Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Roxmav 10-19-05, 06:19 PM	Another newbiesh DM question from me, so thanks first and foremost for everyone helps thus far; 1) 5ft Step, can this be used to move diagonally, cause then in theory you could always get to the flank of your opponent, or am I right in thinking you can't move diagonally past anything like a wall/person? 2) Experience: I believe I understand the basics of the experience chart, but i'm really worried at the level my party is levelling. They level once every session, is this normal? In a 3 hour session of killing they level'd from 5>6 easily. Basically my PC's keep a log of what they have killed, I tell them the exp of each monster killed, and they add it all up and divide it between them. If i give a clarified example: If the players beat a 2 Drow Rogue/2x 3 drow fighters they earn roughly (without checking charts) 750 for the CR 3 Rogue, and 1000 for each fighter? I think that's the right CR for a drow, as i think it's as Character Level + 1 3) One of my players who is famous for powergaming in computer games and warhammer wants to go fighter/wizard/Arcane Archer. I don't know enough of this combo to tell how potentially powerful it would be, should i allow this? Also on powergaming, we have a dwarf fighter in my party who uses tower shield and plate armor (not full) for an AC of 21, is that really right, most the monsters of CR 3-4 can't hit him on less than 16, apart from like ogres. (are dwarf fighters just that tough?) Thanks guys in advance!
High Octane 10-19-05, 06:29 PM	1. Yes it can. 2. Ideally if they are facing things with a total CR equal to their level every battle, they should level up every 13.33 battles. Thats a lot of battles. There should be more fluff if thats done in one session. By the way, the level adjustment for the drow is +2, and thats because of their spell like abilities, but mostly because they get spell resistance = 10+ hit die. So a level 1 drow warrior is supposedly a level 2 challenge Of course this is ludicrous, but it makes more sense when a level 9 drow wizard is a level 11 challenge since he will be resisting a good third of your spells. 3. Never seen it actually played, but it doesnt seem to be overpowering. The Arcane archer isnt broken by any means. They just get free magic arrows. 4?... AC 21 isn't bad, and dwarves get no race specific armor bonuses (except vs giants) so its not due to being a dwarf. Remember, in all that he moves at 15 feet and can only use a 1 handed weapon.
astute1 10-19-05, 06:34 PM	1) 5ft Step, can this be used to move diagonally, cause then in theory you could always get to the flank of your opponent, or am I right in thinking you can't move diagonally past anything like a wall/person?Yes, you can move diagonally. It makes it fairly easy to flank - but remember, it also makes it easy for multiple enemies to flank the PCs 2) Experience: I believe I understand the basics of the experience chart, but i'm really worried at the level my party is levelling. The system is designed so that a party of 4 players will level in 13.3 encounters at CR=their level. NPCs are notoriously weak encounters, though. The core rules assume that you really pull out all the stops when using NPCs as enemies, rather than monsterous enemies. 3) One of my players who is famous for powergaming in computer games and warhammer wants to go fighter/wizard/Arcane Archer. I don't know enough of this combo to tell how potentially powerful it would be, should i allow this? I think it's the only way to get into that prestige class, actually. The big worry is "how powerful is the Prestige Class?", and in the case of Arcane Archer it's not overpowered. Also on powergaming, we have a dwarf fighter in my party who uses tower shield and plate armor (not full) for an AC of 21, is that really right, most the monsters of CR 3-4 can't hit him on less than 16, apart from like ogres. (are dwarf fighters just that tough?) Anyone wearing plate and using a towershield has an AC of 21. That makes them pretty tough to hit - but they're spending a considerable amount of money on armor, and tower shields give a penalty on attacks (and a huge penalty on certain skills.) There's a tradeoff.
Ogmug 10-19-05, 06:35 PM	Another newbiesh DM question from me, so thanks first and foremost for everyone helps thus far; 1) 5ft Step, can this be used to move diagonally, cause then in theory you could always get to the flank of your opponent, or am I right in thinking you can't move diagonally past anything like a wall/person? I can't answer this one as I don't have time to do the research 2) Experience: I believe I understand the basics of the experience chart, but i'm really worried at the level my party is levelling. They level once every session, is this normal? In a 3 hour session of killing they level'd from 5>6 easily. Basically my PC's keep a log of what they have killed, I tell them the exp of each monster killed, and they add it all up and divide it between them. I would not worry too much about the exp. Let's assume you have 4 characters of the same level (5th). The total exp fo that encounter you described below is 2750. Divide this by 4 and you have only 688 exp per player for that encounter. To get to level 6 they will need 15000 exp total (5000 difference from 5th to 6th). If your players are getting 5000 exp each (20k total exp) then you need to look at how you are figuring in exp. If we used your example as base, you would need to have 9 enounters like that (9 rogues and 18 fighters). If i give a clarified example: If the players beat a 2 Drow Rogue/2x 3 drow fighters they earn roughly (without checking charts) 750 for the CR 3 Rogue, and 1000 for each fighter? I think that's the right CR for a drow, as i think it's as Character Level + 1 3) One of my players who is famous for powergaming in computer games and warhammer wants to go fighter/wizard/Arcane Archer. I don't know enough of this combo to tell how potentially powerful it would be, should i allow this? This is pretty standard build for an arcane archer. First, in order to qualify for them, you must be able to cast arcane spells (ie, sorcerer/wizard/bard in core). Second you must have a BAB of +6, and you must have 3 feats (point blank shot, precise shot, and weapon focus) and you must also be either an elf or a half-elf. That means you can start out as a wizard (1) and go for another 5 levels of fighter (or other good progression bab). And you must have proficiency with a bow listed in the arcane archer description. SO, i don't think it is over powering Also on powergaming, we have a dwarf fighter in my party who uses tower shield and plate armor (not full) for an AC of 21, is that really right, most the monsters of CR 3-4 can't hit him on less than 16, apart from like ogres. (are dwarf fighters just that tough?) Thanks guys in advance! Any fighter or character in half-plate and using a tower shield will have an ac of 21 (Half-plate is +7, tower shield is +4). BUT remember, any player using a tower shield in battle will incur a -2 penalty to attack (so a first level dwarf will have a -1 attack bonus unless he takes weapon focus, and modified by str)
Roxmav 10-19-05, 06:37 PM	Thanks for the amazingly quick reply, The AC 21 will probably become a lesser problem now they can fight proper CR monsters (Until recently they had no healer, so i sort of had to tailor encounters as so not to be too hard, unfortunatly this meant i rarely had anything with enough of a bonus to hit a dwarf with 21 AC). But they have a druid now, so I can throw some toughies at them. That 5ft step seems very wrong to me, it just means you always have a flank on your opponent. Like even in a 1v1 Duel, why would your opponent NOT turn to face you when you move? Rules and my personal logic conflicting i feel. As to how they fight that much, they are combat heavy players, they live for it, I put in quests and a little bit of fluff to put context to their battles, but they just live to kill things. They'll grow out of it, or i'll grow them out of it =)
Steely Glint 10-19-05, 06:44 PM	You may already be doing this, but since you didn't mention it specifically I'll do so now. Remember that your players must divide up experience evenly (if they're the same level), so each character in a party of four would get around 435 for those two drow. Calculating experience is a little more difficult for parties with heterogeneous character levels.
HamHam 10-19-05, 06:44 PM	1) Correct, although you can never flank anyone by yourself because no one actually has facing. 2) My PCs have gone from 3rd to 6th level in two sessions, so it really depends what rate you want them to level at, and at what rate they want to level at. 3) Arcane Archer is pretty mundane. Just be worried if he dies and tries to do any of the following: Cleric of Mystra, a kobold, any overly convoluted thing with psionics, anything involving swarms of things and getting caster levels from them, anything involving clerics with immunity to the negative effects of disease and the Astral Plane. Edit: That 5ft step seems very wrong to me, it just means you always have a flank on your opponent. Like even in a 1v1 Duel, why would your opponent NOT turn to face you when you move? Rules and my personal logic conflicting i feel. Just to emphasize, since so far I seem to be the only one to have understood the question correctly, you are considered to be facing all directions at once, therefore you can never flank someone by yourself.
Steely Glint 10-19-05, 06:45 PM	Flanking requires that you have an ally directly on the other side of the target, so it doesn't apply in a 1v1 duel.
FriendoftheDork 10-19-05, 07:02 PM	2. By the way, the level adjustment for the drow is +2, and thats because of their spell like abilities, but mostly because they get spell resistance = 10+ hit die. So a level 1 drow warrior is supposedly a level 2 challenge Of course this is ludicrous, but it makes more sense when a level 9 drow wizard is a level 11 challenge since he will be resisting a good third of your spells. 4?... AC 21 isn't bad, and dwarves get no race specific armor bonuses (except vs giants) so its not due to being a dwarf. Remember, in all that he moves at 15 feet and can only use a 1 handed weapon. Ops some errors here.... first of all level adjustment has nothing to do with xp or encounter levels, so ignore it unless a PC is playing one. A drow NPC has CR 1, +1 per level in a PC class (fighter, rogue etc), so the original poster was right. Secondly a dwarf may move his speed (20) even in medium and heavy armor. That's only for dwarves and a major advantage, but offset by the fact that they are medium sized with only 20' base speed. A very agile elf with chain shirt and tower shield will get AC 22! And could maybe still have 30' speed if strong enough. Otherwise everyone else is right, you need two to flank, one to flank and one to spank :)
Eightbitmage 10-19-05, 07:04 PM	Roxmav, I think you need to define what you think flanking is. In a 1v1 duel you cannot flank, you only flank when your ally is opposite you. Also remember there is no facing in D&D. If someone moves you do turn to face them.
HamHam 10-19-05, 07:11 PM	Ops some errors here.... first of all level adjustment has nothing to do with xp or encounter levels, so ignore it unless a PC is playing one. A drow NPC has CR 1, +1 per level in a PC class (fighter, rogue etc), so the original poster was right. Random question: If you build an NPC using a PC class, PC wealth per level... do you calculate the ECL and therefore CR of said creature using PC rules, or the CR + PC levels rules? I would say the former because otherwise it would seem that a Drow would have different CRs solely based on whether or not a PC is actually running him.
Androcus Divinicus 10-19-05, 07:11 PM	Note ... apparently you got a lot of good answers while my computer was disagreeing with the WotC boards, but I'll throw my two cents in ... because I like to hear myself talk ;) 1) 5ft Step, can this be used to move diagonally, cause then in theory you could always get to the flank of your opponent, or am I right in thinking you can't move diagonally past anything like a wall/person? Ah ... you can use a 5ft step diagonally, at least IMO, b/c the first square of diagonal movement just counts as 1 square. I think that your problem here is not misunderstanding the 5ft step, but misunderstanding flanking. In 3.x rules, there is no facing ... thus, it doesn't matter what side of an enemy you're on, so long as he is not flat-footed, attacks and defense work normally. Flanking happens when you and an ally are on opposite sides of an opponent. 2) Experience: I believe I understand the basics of the experience chart, but i'm really worried at the level my party is levelling. They level once every session, is this normal? In a 3 hour session of killing they level'd from 5>6 easily. Basically my PC's keep a log of what they have killed, I tell them the exp of each monster killed, and they add it all up and divide it between them. If i give a clarified example: If the players beat a 2 Drow Rogue/2x 3 drow fighters they earn roughly (without checking charts) 750 for the CR 3 Rogue, and 1000 for each fighter? I think that's the right CR for a drow, as i think it's as Character Level + 1 Hm. The ammount of exp your party earns from a given CR depends upon their level. I'm assuming that your example here means that your party fought 5 Drow, 2 with 2 levels each in Rogue, and 3 with 1 level each of figher, so I'll use that as an example: Each Rogue individually has a CR of 3 (Character level +1), each figher has a CR of 2. Your total CR is 7 (I'll explain at the bottom of this post how I got that if you didn't follow). Now ... with a CR of 7, that means that a party of level 1-3 would get 3600 exp to divide amongst themselves, a 4th level party would get 3200, a 5th level party would get 3000, 6th 2700, and so on (the exp info is on pg 38 of the 3.5 DMG and pg 166 of the 3.0 DMG; the info for calculating CR is on pg 48-49 of the 3.5 DMG and pg 101 of the 3.0 DMG). So, your party at 5th level would have gotten 3000 exp to divide amongst themselves and, at 6th for that same encounter, they'd have gotten 2700. 3) One of my players who is famous for powergaming in computer games and warhammer wants to go fighter/wizard/Arcane Archer. I don't know enough of this combo to tell how potentially powerful it would be, should i allow this? Well ... To be an arcane archer, your player would have to meet the requirements of the PrC, which appear on pg 176 of the 3.5 DMG and pg 28 of the 3.0 DMG. I may be wrong, but it looks like he'd have to be about a 7th level character before he could start taking levels in the Arcane Archer PrC. So, by the time he was a Ftr6/Wiz1/AA1, his party members might be Rog8 ... or Rng8, or something ... I don't think it'd be too powerful, so long as you do it by the rules. Also on powergaming, we have a dwarf fighter in my party who uses tower shield and plate armor (not full) for an AC of 21, is that really right, most the monsters of CR 3-4 can't hit him on less than 16, apart from like ogres. (are dwarf fighters just that tough?) That sounds about right ... but keep in mind that a tower sheild doesn't influence AC directly, it grants cover ... so, unlike a character fighting with a regular sheild, his AC bonus only comes when he is actively taking cover behind the sheild ... this means that if the sheild is on his left side, he has no AC bonus on his right side (whereas with a large sheild, it's just a flat bonus to AC). Also, keep in mind that his Touch AC probably sucks ... so while he's hard for someone to take out with a club, it'd be pretty easy for someone to hit him with a Ray spell, or just flat out swarm him and knock him down (if they can surround him). *********** Info on computing the CR: The MM says that, when taking levels in a PC class (such as Rogue or Fighter, which is what the Drow in our example did), a Drow's CR is equal to his character level+1. This makes the two Rogues both CR 3 and the three fighters each CR 2. The DMG says (and here I'm referencing the 3.5 DMG, though the 3.0 guide basically says the same stuff) that a "In general, you can treat a group of creatures as a single creature whose CR equals the group's EL." So ... we can reference the table on pg 49, and see that two CR 3 are a CR 5 and three CR 2 are also a CR 5. Two CR 5 are a CR 7. Then, if we go to the table on pg 38, we find the exp for a CR 7, and read down the table until you find your party's average level. (This of course assumes that all of your party is the same level ... it gets more difficult/interesting if this is not the case :) ) Regards, Justin.
Roxmav 10-19-05, 07:14 PM	Yup my bad, re-read the rules for flanking, i should have done that rather than re-reading 5ft step /slaps self until a tooth breaks free. Easy to remember now: One to flank, one to spank. Love it =)
HamHam 10-19-05, 07:18 PM	That sounds about right ... but keep in mind that a tower sheild doesn't influence AC directly, it grants cover ... so, unlike a character fighting with a regular sheild, his AC bonus only comes when he is actively taking cover behind the sheild ... this means that if the sheild is on his left side, he has no AC bonus on his right side (whereas with a large sheild, it's just a flat bonus to AC). While I don't have the PHB in front of me, I believe this is incorrect. A tower shield grants an AC bonus just like a normal shield, however in addition to that you can choose to hide behind it for total cover, which means you can't fight and do it at the same time.
Roxmav 10-19-05, 07:27 PM	"In most situations, it provides the indicated shield bonus to your AC. However, you can instead use it as total cover, though you must give up your attacks to do so." Dunno if this has changed since 3.0, So this leads me to believe that it can be used for basic AC. As to your CR calculation, i didn't define it properly, my apologies; Its multiple combatents. a 2nd level rogue, and 2 level 3 Drow fighters. And while everyone's answering with amazing haste. (In all my years using differant forums, this one truly amazes me! I love it already!) My dwarf is talking to me about Combat reflexes and fighting defensivly in full plate. So with full plate tower shield thats 24 or 25 AC (can't remember), throw on combat reflexes, +5. Stacks with fighting defensivly for another +2. Making 31-32. Looking at a CR 6 megaraptor with only +10 needs to roll a 20 to hit (if that even hits!) We were discussing if due to max dex bonus on full plate whether this still applies, but I really can't see why not. Unless he's flat footed or loses his dex for other reason, he really is that hard :(
Steely Glint 10-19-05, 07:33 PM	These boards are particularly fast when people ask questions about rules that are relatively easily answered. By the way, the feat that increases AC at the cost of attack bonus is called Combat Expertise, not Combat Reflexes. Combat Reflexes increases the number of Attacks of Opportunity a character can take each round. Anyway, while fighting defensively (-4), using Combat Expertise to its fullest (-5), and equipped with a tower shield (-2), your dwarf will suffer a -11 penalty to all attacks. He may not take much damage, but he won't be dishing any out either.
Roxmav 10-19-05, 07:37 PM	Yup thought as much, sorry i made that same mistake talking to him a minute ago, grrr. And yes, we figured he won't hit much either, the true Dwarf Tin Can, might replace his mini with a beans tin. Sorry if the questions are simple, i'm still new to D&D, as are my friends, so we're all learning together, only i volunteered to be DM. A newbie with a keyboard and a forum are a bad thing I guess (Please don't ban my account /hides)
Steely Glint 10-19-05, 07:40 PM	Sorry if the questions are simple, i'm still new to D&D, as are my friends, so we're all learning together, only i volunteered to be DM. A newbie with a keyboard and a forum are a bad thing I guess (Please don't ban my account /hides) This is exactly what these boards are designed for. :)
Androcus Divinicus 10-19-05, 07:44 PM	While I don't have the PHB in front of me, I believe this is incorrect. A tower shield grants an AC bonus just like a normal shield, however in addition to that you can choose to hide behind it for total cover, which means you can't fight and do it at the same time. Hm. You could be right ... let me pull out my rulebooks and check ... Yep. My apologies ... I'm still switching from 3.0 to 3.5 in my head. Alright then ... so he keeps his AC bonus, but he also takes a penalty to attack from the Tower Sheild ... so there's that. As to your CR calculation, i didn't define it properly, my apologies; Its multiple combatents. a 2nd level rogue, and 2 level 3 Drow fighters. K. Then you'd have a CR 3 (assuming the rogue is a Drow, otherwise he'd be a CR 2), and two CR 4's. If everyone is a Drow, thats an ECL of about 6 or 7. (two CR 4 is a CR 6. DMG says that a CR 5+3 is a 6 and a CR 6+4 is 7. You have a CR 6+3 ... which is in between.) My dwarf is talking to me about Combat reflexes and fighting defensivly in full plate. So with full plate tower shield thats 24 or 25 AC (can't remember), throw on combat reflexes, +5. Stacks with fighting defensivly for another +2. Making 31-32. Looking at a CR 6 megaraptor with only +10 needs to roll a 20 to hit (if that even hits!) (Note, I think you mean Combat Expertise) AC will depend upon Dex. Assuming he's got a Dex bonus, his AC would look like this: AC = 10(base)+8(Full Plate)+1(Dex)+4(Tower Sheild)+5(Combat Expertise Maxed)+2(Fight Defensively) = 30. If he gets less than a +1 to AC from Dex, then this number will go down accordingly ... if he's got any magical AC bonuses on his Armor or Sheild ... these will increase the number accordingly. But, just remember what stacks with what ... Rules of the Game: Does it Stack? Part I (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040120a) Part II (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040127a) Part III (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040203a) Part IV (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040210a) Keep in mind that the max dex from full plate is +1 so regardless of his dex, he can only ever get a +1 to AC from it. Also, you cannot get a bonus to AC from Combat Expertise that exceeds your BAB ... so he'd have to be 5th level to do this. Now, keep in mind that he's also going to have a -11 to hit (-2 from tower sheild, -4 from fighting defensively, -5 from combat expertise). Regards, Justin.
Inigo Carmine 10-19-05, 08:51 PM	My dwarf is talking to me about Combat reflexes and fighting defensivly in full plate. So with full plate tower shield thats 24 or 25 AC (can't remember), throw on combat reflexes, +5. Stacks with fighting defensivly for another +2. Making 31-32. Looking at a CR 6 megaraptor with only +10 needs to roll a 20 to hit (if that even hits!) It looks like your player is trying to maximize his AC. That's fine and dandy, but it comes with a cost: his attack score will be abysmal, and he won't be able to hit anything. At this point, you're pretty much useless to the party. Look at it from your NPC's perspective: There's a dwarf covered in metal who is nigh invincible, but at the same time, couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, and is hardly a threat. Meanwhile, other members in the party are much squishier, and are actually hurting him. Who is he going to attack? This isn't a videogame where enemies always attack the slow nigh-invincible tank. Enemies higher than animal intelligence are going to attack the enemy that is the biggest threat, usually the wizard if there is one. So, if your dwarf gets his AC into the 30s, ignore him and concentrate on another target.
astute1 10-19-05, 09:29 PM	Actually, Dwarf Tanks are great. If he goes straight fighter, he shouldn't have any trouble with his attack bonus (a -1 to hit isn't really that big a deal) and his AC will be through the roof! If he chooses to really boost the AC, just remember that if you tack on an additional +5 from Combat Expertise and +2 from Fighting Defensively, you're also looking at a net -10 on your attack rolls (-5 from CE, -1 from tower shield, -4 from fighting defensively.) However, if all you're doing is trying to tie up the enemies while the spellcasters blast them to bits... well, that's a pretty good way to do it.
Ogmug 10-19-05, 09:41 PM	Add +5 ranks to tumble, and you can get another 1 point out of fighting defensively This can get quite interesting. Dwarf fighting an ogre 10 (base) + full plate (8) + dex (1) + tower shield (4) + combat exp (5) + dodge (1) +fighting defensively/tumble (3) + dwarf bonus vs giant types (4) 10+8+1+4+5+1+3+4=36 AC penalties to attack: -5 (CE) -4 (full defense) -2 (tower shield) = -11 if his str is 18 (+4) Base AB for 6th level (+6) Weapon focus +1 basically, it evens out. gain 2 levels (1 more fighter, 1 dwarven defender) and enter into a defensive stance, and his ac will be 40, with a bonus of 3 to hit.
Millennium 10-19-05, 10:21 PM	1) 5ft Step, can this be used to move diagonally, cause then in theory you could always get to the flank of your opponent, or am I right in thinking you can't move diagonally past anything like a wall/person? Yes, you can move diagonally with a five-foot step. This is an interesting quirk in the rules, and it's a consequence of using a square grid. Technically a diagonal of a one-unit square is sqrt(2) long -a little more than 1.4- and so every other square in a diagonal move counts double: to move two squares diagonally counts three squares' worth of movement. This is accurate for long distances, but it can be abused just a little bit by stretching the "5-foot step" out to 7 feet. If you consider this a problem, you can actually eliminate it completely by using a hexagonal grid instead of a square grid. This has issues of its own when it comes to mapping terrain and walls, but it completely eliminates the problems associated with diagonal movement; moving one hex always costs one hex. I actually prefer hex grids myself, and they work particularly well if you use facing rules (which you seem to). If you do decide to go with hex grids, then you should consider picking up Unearthed Arcana. Using a hex grid doesn't change any rules by itself, but the book provides some illustrations and templates which can be very useful.
bob_the_great 10-19-05, 11:31 PM	inigo said it well. if someone is fighting off all of my attacks, but can't hit me, i'm going to move off of him and attack a real threat. even if he hits, he isn't hitting as hard as others, who are therefore greater threats. even when initiating combat, are you going to start by attacking the guy in platemail who's hiding behind a mobile wall or the lightly armored guy holding a greataxe. well, i might let someone else incur the wrath of the greataxe weilder, but you get the point. now if he effectively mixes defensive and offensive tactics, then kudos to him.
weasel fierce 10-20-05, 01:27 AM	As the DM you have 100% control of the XP awarded. If the session consists of nothing but hacking, the party is going to level up extremely fast.
Colmarr 10-20-05, 02:15 AM	From the OP: 1) 5ft Step, can this be used to move diagonally, cause then in theory you could always get to the flank of your opponent, or am I right in thinking you can't move diagonally past anything like a wall/person? Others have already answered the flanking issue, but many seem to have missed the following (or left it out of their answers for the sake of brevity): Diagonals: When measuring distance, the first diagonal counts as 1 square, the second counts as 2 squares, the third counts as 1, the fourth as 2, and so on. You can’t move diagonally past a corner (even by taking a 5-foot step). You can move diagonally past a creature, even an opponent. When I DM, "corners" include doorways, but that may technically be a houserule depending on how tightly you wish to define corner. Others have also made some good points about your Dwarven tank, but one thing that hasn't been mentioned is that methods exist to bypass the PCs strength. if you want/need to neutralise the character, use touch attacks or auto-hits wherever possible (such as rays, alchemists fire, acid flasks, magic missile etc) or items (such as tanglefoot bags) and spells that target the poor save of the character. The dwarven tank in my campaign more than once found himself the charmed friend of an evil wizard. Just make sure you don't do it too often. You wouldn't penalise a player for having a good attack bonus, so why penalise a character with a good AC?
FriendoftheDork 10-20-05, 02:45 AM	Random question: If you build an NPC using a PC class, PC wealth per level... do you calculate the ECL and therefore CR of said creature using PC rules, or the CR + PC levels rules? I would say the former because otherwise it would seem that a Drow would have different CRs solely based on whether or not a PC is actually running him. Well building an NPC by using a PC class makes it elite NPC. You're not supposed to use PC wealth by level though, that's reserved for PCs only for balance reasons. NPC fighters, rogues etc. should really use the NPC gear table. In which case their level counts toward the table, not CR or ECL. If you do use PC wealth for a very important NPC feel free to use any rules you want. As for PCs having higher CR than NPCs.... well that's irrelevant as CR is only intended to measure what the party can take. A party never fights another party of PCs. But yeah a PC is tough, alot tougher than a npc of the same class and level. They are the main characters after all.
Nom 10-20-05, 08:22 AM	Be careful about accumulating CR into EL and then using that to assign XP - it doesn't always work properly near the bottom of the table. For example, a group of 4 level 5 PCs encounters a 2x CR 4 + 1x CR 3. By individual opponent, they gain 2*1000 + 750 = 2750 XP. The EL is slightly over 6 (2,250) but less than 7 (3,000). If you want to do "by the book", just award by opponent. There are many other ways to do it, but you'll trip yourself up if you try them without understanding them. And remember that the 2,750 XP is then divided among the 4 PCs, for 687 XP each. You might also want to "audit" the characters. If they have a total ability bonus of more than about +8 (before magic) or more gp worth of items than suggested in table 5-1 (DMG pg 135) then they may be more powerful than "normal", and thus can defeat more powerful than normal challenges with a corresponding increase in XP earned.
Roxmav 10-20-05, 08:40 AM	Thanks everyone for your replies, it's cleared up a lot for me.
Tacomannerism 10-20-05, 01:17 PM	Anyone wearing plate and using a towershield has an AC of 21. That makes them pretty tough to hit - but they're spending a considerable amount of money on armor, and tower shields give a penalty on attacks (and a huge penalty on certain skills.) There's a tradeoff. What is the attack penalty for using a tower shield and where is it outlined? (just curious)
Ogmug 10-20-05, 01:21 PM	What is the attack penalty for using a tower shield and where is it outlined? (just curious) players handbook under the description for tower shield, and it is -2
Androcus Divinicus 10-20-05, 07:51 PM	What is the attack penalty for using a tower shield and where is it outlined? (just curious) Also note that this is a change from 3.0 to 3.5. In 3.0 there was no attack penalty for using a tower sheild ... so if you haven't upgraded to 3.5, then don't feel stupid for not finding the attack penalty because it isn't there. Regards, Justin.
Man in the Funny Hat 10-20-05, 10:54 PM	1) 5ft Step, can this be used to move diagonally, cause then in theory you could always get to the flank of your opponent, or am I right in thinking you can't move diagonally past anything like a wall/person?Flanking is not a "position", it's a condition. This is because 3.5 has done away with facing altogether. You are flanked when you have multiple opponents on opposite sides of you, not when they move to any particular side of you because you are not considered to be facing in any one given direction at any time. 2) Experience: I believe I understand the basics of the experience chart, but i'm really worried at the level my party is levelling. They level once every session, is this normal?The average should be a level every 13 or 14 encounters - but that's just an average. It might be more encounters or fewer and encounters should vary quite a bit in their difficulty from deadly to very easy. If you're able to run lots of combats in a short time the PC's will level quite fast. Basically my PC's keep a log of what they have killed, I tell them the exp of each monster killed, and they add it all up and divide it between them.I suppose you can do it that way (at least it sounds like the amounts should be the same), but it's probably better if YOU hand out the XP awards as DM. It ensures that if the monsters the PC's face have greater or lesser abilities than standard that they get the appropriate XP for them and keeps everyone honest. Besides which, the time it takes for you to do the calculation for the players is fairly minimal and it provided a needed physical and mental break in the action for everyone - especially if you feel like the PC's are levelling too fast. If i give a clarified example: If the players beat a 2 Drow Rogue/2x 3 drow fighters they earn roughly (without checking charts) 750 for the CR 3 Rogue, and 1000 for each fighter?Well that's not really a clarified example - are you saying they beat a 2nd level drow rogue and two 3rd level drow fighters? Assuming that IS the case, the CR for the rogue is 3 and for the fighters is 4 (per the MM their CR is Character Level +1). That means that if the PC's are 5th it is indeed 750 for the rogue and 1000xp each for the two fighters. But you take that value and DIVIDE IT by the total number of PC's in the party. So, if it's a standard 4 character party there would be: 2750 xp /4 pcs = 687xp for EACH PC for the ENTIRE encounter. If you're not dividing in that last step it seems you're NOT awarding XP properly - you're awarding FAR too much. 3) One of my players who is famous for powergaming in computer games and warhammer wants to go fighter/wizard/Arcane Archer. I don't know enough of this combo to tell how potentially powerful it would be, should i allow this?Arcane Archer is pretty powerful IMO. But whether you should allow it or not? You can't really begin to develop a good sense for these things if you only ever take other peoples word for it. Frankly, I'd say let him try it first, but let the player know that it's "probationary". Then as you see the PrC in action you can decide for yourself if it's too powerful for your game or not, and then either disallow any OTHER PC's to take that PrC and/or by PREVIOUS ARRANGEMENT, have the existing character revert to some other progression as well. Also on powergaming, we have a dwarf fighter in my party who uses tower shield and plate armor (not full) for an AC of 21, is that really right, most the monsters of CR 3-4 can't hit him on less than 16, apart from like ogres. (are dwarf fighters just that tough?)No, but AC21 is regardless of being a dwarf or a fighter. Just be sure you're aware of all the drawbacks to such heavy armor. Half plate allows no dex bonus to AC, has a check penalty of -17 when combined with the tower shield, a movement rate of 20, and most importantly the tower shield gives a -2 on attack rolls!. If this PC is 5th level monsters with CR 3-4 should be less of a challenge ANYWAY. A standard challenge to the party should be CR5. Also, don't overlook the buffs, special attacks, and so forth that monsters have - let them attack intelligently if their intelligence warrants it on terms that favor themselves in put PC's at the greatest disadvantage. Attack the PC's by surprise occasionally, use missile fire at a distance, be sure that the monsters USE the magical items in their treasure if they can, have them use spells or whatnot occasionally that disable or reduce the dwarven fighters effectiveness. Remember that his Will save is not likely to be very good. Oh, and it won't seem quite so impressive that the dwarf NEVER goes down in a fight if the wizard and rogue ALWAYS do. :) That will lead to a natural tendency of the other PC's to take up the items that will improve THEIR defenses and in a few levels they'll likely catch up to the dwarf and his 21 AC won't seem so intimidating. In short, just remember that, "this too shall pass."