Danzig Darkheart's page

Hey, my last few posts aren't, well, they aren't being posted. Did I make someone mad? I wasn't being mean or inappropriate or anything so, what's up with that?

Does anyone play core classes anymore? Are the expanded classes balanced? Are Elven wizards so hum-drum that we need half giant psionic ninjas? Does the AoW AP favor some expanded races/classes?

I've been perusing some recent threads and noticed various mentions of min/max-ing and spiked chains and such. I have a few thoughts of my own on the subject.
When the 3E rules came out, I was stoked, because they finally answered an issue that a few fellow gamers had bemoaned. In point, high level fighters had always been "boring" in comparison to high level spell casters, as far as range of choices in an encounter was concernerned. While the magic-user had books of spells to choose from, the fighter was stuck with nothing more than stronger version of the same option he had as a first level character.
Now, a high level fighter can choose from an array of weapons and tactics, each uniquely suited to certain tasks. You wouldn't expect a wizard to cast a fireball that doesn't include the most or toughest enemies within its area, so why discourage a warrior who wants to get the best effect out of her raison d'etre.
Of course, if a DM caters to his players wish lists (and in campaign worlds where magic is abundantly available, such as...the Forgotten Realms, the DMG can become like a Sears catalog) then game balance can get skewed, especially if only one player is taking advantage of the system, while his team mates wallow in mere above averageness. Nevertheless, if the availability of ability boosting items and specialty weapons is adjudicated evenly, a balance is quickly reached.
So pick up that spiked chain and take the Combat Reflexes and Improved Trip feats as soon as you can- then wade into a roomful of orcs and show that wizard he can just memorize water breathing in the place of that fireball next time.