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Monks and AC
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<blockquote data-quote="eamon" data-source="post: 4027171" data-attributes="member: 51942"><p>Duels are extremely fiddly - it depends a lot on the sources and the exact nature of the two NPC's - i.e. if one of them has an especially good tactic the other hasn't prepared against, it's a done deal. For example, the aforementioned warforged juggernaught is immune to stunning, has damage reduction (and a natural weapon to use in grapple), and is coincidentally unrealistically well optimized for killing a monk. More useful are playtests vs. monsters - an even there, you'll need variety, and you'll need to consider what-if's concerning crucial die rolls such as initiative checks and saves vs. stunning fists and/or damage that is just barely lethal or just barely not.</p><p></p><p>Then there's the fact that it's not clear what a one-on-one fight shows - many people suggest that the monk shines particularly in team play; well, so what if it loses in one-on-one. On the other hand, were the monk to win, you still haven't shown that in team-play it could have saved its allies: team play may be a monks strength, but also weakness; since normally an opponent isn't forced to attack the monk (unlike in a one-on-one), it might be to the opponents detriment if he is forced to attack.</p><p></p><p>A real test is thus very hard, so playtesting a "typical" battle becomes the next best thing. And, in a typical battle, for a monk and a fighter damage is all-important. Sure, flanking and stunning are important too, but less so (and it succeeds less frequently). AoO's are only a damage measure - and it's obvious that an AoO which deals less than 10 damage (being very optimistic for the monk here), is going to need to hit extremely often to compensate for an AoO that deals 26 - even in the best of circumstances, that'll be hard to beat. And if your weapon deals less than 10 damage on average (say, 4.5 of a longspear without strength bonus, or even 6.5 of one with +2 strength bonus), it's almost certainly hopeless. Even if you get 4 opportunities, you'll hit less frequently because of your poor attack bonus.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="eamon, post: 4027171, member: 51942"] Duels are extremely fiddly - it depends a lot on the sources and the exact nature of the two NPC's - i.e. if one of them has an especially good tactic the other hasn't prepared against, it's a done deal. For example, the aforementioned warforged juggernaught is immune to stunning, has damage reduction (and a natural weapon to use in grapple), and is coincidentally unrealistically well optimized for killing a monk. More useful are playtests vs. monsters - an even there, you'll need variety, and you'll need to consider what-if's concerning crucial die rolls such as initiative checks and saves vs. stunning fists and/or damage that is just barely lethal or just barely not. Then there's the fact that it's not clear what a one-on-one fight shows - many people suggest that the monk shines particularly in team play; well, so what if it loses in one-on-one. On the other hand, were the monk to win, you still haven't shown that in team-play it could have saved its allies: team play may be a monks strength, but also weakness; since normally an opponent isn't forced to attack the monk (unlike in a one-on-one), it might be to the opponents detriment if he is forced to attack. A real test is thus very hard, so playtesting a "typical" battle becomes the next best thing. And, in a typical battle, for a monk and a fighter damage is all-important. Sure, flanking and stunning are important too, but less so (and it succeeds less frequently). AoO's are only a damage measure - and it's obvious that an AoO which deals less than 10 damage (being very optimistic for the monk here), is going to need to hit extremely often to compensate for an AoO that deals 26 - even in the best of circumstances, that'll be hard to beat. And if your weapon deals less than 10 damage on average (say, 4.5 of a longspear without strength bonus, or even 6.5 of one with +2 strength bonus), it's almost certainly hopeless. Even if you get 4 opportunities, you'll hit less frequently because of your poor attack bonus. [/QUOTE]
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