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My group is heading for Thistletop next week and so I was going over my notes and looking stuff up online about how some of these encounters had gone from other groups when I stumbled across a thread about some of Gogmurt's tactics. The thread in question is from late 2014 so I don't want to revive it with a question, but it goes like this; Correct me if I am wrong, but after he casts Entangle, any PC that is caught in it is considered flat footed and thus would be subject to his Sneak Attack bonus with his Produce Flame wand (within 30 feet of course and only if actually having failed the save) since the spell acts as a ranged touch attack. The thread itself doesn't say anything about him being wrong, but looking at the spell I can't actually understand how this would work? Nothing in the text of Produce Flame makes the target flat, though it can definitely crit and sneak if they were, and the Entangled condition imposes some movement restrictions and penalties, but that isn't enough to count as flat footed, as far as I know. Is there something I'm missing here than allows Gogmurt to sneak with his wand of Produce Flame?
and I can't shake the feeling that levels are just 'given' rather than earned without XP. I can understand the point of view, but in my opinion it's just as earned. You still overcome the encounters, beat the monsters, save the town, whatever you would've needed to do to get the exp in the first place. I mean, from what I've seen in the adventures I've played, most of the time Milestones are awarded around the same time that people would be leveling up anyways. That being said, I can totally get behind the idea of totaling up your exp and being excited at the big numbers, and like you say, it's just a preference. (I'm just bad at math so calculating exp is a pain for me!)
Having played in both types of campaigns, and run both types of campaigns, I absolutely advocate for handling leveling like this. It enables you to set the pace of the adventure, which helps comfort and planning. And in some groups it can also help move away from the mindset of "I need XP", which I know the 3.5 campaign that uses exp leveling I'm in suffers from. Just be sure you tell your players that you're using Milestone Leveling, so that everything is clear and out in the open.
It seems to just kind of be a necessary thing, imo Without it being retooled to be massive bonuses (to the point where they would almost always win a grapple anyways), Freedom of Movement is one of the only answers to truly grapple-focused enemies. Their bonuses scale quickly to the point where Full BAB, High Strength characters can struggle to succeed against them, and the Caster with 1/2 BAB, Low Strength, and possibly even a size penalty, has next to no chance. That being said, Fly is available a level sooner, and shuts down a lot of grappling (unless they can also fly), albeit for a shorter amount of time.
I've run a few APs on my own with friends but built a character for PFS because I was curious as to how different it is, and it seems fun! PbP fits my schedule the best with school and other campaigns happening either in person or over roll20, but I've never done it before so that's also kind of a new thing. If the inexperience isn't that big a deal, my registered character is my only Alias and I'd be more than grateful for the opportunity! That being said, if there's anything more that I need to do to get started I'd be thankful for the hand. |