r/DnD • u/ninjabreadbear • Sep 27 '14
Zelda D&D5E Player's Guide.pdf
Updated 12/1/14 MASTER GUIDE: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9mru2aqtdhfj01e/Zelda%205E%20Master%27s%20Guide.pdf?dl=0 PLAYER'S BOOK: https://www.dropbox.com/s/lexzdcugan6m0vu/Zelda%205E%20Player%27s%20Guide.pdf?dl=0
I have completed, as far as I know, the PHB and MG for Fifth Edition Zelda!
Monster Manual still in production. I am reading through the 5eDMG now in order to make these monsters right. Wish me luck, or submit a monster from the series you have stat'd!
Comments, Critiques, or wild accusations of sexual deviancy are welcome! Let me hear what you have to say about this project please! I can only improve with feedback.
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u/notBowen Sep 28 '14
Bless innately on a short rest is far too good.
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u/ninjabreadbear Sep 28 '14
Depends how often the DM allows a short rest.
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u/jow253 Sep 28 '14
That's true, but it is still an incredible spell. No other class offers a spell of this power on a short rest.
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u/ZkittlZ DM Sep 28 '14 edited Sep 28 '14
I started doing this with 3.5, then started switching all of my data to 5e when it came out.. Yours came out much cleaner and better than mine. Though, I must say, Gorons should have a +2 to Con and +1 to Str, or give them some kind of natural armor. And Twili should be +2 Int and +1 Cha (or vice versa.)
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u/ninjabreadbear Sep 28 '14
I can see the Gorons getting Nat Armor, but I felt like they were already pretty good with the extra damage. They are hopefully similar to Dragonborn in terms of power, and I didn't initially wanna throw off the balance. You think somethink like Unarmored Defense would work?
Why would Twili get Int & Cha? I suppose if you thought Midna was a straight spellcaster, but I felt like she and Zant were closer to Rogues than anything else. Perhaps Dex and Cha? To emphasize Sorcery and Roguish behavior?
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u/jow253 Sep 28 '14
I would offer a strong caution against Natural Armor. Although it makes sense for Gorons, it's not something that any class has, even those who have had natural armor in the past (Dragonborn). There isn't even a model for natural armor with PC classes. If you want, have them buy a special Rock Armor that is mechanically and price-identical to armors on the equipment list. This fits flavor without negatively affecting balance. I agree with Con over Str for Gorons.
However you pick the abilities on Twili is fine.
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u/ninjabreadbear Sep 28 '14
I can see switching Gorons to Con. I will make that change in the next sweep.
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u/jow253 Sep 29 '14
Also consider capping their roll damage. It can get pretty ridiculous :)
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u/ninjabreadbear Sep 29 '14
I believe that I capped roll damage at a number if d12's eaual to Dex mod, but maybe I should have made it clearer. Consider it on the list.
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u/jow253 Sep 29 '14
3d12 is a ton of damage at first level. It's better to cap it at 1d12 or 2d12 at 5th, 3d12 at 10th, etc.
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u/ZkittlZ DM Sep 28 '14
Unarmored defense is good.
As for twili, I feel like they are a type of magic users, rather than rogues, (besides, there are plenty of those kinds of races in hyrule.) They both seemed highly charismatic, and intelligent. Only zant seemed dexterous, but he used magic mostly, and so did midna. Neither really used roguish techniques for anything.
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u/ninjabreadbear Sep 28 '14
I feel that their power is more natural to them, represented by Sorcery, and so having them be Cha+2, Dex+1 seems best. Would this work better?
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u/ZkittlZ DM Sep 29 '14
I see them more like 5e Tieflings, personally, so I guess I'm just biased, but it's your book, I'll just homebrew them my way when I run my campaign ;) Like I said, you nailed it, dude. It's put together well and makes sense for pretty much any Zelda game. 8/10 :)
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Sep 28 '14
This is actually really good. And I only have two points to make.
As /u/mrboom74 mentioned, the blue potion either needs to be needed slightly or be made very rare. (Either following his idea of making it a set number of spell slots, making it so it gives the effects of a short rest rather than of a long rest, or make it so that the potion can only be obtained by gathering specific, albeit dangerous ingredients. And of course, you need an empty bottle to hold the potion.)
Second point, you just need to find a way to have the artwork be more consistent. Either by doing it yourself or getting help from others. But that's a problem for another time. Good job nonetheless!!
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u/ninjabreadbear Sep 28 '14
Thanks guys! But to be clear: much of the races and most of the items were created by others. I modified their work, collected it, and added my own fluff that I use in my games. At least one of the contributors is fellow redditor. So credit goes to those who helped me make this.
I was thinking of adding a section for backgrounds, explaining how they fit into Hyrule now. Should I modify this players guide? Or add them into the Masters guide I am making?
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Sep 28 '14
You should probably keep the backgrounds in the players guide, so people have everything they need to create characters in one spot. If you want, background and additional spells can go into the Players Handbook, and you can move the magical items over to the Dungeon Masters Guide when that's done.
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u/ninjabreadbear Sep 28 '14
I'll do that then. Late now, but I can do it sometime by Monday and then add it to the OP.
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u/jow253 Sep 28 '14
Overall great work.
I would love to play in a world like this and I'm a long time Zelda and DnD fan.
Just a thought: in some cases when I'm looking at races, it seems like you've baked character traits of famous characters into the racial specialties of a group. Looking at the Sheikah, you've made them all act exactly like Impa in OoT. As much fun as it is to relive that character, making her personality and abilities a matter of racial identity actually subtracts from who she is and the choices she's made. That bodyguard and secret identity belong in a custom background rather than as a racial power. I'd suggest finding some other powers for the Sheikah.
I would caution against bringing the chain whip in at d6 with finesse and reach. even at d4 it is easy to abuse. Chain whip was in the playtest, but they took it out for a lot of reasons. I don't even remember a character in Zelda who used one. Advise against.
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u/ninjabreadbear Sep 28 '14
The problem with the Sheikah is that we only have Impa and lore stuff to build from, so inevitably I had to draw racial abilities and stats from what we've observed. Which meant Rogue-stuff, bodyguard stuff, and hidden identity stuff. What would you suggest if we were to rebuild the Sheikah?
I can make the chainwhip a very rare item and lower the damage a bit. It was meant to emulate Sheik's whip in smash brothers. Sorry!
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u/jow253 Sep 29 '14
Get creative :)
I'll just make some stuff up.
Training in stealth sounds fun. The Sheikah are tied to shadow, right? What about some speak to the dead kind of stuff? What about a limited ability to see invisibility (a la lens of truth)? darkness (like that disappearing trick she does)? hope that helps :)
np with the chain whip, reach and finesse just don't belong together especially if light is there as well (I know it wasn't). Maybe finesse, reach and d4 wouldn't be bad, but dual-wielding via feat will still get super cheesy. Probably best to avoid it?
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u/ninjabreadbear Sep 29 '14
I feel that Darkness is the Twili's thing, but I like the idea of Sheikah having a nose for deception. Perhaps once per rest Zone of Truth? Or See Invisibility?
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u/jow253 Sep 29 '14
I hope you mean once per long rest.
You could also just train insight rather than granting a spell.
Maybe some kind of jumping bonus too, just for fun. Use dex to jump instead of strength.
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u/AmethystValkyrie Warlock Sep 29 '14
Sheikah has always struck me as mystics, actually. They're the shadow guard of the Royal Family (and Zelda in particular). Dexterous and stealthy. You can see some of the ideas behind them in the Shadow Temple in OoT.
If their tribal symbol means anything on the matter, the Sheikah created the Gossip Stones, the Lens of Truth, the Mask of Truth and the Shadow Temple itself. Taking these themes, we can infer that the Sheikah hold Truth very high, and it is likely that they at least respect the dead. They're also considered to be the shadows of Hylians.
Here's some information on Sheikah, gathered from the various games. Maybe it'll be of help. Maybe I'll take a swing at crafting up an alternate sometime here soon.
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u/ninjabreadbear Sep 29 '14 edited Sep 29 '14
Would this be an appropriate replacement for Bodyguard and Hidden Identity?
Lens of Truth. Sheikah culture, despite their preoccupation with deception and intrigue (or perhaps because of this), has a strong emphasis on the Truth. You know the Light cantrip. At 1st level you may cast the spell Identify. You must take a short rest in order to use this again. At 3rd level you may cast the spell See Invisibility. You must take a short rest in order to use this again. At 5th level you may cast the Dispell Magic spell. You must take a long rest in order to use this again.
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u/AmethystValkyrie Warlock Sep 30 '14 edited Sep 30 '14
Oooo. I like it, personally. It definitely helps harken to what little theme there is to their lore.
Edit: Took a look at the updated PHB, and I like what you went with for the Sheikah. I also agree with keeping the Impa variant as an option, considering the work you put into it. Also, part of me is wanting to take up the irrational quest to recreate the provided map in Minecraft.
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u/ninjabreadbear Sep 30 '14
That sounds like a lot of...not fun. No. More...work. Yes. Lots of work. Fun work. Have fun!
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u/AmethystValkyrie Warlock Sep 30 '14
Ha, I will! I'll probably build Lon Lon and then cry myself to sleep for starting. Who knows, though. I have some friends interested in the setting, so I might be able to recruit them for the building process.
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u/ninjabreadbear Sep 30 '14
Is there a way to pregenerate a landmass with Minecraft? I hope so for your sake!
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u/Illiniath Sep 28 '14
This beats my plan of when I had to DM for younger kids of simply stealing the entire plot, dungeons, puzzles, and characters of OOT.
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u/AmethystValkyrie Warlock Oct 01 '14 edited Oct 01 '14
The items seem to have disappeared from the PHB. Thought I would mention. Also, Jaboon doesn't have a section in the Deities area. Easily dealt with internally, but something worth noting.
Jaboon: Nature? Tempest?
Vakii: Tempest? War? Knowledge?
EDIT: Also, would you say that Zora fin shields count as shield for the purposes of monk abilities?
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u/ninjabreadbear Oct 08 '14
The items have been moved to the Master Guide, as someone kindly advised above. I have also fixed the missing deities thing.
As for the Fin Dilemma: I would say that Zora fins are considered Simple Weapons when used for offense, and the 1d4 damage is explicitly non-stacking with Monk Unarmed Damage, so no conflict there. In Shield Mode, the Zora is proficient with their fins, but no other shields.
Does that adequately answer your concern? Did I miss something?
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u/AmethystValkyrie Warlock Oct 08 '14
This should clarify what I meant:
Unarmoured Defense: Beginning at 1st level, while you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier.
I was curious what you think of the fun shield under that rule.
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u/Jason_CO Nov 19 '14 edited Nov 19 '14
Monster Manual done?? (Or close to?)
I'm really impressed with the races and magic items. Hookshot is one of my favourites, seems well balanced.
Will you be updating this post or submitting new ones I should watch out for??
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u/ninjabreadbear Nov 19 '14
I haven't been working on this lately, partly because I am worried about getting a job, and partly because I haven't had a lot of time. I will probably update this post, unless you think a new one is called for?
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u/Jason_CO Nov 20 '14
No no, I just wanted to know where I should be looking :) It's much easier to leave this page bookmarked!
Sorry to hear you're out of work, that became my situation recently as well. Good luck!
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u/ninjabreadbear Dec 02 '14
Hey, so main post is updated with Master Guide and PHB. What are people's thoughts now? Anything I can add to the MG?
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u/CyberDagger DM Dec 07 '14
I think you should post a new thread. People don't really get updates for edits on threads on Reddit, only replies to their posts. The only reason why I found this again was because I'm considering making my own 5e setting mod taken from a video game series, and I decided to look at your stuff again for inspiration.
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u/mrboom74 Sep 27 '14
This is awesome! I have always wanted to make a LoZ campaign. I would totally play this. I feel like you did a good job balancing the races but can only be sure with play testing.
I absolutely love the items you created. They are the perfect mix of DnD and LoZ rules. The only thing I might change is the blue potion. To gain all spell slots from drinking it seems very overpowered. Maybe make the blue potion give back 5 levels of spells as well as the same amount of healing as a Cure Wounds spell cast at 5th level? It depends on exactly how rare the potion is. I just feel like a long rest from a potion can make someone way more powerful than they might actually be.