HoF Roleplaying party

[Aerich]

All-good party, Holy Word (casting time 1, no save) followed by Symbol: Hopelessness, followed by the spells of your choice. Ambush problems over.

A normal game tank with little spell capacity becomes a meatshield/decoy and dealer-of-damage-to-helpless-enemies in HoF. Sad, but true. They can still be "effective", but just not in their original role as a ground-pounder that can take hits for ten rounds and score the most kills.

[silverdragon72]

All-good party, Holy Word (casting time 1, no save) followed by Symbol: Hopelessness, followed by the spells of your choice. Ambush problems over.

A normal game tank with little spell capacity becomes a meatshield/decoy and dealer-of-damage-to-helpless-enemies in HoF. Sad, but true. They can still be "effective", but just not in their original role as a ground-pounder that can take hits for ten rounds and score the most kills.

In HOF a "normal-game-tank" is weaker than any arcane caster in melee!

...so what's the reason to take one for a HOF-party?

As a meatshield you will need to cast heal on him at least every 2nd round to keep him alive...

...and just for killing helpless enemies?


Btw. a drow fighter wiz can also be a very reasonable roleplaying PC and *IS* still very effective in HOF!

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[Aerich]

I'm not saying that I purposely take few-option tanks for HoF parties. A Ftr/Pal may be a weak character in HoF, but it can still contribute, if in a lesser capacity than before.

It's not optimal, but HoF can be beaten without taking every possible advantage at character creation. A 5-character party can beat HoF, so there's only a little more difficulty involved in taking a 6th character that isn't a standout.

However, I'm a spell junkie, so any HoF party I put together generally has 6 powerful spellcasters.

[Klorox]

So, what happened to Crucis?

[Galuf the Dwarf]

So, what happened to Crucis?

PM a moderator about it.

[silverdragon72]

.

hmmm...-...let me guess...

...a mod points his FOD on him?

...or someone casts banishment?

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[Aqua-chan]

Take it to PMs and get back on topic, guys.

[Crucis]

ok, just tell me which tactic makes a Pal / Fighter usefull in HOF?

...just for ranged combat?!


Concerning "holdfast arrows": I won't adjust my tactics on a cheesy item with just a limited availabilty!

And there enough battles you can't enter with presummoned creatures. I won't say that it's impossible to win HOF with almost any party, but I won't like to beat HOF with just summoning and running away!

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What is so "cheesey" about Holdfast arrows? They're no more cheesey than many other items that have strong special effects.

And why wouldn't you (or a character) adjust tactics to adapt to a powerful item that's useful in a given situation? If suddenly you had a single grenade, wouldn't you try to use that one grenade as intelligently as possible? if you're being smart, of course you would!

How often do you use Otiluke's Resiliant Sphere? if you're at all like me, not that often. But against the sorceress in the Lava Fields, it becomes a critical spell. It's called adjusting your tactics to the situation.


And who said anything about "summoning and running away"? Certainly not I.

I use summons to even the odds and to guard my flanks. And to sometimes act as decoys, rather than use a sacrificial lamb PC. And I don't consider moving just out of a "heldfast" Slayer Knight's melee range "running away". It's stepping back and thumbing my nose at him, and then pummelling him with whatever I can hit him with from just outside of greatsword range.

Have a nice day.

[Crucis]

All-good party, Holy Word (casting time 1, no save) followed by Symbol: Hopelessness, followed by the spells of your choice. Ambush problems over.

Bingo!!! And BTW, Greater Command is also great in this situation. It has a very quick casting time and doesn't have the alginment issues of Holy Word.

A normal game tank with little spell capacity becomes a meatshield/decoy and dealer-of-damage-to-helpless-enemies in HoF. Sad, but true. They can still be "effective", but just not in their original role as a ground-pounder that can take hits for ten rounds and score the most kills.

This is one reason that a pure ranger can really start to shine in HOF, because they can take up a decent chunk of the summoning duties from your other casters. Their animal summons make nice cannon fodder, although they're (the ranger, that is) not exactly acting as forst guardians while calling on so many forest animals to be slaughtered.

I tend to remember that my tanks still got most of the kills. But "kills" is such a weak stat since it really only counts the number of times a character struck the final, killing blow and ignores who may have inflicted the most HP of damage.

[Crucis]

I'm not saying that I purposely take few-option tanks for HoF parties. A Ftr/Pal may be a weak character in HoF, but it can still contribute, if in a lesser capacity than before.

It's not optimal, but HoF can be beaten without taking every possible advantage at character creation. A 5-character party can beat HoF, so there's only a little more difficulty involved in taking a 6th character that isn't a standout.

What you said in your first sentence is spot on. I don't feel the need to cover EVERY single little angle, to have the most absolutely powerful party that will wipe out any threat like it was dropping a nuke on a colony of ants. I love the challenge of taking a fairly traditional party thru HOF.

However, I'm a spell junkie, so any HoF party I put together generally has 6 powerful spellcasters.

And I'm not. I can't imagine playing such a party. Even in HOF, I tend to view my spellcasters as fire support for my tanks. In HOF, it's very, VERY powerful fire support, but still fire support.

I always have this image in my head about what happens to a party of spellcasters when they run out of spells and nobody in the party is all that skilled in defending themself without spells. Yes, I know that that's not an issue that will come up, but I tend to think of party building with that thought in mind regardless.