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NobleNick · 06-01-2005, 10:34 AM

Kitiara,

The below assumes HoW is installed and that your party will do IWD and the expansions.

No I don't think your Cleric/Fighter can do the spear; and I would be surprised if the Druid could. And even if she could, I wouldn't subject her to that.

Bare knuckles is the only thing worse than a quarterstaff, unless you are going up against skeletons, for which daggers is probably the worst weapon.

NobleNick's index of bad weapon choices for an IWD warrior: Worst melee weapon = staff; second worst = dagger; third worst weapon = club. Fourth worst = spear. Worst ranged weapon = darts; second worst = Short Bow.

NobleNick's index of good weapon choices for an IWD warrior: Best melee weapon for Paladin = Largesword (longsword). Best for non-paladin = Largesword, Axe or Mace. Best ranged weapon = Bow (Long Bow, Composite Bow, and variants). Best ranged weapon for those who's ethos disallow Bow = Sling.

I didn't know that a Druid couldn't do Flails. Really? Why not: the Clerics can use them. Hmmm... Guess I didn't pay attention, cause if mine hadn't gone Scimitar, I would have saddled him up with a Mace.

Good choices for racial enemy for the Ranger are: Corporeal Undead and Skeletal Undead.

Given that the party you have settled upon has lots of warrior skills (very good decision) and a Bard to turbo-charge them (also an excellent decision); you do not need to undo most of your good work by making generalists out of the only gals who can specialize. My advice is to capitalize on the luxury you have afforded yourself, and specialize those characters which you can.

You need to dish out slashing AND crushing damage with your melee weapons (Bows will cover you for piercing damage.) Your heavy hitters (if you build them correctly) are:
1.) MC Fighter/Cleric (constrained to 2PP per weapon. Constrained to crushing.)
2.) SC Ranger (constrained to 2PP per weapon)
3.) SC Fighter (5PP melee, 3PP ranged, or 5PP melee/ranged Axe)
4.) DC Druid/Fighter (did you mean Fighter/Druid?) (5PP melee, 3PP ranged. Crushing or Scimitar, only.)

So, 2 of your 4 warrior mixes will have to generalize, and consequently will get O.K. proficiency in just about every weapon their little hearts desire. (Try to stack 2 PP high, wherever you can.) Also, you have 2 of your 4 main warriors already constrained to crushing weapons (unless the Druid goes with Scimitar). Your D/F will be Neutral, thus allowing her to use The Giving Star (an excellent Mace) or possibly (name withheld so as not to spoil) (an excellent Flail). If your MC F/C is aligned Good (a good decision, no pun intended), then she also should have a good (no pun) choice of crushing weapons.

So, the point I am getting around to is: If you let the DC Fighter/Druid go Scimitar, then go all the way to 5 PP. And, yes, in that case you should take Aerich's advice and let the Dwarf do a crushing weapon (Mace is a really good choice); but, whatever you choose, let her go all the way to 5 PP. If you let the F/D specialize in a crushing weapon (again, Mace is a really good choice), then go to 5 PP in it. The Dwarf can then do 5 PP in Axes and 3PP in crushing, or 5PP in whatever other edged weapon you like and 3 PP in Bows.

The Mace is an **EXCELLENT** crushing weapon, and there are plenty of awesome ones to go around. Nothing says that you can't have 2 or 3 gals specializing and packing these around.

Simultaneously balance the team to get all damage types represented, and let the guys who can specialize SPECIALIZE: stack those PP as high as they will go!! 5PP gets you an advantage over 2 PP of: 2 more points THACO; 3 more points damage and 1.0 more Attacks per Round! Your front line will be much more lethal if you have a 5 PP slasher and a 5 PP crusher in it then it would if all warriors were at 2 PP. The extra versatility is not worth losing the 5 PP lethality, especially when you have already bought plenty of versatility by virtue of your excellent decision to have so many warriors.

The Dwarf doesn't need to be THE tank. In fact, the Elf Ranger might make a better tank than the Dwarf Fighter; because the Dwarf maxes out at 17 DEX, which hurts the natural bonus to AC. AC is THE most important thing for a tank. The second most important trait is HP. The Dwarf maxes out at 19 CON, which helps bonus HP, but I don't think it is enough to offset the loss in AC.(Surprisingly, the best tank material is arguably the Halfling, with DEX = 19.) Make sure that all your warrior mixes are max on STR, DEX and CON. Then, at worst, you will have 3 gals who can tank. On occasion, when the F/D shapechanges to the correct form, you'll get 4. You have tanks in spades.

A good DC Fighter/Druid is one of the hardest characters to roll: You need *AT LEAST* 88 ability points, and they must be allocated carefully. There are extensive discussions in this forum on the subject, including a painful expose' of how I did it wrong. Just do a search in this forum.

By the way, you did have me fooled. Your English is excellent. I wish some of the U.S. born and raised kids running the check-out counters in my neighborhood could do as well. Here's a quote on the subject that I found quite enjoyable:

Q: What do you call someone who knows four or more languages?

~

A: A Polyglot.

~

Q: What do you call someone who knows three languages?

~
A: Trilingual.

~

Q: What do you call someone who knows two languages?

~

A: Bilingual.

~

Q: What do you call someone who knows only one language?

~

A: American.

--------------------
What's a party,
without a song?
Bards ROCK!
Party On!!

[ 06-01-2005, 01:00 PM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]

06-01-2005, 10:34 AM	#24
NobleNick Quintesson Join Date: February 5, 2002 Location: Huntsville, AL, USA Age: 65 Posts: 1,045	Kitiara, The below assumes HoW is installed and that your party will do IWD and the expansions. No I don't think your Cleric/Fighter can do the spear; and I would be surprised if the Druid could. And even if she could, I wouldn't subject her to that. Bare knuckles is the only thing worse than a quarterstaff, unless you are going up against skeletons, for which daggers is probably the worst weapon. NobleNick's index of bad weapon choices for an IWD warrior: Worst melee weapon = staff; second worst = dagger; third worst weapon = club. Fourth worst = spear. Worst ranged weapon = darts; second worst = Short Bow. NobleNick's index of good weapon choices for an IWD warrior: Best melee weapon for Paladin = Largesword (longsword). Best for non-paladin = Largesword, Axe or Mace. Best ranged weapon = Bow (Long Bow, Composite Bow, and variants). Best ranged weapon for those who's ethos disallow Bow = Sling. I didn't know that a Druid couldn't do Flails. Really? Why not: the Clerics can use them. Hmmm... Guess I didn't pay attention, cause if mine hadn't gone Scimitar, I would have saddled him up with a Mace. Good choices for racial enemy for the Ranger are: Corporeal Undead and Skeletal Undead. Given that the party you have settled upon has lots of warrior skills (very good decision) and a Bard to turbo-charge them (also an excellent decision); you do not need to undo most of your good work by making generalists out of the only gals who can specialize. My advice is to capitalize on the luxury you have afforded yourself, and specialize those characters which you can. You need to dish out slashing AND crushing damage with your melee weapons (Bows will cover you for piercing damage.) Your heavy hitters (if you build them correctly) are: 1.) MC Fighter/Cleric (constrained to 2PP per weapon. Constrained to crushing.) 2.) SC Ranger (constrained to 2PP per weapon) 3.) SC Fighter (5PP melee, 3PP ranged, or 5PP melee/ranged Axe) 4.) DC Druid/Fighter (did you mean Fighter/Druid?) (5PP melee, 3PP ranged. Crushing or Scimitar, only.) So, 2 of your 4 warrior mixes will have to generalize, and consequently will get O.K. proficiency in just about every weapon their little hearts desire. (Try to stack 2 PP high, wherever you can.) Also, you have 2 of your 4 main warriors already constrained to crushing weapons (unless the Druid goes with Scimitar). Your D/F will be Neutral, thus allowing her to use The Giving Star (an excellent Mace) or possibly (name withheld so as not to spoil) (an excellent Flail). If your MC F/C is aligned Good (a good decision, no pun intended), then she also should have a good (no pun) choice of crushing weapons. So, the point I am getting around to is: If you let the DC Fighter/Druid go Scimitar, then go all the way to 5 PP. And, yes, in that case you should take Aerich's advice and let the Dwarf do a crushing weapon (Mace is a really good choice); but, whatever you choose, let her go all the way to 5 PP. If you let the F/D specialize in a crushing weapon (again, Mace is a really good choice), then go to 5 PP in it. The Dwarf can then do 5 PP in Axes and 3PP in crushing, or 5PP in whatever other edged weapon you like and 3 PP in Bows. The Mace is an EXCELLENT crushing weapon, and there are plenty of awesome ones to go around. Nothing says that you can't have 2 or 3 gals specializing and packing these around. Simultaneously balance the team to get all damage types represented, and let the guys who can specialize SPECIALIZE: stack those PP as high as they will go!! 5PP gets you an advantage over 2 PP of: 2 more points THACO; 3 more points damage and 1.0 more Attacks per Round! Your front line will be much more lethal if you have a 5 PP slasher and a 5 PP crusher in it then it would if all warriors were at 2 PP. The extra versatility is not worth losing the 5 PP lethality, especially when you have already bought plenty of versatility by virtue of your excellent decision to have so many warriors. The Dwarf doesn't need to be THE tank. In fact, the Elf Ranger might make a better tank than the Dwarf Fighter; because the Dwarf maxes out at 17 DEX, which hurts the natural bonus to AC. AC is THE most important thing for a tank. The second most important trait is HP. The Dwarf maxes out at 19 CON, which helps bonus HP, but I don't think it is enough to offset the loss in AC.(Surprisingly, the best tank material is arguably the Halfling, with DEX = 19.) Make sure that all your warrior mixes are max on STR, DEX and CON. Then, at worst, you will have 3 gals who can tank. On occasion, when the F/D shapechanges to the correct form, you'll get 4. You have tanks in spades. A good DC Fighter/Druid is one of the hardest characters to roll: You need AT LEAST 88 ability points, and they must be allocated carefully. There are extensive discussions in this forum on the subject, including a painful expose' of how I did it wrong. Just do a search in this forum. By the way, you did have me fooled. Your English is excellent. I wish some of the U.S. born and raised kids running the check-out counters in my neighborhood could do as well. Here's a quote on the subject that I found quite enjoyable: Q: What do you call someone who knows four or more languages? ~ A: A Polyglot. ~ Q: What do you call someone who knows three languages? ~ A: Trilingual. ~ Q: What do you call someone who knows two languages? ~ A: Bilingual. ~ Q: What do you call someone who knows only one language? ~ A: American. -------------------- What's a party, without a song? Bards ROCK! Party On!! [ 06-01-2005, 01:00 PM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]