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    Why is it a bad thing to optimise?

    Stormwind was the name of a poster at the WotC boards who pointed out that a player's ability to roleplay has no effect on his ability to make a powerful character. The Stormwind Fallacy is basically saying that "if your character is powerful, you're not a real roleplayer" is a false dilemma.
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    D&D 4E Some questions about 4e

    Or like how your teacher knows exactly how you're disrupting the class behind her back even while she's writing on the board.
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    Is DnD well-balanced?

    For PCs, the sorta expected to hit and defenses are: Atk vs AC: Lv+6 Atk vs NAD: Lv+4 AC: Lv+15 AC (defender): Lv+17 NAD: Lv+13 Being a point or so behind isn't that big a deal but if you're 3 or more points behind you'll have problems. If you seriously optimize you can get 2 or 3 points...
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    Has the DM fallen from grace?

    To be fair, the opening post didn't mention 4e at all and when I read it I was under the impression that the description of dis-empowered DMs included everything from 3e on. The thread just somehow morphed into another 3e vs 4e fight like too many threads do...
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    Heresy in D&D

    Perhaps not even then. There's always the "our god got so angry at us for not eradicating the demon-empowered heretics that he took away his powers/protection" excuse.
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    Heresy in D&D

    I sort of imagine D&D deities as CEOs of mega-corporations. He's not gonna stick his nose into a policy dispute between two store managers. That's what he hired a bunch of high-priests, popes and angels to take care of. He might not even notice there's anything wrong going on unless it...
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    Bring back alignments?

    D&D Players are obsessive compulsive types who feels they need to fill in every blank space on their char sheet? :D
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    Bring back alignments?

    I'm not sure that's a valid comparison. Class and race choices do not necessarily restraint behaviour. You can be a claustrophobic dwarf, a forest-burning elf, a pacifist fighter, or even a philanthropic rogue (funny story that, in the old days there was something written about how if your...
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    Bring back alignments?

    Maybe it's because it's a new term that doesn't have any of the old alignment baggage and offers the PCs what they want - to be able to do whatever they want with the freedom of not having to be nice, but also not being labelled evil.
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    Bring back alignments?

    Blah, this is why my paladin simply kills everyone in battle then have the cleric cast speak with dead. :p
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    Problems with saving throws?

    The categories also seems arbitrary and inconsistent. Some categories are based on attack source (ie. breath weapon, rod etc.) others are based on attack effects (ie. death, polymorph etc.).
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    Why average wealth by level is a good thing.

    WBL is coupled in large part to the CR/Monster level system to allow the DM to predict with some degree of accuracy of the outcome of a fight. If you want a HD Y monster and a lv X PC to have a good fight, you need to have some expectation of how much gear the lv X PC has. You can give less...
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    How is the Wizard vs Warrior Balance Problem Handled in Fantasy Literature?

    I think what Kamikaze was getting at was that Excalibur and its shealth is always linked to Arthur. You don't have Arthur giving his sword and shealth to the better fighter Lancelot so the Camelot party can have an uber character. Just like Ironman doesn't give a copy of his suit to Batman or...
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    How is the Wizard vs Warrior Balance Problem Handled in Fantasy Literature?

    Since wuxia and anime has been brought up, let's take a look at a how eastern fantasy genre handles this. I think a major difference between east and west fantasy is the lack of a sharp division between supernatural and non-supernatural in eastern fantasy. Take martial arts for instance...
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    Wizards: Squishy or All Powerful?

    But the DC for that conc. check depends on the damage dealt (DC = 10 + spell lv being cast + damage taken) which is why a readied damage spell (ie. fireball) is a better counterspell in a caster duel than actually trying to counterspell.
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    Wizards: Squishy or All Powerful?

    Scorching ray does and so do most rays and touch spells. Also, PHB 175 under Range: Touch section: "A touch spell threatens a critical hit on a natural roll of 20 and deals double damage on a successful critical hit." Under Effect: Ray, also on the same page, "If a ray spell deals damage...
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    Wizards: Squishy or All Powerful?

    Quite right. More importantly, a crafter who decides to stay a level behind other PCs can accumulate quite a bit of XP to go towards making items at a cheaper price than buying them and thus let the whole party get ahead of the expected wealth curve. Look up "Experience is a river" from the 3.5...
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    Wizards: Squishy or All Powerful?

    A bit of nitpick, but that's not quite true. Spells that requires an attack roll can crit. Complete Arcane pg. 85. Heck, they can get sneak attack damages with weapon-like spells.
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    How is the Wizard vs Warrior Balance Problem Handled in Fantasy Literature?

    Most fantasy literature has its magic be limited in certain ways depending on how the author wants magic to be used (or not be used) in its setting. If the works is defined by political intrigue, the author may choose to make mind-reading, dominate and other such mind-affecting magic impossible...
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    Is there a feat...

    That feat gives 4 skill pts. That's it. I'm not aware of any feats that gives additional skill pts per level.
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