Warlock question!

[RigaMortus]

I could have sworn that if you roll a nat 1, you have to roll a dex check (DC 10) to see if you drop your weapon. I am sure I read that in the DMG. And last I checked, the DMG is CORE, so it isn't like this is some unofficial house rule my group came up with.

So yes, using the CORE rules, a Fighter can fumble his weapon once in awhile.

I also believe it is a viable tactic to disarm or sunder the Fighter as often as possible. A Fighter w/o their weapon is screwed. Just like a Warlock in a grapple is screwed.

If the Warlock stays out of melee, they are very much in control of things. An enemy advances past the Fighter, the Warlock can react by also moving father away. If an enemy somehow "appears" beside the Warlock (via Invis spell for example) and grapples them, then yes, I would say that this is the DM trying to screw the player. Actually, let me reiterate that... Once is fine, but if the DM is constantly using these tactics to get at the Warlock, then I could see how the Warlock player might feel that the DM is out to get them. Especially if the same lengths aren't taken against the Fighter (disarming and sundering).

 

[Sithobi1]

It is in a sidebar and is called Variant:Critical Misses(Fumbles) p.28 of the 3.5 DMG, but it is not Core, it is a HR because it is a VARIANT.

 

[Aust Diamondew]

For the record, my warlock has already been grappled once, and my previous character (a fighter) never, ever lost her weapon.

Did the DM ever try to sunder, disarm, destroy or in any other way take away her weapon?
Either your career didn't last long, the DM never tried or you were one lucky SOB.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I also believe it is a viable tactic to disarm or sunder the Fighter as often as possible. A Fighter w/o their weapon is screwed. Just like a Warlock in a grapple is screwed.

Difference is, it isn't that easy to disarm a fighter (as you have to overpower his strengths) or sunder his weapon (cause it takes time - time in which he continues to hack away at you, doing what he does best), while it is relatively easy to win a grapple a warlock (they have only a medium BAB, and usually a low strength to boot, so even for a rogue this is 50/50, for a fighter the chances are much better)

If the Warlock stays out of melee, they are very much in control of things. An enemy advances past the Fighter, the Warlock can react by also moving father away.

This will only delay the inevitable, unless the warlock uses a double move (which will render him useless, anyway). The other guy just has to close with him (using double move), which will let him close with the warlock and put him into threatening range. One round later, he has the warlock (unless he flees) and he might get an AoO before that.

If an enemy somehow "appears" beside the Warlock (via Invis spell for example) and grapples them, then yes, I would say that this is the DM trying to screw the player.

Not really. Viable anti-spellcaster tactic, unless it's used all the time.

Actually, let me reiterate that... Once is fine, but if the DM is constantly using these tactics to get at the Warlock, then I could see how the Warlock player might feel that the DM is out to get them. Especially if the same lengths aren't taken against the Fighter (disarming and sundering).

Even if the DM does try to disarm the fighter all the time, or uses sunder often, it won't work all that often unless most of the enemies are specialized in that sort of thing. But you don't have to be specialized in grappling to get that warlock.

Your average greatsword has hardness 10 and 10 hit points, so you'd have to deal 20 points of damage to it in order to sunder it in one go. If you divide it among several attacks, you have to deal at least 11 points per hit to do anything.
Now, your average level 8 fighter (just an example) might very well have an adamantine +2 greatsword. That's hardness 22 and 15 hp, which means that you have to hit it quite often (as you need at least 23 points of damage to even scratch it).
So chances are, that sword will outlive its owner. Why not just kill that guy, he doesn't have hardness.

Both sunder and disarm require opposed attack rolls, and fighters tend to be good at these.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Did the DM ever try to sunder, disarm, destroy or in any other way take away her weapon?
Either your career didn't last long, the DM never tried or you were one lucky SOB.

Trying is one thing, succeeding another. You're going against the fighter's strong point here. These guys live off their strong BAB. If they use a two-handed weapon, it's going to be extra hard (and when we're talking about fighters, chances are that they have some of the improved ... feats and can withstand most of these attempts)

 

[Sir ThornCrest]

I remember reading about the psi warriors psi sunder?

They with 2 or 3 feats the psi warrior is a sundering machine. Cause double damage when sundering and the target only gets half of its hardness...does anyone else know the feats Im talking about?

Trying is one thing, succeeding another. You're going against the fighter's strong point here. These guys live off their strong BAB. If they use a two-handed weapon, it's going to be extra hard (and when we're talking about fighters, chances are that they have some of the improved ... feats and can withstand most of these attempts)

 

[Kae'Yoss]

They with 2 or 3 feats the psi warrior is a sundering machine. Cause double damage when sundering and the target only gets half of its hardness...does anyone else know the feats Im talking about?

Focused Sunder for 1/2 hardness. The other I don't know at the moment, though AFAIK it's not in the PsiHB (which is just as well since if it was, it would probably be a Psionic Feat, and thus require you to expend your psionic focus for it too, so it wouldn't work well with Focused Sunder)

But PsiWars aren't exactly the typical adventurer.

 

[Particle_Man]

Again for the record: My half-orc fighter, str:24, with a +2 Greatsword, didn't have to worry much about crap like that. If it had ever happened, she would have shed a single tear before beating the foe to death with her non-disarmable spiked guantlet. After that she would have used one of her eight back up weapons (did I mention she was very very strong?). After that (assuming a rust monster or something?) she would have used her bare fists (Improved Unarmed Strike is great when you are a part-time bouncer). She also fought monsters a lot. Maybe that is why no one tried to do the fancy stuff on my character.

Now monsters don't usually go for the fancy stuff like disarm. But they often love a good grapple. Almost every single monster in all the 3.5 monster books has a grapple BAB listed. Only a few have things like Improved Sunder or Improved Disarm.

A warlock that is grappled is in trouble. Sudden Still gets you a chance (you need to make a concentration check of 24) of getting away, once per day. If you fail, you are toast. If you are grappled again that day, you are toast. If you don't have Flee the Scene, you are toast. If you don't have Sudden Still spell, you are toast.

And sometimes a warlock is surprised. No good listen or spot skills, so guess what? Sometimes you get an enemy right on you before you can act. And sometimes they win initiative. That is time to move and grapple, right there. If they appear from ambush, that can be two chances to grapple, right there. Dark Foresight is nice, but is a long, long way away for most characters (16th level at the very earliest).

A fighter that loses her primary weapon suffers a minor inconvenience. She switches to another weapon and continues the smack-down, slightly weakened in her smack-downability. That's a big, big difference.

 

[Keoki]

7d6 dmg = 25 points, at 12th level.

A twelve level fighter can attack three times per round, each attack doing 2d6+13 (greatsword +2) points of damage with no buff spells.

Doens't seem overpowered to me.

You're judging the characters based only on the damage they do. With the fighter, it's basically all he's capable of, while the rogue/warlock can do so much more. Balance means these characters should not even be close to doing the same amount of damage per round, not to mention that the fighter has to subject himself to melee attacks in order to do it, while the rogue/warlock doesn't. Also, your analysis is skewed by giving the fighter a magic item, while the rogue/warlock has none. Even this out by giving him a warlock's scepter, and he's doing even more damage with his eldritch blasts, though the charges are limited.

 

[Keoki]

For the record, my warlock has already been grappled once, and my previous character (a fighter) never, ever lost her weapon.

Doesn't sound like your DM was particularly creative or challenging.