Warblade maneuvers

[Nail]

Let's say that we deal with situations that actually arise in the game, as opposed to hypothetical edge cases. How often do YOU throw illusionary cities at your players? Or rooms full of illusions?

You nitwit, I just did! I was hoping for some advice on last night's game!! Ah well.

 

[hong]

You nitwit, I just did! I was hoping for some advice on last night's game!! Ah well.

In which case, the following applies:

Are you in the habit of using an area of the rules that is notorious for requiring DM judgment? If so, you were already doing it long before the warblade came along, and you should have no problem extending that practice to deal with new classes.​

 

[Nail]

In which case, the following applies:..

I was kinda hoping for some good ole-fashioned "hong advice". You know: "Clearly you should..."

In any event, the encounter worked great, and I did adjudcate it that in order to try for the Will save, the PCs had to interact with the illusion. Since the PCs were on a pillar, and thus separated from the illusion, interaction didn't happen until the end of the encounter, when several of the PCs had been thrown off the (apparently) 200 ft high pillar. When they hit the ground after falling only 30 feet....

I also threw dozens of Will saves at the party over the course of the encounter, so the Mnk 2/WB 5 used up his "get outta jail free" card on the first (Friend to Foe, a PH2 spell), and failed on the Dominate Person spell. Heh, heh......Dominated Warblades are quite effective NPCs.....

 

[Nail]

Pardon the paraphrasing:

<To get Moment of Perfect Mind> You have to devote some of your blade magic resources to the Diamond Mind discipline, and for a warblade that often means taking it as one of his two disciplines. (Not too great a hindrance, I give you that)

Uhmmmm...huh? The manuever has no prerequisites, and the Warblade has more than 2 disciplines. Could you help me understand what you're saying here?

You also have to devote one of your manoeuvres to this. In order to be using the manoeuvre, you'll have to give up some other manoeuvre.

True. This turns out to be a difficult thing to judge when we're not talking about a specific PC within a specific game. IMG, the warblade would use this manuever quite a bit...in other games, he might be hit with a Will save once every 4 gaming sessions. The balancing issues (within a specific game) that the martial adepts bring are pretty large.

Nothing like the core classes.

 

[Nail]

You have to focus on concentration which means one of your focuses is diamond mind - a good school but only 1 school.

Concentration is used in many different manuevers, so the opportunity cost is low. And Warblades get lots of skill points. In the case of my player with the Mnk 2/WB 5, he's managed to Maximize his concentration while Minimizing his weaknesses. In fact, Warblades are Min/Maxer's wet dream...there's lots and lots of ways to really put the pedal to the metal.

By mid levels, and wizard with lots of will save spells will have caught on. Charm person 1st round - Charm monster/dominate 2nd round.

If the Wiz, who's now wasted one round's worth of actions, is still alive at round 2, you might have a point.

As for damage per round: In our last combat we had a 7th level bararian along with us. if he was full attacking 35 HP per round was low (granted he was hasted, but even without the haste he would have been up there).

Full Round Action versus Std. action. Big difference. IMC, Full Round Attacks are not common.

YMMV

 

[hong]

I also threw dozens of Will saves at the party over the course of the encounter, so the Mnk 2/WB 5 used up his "get outta jail free" card on the first (Friend to Foe, a PH2 spell), and failed on the Dominate Person spell. Heh, heh......Dominated Warblades are quite effective NPCs.....

Does this mean you'll stop whining about moment of perfect mind?

 

[Nail]

Obviously, the Warblade gets no saving throw against the illusion until he tries to do something to interact with the city he sees around him.

<Nods> Yup. It's good to hear that I played it like others would have. Thanks!

 

[hong]

Concentration is used in many different manuevers, so the opportunity cost is low. And Warblades get lots of skill points. In the case of my player with the Mnk 2/WB 5, he's managed to Maximize his concentration while Minimizing his weaknesses. In fact, Warblades are Min/Maxer's wet dream...there's lots and lots of ways to really put the pedal to the metal.

... This is the group with no ACs above 17, right?

If the Wiz, who's now wasted one round's worth of actions, is still alive at round 2, you might have a point.

He has not wasted an action. He has reduced the warblade's resources.

Full Round Action versus Std. action. Big difference. IMC, Full Round Attacks are not common.

YMMV

Indeed it does. Full attacks happen IME with great regularity, mostly when people want them to happen.

 

[Nail]

Does this mean you'll stop whining about moment of perfect mind?

But honnnnnnngggggggggg..........it's so meeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnn!

Make the Warblade stop, hong! Make it stop; it's being mean!

I'm gonna telll!

 

[hong]

But honnnnnnngggggggggg..........it's so meeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnn!

Make the Warblade stop, hong! Make it stop; it's being mean!

I'm gonna telll!

Obviously not.