DF: The Best Races/Classes

[sjmdw45]

What do you think are the best, most munchkiney combos in DF? Or at least fun synergies?

1.) Is it just me, or is Wizard-Swashbuckler with Rapier Wit an awesome combination? Free-action, no-FP-cost mental stunning of anyone who speaks your language, using an IQ skill for which the rule of 16 does not apply? Yes, please. That's not even counting the ostensible advantage of the lens, which is enhanced defenses and luck.

2.) As pointed out in a different thread, slings are awesome. Gargoyle knights with slings are even better.

3.) In fact, gargoyles in general are pretty cool. Night vision gives you a tactical advantage over anyone who doesn't have it (douse the lights--they'll be at -5 skill relative to you), flight is great for strafing with missiles and/or gaining height bonuses in melee combat (+3/-3), and who can say "No" to a little bit of extra DR? The unarmed combat advantages might be nice for "friendly" scuffles in town, although the +1 HT doesn't matter because you could have bought it anyway.

4.) Nymphs are cool. +10 reaction bonus?!!! I haven't figured out how to use this but I like the idea a lot. The one thing that turns me off is that I can't figure out how the mana dependency should be gamed. A given dungeon is going to be either No Mana or not, right? The nymph will either be irrelevant for that adventure or not.

5.) Trolls are cool conceptually, but Regen (Regular) is too slow for my AD&D-trained brain. Should be Regen (Fast) and enhanced DR, even if that makes them more expensive than Ogres.

6.) Pixie Thieves seem like a great idea. SM -6 is great defensively, and +3 DX for 25 points is great too. In fact, Flight + Magery 0 + Enhanced Dodge make the Pixie a natural vehicle for the Wizard-Swashbuckler combo, especially since that makes ST -5 semi-irrelevant. If only I could figure out this Dependency (Mana) thing...

7.) The Draconic's Trivial vow makes me laugh.

-Max

[Xenophile]

Originally Posted by sjmdw45

6.) Pixie Thieves seem like a great idea. SM -6 is great defensively, and +3 DX for 25 points is great too. In fact, Flight + Magery 0 + Enhanced Dodge make the Pixie a natural vehicle for the Wizard-Swashbuckler combo, especially since that makes ST -5 semi-irrelevant. If only I could figure out this Dependency (Mana) thing...

Pixies are probably my favorite of the DF3 races. If he has enough room, a Pixie Wizard can easily scorch his enemies with Fireball spells from 20 yards away. And I would really like to see what a swarm of Pixie Knights could do to...

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by sjmdw45

What do you think are the best, most munchkiney combos in DF? Or at least fun synergies?

Minotaur barbarians for life!!

[GnomesofZurich]

I was working on a Troll Scout. High Per, added DX, Discriminatory Smell adds to tracking. Regeneration is appealing, as is Universal Digestion (you don't need to worry about carrying rations).

Signature Gear (Salamander Amulet) [10] is a pretty good deal for those playing a troll, and I would also allow them to purchase a couple of levels of Light Visions [1] (to negate penalties for bright light; probably limit them to 1-2 levels, as would be realistic for a human).

I say some regeneration is better than none...even if they have to take a few hours to recover, not needing to rely on the clerics for healing is very advantageous.

I don't really like the Pixies...yes, they can be made into very abusable, munchkiny characters, but they just feel too small!

As has been mentioned in another DF thread, the Leprechauns "charms" could be highly abusable.

[Fabricati]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Minotaur barbarians for life!!

You sound like the person who owns my FLGS. Admittedly, she ran a half-minotaur, half-troll, too, but...

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by sjmdw45

A given dungeon is going to be either No Mana or not, right? The nymph will either be irrelevant for that adventure or not.

That's a really odd way of looking at it. Why wouldn't there be some mana-drained areas, and some not?

I'm also in favor of making mana dependant creatures take HP damage at a reduced rate in Low mana areas (1 per hour probably) simply because it gives the disadvantage a chance to come up at the "mildly dangerous" level from time to time, giving a middle ground between "Fine" and "ACK!"

[sjmdw45]

I think of No/Low/High/Very High mana areas as geographic features on the order of miles across at the very least. Is that unusual?

-Max

[PK]

Yeah, I think so. There's no reason that, say, a single room with a powerful altar in it can't be Low- or No-Mana due to the sanctified energies. I'm also in favor of oozes with Mana Damper (Area Effect) as a trait, specialized areas that have been drained of mana specifically so the dungeon keeper could imprison mages there, and so on. Odd mana doesn't have to be a "natural" feature on a geological scale -- there are lots of justifications for screwing with mana level.

[blacksmith]

Originally Posted by sjmdw45

I think of No/Low/High/Very High mana areas as geographic features on the order of miles across at the very least. Is that unusual?

-Max

For very high, it seems inapropriate to have it as a very large area.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by sjmdw45

I think of No/Low/High/Very High mana areas as geographic features on the order of miles across at the very least. Is that unusual?

Somewhat so, yes. The most likely source of areas without mana is the Drain Mana spell, which at an hour to cast and 10 energy base cost, and a risk of permanent Magery loss, won't be cast large or often. I'd say that the typical no-mana area in dungeon fantasy would be a 10-yard circle or so.