Be Excellent To Each Other

Great to know, I’ll play about it with it this weekend thanks.

I'm green screening the majority of my FX, only the really gorey stuff will be practical/method.

It’s really easy, I use Discord a lot. Give me a shout if you need any help setting up your server.

Myptik the Myopic (level1) encroaches!

By Jove, we're a handsome bunch and no mistake.

Hahaha amazing!

@Zardoz

Zardoth build looks good, well done!

Some notes:

You need to choose your armour type (light, medium etc are categories then within you have types like leather, studded leather.) I'll send you a screenshot later from the PHB if yours hasn't arrived yet?

You need to choose your weapon from the list. The ones listed in the 'proficiencies and languages' box are the ones you're proficient in (determined by race and class) and you can see the attack roll modifier and damage dice in the PHB, again I can send a screenshot later.

All your skills and modifiers are good.

You need to choose spells. Every day, (after a long rest) you choose 2 cantrips and 3 1st level spells. Cantrips are free to cast, so in theory you could cast one every round if you wanted to. 1st level (and above) spells use a spell slot of the same level or higher so you have to use these carefully. Spell slots are replenished after a long rest. The spells you choose are the ones you've prepared that day, after a long rest you could swap in and out different spells. The Gale Force 9 spell cards are really handy for managing these because you can choose the spell cards from the deck then keep them in front of you and they detail things like spell level, casting time, spell damage etc. There's also a cool feature in DnDBeyond that shows the spell details and can track spell usage and spell slots for you. I'll save a copy of your character sheet in DnDBeyond once it's finalised and share it with you.
A druid's spellcasting ability is Wisdom so you're right to make it your high stat. Your spell casting modifier is +3 (taken from your wisdom mod). Your spell attack bonus is +5 (proficiency bonus of +2 at Level 1 plus your spellcasting mod) and your spell save DC is 13 (8 + proficiency bonus + spellcasting mod). The spell save DC is what enemies roll to try and beat to save themselves from your spell affect; so if you attack with a fire spell that says they get a dexterity save, they'd roll and add their dexterity mod to try and beat 13. As you level up, your individual stats can increase which can increase your spellcasting mod. Your proficiency bonus increases at set levels as you gain experience.

I hope that all makes sense, don't worry if it doesn't. Important things to action straight away are the points in bold.

I said to Jen last night, I am beyond delighted that I've got such a good bunch of players and that there is already character art. All my geeky dreams are coming true

Thank you!

I thought I’d chosen the Scimitar and leather armour (studded if that’s better then!)

Cantrips I chose make fire and chat to critters.

Spells were healing word, detect poison and something else... I’ll have a look IN MY BOOK!!!

I'm sorry I can't play anymore, but I'm really enjoying the happiness and excitement in this thread!

I love the contrast between Zardoth's spells - cure wounds! make friends with animals! mend things! - and Ivo's - kill! burn! tentacles! madness!

We make a great team, I reckon.

I’m a healer too. Should I consider choosing other things instead?

Only until I can transmute into a DINOSAURUS REX!!!

Ahem, Dungeon Master! (SDG)

I did pic those things on the online thingy (maybe you were just looking at my first attempts I PMed)

Hmmm... it let me pick 4 Lvl 1 spells?

If you do, you have to let Ermintrude ride you into battle with a lance and shield.

Four level 1 spells is right, I think - 1 for your Druid level and 3 for your Wisdom mod. You can only cast 2 per day though!

Ah, right. I need to read my book!

The party will have to get him on my back as my little arms won't reach that far down.

Might be a good idea to have some spells, yes.

Wizards don't have many healing type spells, I think. They're more "mess up the other dude" and "utility spells that are handy in a tight spot" type of spellcasters.

If you’re a cleric that will be fine, Clerics in 5th edition are also good damage dealers and at higher levels can cast revivify (if someone dies) and true resurrection (if someone dies and you can’t get to them within 60 seconds).

Plus you get turn undead, destroy undead, and divine intervention. Divine intervention almost never works but when it does, it’s glorious.

That’s probably right, go with that.

Ah, your a wizard! Don’t worry then, healing isn’t your speciality. More like throwing fireballs around and staying way back from the baddies.

*waves hand*

So cantrips I can use whenever but only the ones I’ve chosen until I level up and more?

Spells - have a pool of 4 but can only use two of them, once per day?

I have a proficiency in medicine is actually what I was thinking about. Should I change it?

Yes, you have two Level 1 spell slots per day, each of which can be used to cast any of your Level 1 spells, so you coild cast the same spell twice.

Also, Druids can use Rituals to cast spells, so you can cast any of the spells with a little "R" next to them without using a spell slot, but taking 10 mins to cast ( so no good in a battle or an emergency )

Somebody will need to heal Ermintrude while the rest of you ponce around trying to keep out of reach and shrugging.

Yes. For all of your Druid info, look at page 64 onwards in the PHB. The table at the top of page 65 shows your proficiency bonus at each level, any special class features you gain at each level, and the number of cantrips and spell slots at each level.

At the top of page 66, it tells you the starting equipment. The spellcasting section in the middle of page 66 explains spellcasting and yes, you start with two cantrips you know. Basic magic, that you can do at will. These don’t change. When you reach level 4, you’ll gain an additional cantrip.

When you choose spells for the day, choose a number equal to your wisdom modifier + your Druid level (in this case, 3+1). At second level you’ll have three first level spell slots and will know five first level spells. At third level, you’ll have four 1st level spell slots and two 2nd level spell slots and will know six spells from any combination of first and second level spells.

Can come in useful to stabilise someone in an emergency or to investigate an illness. Try and think of why your character is proficient in the things they are. Is your wizard clever and charming (maybe take proficiency in persuasion, or deception), or does their intelligence help them with exploration (investigation) or are they clever and wise, able to last in the wilderness (survival).

Are you playing a fighter or a barbarian or something? Looks like you’re going to be kept busy

Yup, Emintrude is going to be out front, lopping off limbs and getting hit with clubs whilst the rest of us hang back and lob the odd speculative fireball. We all appreciate your hard work here, buddy! Keep it up! We're all rooting for you from back behind these trees!

I'll be right with you when I've levelled up x

Ermintrude will be cracking skulls and Zardoth will have wildshaped into a ferret and will be charging up trouser legs all around.

Meet Shuu, The Half Elven Bard.

"Surely you're too small to be a lute!"
"Are you calling me a lyre?"

Krung, tell Shuu to send me his D&D character page please.

Again.

You're bard.

If there's a bad lute joke out there, I haven't heard it.

It feels like Ivo's "Awakened Mind" feature, which allows him to telepathically comunicate with people, could lead to some hilarious Krung-based japery here.

As a creature of the natural world I will let no harm come to Krung.

Players!

I would like some character hooks to tie you to the adventure. You’ll be travelling to a town called Phandalin on the Sword Coast. It’s sort of like a frontier town. Off the beaten track, but with a decent community that’s sprung up. You’ve been hired by a dwarf called Gundren Rockseeker to bring a cart with supplies from the nearby city to Phandalin, he’s provided the cart and supplies and you’re playing escorts.

You don’t need to answer all of these questions, but please consider them and let me know (in here is fine, or via PM if you’d prefer or if you think it’s not common knowledge) what ties your character to this adventure.

Why did you take this job?
Did you know any of the other PCs before this, or did you meet when you arrived at the place to pick up the cart?
Do you know anyone in Phandalin? If so, who and what is your connection to them? Tell me who they are and why they’re in Phandalin.
Is there someone there who’s a family member or old friend?
Is there someone there who owes you a debt, financial or otherwise?
Maybe you knew Gundren?
We’re you just desperate for money, or bored, and answered a job board notice?
Maybe someone you knew came to Phandalin and never returned, or returned but was injured and you seek to find out what happened?

Well, Ivo is on a ( so far profoundly unsuccesful ) missionary trip, and thinks there might be souls for the saving out in the wilds. He heard about this job and was unsettling enough that Gundren agreed to hire him so he'd just go away.

However, since accepting this job he has started having prophetic dreams* that he is certain mean it is his destiny to travel to Phindoodle and confront the evil he will find there!

* possibly a sign from beyond, possibly from eating cheese late at night.

Yes, perfect. This gives me lots to work with.

Ermintrude found a series of cooked sausages left on the ground and travelled a full 566 miles to reach the end.

I am! I'd welcome a look at the character sheet I posted earlier. I managed to max roll dexterity so I'm wondering if great weppin speshul is wise.

I must have missed it, that’s what I get for dipping into the thread while I’m working. I’ll go back and have a look.

I've had a crappy, stressy week so far, and thats the most I've laughed for a while. Thank you.

I suspect, however, that it lacks the sort of personal adventure hook sdg was after...

Zardoth heard through the grapevine (literally) that the city has a small zoo of sorts, full of wild beasts being kept in poor conditions by a nobleman. He wants to free them back into the nearby forest, and feast his eyes on their savage forms knowing that down the line this will give him good source material for transformations. Nice. The cart mission was taken up mostly to be used as a cover story to help his sharp exit from the city.

If youre using a melee weapon, which I think it sounds like you are (rather than being an archer) then you’d be better to make strength one of your highest stats, if not your highest stat. This will make your attacks more likely to hit, and stronger when they do hit. You roll a d20 to attack and add your strength modifier + proficiency bonus. When you hit, you roll the weapons dice which is 1d12 for a great axe, and add your strength modifier to the result to get total damage.

You don’t need to assign your stat rolls to the stats in order you rolled them. Feel free to mix them around as suits. If strength is your top stat, constitution should probably be the second highest. Then select the rest depending on how you envision your character being. High charisma or low? Clever, or a bit clueless?

If you want to use a shield, you might be better choosing protection as your fighting style. You could complement that with a war hammer or battle axe as your weapon since they’re one handed.

If you want to fight with a two handed weapon like the great axe, you could go with great weapon fighting.

I’ll PM you with some relevant information from the PHB.

I like the choice of intimidation for a proficiency, I can see Ermintrude towering over people who physically are taller but seem to shrink in his imposing presence!