Need some advice on when a caster has to become a fighter [5e]

[Divinity13]

So, I recently had a game for a campaign that has been going on for a while now. We are level 6, and my character is a Celestial warlock. I've had a bit of bad luck through the campaign, 2 cursed weapons across the length of about 3 sessions, and using a bag of beans to summon a mummy lord with the first one i threw out. The first wasn't too bad, just lost the ability to use my right hand for a while. Now however, I've acquired a long sword... a sword of vengeance. I kept thinking eventually I'd find someone to teach me how to use the sword, but then, after attuning to it, the curse took affect. I had no idea at the time what the sword was, even though another party member used Identify on it ( it was most likely because of the wording of the spell, my DM is a bit of a **** like that.) Having disadvantage on all weapon attacks isn't such a bad thing as i don't use melee all that often. However, my DM said it is going to be effecting my spells as well. Woo... :smallannoyed:

So, here is where I'm at. With the curse making my character unwilling to part with it, I can't exactly go, hey can someone cast banishment on this thing and help me out. So I've got a warlock with 10 strength and 13 AC wielding a long sword which he has no proficiency with while having disadvantage with my spells as well.

I have 2 ideas of how I should go about this as my character.
1. Start working on that strength, and commit to just using it and hex and to help me out and go into fighter.
2. Cheese the heck out of the situation and only use saving-throw spells and the like.

If anyone has any suggestions as to what I should do, please tell me. I enjoy the character I've made, and I would hate the end of him being that he has to use a weapon he has no way of wielding usefully.

Also, please keep this in mind. Our group tends to avoid min-maxing and stuff like that, but I would like to hear peoples suggestions for both the mechanic and role-playing sides of things.

[hymer]

I can't exactly go, hey can someone cast banishment on this thing and help me out.
It makes no sense for your character to do this, but you saying something along these lines to another player is a different matter. They should be aware of what is going on, and can act against the curse. Remove Curse is also an option.


1. Start working on that strength, and commit to just using it and hex and to help me out and go into fighter.
This sounds desperate. It would take enormous character resources over an incredibly long span of time. And it does not get rid of the disadvantage, if you should find something stronger than +1 longsword, or, you know, want to use a core element of your class like spells that use attack rolls.


2. Cheese the heck out of the situation and only use saving-throw spells and the like.
I for one would not call that cheese. Your PC should soon find out the inherent disadvantages (no pun intended) of this weapon, and of course work with or around them as best he can. That would include using spells that work at normal efficiency.


If anyone has any suggestions as to what I should do, please tell me. I enjoy the character I've made, and I would hate the end of him being that he has to use a weapon he has no way of wielding usefully.
You need to speak to your DM, and find out what they expect you to do. You also need to point out that this is taking fun out of the game for you, and ask if there will soon be a way to get rid of this cursed thing.

[ThePlanarDM]

Armor of Agathys and Blade Ward.

Or enjoy the temporary terribleness of how bad your character is. Play it up. Accuse other characters of being jealous of the sword and distracting you in combat. Make it clear that you are obssessed with the sword. In short, put them in a situation where they really want to help you find a way to get rid of it. This will also be fun, and setup good roleplay when you're no longer cursed.

[Jay R]

Using Polymorph to turn into a better shape for fighting is a possibility.

But the long-term goal is to enjoy the challenge of working under the curse for awhile, and then getting rid of it.

[Divinity13]

I talked to my DM a little and he has changed the sword to being a short sword now, instead of a long sword. He said he misspoke and meant for it to be a short sword. Which is better as I have a 16 dex. But also, he said that I will not be able to use my saving throw spells to cause damage, saying that "...and saving throw spells that deal damage, I would say you can't use since the sword makes you want to do damage with it."

I have noticed he picks and chooses with wordings and rules a lot of the time. Where the sword of vengeance says I have disadvantage with other weapons, he's making it be I cant use damaging spells. While other times, like when our wizard used Identify on the sword and found nothing other than it being +1 because apparently being cursed is not a property, he goes with the word by word descriptions. He is the DM so he does have the power to do this, but i feel like he's just using this to make things harder on all of us.

[Man_Over_Game]

I talked to my DM a little and he has changed the sword to being a short sword now, instead of a long sword. He said he misspoke and meant for it to be a short sword. Which is better as I have a 16 dex. But also, he said that I will not be able to use my saving throw spells to cause damage, saying that "...and saving throw spells that deal damage, I would say you can't use since the sword makes you want to do damage with it."

I have noticed he picks and chooses with wordings and rules a lot of the time. Where the sword of vengeance says I have disadvantage with other weapons, he's making it be I cant use damaging spells. While other times, like when our wizard used Identify on the sword and found nothing other than it being +1 because apparently being cursed is not a property, he goes with the word by word descriptions. He is the DM so he does have the power to do this, but i feel like he's just using this to make things harder on all of us.

Having the Wizard's Identify not tell you it's a curse is kind of a jerk move, but as long as the character casting Identify knew/knows that is a problem with the Identify spell (which is a level 1 spell, after all), then it should be fine. More than likely, though, this was the first time it came up, and it's a bad move to tell someone that the feature they invested in is useless because DM fiat.

As for whether or not he's making things harder on you, yes, he is, and he should. He's the one who throws monsters at you who have the intent of killing you. His job is to provide the challenge that you ask for.

Now, if he's a decent DM, he isn't expecting you to play through the entire campaign with a cursed Shortsword. He probably is wanting you guys to roleplay amongst yourselves to solve a problem that's more than just what someone asked you to do. That might take some work. Worst case scenario, just talk to your DM and ask him if he wants you to play as a melee character. I'm sure he doesn't, he probably just wanted to add some conflict and spice things up a bit.

[Jay R]

Play it for at least three sessions, looking for ways out. You don't know what he's planning, and won't know until it plays out.

There could be a delightful surprise ending in store, which would be ruined if he told you about it now.

Trust the DM and play.

[Or don't trust the DM, and don't play.]

[Wuzza]

and using a bag of beans to .

Apologies for a derail, but I've got a player that loves to collect absolutely everything he can get his hands on. This just triggered me. I'm sure he'll go for a vendor selling some "Magic Beans", I reckon 100 gold at least. :smallbiggrin:

[Man_Over_Game]

Apologies for a derail, but I've got a player that loves to collect absolutely everything he can get his hands on. This just triggered me. I'm sure he'll go for a vendor selling some "Magic Beans", I reckon 100 gold at least. :smallbiggrin:

Tell him to check out the Numenera system. Every magic item is a unique, misunderstood object that usually has a one time use, and occasionally has an important use later.

That gravity bomb? That's actually a force stabilizer for a mass-produced portal machine that the party comes across later.

The Eye-on-a-stick that looks at you when you think about it? It's actually supposed to be a quantum detection device used for Robot Assassins, so that they know exactly who's thinking about them, and you happen to know a blind one who might pay a pretty penny for it.

You collect a ton of things to hopefully use for something important in the future, or to save your bacon in the immediate present. It's like playing "Magical Hoarders, the RPG".