Dorn super cheesy trick - no turning back

IkMarc

His only weakness is his low constitution, hence his defense. Give him the claw of Kazgaroth and the -2 constitution penalty will not affect him because between 9-14 constitution there is no difference in amount of HP. Armor class increases and saving throws get insane.

There it is, the last act to put Dorn in unbeatable mode.

Pantalion

Already did this, never considered it to be particularly cheesy however, it's still at the cost of having no Con bonus to HP.

hzf

I gave Dorn the Con tome instead, since he got several low rolls on level up and really needed the hp. My Viconia and Sharteel thief have more hp than my Dorn, and my Edwin is not far behind him

But with better rolls I agree, Dorn should get the claw.

IkMarc

Pantalion said:

Already did this, never considered it to be particularly cheesy however, it's still at the cost of having no Con bonus to HP.

No it's not, 12 con gives the same HP as 14 con

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hzf

Sharteel has 9 con, so she can also use the claw without penalty.

Quartz

Anyone Constitution 9-14 can equip the Claw of Kazgaroth with no ill effects.

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Rhyme

I don't see how this is at all cheesy... Let alone SUPER cheesy. It's an item that has perks and downsides, so you weigh the perks and downsides, and realize that it doesn't really have much of a downside. As other people have pointed out, using this item on Dorn prevents you from raising his constitution to a level where he could get bonus hit points. That's a legitimate downside.

More cheesy is the idea of taking the cursed belt that raises strength to 19 but reduces intelligence to 6, and using it on a character with an intelligence lower than 6, effectively raising both stats. But even that isn't something I'd call super cheesy.

Pantalion

IkMarc said:

Pantalion said:

Already did this, never considered it to be particularly cheesy however, it's still at the cost of having no Con bonus to HP.

No it's not, 12 con gives the same HP as 14 con

Correct, that's what I said; Dorn still gets no Con bonus to HP. If you slap the Belt of Big Fists, Dex Gauntlets and the Claw on Yeslick, he's still 1 HP per level better off than Dorn, if you do it with Kagain, he stops regenerating, but he still gets +4 HP / level.

As has been mentioned, Dorn is like Shar-Teel, he is not a tanker, and the claw doesn't magically turn him into one, it just makes a moderately more survivable blitzer.

Jaxsbudgie

I also gave Dorn the tome, instead gave the claw to Xzar, along with the boots of avoidance and the girdle of piercing protection, he now has the robe of the evil archmagi ... If I know I'm about to face a horde of ranged enemies I'll have him cast shield, hurl him into the fray and LAUGH at their pitiful attack rolls.

[Deleted User]

Quartz said:

Anyone Constitution 9-14 can equip the Claw of Kazgaroth with no ill effects.

All of the new NPC's fall in this range, and all of them have very good reason to want better AC vs. missile attacks.

IkMarc

Pantalion said:

IkMarc said:

Pantalion said:

Already did this, never considered it to be particularly cheesy however, it's still at the cost of having no Con bonus to HP.

No it's not, 12 con gives the same HP as 14 con

Correct, that's what I said; Dorn still gets no Con bonus to HP. If you slap the Belt of Big Fists, Dex Gauntlets and the Claw on Yeslick, he's still 1 HP per level better off than Dorn, if you do it with Kagain, he stops regenerating, but he still gets +4 HP / level.

As has been mentioned, Dorn is like Shar-Teel, he is not a tanker, and the claw doesn't magically turn him into one, it just makes a moderately more survivable blitzer.

Ah I misunderstood.

IkMarc

Rhyme said:

I don't see how this is at all cheesy... Let alone SUPER cheesy. It's an item that has perks and downsides, so you weigh the perks and downsides, and realize that it doesn't really have much of a downside. As other people have pointed out, using this item on Dorn prevents you from raising his constitution to a level where he could get bonus hit points. That's a legitimate downside.

More cheesy is the idea of taking the cursed belt that raises strength to 19 but reduces intelligence to 6, and using it on a character with an intelligence lower than 6, effectively raising both stats. But even that isn't something I'd call super cheesy.

Well cheesy because he is already overpowered and this makes him even better by making use of his only downside. Put him on position 3 in normal formation and he won't die while hacking away all enemies.

Deucetipher

I generally just drop it onto Shar-Teel, especially since I dual class her to thief for backstabby goodness. Dorn is a bit easier for me to manage to safety. Since Shar-Teel is running around backstabbing, she is a bit more exposed to danger, and with less armor to boot (Shadow Armor). With Claw she get's down to 0 AC, which is decent, and she always has invis pots and sandthief's ring.

Maybe I'll put her in drizzt chain, if it's worth the risk.

Anyone else dislike the blur visual effect? I always disable blur on the claw and the cloak of displacement.