Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Magus Coeruleus" data-source="post: 4267225" data-attributes="member: 1704">Sunday I played the rogue pregen; we played three encounters, the first 2 involving the kobolds.  I agree that it has very much to do with them gaining surprise and being shifty little buggers.  I got great initiative both times but with surprise it didn't help anyway.  In the 3rd encounter I rolled poorly for init, but after that I found it MUCH easier to flank and do devastating damage (I got a crit with a sneak attack sly flourish --> 27 hp (more than the rogue's own max hp!).  Plus the fighter strategically used a sweeping strike to render an opponent prone so I could follow up with a sneak attack.  Throughout, I found it astonishing how well I could slip past enemies and strike down soft targets with the combination of artful dodger and nimble reaction (total AC 23 vs. OAs) and halfling second chance to just risk the OAs and go for broke.  Very fun.I was disappointed that I never used my daily and only once tried my encounter power for shifting opponents because shifty kobolds could so easily compensate that it wasn't worth it, but I think that, too, will not be the case later.  I also think it could have worked fine if I or an ally had delayed so that we could coordinate attacks, such that I could try to force movement in a way that could be exploited before the little buggers could then move and ruin it.Gotta say, of course there were both pros and cons IMO but one thing's clear and that is I had a lot of fun playing, a LOT more than most 3e fights.  No glut of buffs and typed bonuses to track, fights took as long but involved more (i.e. faster) rounds and yes, everyone had something interesting to do each round.  The most fun was discovering how PC tactics naturally gravitate toward their roles simply based on your strengths and weaknesses and exploiting the synergies.  For instance, when we discovered that it was worth having the wizard drop a scorching burst centered on the fighter because he could take the damage and in the process wipe out a number of the minions surrounding him due to his ability to mark and hold foes to him (we got lucky and he was actually missed on that burst!).  I didn't feel forced in my tactics nor did I feel like I had to struggle to decide.  Our behavior quickly adapted to our abilities in a way that confirmed our roles.</blockquote>

Verification