Should I Ban Tanglefoot Bags?

[Menexenus]

Clerics are proficient with daggers. <soapbox> Every character should have a dagger </soapbox>

Dude, I hate to burst your bubble, but a dagger is a PIERCING weapon, not a slashing weapon. (Those soapboxes sure are slippery things, aren't they?)

Besides, (like I said before) I am not going to suddenly give the bad guy a dagger if his stat block doesn't say he has one.

 

[javcs]

Dude, I hate to burst your bubble, but a dagger is a PIERCING weapon, not a slashing weapon. (Those soapboxes sure are slippery things, aren't they?)

Besides, (like I said before) I am not going to suddenly give the bad guy a dagger if his stat block doesn't say he has one.

They're actually piercing OR slashing, the wielder picks.

I can understand where you're coming from with not giving the guy a dagger, I don't mess with stat blocks much, but if something's incredibly messed up* from WotC I might change minor aspects.
* IMO, YMMV.

 

[Menexenus]

They're actually piercing OR slashing, the wielder picks.

Oops. I didn't realize that that had changed between 3.0 and 3.5. You are totally right. My apologies.

 

[Jhulae]

I removed them from my game because they're as effective as a 4th level spell (enervation) for too low a cost.

Umm, yeah.

There's a first level spell that is *much* more effective than a tangle foot bag. Did you ban that spell too? By your reasoning, that 1st level spell would be just as powerful as a 4th level spell.

 

[hong]

I would say a dagger is simple enough that every significant person in the campaign would have one, whether it's explicitly noted on the statblock or not. It's "adventuring gear", just like food, clothes, underwear, and toilet paper.

 

[Darklone]

I would say a dagger is simple enough that every significant person in the campaign would have one, whether it's explicitly noted on the statblock or not. It's "adventuring gear", just like food, clothes, underwear, and toilet paper.

People forgot to take a lunch knife along since they started to calculate for smackdowns.

 

[Cyronax]

Simple DM policy.

I don't bring out 'annoying' aspects of 3.0/3.5 til the players do. Players start throwing around a sunder or a disarm .... enemies might or might not do the same a session or two later.

Same goes for tanglefoot bags. A player of mine started throwing them at my flying half-fiend assassin guy and so far hasn't faced a tanglefoot bag. Thanks for the reminder....


****

Anyway, its not too bad even at low levels. Diversification of a BBEG is actually a more enjoyable fight for PCs. Higher level lone NPCs go down fast against a party anyway, why not give them a bunch of mooks to match the CR of a low level adventure (since a tanglefoot bag DOES NOT scale to higher levels due to typical classed NPC saves and skill check progressions).

To bounce off Menexenus's comment, I also think its totally appropriate to play the villain as written at the time of gaming. However, I never run an adventure on the fly. If I see an obvious stat or tactical flaw that a reasonably intelligent villain could have avoided, I take it. Planning one's adventures is a DM virtue.

Its wrong to fudge the dice rolls unless its in the players' benefits (while safely behind your big-ass DM screen of course).

C.I.D.

 

[Wish]

I don't see any reason why classed NPCs should be any stupider than your average PC. PCs carry backups and contingency plans. NPCs should do the same.

 

[pallandrome]

Tanglefoot bag SCREAMS for a contengency Baleful Transposition.

 

[green slime]

I don't see any reason why classed NPCs should be any stupider than your average PC. PCs carry backups and contingency plans. NPCs should do the same.

That's it! I've had it. This just confirms what I have suspected for a long time:


NPC's are broken!