Author Topic: Overcoming crappy stats; Race inquiry!  (Read 6096 times)

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Kuroimaken

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Re: Overcoming crappy stats; Race inquiry!
« Reply #20 on: July 02, 2008, 01:17:43 PM »
Quote
There is always time for RP, and various non-combat encounters.

Point. But how many encounters do you expect to diplomance your way out of in Undermountain? I'd expect very, very few, and you shouldn't need to diplomance your party members.

But then again, I've never been there.
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Surreal

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Re: Overcoming crappy stats; Race inquiry!
« Reply #21 on: July 03, 2008, 03:25:57 AM »
Any other thoughts for builds? I'm leaning strongly towards the diplomancer build, possibly making it a dragonborn half-drow (dragonborn for a breath weapon so I can contribute to battle, half-drow just for a connection to undermountain, the racial crunch is supplanted by dragonborn anyways).

If I go with the bard diplo build, any recommendations for feats? I think in the early game Extra Bardic Music would be most useful.
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Surreal

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Re: Overcoming crappy stats; Race inquiry!
« Reply #22 on: July 10, 2008, 06:43:05 AM »
Session 1
The plan is to meet up at Xak's place to discuss the campaign and characters. Some of us have never met before, so a round of introductions if merited. Xak gives lousy directions, so people are late. We pass the time playing Brawl. The DM is ganking us with Sonic and his flippin' final smash. Much cussing ensues. My Kirby has a few good moments, and I have a couple beastly rounds with DeDeDe. My Bowser needs serious work though.

Everyone finally arrives. More brawl ensues. Sonic continues to annoy us until we all start ganging up on him. There is also much hate for Snake it seems.

We finally sit around the table and start talking shop. The dm doesn't seem overly enthusiastic about the campaign (Expedition to Undermountain). In fact, he seems to hate it. Xak and myself are the CO guys. The other two players are newbies. Some time is spent explaining how the game works in general to the new guys, and then we're on to character creation.

Newguy1 wants to raise an army of dead. The dread necromancer is immediately suggested, or focused necromancer, but in the end we leave him with a generalist wizard so that he keeps all his options open. I disagree with this; I think it would have been easier giving him the DN. As a newbie, I think it's better to offer fewer choices and teach him to use those options well (he's a full caster, he still has a bajillion options available). Anyhow, he picks a halfling and the DM helps him fill in the rest of the sheet.

Newguy2 doesn't know anything either. He doesn't even play video games rpgs that much. He tells us straight out that he doesn't want to play a character that requires thinking. Okay, h-orc barbarian it is. I suggested full orc and putting on goggles to mitigate the light sensitivity (that cost something like 5 sp). This was vetoed because he didn't want to wear sunglasses. Anyhow, Newguy2 rolls an 18 and 16 out of the gate. He nearly puts the 18 into Str until I remind Xak that we don't have a trapfinder. We look at each other, then look at Newguy2. Newguy2 looks at us and says "hey, I'm perfectly comfortable being the meatshield". Okay, 18 Con it is. He will also be picking up the dungeonscape alt class feature which trades trap sense for smashing stuff. Our current plan for the first few levels of dungeon crawling now involve having the cleric ready an action to heal and sending the barbarian in first.

Considering we have two new guys, Xak reluctantly agrees to be the bandaid. We spend the rest of the night discussing build ideas. I still have a blank sheet by the end of the night.

Session 2
Sonic is still kicking our collective rears. DeDeDe fails miserably, but G&W makes a wicked comeback. I think I've just found my new main.

By the second hour Newguy1 has not arrived yet and I'm discovering the intricacies of Arcbound Ravager. Not so effective in multiplayer, but still scary. Oh, and skullclamp is stupid. Utterly utterly stupid. Xak pulls out a darksteel colossus/proteus staff combo. Have I mentioned that Mirrodin block has a lot of really janky cards? I need to remember to bring my cards for next week.

Third hour rolls around and enough whining has convinced the DM to stop playing Sonic. Newguy2 has a habit of self-destructing faster than we can KO him. This is due mostly to his spamming of B moves that ultimately take him off the stage. We narrow down the list of characters who can't readily kill themselves that way and give him Bowser to try. This seems to work well and his SD numbers drop nearly in half. I'm back to Kirby and somehow have more collective kills than everyone else, despite almost never winning the laurel. That little puffball has nice power for such a lightweight. Much improved since Melee.

Session 3 is later this week. I'm packing an extra gamecube controller and my MtG cards. All in all, these D&D sessions have been a lot of fun so far.
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AfterCrescent

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Re: Overcoming crappy stats; Race inquiry!
« Reply #23 on: July 10, 2008, 07:01:40 AM »
Hahaha. Sounds a bit like my sessions.  Also, sonic isn't as bad if you can get a character on par with his speed (my personal favorite is Wolf. I seem to dominate Sonic everytime that way :D)

I second the Dread Necromancer as being an easier option, btw.  What did you settle on? The dragonborn half-drow, or do you still have a blank sheet?
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BowenSilverclaw

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Re: Overcoming crappy stats; Race inquiry!
« Reply #24 on: July 10, 2008, 07:11:11 AM »
You could have gone with a dragonborn water orc for the barbarian ;)
Lose light sensitivity, +4 Str, +4 Con :D

Also, this somewhat reminds me of my last D&D session. The DM wasn't feeling too well so we spent the entire night watching Yu-Gi-Oh The Abridged Series and Drawn Together  :lol

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Surreal

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Re: Overcoming crappy stats; Race inquiry!
« Reply #25 on: July 10, 2008, 07:20:18 AM »
I second the Dread Necromancer as being an easier option, btw.  What did you settle on? The dragonborn half-drow, or do you still have a blank sheet?
I settled on the dragonborn half-drow. Not sure if Undermountain even has social scenarios, but it never hurts to have skill points, and our party needed a general skills guy anyways (and I'm simply a passive buff guy later on). I'm just going to assume that the DM will craft some appropriate scenarios for me. Failing that, I can always reroll a new character I suppose. Or I might just ditch everything and pick something new before 3rd session.

Also, this somewhat reminds me of my last D&D session. The DM wasn't feeling too well so we spent the entire night watching Yu-Gi-Oh The Abridged Series and Drawn Together  :lol
I tried to watch that show, but it just didn't do anything for me. On the other hand, I find Duckman hilarious  :eh
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Akalsaris

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Re: Overcoming crappy stats; Race inquiry!
« Reply #26 on: July 10, 2008, 11:30:32 AM »
Sounds eerily like my sessions as well, if you replace brawl with SSB melee and halo :P

I'm jealous that you're playing the half-drow diplomancer...that's a character I've been wanting to play but haven't found a home for yet :(

Oh, and on two completely unrelated side notes, I recognize BowenSilverclaw's quote from the Draconomicon, which scares me, and I love yu-gi-oh! the abridged series.

skydragonknight

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Re: Overcoming crappy stats; Race inquiry!
« Reply #27 on: July 10, 2008, 01:02:11 PM »
Oh, and on two completely unrelated side notes, I recognize BowenSilverclaw's quote from the Draconomicon, which scares me, and I love yu-gi-oh! the abridged series.

Although the term "hairless ape" was stolen from Lost Vikings 2: Norse by Norsewest. I'm more of a YYH The Abridged Series.

Surreal, have you ever looked at Tempest and RT's Society Mind? It could be the support you're looking for. If you care more about being a skill monkey, Factotum is an interesting option.
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Akalsaris

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Re: Overcoming crappy stats; Race inquiry!
« Reply #28 on: July 10, 2008, 02:50:31 PM »
Heh...Lost Vikings 2 was one of the first computer games I ever played, back when I was 9 I think.  I didn't get very far in it though :P

Yu Yu haukusho abridged?  It certainly has the potential to be funny, though I've never heard of the abridged series.  I'll check it out next time I'm on youtube.

Surreal

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Re: Overcoming crappy stats; Race inquiry!
« Reply #29 on: July 25, 2008, 05:46:09 PM »
Session 3:
Xak and I are the only ones there. Three hours of Magic later, Xak hasn't won a single game. Have I ever mentioned that Lifespark Spellbomb and Eradicate is a wonderful combo?

next week canceled

Session 4:
Enter the dungeon, pick a direction, enter the first room. TPK. The arcanist had dropped out, so it's only three of us vs a CR 4 creature (we're all level 1) that one shots all of us. Didn't help that the all the players were rolling 1's and the DM was rolling max for damage (literally).

And thus the grand adventure after 5 weeks comes to a close :D
« Last Edit: July 25, 2008, 05:47:48 PM by Surreal »
---
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The Mango List Reborn! - rehosted by KellKheraptis

Lists of Stuff - listing of class features etc and how to get them, etc. sort of like above but a little more specific and sorted by category
Polymorph, Wildshape and Shapechange, oh my! (comparison charts) - side-by-side comparison of all the various form altering abilities
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PhaedrusXY

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Re: Overcoming crappy stats; Race inquiry!
« Reply #30 on: July 25, 2008, 06:08:05 PM »
Session 3:
Xak and I are the only ones there. Three hours of Magic later, Xak hasn't won a single game. Have I ever mentioned that Lifespark Spellbomb and Eradicate is a wonderful combo?

next week canceled

Session 4:
Enter the dungeon, pick a direction, enter the first room. TPK. The arcanist had dropped out, so it's only three of us vs a CR 4 creature (we're all level 1) that one shots all of us. Didn't help that the all the players were rolling 1's and the DM was rolling max for damage (literally).

And thus the grand adventure after 5 weeks comes to a close :D
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AfterCrescent

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Re: Overcoming crappy stats; Race inquiry!
« Reply #31 on: July 26, 2008, 02:18:14 AM »
What was the creature?
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Surreal

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Re: Overcoming crappy stats; Race inquiry!
« Reply #32 on: July 26, 2008, 06:24:32 AM »
Not really sure... it was a room with mirrors (most of them shattered except two), then one of the unbroken mirrors sprouted two tentacles/pseudopods and started wailing on us. It also had a sticky body, so weapons got stuck to it, and anything it hit with the tentacles were immediately grappled. The barbarian took a swing, did 9 damage, weapon got stuck. Monster says we can leave but we have to sacrifice the barbarian. Despite being seriously tempted to do just that, we figure we should keep fighting. Cleric swung and missed. Bard (me) threw a rock (I have almost no gear), did 1 damage. Monster knocked the barbarian unconscious on his turn. Cleric summons a celestial badger who fails at everything. I used my breath weapon for 1 damage. Monster now walks (apparently unhindered by the grappled unconscious barbarian) and one shots the cleric. I didn't even bother at this point so I threw another rock (missed) and died on the monster's turn. Much laughter ensued. Next week will invoke the magical "it was all a shared drunken dream" excuse, and the DM will have secretly burned Expedition to Undermountain and will start his own campaign.

The table then returned to Smash Bros Brawl where we all subsequently gangbanged the DM.

edit: precise order of attacks/actions/etc not quite correct
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The Mango Index - a giant index for all things D&D and where to find them
The Mango List Reborn! - rehosted by KellKheraptis

Lists of Stuff - listing of class features etc and how to get them, etc. sort of like above but a little more specific and sorted by category
Polymorph, Wildshape and Shapechange, oh my! (comparison charts) - side-by-side comparison of all the various form altering abilities
Alternative Class Features
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Xaktsaroth

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Re: Overcoming crappy stats; Race inquiry!
« Reply #33 on: July 27, 2008, 04:18:53 PM »
I still can't believe we failed so completely.

I can understand that CR 4 vs. 3 1st PC's is going to be rough, but the sheer number of 1's being rolled by our side was pathetic. :P

That Celestial Badger was a whole lot of fail too. 3 attacks for a grand total of 2 damage. Sadly, it was more damage then I had done up until then. :(

But now we get to start at ECL 5, so hopefully we'll do better this time around. :P
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BowenSilverclaw

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Re: Overcoming crappy stats; Race inquiry!
« Reply #34 on: July 27, 2008, 06:17:43 PM »
Wow, that was sort of an anti-climax :P  :lol
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Surreal

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Re: Overcoming crappy stats; Race inquiry!
« Reply #35 on: September 04, 2008, 01:01:46 AM »
Ok, so we're rebooting with a new campaign. Starting level 5, most books allowed, minimal cheese appreciated so we don't have to put up with the DM whining.

We're down to a three person party with Xak pulling the diving end, and the new guy as meatshield (I think Crusader). That leaves me to fill everything else. I never play casters, so I though I'd finally give that a go, and while I'm at it throw in more new stuff... so I'm thinking:
Beguiler 4/Binder 1/Anima Mage X

Beguiler because we need skills and trapfinding in the party, and because I hate choosing spells. I will likely focus more on the social skills rather than stealth. I'm completely new to binders as well, but I think Naberius for all the social stuff is a good bet at the early levels. I'm focusing more on the early/mid levels, as given our less than stellar track record I will not be surprised if we all die within the first few sessions.

I guess I'm just looking for ideas on race and feats. Was thinking (forest) gnome for the boost to illusion DCs and shadowcraft mage later on, but beguiler might not get as much use out of that PrC. Changeling for Recaster? I kind of like the idea of an Illumian flavourwise, kind of meshes with a Binder, and the sigils can boost my caster level and binding checks, and also opens up Loredelver. Or maybe just slap Dragonborn on something so I can get a breath weapon for the eventual entangling exhalation to offer field control.

For feats, one of them has to be Improved Binding, and the other needs to be a metamagic for the Anima Mage prereqs. Any suggestions on that? Heighten/Enlarge/Extend seem the most useful. I'm not even sure what to take for later feats, though Vile Speech (FC1) looks interesting, and I can negate the ability damage with Naberius. Hmm, or maybe I should just go human for the extra feat since Vile Speech is more useful at the early levels.

Game starts Friday, so replies before then would be much appreciated. Thanks.
« Last Edit: September 04, 2008, 07:30:14 PM by Surreal »
---
"The late, sedate, and no to great." ~Surreal

Some Handy Links for CO Work (WotC 339 version) - a compilation of links for base/prestige class handbooks, tactics, spellcasting, character builds, D&D databases, etc.
Archived version of the above with working links

The Mango Index - a giant index for all things D&D and where to find them
The Mango List Reborn! - rehosted by KellKheraptis

Lists of Stuff - listing of class features etc and how to get them, etc. sort of like above but a little more specific and sorted by category
Polymorph, Wildshape and Shapechange, oh my! (comparison charts) - side-by-side comparison of all the various form altering abilities
Alternative Class Features
alternative ways to get class skills

AndyJames

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Re: Overcoming crappy stats; Race inquiry!
« Reply #36 on: September 04, 2008, 01:28:14 AM »
Not really sure... it was a room with mirrors (most of them shattered except two), then one of the unbroken mirrors sprouted two tentacles/pseudopods and started wailing on us. It also had a sticky body, so weapons got stuck to it, and anything it hit with the tentacles were immediately grappled. The barbarian took a swing, did 9 damage, weapon got stuck. Monster says we can leave but we have to sacrifice the barbarian. Despite being seriously tempted to do just that, we figure we should keep fighting. Cleric swung and missed. Bard (me) threw a rock (I have almost no gear), did 1 damage. Monster knocked the barbarian unconscious on his turn. Cleric summons a celestial badger who fails at everything. I used my breath weapon for 1 damage. Monster now walks (apparently unhindered by the grappled unconscious barbarian) and one shots the cleric. I didn't even bother at this point so I threw another rock (missed) and died on the monster's turn. Much laughter ensued. Next week will invoke the magical "it was all a shared drunken dream" excuse, and the DM will have secretly burned Expedition to Undermountain and will start his own campaign.

The table then returned to Smash Bros Brawl where we all subsequently gangbanged the DM.

edit: precise order of attacks/actions/etc not quite correct
Sounds like a Mimic.

Gauntlet

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Re: Overcoming crappy stats; Race inquiry!
« Reply #37 on: September 04, 2008, 11:47:58 PM »
I think I beat you at crappy stats... 15 13 13 12 11 10. That was with 4d6, drop lowest, reroll any 1's.