No, said Aziraphale, it's ineffable.

geeko-sapiens asked:

Hey, I have a request: could you list some mythological shields for me? So far, all I can think of is Svalinn (the Norse shield that keeps the sun from burning up the Earth) and Aegis. I'm trying to come up with shield names for a project, but I'm stuck.

Hmm, in my experirence offensive weaponry is more likely to be Named than shields. There are plenty of important shields, but they rarely get a name other than Shield of God/Warrior’s Name.

This is all I could find:

Wynebgwrthucher, King Arthur’s shield, in 11th century text. (Welsh)
Pridwen, another name given to the shield of King Arthur, in 12th century text, decorated with the image of the blessed Mary. (Welsh)
Aegis, Zeus’ shield, capable of roaring like a crowd of dragons, also used by Athena and Perseus. (Greek)
Dubán, the shield of Cú Chulainn, made by Mac Endge, with a unique engraving. (Irish)
Ancile, the sacred shield of the Roman god Mars, which fell from heaven with the prophecy that Rome would me powerful as long as the shield was preserved. Eleven copies were made, the ancilia, to help hide the original. (Roman)
Svalinn, a shield which stands before the sun and protects Earth from burning. (Norse)

I’ve also seen Srivatsa, Jaivardhan and Khetaka mentioned as the shields of various deities in Hindu tradition, but they seem to be symbols of protection rather than physical shields?

Is It Balanced? A Look at D&D Homebrew Races Episode 1: Fishmen (One Piece)

martyslittleusedblog

https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Fish_Men_(5e_Race)

Today, we will be using the Detect Balance Scale (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vq1kz6PRAbw5LHy6amH-bNb4OuB8DBXL1RsZROt03Sc) to determine if the Fish Men homebrew race is balanced, and if it isn’t, what changes we can make to fix it. If it goes over 30, it’s definitely overpowered, and if it goes under 20, it’s certainly underpowered. The recommended range the points should be in is 24-27, so if necessary, we’ll try to adjust for that with adjustments that would make sense for the race/subrace.

Now, let’s get started with the base Fish-Man traits (that matter to the Scale):

Ability Score Increase. Your ability scores depend on your subrace.
Size. Fish-men generally have the same sizes as humans, if not a bit wider and taller. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. You have a swimming speed of 30 feet.
Amphibious. You can breathe both air and water.
Conductivity. You are resistant to cold damage. However, you have disadvantage in saving throws against lightning damage.
Languages. You speak, read, and write in Common and Aquan.
Ability Score Increase. Your ability scores depend on your subrace.
Size. Fish-men generally have the same sizes as humans, if not a bit wider and taller. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. You have a swimming speed of 30 feet.
Amphibious. You can breathe both air and water.
Conductivity. You are resistant to cold damage. However, you have disadvantage in saving throws against lightning damage.
Languages. You speak, read, and write in Common and Aquan.

Now, the latter half of Conductivity’s description has me a bit stumped. There is nothing on the Detect Balance Scale about disadvantage on saving throws against types of damage. We’ll get back to that, but for now, let’s look at the subtypes, starting with Carcharodon (the shark-folk).

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2. Your Dexterity or Constitution score increases by 1.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Natural Predator. You have advantage in Wisdom (Survival) checks underwater to track creatures whose current hit points are below their hit point maximum that bleed.
Bite. Your great teeth are excellent natural weapons to make unarmed strikes with. If you hit with it, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.

Here’s another issue: You have a choice of ASI +1, but you can only pick between the two. Does it count as a choice if your choices are so limited? We’ll have to account for that…

According to the Detect Balance Scale:

ASI +2 = 8 points

Choice of ASI +1 = 5 points

30 ft Swim Speed = 2

Amphibious = 2

One Medium Resistance (cold) = 3

Darkvision 60 = 3

Advantage on a situational roll (see Natural Predator) = 2

1d6 natural weapon = 2

Total: 27

Excellent! It’s within the accepted range! …But wait. What about the disadvantage on saving throws against lightning damage? Should we count that? If so, should we treat it as a vulnerability? If so, we’d need to subtract 16 points, as the Scale considers lightning to be a medium vulnerability. If that’s the case, the total would then be 11, which would be very underpowered.

Well, let’s move on to the Aquaeneodon subrace (the common fish-folk).

Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1, and any one other ability score of your choice increases by 2
Ocean Artisans. You are proficient in one tool, instrument, or gaming set of your choice.
Able Fighter. You are proficient with tridents and spears.

Another unusual problem: The choice of an ASI by 2 instead of one. That is potentially a problem, but I can’t say for certain, because the Scale doesn’t say anything about that. Let’s see… ASI +1 = 4, while Choice of ASI +1 = 5. …I s'pose for the sake of this, we should apply the same logic to ASI +2, which is 8. This would mean that if you have a choice of ASI +2, that would be worth 9. Let’s go with that.

As well, you are given proficiency with two types of weapons, but on the Scale, the description they have next to Weapon Training simply says “for 3 or 4 weapons”. I’m not sure what that means; does it mean what it sounds like or should I be careful not to jump to conclusions?

ASI +1 = 4

Choice of ASI +2 = 9

Tool (or choice thereof) Proficiency = 1

Weapon Training = 2?

30 ft Swim Speed = 2

Amphibious = 2

One Medium Resistance (cold) = 3

Total: 20

Well, it’s not TOO underpowered, unless you want it to be within the Recommended range. Hmm… Maybe the Aquaeneodon should ALSO have Darkvision 60 ft. That would add 3 points to the score, making 23. We’re almost there! We could also exchange the proficiency with tridents and spears for 2 Martial Weapons of Choice, adding one more point to the score. The result: 24.

Next up, the Cetacea (whale-folk, nevermind that whales are not technically fish).

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1, and your Wisdom score increases by 2.
Bulky. You count as one size larger when determining how much you can carry, and how much you can push, drag, or lift.
Thick Skin. While unarmored, your Armor Class is equal to 12 + your Dexterity modifier. You may use a shield and still gain this benefit.

ASI +1 = 4

ASI +2 = 8

Powerful Build (Bulky) = 2

12+Dex Natural Armor = 1 (Would the ability to use a shield and still gain the benefit change this?)

30 ft Swim Speed = 2

Amphibious = 2

One Medium Resistance (cold) = 3

Total: 22

Again, not TOO underpowered if you don’t mind that it’s outside of the Recommended range. But if you do, maybe the Cetacea should ALSO have Darkvision 60 ft. (I’m sensing a pattern…) That would bring the score to 25. There!

Finally, the Octopada (octopus-folk).

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2, and your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Ink Jet (wasn’t given a name on the original site): As an action, you may attempt to blind a creature within 10 feet of you by shooting black ink at them.
Tentacles. To properly wield weapons as you might with regular hands, you need to use at least two tentacles to hold weapons and shields. So, to wield two-handed weapons, you need to use four of your six tentacles. Due to the weight it would put on your boneless body, you cannot wield a two-handed weapon and shield simultaneously. Individually, your tentacles can interact with objects through simple actions like opening doors and jars, or carrying weights of up to 10 pounds each, but they cannot attack or use weapons or shields.

The previously unnamed feature that uses ink was initially in the Darkvision description, which seems to have been a mistake. Anyway, this feature is quite interesting; I don’t think there are any spells or the like that have the same properties, but there you go.

As for the Tentacles feature…I don’t know. As far as I can tell, there is nothing on the scale mentioning anything like it. Nothing about dual-wielding weapons, anyway.

ASI +2 = 8

ASI +1 = 4

Darkvision 60 = 3

30 ft Swim Speed = 2

Amphibious = 2

One Medium Resistance (cold) = 3

Total: 22

Yet again, not TOO underpowered, but not within the recommended range, either. I’m not sure how to approach this one, however, because I still don’t know whether the Tentacles feature is underpowered or overpowered, and thus, the above score may not even be accurate.

But what do you all think? Lemme know in the comments below, and if any of these subraces seem appealing to play as, see if your DM’s cool with it (preferably with the aforementioned adjustments made). If they are, then get out there and show the baddies some Fish-Man Karate!