Well actually, Draconic isn't too bad. The claws actually came in handy when dealing with skeletons, and the natural armor/resistance buff isn't bad either. The GM OK'd Primalist, so I'll be switching the breath weapon for some rage powers at 8, and even though it doesn't happen til 12, flight isn't bad.
But look at destined. And what made the claws better vs. skeletons than the curved blade?and every body get fly at level 13 so getting it as a special power on level 12 is a bit weak. But Primalist is a good move.
But look at destined. And what made the claws better vs. skeletons than the curved blade?and every body get fly at level 13 so getting it as a special power on level 12 is a bit weak. But Primalist is a good move.
Claws are bludgeoning/piercing. So they get past dr/bludgeoning.
I mean....gauntlets do the same thing, as far as I am aware.
And I admit- destined makes me drool. No getting past the fact that it makes you into a straight tank. A bit of primalist for beast totem powers, and a nice breastplate, and you would make that dwarf envious.
Having flight as a bloodrage power has its advantages though- it is automatic, and doesn't use spell slots. So you only use a resource you would have used anyway if you wanted to chase down flying buggers.
But look at destined. And what made the claws better vs. skeletons than the curved blade?and every body get fly at level 13 so getting it as a special power on level 12 is a bit weak. But Primalist is a good move.Claws are bludgeoning/piercing. So they get past dr/bludgeoning.
I mean....gauntlets do the same thing, as far as I am aware.
And I admit- destined makes me drool. No getting past the fact that it makes you into a straight tank. A bit of primalist for beast totem powers, and a nice breastplate, and you would make that dwarf envious.
Having flight as a bloodrage power has its advantages though- it is automatic, and doesn't use spell slots. So you only use a resource you would have used anyway if you wanted to chase down flying buggers.
But that fly is limited to rage rounds where the other fly is minutes pr level.
Good point on the claws but 1d10+6 would have a good chance to do the 9 slashing damage one need to take a skeleton out. But that actually just goes to show that he need a backup weapon. For a slashing primary i suggest a cold iron morning star at 16 gp it gives you piercing, bludeging and cold iron. And then the main weapon can get the enchants.
The other upshot of the claws is getting two attacks at a point where normally I only gain one. Even though my damage when raging is a miserable 1d6+4, two attacks for 2d6+8 vs. 1d10+1 (after taking the DR 5 into account) is nothing to sneer at.
Will there come a point where the claws are pointless? Sure, probably once I get a real magic weapon, since I'm not about to pony up the cash for an amulet of mighty blows, not even when the claws start doing 1d8+1d6 cold; although I will admit if I'd realized how cool Rageshaper actually is, I might have gone a different way with my character.
And you're right, Destined is a much better bloodline. My concern at the time was the GM's sensibilities regarding sorcerer bloodlines in general; draconic is, uh, iconic, and he didn't bat an eye.
At this point I'm stuck with it, since it's a major factor in my backstory. I fully realize how ridiculous it is to ask for advice and then be all "but I've burdened myself with silly restrictions so I can't actually take advice", but I was at a low point after last session, where I felt more like an NPC torchbearer than a hero.
After hearing what everyone had to say though, as well as talking with the other players, I feel better about continuing. I thought they considered me to be an anchor, dragging down the party, but they recognized bad dice luck and the GM's monster choices were more to blame than my silly build.
The real issue of the bloodrager at levels 1-3 is that he is an inferior copy of the barbarian; less support, lower hit die, and while a level 1 bloodline power is sweet, the rage powers at level 2 (and the ability to get another one with a feat at level 3) makes playing a barbarian the more palatable choice.
Not to mention the fact that if Rand had been a Barbarian, I wouldn't need a 14 Charisma...
But it gets better. Sure, I never get a lot of spells, but it's still an amazing option to be able to cast arcane buffs and/or use unusual attack options (it'll be awhile, but fire trail and force hook charge just sound awesome, for example); one of my friends pointed out to spell tattoos to me, and that seems like a neat option to expand my spell powers without the problems of juggling scrolls and wands in combat.
hey it is fine to ask advice and it is also fine not to follow them all. I like the two attacks from claws and Think you Can be relevant with them at least until level 6. I dont Think level 2 or 4 barbarian notably better than a bloodrager. But i also dont Think it is the spells that Carry the Heavy load on the bloodrager later on. Bloodrager is a solid class and with the Primalist AT is is amazing. So just keep it up. Remember the class supports str Best for melee and you Will eventually get more rage rounds than you need.
Lynceus: You need to read The Wheel of Time series.
But that fly is limited to rage rounds where the other fly is minutes pr level.
Good point on the claws but 1d10+6 would have a good chance to do the 9 slashing damage one need to take a skeleton out. But that actually just goes to show that he need a backup weapon. For a slashing primary i suggest a cold iron morning star at 16 gp it gives you piercing, bludeging and cold iron. And then the main weapon can get the enchants.
With both of those, the point is 'convenience', or rather 'action economy'.
The flight is a nonaction with the rage power. The fly spell is a standard action to cast. Since you are probably going to be raging when doing melee at that level anyway, you can chase after flying enemies without any problems.
The claws also happen automatically. They do not need a move action to take out like a stored item would. Mostly a concern at early levels, and yes, eventually obsolete. Still, skeletons are a fairly standard low level enemy, one of the key 'hey, DR is a thing' enemies, and you have few options to deal with them early on other than 'smash'.
But that fly is limited to rage rounds where the other fly is minutes pr level.
Good point on the claws but 1d10+6 would have a good chance to do the 9 slashing damage one need to take a skeleton out. But that actually just goes to show that he need a backup weapon. For a slashing primary i suggest a cold iron morning star at 16 gp it gives you piercing, bludeging and cold iron. And then the main weapon can get the enchants.With both of those, the point is 'convenience', or rather 'action economy'.
The flight is a nonaction with the rage power. The fly spell is a standard action to cast. Since you are probably going to be raging when doing melee at that level anyway, you can chase after flying enemies without any problems.
The claws also happen automatically. They do not need a move action to take out like a stored item would. Mostly a concern at early levels, and yes, eventually obsolete. Still, skeletons are a fairly standard low level enemy, one of the key 'hey, DR is a thing' enemies, and you have few options to deal with them early on other than 'smash'.
at early levels, for blood ragers, the move action is rarely used for anything where you cannot draw a weapon at the same time. And yes fly is a standart action away and that May allow the bad guy to get away. But if you are a primalist and you took lesser beast and beast at 8 you can get CAGM and pounce at level 12 :)
I realize that destined bloodrager is off the table but with fates favored and beast totem you look at AC 15 when raging before armor dex and magic :) that is sweet. And dragon will only be a bit behind. And Oure hero the OP elf will have exelent AC with his high dex, the level 4 power and a mithril breast plate, And shield Spell up.
Just leverage your stats and switch hit. If enemies are harassing at range, then put some arrows in them. If they close to mêlée, quick draw that curve blade and slice and dice. Your character is just less focused than your dwarf friend, not particularly weaker. I mean, you are only a few points of DPR away from one of the best face smashers around, that's not bad. I bet you can put up better defenses as well with the high dexterity score.
@Lune: I have read the series, at least up until Path of Daggers, I think it was, where the Dragon Reborn only shows up in the last chapter. That's pretty much where I drew the line with the series. Rand, son of Raff, isn't much like Rand al Thor. Unless there was something else you were referring to?
@everyone else: your comments are pretty spot-on, I think. If I had to do this again, I'd definitely do it differently, but it's not looking as bad as I feared. We play again this Sunday, I'll give you all an update after that session to see how things work out.
EDIT: I was looking at Cross-Blooded, and while the penalties are fairly severe, I was curious if switching Primalist for Cross-Blooded and getting Fated Bloodrager (Fated Bloodline 4) on top of Draconic Resistance by level 8 would be viable.
@Lune: I have read the series, at least up until Path of Daggers, I think it was, where the Dragon Reborn only shows up in the last chapter. That's pretty much where I drew the line with the series. Rand, son of Raff, isn't much like Rand al Thor. Unless there was something else you were referring to?
@everyone else: your comments are pretty spot-on, I think. If I had to do this again, I'd definitely do it differently, but it's not looking as bad as I feared. We play again this Sunday, I'll give you all an update after that session to see how things work out.
EDIT: I was looking at Cross-Blooded, and while the penalties are fairly severe, I was curious if switching Primalist for Cross-Blooded and getting Fated Bloodrager (Fated Bloodline 4) on top of Draconic Resistance by level 8 would be viable.
I think primalist is way better than crossblooded.
well yeah--pounce/spellsunder is stupid-strong. it does deprive your of a great many bloodline abilities, raising the question of "why not just play a barbarian instead?".
crossblooded is plenty powerful in it's own right, but literally nothing in the game compares to pounce for martials.
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So, I promised an update after Sunday's session, but...
There was no combat. Like, at all. Our mission involved us being sent to a remote community in the icy north, where a number of people had vanished without a trace. Some of our companions had gotten there first, but when we arrived, they had also vanished.
We found them inside an ice cavern last session, though they couldn't recall anything they had actually done in town to that point. So this session, our investigation began- which, as it turned out, ended up being 8 hours of skill checks and roleplaying.
It was fun, but it didn't give me any opportunity to see how the 'new & improved Rand' works in combat. So until next week...
