After botching up my first try at this game, i decided to give it another go. -Class 1-Bard. Im not sure if there is anything the bard will give me that other classes wont but this is what i want. I want to play as a critical master that wields a light short sword/rapier/cutlass/dagger, etc. I am not sure which of them is better. 1)Do the weapons vary as in any difference or is it just-daggers-piercing, and any other sword-slashing. I dont get what the difference is between a short sword and a rapier. What benefit would there be to using a short sword over say a cutlass or rapier. 2) Besides the highly expensive improved critical feat, are there any other feats, bonuses or magical weapons under those categories that enhances critical hit chance. -Class 2-Cleric. This guy will be a formidable tank, summoner, healer, and buffer. Basically he will hold the party together as clerics rock! -Class 3-Barbarian. This guy is the main fighter in the party and will use a twohanded sword or bastard sword of some type. Pretty self explanatory. Can anyone give me any info on those questions and any other advice on making this party work would be cool too. Thanks.
Thanks for the quick reply! One more question. Is there a faq or guide anywhere that gives the list of which weapons are slashing/piercing/blunt. I can figure out which are blunt, but slashing and piercing are up in the air and it doesnt list them in the game. What is the difference between slashing anda piercing with monsters and humans.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/weapons.htm#tableWeapons If you look up the monster descriptions there, you can also see what vulnerabilties they have (the most important is skeletons against blunt and zombies against slashing). Btw, the relevant difference between short sword and rapier is that the latter is not a light weapon (although Weapon Finesse works for it), but has a larger critical range. Both do piercing damage.
Its also listed in the manual (PDF file that comes with the game) pages 98 & 99. I have it printed out so I can compare damage, weights, and critical modifier. I have used every weapon. Some don't do as much damage, but Troika seems to have made up for that fact with cool animations.
Also if you have the weapon in your inventory, you can shift click it to get the info on what it does and the type of damage it will do. There are some weapons that actually do two types of damage. This can be helpful so you can use just one weapon and still be able to attack creatures vulnerable to various types of damage.
One more note on the slashing-vs.-blunt issue: the only places in the game where this issue arises are: 1. Skeletons, which take half damage from slashing and piercing weapons. 2. Oozes, which just suck to fight. Some of them will split in two when hit with slashing weapons (although in one recent case, my scythe-wielding barbarian didn't split them while my sword-wielding fighter did! I have no idea what the deal is there.) Long story short: blunt for skeletons, fireballs and magic missiles for oozes.
I do believe Zombies also take half damage from piercing and blunt. Only slashing damages them fully. This may apply to ghouls and ghasts as well.
Rather than half-damage, it's Damage Reduction 5. Five points of damage are subtracted from your normal damage roll. A holy sword will still take skeletons apart nicely because the extra holy damage compensates for the DR, especially if you have other damage enhancements, such as +2 or +3 weapon, and weapon specialization. Better than grabbing a +1 mace, anyway. Oozes, puddings and slimes are all different against the various weapon types and energy types. I can never keep them straight, and always get in trouble, either suddenly being faced by a hoard of full hp oozes just as I had almost killed the original lone ooze, or wasting powerful spells that they are immune to.
