The Most Broken Thing Ever

[drnuncheon]

Don't get me started on the Iajutsu Master.

OK, do.

Everyone panics about the Iaijutsu Master, but as I saw pointed out on the WOTC boards, he's really only good in one-on-one combat. The solution to an IM is mooks. Sure, he can do 20-odd dice, but when that's to a low-level henchman it's not nearly as impressive as when it's to the BBEG. And after that he's just an inferior fighter...

J

 

[Dagredhel]

Re: sneak

i think the rule on sneak attack was that only the 1st attack in a series of attacks gave the D6 bonuses. could be wrong here, but lets see what others say.

joe b.

Actually, you are wrong. The following is from the D&D FAQ available for download on the WOTC website.

Whenever a rogue attacks an opponent that the rogue flanks,
or who is denied a Dexterity bonus to AC (such as when caught
flat-footed), the rogue's attack is a sneak attack. It makes no
difference how many attacks the rogue makes or whether the
opponent is aware of the rogue or not. (Note that opponents
who are not subject to critical hits, such as constructs,
elementals, oozes, plants, and undead, are not subject to sneak
attacks.) Note that in earlier versions of the game only the first
attack a rogue made in a round could be a sneak attack. That is
no longer the case.

 

[drnuncheon]

Re: Re: sneak

Actually, you are wrong. The following is from the D&D FAQ available for download on the WOTC website.

<snip>

Is that what he meant? I thought he was referring to the ruling that (for example) only one shuriken (out of a throw of three) could get the extra sneak attack (or weapon specialization) damage.

J

 

[hong]

Re: Re: sneak

Actually, you are wrong. The following is from the D&D FAQ available for download on the WOTC website.

(snip)

Actually, the passage from the FAQ is talking about a completely different thing to the subject of this thread. The FAQ is talking about iterative attacks as part of a full attack action, and for those you get a sneak attack on every one. For a _single_ attack that involves _multiple attack rolls_, such as with shuriken, the various orb spells in T&B and so on, you get to deal _one_ set of sneak attack damage. That's regardless of how many attack rolls are involved.

 

[Anubis]

Re: Re: Re: sneak

Actually, the passage from the FAQ is talking about a completely different thing to the subject of this thread. The FAQ is talking about iterative attacks as part of a full attack action, and for those you get a sneak attack on every one. For a _single_ attack that involves _multiple attack rolls_, such as with shuriken, the various orb spells in T&B and so on, you get to deal _one_ set of sneak attack damage. That's regardless of how many attack rolls are involved.

Hong's absolutely right.

 

[Anubis]

Re: Re: ug

Acts just like boots of speed.

This is in neither the errata (since there isn't any yet) or the FAQ. That was just some ruling from the Sage that makes no sense.

Can you figure out why the *Sage ruling* makes no sense? Simple . . . Only a real bonhead would ever take the equivilant of Boots of Speed for a special ability bonus of +3, costing AT LEAST 15,000 gp (if your going from +1 to +4) when you can get ACTUAL Boots of Speed that do the same thing for 8,000 gp. Do you know anyone dumb enough to do that?

The DMG says that abilities that are similar should be priced similar, and this simply does NOT follow that guideline in the least.

Simply put, TECHNICALLY speaking, by the letter of the rules, armor with this ability put you in a constant state of Haste. There is no official word to contradict this or correct it. It IS, however, *WITHOUT A DOUBT*, VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY BROKEN.

MY suggestion, which I believe to be MUCH better than the Sage's in this case, is to leave the Speed ability on armor as-is, but make it an Epic ability with a +10 special ability modifier. That balances it out nicely. Some may think it should be even higher, but considering the other +10 abilities, I think Speed fits in just fine at +10. (Just look at Great Reflection ability for shields, which reflects back at the caster all spells that target the wielder of said shield. The Speed ability for armor is, I believe, equally powerful.)

Anyway, that is my reasoning. Just raise the special ability bonus, that's all.

 

[Corwin]

Re: Re: Re: ug

Anyway, that is my reasoning. Just raise the special ability bonus, that's all.

I fixed it too, while leaving it at a +3 equivelant. Though I did not reduce it to a clone of Boots of Speed. And, yes, I do indeed leave it functioning continuously. What's that? How can this be?

Well...

I altered the ability's benefits. It now functions similarly to Haste (just as a speed weapon is a similar but restricted version of the spell).

Speed Armor now grants a bonus Move Equivelant Action every round. This additional action does not stack with Haste or any other similar ability (like a speed weapon). It also does not grant the +4 AC bonus normally granted by the spell.

 

[Dagredhel]

Re: Re: Re: sneak

Actually, the passage from the FAQ is talking about a completely different thing to the subject of this thread. The FAQ is talking about iterative attacks as part of a full attack action, and for those you get a sneak attack on every one. For a _single_ attack that involves _multiple attack rolls_, such as with shuriken, the various orb spells in T&B and so on, you get to deal _one_ set of sneak attack damage. That's regardless of how many attack rolls are involved.

Now that you mention it, I do seem to recall something along those lines, with the shuriken as the example. And I don't mind standing corrected--- its an interesting clarification! One question, though: Where can the ruling be found?

 

[drnuncheon]

Re: Re: Re: ug

This is in neither the errata (since there isn't any yet) or the FAQ. That was just some ruling from the Sage that makes no sense.

Can you figure out why the *Sage ruling* makes no sense? Simple . . . Only a real bonhead would ever take the equivilant of Boots of Speed for a special ability bonus of +3, costing AT LEAST 15,000 gp (if your going from +1 to +4) when you can get ACTUAL Boots of Speed that do the same thing for 8,000 gp. Do you know anyone dumb enough to do that?

Considering that it frees up your "boots" slot, it's about the same as a 'slotless' magic item of speed - and that's worth 16,000 gp.

J