I'm not sure I understand this inherent vs. magic bonus situation. Could you give an example for this dumb oafish soldier?

Well, it's like this. The game is designed around a lot of assumptions in some ways. For example, monster attacks and defenses assume that PCs have certain defenses and attacks at certain levels (within a given range, say). If you don't have something as good or better than the expected values, then you'll have a bitch of a time hitting anything and you'll get hit way more often than others do.

Which is all fine and good, but the way the game expects you to reach these given milestones is by buffing yourself with magic items. By 4th level, for example, you're expected to have a +1 or better weapon, a +1 armor, and a +1 neck item. At 9th level a +2 or better everything. And so on. Well, no big deal... but you only get so much money and a big chunk of that is expected to go toward filling in those slots. Which is lame, because if the money is already set aside for a given use it's not really yours.

The inherent system does away with this problem. Instead of saying "it's level 4, do you have all that shit?", instead it says "it's level 4, you now have +1 to all those categories, enjoy". Thus your money is now free to buy potions or rituals or goofy shoes or whatever, without having to worry about falling behind in usefulness.

And so, nobody ever has to sell off a sweet weapon just because some shitty one they found happens to be +2 ever again. For example, Garr found some short sword in a dungeon awhile back. He had a feat giving him bonuses using heavy blades. Short swords aren't heavy blades, but he equipped the short sword anyway because it had a +1 enhancement and his sword didn't. And that was sad.

And if someone specializes in some goofy-ass weapon like, say, a boomerang, as things are now I have to make sure enemies are occasionally carrying around fucking magic boomerangs so Captain Kangaroo can have his needed upgrades. So that weirdness is also avoided.

I should clarify: people can still CHOOSE to buy exorbitantly expensive weapons/armor to get ahead of the expected curve, but the curve will always catch up with them and it won't be possible for anyone to fall BEHIND. A PC could conceivably keep the same sword his entire career and be no less effective than his allies, and I think that's awesome for goofy-ass this was your father's lightsaber-type reasons.

To add to Pang's explanation, let's look at Puyet:

Brash Assault is +12 vs AC, 1d10+7 damage.

+12 is composed of:

5 - strength modifier
3 - half of your level (7/2)
2 - proficiency with craghammers
2 - craghammer enchantment

The damage comes from:

1d10 - craghammers
5 - strength modifier
2 - craghammer enchantment

If he just uses a plain old craghammer, he will be less accurate and less damaging (+10 vs AC, 1d10+5).

If you don't do anything, and just continue leveling up, your to-hit bonus will increase by 1 every two levels. So by level 20, your to-hit bonus is 19.

But the baseline enemy have an AC of 16 at level 1, which increases by 1 per level. The level 20 monster will have an AC of about 35. You'd need a roll of 16+ just to hit it, while at level 8 a roll of 10+ hits. No fun at all. So unless you bite the bullet and buy better and more expensive gear (the price quintuples every 5 levels), you'll fall behind pretty quick.

But if inherent bonuses were activated, he would have the +2 to hit and damage regardless of the craghammer being magic or not. It doesn't "stack" with the weapon, so no +4 for him.

If he had a +3 craghammer, then the question of its being magic would become relevant. But the cheapest +3 weapons are 9,000/pop, so it's probably more fun to use that cash filling up EMPTY item slots.

And of course the PROPERTIES and crit bonuses and such on magic gear remain as relevant as ever. If you find a Flaming weapon, you'll probably still want it. But things like ki weapons or pact blades are no longer desirable strictly on the merits of their math.

And of course none of this will be relevant to either of you for months bwahahahahaha

First, not tracking mundane ammunition. Then this.

:'(

Oh well, at least my Warlord will be marginally more effective in his own attacks without further investment! And he can save on the armor too! And the neck item! Tattoos and boons, here I come.

Thus far no enemy has carried any enchanted longbows, crossbows, greatbows, or superior crossbows. Why on Faerun would they be lugging around magic boomerangs :tpg:

Also, I want to shoot those two-pound books (not throw - out of range) at the kraken. Will you allow me to do so, and how do we do this mechanically? :)

That's because enemies who stand in one place and shoot at you are boring. And then you charge and try to hit them back, and they run away, which is boring. Ranged combat is boring, Zerg. It's really boring.


How exactly do you propose to fire two-pound ammunition? I don't see any catapults laying around, do you? I don't think your usual "glue it to an arrow" method is going to work here.

YOU HAVE A GUN FFS

Boring, but reliable! I mean, you had arbalesters and all... Death from a distance! As long as they're not getting pushed off bridges!

Why, poke the arrowhead deep into the cover, and fire the whole thing at it!

Cal's retiring anyway. Who cares if the bowstring snaps after the battle. :tpg:

No?

What happens to Cal if it explodes on his hand? :3:

Also, since it's not an official item, Character Builder can't be consulted. Do guns key off Strength or Dexterity?

So I guess my only other question is where does the curve lie for this inherent system?

Attack and Damage: All characters gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls at 2nd, 7th, 11th, 17th, 22nd, and 27th level.

Defenses: All PCs gain a +1 bonus to AC, Fortitude, Reflex, and Will at 4th, 9th, 14th, 19th, 24th, and 29th level.


Or, if it's curves you want...

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/zephchart.png

Zerg, the issue isn't one of damage to the bow. The issue is... well, arrows are light and aerodynamic for a reason. You COULD fire a book-arrow, and then you could step forward three inches and pick it up, because that's how far it would go.

Misfires only occur on a natural 1. Misfires that damage the pistoleer occur on 1-3 on the misfire table. That is, I believe, a 0.0075% chance of injurious misfire. And even then it just does its normal damage to you rather than the target, though this might be multiplied somewhat if used with a power allowing multiple shots or whatever.

Oh, and the gun is destroyed, which is probably the worst part

Non-thrown ranged weapons always key off Dex AFAIK.

Ehh, guess I'll stick with bows. Puyet, you can have the gun if you like :tpg:

Additional Spam:
wvlf, being grabbed makes you take a -2 penalty to attacks and defenses (grab = restrained, right?). Why not consider escaping it (acrobatics vs reflex or athletics vs fortitude) as a move?

zeph, climbing is part of a move action. I give you full authority to grab the pistol from my pack (minor, isn't it?)

Jesus. Maybe because I don't know how far I had to climb. Just trying to do this without slowing the game down.

Zerg, slap yourself.

Sup, here's the new Rules Compendium if anyone wants it.

Shitty scan but whatcha gonna do.

Packrat was too busy.

Soluzar wasn't too busy, and then, suddenly, he was.

Araes has been MIA for over a month.

MAYBE LURKER WANTS TO PLAY.

MAYBE SOMEBODY DOES

I WILL FIND THEM

Maris Maris Maris.

Please god let it be Maris.

MARIS WILL AGREE TO PLAY AND THEN HE WILL WANT TO BE A HUMAN FIGHTER

I JUST KNOW IT

VVVVV I WILL MAKE IT WORK IF I MUST

Maris will choose outside of race and class.

Maris will play greatest warrior from whatever country he/she hails from.

http://www.wokay.com/wp-content/uplo.../schrempf2.jpg

OH DEAR GOD PLEASE MARIS

TAKE MY TURN

I have extended my hand to Maris, and I did beseech him to join us in our travails. 'tis all that I alone can do. Let us pray.

Where is chicken little when you need him?

Pang, since you're considering tentacles grabbing allies as being adjacent, can "Weave Through the Fray" trigger for Cal when the tentacles "move adjacent to him"?

That's kind of — the tentacles are only "next to" him after he's already been grabbed, and by then he can't very well shift anywhere. Up until the moment the grab succeeds the Kraken is effectively just swinging a big whip at you.

Sorry :(

What I meant about adjacency was when Puyet (not Cal) got grabbed (he was hugged first). I was hoping the tentacles "moved adjacent" to Cal right then, and that this would apply :(

Evidently you're just going to leave your post "pending" until I give you the go-ahead on this, so fine, you can Weave when Puyet gets grabbed. Geez.

Nope, just weighing things, actually. I've been jumping the gun, not thinking things over before acting.

I'm still debating whether I should duck into the house to the North (not sure where the door is) or head for the wooden deck to the northeast.

But thanks :tpg:

If Maris doesn't join up, lurker must survive long enough so we can get our D&D swagger on together again.

Also considering doing the whole damn thing in Maltese Falcon Noir style this time around.