: Back in fighter for a bit to grab an Action Surge, letting you slap an extra action onto your turn once per short rest. Now you can make your enemies tap out in round one! You also gain a Necrotic Shroud, transforming yourself for 1 minute. When you transform, creatures nearby have to make a charisma save (dc 8+proficiency+charisma mod) or be frightened of you for a round. Plenty of people would say this should charm them instead. They aren’t wrong, but we work with what we’ve got.

Also, once per your turn you can add extra necrotic damage to an attack, equal to your level. You can pull out your scary face once per long rest.

4. Fighter 3: As a Battle Master, you become a Student of War, giving you proficiency with one artisan’s tool. Statues are big in Babylon, or at least those are most of the things that survive, so I’d look into that. 

You also learn Combat Superiority, giving you three maneuvers that you can use with superiority dice, four d8s that recharge on short rests. This gives you a Commanding Presence, adding the die to an intimidation, performance, or persuasion check so you can become a star in the ring. You also gain a Pushing Attack to launch rudos out of the ring, and a Tripping Attack to land them on their culo before going in for a pin. The latter two also add the die to their damage roll.

5. Fighter 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to grab the Grappler feat, giving you advantage on attacks against grappled creatures and the ability to pin them with another grapple check, restraining both them and you. Not super useful, but it is very flavorful.

6. Fighter 5: Fifth level fighters get an Extra Attack each attack action. It’s not that flashy, but it is useful.

7. Fighter 6: Your last fighter level is another ASI, bumping up your Dexterity for a higher AC and the ability to use dexterity or strength for equally powerful hits.

8. Monk 2: Second level monks get Ki, which will be very useful later, but right now lets you attack twice, dash/disengage, or dodge as a bonus action. You get a number of ki per short rest equal to your monk level. 

Your Unarmored Movement also lets you move just a bit faster. It’s handy now, indispensable later. Trust us. 

Finally, you can spend a bit of time with your Dedicated Weapon to make any non-two-handed weapon a monk weapon. I’d say a macuahuitl is a bit too big to count as a short-sword.

9. Monk 3: As a ninth level character you can finally take your monk subclass, the Ascendant Dragon. This lets you change the damage type of your unarmed attacks to fire damage (and others, but c’mon), you can read, write, and speak Draconic, and you can re-roll a failed intimidation or persuasion check, turning it into a success once per long rest.

The Breath of the Dragon also lets you replace an attack action attack with fire (or other energy type) breath, dealing two martial arts dice worth of damage to creatures that fail a dexterity save within a 20′ cone or 30′ line if they fail a dexterity save (dc 8+wisdom mod+proficiency). You can use this a number of times per long rest equal to your proficiency bonus for free, or by spending 1 ki point.

Like all monks, you can also Deflect Missiles as a reaction, possibly sending them back if you reduce the damage to zero.

10. Monk 4: Use this next ASI to bump up Dexterity again, bringing up your attack power and AC. You also learn how to Slow Fall as a reaction, preventing an amount of falling damage equal to five times your monk level. Trust me, this is good.

11. Monk 5: Fifth level monks get Stunning Strikes, letting you spend ki points to force constitution saves on your opponents, stunning them for a round if they fail. You get nothing else. Certainly not any “extra attacks”, where did you even get a silly idea like that?

12. Monk 6: Sixth level monks get Ki-Empowered Strikes, making your unarmed attacks magical for overcoming damage. You also get the big selling point of the dragon monk, Wings Unfurled. When you use Step of the Wind to dash or disengage as a bonus action, you also get wings until the end of the turn, giving you a flying speed equal to your walking speed. This means you can now grapple someone with your action and pull them forty feet into the air for one hell of a piledriver.

You can use this a number of times per long rest equal to your proficiency bonus, or by spending an extra ki point when using step of the wind.

13. Druid 1: We’ve had enough of beating the crap out of people, let’s make you a proper rider! First level druids learn Druidic. It’s a language. You also know how to cast and prepare Spells based on your Wisdom modifier. I’ll be honest, it’s not good. 

You can cast Resistance and Gust as your cantrips, and you also get first level spells. Thanks to being a legionnaire, you also learn Fire Bolt and Sacred Flame for some muy caliente casting, and Guiding Bolt and Heroism so you can properly lead an army. This is also usually where I’d explain the kinds of spells you might want to prepare, but we’re literally only here for one third level spell, so let’s get cracking.

14. Druid 2: Joining the Circle of the Land gets you the Guidance cantrip so you can do everything just a bit better. Your Natural Recovery also lets you regain spell slots of combined level equal to half your druid level as a short rest once per long rest. 

You also get Wild Shape, which isn’t in-character, and Wild Companion, which you can use a combined total of two times between short rests. The latter lets you cast Find Familiar without spending any money. The creature also only lasts a number of hours equal to half your druid level.

15. Druid 3: Third level druids get second level spells, including your circle spells Spier Climb and Spike Growth. Neither of those are particularly in-character, but you also get the more military-minded spells Aid and Scorching Ray from your background.

16. Druid 4: Fourth level druids get a Wild Shape Improvement if you’re into that sort of thing, an ASI to bump up your Wisdom so your spells are stronger, and the Produce Flame cantrip, because you couldn’t do that plenty already.

17. Druid 5: Fifth level druids get third level spells, including your freebies: Lightning Bolt, Meld into Stone, Beacon of Hope, and Blinding Smite. This is also the level you can finally prepare what we came here for in the first place, Conjure Animals. This spell takes an action to summon a beast of CR 2 or lower, which hey, look at the stats for a Quetzalcoatlus, it fits the bill exactly.

18. Monk 7: Okay, we got the silliness out of our system. Getting back to monk, you get Evasion, turning your failed dexterity saves into successes and your successes into ignoring the fireball entirely. Your Stillness of Mind also lets you spend an action to end one effect charming or frightening you. You are the one doing the frightening around here.

19. Monk 8: Use your last ASI to become Tough, getting an extra 38 HP now, and two more the next time you level up.

20. Monk 9: Your ultimate level gives you an Unarmored Movement Improvement, letting you run up walls and over water, as long as you don’t end your turn there.

Pros:

Flight is always a great addition to any build, even a limited amount like in here. Having an effective 90 feet of flight gives you great mobility, and it gives you a decent piledriver to boot! Grapple something with your action, fly up using your bonus action, and drop them for a guaranteed 4d6 damage!

Spells like Spike Growth, your own pins, and your maneuvers mean you can control enemy movement as well. Fly/push enemies off cliffs, box them in with spikes, or pin them to the ground so they can’t cast any spells.

Taking so many classes gives you great flexibility, with healing and fighting spells from druid, as well as combat skills from monk and fighter.

Cons:

Your flight only lasts one turn, and if you use all your movement getting someone up into the air that means you’ll probably take as much damage as they do when you fall. Obviously being a monk helps, but then you’re eating all your reactions just to pile drive people into the ground. Totally worth it, but something you’ll have to work around.

Since we have to focus so much on your strength and dexterity, your wisdom lags a bit, making your spells and AC a bit weaker than I’d like. 

We spent five levels in Druid for just one spell. Unless you really want that quetzalcoatlus, I’d suggest just putting that into fighter and/or monk for consistency. 

[crystalelemental]

Okay, I’ve done it.  I’ve broken past the barrier in Bravely Default 2, and discovered my own strategy that actually works.  We’ve cleared three more trials and all the rare monsters.

Here’s the rundown:

SETH Shieldbearer/White Mage

Counter-Savvy - Dodge counter-attacks. (Ranger)

Indomitable Will - prevents status that prevents turn actions (Berserker)

Fast Hands - Turns shield speed penalties to bonuses (Shieldbearer)

Sub-Class Specialty 1

Sub-Class Specialty 2 (may drop)

GLORIA Spiritmaster/Bard

Noble Sacrifice - When KO'd, revives all allies (Oracle)

Sub-Job Specialty 2 - Can double up on Song buffs (Bravebearer)

Magic Crit - Magic can crit (Red Mage)

Critical Amp - 30% more crit damage (Phantom)

Counter-Savvy - Dodge counterattacks

ELVIS Ranger/Phantom

Critical Amp - 30% more damage on crit (Phantom)

Sub-Job Specialty 1 - Activates first sub-job's passive (Spiritmaster)

Counter-Savvy - Dodge counter skills (Ranger)

Brute Force - 50% bonus damage if you use four actions (Beastmaster)

Surpassing Power - Exceeds damage limit (Hellblade)

ADELLE Red Mage/Black Mage

Magic Critical - Magic can crit (Red Mage)

Critical Amp - Boosts crit damage 30% (Phantom)

Counter-Savvy - Dodge counterattacks. (Ranger)

Indomitable Will - Prevents status that prevents turn moves (Berserker)

Subclass Specialty 2

To be honest, it’s the Elvis show now.  Ranger is stupid good.  Turns out, Humanoid Slayer with all these offense boosting skills is great damage.  Further turns out, Ranger makes it so you get 1BP back every time you crit with those skills.  Turns out again, Phantom gives a 50% chance to crit whenever you hit a vulnerability.  Which is always with the Slayer skills.  With four actions, if you hit two of those coin flips, you’ve regained 2BP.  Once you can unlock Spiritmaster bonus levels, you can get the last two spirit skills, one of which gives 1BP periodically.  That means you cap right back out, and can just...do it again.  And with sub-Bard, you can apply buffs, then let him take a turn immediately afterward to quickly finish a threatening opponent.  The only consideration is MP.  This is really the hard part.  Seth exists to block hits, but most of his BP goes to healing items, which are great and all, but does mean White Mage is pretty much worthless.  I’m legitimately considering switching him to Bastion, just for added defensive measure, and having Adelle swap to Salvemaker/Phantom.  If I’m understanding it right, Phantom’s second skill should activate Salvemaker’s first, guaranteeing that you get the items you use back and the crafting is free.  Find a good MP and HP recovery combo and boom, free infinite energy.  My only hesitation is...man, I like magic classes, and this would literally just be all physical.  I mean, it’s working, but I’m sad about it.  I wish there were a better combination with magic.  I may have to take a look eventually, but for now, this seems like the best comp I can build.  Elvis is absolutely tearing shit apart.

First we beat Dragoon/Spiritmaster/Oracle.  Honestly, it was obnoxious and took a few tries, but we did eventually get it.  Mostly, Dragoon was the threat.  Super Jump is ridiculous.  I have no idea how to handle it.  It was ultimately just luck that she stayed on the ground and Elvis started getting shots in.  But once that was unlocked, it was over.

White Mage/Red Mage/Vanguard/Ranger were easy.  I expected a much scarier fight, but we actually cleared it first try.  Elvis was just dealing that much damage to the mages.  And the added 1BP periodically meant it was super easy to keep up with everything.

Hellblade/Phantom/Monk also went down.  They were a bit tougher just because their damage was so high, but Phantom couldn’t heal, so that’s easy, and Hellblade just spams healing moves when he caps BP, which is a great cycle because Elvis out-damages him.

We’re still working on Arcanist/Berserker/Pictomancer (the cool kid’s club) and Bravebearer/Black Mage/Bastion (bastard central).  But I think I can get them with a few more levels under my belt.  We’re 67 now, I’ll try again at 70.  And thankfully, I realized that we have equipment that can completely shut down EXP gain, so I don’t over-level for fights.  Small favors.

[tigerkirby215]

5e Poppy, the Keeper of the Hammer build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Joshua “HUGEnFAST” Brian Smith and Jason Chan. Made for Riot Games.)

Uh so basically I played Poppy for the first time like last month. And I really enjoyed her. So here’s a Poppy build I’m writing a month in advance. I know Doran’s & Dragons have done a Poppy build but again our views differ slightly and while I think their build is good (and I got some inspiration from it) I’d like to put my own spin on the build too!

By the way check out their Kayn build! To this day my Kayn build is still one of my favorite builds (I just really like Horizon Walker ngl lol) and their build takes it in a similar yet unique direction.

GOALS

Shieldy~ - Poppy may just be a yordle with a hammer but she’s also got a shield to chuck at people.

You; sit - We’ll need stuns and slows to hold the line against legions of foes.

No getting through me - We’ll need to be able to hold the line and annoy any and every champion with a dash.

RACE

Poppy is a yordle which means holy shit I get to use something other than Variant Human. We’ll be going with a Stout Halfling for Poppy to give her some sturdiness as well as some yordle magic. You’d normally get a +2 to Dexterity but thanks to Tasha’s we can put that +2 into Strength instead. You also get +1 to Constitution thanks to your subrace, as well as Stout Resilience for advantage against poisons and resistance to poison damage.

As a Halfling you are Brave for advantage against being frightened, and have Halfling Nimbleness to move through the spaces of creatures that are one size larger than you (which considering that you’re Small is most creatures.) But of course the main appeal of Halflings is their Lucky trait, letting you reroll Natural 1s as the light of both Demacia and Bandle City guides you.

ABILITY SCORES

15; STRENGTH - You swing a hammer that’s about the same size as your body which the strongest men (and women) in Demacia can’t lift.

14; CHARISMA - Poppy is a cute little bean. So cute in fact that not even Vayne will shoot her; and Vayne shoots everyone! (Daily reminder that Vayne sucks and Vayne mains suck #FuckVayne)

13; CONSTITUTION - Poppy is a tank and along with the +1 from our race this will give us a nice health buffer.

12; DEXTERITY - Poppy isn’t the most mobile in-game but she still needs to be able to quickly bodycheck people into walls.

10; WISDOM - Poppy is a little daft and far too humble for her own good, still searching for the legendary hero to wield the mighty hammer.

8; INTELLIGENCE - The hammer which she still doesn’t realize can only be swung by the legendary hero, despite the fact that she swings the hammer around constantly.

BACKGROUND

Officially Poppy wanders around Demacia searching for the one true hero. But unofficially she was trained by captain Orlon as a Demacian Soldier. Thing is neither of the skills really fit Poppy (well Intimidation doesn’t, and we’ll be getting Athletics from other sources) so take Persuasion and Survival to get folk to try out your hammer, or to survive long nights alone on the roads of Demacia. You can keep the Land Vehicles and Gaming Set proficiencies though! (Though Smith’s Tools might also fit if you want to be Blacksmith Poppy.)

Of course your Military Rank will still help. Demacian soldiers recognize your heroic deeds (c’mon guys really it was nothing) and are willing to lend you some military supplies if needed, or let you wander around their camps looking for someone who can pick up your hammer.

(Artwork by Esben Lash Rasmussen. Made for Riot Games.)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - FIGHTER 1

Starting off as a Fighter to be a simple, practical yordle. Fighters get two skills from the Fighter list: take Insight and Perception to search far and wide for that legendary hero.

You get a Fighting Style at level 1, and I am actually going to suggest Superior Technique from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. This will give you a d6 Combat Superiority die to use on a single chosen maneuver from the Battlemaster subclass. Anyways take Quick Toss to chuck your Iron Ambassador as a Bonus Action.

My recommendation for Poppy’s “shield” would be to ask your DM if you can get a Javelin that does bludgeoning damage, since the Javelin can be thrown slightly further than the other weapons. If they say no a Light Hammer works fine for bludgeoning damage, though you’re going to have to deal with the fact that Light Hammers cost 2 gold for some godawful reason. Or you could just accept that Javelins are going to do piercing damage because damage types really don’t matter much in 5e.

Also as far as your choice of weapons Poppy technically wields her hammer in both hands but as a Halfling you can’t use Heavy weapons effectively. (I’d consider Orion’s Hammer more of a Maul than anything.) Since you’re forced to use regular weapons anyways you may as well wield a Warhammer in one hand for a d8 of damage and a shield in the other for +2 AC. If you really want to bring the hurt feel free to actually chuck your shield at the enemy and then swing that Versatile weapon with a d10 hit die instead!

And finally for some lane sustain Second Wind will let you sip from your refillable potion to heal for a d10 plus your Fighter level.

LEVEL 2 - FIGHTER 2

Second level Fighters get Action Surge, letting them give 110% so you can make sure to get Orion’s hammer into the right hands. Basically you can take another action and bonk your foes twice!

LEVEL 3 - FIGHTER 3

3rd level Fighters get to choose their Martial Archetype and if you want to smack people into walls then Battlemaster is for you! (Which yeah: that’s why we took Superior Technique for more maneuver die!) Anyways Battlemasters are Students of War and while I’d love to honor the legendary hero Tulok the Barbrarian by talking Calligrapher’s Tools Poppy does have her Blacksmith skin so Smith’s Tools make more sense. If you didn’t get them from your background anyways.

But of course the main feature of the Battlemaster is their Combat Superiority: you have four five (yay Fighting Style!) Combat Superiority die to use on a variety of Maneuvers. You have Quick Toss still of course but you now get three more options. For stuns and slows of any sort Trip Attack will let you knock people over. If you want to knock people into walls first (or more realistically off a cliff) then Pushing Attack will let you bodycheck them with your small yordle body to send them a full 15 feet back! And if you want to set up for your teammates to be heroes then Distracting Strike will keep eyes locked on you so your allies can hit the enemy with advantage. 

LEVEL 4 - FIGHTER 4

4th level Fighters get an Ability Score Improvement. We’re going to fix our Strength as well as a lot of other things thanks to the Squat Nimbleness feat. Along with the +1 to Strength your walking speed increases by 5 feet (Poppy may be immobile but that’s no reason not to move 30 feet), you get proficiency in Athletics (see told you we would!) and you have advantage to escape grapples.

LEVEL 5 - FIGHTER 5

5th level Fighters get an Extra Attack, so you can hit them with both the left and right side of the hammer! And if they’re still up? Action Surge to hit them two more times! "Well, that wasn't the hero."

LEVEL 6 - FIGHTER 6

Ability Score increases are nice. Feats are nicer; take the Sentinel feat to stop foes from running away with your Steadfast Presence. Put simply: enemies can’t dash move away (even if they Disengage) as your opportunity attack will reduce their movement to 0. And if they hit one of your friends you can whack them right back!

(Artwork by Pan Chengwei. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 7 - PALADIN 1

Hope you didn’t think the character that can swing a magic hammer so hard you’re sent to the opposite side of the map wouldn’t have magic! First level Paladins get Divine Sense to help search for legendary Celestial heroes or evil Fiends and Undead, who are probably being fought by heroes! You also get Lay on Hands for some refill pot healing that you can share with your friends.

LEVEL 8 - PALADIN 2

Second level Paladins get to choose their Fighting Style. To armor up we’ll be going for good ol’ Defense for +1 to AC.

Why nothing for our weapon? - Depending on your choice of Poppy you’re either going to be running your hammer two-handed or swing it with one hand. In either case either the Great Weapon Fighting or Dueling fighting style would help. But since I designed this build with the intent of you swapping between stances and the fact that Great Weapon Fighting kinda sucks as a fighting style I didn’t want to take a Fighting Style that would restrict how you use your hammer. Put simply Superior Technique does far more for us as a Fighter, and Defense is universally useful while the other Fighting Styles are somewhat situational.

With explanations out of the way you also get Spellcasting. You can prepare a number of spells equal to half your Paladin level (rounded down; IE you can prepare a new spell every 2 levels) plus your Charisma modifier.

Compelled Duel will be another way to keep enemies in your Steadfast Presence.

Shield of Faith will serve as, well, your shield. Pop it on top of a shield to really stack up that AC!

Thunderous Smite will serve as another way to bring the hammer down on your foes, knocking them back and knocking them prone.

Of course you could just ignore all that in favor of Divine Smite, letting you bring down the hammer to do 2d8 Radiant damage, plus an additional 1d8 Radiant per spell slot above 1st level. If the enemy is an Undead or Fiend, the might of Demacia will let you do an additional d8 of damage!

LEVEL 9 - PALADIN 3

Third level Paladins get to choose their Sacred Oath: to be the tank that your team needs go for the Oath of Redemption as you seek to redeem yourself to your friend’s last wishes. Redemption Paladins get the Sanctuary spell to keep an ally safe from being dove onto, and Sleep. "I could really go for a nap."

The main feature of a Paladin Oath is their Channel Divinity of which you have two: your first one Emissary of Peace will let you put on your kindest smile for +5 to Persuasion checks for 10 minutes. Alternatively if a friend is hit you can hit that foe right back with Rebuke the Violent! You use your reaction to force a Wisdom save on the enemy who hit your ally or smack them with Radiant damage equal to the damage they dealt! And if they succeed? Well they still take half damage! This ability has no damage cap so you can smite a dragon with your hammer after it breathes fire on your allies! Just remember that this doesn’t work on yourself, so be sure to put others ahead of yourself... but maybe still stand in the frontline...

You also get Divine Health, because no legendary hero is going to want to talk to you if you have the sniffles!

LEVEL 10 - PALADIN 4

4th level Paladins get an Ability Score Improvement that we’re going to ignore in favor of yet another Feat! The Charger feet will let you Dash and knock someone into a wall, doing extra damage with your hammer and knocking an enemy back.

You can also prepare another spell but we’re going to wait for...

(Artwork by Shuohan Zhou. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 11 - PALADIN 5

5th level Paladins get an Extra Attack... which you already have. Well you’re no legendary four-attacks-per-turn hero after all; just a yordle with a hammer.

You do get second level smites spells though! Redemption Paladins get Calm Emotions to... calm emotions, and Hold Person to keep an enemy stunned for your allies to fight! You can also prepare the good ol’ Aid spell to make both you and your allies tankier, as your Steadfast Presence bolsters everyone in the party.

LEVEL 12 - PALADIN 6

6th level Paladins are Stubborn to a Fault, getting Aura of Protection for some passive magic resistance. You and allies within 10 feet of you get to boost their saving throws by an amount equal to your Charisma modifier. Unfortunately that Charisma modifier is only a +2 at the moment but it still helps!

You can also prepare another spell at this level: Warding Bond was added to the Paladin spell list thanks to Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, and it will let you make a Knight’s Vow to keep your allies safe.

LEVEL 13 - PALADIN 7

7th level Redemption Paladins get Aura of the Guardian. If an ally within 10 feet takes damage you can use your reaction to take the damage for them instead. You don’t take any of the additional effects and this damage can’t be reduced in any ways. Honestly if locked in a melee it might be a better idea to just use Sentinel instead, but if an ally gets shot by an arrow you can stand in front of them to take the shot for them... You might have to jump a bit if they’re tall though.

LEVEL 14 - PALADIN 8

Hey look at that an Ability Score Improvement! We’re not going to be taking feats and will actually just increase our Strength by 2 to finally swing that hammer full-force!

You can also prepare your final spell at this level at least until you get more Charisma, so grab Lesser Restoration to Cleanse in a pinch. Is Lesser Restoration a little underwhelming by total level 14? No! Because paralysis will always be a danger. "Not like this!"

(Artwork by Rudy Siswanto. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 15 - FIGHTER 7

Back over to good ol’ Fighterland. 7th level Battlemasters can tell if someone’s hero material thanks to Know Your Enemy. If you spend a minute studying someone you can learn a variety of features about them, such as if they can lift your hammer. (Spoiler: they can’t.)

7th level of Fighter also means some more Maneuvers and this time we’ll be going into Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything for some of the new maneuvers from that book. Brace will let you opportunity attack when an enemy comes up to you, basically. (Might be good to hold onto your reaction for Sentinel or other things however.) And while it might be a bit late to try for grapples Grappling Strike will let you use your Athletics proficiency and high Strength score to grab some people! Even if your ability to grab people is limited because of your size who knows? Your DM might let you ride on them if they try to run away from you! I’d allow it to make grappling more viable for small creatures.

LEVEL 16 - FIGHTER 8

8th level Fighters get more Ability Score Improvements and with our Strength maxed out let’s finally put some points in Charisma. This will give you more Paladin spells don’t forget, so go back to your Paladin spell list and prepare a new one!

LEVEL 17 - FIGHTER 9

Level 9 Fighters are also Stubborn to a Fault, with Indomitable letting them reroll a failed saving throw once per Long Rest. With Aura of Protection you’ve honestly got a good chance on just about any save with perhaps the exception of Intelligence.

LEVEL 18 - FIGHTER 10

10th level Battlemasters see their Improved Combat Superiority die increase to a d10 for more some more damage as you swing that hammer around!

You also get more Maneuvers whenever you get new Battlemaster features: to keep enemies focusing the tank instead of your allies grab Goading Attack, because Menacing Attack doesn’t fit Poppy. If you’re swinging at an enemy with high AC however Precision Strike will make sure the hammer ends up somewhere squishy.

LEVEL 19 - FIGHTER 11

11th level Fighters truly learn how to swing their hammer with a third Extra Attack, or six if you Action Surge! "The hammer does most of the work, I just swing it."

LEVEL 20 - FIGHTER 12

12th level Fighters get our final Ability Score Improvement, and I’ll leave it up to you: more Charisma means stronger Paladin features, but the Tough feat will give you a 40 HP boost at the end of the build.

FINAL BUILD

PROS

Careful, this packs a wallop - Smites and Maneuvers on three hammer swings means that you can really bring the smack.

If you're waiting for me to give up, you might be here awhile - Wow who would’ve guessed the character build to be tanky would be tanky? High AC (21 with basic Plate and a Shield, 23 with Shield of Faith) and good health, even without too heavy of an investment in Constitution.

Who knew there were so many heroes? - You’re also a very good team player, holding the line and sacrificing yourself for your allies.

CONS

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, uh... hammer! - Dump stats are never fun. Low INT hurts even with Aura of Protection.

That's okay; I'm playing the long game - Feats are fun and all but so are good stats. I’m just saying Charger is a nice feat but so is a good Aura of Protection.

I sure do a lot of walking - All your abilities run on limited resources, and while thankfully the vast majority of them come back on a Short Rest your limited spell slots only come back after a proper sleep. You’ve gotta spend your mana effectively so you don’t caught without a hammer.

But for a simple gall with a not-so-simple hammer you can do everything you need to find that hero. Keep it polished and make sure nothing gets dented until you find the light that Demacia needs to wield your friend’s final gift! Just make sure you avoid any fields with lollipops; they have eyes I tell you...

(Artwork made for Riot Games.)

[kristenbeeapples]

Okay, guesses for Kristen’s new subclass since Ally all but confirmed it’s happening on the Fireside Chat:

Grave Domain 

Gods of the grave watch over the line between life and death. To these deities, death and the afterlife are a foundational part of the multiverse’s workings. To resist death, or to desecrate the dead’s rest, is an abomination. Deities of the grave include Kelemvor, Wee Jas, the ancestral spirits of the Undying Court, Hades, Anubis, and Osiris. These deities teach their followers to respect the dead and pay them due homage. Followers of these deities seek to put restless spirits to rest, destroy the undead wherever they find them, and ease the suffering of dying creatures. Their magic also allows them to stave off a creature’s death, though they refuse to use such magic to extend a creature’s lifespan beyond its mortal limits. 

Either Death or Grave domain would make sense but I think Grave is more likely since it’s more neutral and about guiding people to the afterlife rather than necromancy/undeath which has negative connotations. Kristen’s died 3 times now (stop it brennan) and has come away from each death experience with a new outlook on religion and faith. Worshipping death, after spending her early years in the life domain, would make total sense, especially since so much of her questioning religion was about the afterlife. The bit about ‘resisting death’ being an abomination might be difficult since she’s done it a bunch, but I think Brennan could probably homebrew a reason to get around it if that’s what they go with.

Cool things that come with this domain: as a reaction you can cancel a critical hit on an ally within 30ft of you, which is super clutch, and can also cast Spare the Dying as a bonus action. Cool!*

(More below the read more!!)

Knowledge Domain

The gods of knowledge – including Oghma, Boccob, Gilean, Aureon, and Thoth – value learning and understanding above all. Some teach that knowledge is to be gathered and shared in libraries and universities, or promote the practical knowledge of craft and invention. Some deities hoard knowledge and keep its secrets to themselves. And some promise their followers that they will gain tremendous power if they unlock the secrets of the multiverse. Followers of these gods study esoteric lore, collect old tomes, delve into the secret places of the earth, and learn all they can. Some gods of knowledge promote the practical knowledge of craft and invention, including smith deities like Gond, Reorx, Onatar, Moradin, Hephaestus, and Goibhniu.

Given Kristen’s whole thing about asking questions, I think this could work! If it turns out the mystery goddess is good (which... I am doubtful lol) the bit about deities that hoard knowledge would tie in really nicely, and I imagine Kristen could persude her to start sharing knowledge more freely and be on a more equal footing with her deity which is what she wants. If Ally is allowed to re-roll one of their lower stats like the others did last ep, they could re-roll intelligence which would fit well with this domain. (Tragically, I don’t really see an outcome where it would make sense for them to re-roll dex.) This is the one I like the least though - I feel like this is maybe mid-freshman year Kristen rather than current Kristen, especially now that she’s gotten rid of her philopsophy students. But who knows!

Cool things that come with this domain: you can use channel divinity to read minds and cast Suggestion!! What the Fuck!! That’s rad, and also would lead to many shenanigans, I’m sure.

Protection Domain

The protection domain is the purview of deities who charge their followers to shield the weak from the strong. The gods’ faithful dwell in villages and towns on the borderlands, where they help bolster defenses and seek out evils to defeat. These gods believe that a strong shield and a suit of armor is the best defense against evil, second only to a stout mace on hand to respond to any attacks in kind. Deities who grant this domain include Helm, Ilmater, Torm, Tyr, Heironeous, St. Cuthbert, Paladine, Dol Dorn, the Silver Flame, Bahamut, Yondalla, Athena, and Odin.

Okay this domain is basically all the Bad Kids, but I think it would especially work for Kristen ‘why do good people suffer?’ ‘I cast Greater Restoration on Riz’ Applebees. Play-wise I think this subclass is a little limited so might not happen but story-wise? Would absolutely be perfect for Kristen. She’s always trying to look after others and having that mechanically validated would be so cool. It would be maintaining the spirit of what Kristen believed her faith to be (helping others) whilst rejecting the shitty parts of it! Good!

Cool things that come with this domain: you can use your channel divinity to bless your ally, so that if they’re attacked in the next minute the attacker takes 2d10 + your wisdom modifier damage. 

Twilight Domain

The Twilight Domain governs the transition and blending of light into darkness. It is a time of rest and comfort, but also the threshold between safety and the unknown. Deities of healing or respite (such as Boldrei, Hestia, Mishakal, or Pelor), bravery or protection (such as Dol Arrah, Hajama, Helm, or Ilmater), travel or transition (such as Fharlanghn, Hermes, the Raven Queen, or the Traveler), or the night and dreams (such as Celestian, Morpheus, Nut, or Selune) might grant their clerics the Twilight Domain. Clerics who server these deities tend to be brave, delving into the dark to hold its dangers at bay and to bring comfort to those lost far from the light. 

I hadn’t thought about this before but I spotted it as I was looking through the domains on the 5e wiki and remembered this was Tracker’s domain. Given that Kristen was talking about wanting to be twin goddesses with the Unnamed Goddess and Tracker, this could work out if it turns out the Unnamed Goddess is good (which again, big if). BUT IF it does happen this is the domain of dreams, which would be such a good counterbalance to the Nightmare King in the final battle and I imagine would make for a lot of really cool imagery/themes. I also just really like the vibes of this domain? Like, Tracker and Kristen as lesbian moon cleric gfs... ideal.

Cool things that come with this domain: Kristen could finally have darkvision lol (with no limit, which is rad!). You also get the Twilight Sanctuary that Tracker can make and an ability called Steps of the Brave which allows advantage on saves against being frightened and the ability to use flying instead of walking speed for one turn. 

Unity Domain

A sense of oneness shines at the heart of healthy communities, whether bound together by friendship, blood, faith, or some other uniting force. The gods of unity deepen such bonds and delight in their strength. Clerics of these gods preside over marriages and other familial bonding customs, but they also nurture the emotional bonds of friendship and camaraderie. Their divine blessings bolster and protect allies in battle through these deep bonds and turn aside malign influences.

Okay, listen, if you follow me you KNOW Power of Friendship Kristen is basically my whole thing, so I might be a little biased, but read that above description and tell me that does not sound like Kristen and her relationship with The Bad Kids to a T.  Kristen loves her friends, they motivate her, she spends all her time in and often out of battle trying to protect them. It would make complete sense for the narrative and would really emphasise the queer found family vibes of D20/The Bad Kids. Don’t ask me to elaborate further because it will be an incoherent mess and I’ve already babbled about this enough times, just Trust Me On This One, y’all. 

Cool things that come with this subclass: you can use channel divinity to share the burden of damage between your allies, so you can decrease the damage on people who are weaker/already hurt and give more to the tanks, which is extremely clutch. Emboldened Bond is basically Bless for two people which is made by creating a bond between them... the cutest!! I love this subclass.

BONUS: Kristen multi-classes into paladin

I was thinking about this a couple of weeks ago and then I re-watched the talkback episode of Fantasy High that Ally and Zac were on and was reminded that Kristen was originially conceived as a paladin. (Which is wild to think about now, given how important Kristen’s cleric stuff is.) Anyway, this could work, because it would be a bit of a distance from very intense, direct religious worship that has been harmful to Kristen in the past whilst also allowing her to maintain faith if you get what I mean? She would also be able to more physically protect her friends and be able to do like good amounts of damage. My guess if this happened she would go Oath of Devotion, whilst also switching subclasses to one of the ones I listed above. No idea if that’s possible, no idea if this would be a strategic multiclass, also probably not very likely to happen, just think it would be cool! Paladins are the best class, fight me.

Thanks for reading this whole thing which got WAY out of hand. If any of these turn out to be the right answer, but especially Power of Friendship Kristen, I reserve the right to brag about it forever. Fingers crossed for next week/whenever the finale ends up being!

*All of these subclasses have cool things at higher levels too, I was just picking my fave abilities that Kristen would be able to use at the level they’re all currently at. 

[masterqwertster]

So with the recent update to The Void of Daggerheart, I've got a few updates to my Bells Hells Daggerheart Builds turned predictions for the Indianapolis liveshow.

First, the genasi-equivalent and gnome Ancestries have dropped (along with the aasimar-equivalent).

So Chetney gets to be a gnome once more with Nimble Fingers that is 2 Hope to reroll a Finesse Roll Hope Die, and Magical Sense that gives Advantage to track or locate creatures with magical ability. And I must say, Magical Sense really fits Chet's Blood Hunter deal.

Ashton is now an Earthkin with Hard as Stone where you can add +1 to thresholds until your next rest for 2 Hope when you mark any HP, and Tectonic Attack which is a weapon attack in a line of Very Close range doing Proficiency d8 magic damage and Restraining hit targets. I could still see Ashton taking Mixed Ancestry with Faerie for Luck Bender, but the plain Earthkin works for him too.

And Dorian is now a Skykin with Gust Leap that is a once per rest windy jump to anywhere in Very Far range, and Gale Force which is an Instinct attack against all targets in front of you in Very Close range that deals Proficiency d6 magic damage and pushes hit targets back to Far range.

Second, they dropped a batch of 6 new Communities.

So I think Orym would be Hearthborne which is humble origins in a small village or the countryside (not inaccurate to Zephrah) and grants Close-Knit: you can spend 2 Hope total when you Help an Ally to make the Advantage die a d10. Orym likes to help and this fits what he gets from being from Zephrah much better than Wildborne's stealth bump.

By vibes/history, Ashton would probably be Duneborn, since the Hellcatch Valley is a desert, though Oasis is maybe less suited to Ashton where once per rest they can clear either 1 Stress or 1 HP on all allies in Very Close range (everyone gets the same clear type). Ashton does take care of their people, but they're not a healer. Still, it works.

Chet could arguably be Frostborn given he was living in Uthodurn and being in Tal'Dorei for at least part of the Ice Lost Years. Which comes with Long Winter: once per long rest for Repair All Armor, you can also repair an ally's armor up to half their Base Armor Score. Given Chetney's MC crafting skills, I could also see this working for Chet.

Lastly, Laudna might be Warborn, given the Briarwoods really ravaged Whitestone and her life has been ravaged by her undead status. Brave Face is once per rest you can replace using an Armor Slot with marking 2 Stress for the same damage reduction. Or possibly Reborne, since she spent so much time not fitting in. Found Family is spend 1 Hope to use an ally's Community ability, which grants the borrowed-from ally 1 Hope. And this card can be permanently swapped for a different Community once the character has found a new place to settle or returned to their roots.

And third, the Witch class has dropped.

I think when it comes to a multi-class to get Laudna access to the Dread Domain, the Witch features work better for her narratively than Warlock, since she doesn't have to spend time with Delilah or be hobbled in that power set. As a witch, Laudna could still turn to Delilah for answers with Commune (during a long rest, ask a question to a higher power, roll 4d6, if any numbers match, you get a relevant sensory thing to the answer, which sense depends on the actual number matched) and it's not the best odds Delilah will help, which fits her generally unhelpful nature from the campaign. And Hex is a nice Bane type effect: 1 Stress to Hex an enemy (one at a time) that does HP damage to you or an ally in Close range. Hex is minus your Spellcast Trait to their thresholds and lowers their Difficulty by your Tier.

The Hedge Subclass works for Laudna, I think. Herbal Remedies gives essentially Advantage on Downtime Action Rolls (ie Repair Armor, Clear Stress/HP during short rests) with roll twice and take the higher, and Tethered Talisman is once per rest you can enchant a talisman to give to an ally and while they are Tethered by it, you can spend its magic to deal 1 HP to an enemy that hits them. Considering Laudna and Imogen's "You're my tether" talk, this vibes.

The Specialization Laudna could take or leave. Walk Between Worlds: Spellcast(13) while around 1+ dead bodies to make a spectral showing of their final moments, and for 1 Stress you can get audio too. But if you fail, the bodies turn to dust. And Enhanced Augury makes Commune happen with 6d6 instead of 4. Enhanced Augury works less for Laudna unless she starts leaning into Matron of Ravens stuff post-campaign because Delilah certainly isn't getting more helpful after being locked up in a soul gem. But Walk Between Worlds is some nice undead/necromancy vibes.

[unicyclehippo]

fey-touched, ranger subclass

you wandered into their realm long ago and through your wits you evaded their wiles, and with your courage you braved the century-long nights and the ever-changing seasons. wherher you know it or not, the beings that reside in those mysterious lands are impressed and have granted you a boon. you entered into that realm by accident or to seek them out, and you have emerged forever changed.

features:

3rd level—fey magic, mischief maker, aspect of the fey—beginning at third level, the boon of the fey has begun to present itself. you have access to fey magic at 3rd, 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level. [add spell list]. regardless of whether you were born a performer, the impulsive nature of the fey has left some impression on you, making you over fond of jewels or delighting in eliciting a laugh or entrancing your fellows with tall tales. you gain proficiency in a skill of your choice from: sleight of hand, stealth, performance, or deception. you also learn the cantrip mage hand or vicious mockery. additionally, aspect of the fey grants you a choice of boons at this level, and another at levels 8 and 14 , which may align with your choices in favoured terrain but are not required to do so. at level 3, you may choose one from the following:

- the winter fey grants resistance to cold temperatures and cold damage, and you are able to hide as a bonus action on your turn if you are in snow, rain, or fog.

- the summer fey grants resistance to hot temperatures and fire damage, and an additional 5ft walking speed.

- the spring fey grants resistance to hay fever and acid damage, and a sense of vitality, allowing you to add 1 to the number rolled on any hit die you expend.

- the autumn fey grants resistance to poison, and an impatience that allows you advantage on initiative rolls.

- the seelie fey grants resistance to radiant damage and regardless of whether you are in your favoured terrain you are able to detect the presence of fey within 6 miles when using your primeval awareness

- the unseelie fey grants resistance to necrotic damage, and regardless of whether you are in your favoured terrain you are able to detect fey within 6 miles when using your primeval awareness

7th level—conclave’s child

8th level—aspect of the fey second choice(?)

11th level—double trouble

14th level—aspect of the fey third choice(?)

15th level—archfey’s talent

[neokonewman]

I used Yew as a Wizard/Summoner as well. Not only that though, but I made use all of the others knew mimic, so I would use up all my brave, made use Yew was the fastest so he would go first, then they would all cast Rain summoning spells, without the others even spending a single MP because mimic let’s you do that sh*t. It was hilarious during Braev’s optional boss fight because he had like three or more phases, but they activate right after he would hit zero, so after a few of the first rains smacked him in the face, he would do a little speech, regain his HP, then get knocked back to zero after a couple more rains. All of his phases... done after one turn.

And dual wielding? You can quadruple wield wands on everyone if you equip the right skills.

Bravely Second let me do that.

spellcraft is by far the best new feature of bravely second and i love it so much, especially with summon magic. it might not be optimal, but there’s just something immensely entertaining about casting deus ex as a wall on all of your party members and also as a mist on the enemy. like almost every action they take will be countered with this giant beam of light. it’s like the smash world of light trailer. enemy attacks, LIGHT BEAM, enemy attacks, LIGHT BEAM, turn ends, LIGHT BEAM, my turn comes, magnolia casts LIGHT BEAM x4

[nat-one-knights]

College of the Everlasting: Bard Subclass

Hey everyone! here is my bard subclass I made for my book. Please let me know what you all think! I'm happy to see what criticisms and balancing problems I need to address.

Bard Colleges

At 3rd level, a bard gains the Bard College feature. The following option is available to a bard, in addition to those offered by Wizards of the Coast's Player's Handbook and other supplements: College of the Everlasting.

College of the Everlasting

All bards seek stories and tales worth telling to some measure. Whether through song, dance, or bedtime stories; these stories live on. Most stories are told from second-hand accounts or by those who were there. Very few have the talent for stories like bards do. In most cases, these bards jump at the opportunity when it presents itself while others happen to be in the right place at the right time. Few bards have the courage or foolishness to seek out legends, while fewer still have the gall to try and create them. The students of the College of the Everlasting are brave adventurers who pursue a singular story of legend, one that will stand the test of time and immortalize them in history books. Whether there are threads to tug on or one tale to weave themselves, these proactive bards are welcome company to the foolish and reckless. They often are seen bolstering the resolve of those they travel with, inspiring them with words of glory ahead and the promise of eternity. Some are even seen to rouse the fallen or invigorate the defeated for one last attempt at glory.

Bard level Features 3rd Words of Encouragement 6th To the Call 14th Rising to the Occasion

Words of Encouragement

At 3rd level, when a bard selects this college, they have suffused the ideal of their stories in such a way that when they use a spell of 1st level or higher to restore hit points to a creature, the creature gains a bonus to damage equal 2 + the spell's level the next time they hit a creature.

Additionally, you know the healing word spell and it doesn't count against the bard spells you know.

To the Call

By the time you reach 6th level, your words carry hope and vigor through the battlefield and on the road. While travelling, you and your party can move at a fast pace without the penalty to your passive Perception scores.

Additionally, as an action in combat, you can call to the valor in your allies hearts and provide them a boost to the fray. You select a number of creatures that can see and hear you within 60 feet. Until the end of your next turn, the selected creatures can Dash as a bonus action and have advantage on the first attack roll they make.

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1)

Rising to the Occasion

At 14th level, the stories of legend and glory that awaits lie just within reach and nothing will stop the bard or their companions from achieving such worldly feats. As an action, you can call your friends to action and push on through whatever trials lie before them. You select a number of creatures you can see within 60 feet equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1). These creatures gain a number of temporary hit points equal to your level in this class and have their movement speed increased by 10 feet. These temporary hit points expire after one minute.

Once per turn, if a creature with these temporary hit points reduces another creature to 0 hit points, they heal for a number of hit points equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1).

Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you've finished a long rest.

[thesevenseraphs]

Bungie Weekly Update - 12/6/18

This week at Bungie, the Black Armory opened its doors.   A new mysterious section of the tower revealed itself and a new vendor by the name of Ada-1 sent you out to reclaim the Lost Forges. Your reward: The ability to craft the most powerful weapons of the golden age. 

Many of you are still increasing your power to attempt this new challenge. Yesterday, we lowered the Power requirement of the Lost Forge encounters by five. This wasn’t a huge change. These Forges are meant to be aspirational extensions of the endgame. But we did want to make them more accessible to Guardians around 600 Power. You can read the full details of the change and our goals here.

For some of you the enemies guarding the Lost Forges are immune to your weapons. We promised more details for players who are still working their way up to 600 and beyond. Here is what we have planned to help you move more quickly up to 600.

Prime engrams will now drop more frequently and with larger power bumps for players under 600 Power

This change is planned to land in the 2.1.2 update on December 11. We are also considering additional changes to assist with the Power climb in a future update. We will continue to monitor your feedback on Season of the Forge as it continues.  

Scourge of the Past

Tomorrow, the Scourge of the Past raid opens up to all of Guardians who have the Annual Pass and are brave enough to venture into the Last City to confront a new threat to its safety.

Design Lead Brian Frank is here to brief you one last time before the race for World First begins tomorrow.

Brian: The team could not be more excited for the Scourge of the Past Raid to unlock tomorrow and accept challengers to be the first to fight their way through the Last City and recover a forgotten secret of the Black Armory. As always, we will be cheering you on from the theater. Dust off your sparrow collections. You’re going to want the right perk, and the right look, for crossing the finish line. Make sure you grab the final chest to complete the activity before returning to orbit. Good luck Guardians!

The first fireteam to defeat the raid will be crowned as World First and awarded with a raid belt. As always, they will be awarded to six teammates. Please note that, if you swap players out during the mission, the spoils will only go to the final six.

Anyone who beats all of the encounters of Scourge of the Past in the first 24 hours will be awarded the “Scourge of Nothing” emblem. If you don’t think you can take down the final boss that fast, you will still have some extra time to qualify for the exclusive raid jacket through Bungie Rewards. You have until 9AM Pacific on 12/12 to beat the raid and claim your code to purchase the jacket on the Bungie Store. Here is a look at all of these rewards.

As Brian mentioned above, if you think you have finished first, have someone in your fireteam grab the final chest and return to orbit immediately. Completing the activity is crossing the finish line. You can read the full rules here. Good luck!

I am the Crucible

Today, we’d like to address the feedback we’ve received about the Crucible. The top issue reported by the community is associated with Matchmaking in the Competitive playlist. Many of you are expressing feedback around matching solos against fireteams, matching high Glory teams against lower Glory teams, and have many other suggestions regarding how progressing through the ranks should be changed. The appropriate teams are investigating possible changes to be included in a future update. We will have details for you as soon as we can.

We do have some information on changes to address another top trending issue in the Crucible: Power ammo spawns. There have been numerous requests to lower the amount of Power ammo spawning in Competitive games. Based on this feedback, we will be lowering the amount of Power ammo available during matches by increasing the time between Power ammo spawns. Here are the details:

Competitive:

Control

Initial timers stay the same

Increased respawn timer for heavy ammo (was 45 seconds, now 120 seconds)

Clash

Initial timers stay the same

Increased respawn timer for heavy ammo (was 45 seconds, now 120 seconds)

Survival

Initial timers stay the same

Increased respawn timer for heavy ammo (was 45 seconds, now 60 seconds)

Rotators:

Showdown

Initial timers stay the same

Increased respawn timer for heavy ammo (was 30 seconds, now 60 seconds)

Rumble:

Initial timers stay the same

Increased respawn timer for heavy ammo (was 60 seconds, now 120 seconds)

It Gets Everywhere

Power ammo and Matchmaking are not the only top-trending pieces of community feedback that we have been tracking. Many of you have Sandbox-related questions that apply to PVP and PVE. There are vocal camps on both sides for a lot of these issues and our Sandbox team is considering a combination of player feedback and data on the effectiveness of certain gear and abilities.

Design Lead John Sandwich with notes on their process.

Joe: Hello again, my friends! Hamrick here to answer some hot community questions we have seen and give you a quick glimpse into what Sandbox is working on for the rest of the year and on into 2019. 

While we have those hot questions coming right up, I just wanted to take a second to call out something you may have noticed. Instead of building up to one or two massive patches a year, we have transitioned to shipping smaller batches of changes much more frequently. We hope that this new approach will allow us to remain more agile than we have been in the past and allow us to shake up the meta a bit on more frequent intervals. We hope that a year from now we can all look back on this new way of working and agree that it was very successful. Alright, enough of my rambling, onward, to the questions!

Can you buff snipers? We would really like flinch to be reduced and to have more lower zoom scopes.

Snipers are definitely one of the archetypes we are actively looking at and making changes to.  For example, later in January, Rapid-fire snipers will be moving to a two-shot body kill. Additionally, we are considering allowing more snipers to be able to one-shot supers on headshots in a future patch.

Lower zoom scopes do exist in the game, but have not been particularly prevalent with post-Forsaken weapons and have been largely limited to a few weapons (ie., The Supremacy), but we’ll be increasing the number of them in the game as we move forward.

We don’t currently have plans to alter sniper flinch any more at this time, but we will continue to keep an eye on your feedback.

Nova Warp??????????????????????????????

Yup, the Nova Warp super is too dominant right now and we are planning to tweak it. It’s currently slated to land with a patch coming in late January. 

Spectral Blades hit detection feels much more consistent. Can sentinel and other melees get the same treatment?

We definitely want all melee supers to feel as good and reliable as possible. This is something we are still looking into. 

A lot of the pre-forsaken subclasses feel underpowered now. Can they get buffed?

Yes! We have some planned buffs coming to older subclass paths in the patch currently slated for late January, but we are already looking ahead to what we’d like to do in patches further down the line. We will be regularly looking into tuning subclass content to ensure that there’s a healthy balance of viable choices in all activities.  We use a combination of data and community feedback to track the right things to fix, so please continue to surface which choices feel the least viable to help guide us.

Any changes to the top exotics being used in the Crucible like One Eyed Mask, Shards of Galanor, etc.?

These exotics get talked about quite a bit and while I don’t have any immediate incoming changes to share, I expect that they will be getting looked at in the future. 

Telesto is currently besto. Can you tone it down or move it to the Power slot?

Late in January you will find that Telesto’s bolts-to-kill will now match its charge rate, where it was previously doing more damage than other fusion rifles of its type. That said, due to it being affected less by damage falloff due to its explosive nature, it will still be more consistent than fusion rifles of the same charge rate. Worth noting, PvE damage will be increased to keep parity there.  Once we see how these changes land, we can decide if and what to do next.  The goal still being to buff where we can, but when we have to nerf, you’re going to find us trying to inch down instead of going nuclear… at least as much as we can. 

Scouts Rifles still feel weak in both PVP and PVE. Can they come up?

This is another archetype we are looking at and I would currently expect to see changes show up in future patches. 

Could SMGs get a non-precision damage buff?

We just recently buffed the range on SMG’s to make them more competitive. We’ll be monitoring the data and feedback for a bit to help us decided where to take them next.  If we find that they still aren’t good enough, we will be happy to buff them further. 

Can Fusion Rifles get buffed? Maybe longer range or higher damage to combat shotguns?

This is another archetype we are looking at and I would currently expect to see changes show up in future patches. We did bring up the damage of Rapid Fire Fusion Rifles in 2.1.0 last week.   

Any plans to adjust Wavesplitter?

It’s not at the top of our list but we do intend to take a look at it. First we want to look at the global ammo economy for trace rifles in PvP, and then we can take a look at Wavesplitter’s effectiveness. 

Titan skating is rampant on PC. Do you plan to remove it?

We’d like to fix this, however, we’re being careful about how we do so because it’s so closely tied to the core feel of the Lift ability. In other words, we don’t want a Titan skating fix to change the way the Lift ability feels for all players.  We’d love to have a simple fix to this issue we could roll out immediately, but this one is going to take us a while to land on something solid. 

To recap, we want to roll out smaller batches of patches more frequently.  We want to bring things up whenever possible, but when we do need to bring something down, we are going to try and inch it down and into the correct location.  And finally, there is a patch coming, currently slated for late January, where we expect you to see some changes coming to things like Rapid-fire snipers, Telesto, Nova Warp and pre-Forsaken subclasses…  And we have much more planned for the months ahead.

Love you, always, Hamrick

That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles

This morning, details about The Dawning hit the Bungie Blog. Our next seasonal event is starting up next week on December 11. We are excited to see you driving around on your new Sparrow, delivering your baked goods across the solar system.

You can read the full details on what to expect in this year’s event in our Dawning 2018 article.

Eva’s Little Helpers

Player support is tracking known issues and keeping you up to date when we deploy updates to address them.

This is their report.

Destiny 2 Update 2.1.1.1This week we deployed Destiny 2 Update 2.1.1.1 to players. This update resolved issues causing crashes at the Morgeth encounter of the Last Wish raid, and reintroduced The Inverted Spire strike activity after it was disabled in Update 2.1.0 due to rather large bug.

For the full Update 2.1.1.1 patch notes, please click here.Destiny 2 Update 2.1.2

Next Tuesday, December 11, Destiny 2 Update 2.1.2 is scheduled to go live.

While the timeline for this deployment has yet to be finalized, players should follow us at @BungieHelp on Twitter or monitor our support feed on help.bungie.net for the latest information as soon as it is available.

Upcoming Challenges

On Tuesday, the Black Armory officially opened its doors and the Volundr Forge was discovered in the EDZ. Tomorrow, the Gofannon Forge will become available, and the race for world’s first will kick off in the Scourge of the Past raid.

For those among you who accept the challenge of becoming the world’s first Fireteam to conquer the Scourge of the Past, set your alarms and prep your fireteams. Scourge of the Past will unlock in the EDZ map tomorrow (12/7) at 9 AM PST. Players waiting in Orbit who do not see this activity become available in their Director may need to log out and back in after 9 AM. As always, players who encounter issues in newly-launched activities should report them to our #Help forums. Providing imagery or video footage which outlines a reported issue will assist the Destiny Player Support team in escalating investigations with the dev team.

Holiday Cheer

Next Tuesday the Dawning returns in Destiny 2. All players are invited to experience the Dawning who have completed the Red War campaign and unlocked access to the Tower.

The Dawning will conclude at the weekly reset on January 1, 2019. For the full support copy, players should visit: Destiny 2: The Dawning Guide

Destiny 2: Forsaken and Season of the Forge Known Issues

In addition to the items listed above, Destiny Player Support is tracking the latest issues reported by players on the #Help forum. Provided below is a brief overview of the latest known issues in Destiny 2: Forsaken and Season of the Forge.

Blind Well Matchmaking: We are investigating reports regarding players entering empty instances of the Blind Well in the Dreaming City. While we are working on a fix, affected players should try entering the Blind Well slowly, hugging the right side staircase and hallway walls.

Mars Flashpoint: We are investigating reports describing sometimes not receiving powerful gear from the Mars Flashpoint.

Harbinger’s Echo: We are investigating ongoing reports regarding the Harbinger’s Echo exotic sparrow not being awarded as expected to players who have earned it after the deployment of Update 2.1.1.1.

For the latest known issues as soon as they are available, players should visit our Destiny 2 Known Issues and Vital Information knowledgebase article.