Hawk Fingle wrote:
Incognito wrote:
Matthew Hayward wrote:
Incognito wrote: I don't think Bead of the Lucky Traveler is a good idea. Bead is a new slot and most beads are rather cornercase. +2 saves + Free Movement sounds like best in slot for a long, long time.
I don't like how Jeff is finally giving in to all the complaining for permanent, potionless Polymorphing. I think it's a bad move in the long run because it obsolete Polymorph potions, which I regularly see people use. There should be a bigger cost (more restrictions and less damage) to the Relic and Legendary items. Also, I don't see why you can't let the Wizards use it too.
For the Rogue Necklaces, I'm not a fan of the improved crit range, especially after those overpowered Bracers from last year.
Also, the new instruments are problematic. First off, they complicate things for DM's, since +2/+4 is no longer the standard. Secondly, they obsolete existing and future instruments.
Re: the legendary bard instrument obsoleting the other ur instruments and also maybe a future “bardsong + wand” or “bardsong + consumable” instrument...
Yes but... isn’t that what legendaries do?
Didn’t Surtr’s obsolete all other str belts? (Other than set bonus ones).
Don’t +5 weapons obsolete everything other than +5 weapons (barring auto kill vs monsters)?
Eh. Most legendaries are specific in what they do.
Surtr's is great if you want + Str in you waist slot. But if you aren't melee attacking, there may be other options.
RoP or Bracers are great if you want AC. But not everyone does.
Cloak is great if you want + saves but not everyone prioritizes it.
Weapons and Focus items are a little more problematic. But a swiss army knife "one solution for everything" is problematic to me, especially for Bard instruments when right now you actually do see a variety of instruments used, which I think is a very good thing.
Sure, you see a variety of Bard instruments, because there's nowhere else to go right now except to carry around all the Bard instruments.
There's been no advancement options for Bards since the UR instruments showed up, leading to a variety of instruments being used.
So what does this legendary really do in game terms for the Bard that has all those instruments? One token instead of a bunch, sure, but what's the actual gain for gameplay?
An extra +2 to attacks and frees up the one free action a round from swapping instruments to doing something else for a change.
It doesn't let you Bardsong and use the Monster Lore check from what I can see, unless they're including it in the list.
It isn't a major shift in game balance at all when you look at it and place it in its proper context of high tier play.
As much as I want a legendary instrument, I feel a bit cheated by this implementation. I was expecting something really really cool beyond those features. Like, those features were always going to be the standard expectation of a relic, with the legendary doing the same and something else cool.
As is, these instruments are underwhelming, yet to be expected, and we still have people complaining they are too strong?
I'm sorry. I don't agree. This is the best we're going to get, and that's just how it is. Any other idea of what a legendary instrument should do will be shot to pieces. And Jeff has locked in with this.
At least now I have a legendary to work towards.
My understanding is that it allows Bardsong + any standard action + any free action.
This makes it more powerful than any other instrument as you can do bardsong plus: lore, attack, spell, scroll (all existing abilities) and also wand, potion, oil/salve, anything else requiring a standard (all new abilities), plus if ever a new type of standard action is introduced, you can do that too.
I think it also needs a good deal of clarification as to how it works with hand slot items.
For instance, is it:
Start with instrument in hand:
Standard: bardsong + attack
Free: must be expended to get weapons in hand
End with weapons in hand
Or is it:
Start with instrument in hand:
Standard: bardsong + attack without having to equip hand slots with weapons
Free: anything you want
End with instrument in hand, or something else if you used your free to swap
Token specific interactions:
Can you: perform bardsong, read two scrolls with lenses of sage speed, and end with instrument in hand.
Can you: perform bardsong, make a ranged attack with a two handed bow, switch into shield of the scholar, read a scroll with shield of the scholars ability, and end with instrument in hand?
Can you: perform bardsong, cast a spell from the card, shoot a wand with mystic mouth, and end with instrument in hand?