Fri Jul 15 08:50:38 2022

At 2 o'clock PM, Day of the Moon, 14th of the Month of the Long Shadows
on the Theran calendar Rithsiri perished, never to return.

Race:	saurian
Class:	warrior
Level:	51
Alignment:	Evil
Ethos:	Neutral
Cabal:	BATTLE, the BattleRagers, Haters of Magic
Age:	75
Hours:	282

What'd you think of saurian warrior.

Thanks for the fights,

Zurehn

If you look at the physical stats, a saurian is like playing a gnome: you aren't going to shine based on con, strength, or dex. The extra trains are good for a few hps, but you don't get as many trains as the gnome because you need two practices per skill. I was playing a staff/spear because I knew I'd be facing orc-o'clock, so when I say that I felt like I was playing a gimped felar you can see how I might arrive at that comparison.

I've played a good saurian ranger in outlander, but I wasn't impressed by the once-a-day healing the inherent gave other than I could do it blind. Coalesce on an evil saurian was quite impressive, but very unpredictable, making it a nice perq but not something you could rely on. The edge Vigorous Coalescence is not a make-or-break edge, but it definitely increases the potency of that once-a-day enhancement.

Armor for saurian warriors, particularly in Battle, is limited. Despite the staff expanding options at the hand slot last year, the already limited options for hands were that much more limited. In this character's lifetime I found three masks that fit a saurian face--remember, no full-helms will fit a saurian--and most felar gear is for forepaws or hindpaws, not for claws. Arials have a few pieces of gear that will fit saurians, but the majority of it will not. All the tail gear I found that was above +1 was racially excluded from saurians. Overall, my damroll was consistently only at 25 or so. With a poncho or a lucky coalesce and berserk I saw it hit 60, but that 25 isn't going to cut it at the hero level.

The cold vulnerability is noticeable, and it isn't too hard to cover, but the frequency of cold attacks versus the added weight meant that after a few weeks or so I quit bothering to cover the vulnerability because I needed spell saves more. As a low strength race Battle was a nice choice because you didn't need to carry preps.

I picked my legacies based on wisdom and dex, and I thought Space between Heartbeats was slightly more effective than on other races. Fluid deceptions is a great in PvE and nice in single-foe fights, but it is underwhelming when you are fighting characters with minions (orc horde, undead army, conjurer servitors). Also, Fluid Deceptions interferes in the hand-to-hand skill Evasion, and with it the edge counterpunch. That was a sock in the gut, and I think should be changed.

Doing it again, I probably would have replaced Fluid Deceptions with something that would more generally improve defenses (Ward, Dance) or improve damroll (Cry, Chilling). Spin provided some defense, but most shapeshifters could out-melee Rith even when he was using a spear, a weapon they don't know. For that reason, I would probably give sword/dagger a hard look.

Didn't know that when I suggested fluid, that sucks.

I enjoyed our talks and fights. Thanks for being a classy foe and for reminding me that I don't need to play as scared as I have. It did get me killed once or twice, but that's just Battle mind-games working out for the best. I enjoyed your RP and wish you had more con to stick around for longer.

GLWYN

I gave you a hard time for playing the lackey. That's a viable strategy, and it certainly will allow you to explore new areas, gather great gear, and survive. The question is whether a person is comfortable in the role of being a minion, of swearing fealty to another, of being part of someone else's success.

Rithsiri (and I) have a bad habit of tilting at windmills rather than taking an easier path. Doing what you see as the right thing gets you in trouble.

As a character goal, I wanted Rithsiri to be Igsoeh's and Shamanman's love child. I'm glad that you found my willingness to tussle was fun!

A pity you saw my character that way. I think I've accomplished plenty on my own, and not as a lackey. But I'll leave it there.

you were just another zombie trailing behind Tamazin and the occasional orc. It wasn't until later that I got to see something other than a mute cheetah dodging all my attacks, even when I was thirsting.

Later, we started talking, and I got to see there was more to you than that. I should have included that in the previous post.