stonegod's Expedition to Castle Ravenloft: Ch. I [OOC]

[stonegod]

The only other possible reasoning would be that I would have to have the rod out of my pack and in my hand to "use" it when casting a spell... but that can't be right either because doing that potentially removes the free hand needed to cast the spell in the first place.

Here you see the issue w/ the rules. Does *using* a rod as part of a spell casting require it to be held or not? It is used in part of casting a spell, and most metamagic rod users (wizards, etc.) don't have anything else in their hands at the time (components aside). All other rods that are command activated need to be held. So, such rods need to be used in hand by my reasoning. I checked the SRD and the online FAQ and the Ask Wizard's thread before posting the turn, and the consensus seemed to be that rods needed to be in hand.

Yes, this does not optimize dual weapon wielding cleric/rogues, but that is a corner case. I did not even remember you had the rod until you used it. Grave strike for 1 round can still be advantageous (more sneak attack at higher rogue levels than Penetrating strike for both attacks), but the rod is not useful for you into this situation.

We can discuss replacements for the rod after the combat. Hope that is clear.

 

[drothgery]

Ashlyn uses her blade and every ounce of strength that she can muster to try to lever up the trapdoor.

[Strength check - Use action point to improve roll (move action); Do this twice if necessary]
[If Ashlyn get's the trapdoor open, then take a 5ft step down the stairs and turn undead (Effective level 3, turn +6, damage 2d6+7)]

It's your character, but I think it'd be faster to just climb down Daellin's rope.

 

[DEFCON 1]

It's your character, but I think it'd be faster to just climb down Daellin's rope.

Although climbing down the rope means sheathing her weapon, plus being put in the center of melee rather than coming in from the side. So I can see the usefulness of both ways of getting to the basement.

And stonegod... yeah, I'll swap out the metamagic rod for something else. I'd rather have one round of dual sneak attacks with a regular Grave Strike than two rounds of an Extended Grave Strike with only one hand (especially since I'd need to waste actions afterwards dropping the rod and then drawing the second weapon as well). It's just not worth it for my character. And that 3000 GP could be better spent elsewhere on different and more useful items.

Kinda ridiculous to go through all this just because WotC has this burr up their butts about only Fighters and Clerics getting to do real damage against the undead. Power Attack and high Strength work fine against them, but attacks based around knowing the best place to hit (like Sneak Attack and Favored Enemy) don't. It's just plain dumb and makes no sense, plus nerfs the rogues and rangers unnecessarily.

 

[stonegod]

Sir Urik and the halfling named Danovich exchange barbs to one another...

Danovich is a human.

 

[James Heard]

Although climbing down the rope means sheathing her weapon, plus being put in the center of melee rather than coming in from the side. So I can see the usefulness of both ways of getting to the basement.

And stonegod... yeah, I'll swap out the metamagic rod for something else. I'd rather have one round of dual sneak attacks with a regular Grave Strike than two rounds of an Extended Grave Strike with only one hand (especially since I'd need to waste actions afterwards dropping the rod and then drawing the second weapon as well). It's just not worth it for my character. And that 3000 GP could be better spent elsewhere on different and more useful items.

Kinda ridiculous to go through all this just because WotC has this burr up their butts about only Fighters and Clerics getting to do real damage against the undead. Power Attack and high Strength work fine against them, but attacks based around knowing the best place to hit (like Sneak Attack and Favored Enemy) don't. It's just plain dumb and makes no sense, plus nerfs the rogues and rangers unnecessarily.

*shrug* After a little consideration I'm thinking that we all should have played Clerics and Paladins and told the little voices of diversity on our shoulders to suck it. With this much undead there's a single sweet spot in character design.

 

[stonegod]

*shrug* After a little consideration I'm thinking that we all should have played Clerics and Paladins and told the little voices of diversity on our shoulders to suck it. With this much undead there's a single sweet spot in character design.

There are quite a lot of them, fitting the theme, but I wouldn't say there are the only adversaries---just the ones you've seen to date.

 

[James Heard]

Even assuming that there are some adversaries that aren't undead, Clerics and Paladins do just fine and normal against non-undead opponents.

 

[DEFCON 1]

This was part of my thinking when I created Jarrith... my first thought was "straight rogue"... then realized that I'd be at a major disadvantage because of my Sneak Attack being more often than not useless. But as I know the group would need some rogue abilities at some point, I went looking for a rogue/X multiclass that would be useful and cool. And thankfully the Shadowbane prestige classes fit that to a T.

So we have the locks & traps when we need it, but I also can lend a hand with turns & spells.

Although in Janis' case... straight mages don't have the problems in combat just like fighters, clerics, and paladins don't for the most part. You're lucky on that score. None of their abilities are nerfed due to the "not crittable" rule that makes rogues, rangers, and the piercing/curved blade wielders a lot less useful vs. undead, elementals, plants etc.

 

[drothgery]

You're lucky on that score. None of their abilities are nerfed due to the "not crittable" rule that makes rogues, rangers, and the piercing/curved blade wielders a lot less useful vs. undead, elementals, plants etc.

Errr... the 'favored enemy attack/damage bonuses only work on crittable targets' thing was killed in 3.5. Daellin gets his full favored enemy damage bonuses on undead.

 

[Stormwind]

It's your character, but I think it'd be faster to just climb down Daellin's rope.

Actually, due to Ashlyn's reduced speed (due to her armor), it would take at least 2 rounds to get down Daellin's rope from where she is right now (3 move actions to get to the rope and 1 move action to get down it). Thus I figured that she'll take the chance to try and open the trapdoor first ... If that doesn't work she can always jump down the hole

Regarding cleric's and paladin's, I suspect that we, as a party, will need/want skills that they simply don't have.