We have no wizard or cleric in our Age of Worms party. I'm playing a ninja that's headed for assassain levels (possibly a non-evil version),and we have a druid, paladin, and two knights at 4th level a piece. I believe that one of the knights is going to take leadership to get a cleric cohort. Is it worth it to max out UMD? Any suggestions on feats, skills, and prestige classess, to help me be effective and get us through the meat-grinder that is the Age of Worms?
Age of Worms without a wizard or cleric
- Thread starter Shazman
- Start date
demiurge1138
Inventor of Super-Toast
It is always worth it to max out UMD. My players were without conventional wizardry, having a warlock and a rogue with plenty of UMD to fill out the slot, and it worked well enough for them. UMD is most useful for cure wands, but for some investment it can make you a decent blaster (go for touch spells like scorching ray and ray of enfeeblement to benefit from your Dex).
Demiurge out.
Demiurge out.
Steel_Wind
Legend
Well - I'd suggest a change of character or addition of class...
but that's not going to matter much. Given the lethality of the AoW, this is one of those problems that will take care of itself.
but that's not going to matter much. Given the lethality of the AoW, this is one of those problems that will take care of itself.
Well, at least you have a druid and a paladin. It will be rough, especially in some of the later adventures (Gathering of Winds springs to mind). As long as you guys are at the top of your game, though, you should be able to make it through. I might suggest that the characters look at some of the alternative feats and spells out there that are targetted at killing undead.
Without an arcanist, though, you definitely want to max out UMD.
Without an arcanist, though, you definitely want to max out UMD.
My group and I are in the middle of "Three Faces of Evil," and our group is as follows:
human male rogue 3
half-orc male ranger 3
moon elf male scout 3
lizardfolk male druid 2
Now, the druid can heal and remove disease, of course, but I don't really see an overwhelming need for turning undead in AoW. The rogue maxes out use magic device, so he has the option of reading scrolls and using magic items. What's interesting is the complete lack of knowledge arcane or religion in the group. Plenty of knowledge nature, but the references to rare deities and the ancient insciptions in Whispering Cairn and elsewhere are meaningless to the PCs.
I'm confident we can succeed with this group, but their path will be different without a wizard or cleric, definitely.
I think your campaign will succeed as well. Your druid will make up for the cleric. There really isn't a definite need for turning undead from what I've seen. The lack of knowledge religion might deny PCs some story-based info, but I don't see it killing the campaign. The rogue's (or ninja's) gather information skill (and perhaps the druid's scrying magic) are good sources of PC information, so make use of those in place of knowledge arcane/religion. Definitely max out the rogue's use magic device (I don't think ninjas have UMD as a class skill). The knights and the paladin are your front-line brawlers (which are important in AoW), and when the druid hits 8th level he/she can wildshape into a dire bear and buff up with bear's endurance and bull's strength, adding to the punching power while the ninja positions for the sneak.
human male rogue 3
half-orc male ranger 3
moon elf male scout 3
lizardfolk male druid 2
Now, the druid can heal and remove disease, of course, but I don't really see an overwhelming need for turning undead in AoW. The rogue maxes out use magic device, so he has the option of reading scrolls and using magic items. What's interesting is the complete lack of knowledge arcane or religion in the group. Plenty of knowledge nature, but the references to rare deities and the ancient insciptions in Whispering Cairn and elsewhere are meaningless to the PCs.
I'm confident we can succeed with this group, but their path will be different without a wizard or cleric, definitely.
I think your campaign will succeed as well. Your druid will make up for the cleric. There really isn't a definite need for turning undead from what I've seen. The lack of knowledge religion might deny PCs some story-based info, but I don't see it killing the campaign. The rogue's (or ninja's) gather information skill (and perhaps the druid's scrying magic) are good sources of PC information, so make use of those in place of knowledge arcane/religion. Definitely max out the rogue's use magic device (I don't think ninjas have UMD as a class skill). The knights and the paladin are your front-line brawlers (which are important in AoW), and when the druid hits 8th level he/she can wildshape into a dire bear and buff up with bear's endurance and bull's strength, adding to the punching power while the ninja positions for the sneak.
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Steel_Wind
Legend
Crust said:
You are currently playing in Chapter 2.
When you get to....oh...say, Chapter 7? My guess is you'll have a different view. It's ok - you'll be telling us all about it and your new character shortly thereafer!
FunkBGR
Explorer
Don't get discouraged - any group can complete any of the Adventure Paths.
Just play smart - you've got a group that looks like it's great for stealth. Surprise every foe, lay traps for them, etc.
Know when to run, and use anything you can to keep from being followed - entangle, etc.
Don't get too attached to any characters though - that's never advisable in the Age of Worms.
Just play smart - you've got a group that looks like it's great for stealth. Surprise every foe, lay traps for them, etc.
Know when to run, and use anything you can to keep from being followed - entangle, etc.
Don't get too attached to any characters though - that's never advisable in the Age of Worms.
The overall problem with turning and a group of PCs is that turning isn't really necessary in most situations involving a well-rounded party. The types of undead a cleric can turn and actually destroy can also be taken care of with a fireball, a lightning bolt, or a front-line brawler using a full-round attack. The really powerful undead are often uncappable of being turned anyway. Turning will certainly be useless against the boss undead in AoW, especially when destroying such undead (rather than simply turning it) is necessary.
Turning comes in handy when the group can easily take care of a group of skeletons or wights, but when the swords of Kyuss, Lashonna, and Dragotha take the field, I hope the cleric has divine shield or something else that makes turning useful.
Turning comes in handy when the group can easily take care of a group of skeletons or wights, but when the swords of Kyuss, Lashonna, and Dragotha take the field, I hope the cleric has divine shield or something else that makes turning useful.
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