Server Plots: Difficulty

[Thief Of Navarre]

Yes, I can see what your on PoV!

But not every low level has buffs and not every low level PC has Curse Song (in an ideal world all low levels would be bards). Some low level PCs are tanks, albeit tanks that are taken out in the first round of combat.... Thats where this is leading right?

[Product of Void]

True though I ponder if part of the problem is focusing on our own charactors (myself included) and not the group and tatics of said group.

Low level mages can cast bull strength, which a +2 to attack and damage to a tank is pretty handy.
Low level rogues can use feint if they have the feats allowing better attacks for all.
low level bards can use inspire giving folks +1 to attack, or +2 to skills
Low level fighters might have taunt skill points to decrease ac while they talk trash

My current favorite might be pretty cool on his own, but if I take a tank and boost him with my typical buffs then cast invisiblity, and summon creatures to distract the monsters that can lead to them doing alot of cool things. also while invisible I can use heal kits to keep them smashing.

Its not a matter of what your charactor can do, its what they can do for the group.

[Thief Of Navarre]

Samuel Hammerhand, my deleted dwarven PC had planned to be a dwarven defender..

At level 6 he had 4/- DR, 119HP and all the defensive feats you could wish for yet against a high leveled opponent his 25AC would be crushed and his DR overcome

Levels do count for something, especially if you rely on AB to kill shit!

[Azulfae]

Yep!

Wow Kael shone some light on things.

41 AC!

Are there any PC's on the server with 41 AC? In all my time playing NWN games I've never seen anything with 41 AC. I have had my PC buffed to godliness by two high level casters with some of D&D's strongest buff spells and My AC maxed out and just began to not stack around the 35 mark.

Without buffs it's in the late twentys and I consider my tank to be armour built to some cruel penalties elsswhere such as AB.

NWN2 is cruel on AC, it's very hard to obtain. In NWN1 you could do al sorts to bump it up but the sequal holds more variation in builds and less ability to make extremes. You can't just make a magical beetle of a warrior anymore. If the enemy spawns arn't even equivilent of what is on the player side of the fight then the reptiles can have the Mirakus post as far as i'm concerned.

A simple fact of D&D character builds is that you can't have everything but it seems the Yuan-ti have it all, to a point that it's not realistic anymore.

They have the AB, the AC, the DR and the HP, they also can cast so where the hell do they get the AC from if they are not wearing armour? 41 AC can't be completely from their snaky skin. A snake can't slither if it's that well armoured.

Everything must have a weakness, somewhere. If you are not reducing something to optimise something else then your not going to get those kind of overmaxed values, you'll just get a balanced build and everything will be a more realistic and lower level.

I pay a lot of penalties in other areas of my character to have 28 AC.

[Thief Of Navarre]

Meh, when Falmari got buffed in the Fey forest by Kael and Brytersward he had 40AC at level 7 so it aint that hard to obtain when buffed...

*edit* On a side note Falmari is a druid and such magic remove any restriction that armour might inflict.. stoneskin, barkskin and spiderskin doesnt make you into a stone/tree/spider for example as Mozgul well knew Azulfae

[Azulfae]

Indeed but Mozgul as a druid was well buffed and defended to the sacrifice of AB and damage bonuses.

There is always a sacrifice somewhere for pumping something up elsewhere.

This is like the prime unwritten rule of D&D character building.

[Thief Of Navarre]

Heh, you forgot the bard/druid/fochlucan lyrist..

Strengths: ALL

Weaknesses: None

And the Arcane Heirophant/arcane/divine/any..

Stengths: Godly

Weaknesses: +20 gear

[Product of Void]

Samuel Hammerhand, my deleted dwarven PC had planned to be a dwarven defender..

At level 6 he had 4/- DR, 119HP and all the defensive feats you could wish for yet against a high leveled opponent his 25AC would be crushed and his DR overcome

Levels do count for something, especially if you rely on AB to kill shit!

damage reduction and ac 25 at level six is pretty impressive for a build.

at level 9 I have to buff to get near 25+.

I like dwarves I really do, one of my favorite PnP charactor is a battle rager. Though it says "they live short but glorious lives".

Limiting our charactor to head on charge makes them Battle ragers.

Bab is one side of the scale though AC is the other. If folks have trouble hiting a monster you can, Lower its ac, increase your AC, increase you AB, or decrease its AB. Are another ideas.

There are alot of feats, skills that decrease ac, just like lots of feats to increase AC.

Expertise is very nice, as is luck of heros. = +4 ac -3 ab

also you can use Feint while using expertise. Which sets them up for sneaks from everyone and decreases what ever bonus they had from dex.

Azul is right there is always a give to the get. Though if you can't hit them the best you can do is distract them or make it hard to hit. Running in circles is also a good tatic (just don't shout help help I am being opressed....did not end well for my charactor :P )

[Kaeldorn]

The snake creeps in Sestra have an AC of a bit over 30, no DR as far as I know. They're more or less doable for a high level group, as long as they're not too many in number. Some of the Mossdale monsters on the other hand have AC's in the 40's and even 50+. It's those that need changing the most.

[Thief Of Navarre]

The monk Yuan-ti have some kind of Dr/-...

Peligir hit them from flank at 1d8+3+1+1+1D6(Fire)+1D6(Sneak Die) and did 0 damage to it....

Not sure if its weapon specific but it wouldn't fall to my arrows!


*edit* Malik who PoV and Firechicken well know was a Fighter/rogue and had feint, expertise and a monsterous AB. Its all very well and good being able to solo critable foes till critable foes dont yeild xp anymore, then you need a group with bards/clerics/'enter support class here'

[Azulfae]

Well it seems anything under 40 AC is worthless in these events and if i'm gonna get hit anyhow, I might try the tactic of dropping a shield altogether and taking the greataxe two handed, rage and then use the rage spell off the fury of the orc warchief axe, which stacks ontop of normal rage as it happens >_< and have a nice +8 to str and Con, quaff a bulls strength and bears endurance potion too and AB is in the 30's accompanied by 200+ hit points. If someone can cast Enlarge person too, that's 36 strength!

My ac will be 14 but they can't be hitting me more than the every single attack they were delivering before. At least now they might be dead enough not to attack, or disrupted enough not to cast.

Anyone in the mid-low range levels who wants to party up and support Juggra with some protections, ranged support or healing for the next battle (If there is one) can pick up some of the XP he might collect with the risk all on me.

I've still got a Signus so it's worth a go.

On another note, I met a character the other night (Kudos: Noris Gerhart)who was a pure and devout healer. What a rare and beautiful treasure he was to meet.

[Thief Of Navarre]

Get ready for tommorow then Azulfae!

Mojom, go!, ThiefOfNavarre, Go! *ninja swirly shit*

A whole new breed of Sundrite is coming

[Zoberraz]

Sadly Azulfae, the barbarian rage is interpreted by the NWN2 engine as an enhancement bonus. Therefore, it isn't supposed to be compatible with spells or magical items (which are supposed to grant the same). I'm really not positive that combo will actually work out.

The best AC I ever had was with a druid buffed and shapechanged into a Horned Devil with improved Mage Armor added to that from a crafted potion. That made for 50+ AC for a level 17 character.

Finally, I'm grateful that Kaeldorn more or less nailed on the head the problem I suffer from in these events and thought further about suggesting solutions. Thanks!

[Azulfae]

Sadly Azulfae, the barbarian rage is interpreted by the NWN2 engine as an enhancement bonus. Therefore, it isn't supposed to be compatible with spells or magical items (which are supposed to grant the same). I'm really not positive that combo will actually work out.

I'm talking from experience, the spell stacks with the ability. Double rage! The boy looses his mental.

[cmosier]

I have never thought that deeply about a character I think. I might need some time at level up, but never planned a great deal. My character ideas start like this "You know what would be fun, a gnome weapon master" and I pretty much just run with it.