EDTA

I've just been busy, honestly. Still fully intending to submit something when I can. Although no matter how much time passes, it's fun to see how strikers are the most popular apps overall

I suppose that was a little expected. Spheres seems complex so getting people to look deeper can be an ask. But really I think a lot of it is intuitive and maybe a little more complex but not all that complicated! On the magic side of things, you basically have cantrips as base effects that you can scale up by spending a resource, spell points, the amount you can spend at a time capped by your proficiency bonus. That's wild to me, that they took and applied something that was already in 5e, applied a spheres concept to it, and the execution made perfect sense. Or how a lot of the dual sphere and common sphere themes on the magic side of things that got covered by feats or redundant talents are governed by a brand new Universal sphere since 5e spheres has both fewer feats and fewer talents than Pathfinder. And really the implementation makes me wonder why they didn't do that from the start in Pathfinder. Same with Destruction gaining new options as you take different base spheres. On the martial side, you see that feat issues pop up a bit more because a lot of the base effects and scaling up winds up replicating feats from across the system. As someone who gets annoyed by the lackluster implementation of feats in 5e, this is definitely up my alley. And a lot of the emphasis on maneuvers draw on rules that already existed in the system, albeit sometimes optional ones from the DMG. But that's also really neat to me. As an adaptation, at least as far as I've dealt with it, it doesn't feel like trying to cram Spheres into a 5e shaped hole, it actually seems like thought was put into the translation. Sure there are probably some wrinkles, but I think it works and it's a shame it doesn't seem to be more popular.

Hey it could be worse, you could have already discarded two (and maybe three) character concepts because someone made something using the same class.

So I was thinking Bard and I remembered a fun little tiefling feat, Stirring Song of Baator, but then I remembered a snag. There are a lot of 4e weapons that can let you change the damage type of the powers used through them but for some reason only the Flaming weapon got a stealth errata so rather than converting whatever damage type it did before it only works with untyped damage which is a problem since most of Bard's implement powers are typed damage. I was wondering if I could use the original, non DM Kit version (since it literally only changed Flaming). I think it's still plenty balanced, I need to use multiple feats to use weapons as implements, make up for Flaming being in an expensive tier, and to get a benefit from it in the first place. That, and the secret Flaming change (while leaving all the similar and equally optimizable options alone) is just one of those dumb late design things that happened.

Were there any other prohibitions on materials we can use apart from some of the races? Setting materials, Dragon Magazines, Essentials versus original stuff? Or any other house rules we should be aware of? I seem to remember getting an Expertise feat for free was a popular one back in the day.

There was a precursor to that in a blog post that is also popular . Actually somewhat more popular, that's basically the core of it. It isn't really an issue if something "works" with it or not. It's more basic stuff like whether or not someone needs to take Weapon Finesse at level 1 in order to not be terrible at fighting because you're dexterity based, or getting to take something more exciting than Power Attack at level 1. It's a way to cut down on prerequisite feats and feat taxes that plague certain (martial) types of characters at low levels. There's even an even further stripped down from I've seen where just Weapon Finesse, Power Attack, and Combat Expertise simply don't exist and are just things everyone can do with the proper weapon for Finesse or with 1 BAB for the others.

Any thoughts on using ? If you don't know what it was, it was an attempt to cut down on the random feat bloat martial characters needed to take by condensing some options and outright making some things, like Power Attack, into something any sufficiently skilled warrior could just do.

So I really like the Spheres of Power and Might systems by Drop Dead Studios. Very customizable, modular, just the sort of thing I generally dig and it's reasonably popular in Pathfinder ads here, with dedicated games popping up every so often. DDS also made a Spheres system for 5e which, well, doesn't appear to be as popular as the Pathfinder version. But I think it's a really good adaptation of the rules, and even works really well with the framework of 5e in my opinion. A lot of the 'spheres-isms' get applied to things that were already present in 5e. They also redid some of the spheres and general talent themes and from what I've seen it all seems like it works, making for some interesting options. But the problem as I said before is this system doesn't seem to be that popular. I sort of resigned myself to there not being any ads in the future until recently where there was a hint that maybe a GM was open to it in a game they were starting and it actually seemed to garner some interest. That game never materialized, but it got me thinking about 5e spheres again. Honestly, I don't know how easy the system is to pick up. I knew the Pathfinder version so the 5e version was intuitive and streamlined for me, but maybe it isn't if it's all new to you. In the past I heard arguments that sounded like some 5e fans didn't like the increased complexity it offers but honestly I don't think it's all that bad. More than most of 5e by itself sure, but not anything I think is excessive. So that's where I'm at now, I wanted to see what the overall interest level was around here now, if it's something people would want to see a game or two for. I will start this discussion by saying I've run games in the past but I've also pretty much come to the realization that there is no part of running a game I enjoy. I'd only be looking to play, which I realize is the massive ask. Way more people would be interested trying a new system if you ran the games yourself, but honestly I don't see that happening. That out of the way, the rules are freely available in a pretty nice wiki even. I've been looking at a few different third party RPG wikis lately and the DDS people do a better job at them than most. You can see it here:

True, but "Considering Spheres" is better than the normal opinion, "I've never heard of Spheres", and far better than the other opinion, "Spheres is an affront to all things good and decent, it should be burned to ash and scattered to the four winds"

If this is using 5e spheres that would be really neat. I've been waiting for a 5e spheres game for so long, it seems like a good adaptation of the system and on paper at least seems like it works with the framework of the edition far more than it should.

PC Tess High Elf Rogue 1 AC: 14 (leather armor) | HP: 9/9 | Initiative: +3 | Passive Perception: 12, Darkvision 60 There weren't many places in town better to catch the comings and goings of the town than The Able Cart Coaching Inn. At least if you wanted to avoid getting an elbow to the face. But it was Tess' day off, or rather Elodie's, and there was no way in the hells she'd spend it at The Feral Dog. Better class of people here, except the gaggle of dwarves apparently. Fact it didn't smell like dog didn't hurt either. Tess didn't get there that often. What was the point? But today, she felt like doing something different. Why not? Seeing the newcomers could be fun too, if only to size up the talent. Not that piddling little snatch jobs were Tess' preference, noticing the one woman suddenly getting very nervous about thievery. "I'd be more worried about thugs than thieves around here, personally," the young elf says, interjecting in the conversation. "Especially around payday. You steer clear of places like The Feral Dog those days, there's always someone looking to take someone else's wages one way or another then. Or just stay away from The Feral Dog. That's just good advice in general." Mechanics Main Hand: Empty Off Hand: Empty Action: Your action goes here. Bonus Action: Your bonus action goes here. Move: Your movement goes here. Manipulate: Your one free object interaction goes here.

I'll deal with the inventory when I have a more convenient way to get at that since that's often a lot of cross-referencing and such. But otherwise Tess should be good to go, plans to go Arcane Trickster.

Tess Grifter, Part time Bar-back, sometime 'Elodie Goldenglow' "Doesn't matter who you are, people see what they want to. Is it my fault they see something that wasn't ever there?" ROGUE 1 Medium humanoid female (High-Elf), neutral Armor Class 14 (13 no leather armor) Hit Points 9 Speed 30' ft. Senses Darkvision 60' ft. Languages common, elvish Proficiency Bonus +2 ABILITIES & SKILLS Proficiency Bonus: +2 Strength 8 (-1) Save -1 Athletics -1 Dexterity 17 (+3) Save +5 Acrobatics +5 | Sleight of Hand +5 | Stealth +5 | Thieves' Tools +7* Constitution 12 (+1) Save +1 No skills associated. Intelligence 14 (+2) Save +4 Arcana +2 | History +2 | Investigation +4 | Nature +2 | Religion +2 Wisdom 10 (+0) Save +0 Animal Handling +0 | Insight +0 | Medicine +0 | Perception +2 | Survival +0 Charisma 14 (+2) Save +2 Deception +6* | Intimidation +2 | Performance +2 | Persuasion +4 Advantage against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep *denotes Expertise PROFICIENCIES & ABILITIES PROFICIENCIES Tools Thieves' Tools (Rogue), Disguise Kit (Charlatan), Forgery Kit (Charlatan), Cartographer's Tools (Elf), Calligrapher's Supplies (Elf), Painter's Supplies (Elf), Jeweler's Tools (Elf) Weapons Simple weapons, hand crossbows, longbows, longswords, rapiers, shortswords Armors Light ROGUE CLASS ABILITIES Expertise: Thieves' Tools, Deception | Thieves' Cant | Sneak Attack: 1d6 RACIAL TRAITS - HIGH ELF DarkvisionSee in dim light within 60 feet as if bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray. | Keen Senses | Fey Ancestry | Trance | Elf Weapon TrainingProficiency with the longsword, shortsword, longbow, and shortbow. | CantripPrestidigitation FEATS EQUIPMENT & ENCUMBRANCE TOTAL ENCUMBRANCE (0 lbs.) Weight: 85 lbs. / 120 lbs. max. (15 x STR Score) Status: Unencumbered Penalty: None MONEY POUCH Copper: 0 | Silver: 0 | Gold: 0 | Obsidian: 0 | Platinum: 0 EQUIPMENT READIED (0 lbs.) Equipped items can be retrieved with a manipulate item interaction. Armor Leather Armor Weapons Daggers, Light Crossbow, 20 bolts Readied Items EQUIPMENT Stored items can be retrieved with an action. In Backpack: Thieves' Tools, Cartographer's Tools, Calligrapher's Supplies, Burglar's Pack, Disguise Kit, Fine Clothes, Forgery Kit APPEARANCE Age 24 | Height 5' 4" | Weight Slim | Hair Black | Eyes Blue-Green | Complexion: Fair A pretty face helps with more cons than Tess'd care to admit and she's fortunate in that regard. Between disguises and the various identities she's adopted she takes care to present an image of her choosing at all times and even when she's 'herself' that's still true. Tess is just another Identity, really, just one closest to who she sees herself as if she's being honest. As Tess she dresses loosely, concealing her various tools of the trade while also being comfortable when moving around. Bold, flirty, and disarming, Tess is someone quite good at insinuating herself into other lives. "Elodie" is quite different. Prim, proper, demure, nobody would mistake her for Tess even if they knew both. They just clash too much, not to mention the magically augmented disguise she adopts to become her. She doesn't enjoy the dresses, too constricting for her tastes but Elodie must project an image of consummate professional and more than not that means being uncomfortable. The things one must do. BACKGROUND Charlatan Source PHB Personality Traits: Flattery is my preferred trick for getting what I want Ideals: Fairness. I never target people who can't afford to lose a few coins Bonds: I owe everything to my mentor - a horrible person who's probably rotting in jail somewhere Flaws: I can't resist swindling people who are more powerful than me Background Feature: Favorite Schemes: I insinuate myself into people's lives to prey on their weakness and secure their fortunes. False Identity: You have created a second identity that includes documentation, established acquaintances, and disguises that allow you to assume that persona. Additionally, you can forge documents including official papers and personal letters, as long as you have seen an example of the kind of document or the handwriting you are trying to copy. False Identity: Elodie Goldenglow, Mapmaker's clerk under Dietrick Cicaeda. A refined and dedicated servant. BACKSTORY Tess doesn't know much about her early life. Her name isn't even Tess, or at least it wasn't the one she was born with, she's sure about that. She was found when she was a toddler by a confidence man she only knows as Mr. Trick or more commonly just 'Mister'. She figured he thought she'd be small and cute for thirty years or something but people don't really know how elves age. Or they assume they know. At any rate Tess became part of the cons. She didn't have one name growing up but she was always many things to whoever he was that day. His child, his ward, a displaced elven princess once and he the humble servant. As she got older the roles would change and she the eleven maid (sometimes literally), the temptress, whatever was needed. They were a team, and they worked their marks from both sides. "Tess" was one of those personas, technically Tessara, but one that probably felt more real than any others. A country nobleman's wife had some chronic illness and Mr. Trick posed as a healer and Tess his apprentice. He knew a thing or two about medicine and the pair stayed with the family for over a year and a half, him 'healing' the wife and the twelve-year old "Tessara" spending time with the family's daughter. She'd learned quite a bit from Mr. Trick over the years but Tess got an actual education by proxy in that noble house. Of course much of that only served to make her more aware of where the really valuable things could be found, but it was more structure and stability than she ever knew. She really felt like part of the family. And when Mr. Trick's quackery ultimately failed and they fled in the night with whatever they could make off with, it was the first time she felt bad for what they'd done. She'd meet that family again years later in another capacity, but that's a story for another time. Maybe it was just her growing up but Tess found herself disagreeing with Mr. Trick's methods after that. They continued on for a few more years as a team but eventually they had a falling out, a difference in opinions (in that Tess had some when it came to their marks and Mr. Trick would hear nothing of it). Make no mistake, Tess didn't think what they did, what she did, was good or right but the people they targeted deserved worse than what they got more than not. Not to say Mr. Trick was noble in his pursuits, just those sorts were the ones worth putting in the effort. A few years after she struck out on her own she got word from Mr. Trick out of the blue. Some big job a few days out from The Free City, one that would take a great deal of setup and time but one that if they pulled it off could set them up for the rest of Mr. Trick's life at least and he needed a partner he could trust. So she went out to Diamond Lake to sniff around. True to his style, Mr. Trick told her absolutely nothing about his intended target or the way he planned to get in or really anything. When they worked together he'd do that intentionally to test if Tess could figure it out for herself, but probably just so he could swoop in to tell her how she was doing it wrong. She arrived in town and got situated at The Feral Dog. Place had a reputation for massive turnover for some reason and it wasn't that demanding on her days, which she'd need. The way in seemed easy enough. Mining town like this, the real value was in deeds, maps, and agreements so that left just one target: Dietrick Cicaeda. It just so happened in the weeks that Tess had been in town his current one and only clerk racked up quite the bill at The Midnight Salute, no doubt for numerous 'palm-readings'. Quite embarrassing, doubly so when the man fled into the night leaving the poor cartographer in a lurch. Nobody in town could fill the role so naturally he reached out to colleagues in Greyhawk to send a capable and professional clerk. Enter Elodie Goldenglow. Her references were impeccable, a dedicated servant of some minor noble for decades and just the person to fill the gap, complete with sealed letter of introduction. The only problem being Elodie Goldenglow only existed on paper, a well-crafted persona to be sure, but in reality just Tess. But that's what she was trained to do, being in town in two different places would just make things smoother as this job was going to go for a while. Accessing and copying archives takes time, not to mention the alterations that would need to come before a payday. And Mr. Trick wasn't lying about that payday. If she did this right there were so many potential targets and more than one way to profit off this. And so many odious personages that deserved what was coming for them. Tess certainly wouldn't mind seeing the current or former governor-mayor losing what they could, but if she could somehow dislodge someone as odious as Balabar Smenk while making quite a bit of money she wouldn't be put out. The only problem was Mr. Trick. Namely a lack of Mr. Trick. This was supposed to be his show, his plan. He reached out to Tess, not the other way around. And here she was for weeks, well-established in both her roles but no hint of Mr. Trick whatsoever. A changeling that doesn't want to be found is a difficult man to track down regardless, but still by now something should have happened, shouldn't it? She's aware of no unusual occupants in the Garrison now, but she still doesn't like it. Mr. Trick might not be a good man, in fact Tess was quite positive he wasn't, but he was still the closest thing she's got to family. But what could she do now other than wait as she set things in motion on her own? A second man would definitely help once things got rolling, especially if she wanted to secure multiple payouts.

Statblock F CG Human (orc) Gun Chemist Alchemist, Level 2, Init 3, HP 19/19, Speed 30ft AC 18, Touch 13, Flat-footed 15, CMD 14, Fort 5, Ref 6, Will 0, CMB +1, Base Attack Bonus 1 Dragon Pistol +5 vs touch (1d6, x4, 15 feet) Dragon Pistol Cone +3 vs touch (1d6, x4 15 foot cone) Ordinance N/A (1d6+4) Dagger +4 (1d4, 19-20/x2) MST Chain Shirt (+4 Armor) Abilities Str 11, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 8 Conditions Ordinance 6/6 "I suppose that's what we're to find out. At any rate that matter is secondary to the assignment he was to complete," Charlie muses aloud. It was a good point, if Burbage just skipped out on the assignment he should have been caught. And overland travel would have been quite slow by comparison. But he had to have gone that route, seeing as the alternative didn't happen. They'd have to see once they got to Outsmuth. Regardless she didn't have further questions before setting out, and indicates as much.

Statblock F CG Human (orc) Gun Chemist Alchemist, Level 2, Init 3, HP 19/19, Speed 30ft AC 18, Touch 13, Flat-footed 15, CMD 14, Fort 5, Ref 6, Will 0, CMB +1, Base Attack Bonus 1 Dragon Pistol +5 vs touch (1d6, x4, 15 feet) Dragon Pistol Cone +3 vs touch (1d6, x4 15 foot cone) Ordinance N/A (1d6+4) Dagger +4 (1d4, 19-20/x2) MST Chain Shirt (+4 Armor) Abilities Str 11, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 8 Conditions Ordinance 6/6 The insinuation that the Burbage situation was anything more than a guy being paid up front and blowing off the assignment felt it needed some pushback. It wouldn't do to badmouth the guild and their vetting process on the first assignment after all. "No, nothing like that. We have business in Outsmuth that Burbage was supposed to deal with himself. His whereabouts are just another issue we need to resolve. Now we know he didn't use your services. So we just need to row us out? I suppose I could if nobody else is going to."