41
votes
Accepted
What magic items would a commoner need to go head to head with a party of 4 (Lvl 15) adventurers?
Toe-to-Toe
I think the easiest way to evaluate whether a character can go Toe-to-toe with a party is to evaluate what their CR would be, and then compare it to what difficulty an encounter with them ...
- 72.6k
29
votes
Accepted
What are the balance implications of removing spell lists?
For this answer, I'm going to try to focus on broad-strokes balance issues, rather than particular broken combos.
The classes will feel much more similar.
Druids and clerics are both prepared casters ...
- 2,993
27
votes
Accepted
How powerful is the Ioun Stone of Mastery?
You're missing a few things.
The Ioun Stone of Mastery provides a bonus to Proficiency which does more than you seem to think. It provides a bonus to...
Attack Rolls (Spell and Physical)
Saving ...
- 64.7k
23
votes
What magic items would a commoner need to go head to head with a party of 4 (Lvl 15) adventurers?
This concept does not fit well to the way D&D 5e mechanics work
There are no published magic items that will allow a commoner with the commoner stat block to fight a party of level 15 characters ...
- 95.8k
22
votes
Accepted
What would be the impact if I allowed Barbarian's Unarmored Defense to stack with Lizardfolk's Natural Armor?
This would be unbalancing
Let us look at the numerical impact first. The simple and obvious answer is that your AC will be 3 higher at any possible level than what it otherwise could be.
As aptly ...
- 95.8k
21
votes
I'm worried about nerfing the Players too much by adding an immunity to Radiant Damage to a monster type
It would be a nerf, and is not needed for your narrative
Game Mechanics
I think that giving demons outright immunity to radiant damage is both slightly unbalanced considering there is a number of ...
- 95.8k
21
votes
What magic items would a commoner need to go head to head with a party of 4 (Lvl 15) adventurers?
Frame challenge.
You've got a millionaire BBEG, and you want to make him able to take on powerful foes. Your plan for this is to balance his stats so that he can become essentially a fake leveled ...
- 2,552
20
votes
What are the balance implications of removing spell lists?
Many and Varied Implications
This is a far bigger change that it may appear on the surface. The balance of many class features is built around the spell available to that class. It also removes most ...
- 30.6k
20
votes
Will anything break if prone crossbow-wielders get advantage instead of disadvantage?
Historical crossbows are not firearms
Modern crossbows have shoulder stocks like rifles or other long guns, but that is not true of historical crossbows. Because there is no recoil, there is no need ...
- 206k
18
votes
Is Heightened(4th) Silence spell balanced?
It is balanced
Usually it just means the caster needs to Stride 2 squares. Most enemies do not have Attack of Opportunity, so you can safely do it, and even if they do have it, it is just some damage, ...
- 62.3k
17
votes
Accepted
Is this Oath of Bees Paladin subclass balanced?
Biggest Issue - Aura
As it is, the 7th level aura feature is absolutely completely broken. It gives permanent benefit of 4th level spell (Shadow of Moil) to you and everyone around you. It's permanent ...
- 943
17
votes
Is an uncommon magic item that grants +2 to all dexterity checks broken?
Not Broken At All
GuidingOlive is correct in comparing this to the Stone of Good Luck.
The Stone of Good Luck is much better. +1 to all saves and all checks is much better than +2 to no saves and ...
- 87.8k
17
votes
Accepted
Would a magic item that lets you cast a spell (that normally requires concentration) without needing to concentrate on it be unbalanced?
This is entirely reasonable, and even comes with a precedent. Potions (and a few other magic items)
First off, we have this from the DMG:
Many items, such as potions, bypass the casting of a spell ...
- 64.7k
17
votes
Accepted
Is this homebrew Flower/Plant race balanced?
Too situational and too complex
You have A LOT of abilities there, far more than a race would usually have. Typically races have 3-4 features beyond the standard ability increase, size, alignment, ...
- 7,898
17
votes
Will anything break if prone crossbow-wielders get advantage instead of disadvantage?
This is an unbalanced option and will likely result in a crossbow wielder dropping prone every or nearly every round.
Per the being prone rules (PHB 190):
You can drop prone without using any of your ...
- 3,264
17
votes
Accepted
Is this Legendary longsword "Sealed Power/Seven Wishes" too broken?
If another player can summon a CR24 creature to do their bidding, balance probably isn’t really something your table is interested in. The sword you describe has no meaningful comparison to any ...
- 143k
17
votes
Accepted
Is this verstatile fighting style and feat combination well balanced?
There is at least one Exploitable Edge Case
There are several minor, but important differences in the wording of your fighting style and the accompanying feat compared to official options that seem ...
- 1,536
15
votes
Accepted
Does Pathfinder 2e fix the “linear fighters, quadratic wizards” problem?
Absolutely, to the Extent it was a Problem
A brief summary of the "Linear Fighters/Quadratic Wizards" issue is that martial characters have an ability to interact with the world and resolve ...
- 13.1k
13
votes
Accepted
What would be the impact if I let Hand of Harm be used more than once, like Hand of Healing?
This is Very Unbalanced
The additional damage the Way of Mercy (WoM) Monk would be able to throw out with this would get absolutely ridiculous which would far outshine the Paladin whom is known for ...
- 33.4k
13
votes
Accepted
Can I switch the monk's astral projection spell in the Empty Body feature with something more convenient, like plane shift?
Astral Projection is not weaker than Plane Shift, but is a non-combat spell
For all this, if you are homebrewing something, you can only do so if your DM agrees to it. So, if you are not the DM, talk ...
- 95.8k
13
votes
Accepted
Is allowing a player to choose the result on a d20 once per long rest more powerful than features like luck points or portents?
This is extremely powerful
For an attack, what you propose will guarantee a critical hit, and when combined with things like a paladin's divine smite or a rogue's sneak attack, will go a long way ...
- 95.8k
12
votes
Accepted
At what level for a 4/5-player party would a CR 2-3 monster be considered a "miniboss"?
Two, Three, or Never
A Basilisk (CR3) is worth 700xp.
Checking Kobold Fight Club, I see that 700xp is a "deadly" encounter for a group of five level-1 PCs. It's a "hard" encounter ...
- 87.8k
12
votes
Accepted
Is there a balancing reason why you can not switch unarmored defense when multiclassing?
The impact on game balance would be minor
Both features set your AC, and any gains from switching would be minor — mostly the benefit from switching to barbarian is that you can use a shield. And ...
- 95.8k
12
votes
Accepted
Is this Homebrew Fault Feature Balanced?
This is pretty bad for your character
Falling unconscious is pretty bad. It means that you miss your first action in combat, and probably one of your allies has to miss their first action in combat ...
- 87.8k
12
votes
Accepted
Is this Changeling homebrew race balanced?
This is not balanced and has a few minor issues
First, if you take the book races to be the standard of balance, then almost by definition, if you buff an existing book race to be more powerful, it ...
- 95.8k
11
votes
Is this Control Magic homebrew spell balanced? (Spell-stealing counterspell)
This spell is too strong
Rules as written you do not know what spell the opponent is casting when they are casting it. Based on an optional rule in Xanathar's Guide to Everything, you can use your ...
- 95.8k
11
votes
How will this static Initiative houserule affect game balance?
This is indeed slighty unbalanced
In general, systems with fixed Initative can work, but there are two issues with the one you set up: balance, and narrative cohesion.
Balance: as you observe yourself,...
- 95.8k
11
votes
Accepted
In Exalted 3e, are Solar and Lunars well balanced?
They work pretty well together, in my experience
Granted, this is experiential because trying to crunch their entire pile of capabilities is just not a thing.
But my short answer is "Yes. You can ...
- 64.7k
11
votes
Is this sporeborn homebrew race balanced compared to other races?
The biggest problem is that this is near unplayable in a group
Player races are meant to be played as player characters, and in D&D 5e, the assumption is that you adventure in a group of such ...
- 95.8k
11
votes
What magic items would a commoner need to go head to head with a party of 4 (Lvl 15) adventurers?
The underlying premise is that this commoner (nobleman?) has unlimited financial resources and can acquire any magical item they want. In that case, he wouldn't go toe-to-toe with the party - he ...
- 704
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible