D&D Question and Information thread. (First post updated!) - Page 347

Akotosh · 02-17-2007, 01:37 PM

The thing I found really confusing about D&D was that is some games you can only be a certain race, but it others you can be any humanoid race. I wanted to create a Drow Warrior/Mage type, but I couldn't use a Drow in the game we were going to play that night (my first time), but I could use it in another game, but then if we went back to that build of the game we played the first time, all the stuff I just did in the other game couldn't be carried over. I found that sort of weird, and annoying. I also found it weird that you can completely break games, ending it hours earlier than it should have been.

I also liked the freedom of the game, but some of the stuff just got me confused. Like the laws, politics, and factions were hard for me to keep track of. The freedom and diversity can get a little baffling sometimes.

_mike · 02-17-2007, 02:19 PM

I see the information, Akotosh, but usually in this tread we give information in response to a question.

Anyway, it sounds like you have one of those DMs who's very strict about preserving his vision of the game world. It's not really that uncommon for a DM to not allow certain races in a campaign, though. It also sounds like you guys change campaigns a lot. If you find this stuff to be annoying, then talk to your DM. Think of your post as like the first draft of a formal letter of complaint, then try to phrase it so it's not terribly confrontational. A good DM will listen and either explain why he runs things the way he does in a civil manner, or he'll change the game a bit so you're more comfortable. A bad DM will say "because I am God" and not change a thing (he'd then procede to have your character eatten by a tarrasque). So it's really a judgement call on your part as to what kind of DM you have, as to whether you should take my above advice or just suck it up and deal with what you have.

About the confusing factions and laws and stuff, you should take notes. I know it sounds crazy, but it really helps. This works better if you're a bard or wizard type; you know, a character who's likely to write stuff down. Sure, it might seem nerdy to take notes durring a game, but you're playing D&D for christ's-sake, you've already crossed that line.

jonathan915 · 02-18-2007, 12:26 AM

Well, this isn't really related to what you were just talking about, but I had a couple of questions. Now I love DnD, but I never play. I havn't been able to play in a couple years. I have the 3 main 3rd edition rule books, and I've read most of them, but I find my knoledge becoming outdated with 3.5, and nobody who lives nearby or that I see on a regular basis plays. Even if I wanted to play none of my friends would be good DMs. They all either say "I'm god, and if you don't do what I think you should do you'll be struck by divine lightning", or they don't plan and campaigns fall apart after about one session. Now my questions are how should I
a) find/recruit people to play
b) find/recruit a DM, or should I be the DM, and if so what are some suggestions for being a good one?
Also I'm not really sure what to do about 3.5. Should I just give in and buy the books? I'm not sure I want to spend the money, especially if no one wants to play. Should I try to find someone with 3.5 books even though I'm not really familiar with them, or should I say 3 only?
Also alot of my friends would tend to just goof off if I got them to play. Is there any good way to deal with this, or do I need to find different people to play with?

Anyways, all advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks

p.s. I didn't read many of the other posts and topics, so if this has all been said elsewhere directing me there would be equally appreciated.

BitVyper · 02-24-2007, 04:03 PM

Edit: duur, I read AC for some reason, not damage. You may ignore my post.

Ceilingcat · 02-28-2007, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonathan915

a) find/recruit people to play

Do you have a game shop or comic shop nearby? You might be able to find something there. If you're in high school or college, you could also try lurking in some clubs that have overlapping areas of interest (read: members are geeks). Or make your friends do it.

Quote:

b) find/recruit a DM, or should I be the DM, and if so what are some suggestions for being a good one?

If there's already a group in your area, try to join that. Otherwise, you should be the DM. You should probably start off with a premade adventure, if you can afford it (I've heard the Standing Stones is both easy and fun). Some are available for free online.

Quote:

Also I'm not really sure what to do about 3.5. Should I just give in and buy the books? I'm not sure I want to spend the money, especially if no one wants to play. Should I try to find someone with 3.5 books even though I'm not really familiar with them, or should I say 3 only?

3.5 and 3e are very similar systems; 3.5 is a revision of the first, not an expansion. I'd suggest 3.5, since that's still being supported, but if you already have the 3e books then use those.

Quote:

Also a lot of my friends would tend to just goof off if I got them to play. Is there any good way to deal with this, or do I need to find different people to play with?

Find what they like and tailor games to that. Making it fun is the important part, and you should focus on that.

BitVyper · 03-03-2007, 11:43 PM

Alright, I need some suggestions. I'm making an NPC epic, elven paladin, and I'm looking for a prestige class for him. It has to be something that's fairly typical paladin fare, but that's my only real requirement. Any ideas?

Edit: Made my decision. I'm going cleric for the first 6 levels, and then prestige paladin for the fifteen after before going to epic cleric. He'll end up with 20 cleric caster levels, and a base attack bonus high enough for four attacks before he hits epic. That should give the PCs enough trouble.

Meister · 03-17-2007, 09:07 AM

Okay, new campaign and thus new character coming up. I'm still set on making a tough street fighter type, the overlying character theme being "does not go down."

We're starting at level 4 by the way.

Class: Monk (I'll work that in with the backstory)
Stats:
STR 14
DEX 15
CON 15
WIS 14
INT 10
CHA 8
(Using point buy 30, and I raised CON to 16 on level 4 and will do the same with DEX on level 8.)
Feats: Other than monk feats, I chose Great Fortitude, Endurance and Diehard. His monk bonus feats are Improved Grapple and Combat Reflexes.

If anyone has any additional ideas to make this guy hard to kill, I'll gladly listen. I can only use core rulebooks, although I might get into Drunken Master later.

Exsiccator · 03-26-2007, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meister

Okay, new campaign and thus new character coming up. I'm still set on making a tough street fighter type, the overlying character theme being "does not go down."

We're starting at level 4 by the way.

Class: Monk (I'll work that in with the backstory)
Stats:
STR 14
DEX 15
CON 15
WIS 14
INT 10
CHA 8
(Using point buy 30, and I raised CON to 16 on level 4 and will do the same with DEX on level 8.)
Feats: Other than monk feats, I chose Great Fortitude, Endurance and Diehard. His monk bonus feats are Improved Grapple and Combat Reflexes.

If anyone has any additional ideas to make this guy hard to kill, I'll gladly listen. I can only use core rulebooks, although I might get into Drunken Master later.

I have several options for you if it isn't too late. If you are hard set in the start you already have I would recommend lowering your str a little and grabbing Weapon Finesse to lower MAD (Multiple Ability Dependency) This will allow you to focus more on your Dexterity which will improve your init, reflex save, ac, and attack bonus with melee and ranged weaponry. Unfortunately, high dex characters are rarely seen as street toughs...this one can be if you so choose.

Alternatively I reccomend heading towards the Dwarven Defender prestige class as this fits your criteria better (though it restricts your race.

Dwarven Ranger 1/Fighter 2/Ranger +2/Horizon Walker 2/Dwarven Defender X
Skills: (Make sure to drop 8 skill points in Knowledge(Geography) over the 3 ranger levels to meet the requirements for Horizon Walker)
Feats: 2 Fighter Feats, Track (bonus @ Ranger 1), Endurance (bonus @ Ranger 3), Combat Style feat, and all open level feats
Dodge and Toughness are required for Dwarven Defender but they are good choices for the build nevertheless

You can drop most of the dex and be a str based fighter with heavy armor with huge damage reduction and ac. The entry feats for the prestige classes fit well with your original choices. You will also get full base attack bonus progression and the bonus fighter feats can be used to get unarmed damage if you so choose. I reccomend taking Terrain Mastery(Desert and Underground) for your level of Horizon Walker to get resistance to fatigue and darkvision. I hope that this path doesn't reek too much of optimization for your tastes but it makes perfect sense for your character. A street tough with some skills that is super tough with high con and strength, resistant to fatigue, able to fight in the dark and can make a final stand and not go down.

guy named bob · 03-26-2007, 07:06 PM

What items can be used to survive in a bag of holding other then bottle of air http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Bot...ndrous_Item%29 and is it a good way to travel?

Demetrius · 03-27-2007, 08:15 AM

Nope. Traveling inside a bag of holding tempts DM's the same way a steak does a doberman, and you're the steak.

02-17-2007, 01:37 PM	#3461
Akotosh Goomba Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 3	The thing I found really confusing about D&D was that is some games you can only be a certain race, but it others you can be any humanoid race. I wanted to create a Drow Warrior/Mage type, but I couldn't use a Drow in the game we were going to play that night (my first time), but I could use it in another game, but then if we went back to that build of the game we played the first time, all the stuff I just did in the other game couldn't be carried over. I found that sort of weird, and annoying. I also found it weird that you can completely break games, ending it hours earlier than it should have been. I also liked the freedom of the game, but some of the stuff just got me confused. Like the laws, politics, and factions were hard for me to keep track of. The freedom and diversity can get a little baffling sometimes. __________________ "The magic of the pen lies in the concentration of your thoughts upon one object." ~ George Henry Lewes

02-24-2007, 04:03 PM	#3464
BitVyper History's Strongest Dilettante Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Arcadia Posts: 6,662	Edit: duur, I read AC for some reason, not damage. You may ignore my post. __________________ "There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea is asleep, and the rivers dream. People made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on, Ace; we've got work to do!" Awesome art be here. Last edited by BitVyper; 02-24-2007 at 05:32 PM.

03-03-2007, 11:43 PM	#3466
BitVyper History's Strongest Dilettante Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Arcadia Posts: 6,662	Alright, I need some suggestions. I'm making an NPC epic, elven paladin, and I'm looking for a prestige class for him. It has to be something that's fairly typical paladin fare, but that's my only real requirement. Any ideas? Edit: Made my decision. I'm going cleric for the first 6 levels, and then prestige paladin for the fifteen after before going to epic cleric. He'll end up with 20 cleric caster levels, and a base attack bonus high enough for four attacks before he hits epic. That should give the PCs enough trouble. __________________ "There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea is asleep, and the rivers dream. People made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on, Ace; we've got work to do!" Awesome art be here. Last edited by BitVyper; 03-04-2007 at 01:39 AM.

03-27-2007, 08:15 AM	#3470
Demetrius In need of a vacation Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Peoples Republic of Vermont Posts: 3,236	Nope. Traveling inside a bag of holding tempts DM's the same way a steak does a doberman, and you're the steak. __________________ DFM, Demon seed of Hell who fuels its incredible power by butchering little girls and feeding on their innocence. Demetrius, Dark clown of the netherworld, a being of incalculable debauchery and a soulless, faceless evil as old as time itself. Zilla, The chick. ~DFM Wii bishie bishie kawaii baka! ~ Fifthfiend

02-18-2007, 12:26 AM	#3463
jonathan915 Goomba Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 2	Well, this isn't really related to what you were just talking about, but I had a couple of questions. Now I love DnD, but I never play. I havn't been able to play in a couple years. I have the 3 main 3rd edition rule books, and I've read most of them, but I find my knoledge becoming outdated with 3.5, and nobody who lives nearby or that I see on a regular basis plays. Even if I wanted to play none of my friends would be good DMs. They all either say "I'm god, and if you don't do what I think you should do you'll be struck by divine lightning", or they don't plan and campaigns fall apart after about one session. Now my questions are how should I a) find/recruit people to play b) find/recruit a DM, or should I be the DM, and if so what are some suggestions for being a good one? Also I'm not really sure what to do about 3.5. Should I just give in and buy the books? I'm not sure I want to spend the money, especially if no one wants to play. Should I try to find someone with 3.5 books even though I'm not really familiar with them, or should I say 3 only? Also alot of my friends would tend to just goof off if I got them to play. Is there any good way to deal with this, or do I need to find different people to play with? Anyways, all advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks p.s. I didn't read many of the other posts and topics, so if this has all been said elsewhere directing me there would be equally appreciated.

03-17-2007, 09:07 AM	#3467
Meister Pure joy Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Germany Posts: 10,689	Okay, new campaign and thus new character coming up. I'm still set on making a tough street fighter type, the overlying character theme being "does not go down." We're starting at level 4 by the way. Class: Monk (I'll work that in with the backstory) Stats: STR 14 DEX 15 CON 15 WIS 14 INT 10 CHA 8 (Using point buy 30, and I raised CON to 16 on level 4 and will do the same with DEX on level 8.) Feats: Other than monk feats, I chose Great Fortitude, Endurance and Diehard. His monk bonus feats are Improved Grapple and Combat Reflexes. If anyone has any additional ideas to make this guy hard to kill, I'll gladly listen. I can only use core rulebooks, although I might get into Drunken Master later.

03-26-2007, 07:06 PM	#3469
guy named bob Goomba Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 19	What items can be used to survive in a bag of holding other then bottle of air http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Bot...ndrous_Item%29 and is it a good way to travel?