[Playtest 2] The Madman, the Sociopath, and the Simpleton

[jrowland]

I hear you, but in fairness to Jim, he roleplays with the best of them when his character is made. He just likes to make it with an eye toward effectiveness. And after all, part of the point was to see how the game balances with a disparity between player attitudes on this subject, right?

sorcerer (dragon) is another class that could dump focus on Str rather than...what is it, cha?...whatever, the point being A High Str sorcerer (dragon) makes a decent fighter, and as long as you pick spells that don't need attack roll/save, your fine.

I for one like the fact that a cleric doesn't *need* high wis...The good lord knows some real-life clerics/priests/pastors aren't very wise, lol

 

[slobster]

I hear you, but in fairness to Jim, he roleplays with the best of them when his character is made. He just likes to make it with an eye toward effectiveness. And after all, part of the point was to see how the game balances with a disparity between player attitudes on this subject, right?

I know what you mean. I have a player like that, and whenever he is building a character he makes sure A) that it is effective at what it sets out to do as well as competent at a broad range of likely tasks and B) it's designed to complement the other characters, excelling where they have a deficit and ignoring those core competencies they've already covered.

What more could you want from a player? He makes a character that works well. He makes a character that purposely doesn't step on allies' toes, but still moves the action forward. He is good at roleplaying and stays on-task, because he is focused and knowledgeable.

I wish I had more like him!

 

[The Shadow]

I wish I had more like him!

Me too! He's great fun; Dag had more great one-liners, but Toran was a solid presence in the game.

Also, you can spell 'complement' correctly. I would XP you for that alone if I could.

Perhaps this is the time to mention that Toran was also fearsomely good at melee; the only reason Dag overshadowed him was Combat Superiority.

Toran usually one-shotted orcs in hand-to-hand with his warhammer, and when he needed range, he fell back on Radiant Lance, which his low Wis didn't cripple too badly. (Dag had a heavy crossbow that he kept cocked; firing it at the start of combat, dropping it, then unslinging his greataxe.)

 

[slobster]

Perhaps this is the time to mention that Toran was also fearsomely good at melee; the only reason Dag overshadowed him was Combat Superiority.

You have no idea how happy that sentence makes me. First because the melee cleric build sounds fun, and actually combat effective. Second, because despite that the fighter still shines! CS is fast becoming the thing about 5E classes that I am most excited about.

 

[The Shadow]

You have no idea how happy that sentence makes me. First because the melee cleric build sounds fun, and actually combat effective. Second, because despite that the fighter still shines! CS is fast becoming the thing about 5E classes that I am most excited about.

A firm yes on both counts. 'Combat Superiority' is just what it says on the tin.

Jim was VERY happy he could fight and heal at the same time. He's always found clerics frustrating in the past, but Healing Word and Channel Divinity were great blessings. (And yes, like I said, he mildly enjoyed 4e, but there are other issues with the game that make him not prefer it.)

And like I said, Toran really could fight. If Dag were to refrain from using CS, they'd be virtually equal. And with Battle Psalm on? Like I said: Orcs are blades of grass, and they are the lawnmower.

The one thing I found a little frustrating about Eldritch Blast was its single-target nature, which was often overkill against the foes we were fighting. I picked up Baleful Utterance near the end, just to get a bit of AoE, but didn't get the chance to use it. (Heh. Me: "Erevan can do area damage now! How do you like that?" Darren: "I hate it! The last thing crazy people need is area damage!"

I might have had more fun playing a wizard (Arc Lightning looks like great fun) but A) I wanted to test out the warlock, not having played one before, and B) I tend to find Vancian casting annoying.

 

[slobster]

I really wish I had time to get a playtest group going. Melee sounds like it's an interesting place to be, with multiple avenues for success and multiple participating classes which are fun to play yet distinct. As it should be.

I'm interested to hear from a group that has played with all three casters, a sorcerer, a wizard, and a warlock. The wizard looks, on paper, to be the weak link there, but a playtest is worth a thousand speculative posts.

 

[The Shadow]

Oh, one more thing. I felt that Parry could use a few conditions on it. One time, Dag parried damage from an *arrow* - which the rules seem to allow, but it does seem a little too badass for a 1st level fighter. I'm thinking there should be a higher-level ability to let you Parry ranged damage, so you can go all Hidden Tiger.

EDIT: Better idea. Maybe you can parry arrows with a shield, but not a weapon?

 

[slobster]

EDIT: Better idea. Maybe you can parry arrows with a shield, but not a weapon?

I like it. Makes sense in the fictional world, and gives a welcome boost to sword'n'boarders, in a way that furthers their defensive emphasis. That would also make parrying energy attacks more palatable. I can picture a fighter cowering behind his shield to block an eldritch blast, but blocking it like he's a jedi parrying a laser blast is a little over the top.

 

[Blackwarder]

So what would you suggest we do to try and make the monsters a challenge?

Warder

 

[slobster]

So what would you suggest we do to try and make the monsters a challenge?

Warder

It seems to me a pretty easy fix: add to the attack rolls. I like that enemies go down quickly, so buffing their hp isn't necessary. Maybe you'd also have to buff PC hp too, I'm not sure.

I'm hardly the first to suggest this of course, but I find it very convincing.