Juiblex: Lord of Goo...and Bizarre Damage Immunities (D&D 5E)

[@stephenlucas8836]

As I came to learn from AJ Pickett, another dnd lore KZbinr, 5e never tells you that the entire game mechanics drastically shift. Past 10 level in older school was when you were no longer be hobos scrounging for a dragon's loose change, but "Masters of the Realm" (an overlooked thing in the DMG). In old editions, the King gave you a noble title town or Organization to run in your downtime. You no longer newbies reacting to threats but the gods hitmen, proactively killing all the named dragons, fiends, lichs, etc. in the region. The combat pillar becomes the least important because the real game is politic-ing to expand group investments and have the resources to hunt their next prey. In the DMG it says 17 to 20 is "Masters of the World" but you can argue as early as 15th, combat becomes irrelevant unless the DM homebrews absurd encounter ( like combat puzzle monsters or just so much HP lv20s can't kill it even when blowing all resources). For all intents and purposes, the party is demigods the game is about socializing and manipulating gods to stop multiversal ploys and rewriting the multiverse. I would say Demon lord stat blocks feel so weak because they are supposed to be monumental fights to be fought by level 10 players obtaining every advantage and scrap of info they can to stack the battle into their favor. The Recommended CR is a quick way to inform new DMs what fights a party could win at a given level. When reaching around 15th level, you realize all the hell Dukes, Demon Lords, Angles, and archfey are not bigshot because there they are merely unstoppable brute but see that their actual power comes from their cosmic political party. Demon Lords have to gang up on you if you want a good shot at TPK-ing a party at this point in a straight-up fight or pull every favor they have to make their lives hell in every way they can't defend against. Demon Lords are not gods but influence nobles in the realm of cosmic politics. TLDR: By the late game, the game becomes Demigod improv, with gods being the only real threat because they don't have stat blocks.

[@TMRyan]

Jarred mentioned this slightly, but I would be interested in an episode where you talk about Madness as it is mechanically, how to RP a mad character, and integrating character-flaws to a PC.

[@MonstersMulticlass]

Already have the recording date scheduled!

[@danielwalker8411]

I feel like you could encounter him in a cave, he drops Contagion and Eject Slime, slips away through a crack, that has the time to build Contagion, and lets attrition take its course Also, if you gave him Acid Absorbtion, he could literally just absorb his allies to heal

[@TMRyan]

I loved the effort in editing to add Jarred's idea @34:30 .

[@SamFinklestein]

Something about the DC21 Dexterity save: the people who are most concerned with their metal objects corroding, i.e. heavy-armor-wearing characters, usually won't even have a chance to get to 21 without help from e.g. Bless or Aura of Protection. A +9 bonus rogue won't have much to lose anyway.

[@MonstersMulticlass]

Great point. Even a -2 really can ruin someones day.