ClintOfTheEasternWood's page

People act as if using bracers of armor is a terrible thing. If your dex bonus to AC is so high that you can't use armor effectively anymore, enjoy the high touch AC. Welcome to the anti-caster club, we have a potluck on Sundays.

As a player I refuse to look stupid in order to speak OOC. I was in a game where everyone had a system of holding their hands to their heads and all I have to say on the matter is, HELL NO! We are not in kindergarden and this hobby doesn't need more stigma from the general populace who might observe such crazy behavior.

Well, you aren't being punished for having heavy armor. You are simply incurring the penalties that were associated with it all along. There are no special rules in those games beyond the standard core rules. They didn't add a sinking clause, the penalty to swim was there all along. Don't be angry that you are encountering penalties that you knew about yet thought wouldn't come up.

As for doing an armor-less system... why? Bracers of armor are in the game along with folding plate, glamoured armor, etc etc. You want to walk around the gala in armor without looking like it? That's not free. Want to not sink while wearing full plate, there is a cost for that too.

Being that you aren't having to learn or research your spells you don't have to go through the same kind of stuff as a wizard. Clerics meditate or pray for they spells daily. Your deity provides them, not some kind of new training.

The problem of having nothing to do but full attack is a dream for optimizers. Full attacks are usually the best option for a non-spell caster. If I want to be as effective as possible I want to eliminate rounds where I lose damage because I am not putting out as many attacks as possible. It may seem boring, but raining attacks on an enemy with consistency is damage 101. Options are nice, but obliterating your enemies is better.

If you don't want to be bored by turning on the turbo button and talking away while everything dies then you need to pick another class or game system. Welcome to the reality of combat for non-spell casters. We make attacks either in melee or ranged, and that's about it. Sure we can try to "tank" by pissing off the monster and being a bigger threat then everyone else, but taking a beating well isn't a role that works well without giving the monsters some reason to attack you. In the case where you don't do much damage you have to find other ways to lock enemies in combat with you and make yourself the only viable target they have. Sadly you can't do this all the time. Circumstances make it all but impossible to hold threat against a determined enemy without outside help (typically in the form of spells).

There is nothing wrong with a fighter. Damage is the one trick that almost nothing can universally overcome. Sure, other classes can do damage too, and if they get the chance to buff for an hour of table time then they will be awesome. Personally though, I'd brutally murder you in your sleep or find ways to stop you from sleeping till you have no spells if that kind of crap went down in my game. This isn't WoW, the boss won't sit in the room while you all stand outside and buff for god knows how long. Maybe you all might be lucky enough to get the time if your fighter can keep him off you.

In short its weak, pathetic GM's who give the fighter a bad name. If your game were brutal enough you'd appreciate the virtue of being able to pound out damage. Just hope you all never have to fight in an anti-magic field because you'll get your teeth kicked in.

The problem with this is intimidate only lasts a short while. Therefore if you want to use the friendly status provided by it you would have to ask for something that could be done within the intimidated time frame. If you asked him to help you go fight the other bandits and halfway there your intimidate wears off then he is unfriendly and you can't ask for favors from unfriendly people.

As for Bad Cop, Good Cop... Intimidate doesn't help in this instance as anything other then a circumstance modifier. The person who uses Intimidate has no need for diplomacy, and the person doing diplomacy doesn't treat the enemy as friendly like the guy who rolled the intimidate.

Basicly, an NPC's attitude may vary per person. Using intimidate or Diplomacy doesn't necessarily apply to the entire group. This can be a good thing as the NPC may not like Bob the Barbarian who intimidated him earlier, but he's warmed up to the bard who has been using diplomacy since.

I preach a lot about versatility. An archer whose only option is his bow and arrow will lose, wizard or no. The thing about well built character is that they have options. Lets say the wizard puts up wind wall. We have thrown weapons, slings, and swords to stick in him. He used obscuring mists? We have seeking bows, magic items that see through obscuring mists, and the ability to ride in there and shoot him point blank or lop his head off as we ride by.

What this really comes down to is prep time and who goes first. If the archer gets the drop on the wizard and wins the initiative roll, the wizard hits the ground dead before its even his turn. If the wizard goes first then he has his spells to try and defend himself or attack us.

The balance of player vs player at high level play usually comes down to prep time and who won initiative. Usually this isn't a problem, its the PC's against the world, and the world doesn't act like a PC. A high level wizard who is an evil mastermind has a lair or stronghold and amasses power and home field advantage. The "we meet 1,000ft apart on an open field" schtick never happens.

I for one can say that as an archer my opportunities for shooting at things at long ranges are limited due to many factors. Maybe there is terrain blocking my LOS, maybe there is adverse weather allowing them to sneak in cover of darkness, or maybe I didn't know we were going to fight until they pulled out weapons and started waving them in my direction (which is generally something not done until they are close). So let me know if you ever get the chance to line up and shoot at block formations of enemy soldiers, or lone wizards in fields, because it has never come up in a game I've played.