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[Clothing is better than Light Armor For Many Builds]

Clothing is better than Light Armor For Many Builds
I think this is the right problem but not the right solution. The Fashion Shop means there's a range of astonishing clothing for combat characters. Meaning Silken Mail is kind of GOATed as a feat. So why bother with armor? If you have 16+ DEX,Clothing has equal AC and even better stats.

Letting people get unlimited DEX bonus only really helps minmaxers. I'd rather look at what a 16-18 DEX Generic Finesse Guy gets out of this. I feel that currently, most PCs are wearing Light Armour less for the fragile AC and more for the stats. And where Leather and Hide do shine is the rare drops can be very, very good. Like the Rat Leathers with +2 Mind saves. Which is the big win for Vagabond Fighters, as the stats on combat leathers can outdo Fullplate.

Also, Hide going up to 3/5 makes it pretty good, especially with Magic Vestment for another +2 (probably +1 overall). I always check what leathers a light armour tank has, for that reason. It's been nice for making dual-wield ranger more viable :).

Mia: Dexterity Training is irrelevant to whether dexterity builds that are not Fencers are having a bad time. And this is about Dex PCs Who Are Not Fencers.

So what would I suggest?
Magic Vestment is undispellable, which is part of what makes it so good. Same for Silken Mail. I think there could be an argument for having Mage Armour put an undispellable +2 AC on Light armour/clothing. Then it's less swingy, as a dispel will hurt you but not totally wreck you. Essentially combine the old and new way it works. Then Light Armours behave more like Medium Armor buffed with MV, but clothing remains swingy. 

Expected AC On Armours

• Padded Armor: 10 AC (1+8+1) OK look, who's minmaxed to a buffed +8 DEX and isn't wearing high-powered fashion clothing instead?
• Leather Armor: 9AC (2+6+1)
• Hide Armor: 9 AC (3+5+1)
• Chainshirt: 9AC (4+4+1)
• Chainmail: 9AC (5+3+1)

So as we can see, all Light and Medium armours cap out at 9AC if you pick up a fairly common +1 AC drop. Or you can trade 1AC for 5% DI. And except for Padded, they all gain +1 AC from the right spell (MV or MA)

Chainmail, My Beloved
Get yourself 2 Dancer items and you easily buy off the Tumble penalty from Chainmail. Which is another reason I think we've seen a fair few Huscarl AC Tanks. Fullplate AC, only lose 3 AC to Flat-Footed, and you only need 12 DEX to hit the DEX bonus cap.

I agree that it is cooler but it is even cooler when you have the option to go from generic to particular.

And The Wheel is a valid settings deity that you can choose in the OC area. There is just not a way to access it in play, meaning several PCs I have met so far were supposed to have it set but their player had misspelled it.

This is essentially a quality of life suggestion so that you can move from no faith by either accident or design to generic wheel. And then pick up a conversion in play from a character if that's what you're looking for.

I love it when I get to do religious RP around Picking a Spoke, choosing your path, etc.
But a good chunk of the time when someone doesn't light up on my Turn Undead, it's because the player filled in the deity field with 'Wheel' or something manually rather than using the Deity Picker Table.

Could we just have the option on either a player tool, or maybe the NPC clergy, to convert your PC to 'The Wheel'/'The Dome'? Which is a big roleplay improvement when a PC is 100% pious, but is caught out by an OC mistake. They might not want A Spoke/Sage yet but it lets the Turns and OUB: Faith Group work properly.

I really appreciated that you seemed to come back around the same time as I rolled an Uzzari. Having this bloody-handed Sith Lord of a PC screaming "VENGEANCE! DEATH! REPEEEENT!" over the sendings was a lovely counterpart to my more Reasonable, Political, Uzzari. Much like the whole "Orcs are a massive Agasian Theocracy" thing it showed the diversity and potential for within-spoke conflict that  is one thing that really makes the V5 Pantheons feel lively and deep.
Thanks for the contrast.

I think it's alright as a goldsink, though it might be cozier to drop to somewhere around 7k, to match the similar wind-up time of a martial that isn't joining a faction. It is worth the big price, given that you'll be using it until you die.


For example: If you're rolling an independent martial that's buying full-plate, that's 5,600 (2,600 base, 1,000 aspect, 1,500 save, 500 +2 skill). Big price, but long lifespan. A relic is like that, but, more powerful spells.

Right, except that you can get hold of a fullplate off a merchant with equivalent or better stats to that for 1/5 of the price, and a Cleric is also going to be using fullplate if they are a Chaplain! If not, they are still going to want spendy Aspect and Spellslot gear too.

I appreciate that Halfbrood in particular isn't interested in discussing this, but part of the reason I kick out a fair few suggestions is because game design is an interest of mine. It's nice to have a conversation about why we have a lot of the things in our server that we do. So I really appreciate it whenever a DM does have the time to do that and takes the time to do so. I'd rather toss out an idea and go 'oh yeah good point I can see why that wouldn't work' as then I've learned something about the game :).

The war made clerics so much more playable, and then in our blasphemy, we sought peace 🤣.

Seriously though, a solid pile of gold any day off forts made all the difference. I saw so many priests from when I started to the end of the war. Possibly because the amount of time it took to get a relic was lower?

I love the new options for L9 relics, and they open up so many new concepts like Combat Izdur! But there's still The Cash Grind. Yes Wizards pay for scrolls but they don't have to buy them all at once, for example.

I've got to 8 twice and 9 once now. It's easier to get the XP than the cash, especially if the priority quest isn't good for money for a while. So either you beggar yourself putting your money towards nothing exept the Relic Fund, or if you reach L9 you are stuck doing the Lower Board without your L5 slots...

No wonder I keep hearing about the classic Fighter 2/Chaplain 7 to get past the 10000GP L5 Spell Tax. The L4 slot relics are all priced around the same as good loot from a PC merchant, then the L5s are 20x as much!

It's better than V5's hoping for DM loot, but it's not good, you know? My game isn't improved here. If anything, it makes players more risk averse on their clerics because of that 10k sunk cost. I don't think Druids or Astros would be better if they suddenly had a 10k item they needed for L5 access?

5-6k could be an interesting opportunity cost with a Voice or other luxuries, rather than a big grind you just gotta get to.

It's not a meaningful penalty in the same way as e.g. Dwarf -2 CHA, as you can just grind past it.
I think it would be an improvement to remove it, and for Human to just get some other benefit rather than Favored Class (Any). Given the high skill checks and amount of 'Save Or Get Big Problems' in V6, racial stacking bonuses are amazing. It's just that multiclass Penalty isn't an interesting drawback.

• The Uzzari Faith Shrine is hidden behind a couple of fairly beefy Search checks.
• Therefore I only know about it due to playing a searchmaxxed ranger as my first V6 PC.
• Clerics don't get Search, and Search is an INT skill not a WIS one.
• Can we just have that door reveal itself automatically if you have Deity: Urrazir or are carrying an Uzzari Relic?
• Then the faithful can find it without metagaming the need to searchmax, or having to hire a Rogue or Ranger as a guide dog.

The overall question is what DMs think Monks are meant to be. I agree with RwG that monks should be hit-and-run problem-gankers who can blitz high-value targets and not get bogged down or killed by spells. Not tanks. A fully buffed, non-flatfooted monk is fucking terrifying. Given their wild saves, Evasion and cheap status effect spam, they need some weaknesses. Supply isn't a real weakness, as a well played monk will have supply coming out of their ears. It's just a frustration until you get your personal economy rolling, and toughest on the least experienced players.

I feel that adding Uncanny Dodge to Ranger made that class work properly, as it means that their armor choices weren't just misery for dual-wielders. However, you don't lose your Monk AC Bonus when flat-footed. And it's quite possible to get +2 Wis from Monk item +Wiseman Brew or Mizzar on top of your base. They still have very respectable AC compared to a Rogue doing a similar job, and insane AC if a high level Druid drops Owl's Insight on them.  So if Monks are meant to be guerillas not tanks, they're set up right for it.

I agree that what Monks could do with is Silken Mail as a bonus feat. That way, they always have a solid 4 Armour AC and won't crumble to dust from a Dispel. But they are still fragile. But 9's the wrong place to put it. Monks can't multiclass without an app anyway, so just put it in early to make the early, low supply levels less miserable . e.g. L3-4.

What might also help is to document the stances/make them more clearly available, so people can work with those and play with what's available, rather than having to run on hidden vet knowledge. Similarly, making the hidden door to the Monk shop open if you  stand on the trigger zone and have Monk levels. Similar to how there's a wonderful passage in one location that opens either with a Search check or with a Shovel. Monks used to have to embarassingly ask my Ranger to go and open it for them unless they'd amassed a +search/2 Rogue/2 Balanced set. And would have a hell of a time finding it in the first place.

Druid is exceptionally strong with a 2 level dip, because Woodland Stride and Nature Sense are flat bonuses that don't require saves, Wisdom, or Caster Level to make use of.
+2 AB and spell immunities is amazing. In exchange, you're limited to 'only' use some of the best weapons on the server (e.g. Scimitar and spear). And to natural armours or cloth, but those have some of the best stats around anyway (DI chains FTW). There's even decent natural splint and halfplate about.

Moving these feats up to 5-6 Druid would have no impact on pure druids, and be a nice capstone for druid multiclasses that go heavy on the druid. However, it will stop Druid being such a hugely strong dip, especially given how many QAs are Wilderness and how much Druid slot loot there is.

Rogues had evasion moved to L3 and disabled in Medium or Heavy armour, for similar reasons of 'this is ridicuously powerful on a multiclass'. And Evasion's only useful if you can make the Reflex save in the first place. Straight up immunity to very common spells in both PvE and PVP is amazing, and requires no investment beyond those 2 levels.

Thinking back on this, given we have scripts to recharge per 10 min and per 30s, if this was changed they could just have a longer recharge then single target cures.

[Mending:]

Mending:
We have a lot of constructs now with summons/Shelgarn.
Cantrip, does 1d4 Healing to Constructs only.
Available to all arcane classes and Clerics.

Corrode
Touch Attack, does 1d4 Magical Damage to Constructs, no save
Druid Cantrip, essentially the flavourful baby version of Crumble.

Probably my favourite Astronomer, because of his habit of Hiring Goons to help him do archaeology, and being willing to get stoned and talk shit. You had a playstyle that made it easy for people to turn up and get involved in some cool corners of the server, by being minions or tour groups to a snarky, poncy, nerd. Brilliant case of IC jackass, generous player. I deeply appreciated the tour of Harrowden, perfect for my particular Ranger on Robert. Cheers.

Thinking about it, the other way these would be more useable for non-specialists would be if Cure spells regenerated even if spontaneously used to cast Inflicts. They'd still be Not Great on the lower levels, but they'd let you burn through a heal surplus when you had it, rather than have it sit waiting.

As it is, an Inflict is a slot you don't have a Heal in, and a small Heal is just generally better as it always skews the combat balance in favour of your side.

The lower-level Inflict spells only seem super useful for healing undead and as an improvised weapon for necromancers who have GSF.
To the point I can only recall one PC who bothered to prepare Inflict Light or Moderate and use it on the regular as a weapon.

I really want to use Inflicts for Holy Smiting, but it's just better to prep Cures as those Always Work and require no investment. Anything I really want to Inflict probably has good AC or good Will, but I can buff my touch attack AB way easier than my Save DC.

(edited thanks to a discussion on player-advice)
Specifically I'm comparing it to cantrips, which are only doing 1d4+1 (except Starblight) but doing it six times as often as Inflict. Without taking up a real spellslot, without the chance to lose them if you get hit while casting, and often having a chance to do a rider effect with GSF. They are a better 'do a small thing to participate' tool. to the point I will generally see Priests walk over to club some half-dead flanker to death with their relic before I see them pop an Inflict on it.

You need some Dex, GSF Necro and probably Blind Fight to be able to land Inflicts, especially if you plan to use them in PvP. Inflict Minor, Light and Moderate are particular miserable with their lower DCs, but those are the slots you can spare for a bit of plinking.

I'm not really considering 'slamming something with an Inflict Crit as one of those every 30s is serious damage'.
I am saying 'Hey, wouldn't it be cool if 1-2 Inflict Light or Moderates were a better backup melee plan for a Priest than Big Club? That feels more thematic. 

If there's a worry about balance (Inf Crit is big, I get it) you could just remove it off Inflict Minor and Light and  see how it goes. As the damage on those compares badly to "I could just flail with this Club with MW, when I'm not healing". Sure I hit less, but it's not too hard to get a 2-10 Club or something, and  I'm swinging that twice a round.

Priest Cure Spells Vs undead are pretty good because they don't actually get a Will save, you just need to land the touch attack. And if there's no undead around you can still heal. And yet nobody is complaining that Priest heal spam trivialises undead quests! The difference between 'trying to use Inflicts on living NPCs' and 'trying to use Cure on undead ones' has been like night and day.

But having to beat Touch AC, Will and potentially Concealment is rough. Ghoul Touch and Healing Sting lost the touch attack because DMs recognised that a spell that has to beat two defences is super weak. Could we lose the Will save on Inflict? It's nice to have somthing that can reasonably threaten bosses and PCs that have Big Will (everything wants Big Will).

Alternatively, take the Touch Attack off. Then GSF Necro gives you bigger damage but you don't have 2 ways to miss.