8th Level Already?

[the_gneech]

As I was prepping for tomorrow night's D&D game, I was making a note that a few members of the party are 8th level now ... assuming the campaign goes all the way to 20, that means we're 40% of the way through it.

They're on their way to a fairly smallish side-trek story involving giant bees and a halfling winery; after that, the next few adventures are when the Big Plot really gets rolling -- and the players have to decide if they're going to make history, ride the wave of history, watch history unfold around them, or just get out of the way.

*sniff* I'm so proud -- I remember when they were fighting kobolds and dire rats! My lil' adventurers are all grown up!

Now if only they can survive to old age!

-The Gneech

Comments

[jamesbarrett.livejournal.com]

The next time I prep for my Rods campaign, I get to think, "They're almost 11th level, or are they already? My, where did their youth go?" -Frisk

[galadrion.livejournal.com]

*Snicker* Well, I hope that one of the following options apply: (1) none of your players read your LiveJournal, (2) any of them that do don't read the various modules out there, (3) any of them that violate the previous two don't have my memory for adventure details, or (4) any that violate the first three options are good enough role-players that they'll suppress their knowledge. Or else you could alter the adventure enough that anyone playing off of outside knowledge will shoot themself in the foot.

Me, I never use canned modules straight. I'll pirate maps and plotlines from them, but by the time I'm ready to run one of those, it's vastly different from what was published. And most of the time, I don't use canned modules anyway - I find that if I use my own creations, I know them far better, and can improvise when I need to. Besides, half the published modules out there tend to make me angry - they don't take into account any number of things (such as the fact that most humanoids are nearly as intelligent and wise as humans, on average), and the poor beasties suffer horribly as a result. I mean, kobolds are supposed to be vicious and have a fondness (and a flair) for traps, right? So play 'em like half-size Viet Cong tunnel rats, not bloomin' timed range targets! Properly played, a tribe of kobolds in their lair should be a tough challenge for a party of sixth to tenth levels, depending on how large a tribe you're talking about. (Yeah, a wandering patrol should be cheese for that level of party. But what about static defenses, home-field advantage, and the heavy hitters of the tribe who aren't required to go out on patrol? Not to mention kobold-sized tunnels - I have yet to see an eighth level party which was particularly comfortable in four-foot high tunnels. Believe me, this is a suitable mission for a mid-level party!)

Don't even get me started about orcs and hobgoblins - these are the Mongolian hordes of FRPGs, and they should be played that way.

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

Well, they know about the halflings and the giant bees already, there's no spoiler there. :)

-The Gneech

[wolfang.livejournal.com]

yay for kobolds! Wait, the campaign im in whent stright to orcs and ogers >.

[kailucidricwolf.livejournal.com]

Most adventures only die of old age, because of what happens to them when exposed to magical things like Greater Wish...

^~Kai

[hossblacksilver.livejournal.com]

Reminds me of something I read once in a Shadowrun sourcebook. "Shadowrunners typically retire about thirty seconds after they stop breathing." Or something to that effect.

Meanwhile...

[pholph.livejournal.com]

There are those of us who came in relatively late, that are just about to hit level 7...

Now, I think I may need to consider.. 1: Do I invest in what my character's motivation would be, or 2: What I the Gamer want, and that's the ability to hit things with less than a natural 20...

Re: Meanwhile...

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

A quick lesson in bard tweaking...

Well, lessee ... a 6th level Bard has a BAB of +4, and Dex of 14 gives him an additional +2 with ranged attacks. A total of +8 on ranged attacks gives him a base 40% chance to hit AC 20.

If he can pick up a masterwork crossbow in Sareden, that'll give him another +1 (and only cost ~350 gp), giving him a base 45% chance. Starting each combat with inspire courage will give him (and everybody else) another +1, raising his chances to 50% to hit AC 20.

Casting cat's grace on yourself would raise your Dex to 16, giving you an additional +2. That means another round of prep time, but if you know a fight's coming, you can probably sneak in a buff before it actually starts. So with a little shopping and the right pre-combat tactics, you could have a 60% chance instead of 40% ... not a huge difference, perhaps, but a significant one.

(There's also a +1 crossbow in the Sareden shops, only 2,335 gp...)

-The Gneech

Re: Meanwhile...

[galadrion.livejournal.com]

"... not a huge difference, perhaps, but a significant one."

Not a huge difference?!? That's a fifty percent improvement in hit rate! Without major mojo, it doesn't get a whole lot better than that! Pholph, you'd do well to listen to your DM here; he's apparently got some serious credentials as a rules lawyer.

As far as that +1 crossbow goes, though, I'd personally give it a miss for now. You'd be paying almost a 2,000 gp premium for what amounts to an additional point of damage per hit, and the minor ability of overcoming some types (okay, the most common type) of damage resistance. In my opinion, you're perhaps better off investing in some magical ammunition and saving it for those "special occasions" at this level.

Me, I always prefered saving my gold until the party's wizard picked up the "Create Magical Arms & Armor" feat, and then paying him or her. Even if I didn't get an "associate's discount", the wizard still gets to keep half of the money as a trade-off for the experience investment, and that tends to come back around too when the wizard goes out and buys his/her own magical gear -- since that gear is probably going to end up used on our further adventures, and may well wind up pulling my butt out of the fire. (A smart wizard invests his/her added income in scrolls of new spells and in wands of commonly used spells -- just a little hint. And if he or she can create wands, those will be created in-party as well.)

An intelligently run party can end up getting far more out of their loot than most people manage. You just have to look for the opportunities -- and have a DM who's willing to let you capitalize on your abilities.

Re: Meanwhile...

[pholph.livejournal.com]

Casting cat's grace on yourself would raise your Dex to 16, giving you an additional +2.

Oops. Last night I mis-read and put it as a +4 to hit, rather than +4 to dex, which I realized while looking over the Level 7 upgrade. Which, given that when I needed it, it didn't help me, and when I didn't need it, it didn't make a difference, I don't think it affected The Outcome too much...

Ah well, a learning experience, always.