> > For the record, my party was not stupidly powerful.
>
> Oh, yeah, I wasn't criticizing your strategy or anything. And I forgot, while championing knights over assassins, that knight don't gain AC, so to build a *really* powerful party, you'd probably have to spend time as an assassin to build up AC, and then switch to a knight for the hit points. But, in that case, you might as well build up the hit points as a knight, then switch to an assassin to build up the AC.
>
> > I even lost an Assassin to paralysis from what I think was Murkon's first hit. If that was the case, I couldn't have protected him with an AC spell anyway. So it is possible to beat the game with a sub-optimal party (as long as it's quite good).
>
> Absolutely. My post about optimal parties was really more of an intellectual speculation without practical application. Pretty much any party will work.
>
> As for losing an assassin to paralysis in the first round and having him pulled back out of melee range, there IS a precaution you can take to avoid that, even if Murkon (or another paralyzing monster) moves first.
>
> S "remember that paralyzed characters aren't moved to the back until the END of the round ;-)" am

I realized you were speaking purely theoretically when you discussed the ideal party. I was merely emphasizing that such a party is not necessary in practice.

are you suggesting casting HEALTH on the first round? That sounds hopelessly inefficient. Also, I don't see how one can avoid being paralyzed in an ambush, except perhaps piling on the +4 Armour of Specialness to get the AC up to 65 before the fight starts.

In other fights, I had lost Bridge Falcon to paralysis, and at least she was able to THROTTLE her opponents in vengeance. That was remarkably satisfying, even though it did 300 HP less damage than her sword.

I actually like having Assassins who can wipe out a whole class with one attack, and it's mildly comforting to know that they get more critical hits, especially with Stealth Blades and other such Items of Specialness. If they can't hit back, HP are irrelevant. How much more chance do Assassins really have of striking critical hits? How does it vary with level, and is there a max?

^v^:)^v^
FB