VincentDarlage
Mongoose
argo said:It appeares that I'm the only one on this board who likes Defensive Blast anymore. I wonder when that happened? :?
You aren't the only one. Count me among you.
argo said:It appeares that I'm the only one on this board who likes Defensive Blast anymore. I wonder when that happened? :?
argo said:It appeares that I'm the only one on this board who likes Defensive Blast anymore. I wonder when that happened?
argo said:Where did this idea come from that scholars have to be soft targets at close range anyway? In all the stories I can think of sorcorers are always seen as fearsome opponents that most people are afraid to even come near.
But why does it have to be a fireball? All the rules say about DB is that "Sorcerers generally have plenty of close-range magic ideal for counter-attacks, so that any who attempt to bring death to them will risk destruction themsleves"thulsa said:1) It's way too flashy for the swords and sorcery genre. There's a reason fireball isn't among the scholar's spells (and thank the Great Old Ones for that!).
You are quite right about this as well. And any of you who have read my posts on other similar threads know my fix for this as well. Make DB count as a Mighty Spell. Then scholars who try to use it as their main offensive weapon will find themselves quickly making some harsh saves while scholars who only use it occasionally when they have no other choice will not be affected at all.2) It can be abused by combining it with Opportunistic Sacrifice, turning it into an offensive power instead of a purely defensive tactic. The scholar becomes akin to a suicide bomber (and that breaks the mood of the game, too).
argo said:Nothing about that says "fireball". The only thing about DB that even suggests a fireball effect is that the damage is of the fire subtype but it seems that everyone immediately makes it a fireball.
How about (...snip...).
argo said:Or heck, you could even change the damage type from Fire to something else. Maybe Hyperborian witches deal Ice damage, or how about if Khitan wizards wither their enemies with Acid damage? I would rather make a small change like that than start tossing out the rules whole cloth.
argo said:You are quite right about this as well. And any of you who have read my posts on other similar threads know my fix for this as well. Make DB count as a Mighty Spell.
Mark Dunder said:Afterall, the little tricks and spells that he has learned over the years of training that got him this far, should be something he would use as a last ditch effort to survive.
thulsa said:argo said:Nothing about that says "fireball". The only thing about DB that even suggests a fireball effect is that the damage is of the fire subtype but it seems that everyone immediately makes it a fireball.
How about (...snip...).
If you only have NPC scholars, or you have players of scholars that manage that kind of alternative description, that's great. However, a lot of people (including the scholar player in my group) will just look in the rule book and see the mention of the fiery blast, and go with that ("cool, I can blow stuff up!").
I think that you should be carefull here. In general its not good when a mechanic is triggered "when the GM says so". Players should have a clear and distinct understanding of how their abilities work. As GM you control the entire game world, the players only get to control their PC's and I believe that you shouldnt' take that control away from them.GrimJesta said:It's the GM who should determine when and if DB triggers, not the PC... unless that PC shows that he knows how to trigger it for narrative purposes rather than just powergaming.
-=Grim=-
GrimJesta said:Whoops. I totally forgot about this thread so I didn't get a chance to reply.
Most players would get the right to retain total control over DB. But we're not talking about the average player, we're talking about players who cheese the DB, with things like running into a pack of badguys and then trying to self-detonate like a walking nuke. I wouldn't take the power away, I'd just arbitrate when and how it happens for players like that until they see, from example, what the power is there for.
Narration over powergaming.
-=Grim=-
Mark Dunder said:You need to tell the players before they start playing your campaign, how you feel about DB and that you will not let them use it except as you have determined it's use. Just don't let them use it anyway they want, and then punish them. I know for a fact, that you will lose players doing that. Let them know right up front what it's all about and they will do fine, you'll see.