Abuse of the system?

I don't care for most of the backgrounds that came with the game and tend to make my own. I recently made a Assassin background which gives you a +2 to prowl, +1 to back stab and +5% chance on crithit, but starts you with 100 gold and gives you a 20 penalty to reaction from every one. I figured this was balanced...

So I made a Halfling with this background, bought a fine dagger from the starting store and put 2 ranks in melee, 2 in back stab and took the agility of fire spell. From the beginning this gave me a Dex of 18 when I had Agility of Fire running (times 2). Normally a dagger fight with the Kite shaman takes a while because of how low a Halfling's strength is, but with back stab and the high speed, I just kept running around him and stabbing him, I think the fight lasted 2 rounds? I was one shotting the wolves and taking out the boars in 2 or 3 hits.

I'm planning to make this a tech character (taking pick locks and disarm traps gives you a tech rank) but if insted I took magic and used 2 Fated Rings, the Filament Sword, Potions of Haste and cast Stun, I can see this character destroying every thing he got into a fight with. It'd feel like having a character with 100% magic rank spamming Harm, only without the endurance drain.

Any one else think this is a bit abusive of the system? I've often thought about making tech characters with high Int and taking Agility of Fire any ways since its not affected by having a high tech rank, but always felt this cheating once you have it running 3 or 4 times at once, plus having charged rings. Of course, I felt A LOT of things in this game feel like cheating once you get high level. Like building a army of Automatons to follow you around or doing the summon some thing, reflection shield, unsummon trick.

 

Well, some of the things you mentioned were fixed in the unofficial patch.

As for the background, while it is balanced, going with Agility of Fire really sounds easy and overpowering, at least in the early game. Maybe playing tech and without Charged Rings will help, 'cause you don't want to "kill the joy" of playing the game... *wink*

 

Face it, man. Arcanum's system is pretty easy to abuse, even with the original backgrounds. It doesn't take much effort.

 

I think the best way to get a challenging experience is to discpline yourself into playing ina particular manner.

For example, I once created a dwarf technologist and only invested in intelligence. Nothing for melee, nothing for throwing, firearms, etc. I concentrated on Chemistry, Explosives, Elecrical and Mechanical. I speard the rest of the points between the repair, lockpicking and put a point or two in herbology and therapeutics. SOmething like that anyway.

I had to approach every combat like a tactical situation, making use of whatever I had on me to the best of my abilities. I literally had to keep Virgil a live for the first few levels, until I could get enough money to buysuuplies to make low level explosives...which I pretty much missed all the time cos I put nothing into throwing. THe first half of the game was a trial...things got better when I learned a few new schematics and got max on mechanical and Chemical, allowing me to knock out enemies and send the mech-spide in for the kill.

I never gotto finish the game but it was one of the most fun attempts I ever had.

 

Out of curiosity, can you backstab with a ranged weapon? I could see this being exceedingly devastating if combined with a nice rifle.

 

More's the pity. A Half-Ogre with a Ballista... don't tell me you guys wouldn't stop to watch that fight go down, because that would be a lie and we all know it.

 

*ruffles through a stack of papers*
I have your notes from our trials on Cattan, Sir. Would you like me to contact the previously involved parties again?

 

Here's a crazy idea. How about breeding something that's %100 Ogre with something that's %0 Ogre? Or more specifically: something that's homozygous dominant Ogre and something that's homozygous recessive Ogre.

And yes I would drop all to watch that. But only to see if the half-Ogre is stupid enough to blow it's own shins off.

 

The Gamemaster: You're going to backstab him with a ballista?
Nimble the Thief: Uh huh
The Gamemaster: With a fucking siege weapon?
Nimble the Thief: Uh huh
[after Nimble backstabbed Hunk with a ballista]
The Gamemaster: I can't believe I'm doing this.
[rolls the dice]
The Gamemaster: Well, that's 264 points of damage. You splatter Hunk all over the common room. The patrons shriek in horror and run out of the inn, occasionally slipping on blood and entrails. You're now alone in a room that looks like a vat of beef stroganoff exploded in it.

 

puppy, don't forget you need to steal the pants off the guy at the bar first.

 

*insane laughter* Hey, Puppy, I didn't know you sat in on my D&D sessions! *giggle* That sounds so much like something little Sam would do... or maybe our resident Warlock, if I could talk him into going Rogue.

 

Kudos papa_dog, I really needed that - this has been a shitty week. Thanks for brightening it up for me. I kept trying to talk my DM into letting me play a sentient cat rouge, but he said that it would compromise the game balance. I should have asked him about a mosquito...

 

Is that from Knights of the Dinner Table?

 

No.

 

A cheap but worth while film called 'the Gamers' (2002).

You can also watch it in installments(7-10 minutes each):
part1
part2
part3
part4
part5

 

Same boat for me, Peter. Thank you Papa_dog. I think the one character I really wanted that wasn't allowed was a dwarf who dragged around a cart filled with cats, and fired the cats from a crossbow. One of the party members objected to the idea, and it was refused. My intent was that the cat would deal your standard crossbow bolt damage (though blunt and not piercing), but would also give me a +1d4 damage if I rolled a natural 20 (with the 1d4 not being an auto-maxed due to the n20).

 

Hrm, characters I've wanted to play but were refused...

Kender Wild Mage. Pity, that could have been an awfully large amount of fun. Especially considering that we use the old 2e rules for Wild Magic, which rock something chronic. ...Sod it, I need to pitch that character to my new DM, he might run with it.

 

The only other character I was denied was the time I asked to play as a yuan-ti abomination ranger. I just think this piece of art is so cool...but the DM said no...

My favorite character is still my first one though - an elf barbarian, 6' 3" with red-hair and amber eyes, his whole family was insane, and he wielded a falchion. We were playing the Temple of Elemental Evil campaign. *Dreamy-eyed look* under 3.0 rules I had a 12-20 critical threat range...greater cleave - I took out three minotaurs in one round...and I got to tackle a flying dragon. Best campaign ever.