Nix doesn't know you well, was not terribly privy to the fact that you have a plane, so therefore, did not ask. So, yeah. Not using player knowledge and all that.
Yeppers. And Nix generally does not start a conversation with "My name is Nix, do you happen to own your own demi-plane?" ;)
Dont worry Ed, I had a gm in one game consider my character flat footed cause it was "the first round of combat" even though we were all ready for combat and just waiting for the start bell. Honestly, that was just wrong, add on top the the other ridiculous stuff and it was the most frustrating fight I ever played, and the only character "death" on my record.
well .. according to rules-as-written (RAW), you are flat footed until your first action. Whether or not you are ready for combat. Not that I have ever run a game that close to RAW, but just sayin'.
But RAW doesnt state when combat counts as having started. Thus it is only reasonable to assume that you enter combat either when attacked (if taken by surprise) or when you ready yourself for combat.
Thus with everyone being ready to fight, combat should of counted as having started prior to the bell, and everyone basically just waited for the bell before taking actions.
I mean seriously, you are standing there weapon ready, then the bell rings and this guy from 30' away runs at you then swings and you knew it was coming an hour ago, no way in heck would you be flat footed.
Honestly, that rule assumes that no one knows combat is coming until the first round of combat.
My interpretation wasn't if you were ready and aware or not. There's a separate mechanic for that - surprise rounds. I always figured that - no matter how "prepared" you are in combat, it still takes you a moment to get up to... "Combat speed" if you will. Has nothing really to do with preparedness.
That was always my interpretation of it.
Combat does have an unambiguous start in the rules though - when initiative is rolled. I usually have initiative rolled when someone intends to make a hostile action in the following round. (which they can attempt to hide with a Bluff check, which would allow a surprise round).
If you ignore the flatfooted until you act rule, there's no real benefit to intitiative being won.
IMHO
If you ignore the flatfooted until you act rule, there's no real benefit to intitiative being won.
IMHO
Really?
Wizard wins initiative, dominates fighter before he can act and cut up the wizard.
Myself I hate the whole 6 seconds round mechanic, from rolled initiative, surprise rounds to actions move and other, Just there to make Dnd/Pathfinder game mechanic work and nothing more, it bears little or no resemblance to reality. clunky slow and stupid most of the time. Other games have systems like action rounds and speed based around training in an action etc. Your a short shooter you get a snap around of 1st, its a light weapon you get two chances to hit per action.
Call of Cthulhu has this
COMBAT SEQUENCE
๏1st DEX Cycle: All drawn and aimed firearms/ranged weapons
fire in DEX order, highest to lowest. If DEX
scores are tied, roll d100, the lowest goes first.
๏2nd DEX Cycle: This time include:
• All hand-to-hand attacks
• All 2nd firearm attacks
• All 1st firearm attacks if the firearm wasn’t
initially drawn or readied.
• Other Actions (First-Aid, Spell-casting, etc.)
• Firearms with a third shot fire at half DEX TH
Dex then becomes speed in combat and very impotent, and even with a surprise attack.
They jump out of a bush 20' away and charge you, you still get a shot at them if your gun was out ready and loaded, no ifs or buts. In pathfinder you stand there wile they run up to you and hit you on the head. "Bonk"
Most GMs would be logical and say, yes you get a shot off.
I agree somewhat with Wombat. The rules don't really tend to approach reality too often anyway. You can try to approximate them, but honestly it's a game system. In my opinion, sacrificing fun to get closer to reality is not good game design.
The question you have to ask: is it fun? Because that is really what is important. I personally find it very fun. :)
I believe I am still waiting on Phaeze and Yrrin's (I think) actions (and Vai's, but I'm kinda waiting to see if anyone will dispel the archer's invisibility).
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You know what i hate?
Mirror image.
Any slashing weapon would just cut though the extra images no problem, until it ran into the caster, unless the mirror images are in different squares- then you could just remember where the caster started.
If you ignore the flatfooted until you act rule, there's no real benefit to intitiative being won.
IMHO
Really?
Wizard wins initiative, dominates fighter before he can act and cut up the wizard.
Anyhoo, there are tactical advantages to winning initiative, of course.
I was speaking of mechanical advantages.
Ed, no worries here, you were definitely not acting like a jerk. The worst you got was a little anxious about something. And I'm pretty sure we talked that through just fine. I know your life is super-stressful right now. But you've got nothing to stress about here. :)
As far as the flat-footed thing goes...ready an action if you're waiting for combat to start. You've now taken your first combat action and are no longer flat-footed....things I've learned from playing with rules lawyers. :P
Anyhow, I've got to go work on homework for a bit. I don't know if I'll get a chance to post to the game thread before tomorrow honestly. Husband's birthday was this past weekend which means I am once again behind on homework. I have to study for a computer repair quiz this morning since I have that class this afternoon and then after class I have to work on writing a critique of a classmate's rough draft for english class. Pity the poor person who gets to have me as an editor. So depending on how long that takes, I might or might not get a chance to post tonight. But since we had a test in physics on Thursday I don't have any physics homework so I should have all morning tomorrow free to post. :)
Yeah ED, I saw no jerkiness...
You know what i hate?
Mirror image.
Any slashing weapon would just cut though the extra images no problem, until it ran into the caster, unless the mirror images are in different squares- then you could just remember where the caster started.
Thats why I have them walk through the same place my character is standing and the spread out to different squares.
These images remain in your space and move with you, mimicking your movements, sounds, and actions exactly.
It's also a 2nd level spell that is better then greater invis for 1d4+1(per three levels)-1 hits.
Unless they close thier eyes, then it's equal to greater invisibility.
But it's a spell, so it will never get nerfed.
Naw, Greater Invisibility has offensive advantages, whereas mirror image grants none.
That being said, Mirror Image is the single best defensive spell in the game in my opinion, and should be at least level 3 or 4.
Naw, Greater Invisibility has offensive advantages, whereas mirror image grants none.
That being said, Mirror Image is the single best defensive spell in the game in my opinion, and should be at least level 3 or 4.
Fly is better.
If they have ranged attacks, combine that with fickle winds.
Fly+fickle winds = immunity to most attacks that aren't spells, guns, or siege weapons.
(Or slings, but who uses those? Not many people)
Or, if you really want to destroy everything, fickle winds, fly, and mirror image, so only guns and slings hit, and with a 30% miss chance, then mirror image.
Big bad spellcasters, if they are smart, can destroy a party of martial adventurers several levels above them.
Trait that allows you to cast a metamaigc for one lower level will allow you to cast quickened mirror image at 10th level, in the same round you cast fly, and fly into the air.
Next round, cast fickle winds.
Rain death from above.
Conversely, at that level (5-6), a ranged martial character should really have Seeking in their bow, negating all those miss chances.
Bows auto miss under fickle winds, as if passing through wind wall.
Guns and slings with seeking are the only real counter.
Unfortunately, this still means it takes magic to defeat magic.
it is a magic setting, magic is an intrinsic part of the setting.... enchanted weapons are part of the balancing effects of martial
Then magic items should be built into the class.
I hate to break it to you, but a +bla weapon is not a class feature.
And you're expected to buy them, while casters can dedicate it to whatever they want, like pearls of power.
And just because magic exists doesn't mean magic must be better then not magic in every way.
Actually, that is pretty much how it's supposed to be when you think about it.
Martial characters use more or less just what they and everybody else is born with, just to better effect than most.
A caster uses mystical energies to create effects not normally possible.
However, if all you are focused on trying to do is out fight the Fighter, you aren't doing much else and have likely let down your party.
it is a magic setting, magic is an intrinsic part of the setting.... enchanted weapons are part of the balancing effects of martial
Then magic items should be built into the class.
I hate to break it to you, but a +bla weapon is not a class feature.
And you're expected to buy them, while casters can dedicate it to whatever they want, like pearls of power.
As an aside, martial characters gain decidedly more power from their magic items than spellcasters do. Spellcasters may gain longevity/utility from their items, but very few increase the caster's actual power (their ability to remove threats).
Also - martial characters have a lot of non-choices. Power Attack or Deadly Aim, for example, are pretty much required for every martial class (unless they are combat maneuver focused).
Casters are great in theory and on paper, but in general, casters are definitely not gods. In most of my games, casters become support for the martial characters who far outstrip them in damage potential. Casters are kept around for Dispels, utility and buff spells. Martial classes are the damage dealers, at least in single target or small group situations. Casters are still the king of AoE.
The list of non-choices is one of the problems here.
Martials must take a ton of stuff, and for all that, can do nothing but hit things with a big stick. How... Fun.
Combat manuvers are useless at higher levels.
And MG, then why do we even have martials if casters are supposed to be blatantly better?
If that's the case, just have a caster dedicated to each job.
Cast mirror image at 3rd level.
And not really. We have clerics- you know full armor, decent bab, full spellcasting,gets every spell on thier list?
And casters should die quick, even with maritals. Any creature with half a brain is going to go after them first.
Oh, and another thing MG, if casters are supposed to be blatantly better, why are they equal CR to the fighter?
I agree with you that having non-choices is a bad thing (poor game design), but casters are not nearly the gods you are making them out to be, especially since they can't really burn a spell every round and hope to stay relevant for very long, especially since save DCs don't scale up very well compared to save bonuses (and the fact that Ring of Evasion is a thing, albeit a slightly expensive one).
Also, casters have setup time, whereas martial classes have very little/none (depending on if they take quick draw, and how fast they move, etc). A wizard relying on mirror image to save him may/may not be dead before he gets a chance to cast.
Honestly I think Pathfinder is decently balanced, as long as you're informed when building your character. Martial characters have the damage, casters have the utility. /shrug
I'm not going to argue further.
It just depresses me to feel trivialized.
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Cast mirror image at 3rd level.
And not really. We have clerics- you know full armor, decent bab, full spellcasting,gets every spell on thier list?
And casters should die quick, even with maritals. Any creature with half a brain is going to go after them first.
medium armor, the only classes who get heavy armor proficiency as class features are paladin and fighter
and maybe they would if the fighters weren't in the way
The fighters can't get in the way. There is no mechanic for stopping someone from moving around aside from aoo's, and spells. Most things can take an Aoo from a fighter or barbarian, then slaughter the caster.
At higher levels, with a belt of physical perfection, full armor tends to actually lower your ac compared to a breastplate, due to max dex.
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/stand-still-combat---final
Well at least that's something. Now prevent them from walking outside your reach.
And it's a cmb check with no feats to support it.
Actually, I'm really done.
Sorry, everyone. There was no need for this.
My fault.
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there's also a barbarian rage power for when someone uses the withdraw action it allows you to move twice your movement rate as an immediate action
I was trying to build a barbarian that fits my play style like the paladin I showed you does, and with the draconic rage powers and a few others like that one I think I got something quite viable,
Here's the thing Ice:
When these conversations come up, whether its you or somebody else who starts them, it always boils down to some sort of one on one situation, and the caster seems to always have the advantage of prep time. Which is fine, for such debates, but that's no how you play D&D/Pathfinder.
Instead, the game is designed with the four party core concept in mind. Its generally supposed to be a martial character, a skilled/sneak, a divine caster and an arcane caster, though of course this isn't always the case, and you're free to play however you want.
Thus, when the party runs up against a creature that is either resistant or immune to some/most of the caster's spells he has prepared that day(or knows!) he looks to his companions for help.
And when a well placed spell turns the tide or utterly ends a battle, you can be sure the guy who hits things will thank the caster.
Been awful quiet tonight. <.<
I blame considerate people!
Plus those that don't actually respond to requests IC. :)