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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Agent Oracle" data-source="post: 3074110" data-attributes="member: 40076">Ahh, the wonder of quotation marks, taking posts from honest to sarcastic in a fraction of a moment.(scoff) a 'veteran dodgist'.  Honestly.  If they made it to 15th level, they are BOTH veterans of avoiding being hit.  If the meleeist wasn't proficient at avoiding dying, he wouldn't have made it to 15th level.Now, if you want mechanical degrees in which armor can keep pace (or even outstrip) melee advancement, may i suggest researching Armor Twinks? people who have obtained ungodly high armor classes, in addition to other benefits that reduce chance of being hit? (like invisibility, concealment, darkness, etc. etc. etc.)  There are easy ways to neutralize even the highest level combatant.Now, I realize you're being fascetious about platemail... but I'll humor you. It actually makes you easier to hit, in that it reduces your Dexterity bonus to AC (Not as agile with a steel-belted spine)  And yet, this is also abstract.  Higher AC from armor represents a greater chance of avoiding damage from connecting blows, because the armor presents an obstruction.  The polearm blade skitters off one of your pauldrons, or the arrow bounces off the Curass.  Perhaps the Glaive to the Greaves had no power, but the Sword in the Solerettes struck soundly.No, you need a strategist, and stay with me on this one, because EVERYONE needs a strategist.  Tacticians are worth far more than their weight in gold when it comes to games.  A tactical GM can only improve the player's experience.  I heartily recommend the works of Sun Tzu to anyone with a stomach for ancient philosophies.Well, i went to <a href="http://www.montecook.com/archive_anrant.html" target="_blank">Monte's Site</a>, but found bupkis about his thoughts on CR's.  Ditto for <a href="http://www.seankreynolds.com" target="_blank">Sean Reynolds</a>.  (Though the Gamer Soaps are hilarious) Maybe you'd be so kind as to point to which rant or rave you are talking about?You keep referencing this book, and yet, i cannot find this book.  Perhaps you could provide a link to more information on Options and Powers?  it's been out of print for a long time, and it's hard to argue "character diversity" against a defunct system from a dead book, made by a bought-out company, when you no nothing about it beyond it's existence...Wait, when did we start discussing feng shui?Oh, wait, sorry.  You're still thinking feats, but calling them schticks.  Okay, three points.One: As characters level, their divergence from "Warior specializing in bullrush" grows.  Each extra character level is an opportunity to change and grow.Two: D&D, by bundling like abilities into levels not only allows, but also encourages diversifying abilities for additional abilities.  Unlike in a point-buy system where, often, taking a step off your progression to gain additional powers away from the core of your build only yields a weaker overall build than the remainder of the group, in the level-based D&D it's possible to take that level in (class X) without falling behind the rest of the group.  Often, taking a single level in another class can even improve upon the original build, or open them up to a wide array of exotic specialized classes which FURTHER diversify their abilities.Three: Long feat chains, (Which i assume you're kvetching about) provide a logical progression of characters towards a especially effective combat style, I see no difference between this and achieving a Fu schtick like "Integration of the Clouds" in Feng Shui...  (Which has the prerequisite of 8 other Schticks!)Ah, now we get to the real mudslinging.  IMHO: Character diversity lies as much in the players as it does in the underlying mechanics, if not moreso. If player J wants to play a fighter specializing in bull rush, then player J is gonna do that, regardless of if it's D&D, AD&D, 3.5, Wushu, Feng Shui, GURPS, Exalted, nWoD, oWoD, Conan, C&C, CoC, Mutants and Masterminds, Spycraft, world of Synibarr, or FATAL!... okay, maybe not FATAL. (can't even wrap brain around playing that game.)But, in any event.  Your milage may vary.  Whatever you feel like.  You feel like.</blockquote>

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