Post/Author/DateTime	Post
FlyingCowKing 01-07-04, 04:43 AM	Assuming I have the name right, the Sure Striking ability for weapons, allows them to hit as +5 weapons to get past Damage Reduction. In 3.5 the only DR I see is 10/magic or 5/silver ... but I haven't seen any DR that specifies +1 or +5... so is this ability useless now? Or am I missing an important piece of information? Thx
Gray Eminence 01-07-04, 04:53 AM	In 3.5, DR works a bit different. If it says 10/magic, a magic weapon is needed, but bonuses do not count anymore. A +1 weapon is just as good as a +3 one.
Bloodtide_the_Red 01-07-04, 05:02 AM	The Sure Strike ability is somewhat useless in 3.5. It's just a normal '+1' weapon now, so there is not much point to the ability, per say. If a creature as a special element listed in it's DR, then you need that kind of weapon...an enhancement bonus is no help to you there(MM3.5 pg.307)....unless it says 'or magic'. When it says 'magic' they are talking about 'enhancement bonuses'(and spells). The whole idea of needing 'pluses' to beat SR is a thing of the past.... You should note there are lots and lots of other 'types' of DR's. Look through the MM. BT
kreynolds 01-07-04, 07:50 AM	I believe Sure Striking is supposed to be rereleased (if not already, not sure) to bypass the alignment side of DR.
Kaston 01-07-04, 08:23 AM	The Miniatures Handbook has a specific weapon, the Weapon of Transmutation. It's a +1 longsword: if you successfully hit something with DR, it adapts, and as of the beginning of your next turn, it can beat that DR type (type including multiples: if something has /cold iron and good, it penetrates the DR of anything with /cold iron and good, /cold iron, or /good). The effect lasts 10 rounds or until you hit something with a different DR (at which point it changes to target that type). It's priced at 50,312, the price of a +5 longsword, so they apparently think it's now worth a +4 bonus. Of course, the way it's specified, it beats /epic, so maybe they have a point. Hmmm.... 'taking on the properties required to beat that creature's damage reduction', wonder how that affects /-?
kreynolds 01-07-04, 08:31 AM	Originally posted by Kaston ...wonder how that affects /-? I don't believe it does. The point of that type of DR is that it can't be bypassed unless the attack is of the type that inherently bypasses DR (such as spells, energy, etc). From the SRD... "If a dash follows the slash then the damage reduction is effective against any attack that does not ignore damage reduction."
CaoSlayer 01-07-04, 08:41 AM	I would rule the sure strike in 3.5 as the skill of bypassing any kind of damage redution from material or another way (but not both at once, that would be too poweful). This way, you can have a sword that can ignore DR silver and adamantite or the aligment type. I prefer the second because stacks better if you have a silver or ada. weapon.
Kaston 01-07-04, 08:57 AM	Originally posted by kreynolds I don't believe it does. The point of that type of DR is that it can't be bypassed unless the attack is of the type that inherently bypasses DR (such as spells, energy, etc). From the SRD... "If a dash follows the slash then the damage reduction is effective against any attack that does not ignore damage reduction." Yeah, that's what I thought.
Edymnion 01-07-04, 10:03 AM	I'd just let a Sure Striking weapon bypass any material based damage reduction. So it counts as silvered, adm, cold iron, etc, but not Good or things like that. Its one way to put a swift end to the golfbag of swords that 3.5 promotes.
Kaston 01-07-04, 10:32 AM	Underdark's Metalline enhancement (a +2 equivalent) says it allows the blade to become any metal- it name adamantine, silver, and iron as exmaples... but that's just iron, not cold iron. It should probably specifically say it doesn't do COLD iron, in keeping with the DMG's sidebar that 'no magical effect can create cold iron and that's all there is to it', but it doesn't... Mind you, the Morphing (+1) ability in the same book can do almost the same thing better: it allows the weapon to change shape into any other weapon of the same size (light, one-handed, two-handed of original size category) and has a detailed explanation of how it works with a double weapon, which IIRC, means that if you have a morphing two-bladed sword with one end cold iron and the other adamantine, you could turn it into a greatsword or greataxe or spiked chain or whatever of either... Personally, the thought of the morphing enchantment being applied to cold iron offends me and I wouldn't make one, but I don't see a rule against it. And actually, a Holy cold iron morningstar, an adamantine bludgeoning weapon, and a holy silver slashing weapon will take care of anything but /lawful or /chaotic which only a couple monsters have, and can be taken care of by Align Weapon scrolls.
Tae Kwon Dan 01-07-04, 11:01 AM	An interesting house rule that I saw for Sure Strike broke it up into Lesser, Regular, and Greater Sure Striking. Each subtracted from the X in the X/Material for a creatures DR. While I don't remember the specifics of how much was ignored, I think it went. Lesser Sure Strike - Ignore 2 points of non X/- DR. Sure Strike - Ignore 5 points of non X/- DR. Greater Sure Strike - Ignore 8 points of non X/- DR. I think they were +1, +2, and +3 enhancements respectively. I have not tried this in play so I cannot say how balanced they are, but I think that's an interesting implementation that might warrant further consideration (as to the amount of reduction and the cost of the enchantment.)
FlyingCowKing 01-08-04, 02:24 PM	A lot of useful ideas! thanks everyone! My DM especially liked that Lesser, Regular, and Greater Sure Strike Tae Kwon Dan!