Grummik's page

I must admit, I hate the spirit of this thread. After reading the OP and some of the replies, somehow the only thing I come away with is people trying to break the game and if you're not optimized you are somehow diminishing your experience of the game.

Of course, the latter is simply not true. I approach a new character with a concept first, then manipulate the numbers to fit the concept if possible. This is not optimal in most people's view but makes for fun roleplay opportunities and, to steal a quote from above, "keeps the game interesting."

It's the number crunchers that make the game boring and they're the most annoying players I have to deal with. They typically get upset when their "optimized" character is rendered useless in many situations because they are usually one-dimensional.

Lets say you have a 20' movement.

You move forward, then diagonal then forward.

You've moved 15'

Does that mean you are not able to move diagonal with your last square of movement?

I'm not sure why this is being talked to death, it's an easy question and answer.

The answer to your direct question is no, you cannot move diagonal again in your example as that movement would cost you 10 ft and you only have 5 ft of movement left.

Will 3rd party content, like Dreamscarred Press and their Psionics Unleahsed, become a part of the game eventually?

I, for one, certainly hope not.

Grummik wrote:

I thought RPGs were about the story and not the stats? I have just as much fun at 1st level as any higher level. Not only that, 1st level is very short lived to begin with. Our group focuses on RPing and not "optimization" or who can do the most damage, etc. When the game becomes more about the numbers than the RPing, something is lost imo.

Why does that mean that APs should always start at first level?

Well, most often, 1st level is where the main story starts and I'm ok with that. Moreover, I submit the story actually starts before 1st level. It starts with your character's back story or background which leads up to the current events of the campaign start.

Sorry but there's no compelling reason to start at a higher level other than personal choice. If that's what you and your group want to do then go for it. Some people are implying that the fun doesn't begin until at least 3rd level and I just don't subscribe to that philosophy. It's what you make of it.

Remember this folks. The stats bump only really ramps up the effectiveness in the early levels. Evetually the extra +1 accross the board gets ecplipsed by more powerful encounters.

So many GMs want to penalize players right from jump street and I don't agree with that philosophy. I think someone above me mentioned they would impose a +1 level adjustment AND and 10 point buy, really? Just the 10 point buy negates the need for a level adjustment, that's too harsh imo. If you're worried about a character being overpowered then you should adjust the level of encounters by +1, rather than hampering the character, it will only frustrate him or her and make it less fun.

That said the question remains, would you allow this race? I would not from a lore standpoint. It should be a major world event if the Azlanti were still around.

I will try to make this clear one last time, and then I will let this thread go where it wants to go, I guess. What I am interested in is not how difficult the Acrobatics check should be. I'm interested in whether the check is meant to be a tactical choice, or if it is assumed to be an automatic roll for anyone moving through a threatened square. If something bad happens when you fail (like falling prone, or even just being prevented from finishing your movement), then it's the former. If failing has exactly the same effect as not bothering to roll, then it might as well be the latter.

An acrobatics check to avoid an AoO is absolutely a tactical choice. I did that many times on my rogue to gain a flank and sneak attack damage, and was successful most of the time. You're correct, failing does have the same effect as not bothering to roll, you take the AoO either way.

In the corebook pgs. 87 and 88. RAW

"In addition, you can move through a threatened square
without provoking an attack of opportunity from an
enemy by using Acrobatics. When moving in this way,you move at half speed. You can move at full speed by increasing the DC of the check by 10. You cannot use Acrobatics to move past foes if your speed is reduced due to carrying a medium or heavy load or wearing medium
or heavy armor. If an ability allows you to move at full
speed under such conditions, you can use Acrobatics to
move past foes. You can use Acrobatics in this way while
prone, but doing so requires a full-round action to move
5 feet, and the DC is increased by 5."

Nothing in here says you get knocked prone as someone above me had stated. Failure only means you don't avoid the AoO but you still continue to move to where you wanted to in the first place.