D&D 5e - The Wandering Archipelago

[thinkslogically]

ok, bear in mind that the hunting trap (which I read as basically a bear trap) is 25lb. We never reached a consensus on using the encumbrance rules so I'm assuming not, but you do have a max carry weight

Have you posted your gear list somewhere burns? I'll check over it if so.

[spiderwrangler]

Max carry weight sounds fine by me (says the 38lb little guy). I'll insert forumulas to pages, so if people put the item weight in their inventory, it will total it all up for you.

**It now gives current weight total, max carry weight, and carry weight remaining before you hit your max.

[thinkslogically]

you are a very helpful guy Thanks spider!

[spiderwrangler]

Something to do to get us closer while waiting to start... Plus some of your fellow Sundered Way folks did all the work putting the sheet together for me in that game, so helping out in turn for this game...

[Arch Lich Burns]

ok, bear in mind that the hunting trap (which I read as basically a bear trap) is 25lb. We never reached a consensus on using the encumbrance rules so I'm assuming not, but you do have a max carry weight

Have you posted your gear list somewhere burns? I'll check over it if so.

most of my stuff is listed on inventory but there are various types of hunting traps: snare, net, cage, box with stick, gin, bear. Gwen would not want something like this happening Warning: heart breaking and would make more sence if she had a non letal trap instead of the more traditional bear trap, espessially if she is trying to hunt down bounties.

[thinkslogically]

Where are you seeing the info on the other trap types? the 5e SRD has the "bear trap" style listed as the hunters trap.

[spiderwrangler]

most of my stuff is listed on inventory

Ah, but you don't have the books with the weights. I'll get that entered in later today unless someone beats me to it.

would make more sence if she had a non letal trap instead of the more traditional bear trap, espessially if she is trying to hunt down bounties.

Though, even traditional bear trap usually not lethal to humanoid bounties (though as a halfling, the idea of stepping in one makes me nervous... at least I've decent DEX to avoid it closing!), and if she's using it in for bounties rather than hunting, she wouldn't be leaving it unattended for long times anyway?

Where are you seeing the info on the other trap types? the 5e SRD has the "bear trap" style listed as the hunters trap.

Unless I was misreading, I took that as "other types exist in the real world, can I have one of those please?"

[WearsHats]

Should have read the trap description. I'll probably forgo that. I assume survival includes setting simple snares.

As for weaponry, the tools are only a few gp. The difference between a long bow and a short bow is 25gp. And I like him having the tools for flavor.

Burns, to be clear, you've got two options.
(a) Keep the kit you've got. You don't get gp.
(b) Roll the dice for starting gold, then buy what you want off the list.

Going with option b for me means more customization. My armor isn't as good, but it's more appropriate. And I've got a ranged weapon and some tools. It also doesn't mean you literally start naked. Kal's armor comes from hide he hunted with his mother, and he's had it for a while now. The backstory is immaterial. It's worth 10gp of starting gold, however he got it.

So if you're happy with what you've got, great. If you'd rather have more flexibility, then go with the coins and start fresh.

[spiderwrangler]

It also doesn't mean you literally start naked. Kal's armor comes from hide he hunted with his mother, and he's had it for a while now. The backstory is immaterial. It's worth 10gp of starting gold, however he got it.

Yes, I should have been more clear that I meant starting naked from a mechanical standpoint.

Oh, and I don't think you NEED it until you have spellcasting it acts as a focus for, but without the paladin or acolyte starting gear, I don't think you had a holy symbol on your list.

[thinkslogically]

ok, bear in mind that the hunting trap (which I read as basically a bear trap) is 25lb. We never reached a consensus on using the encumbrance rules so I'm assuming not, but you do have a max carry weight

Have you posted your gear list somewhere burns? I'll check over it if so.

most of my stuff is listed on inventory but there are various types of hunting traps: snare, net, cage, box with stick, gin, bear. Gwen would not want something like this happening Warning: heart breaking and would make more sence if she had a non letal trap instead of the more traditional bear trap, espessially if she is trying to hunt down bounties.

Hmm... Ok.

I interpret the idea of the hunting trap from the Outlander BG as something used to trap animals you were hunting, rather than people / bounties. The lethality of the trap would kind of be the point in that case, and we could hand-wave them to say that for that purpose the D&D version is either 100% lethal or 100% non-lethal when it comes to hunting for food / fur etc (i.e. there is no wounded-animal middle ground).

Alternatively, you could have something like this live trap, but you'd still have to deal with dispatching the food animal afterwards:

A trap for catching bounties (humanoids) would be a very different thing IMO since it would involve a lot more skill and engineering to create something that size. You'd also be looking at ropes / nets etc. which are a lot more multipurpose than a "hunting trap" as written in the SRD and would give you a lot more potential benefits in-game.

[Arch Lich Burns]

I will go for the cage trap then! If I am going to be hunting, may as well do it humanly. As for the trophy, I think I will go for a rabbit's foot. You know for 'luck'

...And no I didn't put the weights down yet.

[thinkslogically]

cool stuff! Consider it the same size and weight as the classic hunters trap but without the damage-causing element.

[Nioca]

Still got a bit of work to go, but here's what I've got so far. I was thinking of having Syli connected to either our Cleric or our Paladin. Also, did we nail down where we were all starting out? I thought you guys had, but looking back, I can't find the post that has that information.

Anyway...

---

Who am I? I'm someone tired of the busy streets, looking for a quiet place to roam. I'm somone who believes the true way to worth lies with the natural order, that the way of the coin is only a way to keep good people down and bad people on top, the it's worth more to prove oneself worth, to prove that I'm worthy of a better life. Not that I disown civilization; plenty of good comes from it, but the further we steer away from our roots...

...sorry, I'm rambling, I suppose you wanted to know about me, not a sermon. My name is Syli, and I hail from the the streets of [?]. It's all I've ever really known; I used to have shelter within an orphanage after my parents were killed. I was told that they were merchants or diplomats or some other such thing, and were ambushed by brigands during their travels. But once the orphanage burnt down, I was pretty much on my own, having to do whatever it took to survive. You learn quickly on the streets that you don't know where your next meal is coming from, and to horde every little bit you can. Even now, I find I hide scraps of food and trinkets away in my pockets, sometimes to my own detriment. But you never know when some random item you find might come in handy!

I didn't make many friends; I have a tendency to bluntly say what other people are hinting at or hiding, and don't really have patience for the subterfuge behind "civilized" life. The one I did make was an old half-orc. Blind as the day is long, but he knew things about the old ways, the ancient traditions of nature most today shun. He soon became a mentor for me, teaching me the secrets of the druidic arts and herbilism, and I'd even help him with his rites and tasks for a bit of coin.

As for why I'm undertaking this venture, well, let's just say I owe a favor. No, more than that; the streets are a dangerous place, almost as dangerous as the wilds. I've made quite a few enemies among those who see me as lesser, who feel I shouldn't take what I need to survive. At one point, my life was nearly claimed in the darker sections in this city by a group of thugs who felt I'd overstepped my bounds, and if it wasn't for the timely intervention of [?], I wouldn't be here now. I owe a debt I can never repay to [him/her?] for taking action when they could've merely stepped aside. And it's this that I need to get away from; I need to move forward, to prove myself somewhere else and make my own way in the world, rather than continuing to be a mere street rat. I want to be free.

► Show Spoiler

PERSONALITY TRAIT 1: I'm not one for subterfuge or the polittese behind "civilized" life; I don't mean harm by it, but I tend to bluntly say what other people are hinting at or hiding, which doesn't tend to make me a lot of friends.
PERSONALITY TRAIT 2: You learn quickly on the streets that you don't know where your next meal is coming from, and to horde every little bit you can. Even now, I find I hide scraps of food and trinkets away in my pockets, sometimes to my own detriment. But you never know when some random item you find might come in handy!
IDEAL: Aspiration. In this day of coin, one doesn't need to prove oneself, to actually earn their keep. So long as you have enough shiny discs of metal, everyone else just falls in line. I long for actually surviving and making it, earning my place in the world, to prove that I'm worthy of a better life.
BOND: [Possible] When I was younger, there was a time when I crossed a group of thugs in some of the darker districts. They attacked me, and if it wasn't for the timely intervention of [?], I wouldn't have survived; I owe a debt I can never repay to [?] for taking pity on me in my time of greatest need.
FLAW: At the end of the day, it's survival of the fittest out there, regardless of whether you're in a noble's hall or knee deep in a swamp. You can speak of honor and fairness, but what matters at the end is who's left standing, and when it comes down to it, I'd rather kill someone in their sleep then fight fair and die.

WHY TAKE THIS RISK: I owe a favor. No, more than that; the streets are a dangerous place, almost as dangerous as the wilds. I've made quite a few enemies among those who see me as lesser, who feel I shouldn't take what I need to survive. It's this that I need to get away from.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO GAIN: I need to move forward, to prove myself somewhere else and make my own way in the world, rather than continuing to be a mere street rat. I want to be free.

WHERE DID YOU COME FROM: I hail from the the streets of [?]. It's all I've ever really known; I used to have shelter within an orphanage after my parents were killed. I was told that they were merchants or diplomats or some other such thing, and were ambushed by brigands during their travels. But once the orphanage burnt down, I was pretty much on my own, having to do whatever it took to survive.

WHO/WHAT'S LEFT BEHIND: The main thing I'm leaving behind is my mentor, a half-orc druid who taught me most everything I know of the druidic arts and herbalism. But he and I both feel it's time for me to make my own way.

WHAT DID YOU DO BEFORE: I mostly did whatever I had to do to survive. Usually this meant quietly stealing from merchant stalls or pickpocketing expensive items, but as my tutelege moved forward, I found I could also use my newfound strength to prey on some of the less savory elements of the city.

HOW DID YOU PAY FOR THE TRIP: Mostly through coin I earned under my mentor's tutelege, or through less legal means.

WHAT DID YOU BRING WITH YOU: Very little, only what I'd need to survive. I'm cutting pretty much all ties with my former life.

---

I'm mostly done on the mechanical side. What I've got is a Moon Circle Druid with stat focuses (16s) in Dexterity in Wisdom, and Strength as a dump stat. I intend to steer toward buffing or battlefield control in most fights, seeing as we have both a Monk and a Paladin, but I can also play the role of sniper or (past level 1) angry wolf/bear/platypus-in-your-face as well. From a skill perspective, I may have done something slightly odd; I figure Syli's got more experience in the theory of being a druid than the practice, so she doesn't actually have the Survival skill proficiency, instead having proficiencies in Arcana and Nature (plus her background/race proficiencies in Sleight of Hand, Stealth, and Perception). I'm sure I won't regret this at all going forward.

I do have a couple questions, though: do background/class tool proficiencies actually GRANT you those tools, or do you have to acquire those on your own?

Also, I'm not actually working off the book, but off a very thorough character builder excel sheet, so one thing I haven't found a lot of detail on is crafting. I don't really intend that to be a main focus, but I figure as a side venture, my character could do herbal remedies and potions on the side (or to supplement our supplies), but the basic rule set doesn't go into a lot of detail. Any thoughts on crafting?

I'm actually really taken with how much easier it is to build a concept in 5e so far. I like Pathfinder and it's myriad options, but it's very, very easy to get bogged down in the details. With this, it feels very smooth.

Anyway, any thoughts or ideas or things I might've missed so far? Any advice?

[thinkslogically]

Pretty sure you gain the proficiency, but the tools have to be bought if they're not included in your starting gear.

Crafting is covered somewhat in the DMG, but there's not a lot in there beyond explaining how potion-making takes ages! But it could be a perfectly valid downtime occupation for you when you're back in town, and I'm happy to try and make it work as long as you're ok with some homebrewing We can talk it through as it becomes important though - I prefer collaborative DMing over prescriptive for the most part! Your herbalism kit will certainly help with that though.

I think the only other thing is to choose starting spells and your starting equipment. You can either buy your stuff in town (taking a dice roll (2d4 x 10) to determine how much gold you have available) or stick with the starting equipment for your class / background.

At first level you get 2 druid cantrips and 2 druid spells. There's a list online here if you need it:
http://engl393-dnd5th.wikia.com/wiki/Druid_Spells

Just pick whatever feels right in character and you can always swap one out when you level up.

[spiderwrangler]

I was thinking of having Syli connected to either our Cleric or our Paladin. Also, did we nail down where we were all starting out? I thought you guys had, but looking back, I can't find the post that has that information.

Wears' paladin would probably be a better one to tie into, think he's from Caero, where we are starting, would be a good fit for Syli, I think.

From a skill perspective, I may have done something slightly odd;

Sounds interesting!

I do have a couple questions, though: do background/class tool proficiencies actually GRANT you those tools, or do you have to acquire those on your own?

If it's not in equipment, we don't start with it. Thinks has said we'll be able to shop in town though, I'll be needing to grab thieves tools.

Any thoughts on crafting?

The basic rules are something along the lines of being able to make 5gp/day progress with passing checks with appropriate tools. I'll double check when I get home. So for potion of healing with herbalism kit proficiency, that's 10 days work.

[spiderwrangler]

At first level you get 2 druid cantrips and 2 druid spells.

Just pick whatever feels right in character and you can always swap one out when you level up.

Druid works differently, iirc, more like cleric. Druids have access to the full list, and can prepare a # of selected spells = to druid level + Wis mod. Only have so many spell slots, but can prepare an assortment that can be tailored to current/anticipated needs.

[thinkslogically]

Yeah... And for the legendary potions it takes 6 years.

The benefit of crafting rather than buying is that it only costs like half as much, aside from any other components that are required. There seems to be a fairly straightforward 100% markup on everything in the DND world...

Anyway, if it's something you're keen on I can certainly figure out a way to make it work and an extra source of healing potions is never a bad thing

spider - cool, I'm not very familiar with the druid class so you're probably right

[spiderwrangler]

Ah, forgot the half cost bit in crafting.

If that isn't right for druid, I've been telling Burns the wrong stuff on my game!

[thinkslogically]

Hah! Nah, you're good. I found a quick reddit explanation, but basically druids know the entire spell list and can prepare whatever they want on a day to day basis as long as it's level-appropriate (with spell slots being replenished as usual after a long rest).

Cantrips are slightly different, in that they're set to whatever 2 you pick from the start and they can't be changed (although you can get extra ones as you level up).

[spiderwrangler]

Yeah, cantrips are locked in for everyone.

[Nioca]

Crafting is covered somewhat in the DMG, but there's not a lot in there beyond explaining how potion-making takes ages! But it could be a perfectly valid downtime occupation for you when you're back in town, and I'm happy to try and make it work as long as you're ok with some homebrewing We can talk it through as it becomes important though - I prefer collaborative DMing over prescriptive for the most part! Your herbalism kit will certainly help with that though.

Sounds good to me!

I think the only other thing is to choose starting spells and your starting equipment. You can either buy your stuff in town (taking a dice roll (2d4 x 10) to determine how much gold you have available) or stick with the starting equipment for your class / background.

I'm going to go ahead and roll. The starting kit's okay, but I think I'd much rather customize it a bit.

Starting Gold (2d4x10): 1,1 for 20gp.

...or I can be completely flat broke. That works too.

At first level you get 2 druid cantrips and 2 druid spells. There's a list online here if you need it:
http://engl393-dnd5th.wikia.com/wiki/Druid_Spells

Just pick whatever feels right in character and you can always swap one out when you level up.

I knew about the cantrips, but I thought divine casters didn't have a spells known mechanic like arcane casters did? That when they prepared, they simply prepared from their full (and shorter, IIRC) list of spells?

PRE-EDIT: Wow, half a dozen posts happened when I was writing this. Yep, that's what I thought on the spell thing.

And yeah, I was thinking that the Wears' Paladin would likely be the best match for Syli to be attached to the party

[Arch Lich Burns]

Clerics, druids, wizards are prepared casters. sorcerers, {rangers, palidins,warlocks} are spontaneous casters. Prepared casters can pick and choose list every day but get fewer spells to cast in the day. Sorcerers are spontaneous casters, where they cannot change day by day but can cast more spells. Rangers and palidins are partial spellcasters. Warlocks....are a bit odd. They regain spells per short and long rests meaning they can technically cast more than most convenient classes but that all depends how many short rests per day we get. Fortunally since we have quite a few abilities relying on short rests we may do it more often than not.

[thinkslogically]

Starting Gold (2d4x10): 1,1 for 20gp.

...or I can be completely flat broke. That works too.

IN the spirit of good RPing, starting out flat broke if you think it'd be a fun way to play your character (stealing your starter gear would be an interesting way to begin for example!). Otherwise you can take the average roll value and start with 50GP.

[Dlover]

I'll hold off on sourcing a quarterstaff until we've started.

I could change my starting weapon from a Light Crossbow to a Quarterstaff and give it to you. Don't particularly need a weapon if I'm just going to stand back and shoot ice lasers.

[spiderwrangler]

If you've no use for it, I wouldn't say no!