Looking for some advice

[CaptContagious]

So i have a level 15 cleric that is going the OHE/shield route do to what I figure is low CS. at level 15 with 15 major/3 minor/18 base ranks his CS 83. about norm? seems low? here are my stats/skills

Name: X Race: Giantman Profession: Cleric (not shown)
Gender: Male Age: 0 Expr: 287537 Level: 15
Normal (Bonus) ... Enhanced (Bonus)
Strength (STR): 95 (37) ... 95 (37)
Constitution (CON): 57 (13) ... 57 (13)
Dexterity (DEX): 62 (1) ... 62 (1)
Agility (AGI): 63 (1) ... 63 (1)
Discipline (DIS): 95 (22) ... 95 (22)
Aura (AUR): 92 (16) ... 92 (16)
Logic (LOG): 57 (-2) ... 57 (-2)
Intuition (INT): 82 (16) ... 82 (16)
Wisdom (WIS): 82 (16) ... 82 (16)
Influence (INF): 35 (-2) ... 35 (-2)
Mana: 67 Silver: 0


(at level 15), your current skill bonuses and ranks (including all modifiers) are:
Skill Name | Current Current
| Bonus Ranks
Armor Use..........................| 10 2
Shield Use.........................| 78 17
Edged Weapons......................| 78 17
Brawling...........................| 5 1
Physical Fitness...................| 78 17
Harness Power......................| 128 34
Spirit Mana Control................| 90 20
Spiritual Lore - Religion..........| 78 17

Spell Lists
Major Spirit.......................| 15

Spell Lists
Minor Spirit.......................| 3

Spell Lists
Cleric.............................| 18

Thoughts? Comments? Flames?

[Aethor]

about the norm

[Darkwynde]

Okay, I must ask... is brawling a very, very good thing to have for a pure spellcaster?

50-ish rank

[Riltus]

Okay, I must ask... is brawling a very, very good thing to have for a pure spellcaster?

50-ish rank

Not necessarily a very, very good idea. Grabbing a couple of ranks of brawling for extra DS when open hand casting may actually cost you DS when facing ranged attacks (arrows, bolts spells) due to a long standing bug.

Against melee weapon attacks and natural creature attacks (e.g., bites, claws) brawling ranks will be useful.

Brawling uses the standard one-hand weapon Parry DS formula:


Brawling ranks + (STR / 4) + (DEX / 4) + (weapon enchant bonus / 2) = Base Value

(Base Value * stance modifier) + (Stance / 2) = Parry DS

Stance Modifiers:

OFF: .2
ADV: .3
FOR: .4
NEU: .5
GUA: .6
DEF: .7

and the Stance/2 DS bonus values are:

OFF: 0
ADV: 10
FOR: 20
NEU: 30
GUA: 40
DEF: 50

Let's say your character uses open hand casting for extra DS and trains 10 ranks in brawl. The character also has STR and DEX bonuses of 20 each. How much DS will this provide by stance?

Base Value: (10 + 5 + 5) = 20

OFFENSIVE: 4 (20 * .2)
ADVANCED: 6 (20 * .3)
FORWARD: 8 (20 * .4)
NEUTRAL: 10 (20 * .5)
GUARDED: 12 (20 * .6)
DEFENSIVE: 14 (20 * .7)

Ranged attacks completely bypass parry DS (runestaves are an exception to this) including the DS provided by STANCE/2. So, it shouldn't matter whether you have brawling skill or not. However, there is this long standing bug which adds the STANCE/2 DS unless you are holding a weapon you are trained for. Having an empty right hand with brawling skill is considered to be holding a weapon you are trained for.

When faced with a ranged attack in i.e, guarded stance, you will have 40 less DS with an open right hand and brawling skill than you would if you had no brawling skill. You could take advantage of the bug by grabbing any item that is NOT a brawling weapon and receive the STANCE/2 DS bonus when being attacked by a bolt spell or other ranged attack.

Mark