Just in general:
What you want in your party in combat is damage, buffs, debuffs, and battlefield control.
What you want in your party out of combat is a good range of skills (spot, listen, search, disable device, open lock, bluff and/or diplomacy and/or intimidate, sense motive, survival with tracking feat, etc), healing, and utility magic (divination, transportation, etc).
All these things can be achieved in a huge variety of ways but I suppose the basics are: have someone in the group who can use wands of cure light wounds, and always carry those wands. Have someone with the trapfinding ability and a high search and disable device skill (i.e. a level or two in rogue). Have everyone take different skills wherever possible (if you have to double up, double up on Spot). Have everyone fill at least one of the combat roles listed above, and do it well.
Maybe it sounds stupid, but I tend to be very static in battle, and I play a Rogue. who really should do something different than just "Walk up to Monster. Attack. Full Attack. Watch Monster Die. Move to Next Monster. Repeat."
Basically, I'm asking about general advice on movement in battle.. Maybe it's very hard to answer in a good way.
Hmm.. Sorry about the rant...
I play a Rogue. who really should do something different than just "Walk up to Monster. Attack. Full Attack. Watch Monster Die. Move to Next Monster. Repeat."
Basically, I'm asking about general advice on movement in battle.. Maybe it's very hard to answer in a good way.
The main rogue combat trick is to get as many sneak attacks as possible while staying out of the full attack range of as many opponents as possible.
You can get Sneak Attacks by making sure the enemy is flat-footed, flanked, unable to see you, stunned or cowering.
The rogue in my group gets Improved Invisibility cast on him as often as possible and spams Rapid Shot's with his longbow. This is horrifyingly effective when it works.
This kind of heavy direct damage is very useful to have, but sadly one-dimensional. If you want to spice it up a bit try dual-weilding whip-daggers and take the Improved Disarm feat. If you can fit the Spring Attack and Whirlwind Attack feats in there too you'll have some combat options that make life a bit more fun. You might need a Fighter level or two if you're going to do that.
But thanks. I appreciate that. I don't have too many hit points, but I kind of figured that using Tumble to get around opponents to Flank them might be a good idea, as long as I don't run into the bad guy's bad buddys that way.
I realize that combat manouvering is very dependent on the situation, so I realize that solid advice is hard to give. But I thank you plenty.
Remember 1 thing: A dead opponent (excluding undead, but anyway) cannot do damage. Burst damaging 1 after another is a good method of ensuring the incoming danger to the party quickly goes down.
Sorry, I should have been more specific. I was thinking of combat and was primarily interested in 4e.
This is not the 4th Edition forum
I'm confused.
Use Tumble to get into flanking positions (this avoids attacks of opportunity) to assist your party fighter. This gives you both +2 flanking bonus, and you get your sneak attack damage if you hit.
Before combat starts, use move silently and hide (and climb and any other skill) to get into position and nail an important foe either form a distance or when they least expect it.
Take care not to get flanked yourself, and not to get too far from support you might need.
Good luck!
Sorry, I should have been more specific. I was thinking of combat and was primarily interested in 4e.
Sorry can't help you there, I don't know a thing about 4th Ed.
Errrr.....isn't it????? I thought there was now only D&D forums and Previous ed forums.
I'm confused.
Actually, if you go to "What's a Player to Do?" in the Previous Edition forums, it takes you to "Player Advice," which is in the D&D Community.
As for Combat Tactics ... well, aside from knowing nothing about 4E, I'm not much use; just the usual: use terrain to your advantage, try to negate opponents' advantages, know when to retreat, communicate with your party so everyone knows at least the basic plan.
Monk or wizard (with feather fall ring) and cleric or druid party trick.
Cleric or druid casts shape stone turning 10+1 cubic foot per level into a very big sharp spike.
Monk or wizard grabs up the large stone spike that weighs about 150 lbs per cubic feet. The spike needs to weigh only 600 lbs per carriable person with the spell dimension door (thats the weight of a medium creature plus a reasonable strength players max load).
The Monk or wizard dimension doors up to 650 ft above the ground, lets go of the spike and starts feather falling.
Everything falls at 32ft/second/second.
This distance takes just under 6 seconds to fall (1 round)
The end speed is 192ft per second.
You have a 600+ lb spike impacting the building/fort/tent/bridge/whatever you are trying to destroy at 192ft per second.
Instant, no construction needed building demolision.
that is ...... sick!
The DM let you do that????
See, this is why I really like the whole 4e balance thing.
Galaktia,
that is ...... sick!
The DM let you do that????
See, this is why I really like the whole 4e balance thing.
Please! Which of the 4 obviously broken elements of that combo will 4e nerf? Feather fall? Stone Shape? Dimension Door? or player creativeness?
Monk or wizard grabs up the large stone spike that weighs about 150 lbs per cubic feet. The spike needs to weigh only 600 lbs per carriable person with the spell dimension door (thats the weight of a medium creature plus a reasonable strength players max load).
The Monk or wizard dimension doors up to 650 ft above the ground, lets go of the spike and starts feather falling.
Everything falls at 32ft/second/second.
This distance takes just under 6 seconds to fall (1 round)
The end speed is 192ft per second.
You have a 600+ lb spike impacting the building/fort/tent/bridge/whatever you are trying to destroy at 192ft per second.
My level 1 party will adapt to this attack tactic immediately. ;)
Also excellent against sleeping foes in a tent, or foes in a small building.
It can be used to demolish bridges and dams, as well as small fortifications.
There is also an anti personel version that involves a bucket of about 300-400 sling shot. And a dimension door to the same height, followed by a toss of the bucket in the general direction of the enemy,
300-400 sling bullets cover a rather large area when thrown from a bucket properly and acheive the same 192ft per second.
(Modern experiments show stons going about 58 foot per second leaving a sling and bullets going about twice that 116 fps. so you actualy have sling bullets falling fast enough to do some serious damage)