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[ToxicAsF]

On the other hand, if you roll a 1, that's a critical miss (if you also miss your confirmation). That means something bad happens. I'll decide what that is.

Ahh, yeah, my old DM used to do the "You swing your sword but somehow impaled yourself and are now dead" moves for natural 1's. Hopefully you will be more creative and at least not make me feel like an idiot for having a bad roll

Instead of your AC being equal to 10 + armor + shield + Dex mod + etc., ignore the 10 and just add all your bonuses to a d20 roll. The enemy crits if you roll a 1, and critically misses if you roll a 20. It makes sense, trust me.

..... Fucking love it. This gives me better odds than having the natural 10 sadly, since I'm already at a -2 dex modifier and no armor, that base 8 is... bad haha. This will at least give me some opportunity to not get hit, as chances are I'm going to get hit quite often (that is, if I'm ever actually targeted (COUGHTHATMEANSYOUMELEEPEOPLEPROTECTYOURCASTERSCOUGH)).

Death Flag

Ordinarily, you have six action points. Spend one to roll a d20 twice and take the better of the two results, two to reroll a missed d20 or take an extra move action, or three to take an extra standard action. These replenish after an eight-hour rest (usually at the end of the day) along with your spells. You're also immune to death; you'll stabilize at -9.

During your turn, you can also raise your Death Flag. This gives you six extra action points immediately, but you can now be killed as normal. You probably won't be able to come back, so be prepared to succeed or die heroically.

This part will take me a little time to remember it exists. I will most likely end up using them all for saving against critical misses haha.

 

[Jia]

Defending

Ordinarily, I would roll a monster's attack against your static AC, but you lazy bastards have to pull your weight. Instead of your AC being equal to 10 + armor + shield + Dex mod + etc., ignore the 10 and just add all your bonuses to a d20 roll. The enemy crits if you roll a 1, and critically misses if you roll a 20. It makes sense, trust me.

Oooh, I like this - I think I'm going to try that rule with my group, makes defending less "static" for them.

 

[Sivenx]

All this talk about D&D is going to make my rules-light PDQ system look like a joke... :S
Great work putting the system concepts into a nutshell for the newbies though!

 

[ToxicAsF]

Instead of your AC being equal to 10 + armor + shield + Dex mod + etc., ignore the 10 and just add all your bonuses to a d20 roll. The enemy crits if you roll a 1, and critically misses if you roll a 20. It makes sense, trust me.

Edit: Red Omen After some thought I started thinking, are you going to be rolling for monster AC as well against our attacks? And after thinking about it, we're going to be rolling a fuckton more of D20's in this fashion. Have you run a campaign with this system before? It just seems like a lot more work with a lot less predictability, making it kinda... hodge podgy? And with the internet interference, it just seems like a lot more effort without much of a benefit rather than making it niche-y gameplay. Also, General AC, touch, flatfooted, you want all of these to be d20+ bonuses?

It just seems like a transition of..

Static vs RNG

to

RNG vs RNG

But of course, I'll follow the wishes of the DM. It's your game and we'll play by the rules you present us



Aaaaand I'll just add this to the end so you won't be mad at me >_>

 

[Red Omen]

It's always going to be static versus RNG - monsters have static numbers for attack and defense, you guys roll. I've tried it and it works really well; I almost never have to pick up a die.

Removing the 10 from AC doesn't make things any easier for you. If you have no armor and -2 Dex, all your AC checks will be 1d20-2. You should probably put some points in Dexterity, since you can't rely on staying "in the back." I recommend at least a 14.

My jaw is in a lot of pain right now, so this might not be the best weekend to start. We might do a test run of Roll20, but I'd like to keep it brief if I'm still feeling this shitty.

 

[ToxicAsF]

If you have no armor and -2 Dex, all your AC checks will be 1d20-2. You should probably put some points in Dexterity, since you can't rely on staying "in the back." I recommend at least a 14.

But feel better! I'm just having a hard time thinking of the logistics. I'm beginning to understand, more or less monsters will always have a constant attack and a constant defense stat number and we're just rolling against them in every situation. I'm just thinking of the logistics of what these values actually are. Like, a lot of bonuses seem like they'd either become OP or have to be numbed down to adjust... But again, I haven't really played much in the past.

But with this AC change MBoston will probably be re-rolling a druid lol.

And again, feel better!

 

[Red Omen]

The numbers work out to be exactly the same. I promise. If a monster has an attack bonus of +2 and you have an AC of 14, that turns into you having an AC bonus of +4 and the monster having an attack score of 13 (11 base + 2). The monster would have had to roll a 12 or higher to hit you, but now you have to roll a 9 or higher to avoid being hit. Either way, that's a 60% chance the monster hits you and a 40% chance it misses. Don't change anything about your character because of a perceived difference in mechanics. You can read up on it here.

But you should totally get more AC. If you want this to be a combat heavy campaign, not only are you going to die if you get breathed on, none of your ranged attacks will hit. Wizards care about so few stats that you can afford to put more points in Dexterity. You may not care if you die and re-roll every session, but I'd prefer that there were some continuity.

And thanks. I'll take some pain meds but they probably won't do anything.

 

[ToxicAsF]

But you should totally get more AC. If you want this to be a combat heavy campaign, not only are you going to die if you get breathed on, none of your ranged attacks will hit. Wizards care about so few stats that you can afford to put more points in Dexterity. You may not care if you die and re-roll every session, but I'd prefer that there were some continuity.

Oh, we are going combat heavy? I was making my character heavily role-playable with a lot of knowledge styled skills lol. Hmm. I'll probably tweak some things. Thanks for the heads up

But after reading the link, I get it now. I was mis-perceiving the actual values, making godawful calculation errors. It makes sense and apologize for my ignorance.

 

[Red Omen]

Totally cool. I thought you were a tactics-and-combat oriented guy, but we'll have a mix of both. Being the knowledge guy will definitely be helpful (even in combat).

 

[ToxicAsF]

Totally cool. I thought you were a tactics-and-combat oriented guy, but we'll have a mix of both. Being the knowledge guy will definitely be helpful (even in combat).

Yeah, I'll post a quick screenshot of my character profile from hero lab in a moment. Gear isn't final, but this is roughly what I'm working with stat/skill wise. And I know the money isn't exact, I was just fiddling with numbers. It's a work in progress still haha. Always tweaking.

 

[Red Omen]

Looks good, actually. I really like the way your skills are set up; they're kind of perfect for what I have in mind. Again, though, wizards need Intelligence as high as possible (you're plenty good here), decent Dexterity and Constitution, and don't care about anything else. Notice how you're not using your Charisma for anything, and you're much to fragile to get into melee and really utilize your Strength bonus. I'd strongly recommend putting that 7 in Strength, 10 in Charisma, and the 12 and 14 in Dex or Con. Notice all the things that rely on Dex or Con: Reflex saves, Fortitude saves, hit points, AC, initiative, ranged attacks. Charisma, in contrast, is useful if you cast spells with it (you don't) or you've put ranks in skills like Diplomacy or Bluff (you haven't). Your melee prowess isn't good enough to warrant a high Strength, nor are you carrying very much.

Now that I look, I do see why you might have wanted a bit of Strength - Hand of the Apprentice. The benefits of a single point of damage added to a ranged dagger attack are really negligible if it means you're stuck with 8 AC and 6 HP, though. In fact, the Universalist school is probably one of the least useful paths to go - Pathfinder really loosened the restrictions on opposition schools - and I'd strongly recommend looking at specializing in another school. Conjuration, Illusion, Necromancy, and Transmutation are great, and Evocation is fun if you like being blasty. You can even pick an elemental school if that appeals to you. If you do decide to stick with Universalist, I'd be happy to change it so that you add your Intelligence modifier to damage with HotA instead of Strength.

I notice that you also don't have a spell component pouch or a spellbook. It's impossible to cast most spells without the pouch, or any without the spellbook.

Now, don't let me tell you how to build your character. If you want your character to be feeble and/or doddering as befits a wizard, by all means. I'm just pointing out some consequences of that decision that may reduce your effectiveness enough that you won't enjoy yourself. You can also roleplay something slightly different than what your stats say. Whatever makes you comfortable. Just... I imagine playing a character with 8 AC and 6 HP and I start screaming on the inside.

 

[ToxicAsF]

Yeah, as I said the gear isn't final by any means =p my on paper sheet is much more specific with spell components and such, that was just my work template stat and skill wise. And I see what you mean for strength/dex/con, but I was taking the charisma for the role playing aspect of things. Plus, take into consideration the behemoth of a barbarian that, in planning, I will be near most of the time as my "protection", hence my loosely allocated defenses.

Plus, I more or less wanted to keep my options open to the fullest with the universalist school. I'll reconsider after re-reading them. I just hate to think that I'd have to sacrifice two slots for an opposing school spell. Specialize in one, oppose two others. That thought process drives me crazy.[DOUBLEPOST=1365736798,1365736730][/DOUBLEPOST]Oh, and by your HP rules, I'll actually only have 4 HP and 8 AC. XD

 

[ToxicAsF]

But also note Mage armor, +4 AC.

 

[TIG]

My jaw is in a lot of pain right now, so this might not be the best weekend to start. We might do a test run of Roll20, but I'd like to keep it brief if I'm still feeling this shitty.

I would recommend everyone getting together that can just to make sure our characters are made right (or make them from scratch for the noobs). If we need to end it before we actually start the campaign that is fine.

 

[Red Omen]

Well, you don't want to be too close to your barbarian friend, since he's going to be where the pain is at its densest. There isn't always a clear backline in D&D, especially since I can spawn enemies whereeeever I want. Cooperation only goes so far.

In regular 3.5e, you couldn't cast any spells from your opposition schools, not even at double-slot cost. And even then, a well-chosen specialty school is generally better than going generalist. Conjuration is one of the most versatile schools, for example, as it has access (sometimes unique access) to some of the best effects and makes other schools redundant. If you'd like someone to crunch the numbers of why specialization wins, read this (bearing in mind that he's advocating becoming a focused specialist and dropping three schools, which isn't an option I'm granting you).

Yes, you can cast Mage Armor on yourself, but it only lasts an hour, takes an action to cast, and you have to prepare it instead of another spell that could have beaten the monster and/or saved the party. By comparison, your Dexterity bonus is always there (unless you're flatfooted, in which case you wouldn't have cast Mage Armor anyway), and the benefit of reducing Dex at the expense of Charisma is questionable.

You can also take Toughness and/or Improved Initiative to offset some of the drawbacks of low Dex and Con. In fact, they're probably a good idea no matter what. Your current feats are fine, of course.

I took some pain reliever and I think I'll be alright. Still no promises on whether anything specific will be ready, but we'll talk about characters and I can second-guess all your decisions like a dick.

 

[ToxicAsF]

Alright, you seem pretty adamant that I'm making some bad choices and that I will most likely perish quickly with my choices =p I'll tune up my character in the next day and submit for re-approval. Haha

 

[TIG]

I was looking at stat choices for my rogue and got kinda confused. Dex is obviously high, wis is worthless. But what benefits are Int and Cha for a rogue? I plan on playing a rp style that involves lots of stealing and persuading or taking advantage of people so I was thinking of going into some things like bluff and disguise. I think str and con are the spots I'll put any extra leftover points.

Combat wise its daggers and slings for me with maybe a blowpipe (btw how do poisons work?). I want to be high evasion and stealth so I can be more of a surprise attacker who gets out of danger quickly.

 

[ToxicAsF]

But what benefits are Int and Cha for a rogue?

The rogue's class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Dex), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Stealth (Dex), Swim (Str), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Int has practically zero worth for you, mostly because your skill points are 8+int modifier. That's a lot. As a wizard, I have 2 + Int, but that's because I should really be focusing heavy into int as a class feature, but even at a ability score of 20 (+5) and being human (+1), I only match your base skill points of 8. Plus you don't have many "useful" skills with int combat wise, but some role-playing ones.

Charisma has some niche things, like Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Intimidate, Perform (More bardish, but can be used as a rogue as a decent roleplay distraction), and Use Magic Device (I like toys >_>). I mean, role play wise you could find a lot of fun things to do with charisma. If you get a moment re-read the skills and just see if you'd use them appropriately with your gameplay, and that should alter your choices a little.


And I know very very little about poisons. I always saw them as a bit underwhelming and expensive, but I could be very wrong about that.

 

[Red Omen]

Wisdom isn't really worthless, seeing as Perception is one of the best and most-used skills in the game. It's especially important for rogues, because that's how you find traps so you can disarm them with Disable Device. Your racial bonus to Perception should cover some deficits.

A social rogue could be fun, and your racial bonus to Charisma will help with that. Bluff, Disguise, and Diplomacy are probably best. Use Magic Device is mondo-powerful, so definitely invest in that. You probably don't need super-high Intelligence, but I wouldn't dump it. Good ol' average 10 will work fine.

Most of your melee prowess comes from Dexterity and Sneak Attack, so Strength isn't that big of a deal. Even so, your racial scores will cause that to take a hit, so you might invest a little extra. If you can hold out until second level to get the Rogue Talent that gives you Weapon Finesse, that'll save you more feats for the Two-Weapon Fighting progression. Constitution is absolutely important.

For a Two-Weapon Fighting/Social rogue, I'd recommend: Str 14 (-2), Dex 16 (+2), Con 13, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 12 (+2).

As far as your weapon choices go, you need to make a decision early on whether you want to deliver most of your damage in melee or at range - you don't have enough feats to build efficiently for both. You have to use small weapons, so your daggers deal only 1d3; consider short swords instead, which are the same as a medium-sized character's daggers. Sneak attacks are harder to trigger at range (flanking is the easiest way to do it), so use the sling (or a shortbow) only in emergencies unless you want to go full archer rogue with a composite bow. A blowgun deals almost no damage without poison, and applying poison to weapons without the appropriate class feature carries the risk of poisoning yourself. Probably not worth it.

 

[ToxicAsF]

Red will be able to advise you so much better than me. I'm really realizing how little I actually know! 8 years since my last campaign has really left me with a lot of knowledge I thought I had, and now finding out my mind has wandered into an area that didn't really know wtf I was doing lol. But books are good, and double checking my books constantly are what's saving me XD