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Topics - Shadowhunter

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1
D&D 5e / Party of 3, Curse of Strahd.
« on: August 29, 2017, 09:56:30 AM »
I find myself being the third player in what will be an attempt to play Curse of Strahd with only 3 players. The other two are playing a Changeling Druid and a Drow Rogue. I'm leaning towards playing a Bard, but I am not totally sure. Between the full casting, buffing peoples skill checks and adding extra healing upon short rests, it seems to me they have a lot to offer in this situation.

Anyone have any other ideas?

2
Alright ladies, gentlemen and anyone else preferring to be defined by another term. I've recently taken to update a few of my old character builds and as I was poking at my Sneaky Spellcaster (Rogue 1/Diviner 5/Unseen Seer 10/Incantatrix 4 if anyone cares) trying to get the best Loresong and Hunter's Eye I could manage without consumptive field shenanigans, I became unsure how the following works:

Quote
Elder Giant Magic
You have learned a technique developed by ancient giant spellcasters, allowing you to channel additional power into your spells.
Prerequisite
Spellcraft 9 ranks,
Benefit
When casting a spell with a casting time of no more than 1 round, you can increase the casting time by up to 3 rounds. For each additional round that you extend the casting time, your effective caster level is increased by 1. This increase affects all the variables that depend upon caster level, including checks lo overcome spell resistance. Using this power is not without danger. Each round of increased casting lime, you must succeed on a Concentration cheek ( DC 15 + spell level + 1 for each previous check) or lose the spell. You cannot lake 10 on these checks.
Special
Creatures of the giant type can also use this feat to improve spell-like abilities, and they gain a + 4 competence bonus on Concentration cheeks made to use the feat.

Quote
SPELL ENHANCER
Transmutation
Level: Sorcerer/wizard 4
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round
You utter an ancient word tied to the fundamental principles of magic and immediately begin casting another spell.
This spell enhances the next spell you cast, making it more difficult for targets to resist. The next spell you cast this round is cast at +2 caster level, and its save DC increases by 1.

Do you need to cast Spell Enhancer during the turn you finish casting a spell, or on the turn where you start to cast a spell? Because in one of these scenarios, you can "Cast Spell Enhancer, start casting Other Spell. Prolong OS by 3 rounds. Cast OS at CL +5" and in the other one you cannot.

Which one should it be? I keep going between both options and my sleepy mind decided to outsource the whole issue to the braintrust. Any input would be kind.

3
Gaming Advice / How do I price a 3.0 armor crafting it in 3.5?
« on: February 08, 2016, 11:14:15 PM »
Did 3.0 have different pricing for making magical items or am I missing something?

I'm considering the whole Artificer Iron Man concept (mostly because my friend who is going to try her hand at DM'ing thought it sounded really cool).
I'm looking at the following thing from Arms & Equipment Guide (which is as far as I know 3.0):

Quote
Tessellated Armor: This curiosity usually appears to be an ornate, lacquered box containing hundreds of identical metallic shapes. Numerous variations exist for the shapes, including lizards, beetles, mounted riders, and Peloran suns. When the command word is spoken, the shapes stream from the box and flow over the wearer's body, interlocking perfectly to create a single, smooth suit of +2 full plate. This armor is lighter and more flexible than normal full plate and is considered medium armor rather than heavy. Its armor check penalty is -4, and has 25% arcane spell failure. Once a day on command, the shapes wriggle and move about the wearer's body creating a hypnotic pattern effect.
Moderate illusion; CL 8th; Craft Magic Arms & Armor, hypnotic pattern; Market Price: 11,560 gp; cost to Create: 6,605 gp +397 XP

Note that last part. In 3.5, the cost to make an magical item is usually half of the market price. 6,605 times two equals 13,210 gp, not 11,560 gp.
Closest I get is x 1.75 (11558,75 gp). Also XP is usually base price divided by 25.
11,560 gp (listed prize) turns into 462,4 xp.
13,210 (double base prize) turns into 528,4 xp.
Neither of those is the listed 397 xp. So neither of those follow the same rules as 3.5.

Trying to convert:
Given that it mentions a Fullplate that counts as medium armor, easiest approximation is a Mithral Full Plate. It also happens to give the same ASF (though I don't care much about that). A Mithral Full Plate is 10,650 gp. Adding on the +2 bonus, it's listed base price turns into 14,650.
That's without the interlocking assembling magic or the hypnotic pattern thing (although I don't care about that one). On the other hand, a Tesselated armor has ACP -4 while the mfp is only at -3. The mfp also has 2 better max Dex.

I guess there's no simple way to convert this, or have I missed something?
I mean, it's probably not going to be much of a problem at the table, as I'm sure we can come up with something eventually... but from a mechanics standpoint this bugs me.
Maybe I'll just settle for the Called enhancement for 2k.

4
Then boy, do I have the topic for you. I know this has been done before (googles tells me so), but I figured the boards could appreciate some activity. I'm not making a build and I can google for good answers, but that's not the point here. Point is to give you an excuse to waste some time ;)
So if you just feel like engaging in some light optimizing just for the fun of it, check this out.

I was just perusing my old builds and I stumbled across an old Sorcerer build I made that had Fiendblooded (Heroes of Horror PrC) in it.
I quite like that class, apart from the detail that the author somehow forgot sorcerers don't have K: the Planes as a class skill normally. So unless you're taking that Planar substitution level from what I assume is the Planar Handbook to gain K: tP as a class skill, you'll be able to enter the 10 levels long PrC at character level 17. I'm not totally convinced the last level of it is worth the loss in caster level, but it doesn't seem to be the most horrible of choices.

Anyway, here's my point. At PrC levels 2, 4,6,8 and10, you get to add an Enchantment, Illusion, Necromancy or [Fire] spell to your list of known spells, limited to the level of spell you can cast. The good part is that it explicitly state you can choose spells not on the Wizard/Sorcerer list.

So, what  spells would you want to add with it? It doesn't have to be from a different class list, if you got a nerd-boner for Greater Shadow Conjuration that's a valid answer. But I'm more interested in non-Sorcerer spells, I admit.

I'll start with pointing out Favor of the Martyr, Paladin necromancy spell, level 4. Immunity to dazed, exhausted, fatigued, nauseated, sickened, staggered, and stunned.
Naturally, this can be used with Celerity abuse.


5
Min/Max 3.x / Got some spare XP to use, what to use it for?
« on: March 21, 2015, 04:12:20 AM »
Hi dudes and dudettes. Found a PbP on mythweavers with character creations rules I instantly fell in love with.

Quote
Character Creation Rules:
Stats: Roll 7m4d6v1r2 or 40 point buy if you don't like it.
8th level Gestalt Characters with 5k exp for crafting and LA buyoff only. (Will dissapear before game play)
Only advances 1 PRC at a time. Dual Progression classes are allowed, as long as they are on the same side.

Class 1: Wizard 3/ Cleric 3/ Mystic Theurge2
Class 2: Ranger 8

Any race with listed LA is allowed. Otherwise, no. No Oscelamo monster classes. RHD and LA must go on same side.
Level Buyoff is allowed, using the allotted exp.
Double Starting Gold for level. Can't spend more than 1/2 starting gold on one single item.
All WotC Sources allowed, including dragon magazine. Cite your sources though so that I know where to look.
Homebrew is not allowed
Intelligence for skills is retroactive
2 traits and 2 flaws allowed (but are not required)

My stats are 17, 16, 16, 15, 15, 13. Yes, those are bonkers stats. I'm going to go Binder 8//random assortment of good dips X/usefull-prc-perhaps-Chameleon Y.

So you see those 5k xp for LA buyoff and/or item creation. If I go with my idea of a Chameleon, I would have all the item creation feats I could ever need with Astaroth, the Unjustly Fallen and have a wizard spell book for required spells for crafting. I'm working under the assumption that custom magic items are off the table, due to the "no homebrew" clause.

So, I'm thinking either spend some xp buying of a +1 LA and maybe craft some items OR spend it all on crafting.

What would you all do under the circumstances? What items seems like a good idea to craft, is there any +1LA race/template that I really ought to look at (no need for Mineral Warrior, I have a strong feeling that would make my chances to play very small).

Also, Chameleon requires Human or Doppelganger, so perhaps a template is better than a +1 race.

Also, only items requiring 2nd level spells or lower to craft will work with Chameleon.

6
D&D 5e / So I was just reading the Monster Manual...
« on: December 14, 2014, 07:33:32 AM »
..when I stumbled across this disclaimer in the credits page:

Quote
Disclaimer: Any similarities between monsters depicted in this book and monsters that actually exist are purely
coincidental. That goes double for mind flayers, which absolutely, utterly, and completely do not exist, nor do they
secretly run the D&D team. Do we really need a disclaimer to tell you that? You shouldn't use your brain to consider
such irrational thoughts. They only make the mind cluttered, confused, and unpleasantly chewy. A good brain is nice,
tender, and barely used. Go ahead, put down this book and watch some reality TV or Internet cat videos. They're really
funny these days. You won't regret it. We say this only because we love you and your juicy, succulent gamer brain.

I have to admit, someone there has a sense of humor to put this in the book.

7
Other RPGs / Numenera
« on: November 30, 2014, 04:58:13 PM »
I stumbled across this today. Anyone have any experience with the system? Stories, or critique of the rules, anything really. I've been wanting an adventure-discovery-action kind of RPG and I've been somewhat burned out on D&D (at least as a DM, 6 years of "DM's Block" does that to a man. I still love to play it) and this seems intriguing.
So, anything anyone wants to share?

(Yes, I'm aware of the Numenera campaign run on RollPlay with itmejp, iNcontroL and the others, haven't watched much of it. Presumably they ran a premade of some sort)

8
D&D 5e / I'm sure this can be (ab)used somehow.
« on: August 29, 2014, 03:29:10 PM »
Ok, so a Wizard specializing in Illusion gains this feature at level 14:

Quote
Illusory Reality
By 14th level, you have learned the secret of weaving shadow magic into your illusions to give them a semireality.
When you cast an illusion spell of 1st level or higher, you can choose one inanimate, nonmagical object that is part of the illusion and make that object real.
You can do this on your turn as a bonus action while the spell is ongoing. The object remains real for 1 minute. For example, you can create an illusion of a
bridge over a chasm and then make it real long enough for your allies to cross.
The object can’t deal damage or otherwise directly harm anyone.

Making a bridge that you can cross implies that you can make a illusion that is solid. That should mean you can also make walls or cages to trap people in. Since it does not specify if the illusion takes on the properties of the portrayed object, I'm not sure you can make, let's say... a cage made out of adamantium...
It's fairly open-ended all things considered, it's definitely something that can be useful.

I'm sure people can come up with creative things for it, so if you want to, go ahead. I found it and figure I'd share.

9
Other RPGs / [Deathwatch] - Ark of Lost Souls
« on: May 29, 2014, 07:42:48 PM »
So I might be DM'ing AoLS in a few weeks, which would be the first time anyone in our gaming group will be playing Deathwatch.
It's both the smartest and the most problematic pre-made, because while the other two pre-mades for Deathwatch clearly state how many players and between which ranks they're intended for, AoLS just point out that "The DM should figure out which threat level the group can handle and adjust accordingly.

That's somewhat difficult for someone who have no experience with the system.

So, some background for those of you who doesn't know what it is, it's basically "Oh shit, we're stranded on a fricckin Space Hulk with low supplies and need to get of this thing somehow, before we're killed by tyranids/orks/mutants/enslavers/friendly fire". Somewhat in that order. The characters will be running low on ammunition, they'll have two clips of ammo/1 fully loaded heavy weapon (for the Devastator, if any) and can scrounge for 1d10 additional worth of Renown, +1d10 per degree of success. I figure since Combat Webbing is 3 Renown that gives 2 clips, that's a good benchmark.

The primary antagonists on the Space Hulk are tyranids, with Ripper swarms, Horma/Termagaunts, Genestealers as well as a Lictor BBEG.
Now, I'm somewhat confident that I can gauge how many Hordes I can throw at my players, since I can start of easy and increase if neccessary.

However, for those of you that are familiar with the module knows about the Beast of Thule (the BBEG) and the genestealers... I'm not sure at what Rank the group needs to be to have a shot at succeeding the pre-made.

Since the other pre-mades assume 5 players, I'll assume as much about this one. "Rising Tempest", another pre-made, recommend characters of rank 3 and above and there's a common NPC between RT and AoLS which the author suggests could be the reason why they're there (they've played through RT and the captain they're escorting was impressed with how they handled themselves in RT, so they're now his squad in AoLS). The third pre-made is "The Emperor Protects", which just recommend that the characters are somewhere between rank 1 and 4.

So with all that said, my question is for anyone familiar with Deathwatch or the adventure in question, at what rank would you recommend the characters to be, since they'll be cut of from external support?
The number of players I have right now are 3, with a slight possibility of up to 3 more, but that's very uncertain. I am considering adding an Apothecary NPC if they're only 3 players, since that's the best "class" for an DMPC in my opinion. The way it's shaping up, the group will probably be a Ultramarine Tactical Marine (squad leader), an Assault Marine of some sort (Blood Angel would be good, but the player is definitely more of a Raven Guard) and a Salamander Devastator.

My thoughts are Rank 4, perhaps with some more additional XP to spend on goodies, but maybe not. Many abilities tend to improve at Rank 4 and I think it might be best to err on the side of caution for their survival's sake. Not that I'm going to pull any punches that I decide to throw, mind you.
I do have a friend that I almost would pay to see playing a Chaplain, considering the religious preachers and orators he's played in the past, so that could be an idea if he's tagging along. That's rank 4+3000XP, which would be a very competent character level.


Any ideas, thoughts or experiences running Deathwatch, AoLS or other, would be welcome.

10
Min/Max 3.x / Dexterity to damage, throwing and archery hints.
« on: February 07, 2014, 12:07:21 AM »
I stumbled upon a topic today that made me realize I haven't ported over this little resource I wrote a while ago. So I figure I should post it here so that I have it for the next time I need it, whenever that occurs. After all, the BG boards are soon gone. For most of the regular people, these things are not new, but once in a while there's someone who doesn't know these things so I figure it might be helpful. :)
There might be some formatting issues, I might fix that later. I might not.

For whom is this topic?

Well, if you're doing a character that relies upon precision in different forms for damage, I'll probably have something worth mentioning to you.

Now, first things first:
I love the rogue archetype. I adore the thrower archetype. I am under no illusion that they don't have any issues. They do. But I'm not going to get into that, there's other threads for those kinds of things.

Unfortunately, there's a few things that are dependent upon you asking your DM if it's alright to change things in this thread. But I'll be clear to point out what that would be and what you'll get even if your DM doesn't want to change anything.



Of Dexeterity and Dastardly Daggers:
[/b]

Swordsage from Tome of Battle have access to the Shadow Hand school. There is a feat in the same book called Shadow Blade.
As long you are in a Shadow Hand stance, you add your Dexterity modifier to Melee damage as long as you attack with Shadow Hand weapons.
Dagger, shortsword, sai, singham, unarmed strike and spiked spiked chain are the Shadow Hand weapons.

If you are dipping Swordsage, the usual recommendation is to have 1 level at any level close to where you gain a feat (1,3,6) and another level after you have achieved initiator level 4, thus the new swordsage level gives you initiator level 5 and access to 3rd level stances.
Normally, this looks like the following:
Swordsage 1/Any combinations of classes or prc's 6/swordsage +1.
The IL would be 1+(6/2)+1= IL 5
You do this to get Assassin's Stance, giving you 2d6 sneak damage.
You pick the first level close to a feat level just so that you can get ahold of Shadow Blade as fast as possible.


There is a fighter alternative class feature in Drows of the Underdark, page 58.
Unlike the Drow Substitution Levels, these ACF does NOT require Drow to take.
It is called Hit-and-Run.
You have to give up heavy armor and tower shield proficiencies to take it.
You gain a +2 to intiative and your Dexterity modifier as a competence bonus to damage against flat-flooted targets within 30 feet.

Remember, Invisibility negates your opponents Dex to AC but does not technically make him flat-footed.
But attacking from Hiding does.
As per Rules Compendium, page 92, you can Hide at a -20 penalty whilst attacking.
Invisibility grants you a +20 bonus to hide when someone attempts to spot you.
By maximizing your Hide then this becomes a contest between your Hide and his Spot.


In Dragon Magazine 310, there are alternative fighters. They work as normal fighters and count as fighters for all intents and purposes, but they have a limited number of fighter feats to choose from, different skills, different starting weapon- and armor proficiencies and 3 special abilities. These abilities can be selected at any level that would grant a fighter bonus feat, instead of taking a fighter bonus feat.
At page 39 there is the alternative fighter called Targetteer which have an ability called Vital Aim.
It states:
Quote
The targetteer may add his Dexterity modifier to his damage rolls with a ranged-weapon attack instead of his Strength bonus. The targetteer cannot replace a Strength penalty to damage rolls with his Dexterity modifier unless his Dexterity modifier is also a penalty. The targetteer cannot use his Dexterity modifier to replace his Strength modifier when attacking creatures immune to critical hits.
What does this mean?
Well, obviously it works great with thrown weapons as they normally add Str to damage.
Whether or not it would work with bows or similar, is another matter. A composite bow adds Str usually, so that would be swaped. But if you haven't enough Str to use the bow, it will penalize you. Thus you can't dump it. By RAW it doesn't help regular archers or crossbowmen at all, so talk to your DM.

For dagger throwers or other throwers, it will work wonders as long as you have a Str score of 10.
Since it cannot be used against opponents immune to critical hits, it classifies as Precision Damage.
Precision Damage only applies to attacks which roll to hit.
 
NOTE:
Targetteer does NOT gain any shield proficiencies except for the Buckler. So the Hit-and-Run ACF CANNOT be combined with Targetteer.
The only way to combine them would be if your DM allowed you to take Shield Proficiencies enough so that you can swap Tower Shield Proficiency for HaR.
Even then, that's a hefty investment.
Also note that you cannot have different types of fighter in the same character build. Once you choose one of the alternatives, all others are unavailable.
So no HaR Fighter 2/Targetteer 2.


In Dragon Compendium, there is a feat on page 95.

Quote
DEAD EYE [GENERAL]
Your precision with ranged weapons translates into more telling strikes than you could normally make.

Prerequisites: Dex 17, Point Blank Shot, Weapon Focus (any ranged weapon), base attack bonus +14.

Benefit: You may add your Dexterity bonus on damage rolls made with ranged weapons for which
you have the Weapon Focus feat, so long as the target is within 30 feet.

Special: Dead Eye does not increase the damage dealt to creatures immune to critical hits.
A fighter may select Dead Eye as one of his fighter bonus feats.

NOTE: As per the errata, the BAB requirement drops from a staggering +14 to a minimal +1.

Dead Eye can be combined with either HaR or Vital Aim.
As with Vital Aim, it is Precision Damage.


In Complete Warrior, page 58, there is the Master Thrower PrC.
They learn 3 Thrown Weapon Tricks, most notably Palm Throw and Weak Spot.
The first one allows you to toss 2 daggers per attack, doubling your attack output.
The second one, only available at PrC level 5, allows you to make Touch Attacks instead or regular ones with thrown attacks, provided the target is your size or larger.
Both these abilities are really good, but both aren't fully compatible with everything stated earlier.

Palm Throw only roll 1 die for both daggers. As per the Complete Warrior errata, precision damage apply only to 1 of those daggers.
So Dead Eye and Vital Aim only provides bonus damage to 1 of those 2 daggers.
Sneak Attack also counts as Precision Damage. Skirmish as well.
Hit-and-Run adds to both, courtesy of not being Precision Damage.

Vital Aim and Weak Spot doesn't work well together and here's why:

1. Weak Spot won't allow you to apply your Str mod to damage.
Now add:
2. Vital Aim let's you apply your Dex instead of your Str mod.
Which would lead to:
3. Weak Spot won't allow you to apply your Dex mod to damage.

Ergo, Weak Spot, RAW, wouldn't allow you to make use of Vital Aim.
Not in any meaningful way, at least.


So with all of this, where does it leave us?

Melee:
Shadow Blade applies to all attacks, as long as you're in a Shadow Hand stance.

Ranged:
Dead Eye can be combined with Vital Aim.
Dead Eye can be combined with Hit-and-Run.
Vital Aim and Hit-and-Run cannot be present on the same character.

Both:
Hit-and-Run will trigger if you attack a flat-footed enemy.

So we can achieve 2x Dexterity modifier to either melee or ranged under optimal circumstances, but not 3x Dexterity.

Honourable Mention for dagger users, and another way to reliably get people flat-footed:

Swashbuckler from Complete Warrior, page 11.
At first level, you gain Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat.
At third level, you gain Insightful Strike.
This allows you to add your Intelligence modifier to all weapon damage made with light weapons or weapons that you can use with Weapon Finesse.
Daggers are light weapons, so by RAW you should be able to add your Intelligence Modifier to both thrown and melee attacks with daggers.

Insightful Strike also counts as Precision Damage.


Another way to get people flat-footed is the good old Feint combat action. Usually, it's not a very good method since it drains actions.
But there is a way. If you're comfortable with using Daggers, Punching Daggers or Kurkris, the Invisible Blade Prestige Class (Complete Warrior page 45) have this very, very neat capstone ability that let's you feint as a free action. Bring on the full attacks I hear you say!
Unfortunately, the Errata limited this to once per turn. Damn you Complete Warrior errata, first you take my Palm Throw and now this!.

Thankfully, all is not lost my brethren. Pick up Drow of the Underdark again. Look to page 52 and this little gem of a feat:

Quote
SURPRISING RIPOSTE
Through deft maneuvering, you unravel your opponent’s defenses.
Prerequisite: Int 13, Combat Expertise, Improved Feint.
Benefit: If you deal damage to an opponent in the same round that you successfully feinted against it, it becomes flatfooted.
This effect lasts 1 round or until the opponent’s next turn, whichever comes first. Opponents that can’t be caught flat-footed,
such as characters who have uncanny dodge, cannot be affected by Surprising Riposte.
Special: A fighter can select Surprising Riposte as a fighter bonus feat.

It might seem a bit expensive to use two feats for almost no benefit, since Improved Feint does the same thing as an earlier version of the Invisible Blades capstone, but it's something to consider. You might be able to convince your DM to be able to qualify for Surprising Riposte courtesy of your Invisible Blade ability Uncanny Feint. So by all means, talk to your DM.
So, what you do is this:
Free action feint. Stab for normal damage + any sneak or other damage that activates upon striking a flat-footed target (see Hit-and-Run fighter or Iaijutsu Focus (Oriental Adventures, see here for more tips and tricks)) damage. Stab more times, for even more damage.

Something worth mentioning:
If you're doing a hybrid build, the printed entry requirement feats for the Invisible Blade aren't that harsh.
But if you're doing only the stabbing route and not the throwing, it's not so fun.
Luckily, there's a word from the creator of the PrC halfway into this topic, were he mentions that if you're using the 5-level PrC you should change the feat requirements to Weapon Finesse and Weapon Focus (dagger, punching dagger or kukri).

To be more precise, here's a quote:
 
Quote
Sonofapreacherman, at 12-01-03, 01:07 PM


I just posted this explanation in another thread, but I thought it might be better served here, as per the title of this thread.

The 5-level invisible blade that first appeared in Dragon (and then recently in The Complete Warrior) was edited down from my original 10-level progression. The abilities and text are the same, but there were some additional dagger throwing abilities built into the prestige class (to round it out).

The editors at Dragon had asked me to change the invisible blade prerequisites to reflect their ranged-based abilities, but when they later changed the invisible blade into a 5-level prestige class (and removed the dagger throwing abilities), they likely forgot to change the prerequisites as well.

To use the printed version of the invisible blade as is, simply change the prerequisites feats to:

Weapon Focus (dagger, kukri, or punching dagger) and Weapon Finesse.

I hope that helps.

This is not an official errata, but it's pretty heavy regardless, coming from the author himself. It's RAI, but not RAW, so talk to your DM.

You can pick up Weapon Finesse with 1 level of Swashbuckler and Weapon Focus (dagger) with 1 level of Swordsage by choosing the Shadow Hand school for your Discipline Focus. You know, the same Shadow Hand we discussed earlier?

Also, note that the required Int for Combat Expertise isn't that hard, since most of the time you're going to be a skill-monkey and a decent Int-score is then required. Also, note the level 3 ability that Swashbucklers gain.


Compulsory Mention for Throwers:

Tome of Battle have the Bloodstorm Blade PrC at page 100.

You need 1 Iron Heart maneuver and 1 Iron Heart stance to enter.
At level 1, we gain Returning Attacks, conferring the Returning enhancement propriety to our attacks. This, however, expends one of our Iron Heart strikes.
For a normal warblade dip to qualify for this PrC, you only have 3 of these as a maximum. It's somewhat useful, but not overly exiting.

However, this evolves into the much more superior Lightning Ricochet at PrC level 4.
This ability allows us to full attack with the same weapon, since it bounces back instantly to us after the attack has been resolved.
Much better than Returning weapons. This does not expend any strikes and works 24/7.
Now you need only as many thrown weapons as you can throw as a standard attack. This saves cash.

Bloodstorm Blade also have the ability called Thunderous Throw, which they gain at level 2.
This allows them to, as a swift action, count their ranged attack as a melee attack, conferring all bonuses and abilities thereof.
So if you have things like Power Attack, you can apply it to your attacks. Also note that by RAW you can apply Cleave.
Now using PA on light weapons aren't a good idea. You retain the penalty, but gain no bonus to damage.

Then why is it worth noticing?
Because upon entry into Bloodstorm Blade, we gain the Throw Anything feat.
So we can throw a finesseable weapon (to take advantage of the various ways to add damage to these kinds of weapons) in two hands, dealing 1½ Str + other modifiers.

Note that Thunderous Throw is somewhat more for the Str-based thrower than the Dex-based one.
By RAW, your attack is now a melee attack. Which means, that by RAW, you can't apply any bonus that would apply to ranged attacks.
So no Vital Aim/Dead Eye for example.


The Magic Item Compendium have 2 items worthy of notice.
They are the Gauntlet of Infinite Blades and the Gloves of Endless Javelins.
Neither item is the exact thing we are looking for.
Both produce limitless amount of thrown ammunition long enough for us to throw it.
But the gauntlets need a swift action to produce them, making it impossible to full attack with it.
The gloves create as a free action, but they create javelins.
The ideal would be to have a DM kind enough so that you can have Gloves of Endless Daggers. So I advice you to talk to your DM.

Honorable Mention for Dexterity-based ranged attackers:

Drow of the Underdark have, at page 50, the Hand Crossbow Focus fighter feat.

Quote
Prerequisite: Proficiency with hand crossbow, base attack
bonus +1.
Benefit: You can reload a hand crossbow as a free action. You also gain a +1 bonus on attack rolls with a hand crossbow.
This bonus does not stack with the bonus from Weapon Focus, but it is the equivalent of Weapon Focus for the purpose
of qualifying for feats, prestige classes, and anything else that requires the feat.

Just for fun, compare that to this epic feat. Amusing, is it not?

In PHB II, page 77, there is the Crossbow Sniper feat.
It requires proficiency, Weapon Focus and BAB +1.
It lets you add half your Dexterity modifier to damage to your attacks made with the weapon you have Weapon Focus in. Also, with the same kind of weapon, it extends the range of any Skirmish or Sneak damage to 60 feet instead of 30.
Talk with your DM and see if you can then extend the range of Dead Eye or Hit-and-Run to 60 feet, since that would not be too far of a stretch.
As per RAW though, it doesn't do much.


Compulsory Mention for Ranged Characters:
[/b]

Splitting is a +3 weapon enhancement found in the Forgotten Realms book Champions of Ruin, page 42.
It makes every arrow fired from the weapon with this enchantment split into two arrows, doubling your attacks.
Unlike the earlier mentioned Palm Throw, Splitting produce two arrows which you both have to roll for.
So that is 2 dice.
So you apply Precision Based Damage to both of them.

Compulsory Mention for all Sneak Attackers:
[/b]
Champions of Ruin also have the feat Craven on page 17.
You can't be immune to fear if you want to take it.
You take a -2 penalty to Fear effects, but you add 1 point of damage per character level to all your sneak attacks.
At level 20, that means +20 damage to every attack you achieve sneak with.

In the spirit of full disclosure:
Races of the Wild have the Champion of Corellon Larethian on page 113.

The good stuff is it's level 2 ability:

Quote
Elegant Strike (Ex): Upon reaching 2nd level, you become able to place your attacks where they deal greater damage. You
apply your Dexterity bonus as a bonus on damage rolls (in addition to any Strength bonus you may have) with any of the following
weapons: longsword, rapier, elven thinblade, elven lightblade, elven court sword, or scimitar.
Targets immune to sneak attacks or extra damage from critical hits are immune to your elegant strike.

AFAIK, this was the first thing printed in 3.5 that added DEX to damage, so if nothing else this PrC deserves a mention for being first.
That said, it is restrictive. From a roleplaying perspective, you are forced into a very specific role in how to act and think.
But even worse, the entry requirements are harsh.

Quote
Elf or half-elf, any nonevil.
BAB +7.
Diplomacy 4 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 2 ranks.
Proficient with all martial weapons and heavy armor,
Combat Expertise, Dodge, Mounted Combat, either WF (longsword) or EWP (e. thinblade/courtblade).
Must worship Corellon Larethian, obviously.

Mounted Combat very rarely gets stage time. And trust me when I say that all characters taking advice from this guide are going to be feat-strapped.
Combat Expertise isn't uncommon, and if we already have taken 3 levels in Swashbuckler, INT is a "primary secondary attribute".
Dodge isn't particularly good, it does however show up from time to time because there's an enormous amount of things that have it as a prerequisite.
WF/EWP... well the former is often seen but the latter takes up a feat slot.
 
If you somehow achieve to fulfil all these prereq's and wish to play the compassionate, calm and just elf then go ahead.
I find it too restrictive, but that's just a personal opinion.

Halflings does it Better:

If you want to make a thrower, being a Halfling is a very good choice.
They gain +2 Dex, +1 size bonus to attack rolls and a +1 racial bonus to thrown weapons.

In the Forgotten Realms, there's even the Strongheart Halfling (FRCS page 18) which gets a bonus feat at first level.
Now you are better than the already very good Human, unless you really want to have plenty of skill points.

But this is not all that is good with Halflings. No, they have made a pretty good invention.
Races of the Wild includes Halfling Skiprocks.
These are Exotic Weapons which are thrown weapons with a range increment of 15 feet and damage d4 (or d6 if you are using Medium sized ones).
The bad part is that the have relatively short range, costs 3 gp each and are Exotic Weapons.
The good part is that for each attack you make, you can "bounce" the rock to an adjacent target from the original one, making a new attack at -2.
This is a new roll, so Precision Damage apply if the other criteria are met.
How to deal with the disadvantages:
Targetteers gains two EWP, as long as those are ranged weapons.
Far Shot can be picked up with an item from Magic Item Compendium (Helm of the Hunter, 9,000).
3 gp each is a bit expensive considering that skiprocks counts as ammunition.
That means that there is a 50% chance that each rock disappear or break.
But there are plenty of methods to break the Wealth By Level into tiny little pieces, so this shouldn't be a problem past a certain level.

Talking with your DM might entitle you to a Gloves of Endless Skiprocks somehow, but it's probably less likely to be approved (or at least I think that there are a few DM's that wouldn't mind Daggers, but bouncing rocks that gives twice as many attacks seems too good for them. Even if all he have to do is to spread out his monsters).

If your DM allows you to do this, then note that both Mask of the Hunter and Gloves of Endless Javelins are originally part of the "Array of the Manticore" set.
That can provide more ideas.

Halflings still do it better, but Drows come in at second place:
[/b]

In Eberron, Halflings are either scribes, matrons or dinosaur-riding barbarians. Generally.
The latter, along with the Drow, have invented the boomerang.
Talenta and Xen'Drik boomerang respectively.

These are good weapons on lower levels since they return to you if you miss.

But, they become really abuseable if you add Races of Eberron into the mix.
Page 108 have this beauty:

Quote
Prerequisites: Proficiency with Talenta boomerang or Xen’drik boomerang, base attack bonus +4.
Benefit: When you attack with a Talenta boomerang or Xen’drik boomerang (see page 119 of the EBERRON
Campaign Setting), any target creature that takes damage must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 10 + damage
dealt) or be dazed for 1 round (until just before your next action). If you have the Boomerang Ricochet feat
(see below), you can daze both targets.

Special: A halfling fighter from the Talenta Plains or a drow fighter from Xen’drik can select Boomerang
Daze as one of his fighter bonus feats.


This feat is absurd. Usually, these kinds of feats have a DC setting of 10+½ character level + Governing Ability Mod.
This is 10+damage. It's easy to see how you can improve your damage output, partially thanks to the rest of this little guide.
A reminder: Being Dazed means that you cannot take any actions.
Yes. It is that good.

There's also:

Quote
BOOMERANG RICOCHET
You can strike up to two foes with a single boomerang
throw.
Prerequisites: Dex 13, proficiency with Talenta
boomerang or Xen’drik boomerang, base attack
bonus +4.
Benefit: You can hurl a Talenta boomerang or Xen’drik boomerang (see page 119 of the EBERRON Campaign Setting)
in such a way that it ricochets off one target to strike a second target of your choice. If your initial attack hits, you
immediately make a second attack roll at a –2 penalty against any target adjacent to the original target.
If the first target is hit by a sneak attack with a boomerang under the effect of this feat, the second target is not also
vulnerable to a sneak attack on the ricochet.

Special: A halfling fighter from the Talenta Plains or a drow fighter from Xen’drik can select Boomerang
Ricochet as one of his fighter bonus feats.

Note the prohibition of applying Precision Damage here. Normally we should be able to (see the notes on Skiprocks) but this is an exception. If you have a feat to spare, then by all means take this if your shtick is to throw curved sticks at things.


I want to apply Boomerang Daze to daggers, that would kick ass!:

Doable. Weapon Aptitude, a weapon enhancement from Tome of Battle lets you apply all feats that works with a certain weapon to the weapon with the enhancement. Page reference 148.

Note that Weapon Aptitude is somewhat abuseable. Keep it on a tight leash otherwise we'll end up seeing Fighter 4/Warblade 1/Bloodstorm Blade 10/Disciple of Dispater 5 throwing Kukris with a critrange of ABSURD with Lightning Mace abuse (another free attack each time you threaten a critical hit) and exponentially increasing damage from Blood in the Water (+1 to hit/damage per critical hit). With Cleave.
That build is somewhat... problematic.
Though I do admit that the mental image of the above if pretty awesome :D



Where to go from here:

In Complete Scoundrel, there are 2 feats of interest. Page 76 has Daring Outlaw and Page 81 have Swift Hunter.

Daring Outlaw stack levels in Rogue and Swashbuckler for different purposes, the best one being Sneak Attack.
So a Rogue 3/Swashbuckler 6 have 5d6 SA and BAB 8.

Swift Hunter do the same for Ranger and Scout (Complete Adventurer page 10). See Here for more information.

So, for example, by picking the appropriate feats and abilities stated above, you can have a dual-wielding hand-crossbowman that shoots 2 bolts per attack, all bolts do 2½xDEX+other damage.

Or a Dagger-thrower/stabber that does 2xDex+1xInt+other damage to each dagger. Remember that you can use Two-Weapon Fighting as well as Rapid Shot with thrown weapons.

So, I hope this will be helpful for anyone trying to make a dagger/thrower/archery/crossbow/dexterity-character

11
Gaming Advice / Fallout Ideas?
« on: June 21, 2012, 10:36:26 PM »
Ok, so I want to try the Shadowrun gaming system, because as a former 40k player the notion of rolling plenty of D6 sends me into a deep-seated sense of satisfaction. But Shadowrun has - A LOT - of information and rules to assimilate and it won't work for my gaming group.

So, I've decided to borrow the system, change up some skills, kick out some parts and all in all just modify it for my desire to do a Fallout-esque scenario/short campaign.

I've recently started playing Fallout 2 and I have at this point in time 297 hours of gaming time clocked on my Steam for Fallout: New Vegas, so I'm sure you can see that I'm a fan of romanticized post-apocalypse rpg's. I'm going to be the GM and I have 4 players, two of which I have no idea what they want to play yet. One wants to play a classic scavenger/prospector and the other guy just want to play the big, dumb muscle friend.

I'm not forced to keep to any official Fallout canon, I'm going to steal as much as I like but not necessarily anything specific. So with that in mind, I really can do pretty much anything I can think of as a scenario.

So if anyone of you have any ideas for scenarios, scenes or campaigns, I would be very happy to hear them. Everything is welcome, right now I'm just trying to create a nice scenario with a good balance of survival/action/social/vault-delving/other so that the group can say that I offered a "full-course meal" so to speak.

The tone I'm after is resource-gathering and survival through interesting scenarios and an overall sense of Adventure.
For now, I'm thinking some local political intrigue, be it between rival gangs or something bigger like NCR vs Legion.
Naturally some vault-delving and some ruin-searching, a good 'ol proper Dungeon Crawl.

I'm keen on instilling a sense of satisfaction for managing to achieve things that might not be so impressive by other genre standards but which is invaluable in this game. For example, using a mixture of social skills, technological feats and some clever combat to net themselves resources enough to secure a bi-weekly supply of Bhramin meat from a cattle Baron will be something to be quite proud of and something worth celebrating. The same thing if they somehow managed to get a reliable source of energy and/or drinking water.

I tend to be overly generous and to ramp up the superlativity rather quick when I GM and I'm trying to tone it down this time. It's the same principle that I like E6, one can be heroic and awesome if one just shifts the perspective a bit.

One idea I have is for them to come across a dead body with a Pip-Boy (or something similar to it) that can give clues to a safe haven or useful stuff, but it requires some technical skills to get to the information. Information they'll get over time, so that other interesting stuff can happen whilst they're waiting for more information.

My end goal for now is for the group to be in a much better shape than when they start, with somewhere to live, with more food and water, ammo and medical supplies, maybe a friendly robot and some good tech, maybe some social connections to friends that can help in the future, etc.

Simply put, they'll start at square one and work their way up through a combination of smarts, muscle and luck.
 
Any and all ideas are welcome, the scenario is still in it's infancy so there's very little settled.

12
Other RPGs / What's everyone's beef with nWoD?
« on: May 14, 2012, 10:31:42 PM »
Seems as if I'm in the minority of players that actually enjoy the nWoD gaming system. At least I like it in general.

But I've noticed that many people dislike it or say it's a bad system. Personally I've found it to be pretty flexible and pretty good.
So do enlighten me, what's so bad about it?
I'm interested in peoples opinions about the mechanics, not the flavour. What your opinion on VtR/WtF/CtL/MtA/Promethean whatsacallit.. flavour-wise is isn't what I'm after, since that's fluff.

Disclaimer: I'm an optimizer in D&D/SWSE because it's necessary and it is fun. I'm not in WoD. I play WoD with a different mindset and my gaming group usually don't go with, for example, 12/7/4 dots to skills but rather "put what you think is reasonable for your character in skills".


13
Gaming Advice / Stone Shape and Wall of Stone caging.
« on: April 15, 2012, 03:59:56 PM »
Stone Shape:

(click to show/hide)


Wall of Stone
(click to show/hide)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but can't you use Stone Shape to reshape the stone floor to become hollow and then close around any creature standing on it without even allowing a save?
Imagine the floor as a cube with the opponent standing on top of it. Now reshape it so that you lower the middle part of the cube while shaping the edges up into wall and a roof.
Poof. You're stuck inside of a stone coffin. Enjoy.

I would say it would allow for a reflex save if I was the DM, but as it is written, is there any problem with my reasoning?
I know it says "fine detail" isn't possible but I wouldn't say that there's really any fine detail involved.

14
What is SWSE?
SWSE is the successor to the Star Wars RPG and hit the market in 2007. Books where produced to 2010 when WotC decided the license was too expensive (or at least that's how I understand it). This means that there are only 11 sourcebooks to the system, making it easier to get into from an optimizer standpoint than D&D 3.5 whilst still having enough options to give you a good solution for most character concepts. SWSE is system-wise a mixture of D&D 3.5 and 4e as well as the old SW rpg, combining many of the best things from both.
It is in my opinion one of the best systems WotC have created, albeit the reason why I believe so is because it's overall more balanced than 3.5 and a lot more creative then 4e, the only two other rpg products I am familiar with.

On what have come before:
There have been SWSE threads back at Gleemax as well as our old hang-around brilliantgameologists.com which have a lot of nice information. Emy made a general SWSE thread back at our old forum and I will credit him as well as Toptomcat for the X to Y table there.

This is not a handbook, this is just an introductory post so that we have somewhere to discuss this system for build options, ideas and concepts.

The X stat to Y Bonus, ported over from the old board. Thank you very much Emy, I hope you don't mind me reposting it before it gets lost.



Strength:
Code: [Select]
Feat or Talent{Tree}              Class/tradition    Source                 Bonus
 CLASS TALENTS
Hammerblow{Brawler}               Soldier            Legacy Era CG pg31     Double Strength bonus to unarmed attack rolls when holding nothing in either hand
Heavy-Duty Actuators             5th-D. Droid        SGtD pg27              Double Strength bonus to unarmed and melee damage rolls.
 FORCE TALENTS
High Impact{Believer Disciple}    The Believers      Clone Wars pg56        Double Strength bonus to any melee damage with a swift action and a DC 15 UTF check
 FEATS
Echani Training                                      KotOR CG pg33          Double Strength bonus to unarmed attack damage when making no more than one unarmed attack per round
Mighty Throw                                         Force Unleashed pg33   Str to attack with thrown weapons and increase to range catergories equal to Str mod
Resilient Strength                                   Galaxy at War pg25     Replaces Con to Fort defense
Slammer                              Droid           SGtD pg27              Make unarmed attack as standard action, double Strength bonus to damage.
 OTHER

Dexterity:

Code: [Select]
Feat or Talent{Tree}              Class/tradition    Source                 Bonus
 CLASS TALENTS
Ataru{Lightsaber Forms}           Jedi K./Sith A.    Core pg218/TttG pg81   Replaces Str to damage with lightsabers
Master of Elegance{Melee Duelist} Melee Duelist      KotOR CG pg47          Dex to damage instead of Str, but for other melee weapons.
 FORCE TALENTS
 FEATS
Weapon Finesse                                       Core pg89              Replaces Str to hit with light melee weapons and lightsabers
 OTHER

Constitution:

Code: [Select]
Feat or Talent{Tree}              Class/tradition    Source                 Bonus
 CLASS TALENTS
 FORCE TALENTS
 FEATS
 OTHER

Intelligence:

Code: [Select]
Feat or Talent{Tree}              Class/tradition    Source                 Bonus
 CLASS TALENTS
Droid Defense                    Droid Commander     Clone Wars Cg pg47    Add Int mod to allied droids defense of choice for 1 round.
 FORCE TALENTS
 FEATS
Brilliant Defense                                    Galaxy of Intrigue pg25    1/Encounter add to Reflex Defense as reaction for 1 round.
Predictive Defense                                   Galaxy at War pg25     Replaces Dex to Ref defense
 OTHER

Wisdom:

Code: [Select]
Feat or Talent{Tree}              Class/tradition    Source                 Bonus
 CLASS TALENTS
 FORCE TALENTS
 FEATS
Jedi Heritage                      Twi'lek        Rebellion Era CG pg34     Wisdom counts as 4 higher for determine how many Force Powers you gain from Force Training.
 OTHER

Charisma:

Code: [Select]
Feat or Talent{Tree}              Class/tradition    Source                 Bonus
 CLASS TALENTS
Force Intuition{Jedi Guardian}    Jedi               Core pg40              Replace Initiative checks with Use the Force checks
Force Persuasion{Jedi Consular}   Jedi               Core pg40              Replace Persuasion checks with Use the Force checks
Idealist{Ideologue}               Noble              Force Unleashed pg25   Replaces Wis to Will defense
Noble Fencing Style{Fencing}      Noble              KotOR CG pg27          Replaces Str to hit with a light melee weapon or lightsaber
 FORCE TALENTS
Fluidity{Shapers of Kro Var}      Shaper of Kro Var  Jedi Academy pg85      Replace Acrobatics checks with Use the Force checks
Force Pilot{Sense}                                   Core pg101             Replace Pilot checks with Use the Force checks
Force Perception{Sense}                              Core pg101             Replace Perception checks with Use the Force checks
Waveform                          Order of Shasa     KotOR CG pg61          Additional damage on [telekinetic] powers
White Current Adept{White Current Adept} Fallanassi  Jedi Academy pg77      Replace Stealth checks with Use the Force checks
 FEATS
Force of Personality                                 Galaxy at War pg23     Replaces Wis to Will defense
Indomitable  Personality                          Galaxy of Intrigue pg23     1/Ecounter ad to Will Defense as reaction for 1 round.

 OTHER
Enlighten (Force power)                              Legacy Era CG pg54     Replace many things with a UtF check result. See section 2
Target Sense (Maneuver)                              SotG pg30              Replace vehicle's Int to attack with your Cha

On the (Ab)Use of Threshold:

Unlike D&D 3.5, where you're at prime fighting spirit even after taking those 30+ d6 in damage, as long as you have at least 1 HP left, the same cannot be said about Star Wars.

In SWSE, when you take damage that exceds your Threshold value, you go down one step on your Condition Track.
Just like in World of Darkness, Burning Wheel or any other rpg with similar mechanics, the more damaged you are, the harder it becomes for you to do things. A quick look in the core book let us familiarize with the mechanic.

At first glance, it seems a reasonable rule, since, after all, it's kind of hard to remain fighting whilst trying to balance on your guts when that Dire Vibroaxe cut you open.

However, as many enlightened induviduals have stated before me, there are some issues with this system.

At one end, we have the Greater Krayt Dragon.
It slaps you with its tail for an average of 51 damage. That's about a third or a fourth of a normal characters HP, correct me if I'm wrong.
But you still only go down 1 step on the Condition Track.

A little odd, don't you think?
But ok, it's good thing for the players, so hey let's not complain.

On the other end, we have builds that can stack abilities that push opponents down the condition track, so even if you hit something for 30-ish damage you can get them virtually useless.

Condition Track stacking-list. Work-in-progress, by all means if you find something then tell me :)
1. Doing damage over targets threshold, Core Rulebook.
2. Dastardly Strike, attack against opponent denied Dex to Reflex Defense cause -1 step, Scoundrel Talent, Core Rulebook.
3. Hunter's Mark, cause -1 step if at first you aim, hit and damage someone with a ranged attack, Bounty Hunter Talent, Core Rulebook.
4. Debilitating Shot, cause -1 step if at first you aim, hit and damage someone with a ranged attack, Gunslinger Talent, Core Rulebook.
5. Stun damage will cause another -1 step if it beats the targets threshold. Note that most stun weapons have an effective range of 6 squares.
6. Stunning Strike will cause another -1 step if it beats the targets threshold, melee attack only, Soldier Talent, Core Rulebook.
7. Inspire Zeal, if an attack by an ally cause the target to drop at least 1 step on the condition track, it drops another step, Noble Talent, Core Rulebook.
8. Pinpoint Accuracy, works like Hunter's Mark but for Droids, Feat, Scavenger's Guide to Droids.
9. Rancor Grab, -1 step when you use Pin and Crush when grappling, Feat (page 36) Legacy Era.
10. Bone Crusher, -1 step when damaging an opponent you grapple, Feat (page 25) Galaxy of Intrigue.
Original Builds and ideas:

On the usefulness of aiming.
(click to show/hide)

"You're just asking for the clamps!"
(click to show/hide)

"I might be fresh of the production line, but you're dead!".
(click to show/hide)


There's many more good things floating around the web that I hope eventually will gather here, I hope this will be the go-to thread for SWSE on these boards. Anything SWSE related, don't hesitate to post, I'll try to help if I have any ideas and I'm sure I'm not the only SWSE player on these boards (I know at least a handful since I'm in a PbP playing it here).

Sourcebooks (copied from Wikipedia):
(click to show/hide)

15
Gaming Advice / Groundhog day makes for Einstein-Ghandi-Elvis?
« on: November 25, 2011, 12:51:46 PM »
There, confusing title to get people to read the topic: check.

Here's my conundrum. Does mental stat boosts accumulate as you grow old multiple times?
I don't mean in the normal sense, I know that a venerable creature have -6 Physical and +3 Mental stats.
Let's say I have a character that dies at venerable age in an unnatural and painful way.
A Druid cast reincarnate on me. I pop up in a young adult body of random race. I keep my mental stats, get the new physical ones.

Can this keep on happening ad nauseum for +Infinity Mental stats and a healthy young body eventually?
Rule-wise of course, I don't think the DM would appreciate it if you did it more than once.

16
Introduce Yourself / I'm back dudes ^__^
« on: November 07, 2011, 12:33:45 PM »
Yeah, that's right. BG is finally back and I crave my D&D 3.5/Star Wars SAGA Edition fix.

Your resident Binder-loving, precision damage linking, all around courteous Swede known as Shadowhunter is here.

For those who doesn't know me (the vast majority I would say), I'm a 23 year old quintuple nerd. I say this because I like playing RPG's, card games, video (or computer) games and tabletop games a la WARMACHINE/HORDES.

Anyone got any questions, you can send me a PM.

Now, let's hope we can get this board up to the standard of the information treasury that is the-now-view-only-BG-Min/Max-board.

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