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[DnD 4E Discussion] Adventurers Vault 2 this month professor!
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Ahem.
How about:
Scruffy is an extension of your soul, so if an effect would target both you and scruffy, it targets only one. So monsters have to choose between dissipating the bear (maybe) for a round and dealing lower damage to you or damaging you outright.
He's still unaffected by stuff like daze and immobilization, but can be targeted for the purpose of destroying him.
I'm not 100% on this, but your opinion does matter here. It seems a reasonable compromise since he's such a badass as a 'don't provoke AOOs from me' type of semi-defender.
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I own it. It's a mixed bag.
In exchange for the increased physical vulnerability, though, I'd like it if he had more physical presence--specifically the ability to interact with objects. Giving him the manipulation abilities of a rat familiar or a bit stronger (maybe up to 20 pounds, like mage hand?) sounds fair to me.
Ooh, and what about OAs against enemies making ranged attacks? It always bothered me he couldn't do that.
because if you are, the "compromise" is absurd. I don't want you to think I'm getting on you, but really. anything beyond it only targeting one of you instead of both of you is just meh, imo.
And dude, he's talking about a serious nerf to the spirit, in the form of opening up the other two attack categories. I think it's fair to ask for something in return, and neither of those are powerful abilities.
It's good movement denial, yes, but there are quite a few disadvantages to counter the advantage of a spirit.
Agreed. Shamans are fun because they have some very Defendery tricks in there...if they're willing to risk their spirit in direct combat and not play Mr. Sneaky Healy like some Laser Clerics do.
But with a defender that isn't a paladin or swordmage, wheres the risk? Multiple marked targets who aren't mindless are going to attack the substantial targets. I agree it's quite defender-y, but wheres the risk? If you're looking to have a compromise that substantial, I don't think we'll see eye to eye. Mage hand like power is quite useful, and I wouldn't be too keen to concede that.
Here's a counter-proposal. He can be targetted by bursts and blasts and the damage requirements remain the same. However, should he be 'killed' by the attack, he is dispersed and you suffer no damage. That is a give, and a take, since you'll just bring him back in the next turn, but still requires some tactical positioning.
PSN: SAW776
Clarify this for me:
Do you think conjurations are unbalanced?
Or do you just not like them?
More so, however, it's because I feel the RAW is poorly worded or a bit weak. So I'm hazy on the RAI aspect of it. It's not like he's destroying every creature I put up against him and his group.
EDIT: Niether Horse, I feel it is written poorly.
If its not breaking your encounters, then just ignore it like all the other powers that defy logic. A wizard did it. Or, in this case, a shaman.
PSN: SAW776
Rysk: I can always spend the two feats to get a rat buddy (or pay a pittance for Hedge Wizard's Gloves), and it hurts my immersion that Scruffy can't interact with things besides killing them. I'd be willing to go for the same manipulation ability as the rat, I suppose.
Or just make a monster that shoots protons that will neutralize the PK energy of the spirit companion. And have this monster work with a large group of tiny minions with mouths that open on command which are capable of sucking in the spirit companion after its PK energy has been sufficiently destabilized.
The monsters, upon doing so die and cause the player to lose 1d6 healing surges.
That's what I would do.
I know that monster! it's in the 1e Fiend Folio!
Seriously, there is a monster in there that the PCs cannot interact with in any way, but is drawn to other monsters and makes them slightly harder. This is what game balance looks like, folks.
In exchange for a pseudo-defender (not as good as a real defender, let's not kid ourselves) he has to sacrifice a lot of healing power. He's the only leader that doesn't get an additional dice + an additional static modifier to his single target heals. And quite often his spirit is either indisposed or otherwise incorrectly positioned to give the extra hp away to another target, if there's even a target within 2 squares of the original that NEEDS the healing.
Shamans lose, at starting levels, 1-6 HP per heal on single targets, and that only goes up with level.
In exchange, he gets the spirit.
EDIT: Where do you get no static bonus? Standing next to his bear is a HUGE bonus, something like +4 to anybody using a surge? The healing is not the issue. The bear is broken in a couple of ways straight up, like Aegeri said the free move, which I totally understand why they do that. My wizard with his familiar is often left way behind, simply because I have no actions to move him with. Second, it's AOO grants temp HP hit or miss. That is, if you ask me, more of a reason to not provoke AOO from it than the mark effects of almost any other defender because of the change to have zero effect.
I can understand what you're coming from, but having played and DM'd a shaman before, they do indeed give up character options and power in exchange for the spirit companion.
Re-read the description that tastydonuts posted for the Fiend Folio.
It's the fucking Ghostbusters.
I know, twas silly, and this discarded.
Did I say it wasn't AWESOME. Because Ghostbusters are AWESOME.
Is it called a Venkman in there?
I agree with Rend. Shamans have plenty of drawbacks.
I think you may be overlooking a lot of the balancing factors that are already present in the shaman class because you're having a hard time with the particulars of a Conjuration.
They're even in your sig! At the moment, at least.
Rysk: Don't worry, I definitely don't think you're trying to screw me over or being a jerk of a DM, and I think I understand where you're coming from.
in the case of flaming sphere
a wizard did it
literally
It's called a Trilloch, but with the amount of non-interactivity possible (by the way, it's permanently incoporeal and invisible) you could call it President Obama with much the same effect.
Honestly, with magic, I wouldn't see it as that big of a problem.
Even elementalism I'd just assume that the shape of the flame is kept in check by the will of the elementalist, and so kept from boiling the surrounding water, though the stuff in its radius will surely be turned to steam.
The shaman I play is the only leader in the group. The healing is still effective yeah, but it is definitely numerically inferior to the other leaders, and a lot more conditional as well.
Don't get me wrong, i love the way they play. I think what they get back is definitely worth what they give up.
I think there needs to be a Godwin's Law for Shelly Mazzanoble. Like, as soon as someone mentions her, we aren't really talking about D&D any more. Or fun. She could make nail polish boring.
you win!
Anyway, if you feel like it's mechanically overpowered, that's more serious than a flavor issue. Let's talk about it, what do you feel is too powerful? You've mentioned
-Not provoking with movement
-Spirit's Shield granting HP as an effect
-Not being targeted by area effects.
-EDIT: And of course, the whole "not having to be supported by the ground, so it can float" thing.
Anything else?