Am I too weak? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Am I too weak? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Ultima0071
08-02-07, 10:00 PM I am a level 9 Wizard, 16 Dragon Disciple. I have an AC of 32! Why am I so underpowered?

Today I went against a level 3 fire giant! And I almost lost! I am 80% dragon and size large!

Any ways I could do more than 54 damage? That is my max with magic. Oh yeah, I get a 10d8 damage once a day. Big whoop.
Prator_the_Legendary
08-02-07, 10:10 PM An AC of 32 at epic levels...

See, a good rule of thumb for determining what your AC should be is to figure out your level and add 10 to it. That's the vare minimum survivable AC you can have and not be consistently killed by fighters of the same level as you. 32 does not meet that requirement.

Also, with DD 16 and wizard 9, I don't know how you can deal more damage, because I don't know how you've statted yourself out in either class.
runestar
08-02-07, 10:10 PM You mean barring the fact that dragon disciple is not a caster prc and that your build is illegal?
Prator_the_Legendary
08-02-07, 10:13 PM Yeah... Are you sure you don't mean Dragon Shaman? That would make more sense with your description...
Nebo
08-02-07, 10:22 PM I am a level 9 Wizard, 16 Dragon Disciple. I have an AC of 32! Why am I so underpowered?

No, you are not. You are a person playing a wizard 9/dragon disciple 16 (which is an awful, and illegal, build by the way.)

Go to the character optimisation boards, there are plenty of people there who would be willing to try to salvage this character.
GaffeR
08-02-07, 10:30 PM Go to the character optimisation boards, there are plenty of people there who would be willing to try to salvage this character.
Lies.

Why so weak?

You probly don't wear armor due to ASF
You probly can't hit anything due to your crappy BAB
You can't cast spells, because you're a level 9 wizard
You took 16 levels of DRAGON DISCIPLE
You're probly limited to core
You can't take caster feats, because you have 9 CL
You can't take melee feats, because you have horrible BAB

My advice? Get the party wizard to Polymorph any Object the ground into a pool of lava, then dive in. Use acid if you're a red-dragon disciple.
Ultima0071
08-02-07, 10:37 PM I was thinking of changing (new character) to a multiclass paladin. Any good multiclasses? I am limited to mostly core. Here are the books I have:

DMG
Player's Handbook
Complete Arcane
Dragon Magic

Any suggestions?
Ultima0071
08-02-07, 10:37 PM My Paladin will be human or elven. Which is better?
Prator_the_Legendary
08-02-07, 10:45 PM I always play humans because I hate constitution penalties and love extra skill points, but that's just me. You can make either race work.

As for a multiclassing paladin... You DO realize that you have to blow a feat just to make that possible without rendering your paladin unable to gain more paladin levels, right? Paladins really aren't meant to be multiclassers, what with the restriction on doing so and all...
Ultima0071
08-02-07, 10:54 PM Ok here: I want a class that can heal itself, have high hit dice (d8+), able to wear good armor and weild good weapons, able to (maybe) cast spells, able to do more than 8 damage at first level (maybe).

Otherwise the rest of the party members will kick my :censored: . Even if they were at my level! Help please =D
Salla
08-02-07, 10:56 PM Ok here: I want a class that can heal itself, have high hit dice (d8+), able to wear good armor and weild good weapons, able to (maybe) cast spells, able to do more than 8 damage at first level (maybe).

Otherwise the rest of the party members will kick my :censored: . Even if they were at my level! Help please =D

That's a Cleric.

You shouldn't have to worry about your party members attacking you, though. D&D is a team game, you should be working together.
was_fired
08-02-07, 10:57 PM There are a few basic rules in D&D that you should never break unless you're really experienced and thus know exactly why you're breaking them:

1. Don't multiclass spellcasters, you can take PrCs but they should always increase your caster level.

2. Read rule number one again until it sinks in. Caster level and max spell level matter more than life itself to a spellcaster. Coming back to life just takes a mid level spell.

3. Specialty characters like paladins, monks, and rogues either suck or rock depending on the player's skill and the campaign.

4. Fighters are the hardest class to play well. Druids are the easiest. When in doubt just play a druid... you get everything anyways and don't have to worry much about feats at all.

5. If you can't tell why a character is bad from reading over what you made ask your fellow players before you ask a message board. You can learn from them and try to learn how to make a better character by simply improving your old one. The boards will just yell at you, call you stupid, and tell you to play pun-pun, CoDzilla (see rule four), or something from a book you haven't read.
Bladesinger Boy
08-02-07, 11:02 PM Do you want a dragony, arcaney build that might not be so bad...

(for the first 20 levels)
- 4 Paladin, 4 Sorceror, 3 Spellsword, 9 Eldritch Knight
18 bab, 14 lvls sorc advancement, 4 lvls Paly advancement (2nd lvl caster)
think Divine Might, Arcane Strike, and that variant in PHB2 that lets Sorcs use metamagics INT times per day at -1 spell boost so you can quicken or persistent some stuff

- 1 Fighter, 6 Sorceror, 3 Spellsword, 10 Eldrtich Knight
17 bab, 17 lvls sorc advancement (or wizard if you want to switch)

or maybe try Aburjant Champion (it's 5 levels I think). Dragon Disciple stinks. A half-Dragon template, level adjustment +3 I think, is more effect than taking that class.
Lindwyrm
08-02-07, 11:15 PM I am a level 9 Wizard, 16 Dragon Disciple. I have an AC of 32! Why am I so underpowered?

Today I went against a level 3 fire giant! And I almost lost! I am 80% dragon and size large!

Any ways I could do more than 54 damage? That is my max with magic. Oh yeah, I get a 10d8 damage once a day. Big whoop.

How did you get this build?

Dragon Disciple needs spontaneous casting.
You can take a maximum of 10 levels in a prestige class pre-epic, so you should have at least 1 other level in there.

Assuming it becomes legitimate somehow (subbing sorcerer in for those wizard levels and taking 10 levels of it) I'd say that you'd be best looking at practised spellcaster for an extra 4 caster levels: thus potentially getting you 13 dice on damaging spells assuming they aren't otherwise capped. I'd also recommend enervation as it gives negative levels to the target. Feeblemind is another possibility.

Seriously though, Dragon Disciple is best taken as something like Sor1/(Anything whatsoever)4/Dragon Disciple 10/(Insert other prestige class here)5. I also wouldn't let Dragon Disciple go to epic levels as I wouldn't treat it as a repeating 10 level class. It tends to be a melee build as well, for those games where just taking half dragon hasn't been allowed.
dknight100
08-02-07, 11:22 PM There are a few basic rules in D&D that you should never break unless you're really experienced and thus know exactly why you're breaking them:

1. Don't multiclass spellcasters, you can take PrCs but they should always increase your caster level.

It is possible to multiclass spellcasters, just you want to make sure that its not a BIG multiclass if you wanted to be a primary caster. I.e. Fighter 10 Wizard 10 is gonna be kinda balls if you were aiming to be a powerful wizard, but if your just a couple of levels behind, it can still not suck.
runestar
08-02-07, 11:36 PM See, a good rule of thumb for determining what your AC should be is to figure out your level and add 10 to it. That's the vare minimum survivable AC you can have and not be consistently killed by fighters of the same level as you. 32 does not meet that requirement.

lv + 20 is more like it. At lv20, even an AC of 40 will not necessarily keep you alive for long, and it only becomes worse at epic, where all HD scales out of whack.
was_fired
08-02-07, 11:44 PM It is possible to multiclass spellcasters, just you want to make sure that its not a BIG multiclass if you wanted to be a primary caster. I.e. Fighter 10 Wizard 10 is gonna be kinda balls if you were aiming to be a powerful wizard, but if your just a couple of levels behind, it can still not suck.

I know, and there are some very impressive characters that do this. There are made by experienced and skilled players who no longer need to follow these rules. As I said before, "There are a few basic rules in D&D that you should never break unless you're really experienced and thus know exactly why you're breaking them." Once you know that you traded those caster levels for another huge bonus that more than offsets the loss, and why it actually offsets the loss instead of saying, "Yay more BaB and hitpoints makes me stronger." Then you're golden.
On_the_wings_of_TPK
08-03-07, 12:09 AM lv + 20 is more like it. At lv20, even an AC of 40 will not necessarily keep you alive for long, and it only becomes worse at epic, where all HD scales out of whack.

This is why AC is a useless venture past level 10. Get Dr, and miss chances, lots of miss chances instead. Say like a barbarian wearing a cloak of displacement, or a ring of invisibility, (Activate it after your attack.) Spell casters do this even more easily, with blink, mirror image, greater invisibility, and displacement, to name a view goodies.

Another thing to keep in mind when making an arcane caster is that damage is subpar in most cases. You'll probably have an easier time with save vrs suck. Things like hold person/monster, charm, enervation, and phantasmal killer, are all goodies. The trick is to just pump those save DCs to the stratosphere. The easiest way to do that is to pump your primary casting stat. Which in turn grants you bonus spells, which means you'll be able to even more aggressive negotiations.

The next thing to keep in mind with arcane casters, is that they don't like melee combat. At all, ever. It generally equals dead caster. Use things to avoid it, like fly, and the retreat action.

The exception to that is that unless you've built your caster to be a tank. However unless your an experienced player who knows what their doing, or playing a cleric or druid, don't do that.
runestar
08-03-07, 02:03 AM This is why AC is a useless venture past level 10. Get Dr, and miss chances, lots of miss chances instead. Say like a barbarian wearing a cloak of displacement, or a ring of invisibility, (Activate it after your attack.) Spell casters do this even more easily, with blink, mirror image, greater invisibility, and displacement, to name a view goodies.

I would say that they complement each other. It is hard to get dr over 10/ (even if you have a wizard willing to provide castings of stoneskin), and even that does not amount to much when monsters can easily deal 30-40 damage/hit at higher lvs.

A respectable AC at least prevents you from becoming the equivalent of a power attack magnet when facing off against a dragon. Miss chance is still far from a cure-all, as blindfight (which is rather prevalent, or can be) can cut it down from 50% to 25%. I wouldn't rely exclusively on 1 over the others.:)

I am not just referring to spellcasters in general (more for melee characters actually, since it is possible to survive at very low lvs with a crap AC of 11-12 if you play very carefully and know when/how to hide).
stargate525
08-03-07, 02:18 AM It is possible to multiclass spellcasters, just you want to make sure that its not a BIG multiclass if you wanted to be a primary caster. I.e. Fighter 10 Wizard 10 is gonna be kinda balls if you were aiming to be a powerful wizard, but if your just a couple of levels behind, it can still not suck.
Aye, and a feat can get rid of at least four levels of the scaling loss.
Yokomohoyo
08-03-07, 04:28 AM Ok here: I want a class that can heal itself, have high hit dice (d8+), able to wear good armor and weild good weapons, able to (maybe) cast spells, able to do more than 8 damage at first level (maybe).

Otherwise the rest of the party members will kick my :censored: . Even if they were at my level! Help please =D

Heal it self: Druid
Good Armor: Druid with a full plate made of Iron Wood
Spell Casting: Druid again
D8 for HP: Druid again

Also a Druid gains Wild Shape wich can turn you into a monster for better attacks than a normal human.

I hope that helps you out
On_the_wings_of_TPK
08-03-07, 09:35 PM I would say that they complement each other. It is hard to get dr over 10/ (even if you have a wizard willing to provide castings of stoneskin), and even that does not amount to much when monsters can easily deal 30-40 damage/hit at higher lvs.

A respectable AC at least prevents you from becoming the equivalent of a power attack magnet when facing off against a dragon. Miss chance is still far from a cure-all, as blindfight (which is rather prevalent, or can be) can cut it down from 50% to 25%. I wouldn't rely exclusively on 1 over the others.:)

I am not just referring to spellcasters in general (more for melee characters actually, since it is possible to survive at very low lvs with a crap AC of 11-12 if you play very carefully and know when/how to hide).

See the thing with even using AC is that it is costly to push up there, and even then it won't help you much. Take a fighter wearing +5 mithral full plate mail (35,650) a + 5 animated (so we can still swing our two handed greatsowrd )tower shield (64k, and change and change), with a dex of 16, and ring of pro + 5 (50k) and an amulet of natural armour (50K) thats: +13 + 9 + 3 +5 + 5, and another 5 for combat expertise = AC 50. For a cost of 190K worth of gold. Or a little under 1/3 of the gold a 20th level PC has. Assume another 100k for a weapon of doom, 100k for your back up weapon of doom, that doesn't leave much for stat enhancement (Tomes + item of enhancement bonus) and then investing miss chances. And your Touch AC is still a parsley 18.

An ancient green dragon is a CR 21, has a strength score of 39, and a Base attack bonus of +34. So its attack is +34 + 14 -5 (3 from size, 2 from multi attack) Bite + 43 2 claws +43 2 wing slaps +43 and a tap slap + 38. Before feats. even with an AC of 50, it's first five attacks hit on a 7, or 65% of the time, and its last one hits on a 12, or 40% of the time. Given that a full attack should deal about 200 or so points of damage on average, power attack at that point is probably not necessary.

However suppose you had DR 10, and it landed all 5 attacks. It would only be 150 points of damage, on average. And Because you choose to invest in a cloak of etherealness (75K last time I checked) about have of those attacks would miss, or only an average of 100 points of damage. -20 - 30 more thanks to DR 10, which means that instead of eating 200ish points of damage, your only taking 70 - 80. Less if you have another miss chance, from somewhere...maybe 25% from an invisibility effect.
Teh_username
08-04-07, 01:16 AM I am a level 9 Wizard, 16 Dragon Disciple. I have an AC of 32! Why am I so underpowered?

Today I went against a level 3 fire giant! And I almost lost! I am 80% dragon and size large!

Any ways I could do more than 54 damage? That is my max with magic. Oh yeah, I get a 10d8 damage once a day. Big whoop.
Seriously, can you tell/show us anything remotely helpful about the game? Levels of the characters involved, your character sheet, what's going on in-game, all that.
Optimized_Commoner
08-04-07, 01:34 AM You have to be able to spontaneously cast spells to become a dragon disciple, so wizard won't qualify unless you take some highly obscure feats.

Also this is not a good Gish PrC (It's not really a good anything PrC but that's another rant). You take DD with a splash of sorcerer to enhance a melee character by giving them a bit of minor magic to do some cool things with.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Ultima0071 08-02-07, 10:00 PM	I am a level 9 Wizard, 16 Dragon Disciple. I have an AC of 32! Why am I so underpowered? Today I went against a level 3 fire giant! And I almost lost! I am 80% dragon and size large! Any ways I could do more than 54 damage? That is my max with magic. Oh yeah, I get a 10d8 damage once a day. Big whoop.
Prator_the_Legendary 08-02-07, 10:10 PM	An AC of 32 at epic levels... See, a good rule of thumb for determining what your AC should be is to figure out your level and add 10 to it. That's the vare minimum survivable AC you can have and not be consistently killed by fighters of the same level as you. 32 does not meet that requirement. Also, with DD 16 and wizard 9, I don't know how you can deal more damage, because I don't know how you've statted yourself out in either class.
runestar 08-02-07, 10:10 PM	You mean barring the fact that dragon disciple is not a caster prc and that your build is illegal?
Prator_the_Legendary 08-02-07, 10:13 PM	Yeah... Are you sure you don't mean Dragon Shaman? That would make more sense with your description...
Nebo 08-02-07, 10:22 PM	I am a level 9 Wizard, 16 Dragon Disciple. I have an AC of 32! Why am I so underpowered? No, you are not. You are a person playing a wizard 9/dragon disciple 16 (which is an awful, and illegal, build by the way.) Go to the character optimisation boards, there are plenty of people there who would be willing to try to salvage this character.
GaffeR 08-02-07, 10:30 PM	Go to the character optimisation boards, there are plenty of people there who would be willing to try to salvage this character. Lies. Why so weak? You probly don't wear armor due to ASF You probly can't hit anything due to your crappy BAB You can't cast spells, because you're a level 9 wizard You took 16 levels of DRAGON DISCIPLE You're probly limited to core You can't take caster feats, because you have 9 CL You can't take melee feats, because you have horrible BAB My advice? Get the party wizard to Polymorph any Object the ground into a pool of lava, then dive in. Use acid if you're a red-dragon disciple.
Ultima0071 08-02-07, 10:37 PM	I was thinking of changing (new character) to a multiclass paladin. Any good multiclasses? I am limited to mostly core. Here are the books I have: DMG Player's Handbook Complete Arcane Dragon Magic Any suggestions?
Ultima0071 08-02-07, 10:37 PM	My Paladin will be human or elven. Which is better?
Prator_the_Legendary 08-02-07, 10:45 PM	I always play humans because I hate constitution penalties and love extra skill points, but that's just me. You can make either race work. As for a multiclassing paladin... You DO realize that you have to blow a feat just to make that possible without rendering your paladin unable to gain more paladin levels, right? Paladins really aren't meant to be multiclassers, what with the restriction on doing so and all...
Ultima0071 08-02-07, 10:54 PM	Ok here: I want a class that can heal itself, have high hit dice (d8+), able to wear good armor and weild good weapons, able to (maybe) cast spells, able to do more than 8 damage at first level (maybe). Otherwise the rest of the party members will kick my :censored: . Even if they were at my level! Help please =D
Salla 08-02-07, 10:56 PM	Ok here: I want a class that can heal itself, have high hit dice (d8+), able to wear good armor and weild good weapons, able to (maybe) cast spells, able to do more than 8 damage at first level (maybe). Otherwise the rest of the party members will kick my :censored: . Even if they were at my level! Help please =D That's a Cleric. You shouldn't have to worry about your party members attacking you, though. D&D is a team game, you should be working together.
was_fired 08-02-07, 10:57 PM	There are a few basic rules in D&D that you should never break unless you're really experienced and thus know exactly why you're breaking them: 1. Don't multiclass spellcasters, you can take PrCs but they should always increase your caster level. 2. Read rule number one again until it sinks in. Caster level and max spell level matter more than life itself to a spellcaster. Coming back to life just takes a mid level spell. 3. Specialty characters like paladins, monks, and rogues either suck or rock depending on the player's skill and the campaign. 4. Fighters are the hardest class to play well. Druids are the easiest. When in doubt just play a druid... you get everything anyways and don't have to worry much about feats at all. 5. If you can't tell why a character is bad from reading over what you made ask your fellow players before you ask a message board. You can learn from them and try to learn how to make a better character by simply improving your old one. The boards will just yell at you, call you stupid, and tell you to play pun-pun, CoDzilla (see rule four), or something from a book you haven't read.
Bladesinger Boy 08-02-07, 11:02 PM	Do you want a dragony, arcaney build that might not be so bad... (for the first 20 levels) - 4 Paladin, 4 Sorceror, 3 Spellsword, 9 Eldritch Knight 18 bab, 14 lvls sorc advancement, 4 lvls Paly advancement (2nd lvl caster) think Divine Might, Arcane Strike, and that variant in PHB2 that lets Sorcs use metamagics INT times per day at -1 spell boost so you can quicken or persistent some stuff - 1 Fighter, 6 Sorceror, 3 Spellsword, 10 Eldrtich Knight 17 bab, 17 lvls sorc advancement (or wizard if you want to switch) or maybe try Aburjant Champion (it's 5 levels I think). Dragon Disciple stinks. A half-Dragon template, level adjustment +3 I think, is more effect than taking that class.
Lindwyrm 08-02-07, 11:15 PM	I am a level 9 Wizard, 16 Dragon Disciple. I have an AC of 32! Why am I so underpowered? Today I went against a level 3 fire giant! And I almost lost! I am 80% dragon and size large! Any ways I could do more than 54 damage? That is my max with magic. Oh yeah, I get a 10d8 damage once a day. Big whoop. How did you get this build? Dragon Disciple needs spontaneous casting. You can take a maximum of 10 levels in a prestige class pre-epic, so you should have at least 1 other level in there. Assuming it becomes legitimate somehow (subbing sorcerer in for those wizard levels and taking 10 levels of it) I'd say that you'd be best looking at practised spellcaster for an extra 4 caster levels: thus potentially getting you 13 dice on damaging spells assuming they aren't otherwise capped. I'd also recommend enervation as it gives negative levels to the target. Feeblemind is another possibility. Seriously though, Dragon Disciple is best taken as something like Sor1/(Anything whatsoever)4/Dragon Disciple 10/(Insert other prestige class here)5. I also wouldn't let Dragon Disciple go to epic levels as I wouldn't treat it as a repeating 10 level class. It tends to be a melee build as well, for those games where just taking half dragon hasn't been allowed.
dknight100 08-02-07, 11:22 PM	There are a few basic rules in D&D that you should never break unless you're really experienced and thus know exactly why you're breaking them: 1. Don't multiclass spellcasters, you can take PrCs but they should always increase your caster level. It is possible to multiclass spellcasters, just you want to make sure that its not a BIG multiclass if you wanted to be a primary caster. I.e. Fighter 10 Wizard 10 is gonna be kinda balls if you were aiming to be a powerful wizard, but if your just a couple of levels behind, it can still not suck.
runestar 08-02-07, 11:36 PM	See, a good rule of thumb for determining what your AC should be is to figure out your level and add 10 to it. That's the vare minimum survivable AC you can have and not be consistently killed by fighters of the same level as you. 32 does not meet that requirement. lv + 20 is more like it. At lv20, even an AC of 40 will not necessarily keep you alive for long, and it only becomes worse at epic, where all HD scales out of whack.
was_fired 08-02-07, 11:44 PM	It is possible to multiclass spellcasters, just you want to make sure that its not a BIG multiclass if you wanted to be a primary caster. I.e. Fighter 10 Wizard 10 is gonna be kinda balls if you were aiming to be a powerful wizard, but if your just a couple of levels behind, it can still not suck. I know, and there are some very impressive characters that do this. There are made by experienced and skilled players who no longer need to follow these rules. As I said before, "There are a few basic rules in D&D that you should never break unless you're really experienced and thus know exactly why you're breaking them." Once you know that you traded those caster levels for another huge bonus that more than offsets the loss, and why it actually offsets the loss instead of saying, "Yay more BaB and hitpoints makes me stronger." Then you're golden.
On_the_wings_of_TPK 08-03-07, 12:09 AM	lv + 20 is more like it. At lv20, even an AC of 40 will not necessarily keep you alive for long, and it only becomes worse at epic, where all HD scales out of whack. This is why AC is a useless venture past level 10. Get Dr, and miss chances, lots of miss chances instead. Say like a barbarian wearing a cloak of displacement, or a ring of invisibility, (Activate it after your attack.) Spell casters do this even more easily, with blink, mirror image, greater invisibility, and displacement, to name a view goodies. Another thing to keep in mind when making an arcane caster is that damage is subpar in most cases. You'll probably have an easier time with save vrs suck. Things like hold person/monster, charm, enervation, and phantasmal killer, are all goodies. The trick is to just pump those save DCs to the stratosphere. The easiest way to do that is to pump your primary casting stat. Which in turn grants you bonus spells, which means you'll be able to even more aggressive negotiations. The next thing to keep in mind with arcane casters, is that they don't like melee combat. At all, ever. It generally equals dead caster. Use things to avoid it, like fly, and the retreat action. The exception to that is that unless you've built your caster to be a tank. However unless your an experienced player who knows what their doing, or playing a cleric or druid, don't do that.
runestar 08-03-07, 02:03 AM	This is why AC is a useless venture past level 10. Get Dr, and miss chances, lots of miss chances instead. Say like a barbarian wearing a cloak of displacement, or a ring of invisibility, (Activate it after your attack.) Spell casters do this even more easily, with blink, mirror image, greater invisibility, and displacement, to name a view goodies. I would say that they complement each other. It is hard to get dr over 10/ (even if you have a wizard willing to provide castings of stoneskin), and even that does not amount to much when monsters can easily deal 30-40 damage/hit at higher lvs. A respectable AC at least prevents you from becoming the equivalent of a power attack magnet when facing off against a dragon. Miss chance is still far from a cure-all, as blindfight (which is rather prevalent, or can be) can cut it down from 50% to 25%. I wouldn't rely exclusively on 1 over the others.:) I am not just referring to spellcasters in general (more for melee characters actually, since it is possible to survive at very low lvs with a crap AC of 11-12 if you play very carefully and know when/how to hide).
stargate525 08-03-07, 02:18 AM	It is possible to multiclass spellcasters, just you want to make sure that its not a BIG multiclass if you wanted to be a primary caster. I.e. Fighter 10 Wizard 10 is gonna be kinda balls if you were aiming to be a powerful wizard, but if your just a couple of levels behind, it can still not suck. Aye, and a feat can get rid of at least four levels of the scaling loss.
Yokomohoyo 08-03-07, 04:28 AM	Ok here: I want a class that can heal itself, have high hit dice (d8+), able to wear good armor and weild good weapons, able to (maybe) cast spells, able to do more than 8 damage at first level (maybe). Otherwise the rest of the party members will kick my :censored: . Even if they were at my level! Help please =D Heal it self: Druid Good Armor: Druid with a full plate made of Iron Wood Spell Casting: Druid again D8 for HP: Druid again Also a Druid gains Wild Shape wich can turn you into a monster for better attacks than a normal human. I hope that helps you out
On_the_wings_of_TPK 08-03-07, 09:35 PM	I would say that they complement each other. It is hard to get dr over 10/ (even if you have a wizard willing to provide castings of stoneskin), and even that does not amount to much when monsters can easily deal 30-40 damage/hit at higher lvs. A respectable AC at least prevents you from becoming the equivalent of a power attack magnet when facing off against a dragon. Miss chance is still far from a cure-all, as blindfight (which is rather prevalent, or can be) can cut it down from 50% to 25%. I wouldn't rely exclusively on 1 over the others.:) I am not just referring to spellcasters in general (more for melee characters actually, since it is possible to survive at very low lvs with a crap AC of 11-12 if you play very carefully and know when/how to hide). See the thing with even using AC is that it is costly to push up there, and even then it won't help you much. Take a fighter wearing +5 mithral full plate mail (35,650) a + 5 animated (so we can still swing our two handed greatsowrd )tower shield (64k, and change and change), with a dex of 16, and ring of pro + 5 (50k) and an amulet of natural armour (50K) thats: +13 + 9 + 3 +5 + 5, and another 5 for combat expertise = AC 50. For a cost of 190K worth of gold. Or a little under 1/3 of the gold a 20th level PC has. Assume another 100k for a weapon of doom, 100k for your back up weapon of doom, that doesn't leave much for stat enhancement (Tomes + item of enhancement bonus) and then investing miss chances. And your Touch AC is still a parsley 18. An ancient green dragon is a CR 21, has a strength score of 39, and a Base attack bonus of +34. So its attack is +34 + 14 -5 (3 from size, 2 from multi attack) Bite + 43 2 claws +43 2 wing slaps +43 and a tap slap + 38. Before feats. even with an AC of 50, it's first five attacks hit on a 7, or 65% of the time, and its last one hits on a 12, or 40% of the time. Given that a full attack should deal about 200 or so points of damage on average, power attack at that point is probably not necessary. However suppose you had DR 10, and it landed all 5 attacks. It would only be 150 points of damage, on average. And Because you choose to invest in a cloak of etherealness (75K last time I checked) about have of those attacks would miss, or only an average of 100 points of damage. -20 - 30 more thanks to DR 10, which means that instead of eating 200ish points of damage, your only taking 70 - 80. Less if you have another miss chance, from somewhere...maybe 25% from an invisibility effect.
Teh_username 08-04-07, 01:16 AM	I am a level 9 Wizard, 16 Dragon Disciple. I have an AC of 32! Why am I so underpowered? Today I went against a level 3 fire giant! And I almost lost! I am 80% dragon and size large! Any ways I could do more than 54 damage? That is my max with magic. Oh yeah, I get a 10d8 damage once a day. Big whoop. Seriously, can you tell/show us anything remotely helpful about the game? Levels of the characters involved, your character sheet, what's going on in-game, all that.
Optimized_Commoner 08-04-07, 01:34 AM	You have to be able to spontaneously cast spells to become a dragon disciple, so wizard won't qualify unless you take some highly obscure feats. Also this is not a good Gish PrC (It's not really a good anything PrC but that's another rant). You take DD with a splash of sorcerer to enhance a melee character by giving them a bit of minor magic to do some cool things with.