Ionathus
2024-01-18, 02:58 PM
How very original: a 5e capstone thread! Surely no one has ever done this before :smallamused:
Basically, in my book the Druid capstone is the best one in the PHB. It's outright broken on Moon Druids but every Druid can benefit massively from it, basically becoming immune to counterspell and having some great options for casting spells even as a mouse in hiding, an eagle high in the sky, etc...the Druid spell list is so focused around damage-over-time and battlefield control that you get a lot of really great options for "cause problem and then get away" with this one.
Plus, it's just fun and flavorful. You can wildshape as much as you like! That's classic druid and really gives you a lot more versatility. You can finally stop "budgeting" your wildshapes. Overall A++, perfect example of what becoming a "master" of your discipline should look like.
With this in mind: most of the other capstones don't come to that power level, and there's no real good reason why. High-level play in 5e is infamously unbalanced and anemic content-wise already, so it's not like they're going to break anything. My overall feeling is that 20th level should be the fulfillment of a player's power fantasy. So my goal is to just give them that power fantasy.
Simple. The capstone needs to be easy to understand and immediately grasp. Not just because 20th-level characters already have so much else going on, but also because these descriptions are what many new players look at when they crack the book open on their class. You peek ahead to see what you'll eventually be able to do. It needs to be a goal you can aspire to and see yourself doing.
Evocative. The capstone needs to be flavorful and do something with the base abilities and themes of the class. A fighter being able to attack more than everyone else makes sense thematically. A monk being able to do slightly more of their same schtick is...not terrible, but also not very imaginative or exciting.
Fun. Pretty self explanatory. It needs to feel like a reward. You need to be excited to get it. It should make everyone at the table excited to see it happen. This is another example of my complaint about the treatment given to Monks, Bards, etc. "The thing you're already doing but slightly more of it" is incredibly boring.
You'll notice I didn't include "balanced." That's because in my book, "balanced" at level 20 really falls into the "fun" category. Whether or not the capstone creates fun opportunities is way more important to me than whether or not the math holds up. Obviously a capstone that says "you deal 1000 damage on every attack" isn't balanced, but it's also not fun. The shine of "one hit kills" will wear off almost instantly. You want something that makes your turn more interesting, not less.
Enough preamble. Let's do this.
Barbarian.
Pretty awesome -- almost Druid-level. You become the strongest and toughest character in the party, which is cool and thematic. A flat +2 to all attacks and damage rolls, all STR and CON saves, +2 to AC, +40 hitpoints (which acts as +80 while raging). This one can pretty much stay as-is. The other capstones should be so lucky.
Proposed Changes. None. Maybe perma-advantage on STR and CON saves if you're really shooting the moon. But this one is pretty fine in current form.
Bard.
Boring and bad. A single d12 for yourself or an ally if you've already run out of BIs? It's situational, unimpressive, and tedious. Let's glam it up a bit for our favorite flamboyant performers.
Proposed Changes: Your Bardic Inspiration can be used as Regular Inspiration. Anyone you've Inspired can spend their inspiration for either a d12 bonus OR to reroll the die in question. Or hell, just combine the two (Advantage AND a d12 on a roll of your choice). Even then, I think it's still potentially underpowered...but this feels a bit more flavorful and fun without outright breaking everything. Everyone's rolling so much at 20th level that your inspirations are a drop in the bucket, albeit a very fun drop.
Alternate Change: You can use Bardic Inspiration at will. Being able to grant a single d12 each turn is a great use of the bonus action, but again you're not gonna outpace the fight/encounter's rate of rolling. You'll still have to decide who to give it to. And it can't stack, so it's harder to abuse completely. A d12 on a roll can make the difference in a climactic moment, but is rarely going to outshine whatever the hell the 20th-level wizard is doing, for example.
Cleric.
Pretty dang good. This one's unfortunately up to DM fiat, which is hard to quantify, but the description says it should be at least equivalent to any cleric/domain spell. Best-case scenario by RAW is a second 9th-level cleric spell once per week. Best-case scenario with a permissive DM...the sky's the limit. This isn't terrible but it's pretty awfully swingy depending on your situation and DM's whims.
Proposed Changes. Summon a Planetar for four rounds, once per week. Yes, that's extreme. But it's level 20 baby! Sometimes extreme is good. Planetar can do a lot in a few rounds -- heal/raise your party, drop some Flame Strikes, swing a magical greatsword -- but it can't blow through its entire repertoire in that short timespan. You'll be limited enough that you'll have to pick and choose. It's fun, it's big, it's flashy, and it's god-themed.
Druid.
Perfect capstone, no notes.
Fighter.
Four attacks (8 with Action Surge) is pretty awesome. Nobody else gets that. However, I think we can do better.
Proposed Changes: At-will Action Surge. Now I know what you're thinking but hear me out: how much would this actually break? It looks strong, it looks outright broken yes, but why? The fighter is likely going to be swinging a weapon most of their turns. This doubles their damage output, but is that really a problem? I think a lot of people would say fighters STILL lag behind casters. Three extra sword swings per turn (since we removed the last Extra Attack) is powerful but still unlikely to overshadow a Meteor Swarm, a Chain Lightning, or a Wish. Plus the Fighter also gets a tiny bit more utility: they can still attack three times and then maybe do something else, drink a potion, activate a magic item, revive a teammate. It improves versatility and makes them the effortless combat multitasker.
Monk.
Just terrible. Four ki points IF you're at 0? That's a potential 1/5th recovery of your core resource. And it kind of forces you to burst down to 0 if you want to get any use out of it. What if you're at 2 ki points? 2/20 resources remaining isn't "low" enough to get the bonus? Ugh.
Proposed Changes: Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, and Step of the Wind no longer cost Ki Points. Almost every monk subclass uses Flurry of Blows in some way: this allows you to use it every turn, without ever worrying about the cost. The other two are very situationally useful. Crucially, all three are competing for bonus action: meaning this is VERY good at giving your monk longevity, but keeps them from being able to spam "free" abilities they couldn't otherwise. The "good stuff" still costs ki, but now it's not competing with your core desire to be a Flipping, Spin-kicking Whirlwind of Punches and Kicks. Fun, flavorful, and enjoyable, gives you more of everything that's fun, and doesn't break anything too badly.
Paladin.
Hard to balance since it's all subclasses. Some are pretty fun and flavorful, others are a bit of a letdown. I don't think paladins are in dire need of a buff either. This one needs more tweaking than all the others.
Proposed Changes: Hard to say. A bonus Channel Divinity wouldn't go amiss.
Ranger.
The famously bad one. An extra +3ish to attack OR damage against ONLY CERTAIN enemies ONCE per turn is so useless as to be insulting.
Proposed Changes: Uber-Hunter's Mark, At-Will. No, I don't know the stats on Uber-Hunter's Mark. I just know Rangers need help being actual Rangers instead of Fighter With A Bow, and some actual help on tracking/awareness/pursuit would be awesome. Honestly 5e Ranger doesn't know what it wants to be and I don't know how to help it get there. I'll take the L on this one.
Rogue.
Stroke of Luck is pretty nice. And it feels on brand for Rogues to be reliable on an important attack when they need to be. Unlike the others, buffing this one too much could easily spiral out of control. But I do think it could use a nudge.
Proposed Changes: Stroke of Luck as written, but 2x per short rest instead of 1x. Only once per turn though. Just a little extra oomph to make 20 Rogues slightly more fun. Still not as powerful or as versatile as Portent on a good day.
Sorcerer.
Another boring "get a few points back" capstone. At least it's not one of the "if at 0" ones.
Proposed Changes: Choose a metamagic option you know that costs 3 sorcery points or less. That metamagic option no longer costs sorcery points for you. Lots of versatility, gives the sorcerer a fun "signature" ability like the Wizard's 18th level (more on them in a sec). Avoids the utter insanity of free Twinned spell, but the other metamagic options are fairly low-impact enough that spamming them every round won't break too much. Given the duration of most combats (3ish rounds) and the frequency of short rests (every 1-2 encounters), this doesn't significantly change the math of how many sorcery points are saved. But it's more flavorful and more fun.
Warlock.
Honestly I never remember this capstone. I feel like it's never talked about. Maybe it's because everyone always only dips Warlock or wanders off to other builds before 20th level? Anyway, it's pretty decent but if you have 1 minute to do this, you basically have time to do a short rest and get them all back anyway.
Proposed Changes: Eldritch Master as written, but it only takes 1 action. Allows you to recharge in the middle of the fight. Powerful, but it's not like you're getting extra Mystic Arcanum uses. Still has the 1/day limit but now your warlock has a little bit more opportunity to just let loose on everything.
Wizard.
Spell Mastery is infinitely more fun than Signature Spell. The former gives you at will 1st and 2nd level spells, which is a lot more evocative and exciting than the latter's "two extra (inflexible) 3rd level spellslots, once per short rest." I think you all see the writing on the wall with this one.
Proposed Changes: Spell Mastery for a single 3rd level spell. Yes, this is powerful. 3rd level spells are a big power spike and several of them are most definitely NOT tuned for at-will casting. I'm sure there are some applications that would eventually snowball to destroy kingdoms/continents/planets/realities. I still think this is the appropriate capstone for a level 20 Wizard, who is supposed to be the master of bending reality to their whims.
---------
So...that's my list! This was a fun exercise and I hope you all enjoyed reading it. Please let me know if you liked anything in particular, vehemently opposed anything in particular, or if you have other proposals for some of these options. I'm taking notes on the Ranger and Paladin, which I fully admit I phoned in.
Basically, in my book the Druid capstone is the best one in the PHB. It's outright broken on Moon Druids but every Druid can benefit massively from it, basically becoming immune to counterspell and having some great options for casting spells even as a mouse in hiding, an eagle high in the sky, etc...the Druid spell list is so focused around damage-over-time and battlefield control that you get a lot of really great options for "cause problem and then get away" with this one.
Plus, it's just fun and flavorful. You can wildshape as much as you like! That's classic druid and really gives you a lot more versatility. You can finally stop "budgeting" your wildshapes. Overall A++, perfect example of what becoming a "master" of your discipline should look like.
With this in mind: most of the other capstones don't come to that power level, and there's no real good reason why. High-level play in 5e is infamously unbalanced and anemic content-wise already, so it's not like they're going to break anything. My overall feeling is that 20th level should be the fulfillment of a player's power fantasy. So my goal is to just give them that power fantasy.
Simple. The capstone needs to be easy to understand and immediately grasp. Not just because 20th-level characters already have so much else going on, but also because these descriptions are what many new players look at when they crack the book open on their class. You peek ahead to see what you'll eventually be able to do. It needs to be a goal you can aspire to and see yourself doing.
Evocative. The capstone needs to be flavorful and do something with the base abilities and themes of the class. A fighter being able to attack more than everyone else makes sense thematically. A monk being able to do slightly more of their same schtick is...not terrible, but also not very imaginative or exciting.
Fun. Pretty self explanatory. It needs to feel like a reward. You need to be excited to get it. It should make everyone at the table excited to see it happen. This is another example of my complaint about the treatment given to Monks, Bards, etc. "The thing you're already doing but slightly more of it" is incredibly boring.
You'll notice I didn't include "balanced." That's because in my book, "balanced" at level 20 really falls into the "fun" category. Whether or not the capstone creates fun opportunities is way more important to me than whether or not the math holds up. Obviously a capstone that says "you deal 1000 damage on every attack" isn't balanced, but it's also not fun. The shine of "one hit kills" will wear off almost instantly. You want something that makes your turn more interesting, not less.
Enough preamble. Let's do this.
Barbarian.
Pretty awesome -- almost Druid-level. You become the strongest and toughest character in the party, which is cool and thematic. A flat +2 to all attacks and damage rolls, all STR and CON saves, +2 to AC, +40 hitpoints (which acts as +80 while raging). This one can pretty much stay as-is. The other capstones should be so lucky.
Proposed Changes. None. Maybe perma-advantage on STR and CON saves if you're really shooting the moon. But this one is pretty fine in current form.
Bard.
Boring and bad. A single d12 for yourself or an ally if you've already run out of BIs? It's situational, unimpressive, and tedious. Let's glam it up a bit for our favorite flamboyant performers.
Proposed Changes: Your Bardic Inspiration can be used as Regular Inspiration. Anyone you've Inspired can spend their inspiration for either a d12 bonus OR to reroll the die in question. Or hell, just combine the two (Advantage AND a d12 on a roll of your choice). Even then, I think it's still potentially underpowered...but this feels a bit more flavorful and fun without outright breaking everything. Everyone's rolling so much at 20th level that your inspirations are a drop in the bucket, albeit a very fun drop.
Alternate Change: You can use Bardic Inspiration at will. Being able to grant a single d12 each turn is a great use of the bonus action, but again you're not gonna outpace the fight/encounter's rate of rolling. You'll still have to decide who to give it to. And it can't stack, so it's harder to abuse completely. A d12 on a roll can make the difference in a climactic moment, but is rarely going to outshine whatever the hell the 20th-level wizard is doing, for example.
Cleric.
Pretty dang good. This one's unfortunately up to DM fiat, which is hard to quantify, but the description says it should be at least equivalent to any cleric/domain spell. Best-case scenario by RAW is a second 9th-level cleric spell once per week. Best-case scenario with a permissive DM...the sky's the limit. This isn't terrible but it's pretty awfully swingy depending on your situation and DM's whims.
Proposed Changes. Summon a Planetar for four rounds, once per week. Yes, that's extreme. But it's level 20 baby! Sometimes extreme is good. Planetar can do a lot in a few rounds -- heal/raise your party, drop some Flame Strikes, swing a magical greatsword -- but it can't blow through its entire repertoire in that short timespan. You'll be limited enough that you'll have to pick and choose. It's fun, it's big, it's flashy, and it's god-themed.
Druid.
Perfect capstone, no notes.
Fighter.
Four attacks (8 with Action Surge) is pretty awesome. Nobody else gets that. However, I think we can do better.
Proposed Changes: At-will Action Surge. Now I know what you're thinking but hear me out: how much would this actually break? It looks strong, it looks outright broken yes, but why? The fighter is likely going to be swinging a weapon most of their turns. This doubles their damage output, but is that really a problem? I think a lot of people would say fighters STILL lag behind casters. Three extra sword swings per turn (since we removed the last Extra Attack) is powerful but still unlikely to overshadow a Meteor Swarm, a Chain Lightning, or a Wish. Plus the Fighter also gets a tiny bit more utility: they can still attack three times and then maybe do something else, drink a potion, activate a magic item, revive a teammate. It improves versatility and makes them the effortless combat multitasker.
Monk.
Just terrible. Four ki points IF you're at 0? That's a potential 1/5th recovery of your core resource. And it kind of forces you to burst down to 0 if you want to get any use out of it. What if you're at 2 ki points? 2/20 resources remaining isn't "low" enough to get the bonus? Ugh.
Proposed Changes: Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, and Step of the Wind no longer cost Ki Points. Almost every monk subclass uses Flurry of Blows in some way: this allows you to use it every turn, without ever worrying about the cost. The other two are very situationally useful. Crucially, all three are competing for bonus action: meaning this is VERY good at giving your monk longevity, but keeps them from being able to spam "free" abilities they couldn't otherwise. The "good stuff" still costs ki, but now it's not competing with your core desire to be a Flipping, Spin-kicking Whirlwind of Punches and Kicks. Fun, flavorful, and enjoyable, gives you more of everything that's fun, and doesn't break anything too badly.
Paladin.
Hard to balance since it's all subclasses. Some are pretty fun and flavorful, others are a bit of a letdown. I don't think paladins are in dire need of a buff either. This one needs more tweaking than all the others.
Proposed Changes: Hard to say. A bonus Channel Divinity wouldn't go amiss.
Ranger.
The famously bad one. An extra +3ish to attack OR damage against ONLY CERTAIN enemies ONCE per turn is so useless as to be insulting.
Proposed Changes: Uber-Hunter's Mark, At-Will. No, I don't know the stats on Uber-Hunter's Mark. I just know Rangers need help being actual Rangers instead of Fighter With A Bow, and some actual help on tracking/awareness/pursuit would be awesome. Honestly 5e Ranger doesn't know what it wants to be and I don't know how to help it get there. I'll take the L on this one.
Rogue.
Stroke of Luck is pretty nice. And it feels on brand for Rogues to be reliable on an important attack when they need to be. Unlike the others, buffing this one too much could easily spiral out of control. But I do think it could use a nudge.
Proposed Changes: Stroke of Luck as written, but 2x per short rest instead of 1x. Only once per turn though. Just a little extra oomph to make 20 Rogues slightly more fun. Still not as powerful or as versatile as Portent on a good day.
Sorcerer.
Another boring "get a few points back" capstone. At least it's not one of the "if at 0" ones.
Proposed Changes: Choose a metamagic option you know that costs 3 sorcery points or less. That metamagic option no longer costs sorcery points for you. Lots of versatility, gives the sorcerer a fun "signature" ability like the Wizard's 18th level (more on them in a sec). Avoids the utter insanity of free Twinned spell, but the other metamagic options are fairly low-impact enough that spamming them every round won't break too much. Given the duration of most combats (3ish rounds) and the frequency of short rests (every 1-2 encounters), this doesn't significantly change the math of how many sorcery points are saved. But it's more flavorful and more fun.
Warlock.
Honestly I never remember this capstone. I feel like it's never talked about. Maybe it's because everyone always only dips Warlock or wanders off to other builds before 20th level? Anyway, it's pretty decent but if you have 1 minute to do this, you basically have time to do a short rest and get them all back anyway.
Proposed Changes: Eldritch Master as written, but it only takes 1 action. Allows you to recharge in the middle of the fight. Powerful, but it's not like you're getting extra Mystic Arcanum uses. Still has the 1/day limit but now your warlock has a little bit more opportunity to just let loose on everything.
Wizard.
Spell Mastery is infinitely more fun than Signature Spell. The former gives you at will 1st and 2nd level spells, which is a lot more evocative and exciting than the latter's "two extra (inflexible) 3rd level spellslots, once per short rest." I think you all see the writing on the wall with this one.
Proposed Changes: Spell Mastery for a single 3rd level spell. Yes, this is powerful. 3rd level spells are a big power spike and several of them are most definitely NOT tuned for at-will casting. I'm sure there are some applications that would eventually snowball to destroy kingdoms/continents/planets/realities. I still think this is the appropriate capstone for a level 20 Wizard, who is supposed to be the master of bending reality to their whims.
---------
So...that's my list! This was a fun exercise and I hope you all enjoyed reading it. Please let me know if you liked anything in particular, vehemently opposed anything in particular, or if you have other proposals for some of these options. I'm taking notes on the Ranger and Paladin, which I fully admit I phoned in.