Nightblade Tactics and Risk

Peerless warriors of varying types, from hulking armored dreadnoughts to stealthy light-footed nightblades.
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Maina
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Nightblade Tactics and Risk

Post by Maina »

I'm curious how Risk is calculated. I've noticed a little quirk of Nightblade Tactics that, while interesting and useful, may not be in line with the design philosophy of 'get in and get out'.

The quirk is thus:

If you are in a 1v1 fight versus a mob of equal skill, it is possible (and easy) to maintain your reroll bonus (and their malus) indefinitely.

The process is simple: attack once or twice, then don't attack for a few rounds. Even with dodging and parrying, Risk drains much faster than it is gained if you don't attack, especially with tactical dodge.

With the reroll disparity, the risk of being harmed is very low, and the harm that is done tends to be not enough to give a 'wound' prompt, effectively letting you take as long as you need to fight with a strong, even overwhelming advantage.

I almost bugged this, but I'm not sure if this is maybe okay as it is for two reasons:
1. It still encourages a playstyle of caution and calculated strikes.
2. It only works 1v1. While I haven't tested it with more enemies (self-preservation, after-all), it seems reasonable that grouping bonuses and an increase number of dodges and parries makes it no longer viable to minimize Risk.
Onasaki
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Joined: Tue Jun 01, 2021 9:20 pm

Re: Nightblade Tactics and Risk

Post by Onasaki »

Risk goes up with every skill a nightblade uses. I don't think it's 'calculated' any kind of way. If you're using assassination techniques/attacks, your risk is going to go up. The only time I've noticed Risk actually harms your fight, is if the fight goes on too long. Nightblades are definitely not the kind of class to be taking on multiple mobs at once, so I would completely skip that test were I you.

They are not tanky. They do not get a lot of DPS. They are built specifically with stealth, and avoidance as their main tactics. If you've never played a Rogue in DnD, I highly suggest playing something else if you want to take on more mobs, or kill things faster.

Beyond that, the trick is not getting into a long battle. Being a Nightblade IS all about "Get in, Get out."
I have two forces by my side,
One's the truth and one's a lie,
Which one's which I cannot tell,
This enigma is my hell.

Baako leads you over to the grass to graze.
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Maina
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Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2020 12:32 pm
Location: Colorado

Re: Nightblade Tactics and Risk

Post by Maina »

I'm not sure if I made the point of this post clear enough.

This is not a complaint; I enjoy the way nightblades are meant to be played.

I'm pointing out a way that currently exists to bypass how I understand nightblades are supposed to work.

You say "the trick is not getting into a long battle," but the point of this post is that nightblades can get into a battle as long as they want while being functionally unstoppable.

The 'quirk' I reported above is not a suggestion, it's how it currently works, which I suspect may not be intended.
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nobody
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Re: Nightblade Tactics and Risk

Post by nobody »

I think the risk going down fast enough if you start being less aggressive seems sound, though the other tactics mentioned in chat recently (fending off attacks by holding ranged or reach weapons, and tumble/flip all not increasing risk) does seem more bug-like and unintentional.
Onasaki
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Joined: Tue Jun 01, 2021 9:20 pm

Re: Nightblade Tactics and Risk

Post by Onasaki »

So the question might not be "how do we lower/increase risk" it might be, what does risk actually represent? From a mechanical standpoint, it's obviously like, a means to make your skills less effective over time. But what is it supposed to represent, besides being caught doing weird assassin stuff? Knowing what it defines, might make it easier figure out what should and shouldn't increase risk.

I personally don't think flipping/tumbling around, and being generally defensive should increase risk. That makes no logical sense to me.
I have two forces by my side,
One's the truth and one's a lie,
Which one's which I cannot tell,
This enigma is my hell.

Baako leads you over to the grass to graze.
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