Dialogue de sourds about mathematics: Are exponents substractions in disguise?

[Hypersmurf]

This question arose from a controversy over at the Wizards.com boards.

Tell them to read the PHB, not the SRD.

-Hyp.

 

[Geoff Watson]

Here's a quick question.

Would an empowered magic missile deal on average 5.25 damage (3.5 x 1.5), or 4.75 (2.5 x 1.5 + 1) ?

This question arose from a controversy over at the Wizards.com boards.

What a bunch of ******!

The Empower Spell feat description uses Magic Missile as an example!

Geoff.

 

[Tharizdun]

I'll buy that. But it means that Empower becomes a MUCH better deal than Maximize in some cases. You can actually get more effect while using a lower level slot.

Cure Light Wounds at 5th level heals 6-13 damage, average 9.5

Empowered gets you 9.5 * 1.5 = 14.25 points healed for a 3rd-level slot
Maximized gets you 13 points healed for a 4th-level slot

Granted this is an "edge case" and the vast majority of the time it's fine. But any case where there's a large "fixed" component will tend to do this.

The wise cleric ignores the empower and the maximize for his curing:
A Cure Critical wounds gets you 4d8+9 (average 25pts) for a fourth level slot. A Cure Serious Wounds get you 18.5 HP on average for a 3rd level slot.

If you want to show the weaknesses in the feat, give me some good examples.

 

[Gez]

Now, if you compare Sudden Empower and Sudden Maximize... A suddenly empowered CLW gets you 14.25 hp for a 1st-level slot, a suddenly maximized CLW gets you 13 hp for the same slot.

But if you want good healing power, there's a feat (Augment Healing) in Complete Divine that's better for that. +2 hp per spell level (so +1 for CMW, +2 for CLW, +4 for CMW, +6 for CSW, and +8 for CCW).

 

[Thanee]

Yes, but there are many more spells, where Sudden Maximize is superior.

Bye
Thanee

 

[TheGogmagog]

This question arose from a controversy over at the Wizards.com boards.

This annoys me to no end, even more than seeing people ask about rouge [sic] builds. Here you have a forum created for the game by the game makers, and they can't manage to have a handfull of people to peruse the boards to squelch debates over idiotic stuff.

Well, this question isn't as idiotic as the argument that sorcerers can choose to learn cleric an druid spells because of the sematics of a sentence when you add a comma that wasn't there in a certain location.

 

[Goblyn]

This annoys me to no end, even more than seeing people ask about rouge [sic] builds. Here you have a forum created for the game by the game makers, and they can't manage to have a handfull of people to peruse the boards to squelch debates over idiotic stuff.

Well, this question isn't as idiotic as the argument that sorcerers can choose to learn cleric an druid spells because of the sematics of a sentence when you add a comma that wasn't there in a certain location.

That's the beauty of online forums: you can have as idiotic conversation as you want and someone will argue it.

As for the original post, it's (1d4+1)x1.5. Anyone who thinks it's the other way doesn't understand BEDMAS.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

I don't understand BEDMAS ...

Or do I?

What's it mean?

 

[ThirdWizard]

Oh oh! Lemme try!

BEDMAS

Barely Educated Dungeon Masters' Acronym Synthesizers!

 

[ksbsnowowl]

I don't understand BEDMAS ...?

Basic something something Math And Statistics?

I don't know; I'm curious too.