bad dice rolls

[kelson]

#1 I have tried to post this thread 4 times now, and it wont work. this one probably wont work either, but if they all show up at once or something then I am sorry..

#2 I am notorious in my D&D groups for horrible rolls. I have gone through entire sessions in which my best d20 roll was an 8. I cast a blade barrier last session and it hit for 15d6 dmg, and the enemy failed thier reflex save. I rolled for damage and got a total of 18. I am thinking of how I will design my next character and I want to play a frontline fighter type. I was wondering if you guys could help me come up with a way to minimize the effects of these rolls. I cant take any luck feats though. My wife is already working on that whole line and I dont want to just copy her character. I was thinking possibly weapon specialization + twf + monkey grip so that I can wield a x3 crit weapon in each hand that crits on a 19 + improved crit so that it will be even better. that would mean I get lots of attacks (lots of chances to roll better) it would take less for me to crit and when I do it will be a decent amount of damage to make up for the mass of misses. Also I will have both weapons enchanted with ghost touch and truestrike (if I can I am not sure how much that would cost...) It will be a 15th lvl character. any WotC book is allowed and I will get 6 extra feats on top of what is in the books because of a house rule. We get a pool of ECL points to spend on a list that the DM made. I will spend most if not all of mine on extra feats. Is there anything I can do that will raise my BAB? Thanks for the help, and have fun with it!

*edit* HEY! it worked that time! w00t! *edit*

 

[Darklone]

A fighter archer would be the best idea IMHO to guarantee many attacks all the time... Get a self-reloading speed crossbow, Crossbow Sniper feat and the whole WS line with Greater Weapon Focus and Ranged Weapon Mastery for a +6 to damage... + half dex bonus + magic enhancement.

Since you get so many feats, you don't need to go fighter all the way.

TWF build: Tempest+Dervish sounds rocking strong with so many extra feats. Go bastard sword with Power Attack&Cleave and Uncanny Blow from Exotic Weapon master and go TWF with quickdrawn daggers that you can also throw with your left hand. In cases where you can't full attack, drop the dagger or get Hurling Charge for a twohanded attack with the bastard sword while you empty your daggerhand with a throw.

Tempest will allow you to apply all the specialisation feats to your left hand weapon.

 

[mikebr99]

Sorry about the bad die rolls kelson... but I don't think adding more chances per round to miss is going to be any more fun. YMMV

Maybe try being good at one thing... good enough that it wont matter that the DM secretly gave you a d10 instead of the d20. Ever since C.Mage came out I've been wanting to try a frontline Warlock/Cleric/Eldritch Disciple... and hitting once a round with Hideous Blow and Cleric buffing to suit. YMMV

Mike

 

[The Blow Leprechaun]

... Get a self-reloading speed crossbow...

Where on earth is that weapon from, and what DM in their right mind would allow such a thing?


If you want to play a fighter which minimizes the impact your poor rolling will have, I'd try and use weapons that give 2dx instead of 1dx, that way your minimum damage is a bit higher - and if you roll as badly as you say, you could use that.

A Large greataxe does 3d6, for example.

 

[jontherev]

Well, this may not fly with your group, but there is an option in Unearthed Arcana where you can use Action Points to add to your die rolls. Granted, you only get 5 action points at 1st level, and then gain 1 every 2 levels...but at least it gives you SOMETHING.

I plan to use this rule in my campaign, but I altered it slightly and am calling it Fate Points. I would say "good luck", but it obviously won't help you.

 

[kelson]

my theory is that I cant fail all the time. More attacks means more chances to not fail. another thing I was wondering is are there any other feats out there that can raise my chance to crit in the same manner as improved critical? I have heard of people being able to crit on a 17 but can it get any lower? 2 more points would mean a 1/4 chance of a critical hit, especialy if I get that truestrike enchantment. couple that with a x3 crit weapon that does 3d6 dmg and several attacks per turn and it would be hard for even me to fail. with that +6 feats I should be able to set the character up with pretty much all that I want in that respect. after all just how many feats are possible at that lvl? especialy if I were to play a human fighter! I could probably take a drawback of some kind (what book is that?) for more if I really needed to. Mostly I just want a tank that doesn't get ignored... I had a monk a while back that got made fun of a lot. the DM even made casters that I was attacking roll concentration checks to keep from lauging as I waved my fists in thier faces ineffectualy. Enemy's never even noticed me, and that just wont cut it for a melle character. Beyond just being mildly effective I would like to be able to get back to my old favorite pass time. That is of course... I love to confuse my DM! I want a character that he will look at and cry, because it negates his entire plan for his dungeon... I'm not being mean, he does the same thing to us... he once put us up against a mage that did nothing except counterspell and dispel magic. Then he took out both the fighter and the rogue with an evil cleric that was under and invisibility spell. This left a cleric/mage, druid who didn't even know how to melle (we had to explain to her how the mechanics worked as we went) and me waving my fists ineffectualy in the enemy's face... that hurt...

 

[The Blow Leprechaun]

Most ways of changing a weapon's critical range do not stack with each other. For some reason I'm thinking there was one that would stack with the others, but it eludes me at the moment.

And of course you can always use a keen rapier with a crit range of 15-20.

 

[sumi]

I know how you feel about the die roll, had the distinction of rolling 10 1's in one adventure out of 12 rolls. The battle field was littered with my weapons that I had thrown away. i think the oppsoition died laughing at my ineptitude, as it wasn't from me hitting them.

My recommendation is to play a game like Bushido or Flashing Blades where 1's are desired. However, you know that as soon as you play those games you'll roll 20's.

 

[kelson]

And of course you can always use a keen rapier with a crit range of 15-20.

where is that listed? that would be amazing! I know I can take improved crit with that! (It said something about a weapon that crits on a 19 in the book, but I dont have it in front of me right now so I could be wrong.) is rolling a 19 with a 19-20 crit weapon the same as rolling a 20 with anything else? auto hit? or does it still have to penetrate thier AC? I know I seem to not know anything about the game. I have been playing RPG's for years, but it has been almost entirely homebrew systems and larp's This is both my first serious look at D&D and my first powergaming group so I am a little out of my depth.

 

[sumi]

where is that listed? that would be amazing! I know I can take improved crit with that! (It said something about a weapon that crits on a 19 in the book, but I dont have it in front of me right now so I could be wrong.) is rolling a 19 with a 19-20 crit weapon the same as rolling a 20 with anything else? auto hit? or does it still have to penetrate thier AC? I know I seem to not know anything about the game. I have been playing RPG's for years, but it has been almost entirely homebrew systems and larp's This is both my first serious look at D&D and my first powergaming group so I am a little out of my depth.

You critical with a rapier on a 18-20. By making it keen you double the threat area. This makes it 15-20. However, you need to roll equal to or above the opponents AC to hit it, unless it is a natural 20. So if you rolled a 16 with a keen weapon, plus your attack bonuses and still get below its AC then you miss, even though it is a threat.
Critical hits are on page 140 PHB (english version)