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quozaxx

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38 minutes ago, zslane said:

Option bloat really started with AD&D 2nd ed. with all the splat books. Back then the game had enough heat that it could sell 20,000 copies of a new splat book each month, and doing so was critical to keeping TSR financially solvent. I don't think companies can sustain that kind of output anymore, and so option bloat necessarily accumulates much more slowly today. But, of course, it is still there for those systems that have been around for a long time, like Pathfinder.

 

The real question is just how useful/necessary/valuable it is for players to have a never-ending supply of new game options? Every new game option that is introduced into the system has the potential to upset the apple cart of play balance, especially if it is rushed to publication without being properly vetted through a lot of playtesting. It often becomes safer for the GM to come up with his own campaign-specific character classes, races, spells, magic items, etc. than to try and adapt published ones.

 

I prefer fewer [mechanical] options and firmly believe it leads to better characters. If you focus on rules to differentiate characters you aren't focusing on their actual character. I have played in single-class / single-species parties composed of highly memorable and distinct characters. The focus wasn't on how to build the character, but how to play them. Their backgrounds, personalities, aesthetics, and exploits made them who they were. Those kinds of parties are also much easier to root in their milieu and create compelling stories for. 

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On 7/20/2018 at 9:59 PM, Hugh Neilson said:

Why would sneak attack be one/round?

 

Hmmmm. Ya know, I just checked the rules. There is no limit to the number of times per round that a rogue can sneak attack.

I would have sworn this was the case. Maybe it was in 3.5 and I've simply brought it forward. Maybe it never was and I dreamed the whole thing. (In my defense the player playing the rogue also thought this.)

 

Anyhoo, that's good news for him. Thanks ?

 

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Sneak Attack was not 1/round in 3e either.  That was a big change from 2e Thieves to 3e Rogues - "Backstabs" were hard to pull off.  Sneak Attacks are much easier to use.  Pathfinder removed a lot of creature types' immunity to Sneak Attack, which also helps.

 

If it's any consolation, we realized in a game the other day, after watching the Barbarian consistently miss, that the player had clearly not added all their attack bonuses.  Amazing how much easier the combat was after that...

 

When you have the best BAB in the group (+6 at L6), a moderate (16) STR, Rage (+4 STR), Bull's Strength (+4 more STR), Bless (+1 to hit) and Prayer (+1 to hit), (and at least a masterwork weapon plus weapon focus to boot), missing AC 18 - 20 should be pretty uncommon, which twigged the question...

 

In our first 3e game, I decided on a Fighter playing around with combat maneuvers like Trip and Disarm.  I wanted to get Whirlwind Attack, so I was building up various feats that reduced the threat of Attacks of Opportunity.  At about L5, I suddenly realized how much damage the Rogue was doing with Sneak Attack, and that my job was NOT "inflict damage on the bad guy" but "run around the battlefield and suck up whatever damage you have to - just set the Rogue up for Flanking".

 

It's amazing how ineffective the enemy's attacks of opportunity are when you can use Mobility (+4 AC), Spring Attack (the one guy you close on can't attack), trade -5 to hit for +5 AC (forget the name of that one) and slap a +1 AC to the toughest other enemy with Dodge... 

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8 hours ago, Hugh Neilson said:

It's amazing how ineffective the enemy's attacks of opportunity are when you can use Mobility (+4 AC), Spring Attack (the one guy you close on can't attack), trade -5 to hit for +5 AC (forget the name of that one) and slap a +1 AC to the toughest other enemy with Dodge... 

 

Trading attack for AC is called Expertise now in Pathfinder (cannot recall if it had the same name in 3.5.)

 

My favourite 3.5 character had a very similar build and was used for the same purpose of using up enemy AoO. Loads of fun. I loved doing whirlwind trip attacks. Ah, good times.

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