Disarming Fighter - Claws [Archive] - Wizards Community

Disarming Fighter - Claws [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Dazzer
04-09-07, 01:39 PM It wasn't a problem at first, but claws are becoming an ever increasing problem in a game I am playing in. I like claws, it makes sense for creatures to have claws, but the DM am playing under gives...everything claws.

I have made a Fighter 10/Pious Templar 2 (I didn't actually realise I wanted to go Pious templar until level 7...then splurged skill points and feats to qualify in time).

My main focus is that I'm tactical (12 str, 17 dex, 17 con, 13 int, 11 wis/cha). I took Combat Expertise, Dodge, Mobility Spring attack, whrlwind, impr disarm, combat reflexes etc...

At first I would disarm things, and they would end up weaponless, or I would take an AOP while flat-footed, in the surprise round as a trip attempt and save our wizard, and everything worked out and was neat, and most of all challening since tripping a half-dragon with my 12 strength is difficult!

Now though, at level 12, everything seems against me, and no matter what I do, unless I simply strike for hitpoint damage, I get some kind of penalty.

Example: I see a fighter in black demon armour, with a crazy weapon, he just cast two buffs that give his weapon more dice of damage. So I instead of drawing my weapon, I take his (to reduce him to using the claws granted him by demon armour...again, it has claws...). However the DM then dealt me 40ish damage because his weapon is a "relic" and it's only ability is to deal damage to those not of that deity while held.

I disarmed an orc earlier on that session, it grew claws to compensate. I took a guys amulet he was using to control some elemental (as told to me by the wizard) so the elemental obviously grows larger and angrier and starts trying to get the amulet off me...

I've asked our DM why everything grows claws, or hurts me when I do anything, or why I take more damage on my round, receiving no attacks than I take during the enemies full-round. I don't play stupid, I don't walk into walls of fire etc... I usually try and place myself in place to maxmize my AoP' possibility and maximize the number of enemies around me so I can whirlwind. However obviously the 5 human lackeys of the BBEG have aura's that deal damage, or claws underneath their weapons etc..

The last problem I have is this, I don't mind claws...but when I disarm the shortsword a creature is using, and it pulls out it's 1d8 (or 1d10) claws, that crit 19-20/x3 as a response.....that bothers me...I just made the creature better at doing what it does to me...why was it using the crappy shortsword in the firstplace...I don't ever find out usually.

How do I stop this!! I've asked my GM why everything grows claws, why they don't use their better, faster, meaner weapons instead of the original weapon, why weapons hurt me if I take them no save, and why if I trip something it bounces back up without stopping. He usually gives me non-answers, and when I complain about it being unfair he says it's something I just have to deal with as a fighter instead of complaining. Am I wrong for complaining? I haven't seen a fight where I can properly make use of any of my feats (except combat expertise or whirlwind attack...and dodge) but all the other ones are useless, tripping doesn't work, disarming, close-quarters fighting usually doesn't help much or if I get an AoP and hit the creature gets a +4 racial bonus on grapples or whatever. He counters everything my fighter can do, every fight. Lackey's are very difficult to defeat (the average lackey is level 10ish I believe)

What do you suggest I do!!
kainpendragon
04-09-07, 01:55 PM your DM bing and an A$$ because he does not know how to deal with your disarming but you know something you can do is disarm some one and make sure the weapon flys away from the creature. you never would have touched the weapon only your weapon did it not your fult that the bad ass could not hold on to there weapon. your dm could just put a locking gaunlet on all his bad guys to make things harder on you.

well most creatures have claws. that why there so many claws. it not just you but it sound like your group is to smart for your dm. because you don't seem to be out shinnying the other players because you are just doing what they need you to do.

Have a talk with your DM out of game and ask him WTF why is he being a A$$ if can't give you a good answer DM the next game.
NoldorForce
04-09-07, 02:00 PM Talk with your DM.

Seriously, from your description, it sounds like your DM doesn't enjoy the fact that you've done a moderate bit of optimization to enable disarming others. So he/she is heavily overcompensating. Throwing some enemies at you from time to time that rely on natural weapons is perfectly fine, but from what you've said I've gathered that it's an all-the-time thing. That's just inappropriate to penalize you for good tactics.

The fudging of abilities against you whenever you disarm something just makes things worse.

What has your DM said when you asked about this (besides evasive stuff, as implied)? If your DM won't budge, then I'd suggest leaving.

Note: Demon armor (at least the stuff in the DMG) does in fact have claws. Rather crappy ones, but claws nonetheless.
Dazzer
04-09-07, 02:40 PM The first few times he put it down to some Prestige Classes, for example the frozen berserker gives ice claws, for flavor this NPC has "blood claws" that work the same way etc.. so I thought cool, neat solution to a small problem.

The other players mostly outshine me, but! I don't really mind, I enjoy playing my fighter, he's the tactical, high durability fighter I wanted him to be. The rogue and scout are the damage dealers (since I can't) the wizard is our walking encyclodedia (loremaster, grey elf, high int) and our cleric received the Saint Template 2 sessions ago for completing his God-Given quest he's been on since level 4. (NG cleric of Pelor).

As to his recent answers, things like "these aren't normal orcs, they are from the Sarath tribe which are all known to have claws" but the fact that our loremaster didn't know this prior to them growing them (she has the appropriate knowledge (local) to identify humanoid abilities and wasn't even allowed a check).

or as for the spear of doom that dealt my fighter lots of damage, he simply said "upon disarming it hits the new wielder no save, no checks" But he knew I would disarm it, he described it as sizzling energy, and our wizard spellcrafted energy weapon and bane being cast upon it (bane human, like me!) So it would've been dealing something along the lines of 6-7 dice of damage a hit plus mods. I don't think it makes sense for me not to disarm that....I forgot to mention that once I dropped the weapon (because it was going to be dealing me 40 damage a round essentially) it returned to the NPC's hand as a no-action. We had our wizard dispel it.

I think my favourite answer for a human after being disarmed of his longsword, hitting me with his 1d10 fists was that underneath it all, he actually was a monk. Who generally hits AC in the 30's, and has armour on, and doesn't lose his abilities because the DM allowed the monk to spend 2 feats doing that.

about 1/2 his encounters just use the rules to screw me up (a vampire really does have a slam attack afterall that deals negative levels), and the other 1/2 are on the fly, because his Badass NPC was made useless after 2 rounds in melee with me (although hasn't taken a single hitpoint of damage from me...and even if I did...1d8 + 4 isn't impressive at level 12)

To put things into prospective,

My attack bonus is +17 (12 base, +2 strength mod, +2 weapon, weapon focus (heavy flail)

My disarming bonus is +27 (+4 for Two-handed, +2 for flail, +4 for improved disarm)

My disarming bonus without flail is (+18)

These figures don't include the fact that the wizard generally spends a round buffing me with some spell, and the cleric is into the mass buffs which sometimes allow +X to hit etc...

When all 5 orcs who were raiding the mine filled with labourers were disarmed by me, and then grew claws that deal two di-types higher than their weapons (and crit /x3) and I asked "Why were they not using these before??" He simply replied...

"They are used to fighters wasting the action disarming their swords, so they keep them in hand"

I think that really sums it up in that statement.
Gdek
04-09-07, 02:56 PM When all 5 orcs who were raiding the mine filled with labourers were disarmed by me, and then grew claws that deal two di-types higher than their weapons (and crit /x3) and I asked "Why were they not using these before??" He simply replied...

"They are used to fighters wasting the action disarming their swords, so they keep them in hand"

I think that really sums it up in that statement.

There should be a guideline, that while the DM doesn't necessarily have to be the smartest, most clever, most intelligent person in the room, they should be the fairest.

I'd express my concerns for this DM with my feet. The next time he says something like that I'd say...

"I'm sorry, this campaign has jumped the shark again. Thanks for your time, call me if/when you decide to start another campaign."
punching bag
04-09-07, 03:26 PM You could also ask your DM if he would allow you to re-build your fighter by altering your feat selection. Explain to him that you built the fighter around a tactical concept (disarming), but his style doesn't mesh with yours. I think there are rules in the PHBII that allow for re-training and swapping feats.

Then come back as a spiked chain wielding, AOO getting, trip machine. Reference the "chaingun tripper" build on the CharOP boards for fun.
kelvinaw273
04-09-07, 05:46 PM Your DM has had a creative block, and your fighter build is a very good one.

Myself, I wouldn't crap about - if I wanted to challenge you I'd throw you against a githzerai monk/zerth cenobyte and sit back and watch how you deal with it.

Now hopw to deal with this:

1) Tell your DM up front that he is blatently attempting to nerf you for using decent tactics, and ask him why he cannot think of some himself ... such as:

a) Orcs that when disarmed, grapple (they are stronger than you, it requires only touch AC, and four can hold you down why the other one bashes your head in with a rock) rather than growing claws. It may not beat you, but it would tie your character up a while.

b) face creatures with natural weapons so the issue doesn't even come up.

c) face you against a swashbuckler who is better at disarming than you are.

2) Come up with some different tactics. It sounds like your fighter is a bit of a one-trick pony anyway. Learn some new feats, adjust your strategy. Fight smarter, not harder.
Dei
04-09-07, 09:36 PM It sounds like he just can't deal with a tactical fight and instead of trying to play his monsters smart or doing things by the rules such as giving them locking gauntlets, he's just saying "I'm the DM, this happens so your creative tactic that I didn't prepare for doesn't matter." Tell him to stop and if he doesn't well from the sounds of it he's not an especially good DM anyway.

You could also try calling him on things. Like the "relic" sword, tell him to show you in his notes where that power is noted down. That orc? Where have you recorded the stats on those claws? If he pitches a fit then your suspicions are confirmed and he's just not able to deal with combat beyond "I hit it with my axe." and you should probably consider looking at a different campaign.
serow_#R
04-09-07, 10:04 PM Try disarming other thing?
Helms etc?
jacobi289
04-10-07, 12:15 AM Next time you roll a 40 (13+27) on your disarm check, tell the DM that you don't care if the claws are part of their body, you still rip them the **** off!

I mean, for ****s sake, locked gauntlets give a +10 against being disarmed, and your dude tears through them like nothing.
Perseus_Stoned
04-10-07, 12:23 AM Talk with your DM.

Seriously, from your description, it sounds like your DM doesn't enjoy the fact that you've done a moderate bit of optimization to enable disarming others. So he/she is heavily overcompensating. Throwing some enemies at you from time to time that rely on natural weapons is perfectly fine, but from what you've said I've gathered that it's an all-the-time thing. That's just inappropriate to penalize you for good tactics.

The fudging of abilities against you whenever you disarm something just makes things worse.

What has your DM said when you asked about this (besides evasive stuff, as implied)? If your DM won't budge, then I'd suggest leaving.

Note: Demon armor (at least the stuff in the DMG) does in fact have claws. Rather crappy ones, but claws nonetheless.

Seconded.
Archangel62
04-10-07, 06:15 AM Just an idea, since everything is sprouting claws maybe get some armor spikes or other features that damage those who use natural weapons. It won't work very well given the nature of your DM but after that happens ask him why your character is hated by all the gods of creation since apparently his abilities cannot function and reality works to make him unuseable.

The problem is that your DM is afraid of tactical abilities and isn't sure how to use these things. A way of dealing with it might be to talk to the others and see their views. If they are noticing a problem the whole group complaining about it is better than just one guy.
runestar
04-10-07, 08:23 AM What a :censored: of a dm...:mad:

If he does not want you to use disarm tactics, then why not make that apparent from the start by using monsters which rely on natural attacks to start with? There are plenty in the MM to go with. There are plenty of ways of working around this without him having to resort to metagaming.
Dazzer
04-10-07, 03:40 PM The issue isn't really that he's making my fighter unable to disarm. If a creature has natural attacks, and is large size, I'll spring attack to get into melee (thus avoiding the AoP), Combat Expertise to buff my AC, and just be annoying while the supporters blast it back to wherever it came from!

The issue is that when a creature does not have any apparent natural attacks, even with a loremaster with ranks in every conceivable knowledge that would help, we aren't allowed to know that it actually does until it's forced to use them.

or

When I do disarm a creature that has a natural attack underneath, or that doesn't. It gets better after being disarmed somehow. Instead of dealing 1d6 + 2 for shortsword 14 strength, it deals 2d8 + 2 for a single claw attack. Or the weapon has a magical enhancement that when grabbed by anyone who is not an NPC, it hurts the wielder for it's normal weapon damage (or twice that in the case I described earlier)

Now, even without knowledges, the difference between a medium size claw that does 1d4, and 2d8, is huge, I think I should be let to know that it's claw looks must fiercer than it's shortsword. (I generally assume claws = 1d4 or 1d6 at best for medium size)

In any case, if I had less Con, (20 with items), and less hitpoints (around 130ish), I would be dead because of this kind of stuff. I've been to around 20 or less hitpoints every 2nd fight.

Note: My Armour class is around 36 average (37 with dodge). The cleric or wizard generally raises it to just over 40 (41 or 42 average) with spells.
(Note: It should be known I've included combat expertise and fight defensively into this AC, I have 28 normally just standing there..yes I have 5 cross-class tumble!)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Dazzer 04-09-07, 01:39 PM	It wasn't a problem at first, but claws are becoming an ever increasing problem in a game I am playing in. I like claws, it makes sense for creatures to have claws, but the DM am playing under gives...everything claws. I have made a Fighter 10/Pious Templar 2 (I didn't actually realise I wanted to go Pious templar until level 7...then splurged skill points and feats to qualify in time). My main focus is that I'm tactical (12 str, 17 dex, 17 con, 13 int, 11 wis/cha). I took Combat Expertise, Dodge, Mobility Spring attack, whrlwind, impr disarm, combat reflexes etc... At first I would disarm things, and they would end up weaponless, or I would take an AOP while flat-footed, in the surprise round as a trip attempt and save our wizard, and everything worked out and was neat, and most of all challening since tripping a half-dragon with my 12 strength is difficult! Now though, at level 12, everything seems against me, and no matter what I do, unless I simply strike for hitpoint damage, I get some kind of penalty. Example: I see a fighter in black demon armour, with a crazy weapon, he just cast two buffs that give his weapon more dice of damage. So I instead of drawing my weapon, I take his (to reduce him to using the claws granted him by demon armour...again, it has claws...). However the DM then dealt me 40ish damage because his weapon is a "relic" and it's only ability is to deal damage to those not of that deity while held. I disarmed an orc earlier on that session, it grew claws to compensate. I took a guys amulet he was using to control some elemental (as told to me by the wizard) so the elemental obviously grows larger and angrier and starts trying to get the amulet off me... I've asked our DM why everything grows claws, or hurts me when I do anything, or why I take more damage on my round, receiving no attacks than I take during the enemies full-round. I don't play stupid, I don't walk into walls of fire etc... I usually try and place myself in place to maxmize my AoP' possibility and maximize the number of enemies around me so I can whirlwind. However obviously the 5 human lackeys of the BBEG have aura's that deal damage, or claws underneath their weapons etc.. The last problem I have is this, I don't mind claws...but when I disarm the shortsword a creature is using, and it pulls out it's 1d8 (or 1d10) claws, that crit 19-20/x3 as a response.....that bothers me...I just made the creature better at doing what it does to me...why was it using the crappy shortsword in the firstplace...I don't ever find out usually. How do I stop this!! I've asked my GM why everything grows claws, why they don't use their better, faster, meaner weapons instead of the original weapon, why weapons hurt me if I take them no save, and why if I trip something it bounces back up without stopping. He usually gives me non-answers, and when I complain about it being unfair he says it's something I just have to deal with as a fighter instead of complaining. Am I wrong for complaining? I haven't seen a fight where I can properly make use of any of my feats (except combat expertise or whirlwind attack...and dodge) but all the other ones are useless, tripping doesn't work, disarming, close-quarters fighting usually doesn't help much or if I get an AoP and hit the creature gets a +4 racial bonus on grapples or whatever. He counters everything my fighter can do, every fight. Lackey's are very difficult to defeat (the average lackey is level 10ish I believe) What do you suggest I do!!
kainpendragon 04-09-07, 01:55 PM	your DM bing and an A$$ because he does not know how to deal with your disarming but you know something you can do is disarm some one and make sure the weapon flys away from the creature. you never would have touched the weapon only your weapon did it not your fult that the bad ass could not hold on to there weapon. your dm could just put a locking gaunlet on all his bad guys to make things harder on you. well most creatures have claws. that why there so many claws. it not just you but it sound like your group is to smart for your dm. because you don't seem to be out shinnying the other players because you are just doing what they need you to do. Have a talk with your DM out of game and ask him WTF why is he being a A$$ if can't give you a good answer DM the next game.
NoldorForce 04-09-07, 02:00 PM	Talk with your DM. Seriously, from your description, it sounds like your DM doesn't enjoy the fact that you've done a moderate bit of optimization to enable disarming others. So he/she is heavily overcompensating. Throwing some enemies at you from time to time that rely on natural weapons is perfectly fine, but from what you've said I've gathered that it's an all-the-time thing. That's just inappropriate to penalize you for good tactics. The fudging of abilities against you whenever you disarm something just makes things worse. What has your DM said when you asked about this (besides evasive stuff, as implied)? If your DM won't budge, then I'd suggest leaving. Note: Demon armor (at least the stuff in the DMG) does in fact have claws. Rather crappy ones, but claws nonetheless.
Dazzer 04-09-07, 02:40 PM	The first few times he put it down to some Prestige Classes, for example the frozen berserker gives ice claws, for flavor this NPC has "blood claws" that work the same way etc.. so I thought cool, neat solution to a small problem. The other players mostly outshine me, but! I don't really mind, I enjoy playing my fighter, he's the tactical, high durability fighter I wanted him to be. The rogue and scout are the damage dealers (since I can't) the wizard is our walking encyclodedia (loremaster, grey elf, high int) and our cleric received the Saint Template 2 sessions ago for completing his God-Given quest he's been on since level 4. (NG cleric of Pelor). As to his recent answers, things like "these aren't normal orcs, they are from the Sarath tribe which are all known to have claws" but the fact that our loremaster didn't know this prior to them growing them (she has the appropriate knowledge (local) to identify humanoid abilities and wasn't even allowed a check). or as for the spear of doom that dealt my fighter lots of damage, he simply said "upon disarming it hits the new wielder no save, no checks" But he knew I would disarm it, he described it as sizzling energy, and our wizard spellcrafted energy weapon and bane being cast upon it (bane human, like me!) So it would've been dealing something along the lines of 6-7 dice of damage a hit plus mods. I don't think it makes sense for me not to disarm that....I forgot to mention that once I dropped the weapon (because it was going to be dealing me 40 damage a round essentially) it returned to the NPC's hand as a no-action. We had our wizard dispel it. I think my favourite answer for a human after being disarmed of his longsword, hitting me with his 1d10 fists was that underneath it all, he actually was a monk. Who generally hits AC in the 30's, and has armour on, and doesn't lose his abilities because the DM allowed the monk to spend 2 feats doing that. about 1/2 his encounters just use the rules to screw me up (a vampire really does have a slam attack afterall that deals negative levels), and the other 1/2 are on the fly, because his Badass NPC was made useless after 2 rounds in melee with me (although hasn't taken a single hitpoint of damage from me...and even if I did...1d8 + 4 isn't impressive at level 12) To put things into prospective, My attack bonus is +17 (12 base, +2 strength mod, +2 weapon, weapon focus (heavy flail) My disarming bonus is +27 (+4 for Two-handed, +2 for flail, +4 for improved disarm) My disarming bonus without flail is (+18) These figures don't include the fact that the wizard generally spends a round buffing me with some spell, and the cleric is into the mass buffs which sometimes allow +X to hit etc... When all 5 orcs who were raiding the mine filled with labourers were disarmed by me, and then grew claws that deal two di-types higher than their weapons (and crit /x3) and I asked "Why were they not using these before??" He simply replied... "They are used to fighters wasting the action disarming their swords, so they keep them in hand" I think that really sums it up in that statement.
Gdek 04-09-07, 02:56 PM	When all 5 orcs who were raiding the mine filled with labourers were disarmed by me, and then grew claws that deal two di-types higher than their weapons (and crit /x3) and I asked "Why were they not using these before??" He simply replied... "They are used to fighters wasting the action disarming their swords, so they keep them in hand" I think that really sums it up in that statement. There should be a guideline, that while the DM doesn't necessarily have to be the smartest, most clever, most intelligent person in the room, they should be the fairest. I'd express my concerns for this DM with my feet. The next time he says something like that I'd say... "I'm sorry, this campaign has jumped the shark again. Thanks for your time, call me if/when you decide to start another campaign."
punching bag 04-09-07, 03:26 PM	You could also ask your DM if he would allow you to re-build your fighter by altering your feat selection. Explain to him that you built the fighter around a tactical concept (disarming), but his style doesn't mesh with yours. I think there are rules in the PHBII that allow for re-training and swapping feats. Then come back as a spiked chain wielding, AOO getting, trip machine. Reference the "chaingun tripper" build on the CharOP boards for fun.
kelvinaw273 04-09-07, 05:46 PM	Your DM has had a creative block, and your fighter build is a very good one. Myself, I wouldn't crap about - if I wanted to challenge you I'd throw you against a githzerai monk/zerth cenobyte and sit back and watch how you deal with it. Now hopw to deal with this: 1) Tell your DM up front that he is blatently attempting to nerf you for using decent tactics, and ask him why he cannot think of some himself ... such as: a) Orcs that when disarmed, grapple (they are stronger than you, it requires only touch AC, and four can hold you down why the other one bashes your head in with a rock) rather than growing claws. It may not beat you, but it would tie your character up a while. b) face creatures with natural weapons so the issue doesn't even come up. c) face you against a swashbuckler who is better at disarming than you are. 2) Come up with some different tactics. It sounds like your fighter is a bit of a one-trick pony anyway. Learn some new feats, adjust your strategy. Fight smarter, not harder.
Dei 04-09-07, 09:36 PM	It sounds like he just can't deal with a tactical fight and instead of trying to play his monsters smart or doing things by the rules such as giving them locking gauntlets, he's just saying "I'm the DM, this happens so your creative tactic that I didn't prepare for doesn't matter." Tell him to stop and if he doesn't well from the sounds of it he's not an especially good DM anyway. You could also try calling him on things. Like the "relic" sword, tell him to show you in his notes where that power is noted down. That orc? Where have you recorded the stats on those claws? If he pitches a fit then your suspicions are confirmed and he's just not able to deal with combat beyond "I hit it with my axe." and you should probably consider looking at a different campaign.
serow_#R 04-09-07, 10:04 PM	Try disarming other thing? Helms etc?
jacobi289 04-10-07, 12:15 AM	Next time you roll a 40 (13+27) on your disarm check, tell the DM that you don't care if the claws are part of their body, you still rip them the ** off! I mean, for **s sake, locked gauntlets give a +10 against being disarmed, and your dude tears through them like nothing.
Perseus_Stoned 04-10-07, 12:23 AM	Talk with your DM. Seriously, from your description, it sounds like your DM doesn't enjoy the fact that you've done a moderate bit of optimization to enable disarming others. So he/she is heavily overcompensating. Throwing some enemies at you from time to time that rely on natural weapons is perfectly fine, but from what you've said I've gathered that it's an all-the-time thing. That's just inappropriate to penalize you for good tactics. The fudging of abilities against you whenever you disarm something just makes things worse. What has your DM said when you asked about this (besides evasive stuff, as implied)? If your DM won't budge, then I'd suggest leaving. Note: Demon armor (at least the stuff in the DMG) does in fact have claws. Rather crappy ones, but claws nonetheless. Seconded.
Archangel62 04-10-07, 06:15 AM	Just an idea, since everything is sprouting claws maybe get some armor spikes or other features that damage those who use natural weapons. It won't work very well given the nature of your DM but after that happens ask him why your character is hated by all the gods of creation since apparently his abilities cannot function and reality works to make him unuseable. The problem is that your DM is afraid of tactical abilities and isn't sure how to use these things. A way of dealing with it might be to talk to the others and see their views. If they are noticing a problem the whole group complaining about it is better than just one guy.
runestar 04-10-07, 08:23 AM	What a :censored: of a dm...:mad: If he does not want you to use disarm tactics, then why not make that apparent from the start by using monsters which rely on natural attacks to start with? There are plenty in the MM to go with. There are plenty of ways of working around this without him having to resort to metagaming.
Dazzer 04-10-07, 03:40 PM	The issue isn't really that he's making my fighter unable to disarm. If a creature has natural attacks, and is large size, I'll spring attack to get into melee (thus avoiding the AoP), Combat Expertise to buff my AC, and just be annoying while the supporters blast it back to wherever it came from! The issue is that when a creature does not have any apparent natural attacks, even with a loremaster with ranks in every conceivable knowledge that would help, we aren't allowed to know that it actually does until it's forced to use them. or When I do disarm a creature that has a natural attack underneath, or that doesn't. It gets better after being disarmed somehow. Instead of dealing 1d6 + 2 for shortsword 14 strength, it deals 2d8 + 2 for a single claw attack. Or the weapon has a magical enhancement that when grabbed by anyone who is not an NPC, it hurts the wielder for it's normal weapon damage (or twice that in the case I described earlier) Now, even without knowledges, the difference between a medium size claw that does 1d4, and 2d8, is huge, I think I should be let to know that it's claw looks must fiercer than it's shortsword. (I generally assume claws = 1d4 or 1d6 at best for medium size) In any case, if I had less Con, (20 with items), and less hitpoints (around 130ish), I would be dead because of this kind of stuff. I've been to around 20 or less hitpoints every 2nd fight. Note: My Armour class is around 36 average (37 with dodge). The cleric or wizard generally raises it to just over 40 (41 or 42 average) with spells. (Note: It should be known I've included combat expertise and fight defensively into this AC, I have 28 normally just standing there..yes I have 5 cross-class tumble!)