TOPIC: Black Pearl, what does it specifically negate (*spoilers*)

Magical to-hit bonuses, yes.  Good question, Mike.  I would think that masterwork bonuses would still work.

<br />If a slider hits a target, it can still get bumped by other sliders.  That's why the best sliders often go last.  If you don't want to take the chance of hitting a critical slider, don't attack!<br />

<br /><br />I understand that's how things work, but I was just thinking in this case, since there's only room for one slider, it means only one person can do damage a round (except casters not using slider spells, and unless it becomes possible to hit lower ACs and still cause damage).  <br /><br />Let's say the Ioun Stone makes it impossible to hit except on a 20.  The party has a wizard with a wand of magic missles, no +2 Staff of Power, no Bard (or no scrolls of MM) in the party.  That's (11+6+6+6+6+6=41) 6 rounds before the Stone is destroyed.  Therefore, only 6 melee hits have been landed on Smoak (assuming one person hits the 20 every round!).  The party will have had to survive 120 points of fire plus melee attacks before they can all start landing hits.  <br /><br />That's tough for any party.  A beginning party without a Wand of MM or plenty of scrolls has zero chance, unless Smoak is lower in HP than I imagine. 

<br />Magical to-hit bonuses, yes.  Good question, Mike.  I would think that masterwork bonuses would still work.<br />

<br /><br />Ah!  But (at least in D&D) the +1 to hit is the masterwork bonus-- the only difference between a MW arrow and a +1 arrow is the +1 damage bonus.  So a +1 arrow would be unaffected by the Ioun Stone?

The spear has no +1 to hit.

If the bonus is magical, it would be canceled.  If the bonus is non-magical (e.g., due to masterwork craftsmanship), I would think it would not be canceled.

Masterwork Items in TD tend to just be +1 damage.

<br />

<br />If a slider hits a target, it can still get bumped by other sliders.  That's why the best sliders often go last.  If you don't want to take the chance of hitting a critical slider, don't attack!<br />

<br /><br />I understand that's how things work, but I was just thinking in this case, since there's only room for one slider, it means only one person can do damage a round (except casters not using slider spells, and unless it becomes possible to hit lower ACs and still cause damage).  <br /><br />Let's say the Ioun Stone makes it impossible to hit except on a 20.  The party has a wizard with a wand of magic missles, no +2 Staff of Power, no Bard (or no scrolls of MM) in the party.  That's (11+6+6+6+6+6=41) 6 rounds before the Stone is destroyed.  Therefore, only 6 melee hits have been landed on Smoak (assuming one person hits the 20 every round!).  The party will have had to survive 120 points of fire plus melee attacks before they can all start landing hits.  <br /><br />That's tough for any party.  A beginning party without a Wand of MM or plenty of scrolls has zero chance, unless Smoak is lower in HP than I imagine.  <br />

<br /><br />Tough, yes, but that is how combat works.  There is always the chance to knock a token off a 20, no matter how big or small the area.  And even a small area can have at least two tokens on it - the token only has to touch it, not cover it.

<br />Tough, yes, but that is how combat works.  There is always the chance to knock a token off a 20, no matter how big or small the area.  And even a small area can have at least two tokens on it - the token only has to touch it, not cover it.<br />

<br /><br />Good point. I hope my party has some mad sliding skills.  <br /><br />I'm just trying to look at this realistically.  There's so much discussion where "oh, we'll take out the Ioun Stone by round 2, then deal 200 damage by round 4", and that just seems so unrealistic to me (or at least way out of reach for the vast majority of players).  We have countermeasures in place against the best of the best players.  It's the corner TD is painted into with designing a single dungeon for level 1 parties and level 5 parties.  Maybe in the future, rather than a "puzzle" dungeon and a "combat" dungeon, there will be a "levels 1-3" dungeon and a "levels 4+" dungeon.  Is that a line of thought that's been bandied about before? 

I think that is kind of the difference between normal and nightmare.  While the nightmare characters don't actually have higher levels, they tend to have the purped-out characters which is akin to being a higher level.<br />That being said, there might come a time when having two different level-based dungeons is necessary just so the newer players have a chance and the older tokens aren't rendered useless by the power difference between the then and now dungeons.<br /><br />Of course, by then, True Dungeon will have morphed into True Dungeon World... a year-round theme park suited for gamers of all ages and skill levels!  =D

Why in the world would you offer dungeon gradations on level? It has absolutely no effect within the dungeon. It doesn't even track onto past experience all that well since XP doesn't stack in a lot of situations.

Or colleges will offer full-ride scholarships to incoming students with the best sliding skills and jostle for the top spots in their True Dungeon league.  True Dungeon is televised nationwide.  By the early 2030s, TD becomes a recognized event in the Olympics.  After controversy over a doping scandal, mandatory drug tests are administered before each run.  It becomes widely suspected that some countries are genetically engineering super-players.  Europe gives up the Euro and joins North America in recognizing the Gold Piece as its official currency.  

<br />Why in the world would you offer dungeon gradations on level? It has absolutely no effect within the dungeon. It doesn't even track onto past experience all that well since XP doesn't stack in a lot of situations. <br />

<br /><br />Because level tracks roughly with token-ness.  You don't see any 2nd level players with artifacts, for example.  It's not perfect, I know, just a passing thought.  Nightmare mode accomplishes this now anyway, but some time in the future maybe it would be phrased differently.