Truenamer - Revision history

imported>Administrator: 59 revisions imported

2023-06-23T15:36:31Z

59 revisions imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 15:36, 23 June 2023
(No difference)

imported>Administrator: 1 revision imported

2023-06-19T14:31:06Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 14:31, 19 June 2023
(No difference)

2A02:C7F:B04B:ED00:11C6:61E2:CD7A:DB86 at 12:40, 10 December 2022

2022-12-10T12:40:27Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:40, 10 December 2022
Line 1:		Line 1:
			{{Fail}}
	The '''Truenamer''', from the Tome of Magic, is possibly one of the worst [[class]]es ever printed: [[Dungeons and Dragons]] or otherwise.		The '''Truenamer''', from the Tome of Magic, is possibly one of the worst [[class]]es ever printed: [[Dungeons and Dragons]] or otherwise.

2A02:C7F:B04B:ED00:69D1:15D2:AC41:781C: /* Onomancer, or Utter Hubris: the 5e Truenamer */

2022-12-06T17:45:09Z

Onomancer, or Utter Hubris: the 5e Truenamer

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:45, 6 December 2022
Line 44:		Line 44:
	So, some probably-industrial-grade-drug-addled designer thought, why not mix ''that'' hubris with the hubris of trying to design a 5e version of one of the worst classes in the game's history?		So, some probably-industrial-grade-drug-addled designer thought, why not mix ''that'' hubris with the hubris of trying to design a 5e version of one of the worst classes in the game's history?

	[https://media.wizards.com/2019/dnd/downloads/UA-TwilightFireNames.pdf In the October 2nd, 2019 Unearthed Arcana], a UA otherwise full of solid (if somewhat unremarkable) player options, Wizards featured the Onomancer. We'd say this is because Wizards of the Coast think you are stupid and don't know ~~Latin~~ or how to Google, but it all-but calls them "truenamers" in the opening text and sidebar.		[https://media.wizards.com/2019/dnd/downloads/UA-TwilightFireNames.pdf In the October 2nd, 2019 Unearthed Arcana], a UA otherwise full of solid (if somewhat unremarkable) player options, Wizards featured the Onomancer. We'd say this is because Wizards of the Coast think you are stupid and don't know Greek or how to Google, but it all-but calls them "truenamers" in the opening text and sidebar.

	The Onomancer is a wizard whose entire schtick revolves around magically securing the "true names" of various creatures, via a 2nd level ability that lets them force a creature to make a save, and upon then applying bonus effects to every spell they cast on a creature whose true name they know.		The Onomancer is a wizard whose entire schtick revolves around magically securing the "true names" of various creatures, via a 2nd level ability that lets them force a creature to make a save, and upon then applying bonus effects to every spell they cast on a creature whose true name they know.

1d4chan>SpectralTime: /* Onomancer, or Utter Hubris: the 5e Truenamer */

2022-08-25T00:50:17Z

Onomancer, or Utter Hubris: the 5e Truenamer

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:50, 25 August 2022
Line 40:		Line 40:

	==Onomancer, or Utter Hubris: the 5e Truenamer==		==Onomancer, or Utter Hubris: the 5e Truenamer==
	''Wizards'' has had a lengthy love-affair with trying to make a "[[metamagic]] [[wizard]]" in 5th Edition, despite the fact that metamagic is one of the [[sorcerer]] class's few remaining good things in an edition that stripped almost all of them away, plus the wizard is already being a spoilt brat in terms of class options, spell list, class ''features'', and almost everything else in comparison.		''Wizards'' has had a lengthy love-affair with trying to make a "[[metamagic]] [[wizard]]" in 5th Edition, despite the fact that metamagic is one of the [[sorcerer]] class's few remaining good things in an edition that stripped almost all of them away, plus the wizard already being a spoilt brat in terms of class options, spell list, class ''features'', and almost everything else in comparison. That is to say, the Devs love trying to do it and the fans hate it.

	So, some probably-industrial-grade-drug-addled designer thought, why not mix ''that'' hubris with the hubris of trying to design a 5e version of one of the worst classes in the game's history?		So, some probably-industrial-grade-drug-addled designer thought, why not mix ''that'' hubris with the hubris of trying to design a 5e version of one of the worst classes in the game's history?

84.250.181.122: /* Ways to make yourself feel better about playing this class */ Added Spell Rebirth.

2021-08-19T13:16:04Z

Ways to make yourself feel better about playing this class: Added Spell Rebirth.

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:16, 19 August 2021
Line 27:		Line 27:
	* The Incarnation of Angels gives a target the Fiendish/Celestial template, which makes them extraplanar, and therefore subject to Banishing! Where do they go? Who knows? But they're sure as hell not ''your'' problem anymore.		* The Incarnation of Angels gives a target the Fiendish/Celestial template, which makes them extraplanar, and therefore subject to Banishing! Where do they go? Who knows? But they're sure as hell not ''your'' problem anymore.
	*Word of Nurturing, as written, allows you to affect "your target" and then lets you give "a creature" fast healing. Buy a rabbit, target it with the utterance for a DC 16ish truespeak check, give whatever you want fast healing. This works for a surprisingly high number of utterances because whoever edited Tome of Magic did not speak English.		*Word of Nurturing, as written, allows you to affect "your target" and then lets you give "a creature" fast healing. Buy a rabbit, target it with the utterance for a DC 16ish truespeak check, give whatever you want fast healing. This works for a surprisingly high number of utterances because whoever edited Tome of Magic did not speak English.
			**In the same vein, a reversed Spell Rebirth "dispels the spell with the highest caster level affecting the target." No check required. Doesn't matter what godlike magics are at play, if your little bunny is affected by them they're getting deleted. The regular version is pretty cool too, since it lets you undispel spells.
	*If you can somehow get your Truespeak check ''really'' high, Quicken Utterance allows you to add +20 to the DC to turn an utterance into a swift action. The odds aren't in your favor of succeeding, but even if that utterance fails, it doesn't eat your turn, so trying to use it every turn gives you a fairly decent chance to effectively double your actions.		*If you can somehow get your Truespeak check ''really'' high, Quicken Utterance allows you to add +20 to the DC to turn an utterance into a swift action. The odds aren't in your favor of succeeding, but even if that utterance fails, it doesn't eat your turn, so trying to use it every turn gives you a fairly decent chance to effectively double your actions.
	*The reversed version of Greater Seek the Sky removes the target's ability to fly. Unlike the lesser version, it has an instantaneous duration, so that flight is gone forever if it succeeds. Ether Reforged (turns a creature ethereal) appears to do the same thing, which lets you trap a creature on the ethereal plane forever (or give everyone in the party a permanent Ghost Touch effect).		*The reversed version of Greater Seek the Sky removes the target's ability to fly. Unlike the lesser version, it has an instantaneous duration, so that flight is gone forever if it succeeds. Ether Reforged (turns a creature ethereal) appears to do the same thing, which lets you trap a creature on the ethereal plane forever (or give everyone in the party a permanent Ghost Touch effect).

99.130.250.10: /* Ways to make yourself feel better about playing this class */

2021-02-25T21:47:04Z

Ways to make yourself feel better about playing this class

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:47, 25 February 2021
Line 26:		Line 26:
	So you decided to play a Truenamer because surely it can't be THAT bad, right? You were wrong. Luckily, the utterances are just as poorly written as the class itself, so there are a few things you can do to make those 20 levels of suck almost worth it. Almost.		So you decided to play a Truenamer because surely it can't be THAT bad, right? You were wrong. Luckily, the utterances are just as poorly written as the class itself, so there are a few things you can do to make those 20 levels of suck almost worth it. Almost.
	* The Incarnation of Angels gives a target the Fiendish/Celestial template, which makes them extraplanar, and therefore subject to Banishing! Where do they go? Who knows? But they're sure as hell not ''your'' problem anymore.		* The Incarnation of Angels gives a target the Fiendish/Celestial template, which makes them extraplanar, and therefore subject to Banishing! Where do they go? Who knows? But they're sure as hell not ''your'' problem anymore.
	*Word of Nurturing, as written, allows you to ~~effect~~ "your target" and then lets you give "a creature" fast healing. Buy a rabbit, target it with the utterance for a DC 16ish truespeak check, give whatever you want fast healing. This works for a surprisingly high number of utterances because whoever edited Tome of Magic did not speak English.		*Word of Nurturing, as written, allows you to affect "your target" and then lets you give "a creature" fast healing. Buy a rabbit, target it with the utterance for a DC 16ish truespeak check, give whatever you want fast healing. This works for a surprisingly high number of utterances because whoever edited Tome of Magic did not speak English.
	*If you can somehow get your Truespeak check ''really'' high, Quicken Utterance allows you to add +20 to the DC to turn an utterance into a swift action. The odds aren't in your favor of succeeding, but even if that utterance fails, it doesn't eat your turn, so trying to use it every turn gives you a fairly decent chance to effectively double your actions.		*If you can somehow get your Truespeak check ''really'' high, Quicken Utterance allows you to add +20 to the DC to turn an utterance into a swift action. The odds aren't in your favor of succeeding, but even if that utterance fails, it doesn't eat your turn, so trying to use it every turn gives you a fairly decent chance to effectively double your actions.
	*The reversed version of Greater Seek the Sky removes the target's ability to fly. Unlike the lesser version, it has an instantaneous duration, so that flight is gone forever if it succeeds. Ether Reforged (turns a creature ethereal) appears to do the same thing, which lets you trap a creature on the ethereal plane forever (or give everyone in the party a permanent Ghost Touch effect).		*The reversed version of Greater Seek the Sky removes the target's ability to fly. Unlike the lesser version, it has an instantaneous duration, so that flight is gone forever if it succeeds. Ether Reforged (turns a creature ethereal) appears to do the same thing, which lets you trap a creature on the ethereal plane forever (or give everyone in the party a permanent Ghost Touch effect).

99.130.250.10: /* The Crunch */

2021-02-25T21:46:05Z

The Crunch

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:46, 25 February 2021
Line 13:		Line 13:
	Because of this, it's borderline mandatory that the truenamer have access to specific magic items: a Amulet of the Silver Tongue provides a +5 (lesser version) or +10 (greater version) to the skill, which puts you somewhat back on the curve but still requires further investment to make your rolls reliable. Once you've managed to wrangle together enough items and esoteric bonuses (i.e. membership in the Paragnostic Assembly, the [[illumian]]'s racial abilities, an item familiar, and/or the aforementioned Amulet), you should be able to succeed your Truespeak checks reliably, or even 100% of the time, bypassing the class's wonky mechanics entirely and effectively letting you use them all day long ''a la'' the [[warlock]]. Unfortunately, things don't really improve from there, due to flaws with the utterances themselves.		Because of this, it's borderline mandatory that the truenamer have access to specific magic items: a Amulet of the Silver Tongue provides a +5 (lesser version) or +10 (greater version) to the skill, which puts you somewhat back on the curve but still requires further investment to make your rolls reliable. Once you've managed to wrangle together enough items and esoteric bonuses (i.e. membership in the Paragnostic Assembly, the [[illumian]]'s racial abilities, an item familiar, and/or the aforementioned Amulet), you should be able to succeed your Truespeak checks reliably, or even 100% of the time, bypassing the class's wonky mechanics entirely and effectively letting you use them all day long ''a la'' the [[warlock]]. Unfortunately, things don't really improve from there, due to flaws with the utterances themselves.

	While most of your utterances are multipurpose to some degree, you can't take very many utterances, and there isn't an easy way to swap out older or less relevant ones. The majority of utterances past 3rd level are severely undertuned for when you get them, stacking up poorly next to equivalent spells available far earlier (for instance, compare Reversed Essence of Lifespark, available at 14th level and giving the target one negative level, with Enervation, which is available at 7th level for wizards and gives 1d4 negative levels). The utterances often include spelling errors and other omissions that make them completely different from what they were intended to do: most notably, in the first print run of the book, the DCs for how Perfected Map utterances worked ''were not there'', meaning they had to be added in errata, and the DCs for Crafted Tool utterances suggest that it's ''[[What\|harder]]'' to affect a mundane sword than a +1 sword. The existence of the Law of Sequence, which prohibits you from having two of the same utterance active at once, just makes things even worse. Wanted to use Knight's Puissance to buff the fighter, and then reverse it to debuff the guy he's fighting? You're outta luck. And for the cherry on top, several utterances require saving throws, which are based on the truenamer's Charisma, of all things, so that's even more potential for a Truespeak attempt to do nothing.		While most of your utterances are multipurpose to some degree, you can't take very many utterances, and there isn't an easy way to swap out older or less relevant ones. For how unreliable your utterances are, you'd expect them to be incredibly powerful, but they broadly aren't. The majority of utterances past 3rd level are severely undertuned for when you get them, stacking up poorly next to equivalent spells available far earlier (for instance, compare Reversed Essence of Lifespark, available at 14th level and giving the target one negative level, with Enervation, which is available at 7th level for wizards and gives 1d4 negative levels). The utterances often include spelling errors and other omissions that make them completely different from what they were intended to do: most notably, in the first print run of the book, the DCs for how Perfected Map utterances worked ''were not there'', meaning they had to be added in errata, and the DCs for Crafted Tool utterances suggest that it's ''[[What\|harder]]'' to affect a mundane sword than a +1 sword. The existence of the Law of Sequence, which prohibits you from having two of the same utterance active at once, just makes things even worse. Wanted to use Knight's Puissance to buff the fighter, and then reverse it to debuff the guy he's fighting? You're outta luck. And for the cherry on top, several utterances require saving throws, which are based on the truenamer's Charisma, of all things, so that's even more potential for a Truespeak attempt to do nothing.

	In short, their editing and playtesting were non-existent and it shows. Notably, the first incarnation of the game's [[Tier System\|tier system]] refused to rate truenamers entirely, due to the class's mechanics being so broken that it's difficult to grade how powerful an average truenamer is. A well-optimized truenamer with the aforementioned Truespeak-maxing tricks is generally considered a low Tier 4 class, while a relatively unoptimized one drops all the way to Tier 6, hanging out with the [[aristocrat]] and the CW [[samurai]].		In short, their editing and playtesting were non-existent and it shows. Notably, the first incarnation of the game's [[Tier System\|tier system]] refused to rate truenamers entirely, due to the class's mechanics being so broken that it's difficult to grade how powerful an average truenamer is. A well-optimized truenamer with the aforementioned Truespeak-maxing tricks is generally considered a low Tier 4 class, while a relatively unoptimized one drops all the way to Tier 6, hanging out with the [[aristocrat]] and the CW [[samurai]].

99.130.250.10: /* The Crunch */

2021-01-21T23:17:00Z

The Crunch

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:17, 21 January 2021
Line 11:		Line 11:
	The most infamous weakness to truenamers is the mechanics of the Truespeak skill, particularly for the "bread and butter" Evolving Mind utterances. These increase based on the opponent's CR, but said increase happens at a faster rate than natural skill investment (+2 per level versus +1), which means that unless the truenamer finds lots of outside methods to boost Truespeak, they're going to find that the longer they play, the ''less'' their abilities are going to work. For instance, the DC to affect a CR 1 opponent is 17: a truenamer with Skill Focus, max ranks, and 16 Intelligence can hit that about 70% of the time. The DC to affect a CR 15 opponent is ''45'': that same truenamer at level 15 with natural Intelligence boosts and no items is only going to hit that DC on a natural 20. This is worsened by the Law of Resistance, which means that every successful use of an utterance sticks an additional +2 on the DC for that utterance (which is also going to add bookkeeping to the mix on top of everything else). It's made especially problematic by the fact a truenamer still has to roll to affect their allies, which means that even your buff spells have a good chance of being resisted. Altogether, it ensures that a lot of truenamer turns are going to involve you screaming gibberish while nothing happens.		The most infamous weakness to truenamers is the mechanics of the Truespeak skill, particularly for the "bread and butter" Evolving Mind utterances. These increase based on the opponent's CR, but said increase happens at a faster rate than natural skill investment (+2 per level versus +1), which means that unless the truenamer finds lots of outside methods to boost Truespeak, they're going to find that the longer they play, the ''less'' their abilities are going to work. For instance, the DC to affect a CR 1 opponent is 17: a truenamer with Skill Focus, max ranks, and 16 Intelligence can hit that about 70% of the time. The DC to affect a CR 15 opponent is ''45'': that same truenamer at level 15 with natural Intelligence boosts and no items is only going to hit that DC on a natural 20. This is worsened by the Law of Resistance, which means that every successful use of an utterance sticks an additional +2 on the DC for that utterance (which is also going to add bookkeeping to the mix on top of everything else). It's made especially problematic by the fact a truenamer still has to roll to affect their allies, which means that even your buff spells have a good chance of being resisted. Altogether, it ensures that a lot of truenamer turns are going to involve you screaming gibberish while nothing happens.

	Because of this, it's borderline mandatory that the truenamer have access to specific magic items: a Amulet of the Silver Tongue provides a +5 (lesser version) or +10 (greater version) to the skill, which puts you somewhat back on the curve but still requires further investment to make your rolls reliable. Once you've managed to wrangle together enough items and esoteric bonuses (i.e. membership in Paragnostic Assembly, the [[illumian]]'s racial abilities, an item familiar, and/or the aforementioned Amulet), you should be able to succeed your Truespeak checks reliably, or even 100% of the time, bypassing the class's wonky mechanics entirely and effectively letting you use them all day long ''a la'' the [[warlock]]. Unfortunately, things don't really improve from there, due to flaws with the utterances themselves.		Because of this, it's borderline mandatory that the truenamer have access to specific magic items: a Amulet of the Silver Tongue provides a +5 (lesser version) or +10 (greater version) to the skill, which puts you somewhat back on the curve but still requires further investment to make your rolls reliable. Once you've managed to wrangle together enough items and esoteric bonuses (i.e. membership in the Paragnostic Assembly, the [[illumian]]'s racial abilities, an item familiar, and/or the aforementioned Amulet), you should be able to succeed your Truespeak checks reliably, or even 100% of the time, bypassing the class's wonky mechanics entirely and effectively letting you use them all day long ''a la'' the [[warlock]]. Unfortunately, things don't really improve from there, due to flaws with the utterances themselves.

	While most of your utterances are multipurpose to some degree, you can't take very many utterances, and there isn't an easy way to swap out older or less relevant ones. The majority of utterances past 3rd level are severely undertuned for when you get them, stacking up poorly next to equivalent spells available far earlier (for instance, compare Reversed Essence of Lifespark, available at 14th level and giving the target one negative level, with Enervation, which is available at 7th level for wizards and gives 1d4 negative levels). The utterances often include spelling errors and other omissions that make them completely different from what they were intended to do: most notably, in the first print run of the book, the DCs for how Perfected Map utterances worked ''were not there'', meaning they had to be added in errata, and the DCs for Crafted Tool utterances suggest that it's ''[[What\|harder]]'' to affect a mundane sword than a +1 sword. The existence of the Law of Sequence, which prohibits you from having two of the same utterance active at once, just makes things even worse. Wanted to use Knight's Puissance to buff the fighter, and then reverse it to debuff the guy he's fighting? You're outta luck. And for the cherry on top, several utterances require saving throws, which are based on the truenamer's Charisma, of all things, so that's even more potential for a Truespeak attempt to do nothing.		While most of your utterances are multipurpose to some degree, you can't take very many utterances, and there isn't an easy way to swap out older or less relevant ones. The majority of utterances past 3rd level are severely undertuned for when you get them, stacking up poorly next to equivalent spells available far earlier (for instance, compare Reversed Essence of Lifespark, available at 14th level and giving the target one negative level, with Enervation, which is available at 7th level for wizards and gives 1d4 negative levels). The utterances often include spelling errors and other omissions that make them completely different from what they were intended to do: most notably, in the first print run of the book, the DCs for how Perfected Map utterances worked ''were not there'', meaning they had to be added in errata, and the DCs for Crafted Tool utterances suggest that it's ''[[What\|harder]]'' to affect a mundane sword than a +1 sword. The existence of the Law of Sequence, which prohibits you from having two of the same utterance active at once, just makes things even worse. Wanted to use Knight's Puissance to buff the fighter, and then reverse it to debuff the guy he's fighting? You're outta luck. And for the cherry on top, several utterances require saving throws, which are based on the truenamer's Charisma, of all things, so that's even more potential for a Truespeak attempt to do nothing.

99.130.250.10: /* The Fluff */

2021-01-21T22:41:26Z

The Fluff

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:41, 21 January 2021
Line 1:		Line 1:
	The '''Truenamer''', from the Tome of Magic, is possibly one of the worst [[class]]es ever printed: [[Dungeons and Dragons]] or otherwise.		The '''Truenamer''', from the Tome of Magic, is possibly one of the worst [[class]]es ever printed: [[Dungeons and Dragons]] or otherwise.

	==The ~~Fluff~~==		==The Pitch==

	In theory, a truenamer's focus is pretty cool: more or less, ~~they~~ use the ~~power of~~ "truespeak" to identify the true name of a target and then modify it using the words of the cosmos. (Mechanically, this is shown by the existence of a Truespeak skill, which the player rolls against a DC to determine whether it works or not.) Utterances, their equivalents to spells, are divided into three Lexicons: the Evolving Mind, which make up the majority of options, affects creatures, the Crafted Tool, which comes somewhat later, affects items, and the Perfected Map, which kicks in at high levels, affects the environment. Additionally, Evolving Mind utterances can be said in reverse, meaning they create the opposite effect: an utterance that normally heals can be reversed into one that deals damage, for instance. This slots them into the role of a kind of pseudo-caster, focused mostly on buffs and debuffs and occasional utility, with enough tricks to give them a lot of things to work with. All in all, barring the unintentionally hilarious quotes of what truespeak sounds like, a solid foundation, especially if you're a fan of ''[[The Earthsea Cycle]].'' Unfortunately, once you get into the mechanics, things start going downhill fast.		In theory, a truenamer's focus is pretty cool: more or less, when the universe was created, it involved the use of a hidden language, supposedly only known to the gods. This language, now called "truespeak," included the "true" names of everything that ever would and will exist. Only snippets of it still survive, and these snippets are what truenamers use. They identify the true name of a target and then modify it using the words of the cosmos. (Mechanically, this is shown by the existence of a Truespeak skill, which the player rolls against a DC to determine whether it works or not.) It has the same origins as spells like the Power Word spells, Holy Word and its variants, and Command, but truenamers focus on it full-time.

			Utterances, their equivalents to spells, are divided into three Lexicons: the Evolving Mind, which make up the majority of options, affects creatures, the Crafted Tool, which comes somewhat later, affects items, and the Perfected Map, which kicks in at high levels, affects the environment. Additionally, Evolving Mind utterances can be said in reverse, meaning they create the opposite effect: an utterance that normally heals can be reversed into one that deals damage, for instance. This slots them into the role of a kind of pseudo-caster, focused mostly on buffs and debuffs and occasional utility, with enough tricks to give them a lot of things to work with. All in all, barring the unintentionally hilarious quotes of what truespeak sounds like ("shake the earth" apparently translates to "thremcheumalach-tura’abachnir"), a solid foundation, especially if you're a fan of ''[[The Earthsea Cycle]].'' Unfortunately, once you get into the mechanics, things start going downhill fast.

	==The Crunch==		==The Crunch==