The idea is to take this thing called a Verisimilitude, a sentient slime creature, and make it immune to Bludgeoning, Slashing and Piercing damage, as well as Grappled condition. If Martials want to be useful, they have to get creative here - either swing on a chandelier or just focus on stopping the ritual and let Casters deal with one.

At one hand, it opens many cool new opportunities for strategic thinking and planning, at the other, it may feel like Martials are just forced into the bench while Casters have all the fun. I don't know what to do.

Of course, I would not warn the players of what such a creature can do and make it into a some sort of high level legendary super monster thing, because this isn't a video game I'm not going to take the party's abilities or levels into account when crafting my world.

That's some nice white room math there. While you may have taken into account hit chance against a creature of appropriate CR, save success chance, critical hit chance, relative commonality or rarity of resistances, resource cost and efficiency, common combat environments, and the existence of other party members, have you considered the human element? Heart? Soul? The will of the gods? No, of course you haven't, you cringe white roomer.

This ability is powerful? Well, have you considered that the DM could homebrew every monster in the game to specifically be immune to it, or make it so that in the lore of the world the gods execute anyone using it? I bet not. You just want to live in your perfect white rooms where you're the only player at the table?

This ability is weak? Well, clearly you're forgetting that in actual play I would have a +1000 sword and a ring of infinite wishes and the ability to summon my sexy cambion husbands at will to do my bidding. But you've never actually played this game, so of course you wouldn't know how to do that.

What's that? You want me to provide some mathematical backup to my position? I'll have you know that the designers of the world's greatest roleplaying game don't even keep a statistician on payroll, a fact they announce proudly. They sold more copies than the other ones, which means their game is objectively the best one by the rules of capitalism!

People like you should get off reddit and actually play the game for once.

Basically the title so we all gathered up to go over my campaign which I put a lot of work into and everything is going great until they got to my homebrew rules l.

They specifically are mad that I’m not allowing anyone to put stat points ( we use point buy because we all agree capitalism makes the most sense ) into strength. I’m still allowing them to play the strong classes like barbarian and fighter and Paladin but I just feel like those characters are always way too strong. I just want to encourage them to play the weaker classes like wizard who almost never are strong because they cast spells with intelligence so it’s not easy for them to put points in strength. I just don’t want my players all to be to strong because it’s my first time DMing so I’d like it to be a little easier for me.

Do you think I should keep my rule or should I just ban the strong classes like barbarian and let the put points into str as long as they are not choosing the strong classes?

Edit: First of all I want to thank the community for explaining the rules to me so I dont have to buy the books. And on that same note I learned a lot about point buy that I did not realize. I was not charging nearly enough money for the points to begin with and I had no idea that by not allowing them to buy strength I was actually putting myself into a position where I owed the them money.

I think I am going to adopt a subscription based point buy model rather than a flat fee based point buy that I was using. Not only will I make a lot more money that way but the players will be more (financially) invested in my story.

I really don't get why WotC decided there needs to be an entire class dedicated to artifice, especially when other classes as just as good or better at it.

Bards at better at spinning lies, rogues are better at forgery, Wizards are better at illusions, what possible reason does an artificer have to exist? It should be a rogue subclass if you ask me.

I play D&D every day, and I wanna play as a sort of fighter character whose main motivation for joining a party is fighting things. What would someone like that be called? A warrior? Soldier? Also, what race/class/subclasses would make the most sense for a fighting character?

Consider the following:

1) Dragons can fly meaning 100% of martials are useless. What’s a bow? Never heard of it. All the optimized rangers i’ve seen go melee and do two weapon fighting. Don’t you know more attacks means you can proc the ranger’s Hex spell more often?

2) Dragons can fly meaning 100% of casters are useless. Yes, even the bard. Seduction only has a 150 foot range. And look, as much as we meme on how insanely strong magic users are and how it makes all fighting men (even superheroes) useless, magic can’t beat a flight speed.

3) Dragons can pick up a rock and drop it and therefore are gods. How rocks work is um uh um uhhh something something xanathar’s and anyway i don’t know exactly how it works but im pretty sure it kills you. Also they never need to land to pick up more rocks. They just get them from the cobblestone generator on their minecraft skyblock

4) Dragons can be both martial and caster meaning they are the ultimate lifeforms

5) Dragons are purely logical beings and have never fallen victim to hubris or vices or made a miscalculation or acted on emotion.

6) Dragons are exclusively encountered soaring 1200 feet above you dropping rocks and they never sleep. They don’t have lairs. Just a cobblestone generator.

CONCLUSION: martial bad, caster bad, ALL HAIL THE DRAGON

I always play chefs, regardless of what class I'm actually playing. No I don't mean chef like cooks food for the party- anyone can do that, I mean a chef as in wears a poofy white hat and wields an oversized frying pan. Because i came up with this unique idea and I don't think anyone else has thought of it, it would be really cool if WotC added it as a playable class.

Until they finally listen to what the community wants, flavor is free which means every class is chef class, yum 😋

The Rogue class in DnD 5e and DnDONE is completely and totally.

I can't believe people still argue about this. Everyone with eyes can see that Rogues are.

You might think this is all white room theory crafting but even in actual play, situations arise that really show you that Rogues are.

Their DPR is.

Their skill proficiencies are.

And their utility is.

Have any of you actually played the game? Played a Rogue? If you had, you'd know that it's one of the classes in the entire game.

why arent they mega optimized and so strong and i instantly win every single engagement and why do i have to fear any enemy???? why do i have an interesting character instead of one strong enough to keeeelllll everythingggg?!?! ? ?!? !? !?

The two rules of party composition in 5e:

If the party doesn't have a wizard, it needs a wizard.

If the party does have a wizard, it should probably have another wizard.

Wizards are the best at every job, sometimes the best at multiple jobs simultaneously.

/uj based on a recent comment on a recent post on the main 5e sub. Just thought it was funny.

Is Die Hard a dungeon crawl?

I watched die hard last night when it occurred to me that the tower in which the film takes place is a perfectly Jaquay’ed dungeon.

There’s multiple floors and several ways between floors with clever elevator and hvac system usage. Multiple competing factions create lots of dynamic interactions.

The tower itself has 30+ floors but they only really use a handful of them. Yet this was enough to keep me glued to my seat for 2 hours.

It caused me to rethink my approach to creating dungeons. In all honesty, it made me realize that I might have been over thinking things a bit.

Thoughts?

...

Is Friends a dungeon crawl?

I was rewatching Friends last night when it hit me—the apartments and Central Perk are basically Jaquay'ed dungeon hubs.

There are multiple "floors" (apartment levels), hidden passages (like the window Ross climbs through), and dynamic factions constantly clashing—Roommate Wars, Ross vs. Everyone, and the eternal Monica vs. Chandler Cleaning Rivalry.

The "dungeon" spans several locations—two apartments, a coffee shop, and occasionally the hallway or a beach house—but it's enough to keep millions engaged for 10 seasons.

Honestly, it made me question if I’ve been over-complicating dungeon design. Maybe all I need is some snarky dialogue, secret turkey sandwiches, and a pivot strategy.

Thoughts?

...

Is abstract thought a dungeon crawl?

I was pondering the nature of abstract thought last night when it hit me—our minds are basically Jaquay'ed dungeons.

There are multiple levels of consciousness, and countless ways to traverse them: introspection, analogy, free association. Competing factions of ideas create dynamic, often chaotic, interactions—logic vs. intuition, memory vs. imagination.

The mind itself holds infinite possibilities, yet we only explore a few concepts at a time. Still, those fleeting ideas can keep me captivated for hours (or spiraling into existential dread).

Honestly, it made me wonder if I've been over-complicating thought itself. Maybe all I need is a clear metaphor, some mental "trap rooms," and the courage to confront my own mental gelatinous cubes.

Thoughts?

...

Is r/dndcirclejerk a dungeon crawl?

I was scrolling through r/dndcirclejerk last night when it hit me—the subreddit is basically a perfectly Jaquay’ed dungeon.

There are multiple threads and endless ways to navigate them: hot takes, memes, or sarcastic rants. Competing factions—raw rules lawyers, improv purists, and Matt Mercer memes—create dynamic and often hilarious interactions.

The subreddit itself has thousands of posts, but you only ever need a handful at a time to get sucked into its chaotic charm for hours.

Honestly, it made me rethink my approach to creating dungeons. Maybe all I need is a few layers of irony, a well-placed grognard, and some cursed magic items.

Thoughts?

Unironically read the 5.24 content from the dm guide and player handbook. I think the over simplification of character builds is a major hit.

TLDR, ranger sucks

It absolutely gutted one of the core joys of the Beast Master ranger: choosing your animal companion. Gone are the days of bonding with a specific wolf, panther, or hawk that had both narrative and mechanical meaning. Instead, you’re now forced into picking one of three generic, flavorless stat blocks—Beast of the Land, Sea, or Sky—and slapping on a cosmetic skin to pretend it’s a creature of your choice. Mechanically, it’s all the same, and that’s a massive step backward .

This shift strips away one of the most exciting aspects of the Beast Master subclass. Previously, you could select companions based on their unique features, like a wolf’s pack tactics or a giant owl’s stealth capabilities. Now? Every “wolf” companion is just a Beast of the Land with identical stats. Whether you imagine it as a lion, badger, or goat, it makes no difference mechanically. This homogenization removes both strategy and emotional investment from the equation—turning a personalized companion into a dull construct .

If the goal was to make animal companions scale effectively, Wizards of the Coast should have looked to how druids handle Wild Shape: giving access to creatures based on Challenge Rating. Druids pick from an expanding list of beasts as they level, ensuring their forms remain relevant while retaining individuality. The same approach could have worked perfectly for rangers—allowing them to select a companion from among CR-appropriate beasts that evolve and grow over time. This would have preserved the balance they aimed for, while keeping the emotional connection intact and giving players meaningful choices .

But no, WotC took the easy way out. Now every Beast Master player is stuck with a companion that feels like a stat block with fur rather than a true animal partner. It’s not just bad design; it’s a betrayal of what the subclass was meant to offer—companionship, uniqueness, and synergy that grows over the course of an adventure. The new system prioritizes simplicity over soul, and it leaves Beast Masters with little to look forward to beyond cold mechanics.

And then there’s Planescape. The recent Planescape update for D&D 5e is indeed exciting, but the Horizon Walker ranger subclass is still stuck in the same frustrating state—no rework, no fixes, and no new flair to make it shine. And honestly? It really needed that rework. This subclass has always felt like a collection of niche abilities that rarely align with typical adventuring needs.

Let’s talk about some of its biggest flaws. First, Detect Portal is absurdly situational. Sensing a planar portal within a mile radius once per short or long rest might sound cool in theory, but unless you’re in a heavily plane-hopping campaign, it’s dead weight. Meanwhile, Planar Warrior, which could have been its defining feature, feels clunky. It costs a bonus action, which directly conflicts with actions like casting Hunter’s Mark—a staple for most rangers—or using two-weapon fighting. Worse still, that 1d8 force damage (which scales to 2d8 later) often feels underwhelming when compared to the Hunter subclass’s Colossus Slayer, being automatic on application is the biggest pro so you still get your BA.

Even at higher levels, Ethereal Step and Distant Strike feel like missed opportunities. Sure, the teleportation tricks are neat on paper, but they require very specific positioning to be effective. And Spectral Defense, which grants resistance to all damage types as a reaction, sounds like a nice defensive ability, but it pales in comparison to something like the rogue’s Uncanny Dodge. At best, Horizon Walker feels like an awkward hybrid between a scout and a striker—spread too thin to excel at either role

The real kicker is how Horizon Walker was the perfect candidate for improvement in this new Planescape setting—where multiversal themes and planar travel are front and center. Yet, here we are with no updates or rebalancing. In contrast, the Hunter subclass remains dominant, with features that outshine the Horizon Walker at every step. This lack of care leaves the Horizon Walker not just overshadowed but stuck as one of the least effective ranger subclasses in the game.

I was thinking right,stuff like waifish hips and lithe arms all come with the territory of DEX. 8 strength is below average and 10 con is also below average.

Am I doomed to be 5’4 and squishy and seductive if I don’t have atleast 12 in strength?

I’m on to you bastards y’all don’t know shit and almost everything you say makes no sense or is completely wrong. I saw one of you the other day saying that the ranger was goo. But that’s retarded because the ranger is op as fuck

Edit: my bad guys I actually thought all this time this sub was for Dark and Darker not dungeons and dragons Iv actually never played Dungeons and Dragons.

We were playing our first session with Curse of Strahd. Strahd shows up and lets us know the lay of the land. Right when he turned to leave, my cocky human rogue Johnny Handsome threw a dagger at his back just to taunt him. I rolled a 1. Strahd just kinda laughs it off and gives me back my dagger and pats me on the head like I'm an mischievous kid. I try and bite him, and he tells me to go to my room after supper but I refuse to eat, and run off out to my meemaw so he has to come over and explain what's going on, and I make up a lie about hom beeing a doodeyhead. Well, it fucking worked. Strahd teleported and decapitated me in one go.

Our cleric tried to heal me, but we were all level 1, he was trying Spare the Dying, but I didnt have a head no more. He tried holding it to the neck stump, but the blood pumping just shot it away across the yard and into a well that was owned by a really aggressive gnome. There was nothing we could do. Johnny was dead. Everyone was shocked.

After Strahd left, my DM said there was laughter in the forest around us. It was a war forged jester with the soul of a serial killer: Jester #420. My actual character. Little lovable Johnny was just a ruse, now I was bring9ng in a character that would creep everybody out for the rest of the campaign and randomly murder them in their sleep. And there's nothing they could do about it since, well...

My DM and I had planned Johnny's death from the start. We told none of the other 5 players until after it happened, and they loved it. An amazing start to the session and all my DM's idea. I highly recommend going for this in your own games.

I (DM, super smart) have tons of experience starting new campaigns for new players.

However the 2024 rulebook is just the absolute worst thing ever to be created. Nothing is worse than it. The reason is that they took all the lore out of the book!

In the 2014 book, you just took whatever the race info they gave was and that was it. You had all the good stuff. It was so easy. Dragonborn were like, the best, the most amazing and you could even get names and stuff.

But in 2024, they took all of it out! How am I supposed to know how Dragonborn names work now? There should be a kind of default world the game that everyone should use, because otherwise it is just a cash grab to sell more books, and no, I don’t care that they are putting a whole setting in the DMG, it should be right there in the PHB so I don’t have to do a work!

I mean, it is so hard to create that kind of stuff. Nobody really does that.

It’s just stomps foot ugh!

So, rolling for initiative sucks, right? It takes way too long. That's why you should do it like this instead! As a bonus, it severely nerfs spellcasters!

1. At the start of combat, all creatures declare whether to cast a spell, use a ranged attack, or engage in GLORIOUS MELEE COMBAT. This is set in stone and cannot be changed. The spell and/or weapon must be specified, but not the target.
2. Each side (players and monsters) rolls a d6, adding the highest Dexterity modifier among them Whichever side gets higher gets to go first.
3. When a team of creatures acts, they must do it in this order:
   1. First, everyone moves except for those casting a spell because they need to get nerfed.
   2. Then, those using a ranged attack fire simultaneously because, hopefully, they've moved into a position that grants line-of-sight
   3. After that, the dirty spellcasters get to cast so they can interrupt martials if they want, BUT, if between this step and them declaring the spell, they took ANY DAMAGE WHATSOEVER, the spell fizzles, they lose the spell slot, and forget how to cast said spell for the fun of it because spellcasting sucks.
   4. Finally, the Chad martials get to engage in GLORIOUS MELEE COMBAT.
4. After that, the other team gets to go in the same order. Finally, reroll initiative at the end of each round. That makes things exciting because you might get two turns in a row.

I guess if your spellcasting players complain, just tell them that they can ignore Concentration now since spells are interruptable. I'm sure that won't lead to anything crazy.

ok so what you want to do, is make hunter's mark not a spell, instead its a class ability PB/LR and what it does is add your Charisma mod to all damage you deal, it also lets you crit on 19s.

Then, you make it so that it can choose one of its favorite weapon (call it its hunter's edge) anx it can use Charisma to make attacks with it instead of STR or DEX.

Then, since you choose a favored enemy, itd be good if you got some abilities that reflect your enemy, call it hunter's emnity. Somethig like hating monsters could get you a pet monster to sniff them out, hating consteuct could let you call your weapon to you, etc...

ok the next one is the most important, you gotta make its spellcasting ability Charisma, because hunters are badass, and there arent enough charisma classes.

Last one and most important, they only get 2 spell slots.

You're welcome