Dragonstar: Is mage armor broken?

[sfgiants]

Hey all, what with the armor available in DS to mages (+4 ac, no armor check, and no arcane spell failure), have you seen anyone use Mage armor? I know tech will cause some spells to be redundant, but... Has anyone modified a few spells to make them more attractive?

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Remember that Mage Armor is a force effect and protects you against touch attacks and attacks from incorperal beeings.

Though (High Tech proficient) Monks are proficient with Light Armor, they still loose some class abilities (improved attack progression, Wisdom Bonus to Armor Class, Heigthened speed), so they will be happy about anyone casting mage armor on them.

And you can cast mage armor even when naked.

But yes, the spell did weaken. As did Fireball (hell, anyone can throw a 6d6/20 ft radius grenade!)...

Mustrum Ridcully

 

[Caliber]

While Mage Armor does work against Incorporeal attacks, it doesn't stop Touch Attacks. It confused me at first, but the Rules forum convinced me otherwise pretty quickly.

In general, a lot of attack/defense magic was weakened considerably in DragonStar.

Hell, an average hit from a Blaster Rifle is still insta-knocking out the 5th level Wizard from the DMG.

Its just something you have to get used to in DragonStar.

 

[Mortaneus]

Get used to using endure/resist/protection from elements vs. Fire and Lightning a lot. Also, if you have the 4000 cr to spend, pick up the minor fire and lightning resistance spellware. Practically everyone in my game has.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Its just something you have to get used to in DragonStar.

Yes, that is true. But be aware that melee combat does still work - even if everybody now has to spend Feats on Combat Reflexes and Pressing Attack - Beeing in melee really can save your ass, especially since many enemies (or player characters) rely on ranged weapons, and are overwhelmed by a good melee fighter...

(Monk grapples blasterrifle user, basterrifle user wasted... )
Many combats will occur on starcraft, space stations or densely populated cities, making the high range of these weapons useless...

Mustrum Ridcully

 

[Needleman]

About spacecraft battles: You can use more weapons than you might think. A titanium hull has hardness 20. That means that a blaster rifle will not scratch it, as the electricity damage is halved (I don't think the hull would be elelctronic). A laser rifle might do some damage, and heavy weapons are out (a laser cannon, if it dealt maximum damage, could punch right through the hull), but that's about it. Still, melee is effectinve if you try really hard at it. A monk with the proper skills, feats, and tactics can beat any gunman.

About spells: I'd suggest casting shield instead of mage armor. Also, in dragonstar true strike works better that magic missile.