Originally Posted by
T.G. Oskar
By that same reasoning (which is true), a Monk's unarmed strikes are magical by 4th level. Again: what's the trouble about Monks, at least in terms of weapons that can be used?
Perhaps it was the wrong choice of words, but it would have stood out: the mind arrows are not enchanted, as in holding a +1 or higher enhancement bonus and/or a magic weapon special enhancement. That might have made a little difference, because what it might have lost in sheer damage it might have countered in versatility; after all, you don't need to waste that on flaming/frost/shocking. Having enchanted mind arrows would have done a world of good for the build, if the ruling had gone out.
Exactly, but I wasn't going for mind arrows. And it adds Unarmed damage to a range, to a point: while you can't form a mind arrow as you'd like, you can throw an already existing arrow with your hands; whether that could be counted as an option or not still depends on the DM, but it's at least mostly feasible unlike the more slippery reading of using mind arrows. And the title doesn't say "Simon the incompetent mind archer", but merely "Simon the incompetent archer"; by all means, the build would have had the same fluff. Using arrows without a bow still makes Simon incompetent (speaking in perception terms), but perhaps slightly more effective.
Now, I don't wish to go with a long reason why throwing mind arrows is bad and why throwing arrows may be good, since the first is going strictly by rules and the other uses rules that are almost as slippery (there's no mention of throwing arrows, just shooting and melee-ing as a dagger). I had the issue with mind arrows, observed the situation, and agreed that it wasn't feasible since it's not intended by RAI and has no more support by RAW than other things (such as using long poles as improvised weapons that behave like quarterstaffs, much like long tables act like tower shields, stool feet act like light maces, etc.)
And I wouldn't have gone "why bother"; thing is, going all the problem for making a build that goes for a concept just because you want to do that concept isn't merit enough to scratch up and play a wizard. I mean, if you don't like playing arcane spellcasters, no world of proof can make you think otherwise. It's just that there's stuff that I can find cool, and there's stuff that Rule of Cool can't help; magic items are supposed to be there, sure, but to what extent you'll have what you need? There's no provision on Iron Chef that explains that you'll certainly have WBL by the time you get to level X, otherwise it's on the DM's whim if you actually end up having all that money to get the belts, tomes and other magic items. And even then, having tomes still is as rare as getting to Epic (otherwise, you can make fantastically improbable builds like most I see on DDO where you're expected to have certain stuff by endgame, where you can't get certain stuff unless you shell out real money or play for years); it's something that the DM may very well reject on terms of rarity because it would cause everything else to fall down.
I don't do it for bad reasons, Pech. I do it because these are builds that, perhaps one day, will be imitated or even suggested on others' tables. I did recall one time that one of the winner builds was going to be used on an actual gaming table. It showcases a build and shows what can be done with it; in that case, the four that are on top (plus Gazebo) showcase appropriate ways to deal with the class. IMO, Simon's build belongs mostly at TO, where you showcase tricks that require on certain readings, even though the power of that theoretical optimization is not to the degree of Pun-Pun or Cindy or Jack B. Quick. But it's clever, and requires a very deep and conscious reading of the rules. And I offered a way in which it could have been done a mite better (heck, that way, if you managed to work with it, IB's Uncanny Feint would do even more than DM's Improved Feint). Just adding Hurling Charge to the build would have made use of Swagger AND the non-plausible mind arrow throwing tricks by adding Mobility, mind arrow melee and mind arrow thrown damage, amongst others.
And just to finish this (it's getting extense); I even mentioned to refine this concept! Really! It's on the overall section! It goes along with "shelve it", but if the concept is refined, maybe it can go up in power or elegance by solving some minor concepts. Soulknife + Soulbow has a larger chance of being slightly (if not more) successful than the entire build, because there are more stuff that you can play with. Heck; even changing Evasion to Invisible Fist would have given it a solid defensive tactic that would have boosted its power a bit; the fact that it used the Cobra Strike fighting style was a clever way to get Dodge. It just needs to be polished a bit more.
Darn, I would have wanted Bu and Gazebo to fight to the death. I even mentioned it... Vermilion and Laph would be interesting, though; having seen them on paper suggests a very interesting combat (especially to showcase Laph's great tactics against Verm's power through sheer simplicity).
If there's a fight to the death, sign me up! It doesn't have to be "to the death"; first blood or last man standing should suffice.