The General D&D thread

Taking a prestige class is absolutely okay as a first-timer, so long as the requirements are simple enough that you don't have to multiclass as a billion different things in order to even get into it. In fact, a prestige class can even make things easier for you, since the prerequisites usually mean you have to invest some of your resources in getting into it as early as possible, and prestige classes themselves tend to be more specialized, so you'll have a clearer idea of where you're going with it. Especially as a Fighter, that means you'll spend less time desperately looking for which feats and stuff to pick. Playing a Fighter without any multiclassing would end up being both a challenge and a bore, because for one thing, you have to really put a lot of work into your feat choices and such in order to be able to do much in battle, but even then, you're probably just going to be hitting stuff with your pointy thing. After the time it takes to go from level 1 to 5 (which is generally the level after which you can start multiclassing), you'll have gotten the hang of the basics and you'll probably want to do something more than that. So, gladiate as you will!

Funny that you would mention stretching a prestige class into a base class, though. I actually brought that up as a suggestion for a Fighter fix, to make the class more capable without straying from what it's supposed to be. I think that could be done pretty handily by taking the Battle Trickster prestige class (from Complete Scoundrel) and spreading it out. You'd still get everything a normal Fighter does (provided that you still give him a bonus feat at first level and add the class skills that the Battle Trickster doesn't have), plus more skill points, bonus Skill Tricks at every level he doesn't get a feat, and every three levels, he gets a bonus on attacks after using a trick. Still just a fighter who concentrates on skillful combat with a weapon, except he can do a lot more now.

(I really wouldn't recommend that for a beginner, though, and admittedly you'd be hard-pressed to find 9 skill tricks that really fit into a simple fighter concept. You'd have to invent some more, I guess.)

edited 14th Sep '12 12:28:48 PM by Fawriel

If this is starting at 1st level, I have 0 advice to give.

Thanks for the help guys! Are there any tips you guys have though in terms of role-playing or things to look out for as a fighter?

Don't be afraid to be stereotypical.

Carry more than one kind of damage. Bring a sword, a club, and some piercing. ALWAYS.

I was thinking of a dagger, trident and mace. That'd work right?

Absolutely. I assume the Trident is your main weapon?

The trident and the mace. I was hoping to run the idea of a collapsable weapon (a mace that can extend into a trident) through my DM. Hoping to avoid being bogged down by equipment and weapons.

I find most DM's throw a bag of holding at you fairly early, if for no other reason than to ignore encumbrance rules.
If they don't outright ignore them to begin with.

Quick question! If I was looking to recruit a couple of tropers for an online (Map Tool to be specific) 3.5 Eberron campaign I'm planning on running, where would I go?

edited 15th Sep '12 11:35:29 AM by Midna

Either put up a thread here or in the Role playing Sign-ups. Or both.

Flying things are the bane of all ground-based melee dudes, so, when you have the money, strongly consider buying a potion of fly for emergencies, and eventually look into something that will let you fly more permanently. (Also consider making friends with your spellcasting buddies, so they'll remember to cast fly or air walk on you.)

Fliers are really not an issue for a few levels, though, so don't worry about it too much to start out with.

edited 16th Sep '12 9:31:29 PM by Aldheim

So, I've been in an online game for a few months now, and my character is an 18 year old that has a crush on some NPC. Now, the problem is, said NPC has some significant issues, and now there's a crazy ass romantic subplot thing where she's going to be marrying this super mercenary guy because she's worried about her safety and it's a crapsack world and blah blah blah. Now, as it's still heroic tier, my character can't exactly obliterate everything and anything, so what does he do? Well, initially, he challenges the guy to a duel. Which of course was a really stupid ass idea, because the guy's a 13th level solo and I'm an 8th level PC. The solution? Show up with a chess board and convince everyone *else* that the guy must have been suffering from a really bad hangover at the time, because I made it clear that I was talking about a CHESS duel.

Uses a series of well placed bluff checks, the Ghost Sound cantrip and Prestidigitation to convince the merc guy that he's actually some ancient sorcerer who will grant him immortality when he "fully awakens," in return for protecting (and not boinking) the love interest character (he's only marrying her for monetary gain anyway). Basically, I created an alternate personality character (see current avatar for an example).

Of course, he didn't really buy into it-because, I mean, c'mon. Two bluff checks and a diplomacy check only go so far. But it did buy me about a year of in-game time to figure out my next move. I mean, I am a "sorcerous soul" which means that I'm the reincarnation of some sorcerer guy, but that in and of itself doesn't mean too much.

In the meantime, we have a guy who's uber obsessed with revenge. He just vivisected some badguy and cut his face off while he was still alive. It was unpleasant, and has brought about some general drama.

A year of in-game time is usually enough to reach epic level for any PC. Nice move on the duel.

Well, the campaign is supposedly going to cap out before 16th level <<

I'd be hard pressed to beat him one on one even at 15th level, but it wouldn't be entirely impossible. I'd basically have to make full use of Ball Lightning (for slow) plus Web (for difficult terrain and recurrent immobilization) and it might work, but even then, the guy has ranged attacks, and would have about 10 to 15 times as much HP as I would. Moreover, he drops me to 10 HP or less, I'm out of the fight entirely!

Can you tell us more about this mercenary guy? What class or classes does he have? I'm guessing he's a non-spellcaster of some sort? What exactly makes him so powerful?

He's a hero of a previous age and a half-dryad.

A bit about the metagame:

Incidentally, another PC stole a watch from him, that has the power to neutralize a Time Stop effect of another NPC. I know from working with the DM on a similar project that the P Cs in this campaign (Self-included) are likely going to have the option of fucking with this time stopping NPC, but that it's a Very Bad Idea because the encounter is ludicrously weighted against said NP Cs. So, my theory is, the Time Stopper is also a 13th level solo, and Merc is supposed to fight Time Stopper and, now that we stole the dude's watch, BAM he's totally boned.

Why 13th level? Well, that's about the range at which it's theoretically possible for a party of 8th level characters to win against a solo, but very difficult.

Incidentally "Hey, this time stopper douchebag is totally involved in things" was part of my elaborate BS scheme.

Which may have not actually been BS, but was indeed BS as far as my character knew.

Oh, BTW: It goes without saying, but I absolutely annihilated the guy in the chess battle (my intelligence check modifiers were a few points higher than him, but more importantly, he rolled really poorly whereas I rolled really well).

edited 20th Sep '12 12:22:17 PM by TheyCallMeTomu

Oh, one other thing:

We fought ghost pirates yesterday.

I've tried D&D 4th for the first time last Sunday. And I think it was actually pretty fun! I was a little scared about the amount of rule changes since 3.5/PF, but once you concentrate on one class, it's much easier to assimilate. I played a very creepy, yet enjoyable in his dark humor, halfling Warlock with the Star pact*

We had the worst luck ever, though. I've never seen so many critical failures in one game. I think every one of us rolled like four or five each, and the DM did the same with NP Cs! Our dear Warlord missed pretty much every single attack/powers he used this way. I think it's the first time I saw a player scream at his dice.

Also, for some reason, I seem to have the most insignificant character ever: we did two battle that lasted at least ten rounds each, and my halfling didn't took a single point of damage! He wasn't even targeted at all, even though he did quite his share of damage. Probably because he tended to run away from close combat and run around in circles while blasting minions. That meaty tank of ours was probably much more attractive. (Or maybe because I was the only guy that didn't bring a Super Serious Miniature for my character. It was silly, but it fitted the theme!)

edited 20th Sep '12 1:29:08 PM by Talden

Star Pact is fine. Eyebite is really powerful, but here's a hint: If you're invisible, enemies attack someone else. That means that you're not reducing the overall damage the party is suffering, you're just redirecting it. So, I actually think Star Pact is better than Fey Pact.

I'm a little jealous. Everyone seems to be having so much fun with their D&D.

I wish I could play D&D at all. I'd even settle for 4e if need be.

"I'd even settle for 4E-"

Ouch :P

But...I like 4e...

I love 4e!