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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Elder-Basilisk" data-source="post: 4814172" data-attributes="member: 3146">Look at where the damage is going and what the damage is being done to. Cloudkill does its worst against weak creatures--creatures that would challenge the 9th level wizard generally just take some con damage which is dangerous but not usually a one-shot. Even those creatures that do have to save or die get a fortitude save which is usually between a 40-70% success rate. Likewise the fireball spreads out 31 damage to each of them with the risk that they make the save and take only 15 or so. 31 damage doesn't kill them outright. The same is true of harm. It can do 120 damage, but it gives the target a will save which is usually a 40-70% proposition and will not kill the target. All of the spells mentioned also have large groups of creatures who are immune or resistant to them.The paladin's odds are much better and there are fewer creatures who will be immune or resistant. Moreover, it is focused damage and is thus tactically more valuable (and can be multiplied with cleave--and even great cleave)True strike would be broken if it applied to your first attack each round for one round per level and were extendable with a lesser rod of extend spell. Since it only applies to one attack, however, and classes that get it don't get rhino's rush, it remains situationally useful rather than broken.Also, looking up random monsters is not a good way to go about evaluating the value of making a melee attack into a touch attack. Low level monsters and high level monsters have relatively similar touch ACs. So, while your low level demon may only see a difference of 3 points, I seem to recall the difference was more like 20 points for an angel of decay. (It's even more if you have Improved Blink up and can ignore their dex bonus too--back in the halcyon days of LG, my not particularly optimized 16th level fighter/wizard took out a Cornugon in one round with a couple attacks to spare despite rolling at least one 2 on the attack simply by combining wraithstrike with the arcane spellchannel feat, and his improved blink contingency.) For giants, demons, devils, and dragons, the difference is massive. (And yes, there is scintillating scales, but there is also dispel magic--and it shouldn't be a requirement to survive guys with weapons).A few of the nuances:A. enhancement bonuses to weapons. A weapon touch attack has a better chance to hit than a normal touch attack since it typically applies an enhancement bonus between 1 and 5. (It is also more likely to hit than a normal touch attack since weapon attacks are usually based on a maximized stat whereas magical touch attacks are generally based on a non-maximized stat--most clerics and wizards will max Wis or Int rather than dex or str).B. power attack. With an ordinary touch attack like harm, all you get out of a +25 attack bonus against a touch AC of 12 is a 95% hit rate. With a weapon touch attack, that turns into Power Attack for 12 and apply 48 extra damage to the attack with your rhino's rush charge and still having a 95% hit rate.C. Increments and thresholds. Damage is more valuable in higher increments. If your enemy has 60 hit points, going from 15 damage to 20 damage knocks one hit off the number needed to kill him. Going to 30 damage knocks that number down to 2. From there, going to 45 damage doesn't make that much difference, but if you can get up to 60 damage, you can one-shot him and cleave, you get dramatically more effective. That last 15 points of damage is what pushes the character over the edge. Rhino's rush+find the gap+power attack and wraithstrike+power attack both push the envelope high enough for characters to regularly get one-round kills. There may be ways to do 75% of the damage that those combos achieve, but those are much less reliable and much less problematic because they don't quite reach the heights that those combos reach.</blockquote>

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