Quote Originally Posted by pendell View Post
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Yeah, I agree with all of this; by and large, tactical soundness of a character is most plausibly (in my mind) determined by their Int, Wis, overall experience, and the situation. A lot of the 'unsound,' decisions (even ones that are outright called out on as being unsound) actually make a whole lot of sense.

My confusion in this specific instance had a lot to do with two Clerics (same class) who had spent a lot of time around one another talking about their adventuring days (knew one another's capabilities) in a fight they had both seen coming for between the past 20 seconds to two minutes (so the chance to be somewhat collected, especially with their Wisdom/Will Saves) and Malak's own intellect (he at least SEEMS very well versed between his magical library and how quickly he sorted out the limits of Nale's escape, although at Malak's level you could very well have an Intelligence PENALTY and still seem savvy if you put enough ranks in a skill; D&D is funny like that) that Malak could have made some very sound decisions pretty believably, or at least showcased some caution in knowing which decisions would make him die screaming.

Stuff like how Tsukiko tried to teleport out of grapple (even though the room was warded) or how Vaarsuvius used Dimensional Anchor on Xykon (arrogant enough to think s/he'd win) or how Vaarsuvius tried to just banish the Pit Fiend (s/he likes to be prepared and likes easy one spell solutions as a wizard) before just cutting into it with evocations (evocation is V's specialty) made sense, even if none of these things WORKED OUT; the Wis/Int of the characters, overall experience, and circumstances all made these things feel believable, whereas Malak's own decisions seem somewhat less so to me (M is a cleric, high Int/Wis, longtime adventurer, etc).

Mostly (owning up to my own fanboyism?), I was bothered because Malak dying in a one sided fight seems to be a lesser send off than I think a character like that deserves; although maybe undercutting the appearance of competence that Tarquin's group has is Giant's goal? Malak dying ignobly and brutally to Durkon would certainly do that. I try not to ask, 'What does the author want me to think,' directly when reading something XD

An epic fight, regardless of the intelligence displayed, is always awesome to see drawn, so it makes me a tad pensive to see a character I'm attached to seemingly beaten back so one-sidedly. (I still WANT to see him beaten one way or another, he's not a protagonist)