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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Pielorinho" data-source="post: 565044" data-attributes="member: 259">Oh, I'm all about the nerf, Reapersaurus's faulty analysis notwithstanding.  Both as a player and as a DM, I think judicious nerfing is invaluable.And here's why.If I'm to roleplay a reasonably intelligent PC who willingly risks her life on a daily basis fighting monsters and cultists and other nasties, I'm going to be constantly on the lookout for a "magic bullet," a tactic that consistently ensures my success.  And when I find it, if I don't use it over and over again, I'm not playing an intelligent PC.However, magic bullets are boring.  As a player, I want to mix it up in combat.  I want to be able to try out lots of different things.  I want every battle to be unique, memorable.  Magic bullets make every battle the same.Even worse, magic bullets are downright dreary when they're in another PC's control.  It really sucks to be rendered irrelevant to the party's success by another PC's one overpowering tactic.So I want my DM to ensure that there are no magic bullets.  If Wall of Thorns works against virtually all opponents, let's nerf it until it's only effective sometimes (e.g., rule that it inflicts 25 1-HP wounds on its victims, making damage reduction effective against it; or rule that a victim only takes damage from movement if he actually attempts a move action).  Same thing with Harm, or with GMW bows and GMW arrows, or with blindsight + darkness, or with any of the other tactics that outshine everything else at the levels they become available.Similarly, when I DM, I try to eliminate magic bullets from my campaign world.  I do this because it makes the game more fun for my players; they've explicitly asked me to do so.  One player even asked me to nerf the blindsight+darkness combo after he'd used it himself:  he realized it was going to become standard battle tactics for the group otherwise, and that it wouldn't be much fun if it did.**************************Given that defense of nerfing, I'll add three caveats, two for DMs and one for players:1) Nerf only between sessions.  This gives you time to discuss the nerf with players and make sure they'll deal well with it.2) Compensate PCs for a nerf if necessary.  If you decide to nerf the GMW-arrows and GMW-bow combo, allow the PC who's sunk all his feats into archery to trade two or three feats out if he wants to.3) As a player, discuss new and questionable tactics with the DM between sessions.  Do you want to start using illusionary (glamer) allies to draw attacks of opportunity from your enemies?  Tell your DM, and ask him how he'll work this.  He'll need to figure out whether the enemy will make an attack roll, what the illusion's AC will be, and so forth.  If you give him a couple of days before the session to think about it, he's far likelier to come up with a good ruling than if you spring this question on him in the middle of combat.Daniel</blockquote>

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