I imagine that TOEE's robust turn-based tactical engine would prove daunting to those uninitiated with 3rd and 3.5 edition pencil-and-paper D&D. So, I decided to start this post with some tactical tips (note: not spoilers) to help people survive in TOEE's oft-deadly world. This is mainly for beginners, but others may find a few golden nuggets they can add to their repertoire as well, just as I hope to from your replies. Beyond the tactical, I'll offer some character creation and progression tips as well. And, please, feel free to post your own tips and strategies. 1. Don't just attack. While it may be tempting to simply select attack, it is hardly often your best option. Instead, try some of the moves listed below. 2. Charge! TOEE will often let you charge your enemy. All you need is a little unobstructed distance between you and your foe. A charge will grant you a not insignificant +2 to hit. Even better, charge enables you to attack from a distance that is "yellow" to your foe. An ordinary attack would require you to use both "halves" of your first turn to close with the foe, only to attack on your next turn. Charge enables you to run a "yellow" distance AND attack at the end. Charge does hit you with a -2 AC penalty on your next turn, but, in my opinion, that is almost always more than worth it to be able to hit hard and hit early. TIP!!! Charging is perfect for characters with reach weapons, like the longspear. They can charge to a protected spot behind an ally (where the -2 AC penalty rarely matters) and get their +2! 3. Flank. Flank. Flank. When you and an ally are on opposite sides of an enemy (directly across from one another with the enemy in between), that enemy is flanked. Flanking grants a +2 bonus to attack to both flankers, so it is key to obtain a flank as often as possible. A successful flank can be achieved in multiple ways, detailed in tips 4-6 (see below). 4. Use ALT to move. Using the ALT key to move will allow you to preview your end location options. It also, very importantly, tell you when your enemy will get a free attack, called an Attack of Opportunity. These can often be avoided using ALT. ALT will allow you to set waypoints for movement, so your character won't simply follow a straight path, especially through your enemy's "threatened space." Click once to set the waypoint and double click to execute the move. Use this to move around your enemies threatened space to his back to flank! 5. The Tumble Skill. Tumble is one of the only combat skills in the game, and it's well worth your investment. When moving around an enemy, as detailed above in 4, isn't practical, tumble will often save your bacon. When you move through an enemy's threatened space, the game will make a tumble roll. If the roll succeeds, his chance at an Attack of Opporunity is denied. It's a great way to gain superior mobility during combat, and great for achieving that flank. Feats like Mobility (prerequisite: Dodge) can also help you avoid attacks of opporunity, and are the best route for characters with nasty armor check penalties that negate tumble bonuses (check your tumble rating while IN armor). 6. Flank with Summoned Allies! Many classes can summon creatures. Get double usage out of them by summoning them to a position that achieves a successful flank. This applies to any ally, even such enchantments like the cleric's Spiritual Weapon. Even if the summons is a weak first level creature, the flank bonus may alone well be worth it. 7. Learn the Five-Foot Step. Many might wonder what that 5' step is for. Well, it's mainly for getting out of melee without taking an attack of opportunity while still maintaining your ability to attack or cast. The classic example is a mage whose foe has closed in on him. If he attempts to cast while right next to the foe, bang!, attack of opportunity and a chance to blow the spell. If he retreats using his "green" distance move, bang!, attack of opportunity (though he still gets his chance to cast). If he merely takes a 5' step from the foe, no Attack of Opportunity and the chance to cast his spell without interruption. 5' Step Tactics With Two Weapon Fighting and Reach Weapons. Always see if a 5' step is enough to get your dual wielder next to a foe. Striking with both weapons is a Full Round Action. A 5' step is essentially free, meaning you can take it and still get in both attacks. But if you move as a normal move, it's a partial action, and you'll be left with only another partial for your attack, meaning you'll only attack with your main hand this turn. If there is room behind you, take a 5' step back with reach weapons. Why? You can still attack from 10' away, and for enemies who wish to melee attack you with an ordinary length weapon, they must first step into your threatened space, giving you a free attack of opportunity when they approach! EXPLANATION: Why they take an attack of opportunity when you are wielding a reach weapon, and why you'll take one when they are and you are not... Attacks of opportunity are the most confounding element of the D&D tactics. Basically, your first 5' entering into a threatened area is "free." But once you move beyond the 5', you are considered to be "moving through" threatened space. So, if you or the enemy wields a reach weapon, that means 10' radius of space from you (centerpoint) is threatened. If an enemy approaches you with a normal weapon (5' radius), he is 5' short and has to move through 10' to get to you. The first 5' is free, the second is not. You'll get an attack of opportunity on him for the second. In pencil & paper D&D, a reach weapon can ONLY attack at 10', so if a foe with a normal weapon closed with you, you would be forced to move back from him 5' feat to attack him. In TOEE, this isn't the case, as reach weapons can attack from 5' AND 10'. This gives the reach weapon an advantage it was never supposed to have, and makes it far more desirable. 8. If You Must Leave Battle, Withdraw. If you need to get all the way out of battle, be sure to withdraw. This takes your entire turn, but it means you can extract yourself from a nasty melee situation without taking any attacks of opportunity. 9. Born to Run. When your enemy is more than a double move away and you need to close to melee, Run. Running allows you to move 3x or 4x your normal move distance in a straight line. For those in heavy armor, it's a must to get there in time. 10. Maintain Mobility. You might love the AC bonus of heavy armor and a shield, but if your character moves through the battlefield like an 18-wheeler, it isn't worth much. Try to keep that 30' or 20' move. Barbarians and monks, with their speed advantage, have a real bonus here. And, remember, there are plenty of spells that buff AC (magic armor, barkskin, etc.). 11. DE-FENSE! Mainly, I think the best defense is a good offense [see 2 (Charge) above]. But, remember your defensive options, like Total Defense and Fight Defensively. If one character is holding off foes, that means there are many other characters free to attack while the enemy attempts to chip away at the well-protected character. Feats like Combat Expertise can boost defense even higher. Learn your defensive options. --------------------------------- A lot of this has been said before, in other places, but here goes: 1. To get the most out of (Greater) Cleave, aim you blows at already-weakened enemies so you're almost sure to get those extra attacks. And taking a five-foot step so you're surrounded by enemies can help (although, obviously, being flanked by enemies can be a Bad Thing.) 2. About point 11 (DE-FENSE): this is the main idea behind tank characters, who are heavily armoured and always attempt to position themselves in the front and draw most of the fire. With all the corridor fighting you'll be doing, it's a good idea to build up a tank or two. Give the tank your nicest armour, a shield (this is one place where weapond-and-shield might outo two-handed) and buff them up a bit, and use them to clog a corridor. Having a lot of HP helps. Dwarves make great tanks. 3. Be Ready -- make use of the Ready vs. options. When facing a group with a caster, tell your artillery to be ready vs. casting to try and interrupt the spell; and definitely use ready vs. approach. I like to start many fights by creating a nice line of readied fighters in front of my artillery support: that way, they'll get a hit in on anyone attacking them, and also an AoO on anyone attempting to run past them and towards the rear lines. 4. Crowd Control -- when faced with a huge mob, you might want to try to confuse or frighten some, or perhaps put them to sleep, and delay others using web, entagle, fog, or grease, and thus turn the mob into a small one. As an added bonus, the enemies on the edge of a web or particularly a greasy puddle are extra vulnerable. However, you should have a few archers ready to take care of the enemies who get stuck in the middle seemingly forever. (Added note: throwing a Fireball on a Web burns the Web up, together with many of the things trapped in it.) 5. Charming -- turning a few strategically placed enemies into your allies can really change the odds. It's like summoning, only better (and, unfortunately, with a saving throw: however, low-WIS enemies are quite likely to fail this throw.) I like using Suggestion on the biggest, dumbest Ogre arround, and using it to beat enemy artillery into small manageable bits. Bards have a very nice selection of charm spells. 6. This may be a bit controversial, but I'd seriously consider giving arcane casters Precise Shot (which requires Point Blank Shot as well.) Your arcane casters should have a high DEX anyway, to improve their armour class, and this way they'll be able to fire into melee whenever they lack the appropriate spells. E.g., when a few leftover enemies are still stuck in that damned Web. ------------------------------------------- Ah, a couple of more good tips to put in my bag of tricks - thanks to all. I especially appreciated the dual-wield for rogues. Since rogues often don't have a strength bonus and have no proficiency in two-handed weapons (other than, possibly, weak ones), it might make some sense, especially when combined with finesse. And, I don't know about now, but one used to be able to off-hand a rapier with no penalty. (This brings me to yet another tip — consider the Rapier (rogues especially). While it may not look like much at first, look at the critical hit range: it's that very rare 18-20! The scimitar also has this, but isn't within the rogue's weapon proficiencies. If you are using a short sword at present, why not switch to the rapier? It's better. ...a rapier with an increased critical hit range (through feats, spells or specials) is wicked to behold indeed!) But, and this is a big BUT, rogues are rarely human and get few feats, so you have to spend very wisely. If you go the dual-wield route, you are leaving behind many desirable options, like dodge, mobility, spring attack. Furthermore, dual-wielding most definitely DOES NOT make sense early on, when the character has a very low base attack bonus and won't have the necessary multiple feats to make dual-wielding effective. Lastly, the rogue never has a great base attack bonus, so they have a harder time of eating any dual-wield penalties than a fighter-type. TIP! Consider taking Weapon Proficiency: Greatsword for your rogue (or other powerful two-handed weapon). While it may seem ridiculous, there is nothing in 3.5 D&D that says a rogue cannot sneak attack with ANY weapon, greatsword included. This could take a measly 1d6 damage (shortsword or rapier) and increase it to 2d6 (for non-small characters, but the bonus range is nearly the same)! However! If your rogue has a high dexterity and low strength, and you intend on taking the Finesse feat as I suggested in my tips, obviously, don't go with the greatsword. But, remember, rogues almost never use shields (and shouldn't), so why not fill that off-hand with the longer hilt of a two-handed weapon! TIP! If you want a rogue with some stopping power, go Elf over Halfling. True, halflings receive many natural bonuses to rogue abilities, so they seem and are a natural choice. But, Elves will give you the same +2 to Dexterity and won't penalize your strength. Elves can move 30' in combat, rather than 20', so they are more mobile. Elves get longsword and longbow proficiency for free, which trumps the shortsword or rapier unless you intend on taking finesse. And, sadly, halflings do less damage as small-sized characters. Unless they are sneak attacking or have a mind-blowing strength ability, your halfling will, unfortunately, do damage commensurate to his size. BACK TO DUAL-WIELDING... I am still of the mind that it tends to make very little sense, though I am open to convincing arguments, of course. There are ONLY three instances in which dual-wielding might make some sense to me. The first is for rangers, who get the feats for free, so the cost is much lower to them. The second is when you find two really nice magic weapons and are therefore able to benefit from both magical effects. This especially applies to weapons that slow or blind, etc. A Dagger of Venom and a Shortsword of Haste would, for example, be a nice combination BUT you are not going to find those in a level 10 and below game like TOEE (at least you shouldn't - I am not close to finished yet). The third instance is, possibly, the fighter with an Exotic Weapon like the two-bladed sword, which is not in this game. With the two-bladed sword (think Darth Maul, for the uninitiated - a staff with a sword blade at both ends), you effectively wield two longswords without an off-hand penalty, so damage is higher. You can then use JUST ONE set of feats (Focus, Specialize, Greater Specialize) applied to a single weapon (meaning the bonuses apply to both ends). This, in my mind, is a strong combination with potential. However, again, the two-bladed sword is not in TOEE, and they are very rare in pencil & paper as well. So, unless you have a nice dungeon master, if you ever want a chance at a magic one, you are going to have to have it enchanted yourself. ---------------------------------------------- ON THE USE OF RANGED WEAPONS... Impressive images of Legolas aside, ranged weapons have always appealed to people. It's hard not to like the idea of shooting the enemy with impunity from a distance. BUT... for the most part, ranged weapons are an ineffective way to conduct combat, because: 1) Enemies with melee weapons will close on you very rapidly, usually within the first turn. 2) Ranged weapons suffer from obstruction penalties. If anything blocks your line of sight to the foe, they will get a concealment bonus that will make it very hard to hit. 3) Without the Precise Shot feat (prerequisite: Point Blank Shot), your ranged character will suffer serious penalties for firing upon any foes engaged in melee. Even with these feats, the game may still calculate a concealment bonus if you are essentially "firing through" several allies to get to your foe. I am not sure about this, though. 4) Ranged weapons tend to do little damage. Unless you have a significant strength and have found a composite bow that allows you to apply strength bonuses to damage, your arrows aren't going to be particularly potent, compared to a solid melee weapon with a strength bonus applied. Of course, the heavy crossbow is an exception with a 1d10 to damage, but they are hit with a serious reload time penalty. The ranged weapon can be especially ineffective because they tend to do piercing damage, which a good number of creatures are resistant to. Obviously, sling bullets do not suffer from this, but they do suffer from ordinarily low damage compared to other ranged ammunition. 5) If you are caught in melee with your ranged weapon, watch out! Ranged is not good in melee, as your foe will automatically receive an Attack of Opportunity against any character attempting to fire. Treat this situation like casting a spell and use the 5' step option to remove yourself from melee contact before firing. There may be a feat that negates this Attack of Opportunity, but I am not aware of it. 6) Remember that it takes time to switch weapons, so be careful during situations when you know you'll switch from ranged to melee and vice versa. EXCEPTIONS - Times When Ranged Works Great!!! 1) Casters can trap enemies in such a way that you won't want to go near them. Spells like Web, Grease and Entangle are fantastic for rendering foes helpless, but they also prevent your melee characters from closing in without causing them to be susceptible to the very same spell effect you just disabled your foes with. For this reason, have a ranged weapon on every character, even if they don't use it often. TIP! Magically trapping very strong enemies with weak saves like giants, ogres, etc. can result in an easy ranged attack victory. 2) Rogues can make amazing snipers. Rogue sneak attack applies to any weapon, be it a rapier, hammer, greataxe or sling. So, the rogue is the natural sniper. Simply use your sneak skill and run around sniping at a safe distance. Combined with the multitude of ranged weapon feats, this can be one wicked option. TIP! During rogue character creation, consider an Elf, since they gain the longsword and longbow proficiency automatically AND get a +2 dexterity bonus. 3) Magic arrows can make all the difference. Frequently, ranged attacks do a rather unimpressive 1-3 damage, and sometimes even 0 (a successful hit for no damage due to resistance to piercing). But a magic arrow, like a flaming arrow or arrow of piercing, can up the damage considerably, making the ranged weapon a much more deadly option. 4) Finally, to ensure that you'll always have the best chance of hitting your target, try to obtain a nice, clear line of sight to them to avoid concealment penalties to hit. And if you opted for the Point Blank Shot feat, be sure to stand fairly close (within 30', I believe) of your enemy whenever possible. ------------------------------------ I've had some success with a rogue / ranger wielding a longspear. Strange combination (I was on my way to getting the free dual wielding from the ranger class; the rogue is not normally proficient with reach weapons) but the spear allows my rogue to get into flanking position easier. Plus, most of the time, my rogue can switch from a bow to the spear (a "half action") and attack in the same turn using the extra range. Might be a viable option before you have enough BAB to effectively use dual wielding. One thing to note about reach weapons though, is if you intend to use them behind an ally, you'll be granting your opponent a +4AC cover modifier, granted by your own meatshield! (this mod is hard to see since it is coded as a _bonus_ for your opponet's AC, rather than a penalty to your attack) It's often best to simply close next to the opponent then give him the +4AC. Note that 3.5 doesn't allow reach weapons (other than the spiked chain) to hit adjacent targets... so this might get patched. One great thing about reach weapons, is that it prevents the "cheezy" step back and cast / fire trick (hehe, sorry ELB, knee jerk reaction from my PnP days when we first heard of this trick). Run up to a caster or archer with your spearman and they can't move out of your threatened area and still cast a spell! They will usually try to cast the spell on the spot, which means a free wack for you! On ranged weapons and "allied cover penalties": It seems that the game has a flag for each character for whether or not they are "in melee". Although I have yet to perform exhaustive tests, any character that attacks or is attacked by a melee weapon is considered in melee. Characters being threatened seem to be considered as in melee. Sometimes, I'll have an odd combatant standing all by himself that is also similarly flagged. IMHO, just get Precise Shot ASAP and not worry about this. Observation on Heavy Crossbow: The reloading time on it is the same as the light crossbow, so if you are big enough, make the switch ASAP! The extra damage might actually let you draw some blood from those zombies! This too, might get patched though. One last point: consider carefully if you are planning to charge a target. Charge gives you a +2 to hit, flanking gives you a +2 to hit. If you can choose between charging and flanking, choose the latter! You'll avoid the -2 AC and give one of your other allies a flanking bonus as well! Ideally, I try to get my rogue behind the enemy and sneak attack them while they are flat footed. Then my paladin charges in from the front and get a nice +4 to hit (maybe enough to warrent a Power Attack?). ----------------------------------------- A few more tips, and a correction: Dual-wielding is GOOD for rogues. (How did I miss this? I must be slipping.) Twin sneak attacks is, well, just dandy. Dual-wielding is especially bad for fighters with more than one attack. Take that additional attack with a nice greatsword or greataxe. For, two weapon wielding on applies the off-hand attack once! Oh, it is such a raw deal. READYING! How could I forget readying. Luckily, someone else brought it to my attention. IF you find yourself with a full "yellow" half-action left, be sure to ready something, anything! The most common is "Ready Vs. Approach." Then, when the enemy comes near your space, bang!, they get interrupted by you and you get your attack. This offers up all sorts of possibilities. Instead of leaping into the fray, considering firing spells or ranged from distance and waiting for the enemy to come to you. Then cut his throat or bash his skull. SPELLCASTING TIP! Isn't disease cool? Isn't blind cool? Yes, they are, BUT your enemy might well save against them, and that is always a downer. How to avoid this? Think logically about what kind of saves your enemy is likely to have. A big, hulking ogre probably isn't dextrous or wise, so his reflex and will saves will be pathetic. But he is a hearty brute, so his fortitude save will likely rock. The assassin, however, is likely to have an unbeatable reflex, but less fortitude. Cast exploit their weaknesses and watch those spells work. DWARVES & MOVEMENT. Movement is half the battle. So, barbarians and monks in lighter armor really rule here with their increased speed. But dwarves also get their day in the sun. But they only have a 20' move, you say! True, but they get it with any level of encumbrance. So, beef your dwarf up with 4" thick plate steel and watch him keep his stride. TIP! Dwarves make excellent clerics. They are hearty and can take full advantage of the cleric's armor proficiencies. However, their charisma penalty may limit your turning undead, so beef this up with feats or make sure their starting charisma is reasonable, like 12+. CASTERS & RANGED WEAPONS. At early levels, even sorcerers can't be lobbing spells left and right, so they have to do something. Ranged is an obvious choice, especially since their dexterity is typically good since they won't be wearing armor. Whether you want to burn feats on boosting their ranged ability is up to you, but keep in mind that even with a high dexterity, mages have terrible base attack bonuses, so don't expect to hit all that often. Also, keep in mind that Elves get +2 to dexterity and longbow proficiency. Might give them an edge. TIP! Spellcaster race. Hrmm, this is a hard one. Humans get the extra feat and skill points. Elves get +2 dexterity (at the cost of constitution, which could be bad for the low hp mage) and longbow proficiency. Halflings? Well, they get nice stealth and to hit bonuses. Could be a winner. Gnomes might also work. Hrmm, seems like I haven't provided a good answer. Myself, I like the halfling. ------------------------------------------- A few notes and clarifications... 1) Buff Your Animal Companions! Why did I not think of this? With spontaneous cast summons, Druids are quite potent in 3.5 (this means that they can convert any spell into an animal summoning spell, just as the cleric can convert any spell into a healing spell - TIP! Use the shift key to do this). To increase the potency of your summons, consider buffing them with spells like Mage Armor or Bull's Strength. However, remember that, early on, summoning spells don't last long at all, so buffing at 1st or 2nd level might be a waste of a perfectly good spell. But buffing your animal companion is an excellent idea, as they remain until dismissed or killed! Druids should definitely take both Spell Focus Conjuration and Augment Summons as feats. With their spontaneous summon ability, this is a no brainer. 2) Buff Your Mages Dex for Ranged Fire! Another great tip from a contributor above. Since your mage is likely to have a dex of 14-18 (especially true for Halflings, Elves, etc.), buffing dexterity an additional +4 can transform them into snipers. Whether you would want to burn extra feats on ranged abilities like Point Blank Shot, Rapid Reload, Precise Shot, etc. is another matter, but worth considering. CLARIFICATION: TWO-WEAPON FIGHTING I have come to the understanding that your off-hand attack applies to each of your character's attack, and isn't just added in at the end (as I believe it used to be). Since this sounds confusing, I will clarify: If a fighter raises in level to the point where they receive two natural attacks, with two-weapon fighting they will attack a grand total of four times. This makes two-weapon fighting more appealing. Still, the math shows little difference, making a few logical assumptions (see below). The math for maximum damage with two attacks (assumes a fighter with 18 strength with weapon focus, greater weapon focus and weapon specialization: (2d6+6+2) + (2d6+6+2) = 40 (greatsword) [(1d6+4+2) + (1d6+2+2)] + [(1d6+4+2) + (1d6+2+2)] = 44 (shortsword) Why did I assume a shortsword? Well, using the same weapon in both hands means far less feats to be focused and specialized in both hands. And, this is assuming that one would want to avoid the off-hand penalty for using a larger weapon. So, the maximum damage one could do with a small-sized weapon, I believe, is 6, hence shortsword. Could use burn an exotic weapon feat and go with two bastard swords for 1d10, 1d10? Sure, but you'd get hit with a rather steep to hit penalty. -------------------------------------------- Is your spellcaster surrounded with no room to take a 5'step? CASTING DEFENSIVELY: Under the radial menu, there is a check box option to Cast Defensively. This is a skill based check (Concentration) dependent on the level of the spell cast. If you make the check you will not provoke Attacks of Opportunity from ANY foes who threaten you. The down side: If you fail the check, the spell fizzles and does not go off. Note: remeber to UNCHECK the box if you have no need to cast defensively to prevent spells from fizzling for no apparent reason. --------------------------------------------- Tripping and Reach Consider a potent combo to be the Spiked Chain and a weapon with reach (range longer than the little 5' circle, like 10' such as the longspear, or I believe the glaive (I'm not including the greatsword as it's not supposed to have reach)). Grab Improved Trip (prereq. Combat Expertise) and Ready vs. (your favorite thing, mine's Approach). When the interrupt comes, trip your opponent. You get a free attack (thanks to Improved Trip) as well as proning your opponent. Which makes for a +4 bonus to anyone who attacks the sorry sod. "Well, duh!" you say with a roll of your eyes. But the real fun comes in having another reach weapon-wielding ally nearby (preferably flanking of course). As your opponent rises, you both get attacks of opportunity while leaving room for a person with 5' of reach (it'd also negate the melee penalty with ranged weapons in PnP, but if what's posted is true, simply being attacked by any melee weapon counts towards this penalty, reach or no). Now, that foe will likely move to attack or somesuch. When they move, unless they're very careful and move only with a 5' step (which doesn't provoke AoO), they'll provoke even more attacks of opportunity! This makes for great positioning of a character with only a 5' reach who smashed that opponent while they were prone. Note that, although a fun combo, Combat Reflexes doesn't mix well for this situation as a player may only take one AoO per round per opponent. ------------------------------------------------