UMD good skill or just a blatantly abused skill

[Notlaw]

Well, Havent seen much about this and just wanted to get some views really.

Is UMD a good skill, or is it just an excuse for people to take a level in rogue or bard and abuse in a power play munchkin kind of way?

I guess the other question to go with this is - are epic level games power play, or roleplay?

cheerio

[FormerAdmin]

UMD is not abused on our server, since players have to make UMD checks before using items.

If the check fails (i.e. you try to use a high level scroll), as does your action. If the test passes, your action will commence.

[Notlaw]

In hindsight the question may have been badly worded.

The abuse comes from saving skill points and then piling lots of points into UMD when only taking one level in rogue or bard. I guess that means the classes rogue and bard are abused because you can then take and max UMD. I seem to remember PnP AD&D used to have a limit on how many points per level could be placed in one skill!

In no way is the question whether UMD is abused by the HG server. It is however that many players may abuse the classes and skills.

Whether you class the above as abuse depends really on your opinion as to whether this is poor roleplay or just blatant powerplay?

[Anonalbe]

it's not abuse simply b/c many items on the server are designed to require UMD before they can be used, even though the item in question isn't particularly useful for a true rog or bard.... Go check the reqs on the Hunter Killer kat or Improbable something-or-other kama and see what I mean.... what rog or brd uses a kama?

[Notlaw]

Use of UMD to use an item, in itself is not a problem, its what the skill is for after all.

Its the way people gain the skill that becomes the abuse, taking one level of rogue or bard at level 40 and putting 43 points into UMD is just blatant powerplay, and in my view the game should be about roleplay not powerplay.

So if many players are taking the skill, because powerful items are class restricted, then the item itself may not be appropriately designed (With regards to the kama comment above).

[DoctorLove]

Personally, I think UMD is quite the powerful little skill. It is good and useful, but I think it's somewhat "abused."

I wouldn't like to see it taken away, but it would be nice if some items could be made so that UMD didn't work for it. I mainly say this for class specific items; I think it takes away from some of the "personality" of an item if any ol rogue with some skill points can use it. It would be cool to be able to increase the DC of equipping a class specific item. When I was an item builder, I tried to make class specific equipment to counter some of the weaknesses for that class, or to give them some sort of edge over everyone else. I mean, if I wanted to come up with a neat quest to get the Holy Relic of Whosyodaddy, I'd be upset if I saw some little backstabbing freak walking around with it.

Also, the UMD skills have gotten in the way of doing what I've always wanted to do: make a set of super duper incredible equipment useable ONLY by Harpers. I just like the idea of people laughing at the little sucky Harper, and then BOOYA, lots of death and destruction.

But that's just me )

Damn, I babble a lot.

-Doc

[Anonalbe]

since the DC for UMD checks is set by the item's value (price to buy it), couldn't you up the DC simply by increasing the cost of the item?

[Higan]

i think the dc is only put on one time items, if it was possible on equipmetn too, whats to stop someone to just to try and put the item on again, so thats the main problem

i remeber abusing that quite a bit with my fighter, most of my equipmetn needed umd to use, and because of my one lv in bard, i was pretty much immune to any type of damage thinkable

[Anonalbe]

Here's an idea: If you don't like UMD, make a char without it or taking 1 lvl in any other class to max a skill or gain additional proficencies (since it's the same thing), then run to Drow and see how well it works

Straight monk could do it since little of their equip is UMD'd but that's the only class I can think of off the top of my head that wouldn't be getting waxed. You pretty much have to have the best equip available to survive there without being in a fairly large party or partied with one or two other people who are UMD'ing.

Edit: There's a DC on equipment too, else you wouldn't have to use things like star bands to boost your UMD so you could succeed the check. I don't think there is a roll involved, it's an opposed check.

[Higan]

well ya, there is that check, but at lv 40 restriction its pretty much useless cause it dosn't get high enough to stop people with 43 ranks in it and, although if it was either race or alingment restricted they might not be able to use that, the stuff thats the best is only class restricted