Jonathan Gross's page

Having just started playing a PRPG Cleric in a RotRL campaign, might I suggest a Will save for half damage vs. channeled energy? The two yeth hounds in Nuallia's temple fell a little too easily for my taste. Or, perhaps, a different effect with the channeling variants such as stun or paralysis.

We only started Savage Tide last semester, so I know this obituary is kinda late, but it's still pretty impressive.

Cole Greenshoals, aquatic halfling scout: not technically dead, but in the care of the church of Kord after succumbing to the savage tide from a pirate in the first adventure.

Dagalur, orc fighter/ranger leviathan hunter: killed by the aquatic hydra in a massive underwater battle. Pretty straight-forward, but it definitely ranks as the most character appropriate death.

Graath, hadozee rogue: death by the cobalt dragon I placed on an island at the end of the Pearl Current to give PC's more XP. I believe it was death by all-out assault after several breath weapon attacks had failed.

Eric, human hexblade: a pretty straight forward stand and deliver death at the hands of the Mother of All, I let his soul be taken up by Procampus since his death pretty much gave the other PC's the chance they needed to kill that b***h of an abberation.

Kjell, human fighter (Dagalur's replacement character): death by tyrannosaurus, along with Skald, who had just started to be liked by the PC's. This still rates the most vicious encounter of the game so far; I mean, seriously, you wake up from being shipwrecked then BAM!!!-tyrannosaur.

Darrin, human dusklblade: failed a will save vs. mummy fear in the Olman catacombs, followed by two simultaneous mummy criticals resulting in 43 points of bludgeoning damage to a skull. (This was Eric's replacement character.)

Lukin Greenshoals, aquatic halfling rogue/scout: In 25 years of playing D&D, this was the first player character I've had die from mummy rot (after 6 days-a pretty gruesome, cool, yet realistic death by disease.) Mummies 2, PC's 2-the third mummy was just bull-rushed off one of the narrow stone bridges, waiting for all eternity for his chance for revenge.

What need fixing in 3.5:

If anything, give fighters more feats, not fewer. That's really all they get, and it's what makes them worth the money. Up the damage from Weapon Specialization from +2 to +4, and make Greater Specialization +8, and let combat be as vicious in game terms as it should be. In a Ravenloft game in which I play a 16th lvl paladin, a 16th level fighter did 163 points of damage to me in two rounds. Fortunately, through judicial spell use (and him being evil) I did 208 points over that same period. Magic, divine and arcane are powerful enough as it is. Give the Tome of Battle classes (which I love) limited uses of powers per day. Let rogues use open lock to bypass arcane locks. My Rogue 16/Gatecrasher 10 can open a portal sealed by the gods, but a 2nd lvl spell stumps him.