Game of Death

[Victim]

Etherealness isn't availible unless the characters use scrolls. EJ only lasts one round per level. Therefore, the wall of force will probably have a longer duration.

Also, an ethereal combatant could be hit by other people in the ethereal, blinking characters, people with Force effects and the ability to see invisible, and become affected by an antimagic field or dispel magic.

It's much harder to get past a Wall of Force, considering it can't be dispelled and needs either massive destruction of the surronding area, a teleportation effect, or disintegrate to get past it.

 

[clockworkjoe]

First off, I've learned a lot about 3rd game mechanics and tactics while playing

2, Number47's tactics were fair. The rules allowed for 9th level spells via scroll. I applaud him for a good idea and kanyano for exploting his weakness.

If I had to remake my character I would do something like this. This advice is from one of the designers of Icewind Dale and Icewind Dale 2

i might go for a nice human split-class fighter/rogue/assassin from the nelanther isles (see FRCS sourcebook). give him an 18 dex, improved initiative, blooded, and thug (the last two are in FRCS, and both can be taken by a fighter from the nelanther isles). also, give him a good crossbow, rapier, daggers, weapon finesse, and ing buckets of poison. he'll almost always go first (+12 to initiative), giving him a free sneak attack and/or death attack. few of his powers are magical in nature (poison's not magical, either), so he could do pretty well.

The only thing I would change is give him leadership feat to get a bunch of followers and a cohort. Cohort will be a priest to bless, pray, and mass haste my followers ala dabbil's halflings

So, the game of death proves that normal magic is irrelevant to a good fighter type. Magic users can't touch someone with an anti magic field while fighters can kill nearly anything.

 

[Number47]

Green Slime, how did you know that I had FIVE ninth-level scrolls? How were you sure I was just a tenth-level bard? Is there anything else you know about our characters?

 

[~Joseph~]

I would be interested in playing or DMing

 

[Sollir Furryfoot]

Joseph, there is an alternate GoD thread for the main GoD, this is just one of the games of it. Also, Greenslime, how did you know the stats of #47's character...

 

[evileeyore]

Another suggestion: if you're going to edit how a spell works, let the player(s) know before they start using the spell. I had my Shapechange hideously nerfed to two forms only after I had already used two forms.

I got this one Macbrea...

Direct from Macbrea's rules:

"All polymorph spells: Require: 2 preselected selection choices. These must be available options based on the level of the spell level the caster can use. These will be the only allowed shapes the caster is allowed.

With the exception of wild shaping. Wild shaping druids must send in 4 preselected animals following the polymorph self rules with size dependant on wild shape sizes. These will be the only allowed shapes for the druid during these combats. "

Sounds pretty preinformed to me....


TTFN

 

[green slime]

He said it was nerfing the BARD...

He used 1) a Shape Change 2) a Monster Summoning IX 3) Was about to use a Mordenkainen's Disjunction...(by his own admission)

So that was 3 scrolls at what? 3000+ gp per scroll... He wouldn't have needed that many more 9th level scrolls.

He was casting ARCANE spells from scrolls. UMD skill requires use of the required stat still or it starts getting difficult. Using a scroll a BARD would get double use from his CHARISMA... He would need quite a high CHARISMA to get a high enough leadership for all those followers....

UMD is a trained only skill available to BARDS and rogues ONLY.

It was an ASSUMPTION. brought about by seeing what the dude has done and said on the board. As to the number of scrolls, THAT was a guess, an estimate as to what would have been reasonable to purchase, considering the desire for cash to be left over for certain other items (rings, cloaks, boots, curing items, what have you)...

Like I said, your character was amazing... But if Kanyano hadn't of acted when he did, you would have won. He was the only character remaining on the playing field that could have POSSIBLY have affected you.

Kanyano can STILL be affected by other types. As you noticed by the amount of injuries he has received.

It is a good experiment in seeing what characters can do. But we don't want to see just two character types on the battlefield:
1) fighter-type in antimagic field.
2)Bard casting 9th level spells, summoning monsters with exceptional ray attacks of 2d12 against which there is defense in the game except to get it within an antimagic field.

 

[Number47]

I got this one Macbrea...

Direct from Macbrea's rules:

"All polymorph spells: Require: 2 preselected selection choices. These must be available options based on the level of the spell level the caster can use. These will be the only allowed shapes the caster is allowed.

With the exception of wild shaping. Wild shaping druids must send in 4 preselected animals following the polymorph self rules with size dependant on wild shape sizes. These will be the only allowed shapes for the druid during these combats. "

Sounds pretty preinformed to me....


TTFN

I hadn't interpreted that Shapechange was limited by the Polymorph clause. I'm okay if it is, but I would've chosen my two forms more carefully.

 

[Number47]

Defense for choices:

Use Magic Device give you a chance to use a high-level device. You take a risk.

Reading a scroll provokes an attack of opportunity.

Reading a scroll is interruptable.

The scroll itself is targetable by an attack.

The spells cast are still vulnerable to antimagic, dispel and disjunction.

On the other hand, readying a Ioun Stone with Antimagic Field: no risk, no chance of failure, no way to get rid of it shy of a small percentage chance from disjunction, duration of almost two hours.

If a DM wanted to limit the level of scrolls available, I feel that would only be fair if all magic items were limited to the same creator level.

Limiting things are fine, as long as all character concepts use the same limitations. Limiting the scroll user only is grossly unfair.

Looking in the DMG, I note that Ioun Stones have a creator level of only 12th, so your concept isn't in too much jeopardy.

 

[green slime]

If a DM wanted to limit the level of scrolls available, I feel that would only be fair if all magic items were limited to the same creator level.

Limiting things are fine, as long as all character concepts use the same limitations. Limiting the scroll user only is grossly unfair.

Looking in the DMG, I note that Ioun Stones have a creator level of only 12th, so your concept isn't in too much jeopardy.

Which is sort of the point Macbrea had in mind when he limited maximum cost of item purchasing to just over 18,000 gp for a single item... I didn't consider the possibility that someone would purchase 9th level scrolls (apparently Agladan had, he told me had considered using exactly your "tactics", except it doesn't suit his play style).

I will admit that there are weaknesses to the strategy of the UMD wielder, BUT for practical purposes, NOBODY can identify what you are casting until it is done... and then it is a tad late to stop. It is even difficult to identify WHO the possible UMD users are... Are all the non-UMD users to sit around trying to second guess who could possibly be going to cast a 9th level spell from a scroll?? Its not like you have BARD stamped on your forehead when you enter the arena.

You provided the single biggest shock, and you very nearly got away with it. You probably would have if you had kept a lower profile for the first 5 rounds, and let some of the others get started killing each other...

Personally I'd want to limit the item level to what a character of that level could create... so that would remove the ioun stone-antimagic field combo from the 10th level game, but that's just me...However I do not see that strategy as being so overpowering, it has some very serious weaknesses...Weaknesses that Agladan seems to have thought about alot, and he seems to have things somewhat under control.