DuckTapeal

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I'm a ruleslawyer from 3.5 D&D, but I've since branched out into many other systems. I currently play Pathfinder for the most part.

I believe that the GM's first job should be to know the rules. Games are much more fun when rules are selectively ignored or fudged, but it's important to know the implications of rules changes before making them.

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Apr 10	comment	What's the difference between “Ability to cast arcane spells” and “Arcane spellcaster”? @KRyan What cases would not work with this interpretation? I'm not trying to be argumentative, I just spent a few minutes thinking about the 3.5 stuff I knew of, and I couldn't think of any counter-examples.
Mar 10	comment	What kind of action is rake? -1: Rakes are not made instead of normal natural attacks, they are made in addition to normal natural attacks. To quote the SRD link you give, "A creature with this special attack gains extra natural attacks when it grapples its foe....a monster with the rake ability usually gains two additional claw attacks..."
Mar 10	comment	What kind of action is rake? I disagree that the rules are situationally dependent vis-a-vis what kind of action a rake is. No matter how you do it, rake attacks are attack actions made as part of a full attack action(or standard action attack, if you have Improved Grab). There is no such thing as a "triggered action" in 3.5, only move, standard, full, swift, and immediate. Rake is none of these, it is only part of another attack action. This is just semantics, however. I only bring it up because I see the rules-lawyering tag.
Feb 22	comment	It is commonly said that epic spellcasting in D&D 3.5e is broken. What are some examples of broken epic spellcasters? Also, to clarify: it's not the cube that I'd say no to, it's the epic spell requiring that many mitigators that I'd disallow.
Feb 22	comment	It is commonly said that epic spellcasting in D&D 3.5e is broken. What are some examples of broken epic spellcasters? @KRyan It has nothing to do with the construction of such a structure, and everything to do with the fact that the one guaranteed way to make epic spellcasting broken is to use a ton of low level spells as mitigators. It's the combination of "Let's get as many people in a tiny space as possible" and "I'm researching an epic spell" that make me think that a non-idiot DM would disallow this. Now if you wanted to put a whole crapton of people together with such a structure for another purpose, then go right ahead.
Feb 22	comment	It is commonly said that epic spellcasting in D&D 3.5e is broken. What are some examples of broken epic spellcasters? I'm pretty sure this is blocked by the 'DM who isn't an idiot' clause. If a player says to me "I need to build a cubical frame to hold as many people as I can" in regards to epic spellcasting, the answer is almost certainly no.
Feb 21	comment	How to mitigate glass cannon syndrome in Pathfinder? If the goal is to make it so a combatant takes many rounds of combat to beat, then making the first few rockets miss accomplishes that. I don't believe that there will be a single systemic change that will remove rocket tag without adversely affecting other sections of the game, as noted in other answers.
Feb 19	comment	How to mitigate glass cannon syndrome in Pathfinder? -1 As KRyan notes, this solution only solves the problem of high damage, and not any other kinds of 'rocket-tag' that Pathfinder has. In addition, this solution makes it so players HAVE to optimize their damage in order to do any damage at all. In a normal Pathfinder game, even non-optimized damage dealers can deal enough damage to contribute if unnecessary. This solution removes that ability. In addition saying that the DM should just spend more time balancing encounters is not helpful when the question says that this involves a group of adults who don't necessarily have that kind of time.
Feb 17	comment	What makes a character/creature/power/ability/etc. over-powered? That is the first time I've seen the word "semiotic" in use since I read What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And Literacy. Bravo on that stunning breakdown of a complicated topic.
Feb 7	comment	Is there an alternate rule to allow different stats for Male/Female? +1 for mentioning traits and flaws. You might also check out the Pathfinder traits if you want to go that route; they're more powerful, but there's a lot more of them: d20pfsrd.com/traits
Feb 5	comment	Do Protection from (Energy) spells protect from the inside or just the outside? Or bludgeoning. Sonic implies sound, while a concussive blast is typically just unfocused force.
Feb 2	comment	Do abilities like Extra Spell and the Master Specialist Expanded Spellbook allow you to take spells outside of your class list? @starwed: Fair point.
Feb 2	comment	Do abilities like Extra Spell and the Master Specialist Expanded Spellbook allow you to take spells outside of your class list? @ObliviousSage: O_O I'm super glad that I haven't had a DM like that. That ability seems a bit more valuable now.
Feb 2	comment	Do abilities like Extra Spell and the Master Specialist Expanded Spellbook allow you to take spells outside of your class list? To your comment about flavor: My thought was that a Master Specialist in a particular school would be able to access spells within his specialization from other schools, broadening his mastery of his school.
Feb 2	comment	Do abilities like Extra Spell and the Master Specialist Expanded Spellbook allow you to take spells outside of your class list? To your final question: My assumption was that if I could cast 3rd level Wizard spells, for example, then I would be able to choose 3rd level spells from other class lists.
Feb 2	comment	Can a spellcaster use Harmonic Chorus on himself? My plan is to use this with a Master Specialist Enchantment Wizard, so balance issues may come into play. :)
Dec 20	comment	How can a GM justify changing a player's alignment? One thing to note: The alignment restrictions on various classes in 3.5 based systems have no real effect on the balance of that class. The lawful alignment of monks is a flavor thing, it does not serve to "keep the powers of the monk in check". In fact, monk is arguably one of the weakest core classes, with or without that alignment restriction.
Nov 27	comment	Is a Fighter/Wizard/Thief viable in Pathfinder? Could you please explain in a bit more detail what you mean? Igneus gives a really good argument for bard, why do you think Ranger is more appropriate?
Nov 18	comment	How to improve the Diplomacy skill mechanic in D&D 3.Xe and Pathfinder? Could you elaborate on this a little more? The idea is good, I'd just like to see more specifics, if you have any.
Nov 17	comment	What is this player planning? This wouldn't work anyway. You can't use anchoring on a thrown weapon. From the PFSRD entry on anchoring: "This ability can also be used when the wielder hits a creature with a melee attack using an anchoring weapon."