If Your Dice Are Cursed, Consider Building A Character Who Doesn't Roll

I've mentioned this a time or two on this blog over the past decade and change, but I am cursed. Any dice I roll regardless of the method, who handed them to me, or which game I'm playing will give me some of the worse possible results I could ever hope for nine times out of ten. I once rolled so many natural 1s that I started counting them as a streak (I hit 11 in a row before it finally broke, in case you're wondering), and it was one of the most horribly entrancing things I've ever done.

Also, irritatingly, this curse doesn't apply to me as a GM, because all of a sudden my dice wake up and remember how to be lethal when I'm sitting in the big chair.

Anyway, this curse is what taught me to mix max and point crunch any character I make, because I need to be able to actually succeed and participate even if I'm rolling somewhere between a 2 and a 5 for a majority of the night. And while I do take a certain amount of enjoyment in digging through a game to find every bonus and tool I can to help me combat fate (it's why I have an entire Character Conversions archive, after all), there is another solution for folks who are frustrated that their dice won't cooperate.

Play a character who rarely, if ever, has to roll a die to participate in the game.

Oh dearie... I'm not rolling dice. You are. Give me that save, won't you?

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Bonuses, Debuffs, And Controlling The Battlefield

Generally speaking, the sort of character I'm going to describe is going to be a spellcaster (for fantasy games), and likely some sort of psionic or technomancer for a more sci-fi related game. Exact mileage will vary, but keep in mind that this is meant to be a shift in perspective and strategy more than it is a recommendation for a specific particular class in a specific particular game, even if the following examples are from Pathfinder since I feel they make my point concisely.

All right? All right.

Now then, most RPGs that have you roll dice give you a bunch of bonuses and negatives, and you then have to either beat your enemy's roll, or you have to overcome some arbitrary number set as the difficulty. If you're attempting to persuade a door guard to let you into the tavern, you need to hit a certain number on your Diplomacy or Intimidate roll, or if you're swinging a power sword at a chaos space marine you need to have more successes than he has to parry your attack.

These are the situations where a dice curse can be an issue. Because no matter how much the odds are in your favor, there is always a chance that something goes wrong and your action is wasted. You miss your shot, you fail to persuade an NPC to your point of view, and so on, and so forth... and that's really the most frustrating part of things. You just aren't having an effect on the game, and you feel like you might as well be sitting there blowing raspberries instead of wasting everyone's time.

I believe that is where I come in.

One of the most visual examples of the character who doesn't roll, yet can still be the MVP of an encounter, is the bard. Seen across various editions (as well as in the Tactician caste in my own RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic), the bard is typically thought of as a party booster. Their music grants bonuses to their allies, they can inspire courage and suppress fear, and they gain access to spells that can heal allies and hinder their foes even further. And while the enemy might receive a saving throw against these spells, the bard often doesn't have to roll anything (except for how many hit points they give back to an ally).

However, bards aren't the only class capable of this kind of play. Consider a transmuter wizard who is constantly enhancing the attributes of her allies through various buffing spells, or who reveals all the enemies with a well-placed glitterdust spell (which might even blind her foes, turning a fight into a rout very quickly). The sorcerer might have adhesive spittle on-hand, able to entangle a foe and stick them in place so they can become easy prey for the martial members of the party (since entangled foes receive negatives to attack, Dexterity, speed, and several other factors). A witch might have the ability to hex an enemy, forcing them to use the worst of 2d20 rolls when they attack, make saves, and so on, thus allowing their allies to avoid harm, and score more devastating attacks with their own spells.

I talked about more specifics in Vulgar Displays of Power as well as in Don't Underestimate Battlefield Control Spells for folks interested in more PF-centric advice.

With that said, if you want to avoid rolling dice for your character, then some of the things you should build your strategy around include:

- Granting bonuses to your allies (as well as healing), which tend to be automatic successes.

- Debuffing enemies in ways they cannot ignore, even on a failed saving throw (though there may be a lesser penalty on a successful save).

- Shifting the terrain of the battlefield entirely (creating pits, summoning walls, and so on).

An important thing to remember is that this strategy largely requires an individual to step out of the spotlight, and to act as the assist for other players to be the ones who clinch glory. That can be tough to accept, but it is often extremely satisfying knowing that your character is the power behind the throne, and that it is through your efforts that everyone else is succeeding (or at least avoiding death).

Lastly, it's important to remember that you can never remove dice rolls entirely from a character. Even if you primarily boost your allies in their endeavors (both in and out of combat), or your strategy is to force your enemies to work at a disadvantage, you're still going to have to make an occasional skill check, saving throw, etc. Still, there are a great deal of situations where you can absolutely leave a task up to someone else who doesn't have untrustworthy dice... and you can give them an extra slap on the back and a +1 for good luck if you have a spare spell slot!

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5 Overlooked Buff Spells (in Pathfinder)

People often say that Pathfinder characters are overpowered. That they're running on superhero levels of skills, power, and sheer wooge. That's not inherently wrong, but the problem is that when the monsters are just as extra as you are, you're still going to be the underdog when it comes time to roll initiative and throw down. Which is why it pays to have a few extra tricks up your sleeve the next time you get ready for battle.

For my money, these buff spells are far more useful than a lot of folks give them credit for.

How many hits of this am I supposed to take?

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Spell #1: Expeditious Retreat

I am speed!

The name of this spell always makes people think it's used solely for running away from something, but it just adds a 30-foot enhancement to your land speed for 1 minute per level. So while you could put that on your wizard in order to play ranged games with the slow-moving undead, you could also have a gnome fighter read off a scroll, or the halfling alchemist slam down an extract, so they can suddenly close with all kinds of enemies on the battlefield.

The major downside of this spell is that it's self only, so you can't have a caster beef up the party tank and then send them rocketing off into battle. But it can be quite useful all the same for those who find they're constantly a few squares short of being able to get where they need to go when battle is joined.

Spell #2: Feather Step

Difficult terrain? What's that?

Difficult terrain is one of those things that's never really an issue, until it is. Whether you're fighting in mountains, you need to rush up the stairs to get to a villain atop a dais, or there's just bones strewn all across the floor of a pit, having your movement suddenly and unexpectedly hampered can majorly tie your hands behind your back. Especially if your party already had limited movement due to heavy armor, small size, etc. Feather step is an ideal way to just ignore this problem.

While used fairly rarely, feather step can be a lifesaver in fights where difficult terrain is part of the challenge of the arena. Or if you have casters who are creating difficult terrain as part of area of effect spells, and you don't want your allies to get caught in the slog. In fact, that one-two punch can be particularly nasty for land-based foes, especially if you're high enough level to get mass feather step so the whole party can run around unhampered with a single casting.

Spell #3: Moment of Greatness

Now is the moment!

This is another of those spells that often gets overlooked because you really need to have the right components in place to get the most out of it. The most common situation is when you have a bard in the party who can use this to effectively double the bonus from many of their bardic music effects at a single go. However, it also applies to morale bonuses from things like barbarian rage, which can be quite useful when said barbarian is getting up to the point where they're adding +6 or more to their Strength and Constitution, and for a single moment they can double that.

Of all the spells on this list, moment of greatness is one that starts all right, but only gets better as long as the party has a reliable way to get serious morale bonuses slapped on them. And the more folks who get the bonus, the more useful this spell is.

Spell #4: Tactical Acumen

We've got the high ground!

Tactical positioning is always your friend when it comes to winning a battle, but tactical acumen can be a real bastard when it comes to boosting your party's effectiveness. The spell lasts 1 round per level, and goes off in a burst from the caster, hitting all allies in 30 feet. What it does, in short, is give you a +1 to attacks or AC anytime you'd receive a bonus due to positioning. So cover, flanking, higher ground, etc. are all worth an additional +1. What's even better is that it's an insight bonus, which isn't that common, so you don't have to worry about not stacking with luck bonuses, morale bonuses, enhancement bonuses, etc.

Best of all, this one goes up with you as you level, to a +2 at a 10th level caster, +3 at 15th level, and +4 at 20th. It won't make or break a fight all on its own, but if you've got allies who are already using enhanced mobility to get into advantageous positions, using mounts to attack ground-based allies, or who are flying to get above their foes (or who are using cover to defend themselves), this can add some more oomph to their efforts.

Spell #5: Visualization of The Body/Mind

If given a knife and a hand in which to hold it...

Slot #5 is a shared one, because these two spells just have a lot of potential. Whichever visualization version you use, the spell lasts 24 hours, or until discharged. It costs 200 GP in various items, so it's not one to just blow willy nilly, but the bonus is not to be sniffed at.

Firstly, it offers you an untyped +5 bonus to all skill and ability checks associated with one of your attributes for either the next 24 hours, or until it's discharged. That's not nothing, especially if you actively use, say, Bluff to feint in combat, or Intimidate to demoralize enemies, or you want to be sure that ALL your Knowledge checks have a nice, fat boost. Or course, each attribute also has a handy, immediate effect you can discharge the spell for to get.

This is one of those spell choices that works best in a scroll form, or something similar. Because you can't have the other members of the party slap it on you, but it does have a flat duration and a flat bonus regardless of how powerful the caster level is... and that makes a big difference. It will get expensive if you apply it every day, but it's a good thing to slap on before you start the heist, delve into the dungeon, etc.

Looking For Some Additional Reading?

If you're looking for new places to use some of these spells, making sure you check out my growing Sundara: Dawn of a New Age setting. It's available both in Pathfinder Classic, as well as for Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition if that's more your jam!

And if you want to see at least some of these spells in use, don't forget to check out the ongoing series of pulpy short stories that tell the tale of my group's run through the Hell's Rebels adventure path! Devil's Night is a bit of a prologue, setting the stage with whispers of an urban legend in Kintargo that's slowly making its presence known in the night terrors of the dottari. And the more recent installment, From The Ashes, tells about the riot at the opera house, and how Thrune has planted the seeds of their own undoing with the resurrection of the Silver Ravens!

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That's all for this week's Crunch topic! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio! Or if you'd like to read some of my books, like my alley cat noir novel Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well! And if you'd like to help support me and my work, consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron! Even a little bit of help can go a long way, trust me on that one.

"Force Multiplication" is a Useful Idea For RPGs

Folks who've been around this blog for a while know that, while I love story and character arcs in RPGs, I am also very invested in strategic play, and accomplishing goals. A term someone used in a forum that caught my attention presents an interesting idea that can alter the way we think of our games, strategies, and resources, so I thought I'd talk about it this week.

That term is Force Multiplication.

Great, just what I need... more math.

 

What is Force Multiplication?

The short version is that force multiplication is a military term, and it refers to the degree by which an attribute (or combination of attributes) increases the efficiency of a particular force.

For example, say it takes 1 fighter with silver weapons to take out a werewolf. Without those silver weapons, it would take a force of 4 fighters to do the job. Therefore the silver weapon is a force multiplier of 4 in this situation.

Ah, now it begins to come clear...

While you don't necessarily need to crunch the numbers to work out exactly what percentage of effectiveness certain spells, magic items, abilities, etc. add to your party's effectiveness (you can if you've got the math chops for it, but you don't have to), this creates a useful lens to view your resources and abilities through in terms of strategic effectiveness in the game.

Spells like haste or abilities like bardic music? Those are force multipliers in a game, and I pointed out as much in Vulgar Displays of Power: Tips For Getting The Most Out of Your Magic in Pathfinder. A paladin's ability to grant their smite to their companions? Serious force multiplier when facing devils, demons, undead, etc. The same can be said of a ranger's ability to grant their favored enemy bonus to their companions in a fight. Anything which increases effectiveness falls into this category, and when it affects more than one person then it becomes even more effective overall.

Everything is Situational

Though I've said it before, I feel it needs to be repeated; everything in an RPG is situational. Certain spells, abilities, skills, etc. will be extremely potent in certain circumstances, and next to useless in others. This is important to remember when thinking in terms of force multiplication, because in order for the item, ability, spell, etc. to qualify it has to actually increase your effectiveness in the situation you'll be going into.

In other words, if you bring a gun to the knife fight, you're going to win. But even the biggest, shiniest knife isn't going to help you that much if everyone else brought a gun.

It seemed like a good deal when I bought it!

As an example, take an ability like Improved Evasion. This ability is a huge deal if you're going through a dungeon that has primarily area of effect traps, or if a majority of your enemies use things like breath weapons, fireballs, etc. In situations like these the benefits of this ability cannot be overstated. But if you never fight a sorcerer who tosses around fireballs and lightning bolts? If there's never an area effect you need to nimbly dodge aside from? Well, then it's just sitting on your sheet gathering dust.

This is something to keep in mind for everything you expend your resources on; you need to keep in mind the goals you have, and the challenges you're actually facing.

The paladin smite and ranger favored enemy I mentioned above? Those are potent benefits against the proper foes, but if you're not facing the right enemies, they're useless. The ability to fly is usually considered a force multiplier, but if the arena is too small to make full use of it, or if you cannot use it to put meaningful distance between yourself and an enemy (they can also fly, they have reach/range, etc.) then its effectiveness is hampered. The ability to turn invisible, or to protect yourself and your companions with illusions is usually a powerful ability, but against enemies who have blindsight, true seeing, or other effects, it's rendered moot.

One truism that players often forget is that what I said in Everything Has A Weakness (So Be Sure You Know Your Options) also applies to the PCs. Just because you have an ability that is particularly potent in one situation, that doesn't mean it applies to all situations.

Keep that in mind when you're looking at all the available levers you have to increase your party's force with.

Like, Share, and Follow For More!

That's all for this week's Crunch topic! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio! Or if you'd like to read some of my books, like my alley cat noir novel Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well! And if you'd like to help support me and my work, consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron! Even a little bit of help can go a long way, trust me on that one.