TOPIC: Favorite 2008 Tokens

Not according to the 3.5 general rules. An attack roll only counts as a crit threat if the roll would normally hit. So all 19's would miss under the senario you describe. I assumed that the keen rules for TD basically followed suit.

<br />Not according to the 3.5 general rules. An attack roll only counts as a crit threat if the roll would normally hit. So all 19's would miss under the senario you describe. I assumed that the keen rules for TD basically followed suit.<br />

<br /><br />If that were the rule, then 20's would be missing the top AC players also. 

Nope. 20's automaticly hit, as per the rules. That's why 20's always count as crit threats.

well, even without the 19 crit still missing, the keen scimitar wouldnt have been that amazing last year because the 19 on the board wasnt in line with the 20.  18 was where the heart was, 20 was on the head, but 19 was middle of shield off to the side...so going for the 20 crit, you should never have hit the 19.  though i have seen other boards where 19 and 20 were next to each other and the keen scimitar may work well for that.

Further digression:<br />By rule a 20 always hits, but 19 only counts as a potential critical if a 19 would otherwise hit.  The reason for a 20 always being a hit, is that there is always the possibility of a lucky hit.  For standard 3.5, the critical would need to be confirmed, and in the case you describe, that would require a second 20 to be rolled.  <br /><br />I think the only advantage to the keen scimitar would be the +2.  I might offer another weapon alternative with the +2 great club of bashing.  You would have to forgo the shield, which could hurt, but any hit with the club is likely to do more damage than a scimitar even with the crit.<br /><br />Your point about the high AC is a good one.  It seems like only 20's will count.  Could be a long tournament. =)

No, it's actually very quick. After 10 rounds the poor gladiators get tired and the AC drops by two. It's every round or every two rounds after that and it drops by 2 again until the duel is done. Sometimes the duel is over before round 10 anyway. <br /><br />Last year the most important items was the Dragonscale Shield and the +2 Longsword.

I really think purps should be limited to 3 for this event do to the AC power creep this year.

Ummm, reducing the number only _enhances_ power creep, creating even more of an unfair advantage since creep concentrations power.

Ummm, reducing the number only _enhances_ power creep, creating even more of an unfair advantage since creep concentrations power.

<br /><br />really? You'll have to explain. I'm slow  =)<br />

The biggest creep items are problematic because they concentrate power in fewer slots. The idea is that they give more bang for the buck. That is enhanced by the ability to cherrypick fewer items. If you don't have a tower shield of any sort, because lets say you didn't snag tokens this year or didn't end up withone, you most likely lose out on two points of AC by still using a large shield compared to someone who's picked up a tower shield +1. Over more slots, you might be able to mitigate some of that benefit (assuming an equal distribution of purps), but only allowed to pick 3 items, it would be a pretty significant disadvantage.<br />

<br />I really think purps should be limited to 3 for this event do to the AC power creep this year.<br />

<br /><br />Purps alone do not guarantee a victory in TA.<br />While your AC effectively stays the same in the dungeon against your opponents, that is not the case in TA.<br />After 5 rounds, fatigue sets in and your AC will drop by 1 each round thereafter.<br />Otherwise purple monsters could be swinging indefinitely at eachother.<br />There are also some other things being discussed behind the scenes for TA. <br />Rest assured that the AC power creep has been noted and considerations are being made that do not involve further limiting the number of tokens permitted to be equiped. Part of the reason Jeff wanted TA created was to give people another opportunity to use their tokens.

<br />The biggest creep items are problematic because they concentrate power in fewer slots. The idea is that they give more bang for the buck. That is enhanced by the ability to cherrypick fewer items. If you don't have a tower shield of any sort, because lets say you didn't snag tokens this year or didn't end up withone, you most likely lose out on two points of AC by still using a large shield compared to someone who's picked up a tower shield +1. Over more slots, you might be able to mitigate some of that benefit (assuming an equal distribution of purps), but only allowed to pick 3 items, it would be a pretty significant disadvantage.<br /><br />

<br /><br />uh, henwy, i dont think he was saying limit players to 3 tokens for TA, i think he was saying limit players to 3 purps.  so your example of the guy who 'loses' 2 AC by taking a large shield can still choose 3 purps for other items while the guy that took the better +1 tower shield can only take two other purps.