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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Water Bob" data-source="post: 5741015" data-attributes="member: 92305">The Conan RPG is deadly, no doubt about that. The weapons in the game generally do more damage than their D&D counterparts, and the Massive Damage threshold has been lowered from D&D standards to only 20 points of damage.When a character loses 20 hp from a single blow, he must make a Fortitude save at a DC equal to 10 + half the total damage. This means the save will be at a DC of 20+.For this reason, do not ignore special abilities, bonuses, multi-class options, and Feats like Great Fortitude, Diehard, Toughness, Parry, and Dodge.Anything that gives you more hit points, makes you harder to hit, soaks up damage, or helps you on the Massive Damage save is always worth considering. Also consider the benefits of distance weapons.The ultimate goal of the game is to stay alive.To that end, don't forget to employ the Fighting Defensively rule. You take a -4 penalty on your attack, but you get a +2 bonus to your defense, be it Parry or Dodge.If you get in a jam, you can use the Withdraw, Total Defense, and Five Foot Step rules.Here's one way you could combine maneuvers, rules, and Feats to boost your character's defensive aspect: First off, use the Fight Defensively rule. This is a style of fighting in the game where you don't take as many risks during melee. You've always got your guard up, even at the expense of your attacks. Mechanically, this means you'll take a -4 penalty on your attack, but receive a +2 bonus to your Dodge or Parry Defense throws. If it were me, I'd do this almost all the time until I got my character leveled up a bit. That +2 Defense can really help.If you're using two weapons and Fighting Defensively, you take the -4 attack on all your attacks but still only get the +2 bonus to Defense.Consider a 1st level Barbarian from my game. Thrallan is +3 Parry due to his STR and Level. Give him a targe, and he's +6 on the Parry. Now, he uses the Fight Defensively combat style, and he's +8 on Parry. Not too shabby.Then consider the Defensive Warrior Feat, from the Barbaric Warrior supplement. This requires a BAB +2 or greater, and you must have a DEX 13+ to get this Feat. What it does is cut the penalty for Fighting Defensively in half when using the Dodge defense (not the Parry). With this Feat, the option to Fight Defensively makes you -2 on your attack but you still get the full +2 Defense bonus.And, don't forget about the Combat Expertise Feat. This is an excellent Feat to get at low level. The only requirement is INT 13+ to get it. What it does is allow you to take a penalty on your Attack Throw and place the same modifier on your Defense. This is basically another way to Fight Defensively. The good news is that you can combine the Fighting Defensively option with Combat Expertise to get an even bigger Defense bonus.The bonus in Combat Expertise is tied to your level. You can to -1/+1 at level 1; -1/+1 OR -2/+2 at level 2; -1/+1 OR -2/+2 OR -3/+3 at level 3...all the way up to level 5, where your max bonus will be -5/+5. The higher your level, up to level 5, the more choice you have with this Feat. So, looking at our example character, Thrallan, as a 3rd level Barbarian.+3 Parry due to STR 16.+1 Parry due to Base Parry Bonus.+3 Parry when using the targe.+2 Parry when Fighting Defenively.+1/+2/+3 Parry if the Combat Expertise Feat is chosen.So, in combat, this 3rd level character has multiple choices. He can chose to...Parry AC 17 with no attack penalty.Parry AC 18 with a -1 attack penalty when using Combat Expertise.Parry AC 19 with a -2 attack penalty when using Combat Expertise.Parry AC 19 with a -4 attack penalty when Fighting Defensively. (Note how the above is a better choice!)Parry AC 20 with a -3 attack penalty when using Combat Expertise.Parry AC 20 with a -5 attack penalty when Fighting Defensively and using Combat Expertise. (Note how the above is a better choice!)Parry AC 21 with a -6 attack penalty when Fighting Defensively and using Combat Expertise.Parry AC 22 with a -7 attack penalty when Fighting Defensively and using Combat Expertise.AC 22! For a 3rd level character! And, we haven't figured in the effect or armor yet! He can't hit anything, but it sure is comforting to know no one can hit him, either. Plus, he's still got a small chance to hit his enemy (unlike with Total Defense).The point here is the defensive choices the character has when picking these specific Feats and using the indicated rules.Massive DamageFighting DefensivelyTotal DefenseWithdrawFive Foot StepDefensive WarriorCombat Expertise</blockquote>

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