Goggles of True Strike: To unbalancing?

[Fieari]

That rules of the game article UNDERestimates the cost of an item that provides true strike, by a huge factor. To get a +20 bonus, you need to go into the epic pricing charts. A +10 weapon is a 2 MILLION gold enhancement. For +20, 8 million gp.

If you really want, divide that by four since it's use-activated and not always on (I wouldn't, personally, but you can if you want). For the +20, that brings things back down to 2 mil. For the +10, a mere 500,000 gp.

True strike was designed for wizards and sorcerers in order to get touch attack spells off. For this reason the spell is supposed to be self only. If you want a warrior with true strike, buy that level of wiz or sorc. Or cough up the gold. A lot of gold.

 

[S'mon]

I think 8 million gp sounds about right for an item that gives +20 Insight to hit on all attacks, maybe a bit cheap since it stacks w Enhancement bonuses. For a single +20 every other round, 400,000 sounds reasonable.

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

I agree with Hong, the constant effect is not being asked, or is it?

True strike goggles make sense: standard action to activate for next single attack. It would be used by marksmen.

Sure the formula says 1800 but I reckon it is better than having a +1 weapon buy not as good as a +2 weapon: I'd price it at 5K (maybe 3.5K... depends how it works out in play).

 

[Jdvn1]

True strike was designed for wizards and sorcerers in order to get touch attack spells off.

So you wouldn't like the bow that's in Sword and Fist...

 

[S'mon]

Sure the formula says 1800 but I reckon it is better than having a +1 weapon buy not as good as a +2 weapon: I'd price it at 5K (maybe 3.5K... depends how it works out in play).

I think this is maybe a _little_ bit cheap for an item that gives a guaranteed hit every other round... it makes Assassins & Rogues very lethal, it makes high-AC creatures extremely vulnerable, it lets a high level Fighter 2-h Power Attack for a guaranteed hit that will do ridiculous damage and always provoke an MDC. In short it totally changes the balance of the game; AC 40+ creatures suddenly become far more beatable, and everyone is much more vulnerable.

 

[hong]

I think this is maybe a _little_ bit cheap for an item that gives a guaranteed hit every other round... it makes Assassins & Rogues very lethal, it makes high-AC creatures extremely vulnerable, it lets a high level Fighter 2-h Power Attack for a guaranteed hit that will do ridiculous damage and always provoke an MDC.

Eh. You get _one_ guaranteed hit, in return for not hitting at all for one round. Seeing as how high-level combats tend to get resolved in a handful of rounds, that's a major drawback. True strike doesn't guarantee a sneak attack either; I'd be much more concerned about rings of invisibility or blinking before this one. And using super Power Attack just means all your other attacks in the round are guaranteed to miss; when you can have 4-6 attacks, the potential damage you're giving up more than makes up for any Power Attack benefit. No, massive damage saves don't count, not when the DC is a flat 15.

In short it totally changes the balance of the game; AC 40+ creatures suddenly become far more beatable, and everyone is much more vulnerable.

Eh. The game is more robust than that. Not to mention that I'm all in favour of unhittable creatures being hittable again. Having people swing at each other round after round without connecting makes for a boring fight.

 

[Pbartender]

Eh. You get _one_ guaranteed hit, in return for not hitting at all for one round.

Don't forget that True Strike only sticks around for one round... If you suddenly decide to not attack ("ACK! I need to chug down a healing potion!"), you waste yet another round reactivating the True Strike effect.

Plus, True Strike is never a guaranteed hit; you still have a 1 in 20 chance of automatic failure with any attack roll.

It wouldn't be nearly as powerful a magic item as you'd think.

 

[Nifft]

The trouble with allowing the item at all, I think, is the extension to making instead an at-will quickened true strike. Or some such similar abuse.

Nip it in the bud, I say. Stomp those munchkin dreams flat.

-- N

 

[Pbartender]

The trouble with allowing the item at all, I think, is the extension to making instead an at-will quickened true strike. Or some such similar abuse.

Nip it in the bud, I say. Stomp those munchkin dreams flat.

Not really... You just the players regulate themselves.

Tell them, "Just remember... If you can do it, then so can the NPCs." I found that that idea really gets them to think twice about trying to get away with stuff like that.

 

[hong]

At-will quickened true strike would be 5x9x1800 minimum, or 81000 gp. Even at 20th level, I have lots of other things that would take priority before that, and I _like_ the concept of a one-shot-kill sniper.