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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Pax" data-source="post: 1560501" data-attributes="member: 6875">AMF does not negate ALL magic.  Mordenkainen's disjunction (even the Exodus' balanced version) can still bring it down ... Wall of Force and Prismatic Wall/Sphere still stop it ... and so on.  In fact, there was once a match between a Wizard, and a Forsaker ... whose cohort had the Epic feat "permanent emanation: antimagic field".  The wizard won that battle, without overexerting himself overmuch; I remember the match well, because that wizard - an Enchantment-specialised Red Wizard/Archmage - was my character.  And the method of winning was to put a wall of force directly between the then-adjacent Forsaker and her cohort, thus blocking the AMF emanation from the Forsaker's side of the wall (and incidentally, seperating the two for the five or more round the cohort would need to walk around other intervening obstcles on the map) -- which, conveniently enough, was also the wizard's side of the wall.  Another Wall - this time stone - and voila, the two of us would be left alone to ... "discuss" ... matters ... a Wizard with nearly every spell for the day available to him, and a Forsaker with ... a nonmagical masterwork suit of armor, and similar-quality weapon.  *yawn*.  The Forsaker's player acknowledged the then-inevitable, and conceded defeat.  Hardly.  AMF is allowed in a highly nerfed form.  MDJ had to be rebalanced, because - unlike in a "real" game, where casting MDJ would eliminate all of the MAGICAL TREASURE you were trying to acquire, in an Arena where all non-expendable equipment is restored to full function, and where your payoff for victory had NOTHING to do with your opponent's wealth or equipment value at the end of the match, there was no incentive not to cast MDJ.  Matches degenerated to "who cast MDJ first", because SO much of an epic character's power is tied up in their 2,100,000gp of equipment.  Contingency is not nerfed, however.  Not in the slightest.  In fact, only actual spellcsters can have a true Contingency, as scrolls/wands/staves of same are not allowed.  Not really.  MDJ was nerfed because battles degenerated to "MDJ Chicken" - with scrolls and UMD, it didn't matter if you were a spellcaster or not, if you got off the first (quickened) MDJ, you bsically won the match.  AMF was nerfed to benefit spellcasters.  There was no reason to make them try and play ru-and-hide for upwards of two hours, so the duration was reduced form 10 minutes per level, to one round per level.  No, it's the PC's winning the first encounter, followed by the wizard initiating a new (and more challenging, as he's got lots of short-term combat-buff spells up and running) encounter.  Really.  If the wizard leaves long enough that you cease to be in combat rounds, that encounter is over.  At the end of the encoutner, who's still standing and "in possession of the disputed terrain" ... ?  The PC's.  Ergo, they win - unless, as mentioned before, their goal ws to kill or capture the Wizard (in which case they lost the moment he got away).  "Regroup" is a euphemism for "temporary retreat".  Nomatter how temporary, retreat is retreat, and he who retreats from battle ... has lost that battle.  Yes, that would be a legitimate contingency. *shrug*  I can probably think of a half-dozen better things to do with a contingency, but ... that's probably because I prefer chain contingency.Only two buffs?  Tsk, tsk.  The delay rounds are generally used for Timestop-enabled "cast as many buff spells as I can manage" routines.  For spellcasters and nonspellcasters alike (a rune of timestop and a beltful of potions and other runes, typically).No, not done, and hardly over.  One round of casting is not guaranteed to take down a Monk.Especially not if he's in an Antimagic Field.  What exactly were youplanning on casting AT the monk, that'd deal him any damage or woes, through that sort of field, hmm?And after the first time you did that - people would plan for it.  Gt a Scroll of Gate, haul in somehting that qualified as "someone" (a PC-eligible race, IOW), hand a love note to the creature, and say "go deliver this to that fellow over there".Then maneuver themselves to be "on the other side of the arena" from wherever you are.  The creature moves close enough, you automatically teleport ... right into the waiting arms of your adversary.*shrug*  Never assume arena combat is easy, for any class.  It's not.The arenas actually tend to be built to PREVENT first-round contact between combatants, in an effort to REDUCE the importance of initiative (otherwise, let's face it, at Epic levels ... he who shoots first, tends to maul whatever he just attacked ...).  The intent is to make the matches more about tactics and planning, than a single pre-match die roll.  Typically, they're about 125'x125', give or take a bit, with +/-50 up nd down, for those able to move in all three dimensions.Tell you what, why don't you drop by the Exodus, and see for yourself?</blockquote>

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