Rusvul
2015-12-14, 12:35 AM
I have taken interest to the 'Gritty Realism' rules variant in the DMG. The idea with that rule is that a short rest is 8 hours and a long rest is 7 days- This makes planning and resource management much more important.
The most important resources any character has are their hit points. Run out of them and you could die. Week-long long rests makes it harder to regain hit points- Not only are you unable to rest and regain them, but re-memorizing spells takes much longer and so healing spells are much more scarce.
It seems like the best option, then, would be to avoid taking damage at all costs. Some of the most effective ways to do that are by keeping enemies out of reach. There are a number of different abilities that help with this- Namely, the Polearm Master and Sentinel feats and the Tunnel Fighter fighting style. Trouble is, they all compete for actions- More on that soon.
The Abjurer's Arcane Ward also seems like a good tool to prevent damage. It can be recharged freely (by use of ritual-casting Alarm) and provides a significant buffer. The problem with Arcane Ward is that it uses your Reaction if you want to shield allies, which leads to even more competing for actions.
The idea, then, is to create a build where you can block or inhibit as much damage as possible using as few resources as possible. To my untrained eye, Arcane Ward/PAM/Sentinel/Tunnel Fighter seems like an effective (if possibly redundant) way to do that.
-Things that use Reactions-
Projected Ward- Reaction to have ward take damage for an ally.
Polearm Master- AOO for coming within reach.
Sentinel- Reaction attack to hit a creature within reach that is making an attack against a creature that doesn't have the Sentinel feat.
Sentinel- AOOs on Disengaging creatures moving out of reach.
Tunnel Fighter- Reaction attack against creatures moving more than 5 feet within your reach.
-Things that use Bonus Actions-
Polearm Master- Bonus Action attack for 1d4 damage.
Tunnel Fighter- Bonus Action to enter defensive stance.
-Things that make AOOs better-
Sentinel- AOOs reduce a creature's speed to 0 on a hit.
Tunnel Fighter- AOOs no longer require reactions.
So here's where I'm asking for input: There are lots of useful tools for preventing damage based on AOOing things into immobility. I'm just not sure how to get it to all work together- especially since many DMs disallow UA, and thus Tunnel Fighter. There's a level of redundancy but at the same time, everything gives useful features, so I'm not sure what could be cut out. I'm also not sure if there's anything I'm missing.
Also, I'm fairly sure I'm correct but I feel it's worth asking- Some features specifically are listed as Attacks of Opportunity, while others are simply attacks you may use your Reaction to take. There is a RAW distinction here, no? Sentinels don't get to immobilize targets hit with the reaction attack granted by the Sentinel feat, and Tunnel Fighters don't get to make their special reaction attack for free?
Thanks for the input!
The most important resources any character has are their hit points. Run out of them and you could die. Week-long long rests makes it harder to regain hit points- Not only are you unable to rest and regain them, but re-memorizing spells takes much longer and so healing spells are much more scarce.
It seems like the best option, then, would be to avoid taking damage at all costs. Some of the most effective ways to do that are by keeping enemies out of reach. There are a number of different abilities that help with this- Namely, the Polearm Master and Sentinel feats and the Tunnel Fighter fighting style. Trouble is, they all compete for actions- More on that soon.
The Abjurer's Arcane Ward also seems like a good tool to prevent damage. It can be recharged freely (by use of ritual-casting Alarm) and provides a significant buffer. The problem with Arcane Ward is that it uses your Reaction if you want to shield allies, which leads to even more competing for actions.
The idea, then, is to create a build where you can block or inhibit as much damage as possible using as few resources as possible. To my untrained eye, Arcane Ward/PAM/Sentinel/Tunnel Fighter seems like an effective (if possibly redundant) way to do that.
-Things that use Reactions-
Projected Ward- Reaction to have ward take damage for an ally.
Polearm Master- AOO for coming within reach.
Sentinel- Reaction attack to hit a creature within reach that is making an attack against a creature that doesn't have the Sentinel feat.
Sentinel- AOOs on Disengaging creatures moving out of reach.
Tunnel Fighter- Reaction attack against creatures moving more than 5 feet within your reach.
-Things that use Bonus Actions-
Polearm Master- Bonus Action attack for 1d4 damage.
Tunnel Fighter- Bonus Action to enter defensive stance.
-Things that make AOOs better-
Sentinel- AOOs reduce a creature's speed to 0 on a hit.
Tunnel Fighter- AOOs no longer require reactions.
So here's where I'm asking for input: There are lots of useful tools for preventing damage based on AOOing things into immobility. I'm just not sure how to get it to all work together- especially since many DMs disallow UA, and thus Tunnel Fighter. There's a level of redundancy but at the same time, everything gives useful features, so I'm not sure what could be cut out. I'm also not sure if there's anything I'm missing.
Also, I'm fairly sure I'm correct but I feel it's worth asking- Some features specifically are listed as Attacks of Opportunity, while others are simply attacks you may use your Reaction to take. There is a RAW distinction here, no? Sentinels don't get to immobilize targets hit with the reaction attack granted by the Sentinel feat, and Tunnel Fighters don't get to make their special reaction attack for free?
Thanks for the input!