The Commoner and the Mage. What do all these levels mean?

"Eco-Mono" wrote:

"Rhys" wrote:

Sixteen Swarm Fighter halflings?

Now don't you think that's a little low?

Definitely- below the belt.

Ahem. Sorry, I couldn't resist the short joke.

I agree with rip's answer, but I'd like to add that for the last two you want a few different poisons on the blade, just to be sure. All CON draining, of course...

Okay, I'll try to take this one somewhat seriously. 'Tis only fair.

The issue, of course, is "killed with a dagger by WHO?". I'll try to detail who does the stabbing and why.

Kint the Commoner - Blount the neophyte brigand (War1, in case you're curious) comes up to this poor soul and sticks the knife in him. Kint, being unaccustomed to aggression from anything more dangerous than a chicken, takes the first strike through the heart and dies.

Jess the Apprentice - As Blount's next target, Jess is only marginally more used to danger than Kint was. She manages to knock the first dagger thrust aside with her forearm (taking 3 damage), but the unexpected shock of the wound clouds her reflexes and the second strike goes home. Poor Jess.

Hartis Spellvain - One doesn't survive long enough to become a town wizard without knowing a few tricks. Hartis knows something about how to move with Blount's attacks and twist so that the blade cuts only shallowly, striking against bone and avoiding major arteries. The sheer weight of his experience and reputation may also overawe Blount somewhat, causing him to be more cautious and strike with less force.

Assuming Hartis stands there and takes this sort of treatment for some odd reason instead of frying Blount to a crisp, it'd take around eight to ten strikes of this sort before bad luck, fatigue and blood loss caught up with Hartis. Spellistra and Lord Castalot are the same, but even more boss.

Now, rejects such as Blount are probably dragon chow against anyone more experienced than Jess, so let's consider what Zharp the experienced bandit might manage. Zharp is strong, a skilled hand with weapons of all kinds, and has specialized in dagger work - in game terms, let's say Ftr4, Str 16, Weapon Focus and Specialization with dagger. He's doing 1d4+5 with the weapon, where Blount was stuck with 1d4+1.

Against Zharp, Hartis's experience and survival instincts are quite lessened - Zharp has a better sense of how to crowd the opponent, slash at exposed veins and soft parts of the opponent's body (nothing quite as dramatically effective as the 'one shot to the carotid' of a rogue's Sneak Attack, but still good for improved damage), and definitely isn't overawed by Hartis's reputation. Hartis may manage to slow things down, but three or four solid hits will take him down.

Khien the master assassin is even more effective. Greater Weapon Specialization, magically-enhanced strength (STR 20-22), excellent accuracy (Improved Critical) and other bonuses give him base damage of 1d4+9, and critical threats on a 17+. He can quite possibly take Hartis down in a single viper-quick strike to the throat, and if he uses Sneak Attack the outcome's certain. Someone like Lord Castalot might manage to instinctively pull away from even a sneak attack critical strike from Khien, and survive with 'only' a serious injury, but this requires epic levels of experience. Even then, Lord Castalot would be in about the same situation, fighting-wise, as Jess was in after old Blount's first dagger-thrust some six paragraphs back.

That exhaustive enough for you?