I'm asking, because I saw the Keen Rapier +3 FAQ is based on an "All other weapons of this type require proficiency" argument.
On the other hand, Impaler of Thorns is a Spear (not Polearm!) and no other Spear weapon requires proficiency - they're essentially 'simple' weapons. So is the IoT required proficiency intended or is it a templating error?
Incidentally, just to use the thread: shouldn't the Horsechopper +1 have the 'Glaive' trait?
PS: And just to bundle in another question - Evoker Ezren has a power that states "Add 2 to your Arcane check with the Force (or Acid or Cold)(or Electricity and Fire) traits."
Does this mean that I'm adding 2 and Force, etc. traits to my check, or does that mean that my check has to have the Force, etc. trait in order to gain the +2 bonus? If the latter - am I right to think this power is rather underwhelming ?!?
Incidentally, just to use the thread: shouldn't the Horsechopper +1 have the 'Glaive' trait?
Don't you mean the Glaive-glaive-glaive-guisarme-glaive trait?
PS: And just to bundle in another question - Evoker Ezren has a power that states "Add 2 to your Arcane check with the Force (or Acid or Cold)(or Electricity and Fire) traits."
Does this mean that I'm adding 2 and Force, etc. traits to my check, or does that mean that my check has to have the Force, etc. trait in order to gain the +2 bonus? If the latter - am I right to think this power is rather underwhelming ?!?
The check needs to already have those traits for you to use the power.
PS: And just to bundle in another question - Evoker Ezren has a power that states "Add 2 to your Arcane check with the Force (or Acid or Cold)(or Electricity and Fire) traits."
Does this mean that I'm adding 2 and Force, etc. traits to my check, or does that mean that my check has to have the Force, etc. trait in order to gain the +2 bonus? If the latter - am I right to think this power is rather underwhelming ?!?
As Skizzerz said, the check must have the Force trait already for you to use the power. See this comment from Chad Brown for confirmation.
In RotR, there are a few cards that this works with. Force Missile, Wand of Force Missile, and Sign of Wrath. In other adventure paths, there are others (Ring of Force Fangs, Blasting Pistol +2, Force Shortbow, Spirit Blade, etc). But the power feats that apply it with other traits make it very strong.
In RotR, there are a few cards that this works with. Force Missile, Wand of Force Missile, and Sign of Wrath.
That's true, but by the time role card rolls about, Force Missile and the Wand are long gone (the Wand being worthless from the get-go, IMO), and in a 6-player game I only stumbled across one Sign in AP6; I don't fancy my chances of getting one in solo play.
So essentially, a must expend at least two power feats to get some worth of this power, on the off-chance I'm carrying a Cone of Cold (Blizzard doesn't roll on until AD5, and Corrosive Rain - in AD6).
In my experience, Ray of Fire, Incendiary Cloud and Lightning Bolt are the major mainstays in Ezren's deck (until Disintegrate, which doesn't benefit from this power at all!) and then that'd be 3 power feats for a measly 2 points on those spells. By this time (power feat 6), all of them would probably have left his deck, however...
I'm not trying to bash on the power, but I wonder if I'm missing the point of it in some way?
It reflects a pair of minor additional damage powers that RPG Evokers have from first level, one of which works on all Evocation spells and one of which is a small amount of [force] damage.
Unfortunately, not all powers work as well as others, or fit as well with the way you want to play that character, or fit as well with the group of characters, or even with the set. Perhaps if they were to remake this specific Ezren for today they'd make both roles Evocation specialists and adjust the early abilities:
[] Add 1 to your check to recharge a card.
[] Add 2 to your Arcane check with the Force, Acid, Cold, Electricity, or Fire traits.
Then later:
[] Add 1 ([] 2) (...) to your check to recharge a card.
[] Add 2 ([] 4) to your Arcane check....
Those might better reflect the RPG abilities and the gradual increases of those abilities, but might also be pretty boring in play. ::shrug::
I kept Force Missile around for my Ezren until AP5/6 and certainly had it when I got my Role Card. With Poison and Fire being some of the top immunities, Force Missile gets around that and you get the +2 bonus. Acid Arrow and Frost Ray are also some early spells that the 2nd power feat enables. With Ezren's skills fully loaded, a d12+8+2d4 is decent enough against many monsters that you can keep those early spells for longer than you might with Seoni.
I kept Force Missile around for my Ezren until AP5/6 and certainly had it when I got my Role Card. With Poison and Fire being some of the top immunities, Force Missile gets around that and you get the +2 bonus. Acid Arrow and Frost Ray are also some early spells that the 2nd power feat enables. With Ezren's skills fully loaded, a d12+8+2d4 is decent enough against many monsters that you can keep those early spells for longer than you might with Seoni.
Thanks for the insight. I recently got rid of the force missiles in favor of Acid Arrows (just in case I somehow still hold 2d4 spells when I hit the Troll Tyrants) but I'd wager they'd get replaced by Incendiary Clouds first chance I get. The clouds spells offer too good of an advantage to pass, and I can't recall having trouble with anything immune to fire in RotR. Still, it occurs to me that I'm pretty set in a given playstyle, so it's a good thing to get a different perspective on things.
My ezren swapped to lightning bolts (loved the bolts.. generally effective until the final scenarios) and later disintegrate.
My ezren swapped to lightning bolts (loved the bolts.. generally effective until the final scenarios) and later disintegrate.
Yes, I take those as well, but generally swap them for one another (i.e. Lightning Bolt upgrades into Disintegrate) as they both serve the same "boss killer" role in my deck (other slots are dedicated to clouds and buff support). However, the Bolt needs 3 feats on this power to use the +2 bonus, and by then I'm likely to have switched to Disintegrate which gets no bonus at all...
Chief Technical Officer
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..I recently got rid of the force missiles in favor of Acid Arrows (just in case I somehow still hold 2d4 spells when I hit the Troll Tyrants)...
While there are a few monsters that Acid is strong against, there are also monsters that are immune to Acid... but I don't think anything is immune to Force.
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Chief Technical Officer
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Impaler of Thorns is a Spear (not Polearm!) and no other Spear weapon requires proficiency - they're essentially 'simple' weapons. So is the IoT required proficiency intended or is it a templating error?
Mike says "I have no problem with some Spears requiring proficiency and others not requiring it. This one has thorns!"
Incidentally, just to use the thread: shouldn't the Horsechopper +1 have the 'Glaive' trait?
No—it should have the Polearm trait. Added to FAQ. (Raz and Tontelizi thank you.)
While there are a few monsters that Acid is strong against, there are also monsters that are immune to Acid... but I don't think anything is immune to Force.
Sure isn't. That's also why there aren't many ways to add the Force trait to your check (Force Missile, Sign of Wrath, Ring of Forcefangs, being the right Seoni).
Or being a jedi..
Mike says "I have no problem with some Spears requiring proficiency and others not requiring it. This one has thorns!"
Well, my solo Ezren has a problem with it, but them's the breaks, I guess :(
Incidentally, just to use the thread: shouldn't the Horsechopper +1 have the 'Glaive' trait?
No—it should have the Polearm trait.(Raz and Tontelizi thank you.)
Silly me, that's what I meant - I was looking at the other Glaives (which have the 'polearm' obviously) when I asked the question. Glad to help the chaps ^^
While there are a few monsters that Acid is strong against, there are also monsters that are immune to Acid... but I don't think anything is immune to Force.Sure isn't. That's also why there aren't many ways to add the Force trait to your check (Force Missile, Sign of Wrath, Ring of Forcefangs, being the right Seoni).
I have other spells vs immunes, but I can't conjure up fire/acid at will for monster affected only by those traits. And my solo wizard spell upgrade rate has been abysmal (the few scenarios without any spell locations didn't help at all).
Impaler of Thorns is a Spear (not Polearm!) and no other Spear weapon requires proficiency - they're essentially 'simple' weapons. So is the IoT required proficiency intended or is it a templating error?Mike says "I have no problem with some Spears requiring proficiency and others not requiring it. This one has thorns!"
So... A 'bug' was reported at the Obsidian forums, about the Impaler applying proficiency penalty to a check, even though the appropriate text is missing from their card. Later, one of the devs chimed in with this:
"This bug is actually the result of a change in text - while the card in the physical game states the difficulty increase (and was originally implemented to match this), it was later modified per Paizo to make it more in line with other spears and not require proficiency. Text is correct; functionality is not! However, this is also already fixed internally."
I couldn't find anything on our forums or FAQ's about this. Did someone not get the memo, or... ?