Patlin
Explorer
We've put together a somewhat unusual party, and I thought I'd report on how it's working out. It uses a number of fairly new rules, so it might be of interest from a balance perspective. It also, from our experience so far, plays a bit different from a standard party and is interesting in that way also.
We've all started at level 6 in order to play "Expedition to Castle Ravenloft." I'll avoid posting spoilers for the module.
Here's the cast:
Divine Mind 6
Rogue 1/Dragon Shaman 5
Warblade 6
Druid 6 using the Shapeshifter variant from PHB II (My character)
Duskblade 6
The general theme all players agreed on was "each party member helps all the other party members be more effective." The Divine Mind and the Dragon Shaman, with their aura effects, were the origin of the idea, but the Warblade's white raven school abilities fits right in. The Druid has combat expertise and improved trip, as well as healing abilities. The Duskblade has the adaptive flanker/vexing flanker feats.
Last night was the first session, and it was a blast. Rather than 5 heroes with seperate specialties, it felt like we were a team. This struck me as even more rewarding than each of us being the master of a particular schtick. The math was a bit demanding and "OK, who is giving me what bonus right now?" was a pretty frequent question.
The dragon shaman and the divine mind provided small but consistent bonuses throughout. The warblade was more dramatic... she had the stance up for most of the night that provided a +6 (her initiator level) to damage for allies within 60' on charge attacks, and also used the maneuver to give an ally an extra turn several times. At level 6, +6 damage is a big deal, and while we weren't able to take advantage of it very many times, it was great when we did get it. The extra turn thing a couple of times per battle was also very well recieved. The Dragon Shaman also used his breath weapon at every opportunity, and was in a sense our primary nuker.
The shapeshifter variant, while possibly a debuff to the Druid class, was a lot of fun. I only had 3 forms available to me (caster, predator, and avian) but I really enjoyed switching back and fourth as a free action, and not being limited in the number of times I could use the ability. Having natural spell and staying in a powerfull combat form all the time would have been more potent, but not as dramatic or interesting. In addition to healing, I mostly used my spell selection to fill in the gaps I percieved in my shapeshifting ability. No aquatic form? Memorize Heart of Water. No animal senses? Memorize Low Light Vision. I also took the Fiery Burst [Reserve] feat for strafing, which is a lot weaker than being able to cast spells while in the shape of a bird, but it was nice to have some magic at the tips of my talons without switching back to caster form. I used a lot of trip attacks in predator form, and my companions promptly anihilated any prone opponents. I think only one lasted long enough to draw an AOO when he stood up.
I have some doubts about the duskblade class, mostly because I don't like the spell list much, but the duskblade player definitely showed her worth in last night's game. In adition to flanking everything in sight like a madwoman, using the adaptive flanker feat, she also struck the decisive blow in the hardest combat we encountered so far. She seperated the BBEG (of the night) from his supporters with a well placed chill touch. The battle might have gone quite differently if we had to fight him and the lesser bad gus at the same time.
Very fun game. Next time we meet, I'll update the thread with more thoughts.
We've all started at level 6 in order to play "Expedition to Castle Ravenloft." I'll avoid posting spoilers for the module.
Here's the cast:
Divine Mind 6
Rogue 1/Dragon Shaman 5
Warblade 6
Druid 6 using the Shapeshifter variant from PHB II (My character)
Duskblade 6
The general theme all players agreed on was "each party member helps all the other party members be more effective." The Divine Mind and the Dragon Shaman, with their aura effects, were the origin of the idea, but the Warblade's white raven school abilities fits right in. The Druid has combat expertise and improved trip, as well as healing abilities. The Duskblade has the adaptive flanker/vexing flanker feats.
Last night was the first session, and it was a blast. Rather than 5 heroes with seperate specialties, it felt like we were a team. This struck me as even more rewarding than each of us being the master of a particular schtick. The math was a bit demanding and "OK, who is giving me what bonus right now?" was a pretty frequent question.
The dragon shaman and the divine mind provided small but consistent bonuses throughout. The warblade was more dramatic... she had the stance up for most of the night that provided a +6 (her initiator level) to damage for allies within 60' on charge attacks, and also used the maneuver to give an ally an extra turn several times. At level 6, +6 damage is a big deal, and while we weren't able to take advantage of it very many times, it was great when we did get it. The extra turn thing a couple of times per battle was also very well recieved. The Dragon Shaman also used his breath weapon at every opportunity, and was in a sense our primary nuker.
The shapeshifter variant, while possibly a debuff to the Druid class, was a lot of fun. I only had 3 forms available to me (caster, predator, and avian) but I really enjoyed switching back and fourth as a free action, and not being limited in the number of times I could use the ability. Having natural spell and staying in a powerfull combat form all the time would have been more potent, but not as dramatic or interesting. In addition to healing, I mostly used my spell selection to fill in the gaps I percieved in my shapeshifting ability. No aquatic form? Memorize Heart of Water. No animal senses? Memorize Low Light Vision. I also took the Fiery Burst [Reserve] feat for strafing, which is a lot weaker than being able to cast spells while in the shape of a bird, but it was nice to have some magic at the tips of my talons without switching back to caster form. I used a lot of trip attacks in predator form, and my companions promptly anihilated any prone opponents. I think only one lasted long enough to draw an AOO when he stood up.
I have some doubts about the duskblade class, mostly because I don't like the spell list much, but the duskblade player definitely showed her worth in last night's game. In adition to flanking everything in sight like a madwoman, using the adaptive flanker feat, she also struck the decisive blow in the hardest combat we encountered so far. She seperated the BBEG (of the night) from his supporters with a well placed chill touch. The battle might have gone quite differently if we had to fight him and the lesser bad gus at the same time.
Very fun game. Next time we meet, I'll update the thread with more thoughts.
!
