the Ranged skill! i didnt wanna make this one until i was even able to wear dragon hide armor in old school runescape, but ever since that beautiful beautiful BEAUTIFUL gem crab update i went from 25 ranged to a whopping 66 while playing baldurs gate hahaa
i was gonna use blue dragon hide, but the equivalent in level to rune armor which is what ive been using for everything else is green d'hide armor, hope you like it!
full resolutions, and exclusives over at my patreon!
Alt Hands: Crocodileskin Armguards of Healing/Aiming (aiming version should swap dyes)
Earring: Pearl Earrings
Neck: Dravanian Choker of Casting
Wrists: The Emperor's New Bracelet
Right Ring: The Emperor's New Ring
Left Ring: The Emperor's New Ring
Main Hand: Figment of Teatimes Past - pastel purple / pumpkin orange
Off Hand: --
{Something that has been on my mind for a long while now, since I've been playing between North American and Japanese servers of FFXIV. I often escape to my Japan alt due to the behaviors I witness and experience in North American servers that render me quite uncomfortable, and I want to address it.}
(Please bear in mind that this is NOT ALL of the community, but still quite heartbreaking I feel this way about the North American players as of recent.)
Tanks - Do not assume ever that your healers can take big pulls. This does not make them "weak" or have a "skill issue" as many English deem it. No, this means the healer is either still learning, or has a limit to how much they can take. You must be mindful on how much your healer is able to do, and be lenient on them rather than scolding them and calling them "bad healer". Because, the fault is not the healer for failing to heal, the fault is the tank for being ignorant and inconsiderate of their healer's limitations.
Healers - Do not ever run ahead, or pull for your tanks, that is a one-way trip to finding yourself in trouble. If your tank is "not pulling enough" that is not the tank's issue, it is your issue. A tank pulls however much they feel they can handle, your job is to adjust or request lighter pulls if the pull itself is too much for you. If you are unsatisfied with the pull, don't be a healer and jeopardize yourself and the entire party.
DPS - Same as healer; do not run ahead or pull for your tanks. Do not take over for the tank if they are not doing justice in your satisfaction. You are a damage dealer, you do not have the proper mitigations and are second-rate to a tank if you are melee/physical ranged DPS. Do not make your healers work twice or thrice as hard because of your recklessness and impatience on completing a duty. Magical ranged DPS are just as guilty of these, their damage ratio is greater, but it does not earn them the right to pull for their tanks.
Teamwork, respect, and patience is everything, having an elitist mindset and comparing apples to oranges, is the worst way to go about playing FFXIV. Even if you migrated from another MMO, FFXIV is NOT the same as your other MMO. Stop turning every little thing into an issue.
today on Grailfinders, weâre finally getting the hell out of lostbelt six! weâve just got one more faerie to go and weâre free until summer finally kills us. all we need to do is Habetrot, so letâs take a look at her kit, probably just another sewing servantâŚ.
huh.
wow, I just spoiled so much of this lostbelt for myself! everything past this point is going under a cut.
so! Habetrot! sheâs going to be an Ancients Paladin to literally be an ancient paladin (as well as to sew some sick wedding dresses), and sheâs also a Witherbloom Warlock because literally no one in this lostbelt can keep their hands off weapons that will kill them. realistically she should be a hexblade, but a) we literally just did a hexadin, and b) the black barrel strikes me less as a sentient weapon and more as just. a giant ball of radioactivity.
so with that out of the way, letâs get building!
(as usual, a character sheet can be found here, and next up: sword baby)
Ancestry and Background
Habetrot is obviously a Fairy, unless you spell it correctly, then sheâs a Faerie. who has Fairy Magic including Faerie Fire at third level. make it make sense. that makes the creatures in an area glowy if they fail a save, giving everyone else advantage to hit them, itâs a big boost to your crit star generation. off the bat though you have access to the Druidcraft cantrip, which is a more themed prestidigitation, just a billion tiny effects rolled into a single spell. and at level five you can Enlarge/Reduce creatures, and if you grow larger you can hit harder than usual, because a person-sized baby hits harder than a person-sized person. you can also shrink, but then you deal less damage with melee attacks. your faerie fire and enlarge/reduce share a single free cast per day, but you can also cast them (using your Charisma) with your existing spell slots. you can also fly, which makes your dirigible kind of pointless but weâll get it anyway.
oh right, almost forgot. as a faerie you have free reign over your ability increases, but I picked +2 Dexterity and +1 Charisma here.
while I could use Habetrotâs waybackground, Iâll keep things kind of recent and call her a Guild Artisan. that gives her proficiency in Insight and Persuasion, and also means she has to pay regular dues to her guild boss. Boggart runs a tight ship, better not be late.
Ability Scores
Boggart hasnât eaten you yet for some reason, so I bet your Charisma is super high. that and your Dexterity. balancing on a giant balloon is hard, and youâre also a crack shot with a gun. we have to make your Strength the third highest for multiclassing, but if you can convince your DM to ignore this you should dump it instead. she is literally a baby. physically, anyway. that being said your Constitution is still above average, babies can bounce back from just about anything. that means your Wisdom and Intelligence are low, having trouble learning things was your defining trait for quite a while.
Class Levels
1. Paladin 1: I promise this will make sense in the long run, just go with me here. starting off youâre good at Wisdom and Charisma saves, because magic doesnât work on faeries that well. youâre also good at Medicine, itâs kind of like how Carpenters also used to be Surgeons, and youâve got Religion down pat. the closest thing to a god in this land is rotting in a pit. there, thatâs religion. you still know more than most people, tbh.
you can use Divine Sense to detect a couple types of creatures around you, but uh, spoiler alert! theyâre faeries. theyâre all faeries, youâre surrounded by faeries for thousands of years.
you can also Lay on Hands as an action, mending someoneâs dress to give them some HP. you have a pool of five times your level each day to use, and spending five HP can heal someone from a poison or disease. when you say debuff immunity, you mean it.
2. Paladin 2: second level paladins can pick a Fighting Style, and youâre not really into fighting that much, so I guess youâre a Blessed Warrior. with this you can pick up two cleric cantrips of your choice and can even swap them out on level-ups, though for my money thereâs only two we need. grab Thaumaturgy for the second of the three âdo what you wantâ cantrips, and Mending, because making a character whose entire thing is sewing without the ability to mend would be a crime.
while weâre talking about Spells, you can cast those now. you get some spell slots, and your Charisma powers them. Iâd grab Cure Wounds for your first skill, and Ceremony so you can finally find a use for all these stupid dresses you keep making since nobody actually gets married in britain. if they refuse to marry, you will make them marry. and get a +2 bonus to their AC for a week to boot!
you can also add a Divine Smite to a melee attack by spending a spell slot, but you donât really use melee weapons. the only smite that doesnât care what weapon you use is Branding Smite, and we wonât get that until fifth level. stay strong, habbe.
3. Paladin 3: but enough doom and gloom, letâs talk subclasses! as an Oath of Ancients paladin, you have an extended spell list, which now includes Ensnaring Strike to tie up an enemy with sewing supplies, or Speak with Animals to speak with animals. fey animals seem to be able to talk anyway, but still.
you can also Channel Divinity once a short rest in one of two flavors. you can spend an action to incur Natureâs Wrath on a foe, forcing a strength or dexterity save or they become restrained by vines I mean thread. you can also Turn the Faithless as an action, forcing every fey/fiend in thirty feet of you to make a⌠Wisdom save, or they become turned for a minute and have to run away from you.
you are a fey. huh.
this is the closest I could get to the downside of Habetrotâs third skill, WotC still isnât big on players hurting themselves, even if they canât get enough of shooting themselves in the foot.
4. Paladin 4: use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Dexterity. if you have to pick up a weapon, you might as well be decent at it.
5. Paladin 5: fifth level paladins get an Extra Attack each attack action, as well as second level spells! as mentioned, Branding Smite is the only smite you get that is okay with ranged weapons, and it adds an effect to the enemy for up to a minute if it hits, preventing them from going invisible- kind of like faerie fire, in a way!
in a similar vein, your oath spell Moonbeam deals extra damage to shapechangers, and Misty Step is just a good utility spell to have. if youâre in a bad situation, stop being there.
you can also buff up your friendsâ dresses with Aid to give them extra HP for the day, or you can Find Steed to get a balloon to ride on. it canât fly yet, so I guess weâre still trying to find some helium.
6. Paladin 6: sixth level paladins exude an Aura of Protection, adding your charisma modifier to all saves you or nearby friends make, no limitations (aside from you being conscious). when you said debuff immunity, you meant it.
7. Paladin 7: seventh level ancient paladins finally get something that is 100% unequivocally useful- the Aura of Warding. you and all your nearby friends have resistance to spell magic. thereâs a reason nobody in britain uses magecraft.
8. Paladin 8: I think weâre late enough in the build to break out the serious spoilers now. use this ASI to pick up the Squire of Solamnia feat and become one of Aesc/Tonelicoâs most trusted knights. now you can mount or dismount for only five feet of movement, and you can make a Precise Strike when you attack with any kind of weapon, giving yourself advantage plus an extra d8 of damage. you can do this proficiency times per day, once per turn, though you only burn through uses if the attack actually hits.
9. Paladin 9: ninth level paladins donât get much, but they do get third level spells! your freebies are Plant Growth and Protection from Energy, but Iâd say your best fit atm is Crusaderâs Mantle. it might not be crit stars, but it will make everyoneâs weapons a lot shinier as they do radiant damage. this also works on ranged weapons, yay!
10. Paladin 10: if thatâs not enough auras, hereâs one more! with the Aura of Courage, you and nearby allies never have to worry about being frightened! I know, Morganâs scary, but it wonât help any if her allies get frightened too!
11. Warlock 1: weâve covered Morganâs fall from⌠errr, âgraceâ doesnât quite sound right, plus she actually became queen, so itâs more of a rise⌠whatever. sheâs queen now, youâre hanging out with boggart when this pretty young thing walks in with a god-killing weapon on her back. itâd be best if you take that off her hands, right?
obviously the âbestâ fit for this would be making it a Hexblade patron, but we just did that and itâs not sentient, so weâll make do with Witherbloom. starting at level one you learn some Pact Magic, a separate set of spell slots you can cast using your Charisma. thereâs not a lot of them, but they recharge on short rests!
right now you can cast Eldritch Blast for a quick burst fire, Prestidigitation to fulfill our âdo anythingâ cantrip trio, and you can either Hex an enemy to further empower the black barrel against them or craft an Armor of Agathys to make a protective gown out of ice for a lucky maiden. oh this spellâs actually just for you. you look nice in it though, and weâll get something else later.
you also get an extended spell list of Witherbloom Spells, including Spare the Dying and Cure Wounds for more dress patching. you also get Inflict Wounds, which both feels out of character and also is a melee attack.
of course the real reason weâre going to college is for Witherbloomâs Essence Tap. as a bonus action up to proficiency times per day, you can empower yourself in one of two ways for up to a minute. Overgrowth is nice, letting you spend your bonus actions healing yourself by spending hit dice, but weâre here to make a black barrel, and for that we need to make Withering Strikes. when you deal any kind of damage, you can turn it into necrotic damage while ignoring the typical resistances.
12. Warlock 2: at second level you get two Eldritch Invocations to help make your warlock levels tailor-made to your needs. weâre saving one for next level as usual, but pick up Armor of Shadows now for free mage armor⌠also on yourself though. darn. the warlock spell list is a little greedy, huh? Charm Person is nice though. that oneâs barely magic, youâre just personable.
13. Warlock 3: at level three weâre taking the Pact of the Blade to make an Improved Pact Weapon. I would love to give you the heavy crossbow option for the black barrel, but sadly youâre too small and babyish for DND to let you use the big guns. so instead, you can spend an action to summon a light crossbow of any design you wish to your hand. it gets +1 to all attacks and damage rolls, deals magical damage, and can be used to cast your warlock spells. you can also turn magic weapons into your pact weapon if you like, so if you come across a real black barrel mid-adventure feel free to scoop it up.
speaking of spells though, you get plenty. as a witherbloom student you get Lesser Restoration and Ray of Enfeeblement for free, so⌠I guess giving an enemy weaker attacks is kind of like giving your friends defense buffs? weâre also stretching by grabbing Earthbind, helping you tie flying enemies to the ground with your sewing equipment.
14. Warlock 4: at fourth level you can bump up your Charisma with an ASI for stronger spells and auras. if your balloon is light enough, maybe Mage Hand will help it fly? if not, wait until next level. also, probably use Invisibility to stay safe in the meantime. it would be terrible to die right before a build comes together.
15. Warlock 5: at fifth level warlocks get third level spells. Fly will finally help your balloon leave the ground, while Revivify and Vampiric Touch⌠are free.
the real reason we stuck around this long was for the invocation Eldritch Smite, which finally lets your black barrel do the kind of damage youâd expect. itâs similar to divine smites, but they can only use warlock slots, deal force damage instead of radiant, and they knock stuff over instead of dealing extra damage to zombies.
16. Paladin 11: I donât think thatâs enough pain though. with Improved Divine Smite all your weapon attacks deal an extra 1d8 radiant damage! all your⌠melee⌠attacks. dammit, not again.
17. Paladin 12: okay, okay, we can save this. we just need to make a gun that can kill a god no matter what their health is in four levels. Iâve got it. Use this last ASI to pick up Metamagic Adept for two sorcery points and two kinds of metamagic you can use. weâre here for Distant spell to make your gun have some proper range, but Careful is nice too. I donât think you have many AoE spells, it just feels in character.
18. Paladin 13: youâve finally got fourth level spells, congrats! Ice Storm and Stoneskin are nice, but weâre here for two things. Find Greater Steed will give you a flying mount so you can finally stop wasting concentration on a balloon, and Banishment will help you kill gods.
well, not so much kill is permanently relocate them back to their home planes, but tomato tomatl. you can also use this on creatures from the plane youâre already on, but thatâll only banish them for a good minute.
19. Paladin 14: you can now use your Cleansing Touch as an action charisma modifier times a day, ending one spell on you or a willing creature. there is a reason. faeries donât use magecraft.
20. Paladin 15: our final level of ancients paladin turned you into an Undying Sentinel. when you drop to 0 HP without dying you can drop to 1 instead once a day. youâre Mashâs guardian faerie, after all.
also, you donât suffer the drawbacks of old age and canât be magically aged. I donât think faeries really have a ânaturalâ lifespan, but if they did youâve long since exceeded it.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
thereâs a dearth of enemies in D&D with ranged options, so being a ranged fighter is always a smart move. a smarter move is being a ranged fighter who can fly. and you excel at that, with plenty of cool ways to pump out damage from a distance and keep even the winged bastards you have to fight from ever getting close. being able to ignore a semi-common resistance doesnât hurt either.
you also come packing a ton of support options thanks to your auras and healing spells basically nullifying most-if not all- magical effects on your party, up to and including magical damage.
as a paladin faerie youâve got plenty of tools in your kit for dealing with fae, demons, and undead, who tend to be the biggest troublemakers in the forgotten realms.
Cons:
while you have plenty of damage options, the best are reserved for melee paladins, which you arenât. unless you risk getting close, you straight-up cannot use divine smite, improved divine smite, turn the faithless, or inflict wounds.
speaking of your support, guess how much of that requires you to be right next to your party! just about all of it, thatâs right! having a gun is fun, but actually using it hampers both your offense and defense.
your highest level spell slot is fourth level. Find Greater Steed is cool and all, but is it really worth your highest spell slot? none of these creatures have more than 60 hp, so they will last at best a round or two in a fight. the biggest benefit of greater steeds are their ability to fly, but you can already do that.
So, I posted this a long while ago on my patreon, but felt it was time to share it here.
Iâve seen a lot of supplemental weapon posts, and figured I should throw my hat into the ring. I love weapons with special effects that arenât necessarily magic, and felt 5e just didnât have quite enough variety. Especially with ranged weapons. Most of these were translated from 3.5 or 4e, but some I did the footwork on myself. Either way, enjoy!
PDF Version:Â https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/0_eQ8Unw5
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