Doctor Proctor
First Post
One other thing on the MAD issue. Part of the problem is the obsession in the community for qualifying for certain "awesome" weapon feats. Feat like HBO, Hammer Rhythm or the Mastery feats. These feats aren't what I would call "necessary" for a class to function, they're just good feats if you can get them. The ability score costs are high, which is what leads to MAD issues.
Where the Mastery Feats are concerned, you can easily forgo them if you take a Jagged weapon. Of course, most people would say to this "But oh noes, where's my Bloodclaw???", and that's part of the problem. Once you get away from certain "must-have" enhancements, you can just pick up a Jagged weapon (which are pretty good BTW) and still get your increased crit range.
As for things like HBO...again, it's not necessary for a PC to function. Going with a Straladin build and taking a two-handed Jagged Greataxe or Jagged Executioner's Axe might be a good choice. You don't need Deadly Axes anymore because your weapon is already high crit. Therefore, you don't have to worry about pumping CON to qualify for that, or the Mastery feat.
Or why not go with Polearms? Pick up something like the Greatspear. It's a +3 to hit, like the Heavy Blades, gives you reach and allows you pick up Polearm Gamble, which is a very powerful feat. It's especially good for a Paladin because now you can DC a target, attack him from 2 squares away, then shift back one square. Now he can either attack someone else and take DC damage, or approach you and possibly have to eat an OA! Granted, there's no Mastery feat there, but you still have options if that increased crit ranged is important. You could just wait until later and drop the Greatspear in favor of a Glaive, which is polearm/heavy blade, and thus can be enchanted with Jagged. It's lower damage, and only a +2, but it would work if you really like critting on a 19.
See, to me, I see a LOT of options for weapon choices and enchantments. If you limit yourself to thinking that only a certain couple of choices will work, that can hamper your build because you have to focus stat points into stats you don't need...like DEX. For Fighters, this is easy because they only have one primary attack Stat, and their secondary is based on what weapons they choose. They're also supposed to be the masters at using weapons, which is why they can get a permanent +1 and are trained in every non-superior weapon there is (Pally's are not trained in military ranged, for example). On the other hand, Fighters can't heal or channel divine energy to incinerate undead, heal allies, buff allies and whatever else all those Channel Divinity powers do. So again, you need to realize the limitations of the class and work with them. Don't try to force Heavy Blades on the build when it's going to hurt you, just use something that fits with your stats.
Where the Mastery Feats are concerned, you can easily forgo them if you take a Jagged weapon. Of course, most people would say to this "But oh noes, where's my Bloodclaw???", and that's part of the problem. Once you get away from certain "must-have" enhancements, you can just pick up a Jagged weapon (which are pretty good BTW) and still get your increased crit range.
As for things like HBO...again, it's not necessary for a PC to function. Going with a Straladin build and taking a two-handed Jagged Greataxe or Jagged Executioner's Axe might be a good choice. You don't need Deadly Axes anymore because your weapon is already high crit. Therefore, you don't have to worry about pumping CON to qualify for that, or the Mastery feat.
Or why not go with Polearms? Pick up something like the Greatspear. It's a +3 to hit, like the Heavy Blades, gives you reach and allows you pick up Polearm Gamble, which is a very powerful feat. It's especially good for a Paladin because now you can DC a target, attack him from 2 squares away, then shift back one square. Now he can either attack someone else and take DC damage, or approach you and possibly have to eat an OA! Granted, there's no Mastery feat there, but you still have options if that increased crit ranged is important. You could just wait until later and drop the Greatspear in favor of a Glaive, which is polearm/heavy blade, and thus can be enchanted with Jagged. It's lower damage, and only a +2, but it would work if you really like critting on a 19.
See, to me, I see a LOT of options for weapon choices and enchantments. If you limit yourself to thinking that only a certain couple of choices will work, that can hamper your build because you have to focus stat points into stats you don't need...like DEX. For Fighters, this is easy because they only have one primary attack Stat, and their secondary is based on what weapons they choose. They're also supposed to be the masters at using weapons, which is why they can get a permanent +1 and are trained in every non-superior weapon there is (Pally's are not trained in military ranged, for example). On the other hand, Fighters can't heal or channel divine energy to incinerate undead, heal allies, buff allies and whatever else all those Channel Divinity powers do. So again, you need to realize the limitations of the class and work with them. Don't try to force Heavy Blades on the build when it's going to hurt you, just use something that fits with your stats.
eek
