SpuneDagr said:
I'm pretty sure that's the way it was intended to work. Isn't sneak attack like that?
DonAdam said:One thing we've done for Iajitsu Focus, to help tone it down and make the characters more specialized, is make it subject to armor check penalty.
That separates clearly the armor-wearing battlefield specialists from the little-to-no-armor duelists.
hong said:
Yes, that "one strike, two cuts" ability is indeed nifty.
This is an interesting question (and I have too much time on my hands) so I played around with some numbers. 1S2C is an 8th level ability for the Iaijutsu Master, so you'd need to be at least a 14th level character to get it. Let's see what bonus a 14th level IM could get for Iaijutsu Focus:
17 ranks
+5, 20 Charisma (naturally or from items)
+3, Skill Focus (using house rule that SF gives +3)
+4, sword of focus (OA weapon enchantment)
= +29 total bonus
So the absolute best this IM could get on an Iaijutsu Focus skill check is 49, if they rolled a natural 20. That translates to +8d6 damage. On average, they might get +6d6 or +7d6.
If they win init and hit both times, they do (1d10 + 6d6 + 6x5 + 1.5xStr) x 2 points of damage. That's roughly 60-70 points, doubled, or 120-140. Impressive! Considering the Iaijutsu Master will have 6d10+8d8+14xCon hit points, that could indeed be enough for an outright kill.
A grunt hoplite is a 1st level warrior or fighter with proficiency in longspear. Similarly, a grunt knight is a 1st level warrior or fighter in plate armour and riding a horse. However, a knight of the garter is not just a "knight", and Achilles is not just a "hoplite". Such characters occupy a privileged or unique place in their society, and can't really be compared to their lowlier peers.
This is (one reason) why prestige classes exist: to make a campaign more "real". Players get more involved in a campaign if they feel they their characters are more than just another multiclass combo or grab-bag of feats; and if they feel the world has more depth to it than just barebones encounter tables.
Therefore, for a campaign that features iaijutsu prominently, it only makes sense to have a PrC that revolves around iaijutsu duels. If you don't feel that iaijutsu fits with the tone of your campaign, you're free to disallow it.
mmadsen said:
I don't see how a Prestige Class that looks just like the Fighter but with quickdraw special abilities is any different from the Fighter class with a few new quickdraw Feats to choose from.
I don't see how an artificial game mechanic like a Prestige Class automatically acheives deeper reality.
Have you seen the prestige class in question? How does it look "just like the Fighter"? It looka different to me.
What exactly are you implying by "artificial" game mechanic?