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Message: <blockquote data-quote="SBMC" data-source="post: 2538193" data-attributes="member: 30040">I Disagree - your fighter's AC should be good enough to force our opponents to miss most of the time - and that is where the money should go - armor and shields are cheap when compared to weapons and other forms of armor protection. In this guys case; the AC 29 is solid for ECL12 - very solid. But why is he still getting smacked around so badly? (melee that is; not counting touch attacks and the like). In addition your Wizard hangs back casting spells. Your cleric probably does the same for at least the first round or two - where do you go? Right into the fray. And what else (in melee that is) are the monsters going to hit besides you?There are two parts to combat; offense and defense. You prevent as many hits as you can while causing as many as you can - you get the staying power your opponent does not for the sole purpose of damaging him more often and with more than he can do to you. He has the defense IMO but the offense? +1's for weapons? At 12th level? In this ..of a campaign (and it indeed is!)?The focus here is on defense; but I say it is offense - his fighter is in the battle to long; he is not actually dishing out enough damage - or more importantly his WHOLE PARTY is no dishing out enough damage. Thus over time, he gets hit more (the more chances; the more it happens) and I would bet that the average amount of damage he takes per round is pretty steep. He is also a Dwarven Defender; stays in one spot…He said the wizard plops stoneskin on him as well before combat - with DR like that he is still getting smacked around that badly? Something is wrong mechanic wise or strategy wise. One item mechanic wise someone already brought up - these guys are below the wealth curve.Strategy wise - Why is that wizard not dropping a fireball or two right in the middle of the baddies BEFORE the fighter engages - to soften them up for the fighter? Artillery has done that (soften up the target) in modern militaries for centuries. Perhaps the problem here is that the wizard and cleric support he fighter directly; not in combat. Beefing up your frontline fighter is nice - but that means he still gets just that; beefed up himself. That only goes so far. A fireball and flame strike in one round against a group or one big baddie is pretty nasty; it should make it much easier to kill them off (though it may still be very hard to do so). That followed by some ranged touch attacks and some melee support from the cleric…Currently I play a 15th level fighter - we have a cleric and wizard in the party (along with a rouge and Dexterity type fighter) as well; and what we do; always; let the casters toss the stuff in there (if possible) first. THEN the fighters go in smashing them up - cleave works great here! If there is no time then strategize - try to make is so that a group of them get stuck together so later the caster can blast them (such as going to a corner and the bad guys follow - the caster does his thing and the radius his all of them but not you)Is that one fighter trying to ensure he does not get surrounded in melee - stand in a doorway, back against a wall etc - limit the number of combatants that have a shot at you at any one time.------------------------------------------------------------Excellent point. I have played scores of fighters - and one thing has ALWAYS sounded true: if your the only target available close by; then your the only target available close by.Just my two cents.</blockquote>

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