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We have just completed adventure 5 scenario 4 in our two player campaign. The rewards are a ton of loot, but I am torn on what to do.
My deck going into the scenario is:
*Deathbane Light Crossbow +1, Returning Throwing Axe +1
*Cure, Detect Evil, Incendiary Cloud, Lightning Bolt, Scrying
*Snakeskin Tunic
*Medusa Mask, Robe of Runes, Staff of Heaven and Earth, Wand of Enervation
*Black Arrow Ranger, Burglar, Jakardros Sovark
*Blessings of: Iomedae, Lamashtu, Norgorber, Shelyn (2)
I know my deck is pretty subpar. I have tried to do two things, the first being to ensure my daughter (who plays Amiri) gets to take center stage most of the time. As a result, I almost always let her have first choice of our new cards each game. I have also tried to be "organic" in my approach to adding cards. So, in a round where neither of us managed to pick up any spells or allies, I used my card feat on weapons to add the RTA+1. I also wasted a feat on Armor, but that was an emotional overreaction to getting slaughtered by Nualia and starting over with a basic deck. This two pronged approach to my deck building has backfired, and poor Lem is struggling to carry water. I have been using him mostly to scout and set up locations for Amiri to crush bad guys.
Anyways, my dilemma is that the scenario gives three awesome loot cards: Ordikon's Staff, Staff of Hungry Shadows, and Summon Monster. In addition, we finally picked up a Mass Cure. So, I have four really good cards.
My thoughts so far: obviously replace Cure with Mass Cure. I think Ordikon's Staff will be something I pass on. But, I am not certain what to get rid of for the Staff of Hungry Shadows and/or Summon Monster.
Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated!
I'm glad you and your daughter are enjoying the game.
I wouldn't call an armor for Lem a waste. There will be other villain/henchman who do BYA damage; that's when having an armor shines. And the Tunic is helpful when not being used to take damage.
Typically, when I play Lem I end up having an item to take damage (Sihendrion Medallion, probably), so this frees up an item slot.
I don't think Lem should take Summon Monster. You can't rely on Summon Monster to win an encounter. Summon Monster is really an evasion spell under another guise -- it enables a caster who can only fight with Attack spells to get out of an encounter with a monster that's immune to Attack without taking damage.
I don't remember the other cards well enough to comment.
Actually, your deck seem not *that* bad. And I'll be straight with you - this is one of the toughest scenarios in RotR, it gives you a grand total of 3 Loots (!) and *every single one of them* is pretty much crap. In your shoes, I'd just keep my deck as is.
That said, let's do some analysis:
- Staff of Ordikon: It uses STrength AND requires a Spell, so ostensibly its only usefull for Paladin, Cleric and Druid (you probably got Weapon Prof for your Cleric anyway, but it's actually sub-optimal for Druis, so we're left with what - 2 out of 11 characters?); the you must consider the cost of playing it - losing TWO cards from you hand (discard a Spell, and recharge the Staff itself) - it's just not worth it, imho, despite the massive combat roll. It means you have to have a particular combo in your hand AND be ready to lose those cards - which sounds like an acceptable contingency for spellcasters VS spell-resistant/immune monsters, but guess what? Both the Paladin and Cleric are already likely to have a *weapon* for this purpose, so it's a total wash. (The second powers seems cool at a glance - reveal to add 2 to ANY Int check, but seeing as Int is only ever important for the Wizard - that's still a waste of Item slot)
- Summon Monster: so, you're playing 2-char? I'd guess you didn't banish all that many Basic and Elite monsters then. Go ahead, look through your box and just glance at the monsters' Checks to Defeat. Done? Without getting into any specific calculations - how confident do you feel on the gamble that this Spell can defeat anything but a Goblin with any reliability? If you really nurture a gambling streak - ok, this is actually the perfect spell for you. In any other case - you might as well rip the card to pieces and it'll be just as useful.
- Staff of Hungry Shadows - this is actually somewhat complicated in relation to your particular character:
1) First, not at all trivial - due to the old verbiage of ROtR, it is not at all clear to me if for the Staff's second power you're supposed to only add your Arcane DIE (as defined by current verbiage), i.e d10 only; or you're supposed to roll your Arcane SKILL, i.e. 1d10 + 1 (your Arcne bonus) +(any skill feats you've put into Charisma). Note that there's no current FAQ to that effect, but there's no FAQ for Sajan's power either, for example, and he *is* supposed to use his Dexterity SKILL for combat, despite the power (even in the 'updated' PDF) saying to use Dexterity DIE.
So, if we assume you roll your DIE - you'll get an average of 5.5; compare that with your closest in effect Item - the Wand of Ennervation- with which you'd be reducing a check with an average of 6.5. Pretty clear cut.
IF you actually roll your SKILL - with just 1 Skill feat in Charisma you'll have the same average, so now you have to consider the other factors: the Staff makes you discard a card to help *at your location*, while the Wand (assuming you recharge it) loses you no cards AND can be used to help *at any location*. Yeah... Shall we see if that first power will maybe tip the scales?
2) The staff adds to your combat with Attack spells. Of which you have 1. Seems to settle it, right? Oh, but wait! You're playing Lem - so you can just exchange spells from your hand for spells in your discard! That actually sounds like a decent combo!
...and then you realize, on success, the Staff recharges a RANDOM card from your discard. Sure, it's cool that you'll end up with a net deck balance, but that Cure you were keeping in discard for emergencies - it could be on the bottom of your deck right now; or maybe that other card you were counting on recycling... Now, you may be playing your Lem differently from what I've seen, but if you're not - chances are the random heal will actually mess your plan, instead of help.
Finally, there's the cost of having to have in your hand and then discard *another* spell, in addition to the Attack spell you're already doing combat with; all this to get an average of 2 points (6.5 from d8+2)over the 4.5 (d4+2) with which you're probably able to self-boost by now at the cost of *recharge*. For me this the real judgement call: are those 2 points worth A)to discard a card instead of recharge; and B)to need to have TWO specific cards (Staff and spell) to use the power, as opposed to the *any one* card you may use for your self-boost
Finally, I'm sure people around would be glad to give you a friendly advice if you feel your Lem is struggling, but we would need to know what exactly you're experiencing difficulties?
- where did you put your Skill feats?
- what do you count on for combat? (I see you have two weapons, so I'd guess you've put at least a couple of feats in Dexterity (and also Weapon Proficiency for the Returning Axe - which indeed is probably sub-optimal)? So can we assume you rely on Dexterity + Ranged Weapon for combat (you only have 1 combat spell after all).
- do you tend to spread or bunch up together with Seelah? (You should really probably be bunching up)
- how aggressively VS support you play (in small games, I've had a Lem's who's whole thing was basically recharging his entire hand to boost every single check of his partner, and on his turn -just reset hand and end)
etc..
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Thank you for the detailed responses!
I am encouraged by the comparison of Summon Monster to evasion. I described it to the kiddo as an Invisibility that might kill an opponent every now and then.
My incarnation of Lem is very much Amiri's Sancho Panza. I follow Amiri around. I make heavy use of Detect Evil, Scrying, and the Medusa's Mask to set her up with monsters to crush. I clear most of the barriers, and the sole reason I employ the Staff of Heaven and Earth is so I can even clear barriers on her turn. I do frequently empty my hand on her turn. On the bright side, this makes for very quick turns on my side. :D
I am encouraged by the comparison of Summon Monster to evasion. I described it to the kiddo as an Invisibility that might kill an opponent every now and then.
This description is quite correct, as elcoderdude pointed out. Personally, though, I only carry a single dedicated evade card, and with the Medusa Mask you already have the best there is.
In the context of your current deck, I'd probably just swap out Detect Evil for Summon Monster (or really, for anything), but it all comes down to playstyle (and apparently you're getting a good mileage out of Detect Evil).
I am envious of your Deathbane Light Crossbow +1. The only weapon I have (which is why I have not increased it with a Card Feat) is a light Crossbow +1.
Now, I have maxed out my Spells because I have some pretty decent ones: Lightning Touch, Acid Arrow, Cauterize, Mass Cure & Cure, one or two others but my favorite by far is Holy Light.
I think my favorite blessing is Pharasma.
Lem (RotR) is a lot of fun to play. I started with Harsk when my son took Lem...he dumped him for Mogmurch and I snatched up Lem. I have always been a Bard player in D&D and Pathfinder.
Chief Technical Officer
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Staff of Hungry Shadows - this is actually somewhat complicated in relation to your particular character:
1) First, not at all trivial - due to the old verbiage of ROtR, it is not at all clear to me if for the Staff's second power you're supposed to only add your Arcane DIE (as defined by current verbiage), i.e d10 only; or you're supposed to roll your Arcane SKILL, i.e. 1d10 + 1 (your Arcne bonus) +(any skill feats you've put into Charisma).
Where RotR cards said "[x] die," that would translate to "[x] skill" in later sets. Where RotR said "unmodified [x] die," that would translate to "[x] die" in later sets.
In Pathfinder Adventures, the second power of Staff of Hungry Shadows is "When another character at your location attempts a combat check, reveal this card and discard a spell to decrease the difficulty by your Arcane skill."
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I personally think having two cures in a deck is better than just one, if you are a caster (and Lem is mostly a caster). Healing is the second-most powerful ability in the game, after scouting (augury / scrying), so I'd recommend loading up on it.
But in Runelords, you can pretty much do whatever you want. It's forgiving enough that, should you choose sub-optimal cards, you will still have a good time and will win most of the time. I wouldn't agonize over your card choices and would just go with the flow - have a good time, roll those dice, don't look back at what cards you could have had.