last night i explained the coffeelock to scribe and she was horrified
for those unfamiliar
play a sorcerer/warlock mulitclass
use your metamagic to convert your pact slots into sorcery points
use metamagic again to convert the points into sorcerer slots
get back your warlock slots every time you short rest. repeat
you can keep the extra sorcerer slots until you long rest so you basically get a metric fuckton of spell slots, as long as you never sleep
oh my god. oh my god. oh my god. i have to know if this works with that invocation for pact of the tome that lets you never sleep and just take a long rest by doing light activity, does that still take your sorcerer spell slots
i mean technically it’s not supposed to work at ALL and most DMs will ban the entire concept on-sight, but i think that anything that mechanically counts as a long rest would still take away the slots
You’ll have to ask your DM before you use some of these, as they have a few differences in how they play. I’ve tried to balance them out so there are equal disadvantages and benefits, and make them competent and able adventurers.
• wheelchair user or amputee: they should have the guild artisan background with a proficiency in tinker’s tools, so that they can make themselves a cool prosthetic or a souped-up wheelchair. You can decide specifically what you want the prosthetic or wheelchair’s capabilities to be (ex. Wheelchair user has a base speed of 20ft but a certain number of times per long rest it can turbo boost 75ft and they cannot move through difficult terrain without assistance, or using their boost. The user has disadvantage on dex saves but advantage against being knocked prone, and they cannot move when they use their action to make an attack with two hands until the next turn. A character with a prosthetic hand has disadvantage on dex checks using the hand but advantage on strength with it as well as one casting of burning hands with it per long rest. An unarmed strike using the hand causes 1d8 bludgeoning.)
•PTSD or other disorders that include triggers: when the character encounters their trigger, they must make a wisdom saving throw (set the DC based on how severe the trigger is) or be paralyzed for one round. They have advantage on all other saving throws against fear. During a long rest, roll a d20. On a 1, they suffer one level of exhaustion from nightmares.
•Bipolar disorder, or other disorders including mood swings: at the beginning of each day, roll a d20. On a low roll, the character is depressed for one day, and on a high roll, they are manic. On a 1, they suffer one level of exhaustion and take 1d10 psychic damage. On a 2, they take 1d8 psychic damage. On a 3, they take 1d6, and on a 4, they take 1d4. On a 20, they gain 1d10 temporary hit points and gain 2 rages, equivalent to those of a first level barbarian. On a 19, they gain 1d8, on an 18 they gain 1d6, and on a 17 they gain 1d4.
•depression: at the beginning of each day, roll a d20. On a 1, suffer one level of exhaustion and take 1d10 psychic damage. On a 2, take 1d8 psychic damage. On a 3, take 1d6, and on a 4, take 1d4. They have advantage against being frightened, charmed, or intimidated due to apathy. They have disadvantage on charisma checks and a -2 to initiative.
•autism spectrum disorders: a character with autism has disadvantage on charisma checks, but advantage on saves against being charmed, frightened, intimidated, or confused. They have a number of special interests equal to ½ their level (min 1, max 4). They have disadvantage on intelligence checks for knowledge about social ettiquette, societal structure, etc, but advantage on intelligence checks about their special interests. If a creature has a wisdom score of less than 11, that creature has a hard time understanding them when they try to convey complex ideas, due to their unique thought processes.
•Deaf/HoH: a character that is Deaf or Hard of Hearing can speak any languages granted to them by their race/class/background, but successfully understanding them requires a DC 5 wisdom save, or DC 10 if they are in a loud environment, due to the slightly garbled nature of their speech. They either have disadvantage on or automatically fail perception checks made to listen, depending on the severity of their hearing impairment, but have advantage on perception checks to spot. They are resistant to thunder damage, and are not affected by (or have advantage against, again depending on severity) spells that require the target to hear the caster. They have disadvantage on stealth because they cannot hear themselves. These effects are negated if they are sharing senses with a familiar that is sharing their space.
•Blindness: a blind character has 30 ft blindsight and advantage on perception checks to listen, due to their keen ears. Rather than having to see a creature to target them with a spell or attack, they must be able to hear them, as well as have line of sight if the attack travels in a straight line. They are immune to fear and intimidation effects if the cause is something that must be seen, such as a frightening monster or a fearsome display of strength. Their speed is reduced by 10 and they cannot move through difficult terrain. They have disadvantage on dex saves to dodge spell effects and their AC is lowered by 2 when they are suprised. These effects are negated if they are sharing senses with a familiar or similar that is sharing their space.
Schizophrenia/psychotic disorders: a character with psychotic symptoms has grown used to mental instability. They are resistant to psychic damage and immune to the effects of the spell Dissonant Whispers. They have advantage against fear effects but disadvantage on perception checks due to all the distractions in their minds. They have a -2 to passive perception.
Asthma: asthmatic characters have to make a DC 10 constitution save when dealing with effects like fog cloud, or with heavy amounts of dust, every time they begin their turn in the area. On a fail, they suffer a level of exhaustion. These characters have a keen sense of smell and can tell when they have entered a room or area containing undead, dead bodies, or some kind of sickness.
Amputee variant: by paying 1500 gp or a magic item of Very Rare or higher rarity to a skilled wizard, this amputee is granted a magical limb. It appears to be made of smoke, silver, or radiant light. As an action, if the limb is a hand, it can be detached and used similarly to casting Mage Hand. The character has disadvantage on athletics checks and strength saves using the limb, such as holding on to a ledge if it is a hand or arm, or making a jump if it is a foot or leg. They have advantage on dexterity checks and saving throws using the limb, such as sleight of hand if it is a hand or arm, or stealth if it is a foot or leg. It can become solid or spectral at will, granting the user the ability to reach through doors to unlock them from the inside or block an attack with it as a reaction, granting them a +2 to AC for one attack using nonmagical bludgeoning, slashing, or piercing damage.
AD/HD: when a character with attention deficit problems does a task that involves focus, make a DC10 wisdom save. On a success, they hyperfocus and gain their proficiency bonus on checks to complete the task. On a fail, they cannot focus and take a -2. Their wandering attention gives them a proficiency in perception, but saving throws to maintain concentration have a +2 to the DC.
Anxiety Disorders: characters with anxiety are vulnerable to psychic damage and have disadvantage against intimidation and being frightened. Hypervigilance grants them a base passive perception of 15 instead of 10.
Im really happy people are reblogging this, i want disabled characters to become as common as disabled people, and i hope everyone who would feel less alone reading and playing these to see them 🙂
A hulking paladin voiced in your best Patrick Warburton impression who uses the names of obscure polearms as expletives
A ranger who aspires to be a fashion designer, and hunts rare beasts to obtain their hides and fur for use in dressmaking
What initially appears to be a dwarven runecaster with a badger familiar, but it turns out it’s actually the badger who’s the runecaster, and the dwarf is her personal assistant
A compulsively stealthy rogue who insists that all their thievery is in support of a sick relative; it’s not entirely clear whether there’s one sick relative or many involved, as the details change every time they tell it
A bard outlawed from their home village after making a pun so terrible that it killed the blacksmith
A swashbuckling fighter who enjoys lavish hospitality on account of their fearsome reputation, but is secretly just very skilled at stage combat and can’t actually fight their way out of a wet paper bag
A star pact warlock with maxed out Bluff impersonating a cleric of a benevolent sun god
A mysterious druid dwelling on the outskirts of town who everyone politely pretends not to notice is actually three dire raccoons standing on each other’s shoulders in a feathered robe
The Cloak of Disguise Shelf: A shelf that produces a cloak suitable for a disguise once per day. The cloak vanishes at the stroke of midnight on the day it is produced. If the shelf is removed from its wall it loses all magical abilities.
The Ring of Attunement: Attunes to the wearer in half the usual time. Once attuned, is attuned.
The Bagpipe of Holding: Like a Bag of Holding, but only for objects small enough to fit through the pipes. Retrieval is difficult.
Tin Cans on a String: Two old tin cans connected by a string. Allows for communication up to the length of the string.
The Boot of Haste: A single boot. Increases walking speed by 30ft. Must be worn as a pair with the Boot of Idle Strolling.
The Boot of Idle Strolling: A single boot. Decreases walking speed by half. Must be worn as a pair with the Boot of Haste.
The Eye of the Abyss: A small obsidian pendant which, when looked at, causes the overwhelming need to check over one’s shoulder. The effect ends when the creature looks away from the pendant.
The Wand of Wainscotting: When waved, the wand temporarily suspends all magical effects within a 30ft radius. Unfortunately, this includes the effects of the wand itself. May just be a particularly nice stick.
The Serpent Staff: once per day, you can use this staff to create a snake from thin air. Where is it, you ask? You have no idea.
Sparring For Dummies: a thick, leather-bound tome. A magic-user can use their spell attack modifier to hit, and it deals 2d6 bludgioning damage.
The Participation Ribbon: glows a faint blue if the wearer rolls the worst initiative in an encounter. Grants +1 AC, to make you feel a little bit better, I guess.
Magic Paint: a small glass jar of glittering paint. Functions and behaves as normal paint would, but nobody can seem to tell you what color it is. All attempts to describe it fall short.
The All-Seeing Eye: this little glass sphere sees everything in existsnce, across all the planes and through all of time. However, that’s a lot of stuff to see. This eye is nearly impossible to focus properly, and usually will just show users a continuous stream of random flashes of reality.
Bane of the Fey: a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles. Upon attuning to these glasses, once per day, for one hour, elves cannot lie to you. Half-elves have a 50-50 shot.
Magic for Dummies: from the author of Sparring for Dummies comes another bestselling tome! Once per day, this book will allow anyone without arcane training or abilities to cast the spell Magic Missile at level 2.
I have found my new passion in life and it’s making stupid DnD items:
Potion of Fire-breathing: lets you breathe fire like water-breathing potions let you breathe underwater. Does not protect from burning, however, so best to keep this one on the shelf.
Fresh Ink: this ink will enable a user with bardic training to write the tightest, coolest, freshest verses known to man. However, it will also never dry—making terrible smudging hopelessly inevitable.
The Two-Faced Coin: a talking golden coin. Both faces depict a head that can predict the future and answer “yes” or “no” questions. One speaks only the truth and one speaks only lies, and it is nearly impossible to tell which is which.
The Amulet of No Return: when placed on a dead body, this tarnished silver amulet prevents the target from becoming undead. Strangely, if worn by a living body, the wearer cannot move backwards or be moved backward.
The Scroll of Reverse Lycanthropy: can only be used on wolves. When activated, the scroll will curse the target to turn into a human being during every new moon. The target gains all the traits of a standard human, but will not remember anything about the transformation after the night ends.
T-leaves: fortune-telling tea leaves that always, inexplicably, spell out the letter “t.” Make of that what you will.
The Messenger Stone: this smooth rock can be used as a method of long-distance communication with any target in a one-mile radius. Simply write your message down on a piece of parchment, attach it to the stone with string, and hurl it as hard as you can. Make a ranged weapon attack against the AC of your target. On a failure, the stone falls to the ground. On a success, it travels the full distance to its destination. Your target takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage (doubled on a crit), and receives your message.
Something that all DMs can learn from is video game level design. One aspect of this is called mechanic-driven design, which is shaping the environment to be a challenge for the main character’s abilities or the game’s mechanics. Mario can jump, so he has platforms and enemies that can be jumped on and question-blocks to jump up and hit. His jumping mechanic defines his environment and lets the players overcome the environment.
The best way I can think of to post about this for a dungeon master to use is in list form. This way, a DM that is making a dungeon can look through what aspects their PC group is composed of and make a sort of checklist of ways to challenge them! Be advised that this is merely a jumping-off point, so just checking off one challenge per player may challenge each player, but it also may not. Maybe that social interaction meant for the bard gets killed by the bloodthirsty barbarian instead. Having multiple challenges for each player will make the dungeon more fun for everyone, eventually.
Another note, players will eventually overcome almost any obstacle you give them, given enough time and resources and persistence. Don’t be afraid to give them a challenge that they might not be the best suited for, mechanically. Maybe add a locked treasure chest despite the PCs not having any characters with thieves tools or sleight of hand to unlock it. They will find a way to open it, and that is part of the fun!
Anyway, the list:
Mechanically Favorable Challenges For…
Barbarians:
big boss monsters (lots of HP, AC and sustained damage)
traps (avoided by Danger Sense)
athletics checks (high STR score)
monsters with attacks needing CON saves (high CON save)
Bards:
opportunities to rest in the dungeon (Song of Rest)
roleplaying encounters (high CHA score)
acrobatics checks (high DEX score)
group efforts like big encounters (Bardic Inspiration)
Clerics:
deities/religious symbols to identify (religion proficiency)
undead to fight (Channel Divinity: Turn Undead)
monsters that apply condition debuffs (Restoration spells)
moral quandary/test (to test loyalty to alignment/deity)
monsters with attacks needing WIS saves (high WIS save)
Druids:
animals/plants to identify (nature proficiency)
outdoor area (to get best of out spells)
hard to reach areas (to make use of Wild Shape)
roleplaying encounter with animals/plants/fey
monsters with attacks needing WIS saves (high WIS save)
Fighters:
big boss monsters (lots of AC, Action Surge, and sustained damage)
lots of monsters (several attacks per round)
athletics checks (high STR score)
monsters with attacks needing CON saves (high CON save)
tactical environments (more interesting fights)
Monks:
lots of monsters (several attacks per round)
athletics/acrobatics checks (high DEX and STR scores)
tall ledges (to use Slow Fall)
stealth encounters (high DEX score and often stealth prof.)
moral quandary/test (usually strict about alignment)
Paladins:
evil monsters (to detect)
big boss monsters (high burst damage from Smite)
moral quandary/test (paladin’s code)
someone to protect (paladin’s code)
deities/religious symbols to identify (religion proficiency)
overland travel or outdoor areas (to use mount)
Rangers:
long range encounters (archery style)
lots of monsters (dual wielding style, attack with companion)
big monsters (colossus slayer, flank with companion)
animals/plants to identify (nature proficiency)
favored enemies to track (survival proficiency)
outdoor areas (for companion, spells, and long-range)
Rogues:
traps (to disarm or avoid)
locks to pick
acrobatics checks (high DEX score)
monsters with attacks requiring DEX save (high DEX save)
single targets (to ambush and burst down)
places to hide (while in midst of combat)
stealth encounters (stealth proficiency)
Sorcerers:
lots of monsters (plenty of area of effect spells)
ranged encounters (to snipe with spells)
dragons (if draconic power origin)
spell-based traps, arcane things to identify (arcana proficiency)
tense situations (to use sorcery points for quickened spells)
opportunities to use Fly spell
Warlocks:
fiends/fey/aberrations (depending on power origin)
big boss monsters (to burst down with eldritch blasts)
spell-based traps, arcane things to identify (arcana proficiency)
scrolls (to temporarily expand VERY limited spell list)
hard to reach areas or spy missions (if Pact of the Chain)
consistent challenges for their chosen spells
Wizards:
spell-based traps, arcane things to identify (arcana proficiency)
spellbooks and scrolls to loot (to add to spellbook)
opportunities to use Fly spell
unique challenges to be overcome (versatile spell list)
challenges that relate to their specialized school of magic, fight fire with fire
lots of monsters (plenty of area of effect spells)
big dumb monsters (for spells requiring WIS saves)
Characters with strong alignments:
moral quandary/test (to test how they adhere to that alignment)
Dwarves:
stonework to identify (Stonecunning)
Goblins, Orcs, or Giants (dwarves war with such factions)
Elves:
wandering nocturnal monsters (elves don’t sleep)
nature checks (elves often have an affinity for such things)
fey (elves have fey ancestry and will appreciate the encounter)
Halfings:
crawlspaces (that only they can fit into)
fear effects (they are resistant to fear)
other halflings (they are a community-driven race)
Gnomes:
crawlspaces (that only they can fit into)
INT/WIS/CHA saving throws (they have adv. against mind-affecting spells)
stealth encounters (tinker gnomes can use trinkets to distract)
Half-Orcs:
smaller, weaker NPCs (intimidation proficiency)
racial tension (often outcasts amongst both humans and orcs)
racial ambassador (roleplay between humans and orcs)
Half-Elves:
racial tension (often outcasts amongst both humans and elves)
racial ambassador (roleplay between humans and elves)
Dragonborn:
monsters that use energy damage (to complement their resistance to certain energy types)
dragons (to roleplay with)
racial tension (their scarcity and monstrous appearance can create obstacles)
Tieflings:
racial tension (their scarcity and fiendish origin can create obstacles)
fiends (to roleplay with)
monsters that use fire damage (to complement their innate resistance)
Basically, know your players. Know what spells they have at their disposal, which items they have, and whether they took any feats. Then you can tailor your levels to challenge each player and make each player feel special.
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