Just one question about the PACG OP Guide:
The Kyra Starting Character pregen on page 11 begins with a Longsword. But the Higher-Level Kyra pregen on page 12 has Weapon Proficiency as a selected feat, suggesting she doesn't start with it.
Is that not less than optimal? Won't "Li'l Kyra" take a 4-point hit on any attacks she makes with that Longsword?
It could be that there aren't any maces or staves in the Cleric deck? Seems unlikely, but possible.
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Yes and no. She begins with the power to give her +2 to hit with a sword so is effectively at a -2 instead of a -4, later when she has developed her sword arm (she is a cleric, she has to focus a lot of her time praying so can't beat on things all day like a fighter can) she gains proficiency and actually ends up becoming quite a swordswoman when that attack is at a flat +2 and adds the other traits.
Seemed odd to me as well at first glance, but after looking closely at a lot of the cards they seem to have done some wacky things to explain some of the proclivities of each class. Some things that look like drawbacks or at best situational bonuses are actually ways to add unique depth to the characters... it allows each one to operate a little differently to help their background/piety/shtick stand out so you aren't just playing four versions of the same class with different dice assigned to each ability score.
Tontelizi effectively has reach weapons (or becomes adept at throwing allies under the bus), Flenta pretends to cast spells with her temporary arcane trait, Valeros protects the weak by removing them from his hand while damage is being taken and then bringing them back into the game, Vika is a walking armory (and apparently has adamantine weapons), and in this case Kyra becomes a skilled combatant after starting out less proficient. I am certain we will find these tricks on many of the characters.
I think he's also factoring in that she has Melee: Strength +2, so between that and the +2 for using the sword, the -4 non-proficient penalty is negated and she just rolls straight dice when using swords. Plus the sword attacks are magic. I'm kind of tempted to build a Kyra starting with swords for OP and try to power through the Adventure 1 scenario that gives a power feat first to take Weapons. It'd be rough to get through, but the payoff can be rather nice. Although it probably wouldn't take that many upgrades to switch out to swords afterwords.
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I play Kyra in OP, and I have to tell you, having 1d10 + 1d8 + 4 for combat is damned nice, especially for Adventure Deck 1. She visits Shark Island for cardio.
I just wish her class deck had longswords instead of scimitars for upgrades but hey, scimitars are her thing.
Actually, RotR Kyra also has Melee: Strength +2. She just rolls a much lower Strength die.
But if you're going to totally go for super optimization who cares about 1H weapons? Greatswords are where it's at :) (Bastard Swords are good too.)
We went for an extra weapon as the first card-feat: there just aren't enough combat spells in the Cleric class deck to rely on them (as good as Holy Light is), and with "Blessing" as preferred card type, we felt the need to improve the chances of drawing something to fight with.
Yeah, Kyra often has trouble getting a Weapon in her hand at the beginning because she has FCT Blessing and only 2 Weapons. Also, her Cure power feat works on any card with the Divine trait, so any Divine spells count too.
If you have to burn blessings with Kyra because she didn't have a Weapon in her hand to fight with, then you defeated the purpose of having the extra blessing in the first place. With 6 blessings + 1 Ally, exploration velocity is not Kyra's problem.
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I elected to take an extra blessings slot. I figure I play her in two 'modes.'
If I don't draw a weapon, I sure as Sarenrae have blessings and/or other cards helpful to the group. Then, once I draw a sword, I can start slashing.
While being an attack monster is fun, I find being a healer to be as important, if not more so. Hell, sometimes I heal myself if I've spent a few blessings at the top of the scenario. A party cannot have too many blessings.