Hey all.
I've been having some conflicting feelings regarding my most recent character. I've inadvertantly created a very powerful sniper who I feel is upsetting the balance of the game. This is unusual for my style of play -my group and I don't come from a power-gamer background. We play strictly by the 3.5 book, WoTC/Paizo materials ONLY, with no house rules, favors or weird DM interventions. We're all in our 30's and like to have fair, effective characters without total atom-smashers who dominate the game and screw up the Challenge Ratings. Which brings me to my problem.
Our DM has been running us through the Rise of the Runelords books. We just hit 12th level. I have what I thought was just going to be a pretty standard archer-type character -a dwarven crossbowman wielding a great crossbow.
I'm an 8th level rogue/4th level fighter with most of the usual compliments of archery feats (point blank, crossbow sniper from PHII, crossbow mastery from RotR, rapid reload, rapid shot, etc), and I'm not loaded down with excessive, powerful gear. I thought that the 2d8 damage from the great crossbow would eventually level out after the first few levels, but with the recent addition of improved critical to my feat list, I'm doing 250+ damage a round if the mages have me hasted, the buffs are flying and the bard's yellin' -the barbarian raging full-on can't even touch my damage. Typical damage on a normal round is 2d8+10, but with a 15-20 crit range (his weapon is a +1 collision crossbow) it gets out of hand quick, especially if one or more of those shots is a 4d6 sneak attack. Of course, my dice skills are enviable (we DO roll in the open and I routinely crit over half of my shots), so that helps, but we just dropped that white dragon from Book 5 in 2 rounds, mostly due to a 3-criticals-out-of-4-shots round on my part (and, as mentioned, some key buffs).
It got to a point early on in the campaign that I stopped even trying to hide to get my extra sneak attack damage, because I was doing so much damage -I would save that move for the extra-bad guys. Now, I'm critting on 15+, which was always the point, but now I'm starting to feel like I built a character that far outclasses the games we are playing. AND I'm being totally honest about my intentions here, people -no one in my group -including me, likes to steal the limelight here -we're all very mature, rational players (or else I wouldn't be approaching this like a problem, would I?) and I'm starting to get squeamish and uncomfortable -I just thought this build would have leveled off and been reasonable by now.
I'm wondering if this plight has been a problem with anyone else? On paper, I feel my character looks balanced, nice, clean, efficient and effective, but in reality he's a friggin' BEAST. Not to mention that he gets to keep a nice, safe distance back from combat and rarely gets damaged as a result. My DM has taken reasonable steps to hobble him a bit (mirror image everywhere!), but after hitting 12th level, he's just a monster that I'm starting to feel guilty having at the gaming table.
Would love to hear thoughts/discussions on similar circumstance/solutions from a mature standpoint regarding such an issue.
Fleece
We had a ranger in the last campaign we refered to as the "chain gun". Needless to say Archer builds can easily out damage most caster and fighter builds without trying, and you have the added boon of rogue and great x-bow added in. It sounds like your party is mature enough to handle your role as damage dealer. Perhaps the caster should take a different tact, like buff/debuff, or the fighter can focus on defense. Just because you are not the mage doesnt mean you cannot be the source of big dammage in the party. If you still feel guilty make it a point to step back and let others shine at times. For example if you are the combat star, lay back in the problem solving or roleplay phases now and then...
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Also take into account that you are getting buffs. So it's your character plus spells... and of course tactics. (To get your SA damage.)
It sounds like everything is going ok but you are not used to dealing that kind of damage with a character. You've had good dice rolls and help from your party members (via spells and tactics.)
I think everything is going fine for you. It doesn't sound like you have twinked your character. (i.e. munchkin'd, optomized)
Enjoy the awesomeness that you have made... cuz your dice and the other players won't be there all the time... ;)
You could tell the buffers that it's cool to lay off for a while. There might not be much else for the bard to do, but if you have another caster (or two) who has been routinely giving you spells, you could tell them it's okay to use those spell slots on someone else/other spells. That will take some of the power away from you and shift it back to them. Hopefully, that will re-create the equillibrium in the party.
While appreciating the fact that the original build was not meant to be a munchkin - and that sometimes one's dice are golden (particularly when buffed to the gills) - this tale has prompted me to either ban or nerf the great crossbow from Races of Stone. That much damage, and the base critical threat range is 18+? :o
The regular greatbow (Complete Warrior) doesn't get an improved critical threat range when compared with its lesser cousins (all crit on a natural 20, all do x3 damage on a crit). So why should the great crossbow get a larger crit range than its smaller relatives? (18+ as opposed to 19+, although all do x2 crit damage.)
<Out comes the pencil, and it is promptly applied to Races of Stone.>
(Apologies if I sounded too ranty!)
Another thought: precision damage, if expressed as extra damage dice, does _not_ get multiplied when the attack receives a damage multiplier (such as from a critical hit). (PHB p. 50, and other places like the Rules Compendium.) Could that possibly be an issue here?
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This may not be an issue in your group, even though it is the issue in most groups. I have personally been infuriated on several occasions by a person that just tweaks their character over the river and through the woods, but you sound like you have done this within the basic rules (mostly). The only thing that really ticks me off is when people bend the rules and change them just to power themselves out. Since it sounds like you didn't do that, I don't see anything wrong with it.
If it really bothers you, maybe retire the character and roll up a new one for the remainder of the campaign.
Okay two things immediately stand out as no-nos. (Unintentional on your part, I'm sure.)
First, rapid reload decreases the reload time of a heavy xbow (and I'm assuming a great xbow) to a move action, which means that you can't make a full round attack with it and can't gain extra attacks via Rapid Shot or Haste either.
Second, your crit range can't be more than 17-20 because crit range boosts don't stack in 3.5. That I'm aware of at least; you might want to reread the rules by which you're getting that 15-20 crit range.
Hope that helps,
TS
Okay two things immediately stand out as no-nos. (Unintentional on your part, I'm sure.)
First, rapid reload decreases the reload time of a heavy xbow (and I'm assuming a great xbow) to a move action, which means that you can't make a full round attack with it and can't gain extra attacks via Rapid Shot or Haste either.
Second, your crit range can't be more than 17-20 because crit range boosts don't stack in 3.5. That I'm aware of at least; you might want to reread the rules by which you're getting that 15-20 crit range.
Hope that helps,
TS
I think that part of the problem in this case is that the character is using a great crossbow, which _does_ have a normal crit range of 18-20 (which is what I was ranting about a few posts up). If just one crit-boosting effect is applied, then one gets the insane 15-20 crit range which the OP listed.
But yeah, you're spot on about the Haste spell and Rapid Shot feat! (I'm embarrassed that I didn't catch that too!)
I'm an 8th level rogue/4th level fighter with most of the usual compliments of archery feats (point blank, crossbow sniper from PHII, crossbow mastery from RotR, rapid reload, rapid shot, etc), and I'm not loaded down with excessive, powerful gear. I thought that the 2d8 damage from the great crossbow would eventually level out after the first few levels, but with the recent addition of improved critical to my feat list, I'm doing 250+ damage a round if the mages have me hasted, the buffs are flying and the bard's yellin' -the barbarian raging full-on can't even touch my damage. Typical damage on a normal round is 2d8+10, but with a 15-20 crit range (his weapon is a +1 collision crossbow) it gets out of hand quick, especially if one or more of those shots is a 4d6 sneak attack. Of course, my dice skills are enviable (we DO roll in the open and I routinely crit over half of my shots), so that helps, but we just dropped that white dragon from Book 5 in 2 rounds, mostly due to a 3-criticals-out-of-4-shots round on my part (and, as mentioned, some key buffs).
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2d8+10 twice a round at BAB+10 produces 250 points of damage how? Even with sneak attack--which ranged attackers only get if the opponent is flat-footed, as they can't flank--produces 34 damage per hit. And you don't multiply the sneak attack damage on a critical, so you still don't get close. Post the math more completely then we'll worry about your build and any guilt.
You guys are missing the Crossbow Mastery feat. Fleace66 claims it is from RotRL (I haven't verified), but I know it is in the CotCT Players guide, pg 10.
Short answer, reloading any crossbow is a FREE action.
It is accidental powerhouses like this that force me to limit my games to core rules only, PHB, DMG and MM. On occasion I will create a list of additional rules from other sources I will allow but as soon as you start applying too many alternate options game breakers will pop up, often unintentionally, as the OP points out.
If such a powerhouse appeared in one of my games I'd let it slide because it was built within the confines of the agreed upon rules. Some of the above advice is great. Employ some different group tactics as far as buffing is concerned so your character drops back into line a bit. Or perhaps, just retiring him is in order.
Ultimately it just matters that everyone is having fun.
Not commenting the actual build, but I have come across the same situation, as have other players in my groups...
There has been cases when a player had a certain theme in mind and started to build a character, then noticing that it is overpowered build and went to do something else (Rego Mentem specialist in Ars Magica equals blah).
Also cases a bit similar to yours, where original "that sounds like a fun character" turned out to be unexpectedly powerful. Those have been handled by players self-regulating a bit and also DM twitching things to accommodate these unusual powerhouses.
In general the players I have played with have been quite self-regulating; when some tactic is noted as powerful it is not exploited to the degree that DM is forced to nerf things or that the fun is lost. And some powerful spell combinations etc. can be quite amusing when you stop to think how those would look like from the characters' point of view...
I'd also like to point out that there are good roleplaying opportunities in playing with power differences, if the players and DM feel like exploring those.
You guys are missing the Crossbow Mastery feat. Fleace66 claims it is from RotRL (I haven't verified), but I know it is in the CotCT Players guide, pg 10.
Short answer, reloading any crossbow is a FREE action.
Thanks for catching that!
I'm looking at that feat with mixed feelings, after reading about the OP's situation. Personally, I might change the pre-requisites so that only really high-level characters can take it (like a BAB of +15).
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You said you are getting alot of buffs from the other players.
It might help if, everytime you score a hit, do extra damge, etc., that you wouldn't have been able to do without a buff, you make sure to mention that and thank the caster.
I hate it when melee/ranged fighters take credit for doing things they couldn't have done without a spell someone else cast.
I'm not saying you need to praise them or talk about how awesome they are, but a simple "That one goes to the wizard, thanks for the haste." might help make the rest of the party feel useful in combat.
Again, you've got a low BAB, full sneak attacks are hard to get with ranged builds, and you're dealing a measly 4.5 points more than a regular light crossbow would do for you. Either you're getting when you get sneak attack wrong or you're inappropriately multiplying sneak attack when you critical or you haven't provided us with all the relevant information.
Also, are there any single class casters in the party? 'Cause they should be holding their own with Meta-magic feats applied to lower level spells and spells like Harm, Righteous Might, the various Wall spells, Baleful Polymorph, Solid Fog, Flesh to Stone, Chain Lightning, Charm Monster...
I dont think its a large problem as long as everyone in your group is having fun and its still challenging. In our games it seems like there is always one character who can deal way more damage then anyone else and thats just there job deal the damage while the rest of us have our jobs too
Yeah, I DM for a ranger/scout 16 with the Swift Hunter feat (so his ranger and scout levels stack for skirmish damage!) and he actually kind of complains he's not doing enough damage each round. With special a flaming bow and shock & frost arrows, he's consistently doing around 8d6+4 points of damage per hit, more against his favored enemies and on crits and when the bard is singing, etc. AND he has a Belt of Battle, which lets him get 3 extra move actions per day, so he can get 3 Full Attack skirmishes, which are pretty nasty with Rapid Shot.
So I wouldn't worry about it too much. The DM should occasionally throw some encounters your way that make you a little less effective, like mobs of monks with Deflect Arrow, or critters with DR 10/slashing or bludgeoning, possibly lead by a higher level monk that can use Abundant Step to get close to you and then AoO like crazy when you shoot, possibly grappling. Heck, even a simple wall of ice or fire can block your line of sight.
DAMN! Paizo ate my last post!
Thank you to everyone for the replies -I feel like maybe there isn't anything out of line -maybe I'm just not used to dealing out these kinds of numbers. Everyone at the table seems happy, and the hat is always properly tipped when the spellcasters help out in doling out the damage with their buffs, but my biggest concern is my DM, since he's a good friend and his BBEG always get shut down pretty early if he doesn't catch us off guard.
I built this guy as a Big Game Hunter -a dwarf who got mauled on a safari early in life that left him crippled (reflected with a low strength) and a big chip on his shoulder toward things bigger than him. I always wanted to play a dwarven with a big-ass crossbow ever since I bought that Ral Partha "Dwarf with No Name" miniature when I was about 11 years old! He's a fun character to play -I usually wear out my voice every Sunday staying in character!
I didn't really want to address the character build so specifically, but there was a lot of interest in the build, so here it is:
As stated, he's a dwarven Rogue 8 / Fighter 4. His feats are Rapid Reload, Big Game Hunter ('free' regional feat from RotR PG), Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, Crossbow Mastery (Disenchanter was right, from CotCT PG), Crossbow Sniper and Improved Critical. Weapon Groups from Unearthed Arcana were used in creation.
His gear is level appropriate: Ring Protection +1, Cloak Resistance +1, Glove Dex +2, Boots Striding & Springing, +1 Mithral Shirt, Amulet Natural Armor +2, +1 Great Crossbow of Collision
With Rapid Reload, Rapid Shot and Crossbow Mastery, he can get full attacks at +16/+16/+11 for 2d8+10 damage per shot (medium) or 2d8+12 per shot (large and up). His sneak attack, when applicable is +4d6 and his crit range is 15-20 with improved crit on the great crossbow (which is normally 18-20).
Potentially, this can be 208 damage per round, when hasted (our most common buff), on 4 potential crits, +96 additional from sneak attack if the opponent is flat footted. I am aware that the additional damage dice are not multiplied. I typically get 1-2 crits per full attack action, and often get 3 or even all 4 when hasted!
After reading all of the posts, I feel better that I haven't brought a totaly monster to the table. I'm just not used to being the damage guy -I just built him as sniper support!
What's the rest of your party?
The rest of the party is:
Halfling Barbarian 8/Bard 3
Human Sorcerer 11
11th level Human Cleric / Wizard / Mystic Theurge (not sure of the level breakdown)
The rest of the party is one level lower due to two resurrections and a new character rolled after a death.
Oh, then it looks like you should be the focused damage dealer. The bardarian can buff and soak up damage, the sorcerer can be the area effect damage dealer, and the mystic theurge can be the utility/healer. Seems nice and balanced....unless your rogue has massive UMD and staves of healing and evocation or something. :-P
Everyone at the table seems happy, and the hat is always properly tipped when the spellcasters help out in doling out the damage with their buffs,
And that is the most important part.
but my biggest concern is my DM, since he's a good friend and his BBEG always get shut down pretty early if he doesn't catch us off guard.
While your build can be a powerhouse, there are some fairly easy ways to reduce it and your rolling luck.
Armor of Fortification reduces, or eliminates, your criticaling and sneak attack dice.
Anything that provides DR also reduces your damage potential.
A well placed / timed Warp Wood can ruin your ammo.
And this is just off the top of my head. There have got to be better ways.
With Rapid Reload, Rapid Shot and Crossbow Mastery, he can get full attacks at +16/+16/+11 for 2d8+10 damage per shot (medium) or 2d8+12 per shot (large and up). His sneak attack, when applicable is +4d6 and his crit range is 15-20 with improved crit on the great crossbow (which is normally 18-20).Potentially, this can be 208 damage per round, when hasted (our most common buff), on 4 potential crits, +96 additional from sneak attack if the opponent is flat...
I assume that the 2d8+12 against large targets are without any buffs (+2 (big game hunter) +6 (+1 collision) +4 (from crossbow sniper and probably weapon specialization as you already need weapon focus for crossbow sniper). You get an additional +2 damage when your bard sings and you can consider magical bolts (giant bane for example) to increase that even more.
With the bard's song, that would give you an average of 46 damage with a critical. Assuming that all for of your hits are crits, that would be a total of 184 damage with four attacks (How do you get to 208??) and you can potentially get an additional +16d6 sneak attack if he is flat-footed, that would be an average of 56 damage (don't know how you got to +56). This would be an average damage of around 240, which is totally acceptable considering we assumed all hits are crits and you did hit with all of them, as your BAB is not that great.
As a comparison, we had a halfling ranger in our RotR campaign, with maxed favored enemy giant plus the Improved Favored Enemy feat from Complete Warrior, Improved Critical, and Big Game Hunter. She also used a composite (Str +2) holy human/giant bane bow and always got the best possible greater magic weapon from the wizard/cleric plus a combination of frost/shock/flaming and similar arrows.
In the final adventure she did 5d6+22 damage against evil giants (not that rare in RotR :) ) and with a hasted rapid shot full attack of +15/+15/+15/+10/+5 (plus buffs, a halfling's Dex, small, greater magic weapon, greater bracers of Archery, and a bit of luck, she basically hit everything, even with the lowest attack).
That was an average of 198 damage without any crits, if only one of them was a crit, any rune giant dropped in a single round.
Against other targets the damage was of course much lower, but holy and +5 from all other favored enemies (+2 normal and +3 from improved favored enemy) were still very effective.
In the end our DM considered her dangerous enough that she was hit by a quickened maze spell in the first round of the campaigns final battle. Everything else would have been Karzoug's death after my wizard buffed her with everything he had.
But even with all of that there were still enough situations were she was far less effective, with stuff like being stuck in a solid fog and similar things.
Hey Maxxx! Thanks for the reply!
Our numbers are using the same assumptions -the only difference is I assumed max damage and you assumed average. I was talking "potentially" for the sake of argument.
After reading your account, I see that I'm certainly not in the extreme situation that I thought! Holy crap! There have been some times when my character was shut down, but it has never really been over a low BAB -only once or twice have I had problems hitting anything (those numbers go up a few points when dealing with giants within 30' thanks to Big Game Hunter and Point Blank Shot). And, my dice can't be underestimated in this issue -I have a PHENONMENAL set of dice that really come through for me. You should see the looks the other players give me when I roll these things. They're uncanny, which helps when you've got four shots and you roll 17, 19, 19, 20 with much easier confirmations...
Hey Maxxx! Thanks for the reply!
Our numbers are using the same assumptions -the only difference is I assumed max damage and you assumed average. I was talking "potentially" for the sake of argument.
After reading your account, I see that I'm certainly not in the extreme situation that I thought! Holy crap! There have been some times when my character was shut down, but it has never really been over a low BAB -only once or twice have I had problems hitting anything (those numbers go up a few points when dealing with giants within 30' thanks to Big Game Hunter and Point Blank Shot). And, my dice can't be underestimated in this issue -I have a PHENONMENAL set of dice that really come through for me. You should see the looks the other players give me when I roll these things. They're uncanny, which helps when you've got four shots and you roll 17, 19, 19, 20 with much easier confirmations...
I have a friend like that. We used to think she was cheating, but it's all her. The only way to counter that is to have another one of our friends touch her dice. Then she (or anyone else) is doomed!!!!
Maybe that's why he hasn't played in 10 years....
Anyways, I've played a scout allied to her paladin, and with Improved Crit, she crits about 3/4 times. And combined with Smite and spending action points for additional Smites, she's REALLY deadly. I DM for her too, but at least she's "just" a bard/swashbuckler with a whip.
Director of Narrative
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And, my dice can't be underestimated in this issue -I have a PHENONMENAL set of dice that really come through for me. You should see the looks the other players give me when I roll these things. They're uncanny, which helps when you've got four shots and you roll 17, 19, 19, 20 with much easier confirmations...
Fleece sits right next to me at the game and I see nearly every one of his rolls. It is uncanny. I think I may just get him to roll attacks for my bad guys. :)
WE CAN'T TALK ABOUT MY DICE ANYMORE!!! THEY'LL BE JINXED!!!
Heh...
B.
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The character seems fine, if focussed. As long as the other players have no problems with it, it's all good. The DM shouldn't have a problem coming up with the occasional non-sneak-attackable / non-crit-able beastie who isn't ballista-bait, since the game is chock full of them (oozes, undead, plants, etc).
I wonder if there is an improved Deflect Arrows feat that allows the Monk to throw back the arrows he catches?
'Cause that would be just mean... :>
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The character seems fine, if focussed. As long as the other players have no problems with it, it's all good. The DM shouldn't have a problem coming up with the occasional non-sneak-attackable / non-crit-able beastie who isn't ballista-bait, since the game is chock full of them (oozes, undead, plants, etc).
I wonder if there is an improved Deflect Arrows feat that allows the Monk to throw back the arrows he catches?
'Cause that would be just mean... :>
snatch arrows allows you to catch and either throw a weapon back as an immediate action, or catch an arrow, bolt, sling bullet, and then use it or save it for later
Great Crossbow IS an exotic weapon. You guys may be right about the balance of the weapon, but without paying for it, you can't reload it fast at all. The main drawback that should balance it out is the reload time, which is severe. When originally built, my character had no recourse to get around this -I figured he'd be a mobile, sneak-around-and-get-one-big-shot-a-round type of guy. Then, when we were just starting the campaign, the Curse of the Crimson Throne Player's Guide came out with the Crossbow Mastery feat, so I made a couple of changes in my feat progression in anticipation of getting more shots per round. I got it early and stopped sneaking around and just stood in the back and started unloading when a critter had a low enough AC. Granted, that feat cost me some pre-reqs:
New Feat: CROSSBOW MASTERY
You can load crossbows with blinding speed and even fire
them in melee with little fear of reprisal.
Prerequisites: Dex 15, Point Blank Shot, Rapid Reload,
Rapid Shot
Benefit: The time required for you to reload any type
of crossbow is reduced to a free action, regardless of the
type of crossbow used. You can fire a crossbow as many
times in a full attack action as you could attack if you were
using a bow. Reloading a crossbow for the type of crossbow
you chose when you took Rapid Reload no longer provokes
attacks of opportunity.
For this particular build, the DM opted early on to use the Weapon Groups from UA. This might have allowed me to skirt paying for the Exotic Weapon Feat, but it honestly would have only delayed my feat selections slighty and had the same eventual result...
Another option for the DM is... the sunder feat. I imagine your fancy schmancy crossbow's going to be difficult to find in stores, even during the high holiday season....
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Director of Narrative
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Another option for the DM is... the sunder feat. I imagine your fancy schmancy crossbow's going to be difficult to find in stores, even during the high holiday season....
I'd be a liar if I said that thought hasn't crossed my mind, but man, that's harsh. I'm pretty sure the rest of the AP will provide a sufficient challenge for the crew.
Fleece, no looky at the spoiler.
Another option for the DM is... the sunder feat. I imagine your fancy schmancy crossbow's going to be difficult to find in stores, even during the high holiday season....
WHAT? Sunder Betty-Joyce! NOOOoooooo!
My crossbow has been with my character since the begining and has been enchanted in steps along the way, but even if something were to happen to my character's pride and joy, there isn't a reason she couldn't be replaced. Besides, I've kept up with my Craft ranks and given a few weeks could whip up with another masterwork crossbow ready for enchantment. That's not to say that ol' Betty Joyce could ever really be replaced, mind you!
Besides, our group (Daigle, above, DMs) are of the mind that you rarely mess with character's equipment. We even had this conversation recently. It is just shitty, since those treasure represent hard-earned rewards. Sometimes a DM can't help it, but otherwise, as in the example above, it can just be too vindictive and often leads to resentment if it isn't done carefully...
Also, the tough thing about sundering the weapon of an sniper character is that they don't often let folks get that close, and my character is certainly very, very wary of anyone getting into melee range. He's careful to send a few well-placed bolts to anyone casting an eye in his direction with a big nasty weapon...
AND, just so you all know, Adam's little curse WORKED on my dice -I had my absolute worst night EVER on the following Sunday! Aaargh! "Sweet-on-the-18s Peach" will have her revenge!
B.
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Try Disintegrate, and that won't be a problem anymore.
Disintegrate; a kick in the arsenal!
As to the OP's question on guilt over characters...
No I don't feel any. Before I play any character I sit down with the DM and go over anything I think maybe a trouble spot. I point out any additional weaknesses, and how the whole fits into the character's theme/background/etc. If the DM has a problem with any part of the character I either adjust the character accordingly or change to my next concept (I generally keep two or three). Also I save my big stuff for the purely theoritical realms. If the DM allows me to sit at the table with a character I made he knows what he is getting and shouldn't be surprised if I use it to the fullest I can within the rules of the game (especially rule #1 fun for everyone, not just me).
for what it is worth, Gust of Wind ,(50+mph wind) shuts this down completely. An extended Gust of Wind ruins the xbow pc for 2 rounds, and most cr 12 casters have level 3 spells to spare.
Another option for the DM is... the sunder feat. I imagine your fancy schmancy crossbow's going to be difficult to find in stores, even during the high holiday season....WHAT? Sunder Betty-Joyce! NOOOoooooo!
Xander: "You gave it a girl's name. How very serial killer of you." ;)
Besides, our group (Daigle, above, DMs) are of the mind that you rarely mess with character's equipment.
I understand that feeling. But that is a power-up that aids martial characters, but aids snipers (and axemen) more than any other type.
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I had a character like this once. Believe it or not, it was a Shadowcaster build of all things. I made a Shadowcaster/Warmage that Prestige classed into Noctumancer (mystic theurge type of combo shadow and arcane magic). I also took the Dark Creature template, since my character was supposed to be bound to the Shadow realm in some way.
Basically, I capped out my Hide skill and took all the Maximize feats available. This was because I have HORRID luck with dice. I frequently roll below 5 for entire nights. My mid-teens spellcasters were only doing around 15 dmg with spells like fireball, lightning bolt, etc. Anyway, long story short, I would hide, let loose a maximized area effect, then hide again (with the -20 penalty for being seen, I had a +43 Hide) since Dark Creatures can hide in plain sight, in areas of shadowy illumination. I was dubbed "The Nuclear Whack-A-Mole", because I'd jump out, nuke an area, and disappear.
Entire Sessions wold go by and I rarely ever took damage. I retired the character after a few sessions of sand-glassing nukeness in favor of a Bard, themed after Bjork. :)
Crossbow Mastery isn't very well balanced in my opinion. It sounds ridiculouly overpowered, especially when combined with the Great Crossbow.
Also, regardless of how much damage you can do, if you find yourself consistently being able to stand back and take full attack actions w/o enemies taking serious attempts to disable and or harass you, someone is doing it wrong.
It sounds like your character is alot of fun to play however, and in the end thats what matters. I am sure your DM will eventually get around to taking him down a peg.
I'm an 8th level rogue/4th level fighter with most of the usual compliments of archery feats (point blank, crossbow sniper from PHII, crossbow mastery from RotR, rapid reload, rapid shot, etc), and I'm not loaded down with excessive, powerful gear. I thought that the 2d8 damage from the great crossbow would eventually level out after the first few levels, but with the recent addition of improved critical to my feat list, I'm doing 250+ damage a round if the mages have me hasted, the buffs are flying and the bard's yellin' -the barbarian raging full-on can't even touch my damage. Typical damage on a normal round is 2d8+10, but with a 15-20 crit range (his weapon is a +1 collision crossbow) it gets out of hand quick, especially if one or more of those shots is a 4d6 sneak attack.
The problem is with how your group is handling criticals. Per PHB pg. 140, "Extra damage over and above a weapon's normal damage, such as that dealt by a sneak attack or the special ability of a flaming sword, is not multiplied when you score a critical hit."
Therefore, collision (per the ability's description as "extra" damage) and sneak attack damage is not multiplied. Strength damage bonuses (and Power Attack) are multiplied (as are enhancement bonuses), which is why melee types with a 18-20 or x4 two-handed weapon are dangerous; Crossbow Sniper and Weapon Specialization are the only ways of adding damage that's multiplied on a critical hit to a crossbow outside of enhancement bonuses. That +1 collision great crossbow only does ((2d8 +1 + (1/2 Dex mod)) x 2) + 5, average 25 + Dex mod, on a critical hit, not (2d8 + 1 + (1/2 Dex mod) +5) x 2, average 30 + Dex mod.
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I have the opposite problem. We were playing Gallery of Evil. I was playing a Pathfinder beta dwarven paladin optimized for healing and the npc fighter which came with the mod. After the second session, the DM said my PC was basically useless in the numerous fights in the mod. He praised, instead, the fighter and the (non-Paizo) optimized range touch-attack sorcerer. I pointed out my PC's strengths but he didn't give sh#@ about them.
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The problem is with how your group is handling criticals. Per PHB pg. 140, "Extra damage over and above a weapon's normal damage, such as that dealt by a sneak attack or the special ability of a flaming sword, is not multiplied when you score a critical hit."
Therefore, collision (per the ability's description as "extra" damage) and sneak attack damage is not multiplied. Strength damage bonuses (and Power Attack) are multiplied (as are enhancement bonuses), which is why melee types with a 18-20 or x4 two-handed weapon are dangerous; Crossbow Sniper and Weapon Specialization are the only ways of adding damage that's multiplied on a critical hit to a crossbow outside of enhancement bonuses. That +1 collision great crossbow only does ((2d8 +1 + (1/2 Dex mod)) x 2) + 5, average 25 + Dex mod, on a critical hit, not (2d8 + 1 + (1/2 Dex mod) +5) x 2, average 30 + Dex mod.
Several sources, including www.d20srd.org, can quickly verify for you that extra damage that is calculated as dice is not multiplied, but static bonuses like the one the collision ability gives are in fact multiplied.
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New Feat: CROSSBOW MASTERY
You can load crossbows with blinding speed and even fire
them in melee with little fear of reprisal.
Prerequisites: Dex 15, Point Blank Shot, Rapid Reload,
Rapid Shot
Benefit: The time required for you to reload any type
of crossbow is reduced to a free action, regardless of the
type of crossbow used. You can fire a crossbow as many
times in a full attack action as you could attack if you were
using a bow. Reloading a crossbow for the type of crossbow
you chose when you took Rapid Reload no longer provokes
attacks of opportunity.
The wording on the feat appears to be the problem, since it puts no upper limits on the size of weapon involved.
Basically, the writers of that feat were probably expecting it to be used with standard crossbows from the PHB and SRD, ie up to heavy crossbow, at most.
They can't be held accountable for another writer, in a closed-source book, creating heavier and heavier versions of the weapon (and giving it a better threat range, for no appearent reason).
Basically, the feat should be assumed to reduce the reloading time, but by one step (move actions become free, full-round actions become move actions, multiple-round loading takes half as long, etc).
Otherwise, you're effectively saying the PC can slap 20-foot bolts into a fifty-ton siege ballista as free actions, which is quite blatantly ridiculous. (Hey; it's still a crossbow, right?).
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You've had to go down a fairly long feat tree to do this. You're what, 12th level? And something crit/sneak attack resistant or immune would put a huge kink in your offensive capability?
I haven't laughed this hard in weeks. No offense is meant to you. Your character is fine, he's good at what he does, and has put in the effort to be that way.
But the characters I have seen.... make your character look like the guy in jail for armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon....while two cells over is the serial killer waiting for transfer to max security.
Lets see....my wife's demonhunting ranger in Savage Tide was about to make me cry. At level 12, against most creatures, her damage output was around 30-40 points a round. Now make it a an evil outsider, or Pelor forbid, a chaotic evil outsider with the tanarri subtype. Her damage output jumped to 200 points a round. Average. Without crits. A single crit from her would break 150. And this was without buffs.
And then lets not forget Theo the Magic Missle Mage in Age of Worms. Have you ever seen 147 magic missles the size of basketballs coming at you in one round? Yeah, neither had Kyuss.
It is true that extra books beyond the core rules made these characters possible. But the groups they were in were happy to have them, because the players of the characters acknowledged what others could do and didn't try to hold the spotlight any longer than their turn. Which you seem to already be doing just fine. You have a good character, and a good group. Enjoy them, and good gaming!
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I haven't laughed this hard in weeks. No offense is meant to you. Your character is fine, he's good at what he does, and has put in the effort to be that way.
Lets see....my wife's demonhunting ranger in Savage Tide was about to make me cry. At level 12, against most creatures, her damage output was around 30-40 points a round. Now make it a an evil outsider, or Pelor forbid, a chaotic evil outsider with the tanarri subtype. Her damage output jumped to 200 points a round. Average. Without crits. A single crit from her would break 150. And this was without buffs.
LOL
There wasn't a dash of 'Knight of the Chalice' in that PC, was there?
That pretty much sums up our ranger in Shackled City.