IŽm sorry, but today iŽll have the sentence "you can fly better if you can fly, apparently" burned into my head. And i hope Dodge has been improved, otherwise WTF.
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I don't like that you lose a mirror image on a 'near miss' (i.e. miss by 5 or less).
The d20 roll is an abstract combat representation. Yes it easy to see that if you have an AC16 with chainmail and dex 12 that missing by 1-5 is armour. But how do you know it was armour and not dex.
I think in order to keep this mechanic it might be better to use the mages touch armour class rather than a miss of 5 or less.
What if a character can only miss the target on a 1? No matter what the mage is losing images?
I don't like that you lose a mirror image on a 'near miss' (i.e. miss by 5 or less).
The d20 roll is an abstract combat representation. Yes it easy to see that if you have an AC16 with chainmail and dex 12 that missing by 1-5 is armour. But how do you know it was armour and not dex.
I think in order to keep this mechanic it might be better to use the mages touch armour class rather than a miss of 5 or less.
What if a character can only miss the target on a 1? No matter what the mage is losing images?
It's better than the alternative in 3.5. The images there can have a substantially lower AC, by more than just 5 points. This will probably make mirror images more durable, particularly for higher level casters with better defenses.
__________________ Bill D
"There's a fine line between a superpower and a chronic medical condition."
- Doctor Impossible
Slightly concerned with the DC raising property of Seoni...Especially given Valeros that we saw before...
Seoni is level 10 (4 levels lower than Valeros) however, her 5th level spell has a DC of 22? Yikes....meaning Valeros needs to save on a 19? Against someone that is 4 levels LOWER? So not right...
Similarly, I'm also concerned with the added DC pumps available to her. +1 whenever she heightens a spell AND at 15th level, a +2 bonus...
When we went from 3.0 to 3.5, wasn't one of the big switches was nerfing the Archmage PrC so it couldn't pump up its DC as much?
That isn't going to play well in modules since PAizo likes using spellcasters and I can see optimization paths getting DCs reminiscent of the Archmage?
If you're against someone who can only miss on a 1, a 2nd-level spell isn't going to save you
Quote:
Originally Posted by resistor
If your attack bonus is high enough as to only miss on a 1, then I doubt that 1 + Attack Bonus < AC - 5.
True, I just isolated it down to a single variable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by billd91
It's better than the alternative in 3.5. The images there can have a substantially lower AC, by more than just 5 points. This will probably make mirror images more durable, particularly for higher level casters with better defenses.
And I actually forgot this, because I house ruled the mirror image to its old 1st edition which was you lost a mirror image if you actually hit.
In any case, d20 roll modelling of combat is a very abstract concept, so I tend to dislike rules that draw equivalencies to the d20 having an effect other than hit, miss, or critical. (Note for DMing purposes I often narrate the drama depending on the "nearness" of a d20 roll but drama is not tied into a mechanical concept.)
Slightly concerned with the DC raising property of Seoni...Especially given Valeros that we saw before...
Seoni is level 10 (4 levels lower than Valeros) however, her 5th level spell has a DC of 22? Yikes....meaning Valeros needs to save on a 19? Against someone that is 4 levels LOWER? So not right...
Exactly the same as 3.5. And not at all unreasonable, she has two feats dedicated to it.
On the other hand, it has already been pointed out that Valeros was built specifically to highlight certain new elements of the game and not as a max min. He has a really really low Will save. That is no reflection on this example. Particularly since Cone of Cold is a Ref save. He needs a 13. A 60% chance of failure doesn't seem unreasonable to me, and a different build could significantly cut into that.
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Exactly the same as 3.5. And not at all unreasonable, she has two feats dedicated to it.
On the other hand, it has already been pointed out that Valeros was built specifically to highlight certain new elements of the game and not as a max min. He has a really really low Will save. That is no reflection on this example. Particularly since Cone of Cold is a Ref save. He needs a 13. A 60% chance of failure doesn't seem unreasonable to me, and a different build could significantly cut into that.
For give or take, both previews have succeeded at "highlighting certain new elements of the game."
I really donŽt know. Is "can boost his/her spell DCs" really a fix or change 3.5 has needed? This doesnŽt look like changes that were needed, thats just... fiddly.
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Personally, I found it really odd that they decided to have a bloodline ability that gives a +1 DC to a metamagicked spell.
This is what I'm referring to. True, it doesn't increase the maximum DC of a spell but that was a major drawback to the heighten feat. There was also the hint that she at 15th level can gain another +2 bonus to the DC...
Sure, Valeros has a 60% chance of beating that reflex save, but what happens if Seoni had been an enchanter focused character instead of a blaster?
That's my main concern...the boosting of the DC has to be tightly controlled as we saw from the old Archmage PrC...
The change to STAVES at first glance seems to actually though make them actually viable (one of the more cost-ineffective items from 3.x) -although I'll have to see how it compares to simply making a wand with 10 charges...
For give or take, both previews have succeeded at "highlighting certain new elements of the game."
I really donŽt know. Is "can boost his/her spell DCs" really a fix or change 3.5 has needed? This doesnŽt look like changes that were needed, thats just... fiddly.
The whole "bloodline" thing is a fix to the sorcerer class in general so that there are higher level class-based benefits other than raw spellcasting. Without them, you see the problem we saw in 3.x, that there's no reason to stay in the base class if there's a full caster level prestige class that offers other benefits.
The DC-raising abilities that Seoni has come from the arcane bloodline, which presumes the character comes from an ancestry of magic-wielders or at least a notable one or two. Other bloodlines offer different benefits.
__________________ Bill D
"There's a fine line between a superpower and a chronic medical condition."
- Doctor Impossible
Without them, you see the problem we saw in 3.x, that there's no reason to stay in the base class if there's a full caster level prestige class that offers other benefits.
I still don't get this complaint.
If you use prestige classes in your game, you are accepting the premise that the PCs will leave the base classes.
If for some reason you don't want the players to leave the base classes, then don't allow prestige classes.
There's no simpler fix-- assuming a fix is needed.
Balancing the base classes against the prestige classes often just feels to me like balance for balance sake-- with no real introspection on why prestige classes exist, or whether single-class purity is an ideal to be rewarded.
The heavy mace isn't as good as the morningstar. It's worse in almost every way.
If you use prestige classes in your game, you are accepting the premise that the PCs will leave the base classes.
No. I accept the premise that characters may want to leave the base classes for some particular specialty.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wulf Ratbane
If for some reason you don't want the players to leave the base classes, then don't allow prestige classes.
It's not that I don't want them to not leave the base classes. I want them to have a proper trade-off of choices. There should be something appropriately lost by giving up the base class. Good game design should avoid blatantly dominated strategies given a type of character to play.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wulf Ratbane
The heavy mace isn't as good as the morningstar. It's worse in almost every way.
Time to rebalance the mace?
No. The mace is significantly more durable (sunder table: one-handed metal hafted vs one-handed hafted). That offers enough balance for me.
__________________ Bill D
"There's a fine line between a superpower and a chronic medical condition."
- Doctor Impossible
Last edited by billd91; 27th May 2009 at 10:16 PM..
Sure, Valeros has a 60% chance of beating that reflex save, but what happens if Seoni had been an enchanter focused character instead of a blaster?
In that case, Valeros has a Wisdom above 8, took the Iron Will feat and has a couple of magic items available. You see, Valeros was build specifically to fail Will saves, so it's pointless to use him as an example of how easy is for high level fighters to fail them.
She chose both shield and mage armor...that seems bad idea due to limited spell known choices.
Plus, Shield uses up a round unlike Mage armor (1 hr/level). Granted she has Quicken spell.
Didn't Sorc no used to be able to Quicken? Oh, I see Sorc are no longer limited by increased casting time with quicken.
That is a nice change.
Quote:
Combat Gear lesser metamagic rod of empower, potion of cure serious wounds (2), scroll of greater dispel magic, scroll of wall of force; Other Gear cloak of resistance +2, headband of mental prowess +2 (Wis and Cha),
Wis bonus item? I don't think she needs it that badly. A bonus Con item seems more useable (for her low health).
Wait, they made Ice Storm act like sleet storm as well as damage?
Dispel Magic only works against 1 spell but no caster level limit.
G, Dispel works on 1 spell/4 lvs. Wow, I am impressed that is a solid change.
Mirror Image is weaker now: even a miss can kill the images.
Staffs can now be recharged each day.
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No. I accept the premise that characters may want to leave the base classes for some particular specialty.
It's not that I don't want them to not leave the base classes. I want them to have a proper trade-off of choices. There should be something appropriately lost by giving up the base class. Good game design should avoid blatantly dominated strategies given a type of character to play.
No. The mace is significantly more durable (sunder table: one-handed metal hafted vs one-handed hafted). That offers enough balance for me.
I have mixed feelings on the issue - somewhere in between what you and Wulf say.
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