Tamarask -- or why I started worrying and stopped loving the

[Judging__Eagle]

"What is a shitty DM?"

[Maxus]

1204126365[/unixtime]]"What is a shitty DM?"

Incompetent, but convinced he is otherwise.

Arrogant to the point of believing himself to be beyond question.

Storytelling style and the strings he uses to control story are lacking in grace and painfully obvious, respectively.

Constantly giving people reminders, both subtle and blatant, that he's in charge, even in the story.

Edit:

This DM is shit.
He's stupid and he's a dick.
Looking for new group.

~A Haiku.

[the_taken]

1204128517[/unixtime]]This DM is shit.
He's stupid and he's a dick.
Looking for new group.

~A Haiku.

Siggeriific!

[virgil]

Now, that's just general frustration. He doesn't actually act on alot of his opinions on how the game should be balanced, so it's a borderline philosophical disagreement (barring the occasional example like I gave earlier) on the game between us. And while he trusts the CR math more than he likely should, he's not light on the rewards/loot for the kill, so there is actually some risk-vs-reward (ambushing giant constrictor snakes are brutal).

What I'm saying is that he's not actually intolerable, just enough to create some frustration that adds to that of my fellow passive-aggressive players (with precedence for them going outright aggressive).

Besides, it's not like I don't have my own flaws as a DM/player. As a player, I can be overbearing at times. As a DM, I can be arrogant with those I consider as less versed in the rules than I, and then there were the days when I was actively trying to kill one particular player (dark days for me, which I fear regressing to).

But, I like to think of myself as patient (or at least oblivious to do the same thing). And also, I'm using this thread as a source for ranting; because who doesn't feel better to complain about something and get moral support from faceless people of whom I will never meet in the real world (besides A_Cynic)?

[SunTzuWarmaster]

Have you considered a warmage?

[Maxus]

1204138922[/unixtime]]

1204128517[/unixtime]]This DM is shit.
He's stupid and he's a dick.
Looking for new group.

~A Haiku.

Siggeriific!

Thanks!

By way of explanation, sometimes the syllables line up and I go "Haiku!"

For example, my first year of college, I took the rules they were giving us (park in your assigned parking lot, don't plagiarize, etc.) and managed to come up with four or five haiku, most of them involving the obligatory seasonal reference (which are useful for burning syllables, I've found).

[virgil]

One problem with the warmage, for either of us, is that there is a universal ban on meta-metamagic feats; which hurts the chances of an evoker being any good.

I think A_Cynic is looking forward to his Inspire Courage build, and I've got enough things on the side with my generalist wizard to pretty much do anything I want just with my raw power. It's kind of silly how many "gentleman's agreements" I have with the DMs to keep things sane, and I even keep a CL 7 magic missile wand around just to give myself something to do when I refrain from overkill and let the rest of the party do stuff (except for A_Cynic's druid, who gave me a run for my money).

[SunTzuWarmaster]

Wow. Really. I give up, there is no hope.

Have you considered DMing? That's usually what I do when I get pissed.

[Judging__Eagle]

The thing is.... In my games, I tell the players to pick up RoW Adamantine Armour for their melee tanks for the DR (when I played a RoW barb that nearly always blitzed, I didn't have it and instead opted for getting 28 con at lvl 6), for the DR. As well as tell them about The spells that fucking kill people.

Then they get RoW Blitz...and never actually...blitz. Too cautious imo.


Anyway, if you want to use Roland Fist of the North, I copypasta'd the text here (I plan on printing a copy myself and printing out the pages that it refers to as well).

-------------------------

04-29-06, 12:27 AM
Poster Name:Caelic
Character Name: Roland, Bear of the North

The necromancer spat a curse from blackened, shrivelled lips. "The accursed Witchfinder draws closer," he snarled. "My minions have failed. No matter; he will not stand against my magic."

A booming crash echoed down the hall, followed by another. The ornate, carved door to the inner sanctum blew off its hinges, sundered by a mighty blow. The figure who strode into the room, contemptuously casting aside the mangled remains of one of the undead guardians, was a formidable sight. Eight and a half feet tall, he had the body of a mighty warrior and the head of a fearsome bear. There was nobility in the countenance of that bear, rather than savagery--but there was also a will as iron and implacable as the gleaming blade the figure held in his right hand. He glowed with an inner radiance that was painful for the necromancer to look upon as he levelled his blade and spoke in a voice like thunder.

"You stand in taint of crimes against the Crown, the Church, humanity, and nature. Surrender now, or fall where you stand. Either way, justice shall be done."

The necromancer sneered, hands curling, pulsing with dark power. "We shall see, Bear of the North..."


Class/Level: Cleric 1/Paladin 2/Fighter 2/Chameleon 10/Witch Slayer 5
Race:Human

Ability Scores:
Str: 22 [12 Base +4 Inherent+6 enhancement] (4)
Dex: 14 [8 Base +6 enhancement] (0)
Con: 26 [16 Base +4 inherent+6 enhancement] (10)
Int: 18 [12 Base +6 enhancement] (4)
Wis: 18 [12 Base +6 enhancement] (4)
Cha: 38 [16 Base +5 level+5 inherent+6 enhancement+6 ability focus] (10);


Str: 44 [12 Base+4 inherent+16 enhancement+4 size+4 unnamed +4 sacred]
Dex: 14 [8 Base+6 enhancement]
Con: 30 [16 Base+4 inherent+8 enhancement+2 size]
Int: 18 [12 Base+6 enhancement]
Wis: 18 [12 base+6 enhancement]
Cha: 42 [16 base +5 level+5 inherent+6 enhancement+6 ability focus+4 sacred]

BUFFS ACTIVE: Extended Persistent Bite of the Werebear, Extended Persistent Righteous Might, Extended Persistent Sirine’s Grace, Extended Persistent Righteous Fury, Extended Persistent Evard’s Menacing Tentacles, Extended Persistent Swift Haste, Extended Girallon’s Blessing, Extended Fuse Arms, Extended Righteous Aura

Tactical Statistics:
Hit points = 194 AMF, 254 unbuffed, 344 buffed
Initiative: +2 [0 Bonuses +2 Dex]
Move Speeds: 60 ft
AC: 61, touch 29, flat-footed 59 [10 +13 armor +2 dex +7 shield +12 natural +16 deflection +1 dodge]
Conditional Modifiers to AC: +5 dodge (Combat Expertise)
Completely Buffed AC: 61/29/59
Base Attack/Grapple:+16/+11/+6/+1

Large Longsword +47/+47/+42/+37/+32. 2d6+26, 10’ reach
Tentacles (2): +41/+41. 1d8+17, 10’ reach
Average Damage/Round (no power attack, assuming all attacks hit and no criticals): 207

Saves:
Fort: +55[15 Base +10 ability +16 charisma+6 resistance+4 Combat Focus+4 Divine Focus]
Conditional Modifiers: Unbuffed save: +36 AMF save: +28
Ref: +28 [4 Base +2 ability +16 charisma +6 resistance]
Conditional Modifiers: Unbuffed Save: +20 AMF Save: +7
Will: +40[9 Base +4 ability +16 charisma +6 resistance+4 Divine Focus+1 Mage Slayer]
Conditional Modifiers: Unbuffed Save: +32 AMF Save: +15


Special Qualities: Mettle, Slippery Mind, Divine Grace,

Usually running buff spells:
Extended Persistent Sirine's Grace, Extended Persistent Bite of the Werebear, Extended Persistent Swift Haste, Extended Persistent Righteous Fury, Extended Persistent Evard’s Menacing Tentacles, Extended Persistent Righteous Might
Normal:
Extended Greater Magic Weapon, Magic Vestment (twice,) Extended Righteous Aura, Superior Resistance, Extended Girallon’s Blessing, Extended Fuse Arms, Create Magic Tattoo (+2 competence to attack, +1 luck to attack, +1 caster level,) Scales of the Sealord

(A word of explanation: Roland casts half of his Extended Persistent spells on odd days, and the other half on even days. On the days where he needs to cast Bite of the Werebear, he uses his floating feat from Chameleon to take Sudden Extend, thus enabling him to make the spell both Extended and Persistent.) Buffs are typically cast at a caster level of 29, thanks to Create Magic Tattoo, Adept Spirit, Hymn of Praise, and magic items.

Progression:


[ list=1]
[ *]Cleric 1: Able Learner, (Extend Spell), (MWP: Longsword), (WF: Longsword), [Domains: Trickery, War, Turn Undead]
[ *]Paladin 1 [Aura of Good, detect evil, smite evil 1/day]
[ *]Paladin 2: Persistent Spell, [Divine Grace, Lay on Hands]
[ *]Fighter 1: (Power Attack)
[ *]Fighter 2: (Combat Expertise)
[ *]Chameleon 1: Divine Metamagic (Persistent), [Aptitude Focus 1/day (+2)]
[ *]Chameleon 2: [Floating bonus feat]
[ *]Chameleon 3: [Mimic Class Feature 1/day]
[ *]Chameleon 4: Mage Slayer
[ *]Chameleon 5: [Aptitude Focus 2/day (+4)]
[ *]Chameleon 6: [Mimic Class Feature 2/day]
[ *]Chameleon 7: Divine Might, [Ability Boon +4, Double Aptitude]
[ *]Chameleon 8: [Rapid Refocus]
[ *]Chameleon 9: [Mimic class feature 3/day]
[ *]Witch Slayer 1: Leap Attack, [Smite Spirit Shaper]
[ *]Witch Slayer 2: [Mettle]
[ *]Witch Slayer 3: [Locate Possession]
[ *]Witch Slayer 4: Practiced Spellcaster, [Slippery Mind]
[ *]Witch Slayer 5: [Momentary Disjunction]
[ *]Chameleon 10: [Aptitude Focus 3/day (+4,) Ability Boon (+6)]
[ /list ]

Bonus feats are italicized and are in ().
Normal feats are italicized
Notable Class Abilities are in []
Comments are preceded with a /* and end with a */


Class Abilities of note: Momentary Disjunction (30' range, target must make a DC 36 Will save or be affected as if by Antimagic Field for one round, usable every five rounds.) Floating bonus feat (Normally used to take Pierce Magical Protection; caster level is 20 when this feat is "off" and 16 when it's "on.") Mettle and Slippery Mind. Divine Grace (typically +16 to saves.) Turn Undead (19/day) Domains: Trickery, War, Smite Evil 1/day (+16 to attack, +4 to damage.) Mimic Class Feature 3/day (normally used for Smite Evil (+16 to hit/+10 damage,) extra turn attempts, or Evasion.)

Skills of note:
Concentration 10 (+20)
Gather Information 10 (+26)
Sense Motive 10 (+14)
Bluff 8 (+24)
Knowledge (arcana) 5 (+9)
Spellcraft 14 (+20)
Use Magic Device 23 (+39)
Disguise 8 (+24)
Knowledge (Religion) 5 (+9)
Diplomacy 10 (+30)
Listen 8 (+12)
Spot 8 (+12)
Search 5 (+9)
Disable Device 2 (+6)


Total Number of Skillpoints: 126


Spellcasting:
Spells of Note: In addition to the buffs listed above, Roland frequently uses the following spells:

Divine Favor (Cleric 1)
Friendly Face (Bard 1)
Instant Locksmith (Sor/Wiz 1)
Instant Search (Sor/Wiz 1)
Improvisation (Bard 1)
Nerveskitter (Sor/Wiz 1)
Shock and Awe (Bard 1)
Create Magic Tattoo (Sor/Wiz 2)
Heroics (Sor/Wiz 2)
Adept Spirit (Sor/Wiz 3)
Find the Gap (Paladin 3)
Hymn of Praise (Bard 3)
Scales of the Sealord (Druid 3)
Ruin Delver’s Fortune (Bard 4)
Voice of the Dragon (Bard 4)
Bigby’s Clenched Fist (Dusk 5)
Polar Ray (Dusk 5)
Righteous Wrath of the Faithful (Cleric 5)
Valiant Fury (Courage 5)


Items of Note:
Tome of Leadership and Influence +5 (137,500)
Tomes of Strength and Constitution +4 (220,000)
Belt of Magnificence +6 (200,000)
Mithril Full Plate +1 (11,650)
Twilight Mithril Large Shield +1 of Heavy Fortification (50,170)
Twilight Mithril Chain Shirt +1 (5,100)
Orange Ioun Stone (30,000)
Bead of Karma (20,000)

Books Tome of Magic, Complete Divine, Complete Arcane, Races of Destiny, Spell Compendium, Player’s Handbook 2, Miniatures Handbook, Magic of Incarnum

Why is this character the ultimate Gish?
Roland is the ultimate Gish for a number of reasons. First and foremost, he’s an honest-to-goodness Gish…that is to say, someone who combines combat ability and magical ability, rather than a spellcaster who relies entirely on magic for his fighting prowess. There’s certainly nothing wrong with becoming a dominant combatant through magic, but when the magic goes away, it leaves you in a precarious situation…and taking away his opponent’s magic is exactly what Roland does best.

Roland is also extremely versatile. Whereas a normal Gish build will do combat and magic well and falter on other tasks, Roland is capable of handling almost any situation. Given a bit of preparation, he can be a diplomat par excellence, an expert trapsmith capable of disarming the most fiendish devices, or a canny wilderness tracker. His M.O. is to research his quarry beforehand, and given the huge number of spells and skills he has access to in doing this research, he will almost surely be well-prepared for the situation at hand.

Finally, Roland is usable in almost any campaign. While very powerful, he is balanced—strong in many areas, rather than overwhelmingly strong in one or two and weak in all others. He makes no use of setting-specific material that might have to be removed.

Note that this is by no means the most powerful the character COULD be. Many choices have been made for stylistic and thematic reasons. Polymorph and Persistent Wraithstrike are now banned, as per the contest rules, and Roland makes no use of them; likewise, I'm steering clear of the AMF/Extraordinary Spell Aim combo, as I consider it to be overpowered. These would be options for his enemies in many campaigns, however, and I have tried to build the character in such a way that he can deal with opponents using such tactics.


Aberrations/Magical Beasts etc: When buffed, there are very few critters in this category who can seriously threaten Roland, thanks to his extremely high saves and AC--and his raw offensive potential is more than enough to cut them down to size.
Constructs: Magically resistant, you say? Well, then, it's fortunate that Roland's not reliant on flinging spell after spell at enemies, like the reprobates he hunts! Again, high AC plus high damage potential renders most golems' defenses moot.
Dragons: Ooo, NOW we're talking! Against dragons, Roland is a bit more cautious--he's confident, but not cocky. Research beforehand, possibly with the aid of magical divinations, will allow him to select appropriate defensive spells (such as Energy Immunity vs. the dragon's breath type.) Against dragons, Roland will attempt to use his Momentary Disjunction to shut down spellcasting, then close to melee. Once within melee range, the advantage is his—when he pulls 5 off of his base attack with Combat Expertise, even a Great Wyrm red dragon doesn't have much chance of hitting him, whereas he can hit it easily and consistently.
Elementals/Outsiders: This is a very broad category. Most elementals are really no problem; certain demons and devils might well require more planning and foresight. The Smite Evils will definitely be coming out against such opponents!
Undead: Oh, c'mon--this is what Roland does best, next to killing spellcasters! And if it's a spellcasting undead, so much the better!
Traps: Like most Gishes, Roland is not a master trapsmith. Unlike most Gishes, he CAN be a master trapsmith. If he has reason to believe he'll be hunting his quarry in a heavily-trapped area, Roland's standard tactic is to swap his combat focus for stealth focus, granting him trapfinding and a +4 bonus to his thief skills and reflex saves. He can augment this with spells like Understand Device (granting him a +15 insight bonus to Disable Device and Open Locks) or Improvisation (granting him up to a +10 luck bonus to four different skill checks.) If speed is of the essence, he will also Persist Instant Search and/or Instant Locksmith, enabling him to search for and disable traps as a free action...making him, arguably, better at dealing with traps than a master rogue.
Political Intrigue: Roland has the social skills to do quite well in the political arena, thanks to Able Learner. His Diplomacy and Bluff modifiers are extremely high, thanks to his extremely high Charisma score. His Sense Motive is also quite good for a Gish. Finally, having access to every single divination spell of sixth level or below ensures that Roland will be well-informed when he ventures into the political arena.
Diplomatic Maneuvers: See above. +30 Diplomacy may not seem like much next to a Diplomancer, but it's nothing to sneeze at...and he can always enhance it with spells like Friendly Face and Voice of the Dragon.
A BBEG/ Mastermind/ Warlord: Roland confronts such enemies where they're weakest. Against a purely physical threat, he makes good use of his spells to achieve tactical superiority; against a spellcaster, he makes use of his usual Momentary Disjunction/Charge/Pierce Magical Protection/kill kill kill approach. See below for added tactics used to deal with specific types of BBEG threats.
Mobs: Unless they're mobs of extremely nasty critters, really not a problem. Generally speaking, Roland will use Freedom of Movement to avoid being grappled. He doesn't particularly LIKE fighting mobs; it's not his style, it feels vaguely like being a bully, and it takes a long time.
Overwhelming Odds: Err...he's a Paladin who typically walks around glowing like a small star and ready to explode in a burst of holy fire if he dies. Retreat? What's that mean?
AMF: I added this one in because, to me, it's an important way to differentiate a Gish from a plain old buffed-up spellcaster. Does the character cringe in terror when he or she sees an AMF, and avoid it at all costs? Roland's response to an AMF is to drop an AMF of his own, and then charge. Indeed, Roland will sometimes make this his opening gambit against a powerful mage. If the opponent is relying on Extraordinary Spell Aim to maintain large numbers of buffs, Roland's AMF will shut them down; if not, he's still no worse off than he would have been in the opponent's AMF to begin with. Even in an AMF, Roland is still a heavily-armored, Power Attacking fighter with +10 to hit and damage, capable of Raging or even Smiting the opponent. (The Chameleon's Smite ability, unlike all others, is (Ex,) not (Su.) If Roland knows in advance that he's going up against such an opponent, he may well shift his Ability Focus to Strength rather than Charisma, raising his overall unbuffed combat bonus to +13 to hit and damage...before Smite.
Polymorph/Shapechange:The ubiquitous spellcaster's answer to melee power. Polymorph/Shapechange is an amazingly powerful tactic; Roland would use it himself, in a campaign where it was permitted. However, he doesn't NEED it...a key difference between the Gish and the pseudo-Gish. Against Shapechanging opponents, Roland is truly in his element, and the enemy is in for a very nasty surprise. All Roland needs to do is hit the enemy once, and the fight is essentially over. This is because Pierce Magical Protection automatically dispels "all spells and spell effects that grant a bonus to Armor Class." Unless the enemy has, for some reason, selected a Shapechange form that has no natural armor bonus, this WILL include Shapechange. Once the spell is dispelled, the mage ISN'T casting it again, thanks to Mage Slayer.



Melee Damage or Non-Magical Ranged Damage Capability: Unbuffed, Roland hits hard; buffed, he hits cripplingly hard. It's what he's best at...nothing fancy, just big old power attacking, bone-crunching blows. With his typical buffs in place, Roland meets the 200-damage benchmark consistently every round—and that’s before Power Attack, Leap Attack, Smite, or any of his short term combat buffs like Valiant Fury, Greater Heroism, or Divine Favor.
Defensive Capability: Roland's a tank. He wades into combat wearing heavy armor, typically augmented by an obscene natural armor bonus (from Bite of the Werebear,) and an even more disgusting Deflection bonus (from Sirine's Grace.) Most things just plain can't hit him except on a natural 20. His saves are high enough that he laughs at the DCs of most effects, and he has Mettle, Slippery Mind, and Evasion, should he need them. If even THAT isn’t enough, he can always use Ruin Delver’s Fortune to boost any of his saves by yet another 16 points….meaning that even on Reflex, by far his weakest save, he can muster an impressive +44. His hit points are quite solid even while unbuffed, and his rock-solid caster level (29 under normal circumstances!) ensures that dispelling his spells won't be an easy task. All in all, he's a very tough nut to crack. Indeed, many of the builds here would be thwarted simply by being unable to hit him, even while buffed--ten attacks at +40 to hit for monstrous amounts of damage is well and good, but not so impressive when a natural 20 is needed to connect! Roland’s high Armor Class easily meets the “40 AC” benchmark.
Magical Offensive Capability: Roland is a Gish, not a pure spellcaster. He has sixth level arcane and divine spells, and can choose them from any spell list. With a CL of 20, he's a solid secondary caster. Hey, if he needs to, though, he can lob an Empowered Orb of Force with a CL of 20--he's no slouch at blasting if he really really WANTS to do it.
Here, again, Roland’s versatility comes into play. While under normal circumstances, he casts arcane buffs at the start of the day, then switches to divine spells and armor too heavy for ASF-free casting, he also maintains a lighter set of armor. If the situation calls for him to be more of an arcane caster than a front-line fighter, he can do it, thus meeting the “No ASF” benchmark. While he can’t match the ninth level spells of some builds, he does meet the “6th-level spells” benchmark—and his ability to choose these from any spell list provides him with a huge advantage, and access to many spells that would, in fact, be eighth or ninth level for a typical caster.
Tactical Advantage: While Roland is normally set up to do one thing very well--kill spellcasters--his flexibility is his greatest strength. Judicious use of his floating feat and the Heroics spell can result in a fighter who's good in just about any combat style. Want a Manyshotting archer? Roland can be one. How about a tripping spiked chain wielder? He can do that, too. A raging, power attacking Sugliin wielder? Well, if you really want, he can do THAT. All he needs it a little bit of forewarning and set-up time, and given his penchant for researching his quarry with divination before he goes after it, he should have that.
Party Benefit: Roland is to a party what a bard is, and then some: the ultimate backup. He's a solid tank fighter, a good utility mage, and a good healer. If need be, he can be a more than competent trapsmith, or the party face. While he can't fill every role all at once, there's really no role he can't fill, given a little preparation time.
Sub-Goals:
High Initiative: This is Roland's weak point; his base initiative is only +4. The use of spells such as Nerveskitter or Shock and Awe can ameliorate this minor weakness.
Skills: Spellcasters and warriors tend not to be particularly skilled; Roland is the exception, with a wide range of skills. He's fairly perceptive, with good Spot, Listen, and Search scores; he's diplomatic and persuasive, with solid Diplomacy, Bluff, and Sense Motive; he's good at Concentration and Spellcraft and great at Use Magic Device (as if he needed more versatility,) and he has some knowledges to round things out.
Playable: For the first five levels, Roland is a straight fighter, no less potent than any other Paladin-type. Once he gets into his Chameleon levels, he augments this with spellcasting; he can start Persisting spells right away, and the bonus feat at second level helps him stay competitive despite his lack of fighter feats at these levels. Once he hits 10th level or thereabouts, he's completely comfortable in his chosen role, and only gets stronger from there.
Minimal Buffs: Without buffs, without items, without assistance of ANY kind, Roland still swings at +10 to hit and damage, with four attacks per round--right up there with the biggest and burliest of 20th level Half-Orc barbarians. Even in an AMF, he can rage and smite enemies, and he's still armored like a tank. His Fortitude and Will saves remain quite solid even in an AMF, although his Reflex save becomes disappointing...but how many truly dangerous Reflex saves is someone in an AMF going to have to make?


The great Bear of the North is fast becoming a figure of legend—a source of hope and wonder to those he defends, a target of fear and hatred to those he hunts. Little is known about him, though much is speculated. He appears, seemingly out of nowhere, to track down the most vile and powerful of evil spellcasters. It would take a brave opponent indeed not to quail inwardly at the sight of him: a massive, bear-headed figure, clad in white and silver and shimmering with holy energy. Some who have seen him claim that this aura of energy fights for him, lashing out with tentacles of pure white radiance. It is said by various witnesses that he is a Paladin, a mighty Cleric, a worker of powerful arcane magics. It is not unusual to hear one “expert” in a tavern spin a tale of the peerless warrior who defeated the Great White Wyrm of Dead Man’s Glacier, only to be followed by another who tells the story of the canny and cunning trapsmith who defeated the Maze of the Black Enigma.
Of course, most dismiss these tales as exaggerations, for what hero could be all of the things that the stories claim?
In this case, though, the stories are true. The Bear of the North was forged through intensive and unconventional training to be a potent weapon against evil. The boy Roland’s first memories are of training—relentless, grueling training. He had many teachers, all demanding, all unwilling to accept anything less than perfection. In most cases, these teachers came and went without Roland ever learning so much as their names. His teaching was always guided, however, by a small, ageless-seeming man who Roland knew only as Ash. As time progressed, and the boy grew to manhood, Ash was always there—guiding, advising, forever bringing out new potential when Roland thought he had reached his limits. In many ways, the teacher became the closest thing to a father that Roland would ever know.
Finally, Ash deemed his protégé ready. Armed with potent magic and formidable skill, Roland ventured into battle for the first time. Though Ash provided him with the general details of his target—his capabilities, his general location, the evils he had committed, it was Roland who tracked down the lich and slew him in single combat.
This pattern would be repeated many times over the next several years. Ash would point Roland in the right direction, and Roland would relentlessly track down and dispatch the evil so named. With each victory, his fame grew; every time he vanished, declining reward or glory, he became more respected. Truly, it seemed, the kingdom finally had a hero worthy of the name.
Of course, nothing is ever exactly what it seems. What Roland did not know during all the long years of his training—what he still does not know—is that his transformation into the Bear of the North was mandated by dark and shadowy powers. The unconventional training which allows him his great versatility comes from a reclusive and mysterious order of assassins with an agenda of domination. This order had long been faced with a dilemma: how to ascend to power without revealing themselves, in a kingdom filled with spellcasters who can sniff out evil?
Their answer: create an agent so secret that he doesn’t realize he IS an agent, and so pure that his motives remain unquestioned by even the most suspicious. Train him from childhood, establish him as a beloved hero of the people, and, eventually, rule through him.
In all the time he has hunted evil as the Bear of the North, Roland has unwittingly served the agenda of this shadow council. His targets, while undeniably evil and corrupt, were also all potential rivals for power who refused to work with the guild, and were thus targeted for elimination.
Lately, Roland has come to be troubled by faint, nagging questions. Where does Ash get his information and equipment? Why has Roland never been told more than the vaguest details of the Order he supposedly serves? To date, he has pushed these questions aside as unimportant; he battles evil, and other concerns are unimportant and potentially dangerous distractions. Eventually, though, Roland will have to confront those questions, and their answers...and, on that day, someone will surely die. Ash still watches his protégé closely…and, formidable as Roland is, it is Ash who taught him all he knows…

-------------

[virgil]

By the way, Dropping Ceiling traps (12d6, never miss) that chain into a 100' pit trap to force you to be unable to make a Reflex save (as he judged)...*hurt*.

I did take it like a man and cast dimension door to appear behind the party (either the amulet of tears or the bard's temporary hit dice he gave me were sufficient to give me the HP to withstand it), heaving in pain while brushing off the rock dust.

He put those two traps in because they were 'only' CR 9 and he likes traps, and as he said, "the game assumes you have a rogue in the party". Our party consisted of the paladin, bard, druid, and my wizard.

[Jacob_Orlove]

A trap that Gates in a Solar is "only CR 9" too.

But you probably shouldn't tell him that.

Edit: whoops, that'd be a CR 10. It's exactly as challenging as the DC 23 Wail of the Banshee trap!

[virgil]

I remember him using that Wail of the Banshee trap on the other party (bard, barbarian, cleric, paladin) when they were level 11. The only one who survived was the barbarian (one other survived initially, but they had to turn around and the trap has an auto-reset), who carried their corpses back to town for resurrections.

Oh, and apparently my trick of casting telekinesis (from memory, of which I only had 3 slots for that day, only one was actually TK) on a dozen huge darkwood greatmauls (base 4d6 each) is abusing the system. Meanwhile, the paladin can (and did) walk up and full attack for comparable damage; though circumstances can exist to favour one of us in either direction, it will tend to err on the favour of the paladin (larger attack bonus, fewer attacks, magic weapon).

[Judging__Eagle]

You can't have both a "No Miss" and a "No Reflex Save" damage effect and still be able to call it a "Trap".

Either you have one, or you have the other.

It's not a "trap" at that point. It's called "DM rolls damage dice; you take it all."

Honestly, I'd tell him to do one or the other. If not, I don't take damage from his bullshit. Because your DM is full of that. Bullshit.


As for "assuming" that you have a rogue. Tell him "OKAY! We're avoiding ANY dungeon that we might ahve to go to and will engage in outside war encounters; b/c we don't have a fucking rogue. Screw you and your bullshit railroading. If you want us to de-trap; give us a de-trapper minion."

Seriously, your DM is a blockhead. His head is shaped like a block, it is made of block and cannot comprehend anything that is not 'block'.

In short, your DM is lame and narrow-minded. Tell him that someone on the internet said that.

Any DM that can't adapt to the party and the players is a sub-par DM.

[virgil]

Part of his problem is that we 'can' get around his traps for the most part. My detect magic got us around two force cage + osyluth traps, and I actually survived him using "rocks fall, everybody dies". On top of this, these traps have so far been seperated by a fair bit of time between encounters, and we have infinite healing.

Since we just levelled, I'm going to be making an item that will allow me to cast detect traps once in awhile (I have have ranks in Search already). I had been putting it off, because we've been under the other DM for awhile, and he doesn't pull this crap. But, we are capable of adapting to be "with rogue"; though this will mean that *I* will be the one pulling the weight, and that is likely to frustrate him all the more.

I do wonder at the volume of XP we're getting from these adventures though. From everything I can tell, we should be getting roughly a quarter of what he's giving us. But I don't know how much of this is from the fact both he and the other DM have this plan to have us level 20 by the end of the semester, and how much of it is honestly him actually forgetting to divide XP.

The Ceiling Trap is actually a standard by-the-book effect. There's a crushing wall trap, in fact, that does 18d6 and doesn't miss (CR 10); which is close in effect to what I suffered.

Wait a minute...he removed the onset delay...

[Cynic]

yeah, he's annoying the eff out of me.

I put out inspire courage +10 on the party, and he gave the advanced Assassin Vine, dr 10/slashing.
It could be a template that was added on but I doubt it.

~~

Seriously, what's the use of allowing an ability and being forewarned of how strong it will be (in this case my optimized bardic music) and then negating the effects.

[SphereOfFeetMan]

I put out inspire courage +10 on the party, and he gave the advanced Assassin Vine, dr 10/slashing.
It could be a template that was added on but I doubt it.

...Wow.

Seriously, what's the use of allowing an ability and being forewarned of how strong it will be (in this case my optimized bardic music) and then negating the effects.

Yeah, I had a Dm like that once. The experience did teach me to distinguish a good Dm from a bad Dm however.

A bad Dm uses monsters or situations that challenge the party by negating the party's abilities. A good Dm challenges the party by using monsters or situations that require the use of the party's abilities in order to overcome it.

[virgil]

I mentioned this to A_Cynic before, but that DR 10/slashing was built into it as part of a template (peeked at the stat sheet), independant of the presence of the bardic music; since it was for an adventure that could go to either group. The fiat was where we never got a check to notice the Assassin Vine's presence before it started attacking (we had a druid with max Nature/Spot ranks); though I suspect that would be argued as appropriate because it was concealed (it was kinda hiding underneath a blanket of leaves).

And some of his methods of negating abilities don't even make sense. It feels like he's taking the adage "the more you learn the less you know" to its logical conclusion; because I might as well not have my massive Knowledge skills with as little information as I get.

My biggest concern is that I'm starting to piss him off with my character, and he's shown himself to be kinda spiteful with his DMing. I've gone through a similar phase myself when I was DMing this one player who rolled like he gave the God of Fortune a blowjob AND used strategy AND was quite intelligent with character design; and I consider those dark times. The short of it is that if this continues, casualties will be suffered in the party from the blast radius of whatever is dropped on me (possibly literally, considering that last trap).

On an amusing note; it's fun to imagine a half-metre tall wizard flying up to a statue & grabbing an ioun stone, being suddenly interrupted by a 3m wide piston slamming down on him and down a 30m shaft, and then teleporting behind the party with the stone in hand and covered in rock dust while going "OW!". Bumped me up a notch on the cool-meter with the paladin

[Maxus]

I know how irritating it can be to be around someone who's too damn lucky.

One of the people I play with has consistently good luck with the dice. I've heard about d20 Modern games where his character managed to have what they termed a "Metal" moment--doing something completely awesome and spectacular through sheer amazing luck with the dice. The people from one campaign in particular will still glady tell stories about his character, Spade.

Mike's luck has actually skewed his perspective, it's so consistent. He tends to be optimistic about the chances of making a save or hitting someone--because for him, the optimism is justified.

I'm on the other end of the spectrum with attack rolls. I onced played a level 2 Swashbuckler who had +7 to hit.

And in a several-hour session, only hit a handful of times.

They called him the Suckbuckler.

(On the other hand, my HP rolls tend to be extraordinary. Like a level 8 character with 18 Con and d8 HD having 84 HP, when his max was 96).

[virgil]

Oh, that player almost never actually assumed his luck would be with him, and would plan accordingly. As a result, his already rock-solid strategies turned many an encounter into total carnage once his rolling started boosting it.

Or maybe he did plan on his luck being there, but he enjoys overkill, which is not out of character for him...

[Judging__Eagle]

I always plan for my averages to even my success/fails out.

Hence, I always plan to roll poorly. So I counteract that by planning well.

In the end, if you don't care about an individual roll, it doesn't matter.

Mind you, I've had one character take ridiculous risks and get dropped twice severely (and killed in one of those instances) (my archivist) and an other character that took such insane risks that the rest of the group was pretty much forced to keep him alive b/c of his damage output (my TWF-ing Blitzing RoW Barbarian).

The first made me realize that 30 AC at lvl 6 won't cut the mustard; and ensured that he would have 40+ AC and multiple miss-chance effects layered to reduce the odds of him getting hit.

The second character...eh, I just pumped his con like mad; even a hobgoblin dragonborn barbarian that someone else made had less HP than this character (I took Great Fortitude for the extra survivability our Con's were comparable; and he had at least a +4 to con from being a Hobgoblins and a Dragonborn). I need to get him Adamantine DR to make him actually retarded and have really crazy DR. He was before he was able to murder nearly anything that was a 'melee combat' encounter, with his BaB in extra DR he'd be very dangerous.

[Cynic]

While I"m not insanely lucky, I tend to usually roll about a half point to a point and a half above average depending on the die.

This might have made me a cocky bastard or it just might be that I'm a cocky bastard otherwise.

~

Err: I'm not the guy Virgileso is talking about though.

Also, just for the sake of curiosity, could someone show/link me to a TWF Flask rogue build.

[SunTzuWarmaster]

Um....

Anything Rogue 1
Abilities: Sneak attack +1d6, trapfinding
Saves: +0/+2/+0
BAB: +0
Feats: Two-Weapon Fighting
Minimum Skills: Sleight of Hand (1 rank)

Two Weapon Fighting allows you to throw 2 daggers in the same round. Sleight of Hand allows to to draw them as a free action (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/sleightOfHand.htm). So, um, throw them at opponents.

Later:
Rogue 6?
Get a wand of Minor Creation and make Alchemists Fire. Alternatively, buy Alchemists Fire and put it in a big sack. Throw it instead of daggers (ranged touch attack).

Alternatively:
(Level 3 if human, 6 otherwise) Feats: Two-Weapon Fighting, Craft Wand, Double Wand Wielder. Your spell is Scorching Ray (CL 7). Now you get 4 Sneak Attacks (Touch Attacks) at 7d6 each round on up to 4 targets (or one!). This is a slightly easier route because you don't have to take the bullshit TWF feats to get your 3rd and 5th attacks, but is significantly more costly and feat-intensive. Polar Ray should be the solid (cheap) option for 2 attacks at level 6. Also, you can still throw daggers when the battle is winding down to save money.

[CatharzGodfoot]

1204339789[/unixtime]]
Also, just for the sake of curiosity, could someone show/link me to a TWF Flask rogue build.

Feats: PBS, rapid shot, TWFing. At level 10 Perfect TWFing if you're playing that way. Halfling (especially deep) is a good starting race for the +3 to attacks. Human lets you get more attacks faster, but with a worse bonus.

So at first level with a Dex of +3 (17) you're using TWFing and making two touch attacks per round at +0 + 3 + 1 + 1 - 2 = +3 and dealing 4d6 damage per round assuming both attacks hit and SA.

At 6th level your attacks are at +4 + 5 + 1 + 1 + 1 - 2 - 2 --> +8/+8/+8 and dealing 4d6 + 1 damage per attack (12d6 + 3 if all hit).

None of that includes the bonus you'd get for attacking a flanked or flat-footed target.

[SunTzuWarmaster]

Attacking flanked targets is a bit more difficult because of the splash damage, keep in mind.

I'm never a big fan to taking on those 2 additional feats for one extra attack. I like the UMD option a bit more because of this because I feel like Craft Wand is better than Point Blank Shot and you can sneak out a slight edge over the Rapid Shot option. This leaves you free for Gape of the Serpent at level 10 (or Storm of Throws, Self-Concealment or other fun epic feats you feel like).

Also, I forgot to mention that you can take ranks in craft instead of UMDing Minor Creation (this makes 'em permanent).

[Judging__Eagle]

You need a caster level for Craft Wand though; where are you getting it from?