Aaron86: I just had a couple of questions. One, how and to what degree does my class effect combat ability?
Theoretically, not too much, but enough so that it matters.
Every time you act, there's a d20 roll. Offensively, then, the maximum amount of damage any character can do is 20. So that would be the same all around.
However, Warrior classes have skills that do increased damage with traditional-sounding attacks, and can wield stronger weapons with greater efficiency. Similarly, a Warrior class would require a lower roll to actually land a hit.
Defensively, the Warrior classes armor sets are more effective. You could wear a Warrior class armor yourself, but it would hamper your spellcasting ability.
Similarly, the Warrior classes all start out with Hit Point bonuses. Barring some very unique item, a character from a Warrior class of equal level will always have a higher life total than you.
I assume I'm not going to be as good as a warrior type, but is it to the extent that my quarterstaff will be mostly serving as a backup tool?
I think that it would serve primarily as a backup tool, but you won't be a sitting duck, either. You can hold your own in
traditional combat against similar level monsters, but probably not against those of higher levels like a Warrior class could.
But then, they don't have access to the bag of tricks that the Psionicist does. :)
Two, are there any limits to how much I may use my active abilities? I didn't see any mention of "magic points", but I thought I read in the dungeon crawl thread about Father Arkades' holy powers running out through use.
A few separate issues here:
1.) There are no strict limits. For the most part, you're best off behaving as if there aren't any limits as all.
2.) The
only spells which DO have limits are healing spells. This is listed in their description. They diminish in power each time you use them until you "sleep." This is to prevent people from "spamming" healing.
3.) I don't intend to limit anyone's magical powers at any point, but depending on the circumstances, it might make sense: if there's a battle that takes up 50 turns, for example, everyone (Mage and Warrior included) will be fatigued in one way or another. For the Mage, this might mean his spells have diminished power. For the Warrior, his attacks might be weaker, etc.
Thanks for asking. It's very helpful, as we can use these questions to make a FAQ.
If you have any more questions, please feel free.
