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Does Expertise "Feat Tax" even matter?
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<blockquote data-quote="kenmarable" data-source="post: 5002127" data-attributes="member: 40359"><p>I thought the math problem behind all of the Expertise discussion was that at Epic levels monster defenses outpace PC to-hits? At least that's how I've seen it explained. By level 30, monster defenses outpace standard PC attack bonuses by 3 or 4, and this is "the flaw in the math". </p><p></p><p>Did I misinterpret it or was it explained to me wrong?</p><p></p><p>(Oh, and I actually have the same issue with Expertise - the presumption that you *must* take it even though thousands of people played quite happily without and continue to do so, yet we're labeled as "bad at math" or have some "excess fervor to prove the mathematicians wrong" or "aren't doing our job". How many people played Epic levels and *actually noticed the problem in play* as opposed to how many looked at a 30th level PC vs a 30th level monster and noticed the numbers didn't line up?)</p><p></p><p></p><p>I have no problem with gnome illusionists. My problem was with the line of reasoning that "there's a combo that gives a bigger plus, so why would anyone possibly want to do something different?" Making sure you meet or exceed the assumed power curve is one thing. Chasing bonuses beyond that point at all costs is an entirely different matter, and is what I was referencing. </p><p></p><p>"Why would anyone not want the biggest plus they possibly get?" isn't a philosophy everyone ascribes to, even if the mathematicians can't grasp that. Not every illusionist will be a gnome. Not every PC will take Expertise. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised to see a few really interesting (and still capable) dragonborn illusionists without Expertise. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="kenmarable, post: 5002127, member: 40359"] I thought the math problem behind all of the Expertise discussion was that at Epic levels monster defenses outpace PC to-hits? At least that's how I've seen it explained. By level 30, monster defenses outpace standard PC attack bonuses by 3 or 4, and this is "the flaw in the math". Did I misinterpret it or was it explained to me wrong? (Oh, and I actually have the same issue with Expertise - the presumption that you *must* take it even though thousands of people played quite happily without and continue to do so, yet we're labeled as "bad at math" or have some "excess fervor to prove the mathematicians wrong" or "aren't doing our job". How many people played Epic levels and *actually noticed the problem in play* as opposed to how many looked at a 30th level PC vs a 30th level monster and noticed the numbers didn't line up?) I have no problem with gnome illusionists. My problem was with the line of reasoning that "there's a combo that gives a bigger plus, so why would anyone possibly want to do something different?" Making sure you meet or exceed the assumed power curve is one thing. Chasing bonuses beyond that point at all costs is an entirely different matter, and is what I was referencing. "Why would anyone not want the biggest plus they possibly get?" isn't a philosophy everyone ascribes to, even if the mathematicians can't grasp that. Not every illusionist will be a gnome. Not every PC will take Expertise. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised to see a few really interesting (and still capable) dragonborn illusionists without Expertise. ;) [/QUOTE]
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