Hail adventurers! It's been awhile! Sorry for my absence; I've been busy with my two jobs and in short supply of money, time, and energy (as if I had been attacked and captured by an Illithid, then rescued by Gythanki warriors, who in turn enslaved me, then I escaped and teleported back using one of their Gythanki teleporters). ^.^;
Anyways....ahem....A PC decided to put his (9) in DEX and now has (-1) to all DEX ability modifiers. So, naturally my question is this:
If there is a -# in AC and INITIATIVE, is it still a (-#), or does it even out to (0)??? I know either way, it's hard for players to play a slow character.
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If there is a -# in AC and INITIATIVE, is it still a (-#), or does it even out to (0)??? I know either way, it's hard for players to play a slow character.
The way I've seen it played is that, yes, it is still a -# in both AC and initiative. Also, for AC, when the character is flatfooted, the Dex penalty does not go away (that is, the character does not get faster when he is flatfooted).
Yea, so characters are hard. At least there are plenty of things to do to boost AC. The character in our party with Dex 7 uses Mage Armor and Shield to get his AC up. Also, we just gave him a Ring of Protection we found. When he doesn't have the spells cast, his AC is 9.
Hey Drake,
PhisChic is absolutely right. You can have -1 as your initiative bonus. It ain't that bad, when you think about it. It just means that you'll probably act a little after a monk or a rogue... You still get your turn though. And it's nothing an "Improved Initiative" feat couldn't cure.
As for the -1 to armor class; I wouldn't worry about that either. It's only a matter of time before the PC gets gloves of dexterity, or an ioun stone, or a ring of protection, or even an extra ability point at fourth level.
I found that playing these types of characters that others would just throw away is very rewarding on the long run. It gives flavor to the group. Don't see this character as slow (the character still has a movement of 30ft), see him (or her) as a little clumsy.
I always said that there's no character I wouldn't play.
Ultradan
Well, the two above posts are absolutely correct, so there's nothing for me to add about that.
They're also right on track about the dex boosts. Depending on the character type, it's not that hard hitting a penalty. For example, if they're going to end up in plate mail, the most they'll be able to make use of is a 12-13, which is easily granted by items or spells. Unless they get Mithril Plate, but that purchase wouldn't make much sense for a low dex type.
Heh, you think that's slow? The character I'm playing right now has the "Unreactive" Flaw from UA (-6 to his Initiative!) (And his Dex just recently got bumped UP to 12!)
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I'm PhysChic's fellow gamer, with the happy crippled human.
You'd be surprised what Improved Initiative and Lightning Reflexes can do for a Dex of 7... at least the character's on a semi-level playing field ;) {hooray for crippled abjurers!)
But humor aside, a low dex certainly does tend to make life more difficult- I've heard some ppl say, "don't upgrade your AC, it's low enough that any attempt to improve it won't matter won't matter." If your player is receiving this advice, set them straight- when a fighter can use full Power Attack and confirms critical hits on 2s vs. your AC 9, you'll wish you had put monies into defensive measures.