Strategy Thread

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Alethan
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Re: Strategy Thread

#41 Post by Alethan »

tkrexx wrote:Just for that, this PC will have suffered from being called a freak all her life! The attitude will abound!
You're welcome (for the character inspiration)! :)
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Re: Strategy Thread

#42 Post by Nyctos »

I've been thinking that I may shake things up a bit myself, and rolled up a Halfling fighter.... Any idea's if i have to worry about the max lvl 4 cut off point? I know some GM's throw EXP the PC's way hand over fist and others proceed at a more leisurely pace. I don't mind the lvl 4 cap as long as i won't have to make a new character in a couple months heh.

That being said the idea of a 3 feet tall front line fighter is amusing to me.

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Re: Strategy Thread

#43 Post by Alethan »

Nyctos wrote:I've been thinking that I may shake things up a bit myself, and rolled up a Halfling fighter.... Any idea's if i have to worry about the max lvl 4 cut off point? I know some GM's throw EXP the PC's way hand over fist and others proceed at a more leisurely pace. I don't mind the lvl 4 cap as long as i won't have to make a new character in a couple months heh.

That being said the idea of a 3 feet tall front line fighter is amusing to me.

Did you put any thought to multiclassing a halfling fighter/thief? Then at least you could a)use a bow to great advantage and b)fall back on leveling as a thief (unlimited) when you reach the fighter cap. You definitely have the stats for it. And just because you have the thief class doesn't mean you have to use thief skills all the time; you could play him more as a fighter-type. We'll have enough people in the party who can try their luck at being the party procurer-of-unattached-items.

In studded leather armour, with your DEX, you'd still have great AC and be able to backstab for extra damage when possible while remaining fairly mobile. And you'd get a total of +6 to your bow attacks. +6 to your bow attacks!!!

Hit points wouldn't be too bad. You have good averages with the D10 and the D6; much better than say a MU/Thief would have, anyway. I think you'd have to start off with at least six (5(avg of ftr) + 3(avg of thf) = 8/2 = 4+2(+1CON bonus per Hit Die). And, of course, with good rolls you could have better; that's just the minimum starting point. Honestly, that's better than the average you would have for straight fighter (the CON bonus with multiple hit dice helps that, I think).

Just an idea...
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Re: Strategy Thread

#44 Post by Xaxyx »

Alethan wrote:Did you put any thought to multiclassing a halfling fighter/thief? Then at least you could a)use a bow to great advantage and b)fall back on leveling as a thief (unlimited) when you reach the fighter cap. You definitely have the stats for it. And just because you have the thief class doesn't mean you have to use thief skills all the time; you could play him more as a fighter-type. We'll have enough people in the party who can try their luck at being the party procurer-of-unattached-items.
Nyctos and I did broach the topic of his character being a multi-classed fighter/thief. The downside in this campaign is that Argennian is not allowing multi-classed fighters to select weapon specialization. Hence, his character would lose the ability to specialize with the bow.
In studded leather armour, with your DEX, you'd still have great AC and be able to backstab for extra damage when possible while remaining fairly mobile. And you'd get a total of +6 to your bow attacks. +6 to your bow attacks!!!
With specialization, he's +7 to hit, +2 damage, and best of all, 5/2 attack rate.
Hit points wouldn't be too bad. You have good averages with the D10 and the D6; much better than say a MU/Thief would have, anyway. I think you'd have to start off with at least six (5(avg of ftr) + 3(avg of thf) = 8/2 = 4+2(+1CON bonus per Hit Die). And, of course, with good rolls you could have better; that's just the minimum starting point. Honestly, that's better than the average you would have for straight fighter (the CON bonus with multiple hit dice helps that, I think).
The con bonus is divided as well; so, he'd have a minimum of (5+1 = 6) / 2 = 3 hps from the fighter die, and (3+1 = 4) / 2 = 2 hps from the thief die. It's thus a slightly lower average -- and certainly not higher -- than straight fighter. For four levels, anyway.

By the book, I would agree that fighter/thief would be the more versatile and viable class choice, both short and long term. But due to the specialization restriction, that's no longer the case.

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Re: Strategy Thread

#45 Post by Alethan »

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Re: Strategy Thread

#46 Post by Alethan »

Xaxyx wrote:
Hit points wouldn't be too bad. You have good averages with the D10 and the D6; much better than say a MU/Thief would have, anyway. I think you'd have to start off with at least six (5(avg of ftr) + 3(avg of thf) = 8/2 = 4+2(+1CON bonus per Hit Die). And, of course, with good rolls you could have better; that's just the minimum starting point. Honestly, that's better than the average you would have for straight fighter (the CON bonus with multiple hit dice helps that, I think).
The con bonus is divided as well; so, he'd have a minimum of (5+1 = 6) / 2 = 3 hps from the fighter die, and (3+1 = 4) / 2 = 2 hps from the thief die. It's thus a slightly lower average -- and certainly not higher -- than straight fighter. For four levels, anyway.
I don't agree with the CON bonus being averaged, but I do see where my math was off. I was taking the minimum score Argennian said each class could have and adding them before doing the average (5+3=8/2=4+2=6 vs. 5/2+1 + 3/2+1=3+2=5). It does make a slight difference.
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Re: Strategy Thread

#47 Post by Alethan »

Nyctos wrote:I've been thinking that I may shake things up a bit myself, and rolled up a Halfling fighter.... Any idea's if i have to worry about the max lvl 4 cut off point? I know some GM's throw EXP the PC's way hand over fist and others proceed at a more leisurely pace. I don't mind the lvl 4 cap as long as i won't have to make a new character in a couple months heh.

That being said the idea of a 3 feet tall front line fighter is amusing to me.
Not sure I have an answer for your original question, Nyctos, because I don't know Argennian as a GM (though I have a pretty good idea of what Argennian is like as a PC).

But maybe this info will help... I've been in one PbP game (OD&D basic rules evolving into Greyhawk rules) since August 2010 and that character is still but a level 2 dwarf fighting man. I've been in another PbP game (homebrew rules) since February 2011 and that character is but a level 2 halfling fighter (no bow bonuses or specialization bonuses like OSRIC rules, though - it's a fairly simple rule-base game).

So... if you were a level 4 halfling fighter and took the double-specialization in the bow, you'd end up with the +7 To Hit, +2 Damage, and the 5/2 Attack Rate and could conceivably have a lot of fun with that character for a long time. I'd say you'd have a good four years of PbP play before you level capped. And, who knows... you could either earn enough money to buy yourself a Limited Wish spell or find some other means of increasing your level cap in that time.
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Re: Strategy Thread

#48 Post by Nyctos »

Yeah thanks to both Alethan and Xaxyx, i think i'm going to stick with a halfling fighter and see what happens.

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Re: Strategy Thread

#49 Post by dmw71 »

I have updated the party build information below, not including my character.

Race Count
Dwarf: 2
Elf: 2
Gnome: 0
Half Elf: 0
Half Orc: 1
Halfling: 1
Human: 1

Class Count
Fighter: 2
Fighter/Thief: 1
Thief/Magic User: 1
Druid: 1
Cleric: 2

Alignment Count
Lawful Good: 0
Neutral Good: 2
Chaotic Good: 1
Lawful Neutral: 0
True Neutral: 2
Chaotic Neutral: 2
Lawful Evil: 0
Neutral Evil: N/A
Chaotic Evil: N/A

Active Player List
1. dmw71 --> Elf, Fighter/Magic User (CN)
2. Alethan --> Half orc, Fighter (CN)
3. tkrexx --> Human, Druid (N)
4. Thalion --> Elf, Fighter/Thief (CG)
5. Xaxyx --> Dwarf, Cleric (NG)
6. SocraticLawyer --> Dwarf, Cleric (NG)
7. Nyctos --> Halfling, Fighter (CN)
8. Nuke66 --> Elf, Thief/Magic User (N)



Would anyone object if I completely went a different direction with my character? I really don't think I want to play a magic user, even as part of a multi-class.
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Re: Strategy Thread

#50 Post by Thalion »

dmw71 wrote: Would anyone object if I completely went a different direction with my character? I really don't think I want to play a magic user, even as part of a multi-class.
Play whatever you want! It's all in fun, anyways. The only thing I would object to would be you playing something you don't want to play.

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Re: Strategy Thread

#51 Post by Xaxyx »

My suggestion, as always, is to play the character that you will enjoy playing. Ensuring that everybody is having fun is far more important than trying to build a "balanced" party, a subjective concept in any event. Besides, Argennian might kill two thirds of us in the first encounter anyway. Or some players may drop out, others may sub in.

Didn't you mention that you wanted to play a paladin? You'd even be able to specialize at level 3, now.

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Re: Strategy Thread

#52 Post by Alethan »

Thalion wrote:The only thing I would object to would be you playing something you don't want to play.
lol.

I would add that you might not want to play a horse, as there is a high possibility we would eat you if things got rough. Honestly, we'd probably eat you before things got rough...
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Re: Strategy Thread

#53 Post by dmw71 »

Thalion wrote:Play whatever you want! It's all in fun, anyways. The only thing I would object to would be you playing something you don't want to play.
Xaxyx wrote:My suggestion, as always, is to play the character that you will enjoy playing. Ensuring that everybody is having fun is far more important than trying to build a "balanced" party, a subjective concept in any event. Besides, Argennian might kill two thirds of us in the first encounter anyway. Or some players may drop out, others may sub in.
I appreciate the support. No slight against Lauranna, but I would feel a bit guilty leaving the party with only a single magic user.

I was just running into all sorts of problems the more I tried to build up the magic user side of Caelvanna. I really envisioned her as being a steathy archer-type that loved spying... which would be majorly complicated if she's forced to lug around some huge spell book ("The weight of a standard book of median size is 150 gold pieces (adjusted upward or downward for varying sizes). The encumbrance value of such a book is equal to three times its weight (450 gp or thereabouts)....") She would probably play better as a straight fighter, or a straight magic user, but not both... at least not the way I was planning on playing her.
Didn't you mention that you wanted to play a paladin?
Yes, paladin is probably my favorite class to play. I'm just not sure how well a paladin would fit with a couple chaotic neutral characters (one of whom is a theif) but, then again, we do already have a half orc trying to blend in with a pair of dwarves so it wouldn't be the only challenge within the group.
Alethan wrote:I would add that you might not want to play a horse, as there is a high possibility we would eat you if things got rough. Honestly, we'd probably eat you before things got rough...
Duly noted. :lol:


I might wait to learn my assigned background traits from Argennian and see if that provides me any guidance.
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Re: Strategy Thread

#54 Post by Xaxyx »

dmw71 wrote:[...]but I would feel a bit guilty leaving the party with only a single magic user.
Nonsense. We'll muddle through.
Didn't you mention that you wanted to play a paladin?
Yes, paladin is probably my favorite class to play. I'm just not sure how well a paladin would fit with a couple chaotic neutral characters (one of whom is a theif) but, then again, we do already have a half orc trying to blend in with a pair of dwarves so it wouldn't be the only challenge within the group.
OSRIC's paladin class seems far less restrictive than the one from 1st Edition AD&D. With that said, I would urge you to speak with Argennian, either here or in private message, if you have party alignment concerns.
I might wait to learn my assigned background traits from Argennian and see if that provides me any guidance.
Whereas, he may be waiting for you to finalize your class before giving you your background. Again, I would suggest speaking with him directly.

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Re: Strategy Thread

#55 Post by dmw71 »

Xaxyx wrote:Whereas, (Argennian) may be waiting for you to finalize your class before giving you your background. Again, I would suggest speaking with him directly.
Funny. He and I did exchange messages earlier today (I asked him a question about arrows... with the whole archer character in mind) and he mentioned that he would get me my background information later today or tomorrow. I'm pretty sure this background information is the result of the extra rolls we made (e.g. family history, starting disposition, etc...) and not necessarily class-dependent, but maybe I'm wrong?

I also wouldn't have a problem still playing Caelvanna, I would just want to drop the fact that she's multi-classed and become either a straight fighter (more likely) or a straight magic user.
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Re: Strategy Thread

#56 Post by Xaxyx »

dmw71 wrote:I also wouldn't have a problem still playing Caelvanna, I would just want to drop the fact that she's multi-classed and become either a straight fighter (more likely) or a straight magic user.
You like paladins. We could use a paladin. Play a paladin. I will stand by you. (Mainly for the AC bonus. ;))

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Re: Strategy Thread

#57 Post by tkrexx »

True, we'll have only 1 MU, but we have 2 Clerics, and a Druid. Nearly unheard of in a party. As was said, we'll muddle thru with the magic at hand. Trust me, if I didn't want to play a Druid, I wouldn't. Same should go to you. (Not to mention, another Fighter-type might help keep the Druid and her awful AC out of the fray... :mrgreen: )


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Re: Strategy Thread

#59 Post by Alethan »

Ok... this might not be the right time to do this but, there is a two-fold reason.

1) I want to ensure we create a cohesive party.

2) I want to get everyone to start thinking about the group and their character and how they're going to play that character in order to drum up activity for the campaign. :)

Anyway, here is what I was wondering... Is everyone OK with my character being a half-orc? It just seems to be the odd-person out in the whole mix of things. I think I came up with a pretty good back story, but... I don't know. Like I've said before, I'm not a big fan of intra-party conflict. Especially in the PbP format, I'd rather not "waste time" working through racial challenges within the party. I'd much rather work on getting to where we're going, fighting what we're fighting, looting what we're looting.

So... with that said, I'd be completely and perfectly fine with switching his race over to something that would work better in the group. I'd probably go with dwarf and stick to being a straight fighter, though I might change up his weapon to be a battle axe instead of a long sword.

I suppose it might create a little work for Argennian, unless he's fine with me just making minor changes to my story line (part of my character's background I didn't go into was that Bog has an uncle (human side) who does not acknowledge him and has disowned him from the family; I could adjust it to be something like the smith is the uncle and he heads back to the dwarven lands but my character refuses to go so he disowns him, blah blah blah... it's easy to rewrite stuff like that.).

Thoughts? Ideas? Concerns?

I could make any changes today and have the character sheet updated in short order, so it shouldn't affect the starting time.
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Re: Strategy Thread

#60 Post by dmw71 »

Alethan wrote:Is everyone OK with my character being a half-orc?
I'll let everyone else speak for themselves, but I have absolutely zero problems with it. I think your backstory plays perfectly and justifies your being a part of the party.

Come to think of it, and maybe I just missed it, but do all the characters already know each other from the start? Just found this: "Your characters will know each other through a common individual and series of events."
Not 100% certain what that means, but everyone will know each other at some basic level. I'm sure, if there were any initial obstacles, they would have been overcome by this point.

I've actually had some doubts myself as Caelvanna is concerned. She's not a total b****, but she is not very trusting and has a darker personality and will probably not be the most pleasant person to be around.

Everyone may not agree on everything all the time, but if we all remain focused on the common goal (whatever they may be), I'm confident this will be a highly dysfunctional, yet extremely playable adventuring party. :D


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