is this good roleplaying?

[DareTheRogue]

we have a character, he is a Goliath favored soul. He is level 12 so 11 levels in favored soul. He is very combat oriented, but only once he finishes buffing himself, so he stands outside combat or in the middle of it for 2-4 rounds buffing, finally casting righteous might making himself large. He monkey grips a great axe and after all his buffs he has a gargantuan on that is quiet impressive in combat but he is slow and most of the enemies are dead before he starts fighting. He blames it on his low wisdom and he doesn't know any better, it is a 7 by the way. So in the end is he just roleplaying a stubborn character or just making it harder for us? Cause he is effective without the buffs

[senrath]

Wisdom describes a character’s willpower, common sense, perception, and intuition.

It's a toss-up. Although if it's really annoying you might want to try working something out with him.

[drengnikrafe]

His low wisdom can be a shield to stand behind the first time, maybe 2. However, if you have one of the other characters point out, in game, that the buffing is a bad idea, and he should fight without it, and they do a good diplomacy check, or bluff check, or something, then it would be just as good, if not better, roleplaying to take to just fighting without the buffs. I'd say playing your stats is one thing, but being an idiot and ignoring your buddies as they cry for help, and even ignoring them after they tell you that it's a bad idea, in game and out, is not good role playing, it's just being a jerk.

[holywhippet]

Depends, does he care about the other party members? Standing back like that for four rounds while they do the fighting suggests not. If so he's breaking roleplay by not stepping in earlier. His low wisdom (what is his intelligence) actually makes a case against his actions. Buffing up first indicates a fair amount of planning, but someone who is dumb isn't likely to plan things out as much and will just wade in and start swinging.

If I was the DM I'd be tempted to a) send some critters after him, possibly sneaking up on him or b) throw a dispel magic or two in his direction.

Something to remember, if you can finish the combat before his buff spells are complete, he gets no XP from the fight as he did not participate.

[RTGoodman]

Get the DM to give him one of these. Don't give him other items until his Wealth By Level is balanced with everyone else's again.

Now it should take him half the time (i.e., 1-2 rounds), so he should be able to contribute.

[Chronos]

And may I be the first one to point out that Monkey Grip does not work that way. Specifically, it doesn't stack with Powerful Build. Monkey Grip lets you use a weapon one size larger than would be normal for your size. Powerful Build also lets you use a weapon one size larger than would be normal for your size. A goliath is Medium, so Monkey Grip lets him wield a Large-scale weapon, and Powerful Build also lets him wield a Large-scale weapon.

[RTGoodman]

A goliath is Medium, so Monkey Grip lets him wield a Large-scale weapon, and Powerful Build also lets him wield a Large-scale weapon.

And neither of them allows you to wield a two-handed weapon in one hand.

[skywalker]

And may I be the first one to point out that Monkey Grip does not work that way. Specifically, it doesn't stack with Powerful Build. Monkey Grip lets you use a weapon one size larger than would be normal for your size. Powerful Build also lets you use a weapon one size larger than would be normal for your size. A goliath is Medium, so Monkey Grip lets him wield a Large-scale weapon, and Powerful Build also lets him wield a Large-scale weapon.

There I was hoping I'd get to make that point.

Actually, this fact may actually reduce his buff time as well, since some of his buffs may involve enlarging his weapon?

But if he's the type to use monkey grip improperly that way(I won't say "cheat" but that's really what you're doing, whether you know it or not) there may be some trouble convincing him of anything.

[Grommen]

Just "Arrange" a little accident for him and his 7 wisdom.

It would be cute for a fight or two, but if I had a player that did that all too often I would have to talk with him and say it's not funny anymore. Find a new pony to beat. A 7 wisdom is low but eventually he should catch on, it's still well above that of a dog or cat. They are at least trainable. Most of the time.

What other troubles does he cause? Sounds like a power gamer to me. They are always fun to deal with.

[Nebo_]

Monkey Grip Does Not Work That Way!

[Dervag]

Frankly, the question of how Monkey Grip works isn't really at stake.

The real issue is "is this good roleplaying?"

I can certainly imagine a person who casts their preparatory battle spells every time they get into a fight. But low wisdom or not, that shouldn't be a permanent state of affairs.

I mean, it would also be good roleplaying for the other characters to say "Hey, Dave, we could get seriously injured or killed while you're doing your prebattle prayer chant. A lot can happen in that kind of time. I understand that you don't want to jump into a fight before you're ready, but we need you."

And if Dave is a basically OK guy, he'll agree to this. He can save the buff routine for bigger battles, or he can use part of it in a single battle. But as it is, if the battle is over in six rounds and he needs four to finish buffing, odds are that he's doing less harm to the enemy with the buffs than without them.

I picked "Dave" because I am amused by the idea of a Goliath named David.

[Lorn]

Try and pull him away from the party, give him a few encounters, he won't be able to buff for them.

Hopefully, he won't feel the need to buff as much later.

[Uec]

No, it's not.

Low wisdom does not excuse deliberately doing something to inconvenience the other players time and time again.

He (the player) could as well make the choice that the low wisdom means that he tends to forget the benefit of buffing insanely. This would from a character perspective make at least as much sense, and not get the other players killed.

Really, every time I see someone standing up on a pedestal yelling "that's the only thing my character would do" I cannot help but think "jerk that believes that only if it involves being a jerk to other players is it prober roleplaying"

Actually, the giant describes it much better than than I can, but the second half of this article describes it perfectly.

[Jarlax]

He blames it on his low wisdom and he doesn't know any better, it is a 7 by the way. So in the end is he just roleplaying a stubborn character or just making it harder for us? Cause he is effective without the buffs

good roleplaying should never get in the way of being a good party member.

however good roleplaying is not the problem here, its a bad player who is clearly not team oriented in combat. if his actions for every encounter is to buff himself, and only himself for 4 rounds. so that he can look awesome for the whole 2 rounds left in combat, then hes a dead weight to the party. any attempt to justify this sort of thing with roleplaying is a cheap attempt to dodge the issue.

you should talk to the player about wasting less time on buffs and getting into combat. however some of this responsibility should fall to your DM, for letting this situation constantly happen, most creatures are not so foolish that they cannot recognize someone buffing themselves, and act on that by attacking the idiot standing in combat provoking a attack of opportunity in every round.

[Cainen]

Really, every time I see someone standing up on a pedestal yelling "that's the only thing my character would do" I cannot help but think "jerk that believes that only if it involves being a jerk to other players is it prober roleplaying"

I actually disagree with that statement, but it's for unrelated reasons; the reason I did what I did was wholly unrelated with being a jerk, and was more because a GM didn't tell me everything up front. So I made a non-optimized detective(rogue with 10/12/8/18/17/17, good rolls) PC with a very thorough personality, appearance, and backstory... and I was suddenly told it was a dungeon crawl. In a setting with permadeath.

I disagree with doing the whole "that's what my CHARACTER would do" when it inconveniences the party, but I don't when it is so much of a stretch to the point where it destroys the character concept entirely. A Paladin shouldn't randomly kill a defenseless child without a reason, now, should they?

[LoneGamer]

How is he casting spells with 7 WIS? I thought Favoured Soul was WIS to cast spells, CHA for save DCs and bonus spells?

[Chosen_of_Vecna]

How is he casting spells with 7 WIS? I thought Favoured Soul was WIS to cast spells, CHA for save DCs and bonus spells?

It's Cha for what spells to cast and for bonus spells. Wisdom is only for Save DC. So basically this guy can buff up, but he isn't going to be casting anything with a saving throw.

[Craig1f]

I agree with the "it's bad roleplaying if he does it more than 1 or 2 times" vote, unless his intelligence is also very low.

I also agree with the idea that maybe you should toss a metamagic rod of quicken his way.

[RukiTanuki]

Nope, it's the other way around: Charisma for casting, Wisdom for spell save DCs.

Edit: whereas the Ninja has Improved Initiative. d'oh!