Legends & Lore: Combat Superiority

3rd Edition gave us fighters that purported to have lots of flexibility, but ultimately failed at doing what they were supposed to be doing; you had no way of effectively stopping monsters from attacking the more dangerous characters, rangers could do the two-weapon schtick better (and easier), and numerous spellcasting classes could just buff themselves beyond anything a fighter could dream of, in- and outside of combat.

Really unless you wanted to ineffectually “button-mash” attack over and over, your only non-optimized option was to go with archery (though I hear spell-buffed rangers still got the monopoly, there).

4th Edition reined in spellcasters and gave fighters complex and meaningful options, allowing them to dominate the arena of weaponry (and tanking). No longer could clerics and wizards slap on a bunch of buffing spells–while still being able to bypass the hit point mechanic entirely and do other things–and no longer could druids wildshape into exotic animals that allowed them to make multiple attacks at their full bonus, before the fighter could even make a second attack at a huge penalty.

Players were rightfully concerned that the fighter was being dragged back into a darker age, where all they could do was fumble about and hit things for a brief period of time in which they could do it reasonably better than some other classes (or, more accurately, longer in an “adventuring day”). Classes that had skills, interesting features, and/or spells that let them affect groups of monsters, make skill checks that they normally could not (often with a bonus when it was not outright success), fly, boost their stats, and more.

Given that we were only shown a low-level snapshot, I cannot say for certain if the Next fighter was going to be like that. With the flat math, better skill distribution and flexibility, and heavier reliance on ability scores it is possible that a fighter might have fared better. They even got multiple attacks at level 2, albeit only twice per day, but at least it was without a penalty and could be used for more things than just attacks. However, wizards were still reliant on pseudo-Vancian magic, and fighters did not have any attack options except “hit it” (though to be fair, it was a crapload of damage).

For those concerned about going back to boring fighters, I think that this is promising news; fighters get dice that they can spend to add extra damage, reduce damage that they are taking, block attacks, and presumably much, much more. They refresh each round, which kind of reminds me of the warblade from Book of Nine Swords, though they had to spend an attack action to refresh their maneuvers, so it was more like every other round.

Most people are making comparisons to Dungeon Crawl Classic’s Mighty Deed of Arms, which basically lets you make a kind of special attack based on your description and the GM’s permission whenever your attack die–a die that you roll in place of a flat attack bonus value–comes up 3 or higher. Example deeds including things like gouging out a basilisks’ eye, impaling two monsters on one spear, and disarms. I would also comapare it to Stunts in Dragon Age, which you could use if the Dragon Die came up a certain number or higher.

I like it because it avoids going with a static bonus and provides the fighter with a simple resource to manage, both of which makes them more interesting. While I do not think that each class needs a unique resource management system, I think this is fine because it operates in a similar manner to 4th Edition in that it grants a sense of “narrative control” (and, ironically, the rate at which you gain maneuvers is similar to 4th Edition). I also like it because for those who want a simple fighter, you can just opt to use them for a damage bonus and call it good.

Earth, Horses, and Monkies

The earth domain gives warpriests a third option that emphasizes protecting allies and applying your Constitution modifier to kicker effects, such as bonus damage and forced movement. It runs the entire thirty level stretch, but seems somewhat limited in scope, since there aren’t a lot of gods that involve themselves with stone except for like, well, Moradin. I suppose I could see Erathis being loosely involved with stone, what with the focus on civilization and by association buildings. Like an order of masons or something? Melora could also work, since she’s all about the wilderness.

The other article adds horses and apes to the retinue of animal companions for beastmaster rangers. Horses are unique in that you can choose to have a Medium or Large one, allowing you to ride it, along with some clarifications as to what happens if you’re riding it when it gets to move or shift. This would be great for a Valenar elf. Monkies are also really cool because they can manipulate something for free once per round, such as drinking a potion, open/close something, pick something up, etc. There’s also a sidebar that reminds you to let your players be creative with their companions. For example, if someone wants to get their Ashitaka on, let them have a red elk instead of a horse for their companion. I could also see someone using the horse as a template for a Large wolf if someone wants to have a ridable wolf.

The rest of the article is a page of level 2 exploits that all require a specific animal companion to use. Slither’s stride requires a snake, and is a daily that lets you shift 2 squares for the rest of the encounter and ignore difficult terrain, or 3 if you already ignore difficult terrain. Web trick lets your spider try to save you by granting you a bonus to saves to avoid falling off a cliff, or to Athletics checks made when you take damage while climbing.

Class Acts: Ranger

I guess its out earlyish? Maybe you can still get it before its fixed.

First things first, the header on the article says “Class Acts: Invoker“. Just a typo, and really…fuck it: the rest is undiluted awesome. The exploits are all weapon-ranged, giving them lots of utility while pimping some heavy controller mechanics.

For example, warning shot is a level 1 at-will that lets you take a shot, select an area, and take another shot if a creature moves into that spot. The first attack deals full damage, and I can see characters working together to shove monsters into the affected space.

But wait, there’s more!

• Archer’s stairway is a level 2 encounter that lets you shoot arrows into a wall that you use as handholds, reducing the DC to climb by a lot. Its a standard action to trigger, but otherwise just does what it does for the rest of the encounter. ( ﾟ ヮﾟ)
• Arrow of the savior is a level 6 encounter that lets you pin a falling ally to a wall, assuming you have an immediate interrupt handy.
• Back on target is a level 16 daily that lets you deflect an ally’s attack, allowing them to reroll with a bonus. Thankfully Peter preserves logic by restricting it to only ranged weapon attacks. ヽ(´ー｀)ﾉ
• Defensive volley lets you reduce damage to an ally by shooting the attack out of the air.

Very fucking cool, but thats just some of the utilities. Peter does some creative shit with attack exploits as well, allowing you to make extra attacks against enemies that get to close, move next to a specific enemy, or even let you generate a “zone” effect that you can shoot into.

As I said, it adds a heavy controller layer to the class. If you’re reading this Josh, feel free to power swap before next session. I know you fucking want to.

Class Acts: The Duelist Rogue

I’m of the mind that the rogue already heavily supported the concept of a dashing swordsman (especially since Artful Dodger let you add your Charisma mod to a lot of shit), but today’s class acts article delivers some more swashbuckling goodness to the game in the form of a few pages of exploits and feats. I dont even play rogues and I think this article kicks ass.

The new at-will targets AC, deals just Dex mod damage, but not only lets you move the target around but also roll SA damage if you didnt have combat advantage with this attack. At 21st level you deal 5 damage on top of everything else. Good, but I think that the shining exploit for any good Charisma-based rogue is still sly flourish: getting to add Dex and Cha to damage is too fucking sweet.

There are eleven other powers in total, most of them encounter attacks that center around mobility or boosting your defense. If you have Artful Dodger, these bonuses get a hefty boost and rely on your Charisma. The two utilities either let you shift when an enemy gets too close or boosts your defense and causes the attacker to grant CA for a turn. The level 1 daily is a stance that lets you make an attack (against Reflex) as a free action whenever an enemy hits or misses you. The level 5 daily lets you lock down a target so long as you dont move.

The feat selection is sparse but really cool. A couple of them boost the efficacy of packing a buckler around, but the best one is Versatile Duelist: it gives you proficiency with all one-handed military heavy blades, and you can use them with rogue powers that normally call for a light blade. Fucking yes. The rest does some other nifty shit that relies on Charisma, like adding Cha to your Acrobatics and Athletics checks or letting you deal SA damage to a target even if you dont have combat advantage.

Great addition to the rogue class. I like crunchy bundles of powers that support a class concept. Feats are just gravy, but I really like gravy. >_>

Power Play: Martial

One of the new mechanics from Player’s Handbook 3 is powers that have skills as prerequisites. I think this is a great idea, since it helps encourage certain skill choices while also making them useful to a class that might not get much mileage out of it. Power Play: Martial takes this a step further, but perhaps in the wrong direction. The article provides a small assortment of exploits for each martial class and by small I mean like, three each…and not anywhere near the same level range. But hey, its a somewhat new concept, and you gotta start somewhere, right? At least they’re kinda working with a theme: the fighter exploits require Endurance, and the warlord ones require Intimidate.

At a glance it seems like an okay thing to do. I mean, since they require skills to take they must be better, riiiiight? I guess, except that the fighter ones require…Endurace? Yeah…I’m sure there arent a lot of fighters out there with Endurance… It seems more like making slightly better powers at frankly no cost.

But maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. How much better can they be? Lets compare.

One of the new fighter exploits is called brazen assault. Its a level 5 reliable daily that targets AC, deals 3[W] damage, lets you add your Str and Con modifier to damage, and pushes 2 squares. It also has an effect built into it that gives you resist 5 all in exchange for granting combat advantage, which lasts until either the end of the encounter or until you decide to end it yourself.

Lets compare this to, say, agonizing assault. It also targets AC, only deals 2[W] damage (plus Dex mod with a flail), but causes the daze and immobilize conditions (save ends). If you miss it only deals half damage without any conditions.

Okay…not too sure which is mechanically superior. One does quite a bit more damage than the other, and you can resist damage but are easier to hit. Mostly I’m curious as to how balanced that is. Is it worth it by itself, or does the extra damage factor into that? Agonizing assault lets you pin down a monster for at least a round, but against elites and solos the odds are against you. Not sure how much that is worth in terms of damage. I think I’d prefer to stick with brazen assault for the sheer damage output, but I can see how being able to lock down a monster (and strip it of most actions to boot) can be extremely useful.

I’m going to try another: threatening presence and phalanx assault. The former is a Strength vs. Will attack that deals 2[W] damage and prevents the target from marking your allies, and also removes a mark from an ally that is targeted by it. The latter requires a shield, deals the same damage, and also grants both an AC and Reflex bonus until the end of your next turn (Resourceful warlords grant this bonus even if they miss). So, same damage (though threatening presence is easier to hit with), different kickers.

Threatening presence seems awfully situational. I cant think of a lot of monsters that mark, and if they do mark odds are they’ve marked the defenders who are presently beating the shit out of them anyway. Phalanx assault seems like it would be more consistently useful, especially if you combine it with defenders on the front lines (ideally they would prevent monsters from hitting you, while benefiting from increased defenses). It could also help give softer allies a temporary boost if something tries to go after them.

Hmm. Not as bad as I thought. Brazen assault seemed a bit better, but threatening presence seemed par for the course (I’d consider it for my tiefling warlord). I’m not going to check and compare them all, but I think these are pretty cool for concepts and themes. Sure, some demand skills that you were already taking, but as long as they dont consistently blow other powers out of the water then I really dont give a shit.