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[DnD+GW 4E Discussion] Vestigial Pact: The appendix is a bludgeoning weapon.
Aegeri
Tiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered User regular
Tiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered User regular
ITT people try to tell you the way you like to pretend playing as a fantasy elf or dwarf is wrong. Plus you're probably a jerk. Why are you such a jerk? Also that you are not playing DnD the one true way
and that you're a horrible monster. Why do you hate fun?
Here is a Dungeon:
Here is a Dragon:
Hence the name. Also, as a bonus picture here is Bane.
He's so dreamy
.
And no, he's not going anywhere from the OP. He wants you to love his manly pectoral muscles, his huge thigh muscles and bulging tip of the long hard shaft of his spear. The artist who drew this spectacular
visage of our general thread mascot and local god even has a wallpaper of him. All hail Bane!!!!
Speaking of before we go any further here, want to get the perfect way of starting 4E? Don't know where to go though? Try Wizards generously offering both a revised and improved version of Keep on the Shadowfell and the Quickstart rules? What will this cost you?
Absolutely nothing as it's completely free. Download them here.
Dungeons and Dragons is a pretty old game, originally being created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson in 1974, both of whom have passed way now. Since then it's had various iterations and editions, with the latest edition being 4th edition, published by Wizards of the Coast. The basic rules consist of three books:
As the name suggests, this is for players and also details the games core rules like combat.
This book details the various monsters and other things that populate most DnD worlds.
This is for the DM and contains useful things like how much experience you have to make an encounter, treasure tables and rules for creating your own monsters.
If you want to play DnD, you usually only need the players hand book. Running a game requires those base three books and should be bought by everyone in general.
Speaking of stuff, what stuff can you look forwards to playing in this wonderful game of Dungeons and Dragons? How about a handy description of the varied options in 4E?
Your wonderful options for Playing Dungeons and Dragons 4E
The first of the core books in 4E reintroduced many core races that are familiar to anyone who has played DnD before, while also introducing some new options like Dragonborn to familiar fantasy tropes like dwarves and Elves. The main difference in race design in 4E compared to previous editions is that most races gain positive bonuses to stats (no negatives) and are generally more evenly powered across the board. No ECLs or similar are used here.
Additionally this is the book that introduced many of the core classes back to the game like fighters, rogues and wizards while again introducing new elements like the Warlord. Class design is really radical in 4E compared to the way 3E handled things, so you should be prepared for a major shock if you’re coming from a previous edition. Most classes have been broken down into a series of roles that determine what they generally do: Defender, striker, controller or leader.
Further most classes have both a power source (that mechanically ties them into certain things) and a collection of individual powers that determines how they can affect combat (usually flavored by the role
the class fits into).
The PHB introduced the following races and classes into 4E:
Wizards were not finished there of course and released the second
players handbook further expanding the options available!:
That not enough races and classes? Well have some more thanks to the
third players handbook!
Then there are the races and the class from the campaign setting
books. First Forgotten Realms:
The Eberron players guide added further races again as well as a new class!
And now DDI is adding more options to the game as well – insider
exclusive (that is they won’t be printed) to boot!
DM/Player Tools and Helpful Links
D&D Insider Subscriptions
D&D insider is probably the best method of keeping up to date with 4th edition at the moment. For one thing, it keeps you up to date with all that pesky errata in a simple way and if you subscribe for a month, then cancel you can get a lot of content for not a lot of overall money! You can preview some of the toys at the links below:
This of course is a subscription service and here are the current prices, with a month subscription for what you can get out of it being quite a steal if you are prepared to deal with not having everything up to date each month.
To subscribe to the D&D Insider service, click here. Prices went up in July (2009), seems about a dollar an issue for a 12 month subscription.
You can find screenshots of the Character builder here.
and that you're a horrible monster. Why do you hate fun?
Here is a Dungeon:
Here is a Dragon:
Hence the name. Also, as a bonus picture here is Bane.
He's so dreamy
.And no, he's not going anywhere from the OP. He wants you to love his manly pectoral muscles, his huge thigh muscles and bulging tip of the long hard shaft of his spear. The artist who drew this spectacular
visage of our general thread mascot and local god even has a wallpaper of him. All hail Bane!!!!
Speaking of before we go any further here, want to get the perfect way of starting 4E? Don't know where to go though? Try Wizards generously offering both a revised and improved version of Keep on the Shadowfell and the Quickstart rules? What will this cost you?
Absolutely nothing as it's completely free. Download them here.
Dungeons and Dragons is a pretty old game, originally being created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson in 1974, both of whom have passed way now. Since then it's had various iterations and editions, with the latest edition being 4th edition, published by Wizards of the Coast. The basic rules consist of three books:
As the name suggests, this is for players and also details the games core rules like combat.
This book details the various monsters and other things that populate most DnD worlds.
This is for the DM and contains useful things like how much experience you have to make an encounter, treasure tables and rules for creating your own monsters.
If you want to play DnD, you usually only need the players hand book. Running a game requires those base three books and should be bought by everyone in general.
Speaking of stuff, what stuff can you look forwards to playing in this wonderful game of Dungeons and Dragons? How about a handy description of the varied options in 4E?
Your wonderful options for Playing Dungeons and Dragons 4E
The first of the core books in 4E reintroduced many core races that are familiar to anyone who has played DnD before, while also introducing some new options like Dragonborn to familiar fantasy tropes like dwarves and Elves. The main difference in race design in 4E compared to previous editions is that most races gain positive bonuses to stats (no negatives) and are generally more evenly powered across the board. No ECLs or similar are used here.
Additionally this is the book that introduced many of the core classes back to the game like fighters, rogues and wizards while again introducing new elements like the Warlord. Class design is really radical in 4E compared to the way 3E handled things, so you should be prepared for a major shock if you’re coming from a previous edition. Most classes have been broken down into a series of roles that determine what they generally do: Defender, striker, controller or leader.
Further most classes have both a power source (that mechanically ties them into certain things) and a collection of individual powers that determines how they can affect combat (usually flavored by the role
the class fits into).
The PHB introduced the following races and classes into 4E:
Races
Dragonborn
Dragonborn are probably one of the more controversial of the races introduced in the original PHB, much fun has been had in my various groups over the “To play a dragon” part in their description. Overall they are one of the races best supported in 4E, with numerous feats, options and a really solid base class. Like any self-respecting dragon/man creature they have a breath weapon that is hugely expandable by feats.
Additionally they have an entire supplement book dedicated to them, further expanding their options in the game and several DDI articles.
Dwarves
One of the best races in the game for a defender due to their general resistance to forced movement powers and also suit a wide range of divine classes. One of the most iconic races in Dungeons and Dragons it was good to see them in the original PHB. They also got themselves a bit of a size increase to medium, though still overall shorter than a human (As you’d expect).
Eladrin
The Eladrin were formerly the “High” elf archetype of previous editions but this time they’ve been linked closely to the feywild. The feywild being a mirror plane of the natural world where nature is rather crazy and more vibrant than normal. As a result they’ve picked up the ability to teleport a short distance, making for numerous arguments about how you’d build a prison for individuals who can teleport. Overall they manage to pull off a significantly different feel and flavor from standard elves – so justify their inclusion fully.
Did I mention they can teleport as a racial power? Because they totally can.
Elves
Elves are basically as they are from their portrayal in Lord of the Rings, somewhat tall light humanoids that make perfect rangers among other classes. They have an excellent racial ability to reroll a failed dice roll, but are otherwise pretty much the iconic elves of Dungeons and Dragons – minding of course the lack of strength or constitution penalties from earlier editions.
Half-Elves
Half-elves are basically a combination of humans and elves, with generally a friendly atmosphere to them and the ability to take feats from both elves and humans (as well as having some of their own). They make excellent diplomatic characters due to their inherent racial bonuses and their racial power to take an at-will from another class is extremely handy in the right situation.
Halflings
Halflings are one of few races in 4E with the small size category that lets them run through a large creatures space – something that can be rather handy from time to time. They are quick witted, resourceful and can force an enemy that attacks them to reroll the attack – especially useful if the attack was a critical hit! They are the poster child for “classic rogue” in 4th edition as well.
Human
Hey that’s us! As in many fantasy stories, most 4E settings assume
human civilization is typically on the rise and overrunning older
“wiser” races that scoff at the fast generation times and ingenuity of
humans. As a race, humans have some excellent features such as picking
up an additional at-will power from their class, can choose what one
stat they improve and gain an extra feat at first level. Overall an
extremely solid race and can fit anything you want to play easily.
Tieflings
Tieflings are the descendants of an ancient race that made pacts with
infernal beings for power. They have a somewhat inhuman appearance
with huge horns on their faces, tails and sometimes even goat legs!
They recently received errata that changed their core racial power and
feats as well, making them one of the only races I can think of that
has been drastically changed since publication.
Like
dragonborn they are also getting a book dedicated to them that will be
jam packed full of options.
Classes
Cleric
Role: Leader
Power Source: Divine
Description: The cleric is the stalwart of dungeons and
dragons, serving a god (or sometimes gods) and generally performing
the role of party medic. In 4E, Clerics can hold down an offense as
well as heal their allies, making them a very versatile and fun class
to play as opposed to being the guy everyone got mad at because he
wanted to attack instead of heal. It’s a very solid class and can
stick it out in melee as well as standing back from the rear playing a
supporting role.
Stats required: Wisdom primary, Strength or Charisma secondary.
Fighter
Role: Defender
Power Source: Martial
Description: It’s worth noting this is the most loved class in
all of 4E. Copious excellent paragon paths, feats, powers and options
await the player of the fighter, backed up by some of the best core
class features in combat superiority and combat challenge in the game.
Enemies fear shifting, moving or even remotely having you look at them
funny. A front line defender that hits things dead while preventing an
enemy from leaving the area around them, fighters are one of the best
(if not the best) defender in 4th edition.
Stats required: Strength primary, Dexterity, Constitution and
Wisdom secondary.
Paladin
Role: Defender
Power Source: Divine
Description: A very capable defender, as he is the only one who
has immediate access to plate armor from the start without needing
high stats and a feat. Although not as directly sticky or powerful as
a fighter, their mark inflicts damage without an attack roll and they
are super effective against undead (as it does radiant damage). As an
added bonus, paladins can do a bit of healing on the side as well
helping out the frazzled leader of the party in a tigher situation.
Stats required: Strength or Charisma primary, Wisdom secondary.
Ranger
Role: Striker
Power Source: Martial
Description: Effectively this is the class to go to if you like
shooting things with arrows a lot or want to wield two weapons to
murder things. The class is largely built on a power called “twin
strike”, which lets them attack twice a round and by the late periods
of a campaign can deal considerable amounts of damage. They also have
copious options for attacking outside of a round (during the monsters
turns basically), meaning they can keep doing considerable damage even
outside of their turn. Due to some of their powers, they actually come
very close to being the martial controller in 4E (as one doesn’t exist
as of yet).
Stats required: Strength or Dexterity primary, Wisdom secondary.
Rogue
Role: Striker
Power Source: Martial
Description: The classic “sneaky” class, the rogue relies on
getting combat advantage over his opponents and stabbing or shooting
them in extremely sensitive places. They favor using light weapons
over bulkier ones and can be extremely damaging strikers in the right
situation.
Stats required: Dexterity primary, Strength and Charisma secondary.
Warlock
Role: Striker
Power Source: Arcane
Description: The Warlock is one of the oddities in 4E, although
it is a striker it actually functions best as a single target
controller that does some damage on the side as well. Depending on the
pact (as Fey, Infernal and Star in the original PHB, expanded to
Vestige, Sorcerer-King, Dark and others later) the Warlock gets
different utility out of their powers and core class features.
Stats required: Charisma or Constitution primary, Intelligence secondary
Warlord
Role: Leader
Power Source: Martial
Description: The warlord is a leader who focuses on
manipulating his allies and the battlefield. Although not as strong at
healing as other leaders, the Warlord has a single minded focus on
boosting his allies attacks and initiative considerably, allowing his
allies to go well before their enemies and destroy them before healing
is even required. The warlord is definitely the leader for the
tactically minded in 4E.
Stats required: Strength primary, Intelligence and Charisma secondary.
Wizard
Role: Controller
Power Source: Arcane
Description: This is the class that focuses on exploding
enemies violently with various area of effect spells. They have some
excellent powers that deal automatic damage to other enemies and can
severely hamper opponents by penalizing their saving throws (making it
harder to escape from their effects). Wizards also have excellent
damage potential with many of their spells, meaning they can stop
enemies in their tracks and still blow them to pieces. Just don’t
expect them to be completely game breaking like they have been in
previous editions: Reality check is Wizards are an excellent addition
to a group but won’t win encounters for you by themselves.
Stats required: Intelligence primary, Wisdom and Dexterity
secondary.
Dragonborn
Dragonborn are probably one of the more controversial of the races introduced in the original PHB, much fun has been had in my various groups over the “To play a dragon” part in their description. Overall they are one of the races best supported in 4E, with numerous feats, options and a really solid base class. Like any self-respecting dragon/man creature they have a breath weapon that is hugely expandable by feats.
Additionally they have an entire supplement book dedicated to them, further expanding their options in the game and several DDI articles.
Dwarves
One of the best races in the game for a defender due to their general resistance to forced movement powers and also suit a wide range of divine classes. One of the most iconic races in Dungeons and Dragons it was good to see them in the original PHB. They also got themselves a bit of a size increase to medium, though still overall shorter than a human (As you’d expect).
Eladrin
The Eladrin were formerly the “High” elf archetype of previous editions but this time they’ve been linked closely to the feywild. The feywild being a mirror plane of the natural world where nature is rather crazy and more vibrant than normal. As a result they’ve picked up the ability to teleport a short distance, making for numerous arguments about how you’d build a prison for individuals who can teleport. Overall they manage to pull off a significantly different feel and flavor from standard elves – so justify their inclusion fully.
Did I mention they can teleport as a racial power? Because they totally can.
Elves
Elves are basically as they are from their portrayal in Lord of the Rings, somewhat tall light humanoids that make perfect rangers among other classes. They have an excellent racial ability to reroll a failed dice roll, but are otherwise pretty much the iconic elves of Dungeons and Dragons – minding of course the lack of strength or constitution penalties from earlier editions.
Half-Elves
Half-elves are basically a combination of humans and elves, with generally a friendly atmosphere to them and the ability to take feats from both elves and humans (as well as having some of their own). They make excellent diplomatic characters due to their inherent racial bonuses and their racial power to take an at-will from another class is extremely handy in the right situation.
Halflings
Halflings are one of few races in 4E with the small size category that lets them run through a large creatures space – something that can be rather handy from time to time. They are quick witted, resourceful and can force an enemy that attacks them to reroll the attack – especially useful if the attack was a critical hit! They are the poster child for “classic rogue” in 4th edition as well.
Human
Hey that’s us! As in many fantasy stories, most 4E settings assume
human civilization is typically on the rise and overrunning older
“wiser” races that scoff at the fast generation times and ingenuity of
humans. As a race, humans have some excellent features such as picking
up an additional at-will power from their class, can choose what one
stat they improve and gain an extra feat at first level. Overall an
extremely solid race and can fit anything you want to play easily.
Tieflings
Tieflings are the descendants of an ancient race that made pacts with
infernal beings for power. They have a somewhat inhuman appearance
with huge horns on their faces, tails and sometimes even goat legs!
They recently received errata that changed their core racial power and
feats as well, making them one of the only races I can think of that
has been drastically changed since publication.
Like
dragonborn they are also getting a book dedicated to them that will be
jam packed full of options.
Classes
Cleric
Role: Leader
Power Source: Divine
Description: The cleric is the stalwart of dungeons and
dragons, serving a god (or sometimes gods) and generally performing
the role of party medic. In 4E, Clerics can hold down an offense as
well as heal their allies, making them a very versatile and fun class
to play as opposed to being the guy everyone got mad at because he
wanted to attack instead of heal. It’s a very solid class and can
stick it out in melee as well as standing back from the rear playing a
supporting role.
Stats required: Wisdom primary, Strength or Charisma secondary.
Fighter
Role: Defender
Power Source: Martial
Description: It’s worth noting this is the most loved class in
all of 4E. Copious excellent paragon paths, feats, powers and options
await the player of the fighter, backed up by some of the best core
class features in combat superiority and combat challenge in the game.
Enemies fear shifting, moving or even remotely having you look at them
funny. A front line defender that hits things dead while preventing an
enemy from leaving the area around them, fighters are one of the best
(if not the best) defender in 4th edition.
Stats required: Strength primary, Dexterity, Constitution and
Wisdom secondary.
Paladin
Role: Defender
Power Source: Divine
Description: A very capable defender, as he is the only one who
has immediate access to plate armor from the start without needing
high stats and a feat. Although not as directly sticky or powerful as
a fighter, their mark inflicts damage without an attack roll and they
are super effective against undead (as it does radiant damage). As an
added bonus, paladins can do a bit of healing on the side as well
helping out the frazzled leader of the party in a tigher situation.
Stats required: Strength or Charisma primary, Wisdom secondary.
Ranger
Role: Striker
Power Source: Martial
Description: Effectively this is the class to go to if you like
shooting things with arrows a lot or want to wield two weapons to
murder things. The class is largely built on a power called “twin
strike”, which lets them attack twice a round and by the late periods
of a campaign can deal considerable amounts of damage. They also have
copious options for attacking outside of a round (during the monsters
turns basically), meaning they can keep doing considerable damage even
outside of their turn. Due to some of their powers, they actually come
very close to being the martial controller in 4E (as one doesn’t exist
as of yet).
Stats required: Strength or Dexterity primary, Wisdom secondary.
Rogue
Role: Striker
Power Source: Martial
Description: The classic “sneaky” class, the rogue relies on
getting combat advantage over his opponents and stabbing or shooting
them in extremely sensitive places. They favor using light weapons
over bulkier ones and can be extremely damaging strikers in the right
situation.
Stats required: Dexterity primary, Strength and Charisma secondary.
Warlock
Role: Striker
Power Source: Arcane
Description: The Warlock is one of the oddities in 4E, although
it is a striker it actually functions best as a single target
controller that does some damage on the side as well. Depending on the
pact (as Fey, Infernal and Star in the original PHB, expanded to
Vestige, Sorcerer-King, Dark and others later) the Warlock gets
different utility out of their powers and core class features.
Stats required: Charisma or Constitution primary, Intelligence secondary
Warlord
Role: Leader
Power Source: Martial
Description: The warlord is a leader who focuses on
manipulating his allies and the battlefield. Although not as strong at
healing as other leaders, the Warlord has a single minded focus on
boosting his allies attacks and initiative considerably, allowing his
allies to go well before their enemies and destroy them before healing
is even required. The warlord is definitely the leader for the
tactically minded in 4E.
Stats required: Strength primary, Intelligence and Charisma secondary.
Wizard
Role: Controller
Power Source: Arcane
Description: This is the class that focuses on exploding
enemies violently with various area of effect spells. They have some
excellent powers that deal automatic damage to other enemies and can
severely hamper opponents by penalizing their saving throws (making it
harder to escape from their effects). Wizards also have excellent
damage potential with many of their spells, meaning they can stop
enemies in their tracks and still blow them to pieces. Just don’t
expect them to be completely game breaking like they have been in
previous editions: Reality check is Wizards are an excellent addition
to a group but won’t win encounters for you by themselves.
Stats required: Intelligence primary, Wisdom and Dexterity
secondary.
Wizards were not finished there of course and released the second
players handbook further expanding the options available!:
Races
Deva
Tall blue supermodels, the Deva are touched with divine blood much
like how Tieflings are descendants of those with infernal blood. The
Deva are the most overtly “good” race in 4E and undergo an eternal
cycle of reincarnation. Those that go bad end up becoming a Rakshasa
after their next reincarnation. They’re pretty tied into the divine
power source – being half angels and can boost their own dice rolls
through experience from their numerous lifetimes.
Gome
Second of the short people in 4E DnD, Gnomes are a curious lot from
the feywild who are cunning and quite tricky. They have the ability to
turn invisible when potentially hit by an attack, which is a rather
handy ability and are generally good at most arcane classes. Gnome
barbarians are possible as well with some changes to two handed
weapons, so rejoice!
Goliath
Huge humanoids from the mountains of the world, Goliaths are
extraordinarily tough and very strong – especially as they have a
racial power to give them general damage reduction. They are pretty
strongly interlinked with the primal power source and so favor classes
like the barbarian. They also double as the half-giant from Dark Sun
as well.
Half-Orcs
Proving once and for all that human beings will have sex with anything
(or that a wizard did it – depending on your interpretation) is the
Half-Orc. Mixing the primal brute fury of orcs with the great
adaptability of humans – the half-orc proves to be an extremely swift
and handy fellow in a fight. Just don’t ask him where he came from.
Shifter
The shifter is as close to playing a genuine lycanthrope as a PC that
you can get in 4E. They are part man and part feral beast, with the
interesting choice of a different racial power and even stat boost
depending on which ‘strain’ of shifter you want to be. They generally
tend to be excellent primal characters as a result.
Classes
Class descriptions by Terrendos.
Class: Avenger
Classification: Striker
Power Source: Divine
Primary Abilities: Wisdom, Intelligence, Dexterity
"My god has words for you. This blade will show you to him."
Avengers are excellent at isolating and eliminating single targets.
Other followers do what should be done. You do what must be done. Pro:
roll two attacks under certain circumstances. Con: Reliant on enemies
for static damage boosts.
Class: Barbarian
Classification: Striker
Power Source: Primal
Primary Abilities: Strength, Constitution, Charisma
"My strength lies in the fury of the wild."
Barbarians are savage warriors, channeling primal energy through
themselves and their massive weapons. Darting back and forth across
the battle, your fierce shouts make the enemy quake in fear. Pro: Big
damage dice, lots of damage potential. Can fly into mighty rages. Con:
Rages are daily powers, so don't expect to use them a lot. Also low
defenses that get lowered during certain attacks.
Class: Bard
Classification: Leader
Power Source: Arcane
Primary Abilities: Charisma, Intelligence, Constitution
"I play the song of my ally's victory over your corpse."
Bards are artists, channeling magic through unbelievable skill with
music, drama, or poetry. Your skill with blade, book, and hymn are the
stuff of fables. Pro: lots of fancy rituals to help in conversation.
Can take as many multiclass feats as she wants. Con: Comparatively
less healing than clerics, and less effective hazing abilities.
Class: Druid
Classification: Controller
Power Source: Primal
Primary Abilities: Wisdom, Constitution, Dexterity
"I am the seeker. I am the stalker. I am the storm."
Druids are the most effective and purist channelers of primal fury and
embody all aspects of nature, from the calm of the still leaf to the
fury of the thunderbolt. Pro: Alternates between caster form and wild
shape for effectiveness in every situation. Con: Too many At-Will
choices, fewer burst options than Wizard/Invoker.
Class: Invoker
Classification: Controller
Power Source: Divine
Primary Abilities: Wisdom, Constitution, Intelligence
"Mighty Pelor! I beseech ye! Smite these wicked foes with your
unending light!"
Invokers are invested with a pure spark of their chosen god, rather
than being merely ordained by corrupt priests and weak rituals. They
are the purest of their god's mortal agents. Pro: Arguably a better
controller than Wizard, plus gains access to the sweet Channel
Divinity stuff. Con: Less overall damage potential, less powerful
rituals, and lacking the utility spells that make wizards such good
generalists. Also I'm not that fond of the PP choices.
Class: Shaman
Classification: Leader
Power Source: Primal
Primary Abilities: Wisdom, Constitution, Intelligence
"The spirits surround me, guiding my movements and obeying my commands."
Blessed with a mighty spirit companion that aids his allies, the
Shaman is a primal, spiritual force. His mighty companion serves as
both a focus for his attacks and as a shield to protect both him and
his allies. Pro: Protector spirit makes an excellent backup Defender
or Striker. Con: You have to give up your actions to command it.
Class: Sorcerer
Classification: Striker
Power Source: Arcane
Primary Abilities: Charisma, Dexterity, Strength
"The difference between you and me? You wield magic. Magic wields me."
Sorcerers are natural founts of arcane power, resulting from either a
history of dragon's blood or a product of mysterious, chaotic forces.
Either way, you practically bristle with barely-contained magic,
parcelling it out as needed in battle. Pro: Potential for very high
damage and lots of cool effects. Con: Those effects are typically
random, some of which can hit your allies.
Class: Warden
Classification: Defender
Power Source: Primal
Primary Abilities: Strength, Wisdom, Constitution
"Get past me? You might as well try to push the mountain aside."
Wardens are protectors of the earth, drawing on primal spirits to
protect their allies from harm, and the natural world from the
encroachment of those who would corrupt it. Pro: You are a brick wall,
but harder to hit and probably more resilient. Con: You're not
supposed to wear heavy armor, and marking all adjacent enemies means
you're going to need all that toughness.
Deva
Tall blue supermodels, the Deva are touched with divine blood much
like how Tieflings are descendants of those with infernal blood. The
Deva are the most overtly “good” race in 4E and undergo an eternal
cycle of reincarnation. Those that go bad end up becoming a Rakshasa
after their next reincarnation. They’re pretty tied into the divine
power source – being half angels and can boost their own dice rolls
through experience from their numerous lifetimes.
Gome
Second of the short people in 4E DnD, Gnomes are a curious lot from
the feywild who are cunning and quite tricky. They have the ability to
turn invisible when potentially hit by an attack, which is a rather
handy ability and are generally good at most arcane classes. Gnome
barbarians are possible as well with some changes to two handed
weapons, so rejoice!
Goliath
Huge humanoids from the mountains of the world, Goliaths are
extraordinarily tough and very strong – especially as they have a
racial power to give them general damage reduction. They are pretty
strongly interlinked with the primal power source and so favor classes
like the barbarian. They also double as the half-giant from Dark Sun
as well.
Half-Orcs
Proving once and for all that human beings will have sex with anything
(or that a wizard did it – depending on your interpretation) is the
Half-Orc. Mixing the primal brute fury of orcs with the great
adaptability of humans – the half-orc proves to be an extremely swift
and handy fellow in a fight. Just don’t ask him where he came from.
Shifter
The shifter is as close to playing a genuine lycanthrope as a PC that
you can get in 4E. They are part man and part feral beast, with the
interesting choice of a different racial power and even stat boost
depending on which ‘strain’ of shifter you want to be. They generally
tend to be excellent primal characters as a result.
Classes
Class descriptions by Terrendos.
Class: Avenger
Classification: Striker
Power Source: Divine
Primary Abilities: Wisdom, Intelligence, Dexterity
"My god has words for you. This blade will show you to him."
Avengers are excellent at isolating and eliminating single targets.
Other followers do what should be done. You do what must be done. Pro:
roll two attacks under certain circumstances. Con: Reliant on enemies
for static damage boosts.
Class: Barbarian
Classification: Striker
Power Source: Primal
Primary Abilities: Strength, Constitution, Charisma
"My strength lies in the fury of the wild."
Barbarians are savage warriors, channeling primal energy through
themselves and their massive weapons. Darting back and forth across
the battle, your fierce shouts make the enemy quake in fear. Pro: Big
damage dice, lots of damage potential. Can fly into mighty rages. Con:
Rages are daily powers, so don't expect to use them a lot. Also low
defenses that get lowered during certain attacks.
Class: Bard
Classification: Leader
Power Source: Arcane
Primary Abilities: Charisma, Intelligence, Constitution
"I play the song of my ally's victory over your corpse."
Bards are artists, channeling magic through unbelievable skill with
music, drama, or poetry. Your skill with blade, book, and hymn are the
stuff of fables. Pro: lots of fancy rituals to help in conversation.
Can take as many multiclass feats as she wants. Con: Comparatively
less healing than clerics, and less effective hazing abilities.
Class: Druid
Classification: Controller
Power Source: Primal
Primary Abilities: Wisdom, Constitution, Dexterity
"I am the seeker. I am the stalker. I am the storm."
Druids are the most effective and purist channelers of primal fury and
embody all aspects of nature, from the calm of the still leaf to the
fury of the thunderbolt. Pro: Alternates between caster form and wild
shape for effectiveness in every situation. Con: Too many At-Will
choices, fewer burst options than Wizard/Invoker.
Class: Invoker
Classification: Controller
Power Source: Divine
Primary Abilities: Wisdom, Constitution, Intelligence
"Mighty Pelor! I beseech ye! Smite these wicked foes with your
unending light!"
Invokers are invested with a pure spark of their chosen god, rather
than being merely ordained by corrupt priests and weak rituals. They
are the purest of their god's mortal agents. Pro: Arguably a better
controller than Wizard, plus gains access to the sweet Channel
Divinity stuff. Con: Less overall damage potential, less powerful
rituals, and lacking the utility spells that make wizards such good
generalists. Also I'm not that fond of the PP choices.
Class: Shaman
Classification: Leader
Power Source: Primal
Primary Abilities: Wisdom, Constitution, Intelligence
"The spirits surround me, guiding my movements and obeying my commands."
Blessed with a mighty spirit companion that aids his allies, the
Shaman is a primal, spiritual force. His mighty companion serves as
both a focus for his attacks and as a shield to protect both him and
his allies. Pro: Protector spirit makes an excellent backup Defender
or Striker. Con: You have to give up your actions to command it.
Class: Sorcerer
Classification: Striker
Power Source: Arcane
Primary Abilities: Charisma, Dexterity, Strength
"The difference between you and me? You wield magic. Magic wields me."
Sorcerers are natural founts of arcane power, resulting from either a
history of dragon's blood or a product of mysterious, chaotic forces.
Either way, you practically bristle with barely-contained magic,
parcelling it out as needed in battle. Pro: Potential for very high
damage and lots of cool effects. Con: Those effects are typically
random, some of which can hit your allies.
Class: Warden
Classification: Defender
Power Source: Primal
Primary Abilities: Strength, Wisdom, Constitution
"Get past me? You might as well try to push the mountain aside."
Wardens are protectors of the earth, drawing on primal spirits to
protect their allies from harm, and the natural world from the
encroachment of those who would corrupt it. Pro: You are a brick wall,
but harder to hit and probably more resilient. Con: You're not
supposed to wear heavy armor, and marking all adjacent enemies means
you're going to need all that toughness.
That not enough races and classes? Well have some more thanks to the
third players handbook!
Races
Githzerai
Everyones favourite astral monks are back and now a player race! They
make pretty decent monks (as you would expect), and their stat spread
make them okay for many other classes. Additionally they have some of
the best racial feats in the game, making them even better.
Minotaur
Yeah, minotaurs are now a playable PC race, probably inspired off the
more noble and civilized minotaurs of dragonlance. They haven't
changed much since their dragon racial write up, but do get strength
and their choice of con or wisdom - making them more flexible in what
classes they can play.
Shardmind
These are the leftovers of a defensive gate from the Far Realm that
shattered, leaving them behind. Sentient crystal people like
constructs in a similar vein to Warforged, they can split themselves
up into a swarm of sentient shards. Definitely a bit … out there even
for the existing bunch of races.
Wilden
Plant People from the feywild who are a "young" race that has arisen
to fight the abominations of the far realm – which forms a general
theme of the third players handbook (especially given Githzerai were
originally enslaved by Illithids and Shardminds were part of a barrier
that sealed in the far realm). They have several different racial
powers and like all PHB3 races a fixed stat and a choice between two
others.
Classes
Class:Ardent
Classification: Leader
Power Source: Psychic
Primary Abilities: Charisma, Constitution and Wisdom.
"By carefully manipulating my allies minds, I shall make them fight
better without them even realizing my presence!"
This is a psionic version of the warlord, but not as mechanically
strong as the warlord and again has the same general PP flaw that all
three of these psionic classes share. They do have a lot of close
burst and similar powers that have interesting effects on allies and
they do like sticking it up close to enemies as well. Of the three
psionic classes, they're not too bad and I think was one of the better
thought out power point using ones.
Class:Battlemind
Classification: Defender
Power Source: Psychic
Primary Abilities: Constitution, Wisdom and Charisma
"Those that ignore me will be burned by their own attacks with the
power of my mind!!!!"
The battlemind is the psionic defender and has similar issues to the
psion as it shares the same PP system. Unlike a fighter its mark isn't
as easy to enforce, albeit can be highly damaging in the right
situations and I think they will be a good secondary defender.
Class:Psion
Classification: Controller
Power Source: Psychic
Primary Abilities: Intelligence, Charisma and Wisdom (I think)
"I am Mentock the Mind Taker and I am here to take your mind!!!"
The first psionic class shown that uses a power point system to
"augment" at-will powers into encounter powers using power points
(PPs). The class seems to suffer from numerous problems, such as
higher level at-wills not being equivalent to some lower level powers
that scale better and due to taking less PPs can be used far more
often in an encounter. Personally I feel the experiment with PPs was
not a good decision.
Class:Monk
Classification: Striker
Power Source: Psionic
Primary Abilities: Dexterity, Strength and Wisdom.
"HYAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!"
The Monk is a great new striker with unprecedented mobility in 4E.
Like the name would suggest they are masters of unarmed fighting and
if you've ever wanted to punch a dragon in the face with your iron
fist of pure Bruce Lee inspired rage - this is definitely the class to
play. They can get a pretty solid unarmed attack and using ki-focuses
means they can turn any part of their body into a lethal weapon.
Any.
Part.
Overall this seems like a solid addition to the striker family of classes.
Class:Runepriest
Classification: Leader
Power Source: Divine
Primary Abilities: Strength, Constitution and Wisdom (IIRC)
"The runes are the language of the gods and I am the interpreter of
their words through my hammer into your skull."
A new leader with some pretty strong all purpose party buffs. They get
different "runes" that apply either a damage bonus to the party or a
large defensive buff. Seem pretty handy and they like stirring it up
in melee. I will say I love this class, but I must honestly feel bad
for the strength cleric who has been almost kicked in the gut with the
nerf to righteous brand and this class just outdoes it in every way as
a close up divine melee leader.
Class:Seeker
Classification: Controller
Power Source: Primal
Primary Abilities:
"My arrow flies straight and true to pin the enemy down and punish
them for their transgressions..."
A ranged controller that uses a bow and is pretty interesting. In many
ways there is some overlap with the ranger here, though the seeker is
unusual in that it has a lot of ranged basic attacks that are
encounter powers and similar (they play nicely with a warlord that can
grant ranged basic attacks as a result). Many of their powers create
zones and similar around a target they hit and it's certainly an
interesting idea.
Githzerai
Everyones favourite astral monks are back and now a player race! They
make pretty decent monks (as you would expect), and their stat spread
make them okay for many other classes. Additionally they have some of
the best racial feats in the game, making them even better.
Minotaur
Yeah, minotaurs are now a playable PC race, probably inspired off the
more noble and civilized minotaurs of dragonlance. They haven't
changed much since their dragon racial write up, but do get strength
and their choice of con or wisdom - making them more flexible in what
classes they can play.
Shardmind
These are the leftovers of a defensive gate from the Far Realm that
shattered, leaving them behind. Sentient crystal people like
constructs in a similar vein to Warforged, they can split themselves
up into a swarm of sentient shards. Definitely a bit … out there even
for the existing bunch of races.
Wilden
Plant People from the feywild who are a "young" race that has arisen
to fight the abominations of the far realm – which forms a general
theme of the third players handbook (especially given Githzerai were
originally enslaved by Illithids and Shardminds were part of a barrier
that sealed in the far realm). They have several different racial
powers and like all PHB3 races a fixed stat and a choice between two
others.
Classes
Class:Ardent
Classification: Leader
Power Source: Psychic
Primary Abilities: Charisma, Constitution and Wisdom.
"By carefully manipulating my allies minds, I shall make them fight
better without them even realizing my presence!"
This is a psionic version of the warlord, but not as mechanically
strong as the warlord and again has the same general PP flaw that all
three of these psionic classes share. They do have a lot of close
burst and similar powers that have interesting effects on allies and
they do like sticking it up close to enemies as well. Of the three
psionic classes, they're not too bad and I think was one of the better
thought out power point using ones.
Class:Battlemind
Classification: Defender
Power Source: Psychic
Primary Abilities: Constitution, Wisdom and Charisma
"Those that ignore me will be burned by their own attacks with the
power of my mind!!!!"
The battlemind is the psionic defender and has similar issues to the
psion as it shares the same PP system. Unlike a fighter its mark isn't
as easy to enforce, albeit can be highly damaging in the right
situations and I think they will be a good secondary defender.
Class:Psion
Classification: Controller
Power Source: Psychic
Primary Abilities: Intelligence, Charisma and Wisdom (I think)
"I am Mentock the Mind Taker and I am here to take your mind!!!"
The first psionic class shown that uses a power point system to
"augment" at-will powers into encounter powers using power points
(PPs). The class seems to suffer from numerous problems, such as
higher level at-wills not being equivalent to some lower level powers
that scale better and due to taking less PPs can be used far more
often in an encounter. Personally I feel the experiment with PPs was
not a good decision.
Class:Monk
Classification: Striker
Power Source: Psionic
Primary Abilities: Dexterity, Strength and Wisdom.
"HYAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!"
The Monk is a great new striker with unprecedented mobility in 4E.
Like the name would suggest they are masters of unarmed fighting and
if you've ever wanted to punch a dragon in the face with your iron
fist of pure Bruce Lee inspired rage - this is definitely the class to
play. They can get a pretty solid unarmed attack and using ki-focuses
means they can turn any part of their body into a lethal weapon.
Any.
Part.
:winky:
Overall this seems like a solid addition to the striker family of classes.
Class:Runepriest
Classification: Leader
Power Source: Divine
Primary Abilities: Strength, Constitution and Wisdom (IIRC)
"The runes are the language of the gods and I am the interpreter of
their words through my hammer into your skull."
A new leader with some pretty strong all purpose party buffs. They get
different "runes" that apply either a damage bonus to the party or a
large defensive buff. Seem pretty handy and they like stirring it up
in melee. I will say I love this class, but I must honestly feel bad
for the strength cleric who has been almost kicked in the gut with the
nerf to righteous brand and this class just outdoes it in every way as
a close up divine melee leader.
Class:Seeker
Classification: Controller
Power Source: Primal
Primary Abilities:
"My arrow flies straight and true to pin the enemy down and punish
them for their transgressions..."
A ranged controller that uses a bow and is pretty interesting. In many
ways there is some overlap with the ranger here, though the seeker is
unusual in that it has a lot of ranged basic attacks that are
encounter powers and similar (they play nicely with a warlord that can
grant ranged basic attacks as a result). Many of their powers create
zones and similar around a target they hit and it's certainly an
interesting idea.
Then there are the races and the class from the campaign setting
books. First Forgotten Realms:
Drow
Classic villains turned into PC races by the popularity of Drizzt,
essentially another kind of elf with some different powers. I will say
they make amazing rogues because of their darkfire and cloud of
darkness racial powers.
Genasi
Half-elemental planars who join the ranks of the Deva and Tiefling as
being plane touched PC races. They make good wizards and depending on
your elemental type they can suit a wide range of classes. They also
make good swordmages.
Class:Swordmage
Role: Defender
Power Source: Arcane
Description: A defender that focuses on using arcane energies
to entrap attacking enemies or reduce the damage they do to his
allies. They have some good burst and blast powers for dealing with
minions and grouped up enemies as well – though not quite the raw
damage of a defender like a fighter. Overall a very solid secondary
defender, with some excellent tricks to help them keep up.
Classic villains turned into PC races by the popularity of Drizzt,
essentially another kind of elf with some different powers. I will say
they make amazing rogues because of their darkfire and cloud of
darkness racial powers.
Genasi
Half-elemental planars who join the ranks of the Deva and Tiefling as
being plane touched PC races. They make good wizards and depending on
your elemental type they can suit a wide range of classes. They also
make good swordmages.
Class:Swordmage
Role: Defender
Power Source: Arcane
Description: A defender that focuses on using arcane energies
to entrap attacking enemies or reduce the damage they do to his
allies. They have some good burst and blast powers for dealing with
minions and grouped up enemies as well – though not quite the raw
damage of a defender like a fighter. Overall a very solid secondary
defender, with some excellent tricks to help them keep up.
The Eberron players guide added further races again as well as a new class!
Changeling
These guys, when you want to be derogative that is are classically
known as "Dopplegangers" but most people to be polite call them
Changelings. Like the name suggests, they can change how they appear
and they make terrific rogues or wizards (they get a choice of stat
boost!). On the other hand, as a cautionary note they are probably the
worst supported race in 4E for whatever reason.
Kalashtar
These are a humanoid race who have bound themselves to dream spirits
called Quori. They have some racial psionic talent (communication by
telepathy for example) and should obviously fit in well with the Psion
and other psionic classes.
Warforged
People usually refer to them as robots but these guys are more of a
metal and plant "cyborg" than a robot. They have pretty strong racial
abilities and make fantastic fighters and especially barbarians.
Class: Artificer
Classification: Leader
Power Source: Arcane
Primary Abilities: Intelligence, Constitution and Wisdom
"Let me just help you with your wounds in a minute, right after I
finish making this...."
The Artificer is a really solid leader, capable of taking other
characters healing surges and making his healing powers out of them.
This helps to spread around the parties healing surges so everyone can
keep fighting longer. They can use a variety of weapons and fighting
styles (ranged, melee and binding constructs like a summoner wizard),
making them pretty flexible in general.
These guys, when you want to be derogative that is are classically
known as "Dopplegangers" but most people to be polite call them
Changelings. Like the name suggests, they can change how they appear
and they make terrific rogues or wizards (they get a choice of stat
boost!). On the other hand, as a cautionary note they are probably the
worst supported race in 4E for whatever reason.
Kalashtar
These are a humanoid race who have bound themselves to dream spirits
called Quori. They have some racial psionic talent (communication by
telepathy for example) and should obviously fit in well with the Psion
and other psionic classes.
Warforged
People usually refer to them as robots but these guys are more of a
metal and plant "cyborg" than a robot. They have pretty strong racial
abilities and make fantastic fighters and especially barbarians.
Class: Artificer
Classification: Leader
Power Source: Arcane
Primary Abilities: Intelligence, Constitution and Wisdom
"Let me just help you with your wounds in a minute, right after I
finish making this...."
The Artificer is a really solid leader, capable of taking other
characters healing surges and making his healing powers out of them.
This helps to spread around the parties healing surges so everyone can
keep fighting longer. They can use a variety of weapons and fighting
styles (ranged, melee and binding constructs like a summoner wizard),
making them pretty flexible in general.
And now DDI is adding more options to the game as well – insider
exclusive (that is they won’t be printed) to boot!
Revenant
These guys have come back from the dead or were prevented from dying
by some other force (the Raven queen in the default cosmology).
They're unique because they actually have the undead subtype and can
take feats that make them fully undead. Fun with a cleric in the party
that's for certain! They make for decent assassins (another new class
coming out in DDI), rogues and warlock.
Class: Assassin
Classification: Striker
Power Source: Shadow
Primary Abilities: Dexterity, Constitution and Charisma
"Please don't mind while I stab you with my Fullblade here - oh you
were expecting a dagger? Well that can be arranged after I'm done
disemboweling you..."
The Assassin is the first "exclusive" DDI class to be published and is
pretty interesting. They can apply "shrouds" to enemies that they can
use when attacking to inflict greater damage on their enemies. They
also have a wide variety of weapon proficiencies and can teleport
between creatures at-will. It's a pretty solid class for a DDI
exclusive effort, with the only real flaw being they don't have their
Ki-focus elements out just yet.
These guys have come back from the dead or were prevented from dying
by some other force (the Raven queen in the default cosmology).
They're unique because they actually have the undead subtype and can
take feats that make them fully undead. Fun with a cleric in the party
that's for certain! They make for decent assassins (another new class
coming out in DDI), rogues and warlock.
Class: Assassin
Classification: Striker
Power Source: Shadow
Primary Abilities: Dexterity, Constitution and Charisma
"Please don't mind while I stab you with my Fullblade here - oh you
were expecting a dagger? Well that can be arranged after I'm done
disemboweling you..."
The Assassin is the first "exclusive" DDI class to be published and is
pretty interesting. They can apply "shrouds" to enemies that they can
use when attacking to inflict greater damage on their enemies. They
also have a wide variety of weapon proficiencies and can teleport
between creatures at-will. It's a pretty solid class for a DDI
exclusive effort, with the only real flaw being they don't have their
Ki-focus elements out just yet.
DM/Player Tools and Helpful Links
- A spreadsheet with all the magic items from the PHB, organized by Item Level and Body Slot (and subtype, in the case of Weapons, Armor and Implements) (Credit DVG)
- RPTools: Pretty useful for playing D&D over the internet. Get Maptool HERE
- Ability Generator from WotC
- Wizards' main site for D&D
- Enworld resource site for tabletop games
- Myth-Weavers Forum's character sheet tool. Has sheets for many games, including 4e
- H1 Keep on the Shadowfell for maptools
- Rescue\ at Rivenroar
D&D Insider Subscriptions
D&D insider is probably the best method of keeping up to date with 4th edition at the moment. For one thing, it keeps you up to date with all that pesky errata in a simple way and if you subscribe for a month, then cancel you can get a lot of content for not a lot of overall money! You can preview some of the toys at the links below:
- D&D Compendium from WotC
- Dragon and Dungen magazines also from WotC
- Encounter Tool from WotC
- At some point virtual tabletop software.
- Online Character Builder
This of course is a subscription service and here are the current prices, with a month subscription for what you can get out of it being quite a steal if you are prepared to deal with not having everything up to date each month.
- $71.40 for 12 months - $5.95 per month
- $23.85 for 3 months - $7.95 per month
- $9.95 for month
To subscribe to the D&D Insider service, click here. Prices went up in July (2009), seems about a dollar an issue for a 12 month subscription.
You can find screenshots of the Character builder here.
Aegeri on
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Posts
Currently DMing: None
Characters
[5e] Dural Melairkyn - AC 18 | HP 40 | Melee +5/1d8+3 | Spell +4/DC 12
The idea being...there are really only a handful of points of light left. The PCs are from an isolated mountain village that's been out of contact from the rest of the world for decades, sent to figure out what the hell is going on.
Back in earlier editions, spectres, when they killed someone, raised another spectre. The idea being- someone let loose a spectre and it overran everything on the continent the PCs are in, except for a handful of people behind running water, on holy ground, or (like the PC's village) so isolated it wasn't found by the spectres.
So they go into a land with very, very few "points of light" left, and only a handful of surviving settlements or survivors in general.
Currently DMing: None
Characters
[5e] Dural Melairkyn - AC 18 | HP 40 | Melee +5/1d8+3 | Spell +4/DC 12
Tempted to steal this for a zombie apocalypse game...
Say you want to encourage the PCs to protect and escort innocent bystanders out of harm's way. How do you do it?
I'm envisioning a hero moving alongside a bystander and using himself as a human shield. How could this be represented mechanically, though? Maybe a PC could delay his turn until after the bystander's, move into a space adjacent to the bystander, and ready an action to protect the bystander.
But then what exact action would the PC ready to protect the bystander, and what would the trigger be? Could the PC ready an action to substitute himself as the target of an attack, or maybe ready an action to switch spaces with the bystander when an enemy moves adjacent to the bystander? I don't think either option would possible by RAW, at least according to what I could decipher from the Rules Compendium. Should the PC ready an action to grab or push a triggering enemy? Should the PC be able to do anything at all if he himself is not adjacent to both the bystander and the enemy?
What do you guys think? What's the best solution?
Has anyone run the adventure that comes with Gamma World? How does it play? I'm planning on running a Gamma World one-shot in lieu of regular DnD this week since two of my players will be out of town.
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My personal solution would be to have the players take a 'Protect' action, costing a Standard (maybe a Move too), that means they walk alongside the person they are protecting (Forced movement, stays adjacent), and interpose themselves between the civilian and the first enemy attack, automatically becoming the target. Maybe allow them an OA on the second enemy to attack the target?
I wouldn't require readying an action. That consumes a PC's Standard Action, which frankly, is the meat and potatoes of combat. My experience with 'using up' Standard Actions on non-killing-enemies related stuff is that it frustrates my players. Tactically it also always seems to boil down to the Strikers continuing to hammer the monsters while the Leader and the Defender are the lucky guys who get to spend their Standard Actions to disable the traps/finish the ritual/protect the bystanders/quell the spirits of the crypt/whatever. It's entirely possible that's a failure on my part (lord knows there have been plenty of those!) to design the other elements in those kinds of encounters correctly but I've shied away from taking up standard actions with my combat "extras" ever since.
Instead I'd probably offer options that only required lesser actions (move or minor actions would be my go-to, although I liked the bystander power soxbox posted in the other thread that used player opportunity actions - those often go unused so they're a good choice, too). That gives them a "cost" (e.g. your players will have to give up something to help the bystanders, so it's actually a decision) without making the cost too steep.
Depending on how complicated you want to make it, you could have several different encounter-specific powers that let them interact with bystanders. I really like finding ways to incorporate skills into combat that don't just turn the fight into a skill challenge, but maybe that's just me. I would probably make a couple of powers like the ones below (If I really wanted it to be robust, I'd try to flesh it out a bit so that everybody/almost everybody had at least one option for bystander interaction that they'd be *great* at, and one or two other options that they'd be 'okay' at). I'd explicitly show them to my PCs so they knew what the options were (creating "power cards" they could have for a tabletop game and/or macros for an online game) and let them go crazy with it.
TAKE COVER!
You shout at an innocent bystander, shocking him/her into action.
Minor Action
Intimidate (DC XX)
Close burst 5
Target: One innocent bystander
Success: You slide an innocent bystander 3 squares.
GONNA GET YOU OUT OF HERE
You bodily drag an innocent bystander to safety.
Move Action
Athletics (DC XX)
Close burst 1
Target: One innocent bystander
Success: You move your speed, dragging an innocent bystander along with you. The innocent bystander does not provoke opportunity attacks from this movement (but you still do).
BODY SHIELD
You deliberately take an arrow that would've killed that bystander.
Immediate Interrupt
Endurance (no DC, see below)
Trigger: An enemy attacks an adjacent bystander with a melee or ranged attack
Effect: The attack is against you instead of the bystander. Use your Endurance check result as your defense against the attack.
As many or as few powers as you like. You can also just cut the skill rolls entirely. It all depends on how complex and important you want the bystanders to be. Hope those ideas help!
1) Abilities based on a character's feelings for or relationships with other characters. For example, say a "Best Friends Forever" feat gives you +2 move and +1/tier damage to charge attacks against enemies who have harmed your designated BFF since the end of your last turn. A "Crush" feat might give a character bonus temp HP when the object of the Crush is reciprocating, but a saving throw bonus against psychic and fear effects when they're not. This could even work as a PP which grants specific power boosts based on the location or condition of a designated character.
2) Abilities based on a tarot-like deck. The most basic idea would combine one static attribute (the character's "sign"), one chosen card (the character's "will"), and one random card (the character's "fate"), and the three would combine into a specific effect, with options for expansion, such as a DM deck, for groups who don't find it a time drag.
Has anyone ever run across anything like these in a 3rd party product, homebrew, or different game? It's low on my priority list, but it's something I think could be fun to pursue as an experiment.
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I could have sworn there was a paragon path for something like #1, but hell if I could tell you where I read it. If you really want to dig deep into psychological stuff, you could try to graft on systems from white wolf games where RP violations are modeled mechanically. I've never been struck by a WW game being mechanically balanced, though, so YMMV.
I would suggest the Belief system from Princess: The Hopeful that was linked in a previous thread, but I'm not even going to try to model that in 4e.
#2 sounds like a remix of the drama card idea. I would be satisfied with just the drama cards, but I might not rightly understand what you aim to do.
In other news: still peddling the Red Box as a good newbie tool in the OP? Not cool.
The ability to roll twice is the striker mechanic. The bonus to damage is just flavor.
Fighting a well built Avenger is like fighting a character you a) can't escape from and b) never misses.
They're also extremely durable.
The trick is to target the enemies who by their nature are going to fulfill the conditions.
You may not get the bonus damage every turn, but you're forcing a decision tree that ends with either extra damage or an effective negation of creature abilities.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
Pathfinder has something called a Harrow Deck, which not only sounds like Tarot Deck, but more or less doubles as one. The latest free player thingy on the Paizo website offers a side system where you give players a card per adventure with others being earned (so like action points in some systems), and they can be traded in for one of two powers (one based on its suit and the other based on its "alignment".)
It sounds like you want something more permanent though.
Cadwallion, a defunct and rather complicated system, had something which isn't similar but might provide inspiration. The stats it uses are more like attitudes, and you specify one as active at any given time to provide bonuses to actions based on that stat. It sounds like kind of what you want though, the sign card is picked at generation and the will card can be altered between scenes with the fate card changing once a condition is met?
Maybe you could sort of use them in place of handing out quite so much magical loot?
It's an interesting idea, but the key with such little side systems is keeping them low-key. You want it to be able to occasionally get the players out of a tight spot, not entirely replace their other powers.
Or, it could be stat-bonus, skill-bonus, one-use power? This makes sense as it lets you "align" the will and the sign to provide a cumulative bonus without quite retreading the same group. Maybe include penalties on the will-card actually.
You're making Avengers sound like the high fantasy version of Zangief.
Hmm...I wonder if there's any synergy to be found in a hybrid Avenger / Brawler Fighter.
I see a lot of new players make this mistake. Rolling twice to attack is fucking awesome. Don't worry about your Pursuit or whatever. In fact, go Unity to help your teammates.
Thank you for your contribution. I was thinking of creating encounter specific powers myself; my only reservation is that I'm afraid my players would want to try and use them on each other in later encounters.
There's one player in particular I'm thinking of who would probably say "Why can't I use 'Take Cover' to let *other player's name here* slide three squares? Does it only work on people who can't fight? Why?"
I'm just afraid that they would come to expect these powers as permanent additions to their repertoire.
Maybe have the abilities actually be the civilians' attacks? Have them be interrupts on attacks that target themselves, and they move behind an adjacent PC, letting the attack hit the PC instead or however you want the power to work/be flavored.
R*SC: BladeCruiser
Check out my GTAV-PC custom race tracks inspired by real life racing circuits!
Actually, you forgot one:
GIT TO DE CHOPPA
The large, muscular man covered in mud is insisting that you leave now. Best not to question that.
Move Action (Diplomacy, Hard DC)
Effect: One adjacent bystander moves its speed+Charisma mod as a free action.
These are really good ideas, it would be fairly easy to generate similar skill type powers for other skills.
Another thing you can do is via the monsters - make them only go for the innocents if there are no PCs in range or other easily understood targetting rules, but have them have multi target attacks as well.
The PCs can use their move/minor actions to give the NPCs extra move commands (or even as well as their standard move action, like Ranger beasts).
Have lots of cover about - if the NPC has at at least normal cover a monster won't attack if he has another target.
This encourages movement about the battle field both on the monsters part and the PCs/innocents.
An easy way around this would be saying it can only be used on targets that spent their standard action on the "HOLY SHIT SOMEBODY SAVE ME" action. Players should be incredibly loathe to give up a Standard action while having the NPCs spend some time quaking in fear will reinforce the idea the PCs are the only hope for these guys.
If they do, reference my last post on "dick punching". Dick punching is usually a simple and eloquent way to deal with problem players.
[tiny]And yes, in the event that said player doesn't have a dick, you can subsitute the ovaries. And yes, I understand the if we were comparing apples to apples, it would be the vagina, but we're not. We're compaing dicks to ovaries. It's totally different. However, a swift punch to the ovaries generally results in the same result as a punch in the dick, whereas a fist to the vagina can sometimes be misunderstood.[/tiny]
I would try to solve this with good framing. Just make it clear that it's an experiment.
Explain that you're trying some new encounter-specific mechanics to see how it feels. Hand out the power cards/whatever and stress to the players that these are powers they have just for this encounter as an experiment as they work to protect these innocent bystanders. That should make you all set for this specific set without having to worry about them complaining about it down the road.
After the fight, ask them what they thought. Bring up the concern that it'll be weird if they can't do this stuff every fight. Ask them what they think about doing more stuff like this going forward to spice up combat a bit and make things more flavorful and different, and figure out if "can is actually going to be a problem.
Even Simmy "this is why we can't have nice things" McSimulationist shouldn't be able to get too bent out of shape if you're up front about the fact that you were trying something new and want to know what they think. And heck, if he has enough fun during the encounter, he'll probably be okay with you using more encounter-specific powers in the future even if he can't use them all the time.
There are rules-focused ways of making sure the PCs can't really use this stuff in any other combat (I like the ideas others have put out there), but I'd rather not try to build the powers to prevent them from being used in other combats - I think my players would see that as a "let me figure out some way to be able to use this" challenge. I'd at least try to open my players to the possibility of just making them encounter-specific first.
Yes.