Post/Author/DateTime	Post
TWG_Prometheus 03-20-06, 03:44 PM	I'm still fairly new to Living Greyhawk, and questions about access I'm sure are always a hot topic, even if people can't give out many specifics. While looking over the default purchase list, however, I noticed that mithril armors and adamantine weapons and armor aren't listed as being normally available. In a general sense, do people have much trouble obtaining those kinds of items? Also, what about the series of items that give +4 to a primary stat like Strength? Are those a significant rarity or are they moderately easy to encounter on an access list?
Lupo 03-20-06, 04:16 PM	I'm still fairly new to Living Greyhawk, and questions about access I'm sure are always a hot topic, even if people can't give out many specifics. While looking over the default purchase list, however, I noticed that mithril armors and adamantine weapons and armor aren't listed as being normally available. In a general sense, do people have much trouble obtaining those kinds of items? Also, what about the series of items that give +4 to a primary stat like Strength? Are those a significant rarity or are they moderately easy to encounter on an access list? getting access to certain special materials and items is a pain in the a**, it depends on the modules you play. you can't be sure to find the right access with the right character. and sometimes it is even worse, when a bunch of npcs in a module have all the shiny little thingies you want for your character and someone wasn't in the mood of including it in the ar. casters with the "craft wonderous item" feat are better off than the rest. anyway look out for favours that enables you to get the right thingy for the right character. ciao martin m. region(s): adri/innspaa/ahlissa and sunndi
Mortepierre 03-20-06, 04:32 PM	I have at least three AR from last year that offered a +1 mithril shirt. I've seen once an adamantine short sword (which is kind of stupid given the big advantage of that metal works only for B or S-type weapons). As for +4 stat items, the only one I've seen repeatedly has been the Headband of Intellect. Since my main is a wizard, I'm obviously not complaining.. :P Lupo hit the nail on the head though when he said that getting the right access with the right character is tough. Especially for certain hard-to-get PrC :mad:
Nerax 03-20-06, 07:04 PM	Access to Mithril, and stat boost item upgrades are fairly common I would say. Adamatine and PRC access on the other hand is not very common, plus the only access I have seen was Adventure access so you have to have the gold "on hand", or close to it, to purchase. PRC's access has an alternative route though. You can request from your Triad a Special Mission to recieve access. Now if they aprove your special mission on the other hand is another question entirely.
PaulH 03-20-06, 08:08 PM	Hi Believe stat items +2 are core access (after playing one scenario), it's just the others difficult to get. My main has mithril chain shirt +1/light fortification, but has at least 2 accesses to upgrade to +2/lt fort. Also have couple accesses to gain any one piece armour/one wpn from any material listed in DMG up to 8000GP from various conventions. Of course, can't afford any of them - saving up for Bag of Ticks at 6300GP, from (another) access of anything in DMG up to 8000GP. Also have access to one item value up to 20,000 from DMG, but you get it 3 adventures after you pay. (Specially crafted just for you). Main problem is not so much access, but GP to pay for it. Cheers Paul H PS Oskar Thorinson's played 35 scenarios to get those accesses.
Lupo 03-20-06, 08:17 PM	Access to Mithril, and stat boost item upgrades are fairly common I would say. Adamatine and PRC access on the other hand is not very common, plus the only access I have seen was Adventure access so you have to have the gold "on hand", or close to it, to purchase. PRC's access has an alternative route though. You can request from your Triad a Special Mission to recieve access. Now if they aprove your special mission on the other hand is another question entirely. yea, prestige class access is the worst problem. ok, my first and second character will go straight phb classes without any prc whatsoever (one a cleric of phaulkon, the other a druid). third character would be fun with a level of contemplative of obad-hai but can go without it. my fourth character is a monk heading for a pious templar, so no access needed. character nr. 5 goes for an arcane mix, access for mage of the arcane order is hopefully through a meta org. last character is heading for wildrunner, so no special needs here :-) when you plan a character with a certain prestige class you NEED access to it at a specific point, otherwise your character built is spoiled, if you can't get it through a meta org, or it is a fairly common one (you have seen it in your region over and over again in modules) than don't plan it, unless you are sure your local triad is positive of giving you a special mission to get it. ciao martin m.
TWG_Prometheus 03-21-06, 03:14 AM	Yeah, I'm planning my classes around core access availability, things listed in the LGCS with either easy-to-accomplish special requirements, or no special requirements. The equipment to go along with those builds is another matter. Everyone loves mithril chain shirts, of course, and it's good to hear that it's not super difficult to obtain those. (if you're lucky of course) Just made a modification to my class build today that should relieve some of the gear stress I'll be under as well.
Lomiat 03-21-06, 09:35 AM	You can find subtle hints to direct you toward materials in a module's blurb. These are not 100% guaranteed, but they significantly increase your chances of playing the right character in the right adventure. For example: *A blurb that suggests "elves" (or anything terribly woodsy) means your chances of getting mithral access or access to elven racial weapons (thinblade, courtblade, lightblade, etc.) go up by a bit. *A blurb that suggests "wizards" or arcane mysteries, etc., means that your chances of finding a spellbook or scrolls are better than average. *A blurb that sends your party off to do favors for a group of people generally increases your chances of getting into whatever PRC that group sponsors. Adamantine? That's tough to call. If there are mines in the blurb, you've got a chance, but mines are common delving terrain. I've seen access to adamantine in weird places. But I have seen it disproportionately linked to: A) military favors, B) mines, and C) dwarves. Good hunting and good luck!
JohnduBois 03-21-06, 11:03 AM	Also, if you're looking for adamantine, don't overlook starmetal as an alternative. It's an extra 2 grand, but has the same properties as adamantine and deals an extra 1d6 damage to extraplanar creatures. Plus, it grants access to Green Star Adept and is mentioned in the blurb of a year 5 core mod... By the way, what is the big advantage of adamantine that only applies to bludgeoning and slashing weapons? My character with an adamantine short sword wants to know...
Mortepierre 03-21-06, 11:23 AM	Also, if you're looking for adamantine, don't overlook starmetal as an alternative. It's an extra 2 grand, but has the same properties as adamantine and deals an extra 1d6 damage to extraplanar creatures. Plus, it grants access to Green Star Adept and is mentioned in the blurb of a year 5 core mod... Eh, it is? Must have missed that one.. :confused: By the way, what is the big advantage of adamantine that only applies to bludgeoning and slashing weapons? My character with an adamantine short sword wants to know... Well, straight from the SRD: Weapons fashioned from adamantine have a natural ability to bypass hardness when sundering weapons or attacking objects, ignoring hardness less than 20 Sunder: You can use a melee attack with a slashing or bludgeoning weapon to strike a weapon or shield that your opponent is holding In short, your shortsword (type P-weapon) will work great against golems AND will resist sunder attempts well, but that's it.
JohnduBois 03-21-06, 11:29 AM	Yes, but that line of the SRD only prevents characters from sundering weapons and shields with piercing adamantine weapons. It says nothing about attacking/destroying unattended objects like doors, which is the biggest advantage of the metal.
Mortepierre 03-21-06, 02:26 PM	Nope. The (full) quote out of the SRD is: Smashing a weapon or shield with a slashing or bludgeoning weapon is accomplished by the sunder special attack. Smashing an object is a lot like sundering a weapon or shield, except that your attack roll is opposed by the object’s AC. Generally, you can smash an object only with a bludgeoning or slashing weapon. How were you going to destroy the door? By piercing holes in it with your short sword? I don't think so.. Let's remember that P-type weapons justify their damage because they're supposed to be hitting vital organs deep inside the body. Tough to do to a door or a wall, eh? Now, obviously, common sense should prevail. I wouldn't prevent a player at a table I run from using an adamantine P-weapon to, say, awe barbarians by plunging it hilt-deep into a stone or to put a hole into, say, a steel jug. But that same player would have a tough time convincing me he could pierce a hole big enough for him into a stone wall or destroy rapidly a door simply by stabbing it repeatedly.
Reylance 03-21-06, 04:24 PM	Some people joke that mithral is the most common metal on Oerth. Mithral chain shirts are relatively common, and several of my characters have picked them up over the years. Mithral breastplates (highest AC light armor, same as celestial armor) and mithral full plate (highest AC medium armor) are rarer. For most characters, the mithral chain shirt will be fine. Adamantine weapons are harder to find, arrows even more so. Access to them seems to have decreased recently, but that might just be my perception. Pick one up when you get the chance. The +4 stat items are pretty common, particularly once you get up to APL 10 or so. If you craft items, you have nothing to worry about. If you don't, treasure any favor that allows you to upgrade a stat item. An upgrade from a +4 to a +6 item will save you 8,000 gp.
solbergb 03-21-06, 04:56 PM	It depends. If you are my monk, access to special material armor and shields and magical upgrades for the same falls off every other AR. If you are my sorcerer, you get access to make a mithril item on your second AR. If you are my arcane archer, you put off getting a magic bow for a level because you got +1 mithril chain shirt access at an awkward, low-level time, and then repeatedly got mithril armor access that explicitly excluded mithril shields. Which means I do without a buckler, to avoid ASF increases. If you are a friend of mine, you agonize, scrimp, save and complain about lack of adamantine access for 8 levels, then finally get lucky, then immediately get starmetal access a couple AR 's later (so she now has two adamantine-like weapons...)
redgamer 03-22-06, 01:29 AM	Adamantine arrows should be rare. They are really expensive an serve an extremely limited purpose. Some people joke that mithral is the most common metal on Oerth. Mithral chain shirts are relatively common, and several of my characters have picked them up over the years. Mithral breastplates (highest AC light armor, same as celestial armor) and mithral full plate (highest AC medium armor) are rarer. For most characters, the mithral chain shirt will be fine. Adamantine weapons are harder to find, arrows even more so. Access to them seems to have decreased recently, but that might just be my perception. Pick one up when you get the chance. The +4 stat items are pretty common, particularly once you get up to APL 10 or so. If you craft items, you have nothing to worry about. If you don't, treasure any favor that allows you to upgrade a stat item. An upgrade from a +4 to a +6 item will save you 8,000 gp.
boogahwoof 03-22-06, 04:09 AM	i think the biggest disadvantage is once you find it it is usually out of your price range all i have to say is read all of your favors very carefully they usually contain acess sometimes
solbergb 03-22-06, 08:14 PM	In general if it is something relatively normal (attribute+4 item, for example) with enough AR's, access will probably come before you can afford it. And if it doesn't come, well, you'll STILL have a laundry list of items you CAN buy that you WANT to buy, and don't have cash for. I don't have a single character who doesn't have enough access to consume all his cash for the next 4-5 levels. (by which time...he'll have more access)
theliel 03-29-06, 01:35 PM	Nope. The (full) quote out of the SRD is: How were you going to destroy the door? By piercing holes in it with your short sword? I don't think so.. Let's remember that P-type weapons justify their damage because they're supposed to be hitting vital organs deep inside the body. Tough to do to a door or a wall, eh? Now, obviously, common sense should prevail. I wouldn't prevent a player at a table I run from using an adamantine P-weapon to, say, awe barbarians by plunging it hilt-deep into a stone or to put a hole into, say, a steel jug. But that same player would have a tough time convincing me he could pierce a hole big enough for him into a stone wall or destroy rapidly a door simply by stabbing it repeatedly. oh the door is easy. two (or three) shots to the hinges. just like RL burglers do on re-enforced metal doors. not quite as fast but still <6sec. provided you've got a rouge or someone with basic knowledge of doors.