TOPIC: Might Set a piece of cake for the Wizard :-)

On an earlier thread, there was a discussion about how much sacrifice the Wizard had to make to use the Might Set.

But - in outfitting my Wizard, it seems to me that there is almost no sacrifice required at all to get the Wizard to 5th Level.

First, the Wizard is wearing the Boots of Might. No sacrifice there, extra HP are great for the Wizard.

Second, the Wizard is wearing the Girdle of Might. True, the +2 ST aren't that helpful for non-melee Wizards, but it does have +1 to saving throws, so it still helps the Wizard.

Third, along with the Sling, the Wizard is using the Orb of Might in his off-hand for the ranged build. That has no impact on the Wizard, since the ranged off-hand is usually empty for the Wizard.

So - it seems pretty easy to get a Wizard to 5th Level, without having to sacrifice either the Elemental Circlet or the Staff of Power.

Does that work, or am I overlooking something?

Thanks!!
Mike

The Orb of Might "sleaze" seems against the spirit of the game. However, I don't think there's anything technically wrong with the build.

When using mele wouldn't you be 4th lvl with this build? Or can you sneak around thy with orb and sling as ranged?

Fizzikx wrote: When using mele wouldn't you be 4th lvl with this build? Or can you sneak around thy with orb and sling as ranged?

Your level doesn't change when switching between melee and missile, you still have the other item equipped and locked into that slot.

Has it been verified that the OoM can be used with missile weapons? If so, OoM and Mighty Sling seems like a no brainer.

With every other class, using the Orb with the Mighty Sling means either losing the ability to use a more powerful 2-handed missile weapon or losing the ability to use a shield in the off-hand. But the Wizard can't use a shield, and has no 2-handed missile weapons (outside of undersea adventures), so the sling with the orb seems the perfect solution for the Wizard. Especially since, for ranged combat, it seems the Wizard would be more effective using spells/scrolls/wands than using a missile weapon.

Then the wizard would lose the ability to use the +2 Staff of Power.

bpsymington wrote: Then the wizard would lose the ability to use the +2 Staff of Power.

Not if he equips the Orb of Might only in his Ranged Off-hand slot, which is allowed by the current writing of the Set Power rules (otherwise known as the "sleaze method").

I believe that is the point Mike is trying to make. Now that the "sleaze method" is allowed, the Wizard can get to 5th with no real sacrifice of important slots.

I thought you could use the Orb if you used a two-handed weapon. If you can use the orb with a one-handed ranged weapon, get its benefits, and still use a two handed weapon for melee (or spells, more likely for a wizard), that is indeed sleazy.

True, the same way a Ranger can get to 5th level without losing his ranged attacks.

To those who call it the cheesy I respond with this, until they make a way to get to 5th level that isn't geared toward melee combat it isn't cheesy. The Might set is obviously mostly melee combat which really isn't that fair toward the non melee combatants like Wizards, Rangers, bards. Look at the set power beyond the first 3 items, more melee damage. There should be other non melee items for the level bump. My Ranger can't wait for the completed staff and Ring of supreme combo so that he will be able to be 5th level without the might set.

At this point the orb can be a little hard to get so some might have that issue of obtaining it versus the crown where there IS a direct loss to the wizard.

Its certainly the way to go for them, until some other method presents itself. There could be some future token trade off that they may have to sacrifice like some offhand ranged to hit bonus that applies to spells.

Lots of problems arise when you attempt to close this loop-hole and you start having to tell players what weapons they can and cannot use. IMO, allowing this to continue isn't a bad trade off for not forcing people into certain styles. In a perfect world we'd just flip people up or down a level when they stopped using the combo but there is WAY to much paperwork for that currently. Who knows, maybe down the line we'll carry Ipads into the dungeon instead of party cards and character sheets can be updated with the tap of a button. While I'm dreaming, they might as well link into the combat board so the hits and damage are auto calculated as the players slide.

This topic has me wondering has there ever been any discussion around variable set bonuses based on token specific powers?

ie
Hat of the Set, +X AC, generically useful, wearing 2 other "the Set" pieces grants +1 level

Armor of the Set, +X AC, generically useful, wearing 2 other "the Set" pieces grants +1 to all saves.

Shield of the Set. Usable by fighters/pali/cleric only, +X AC, wearing 2 other "the Set" pieces grants +2 damage

Staff of the Set. Usable by wizards only, wearing 2 other "the Set" pieces allows the wizard to cast an additional spell per round

For additional "ranged off-hand" sleaze, I suppose you can use it to get the Dragonscale or Templar set power if you use the appropriate shield as your ranged off-hand slot.

So a Druid could use a two-handed weapon (like the +2 Long Spear of Dragonslaying) while still getting the -10 to fire Dragonscale set (if his ranged build is a Sling + Dragonscale Shield). Similarly, the Cleric/Fighter/Paladin could get the Templar set bonus by using the Templar shield for their ranged hand.

At the non-UR level, you might be able to sneak in the Footman or Defender set bonuses as well.

All in all, having the bonus off-hand slot allows players to combine more sets than previously possible.