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3 years ago ::
Feb 16, 2010 - 3:48AM
#1
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Does anyone actually use any of the Battle Standards during combat in LFR?
Everyone and their brother seems to have a Battle Standard of Healing that they only use during short rests. I have never played with anyone who owned any other kind of Battle Standard (so I'm not all that familiar with them) and I have never seen one used during combat. A standard action seems like too high of a cost for the minor benefits they provide.
Lori Anderson
WotC Freelancer, LFR author
@LittleLorika
CALI3-3 The Agony of Almraiven (co-author)
NETH4-1 Containing Shadow (co-author)
CALI4-1 Plain of Stone Spiders (author)
QUES4-1 Liberation (co-author)
EPIC5-1 Plaguewrought Prism (co-author)
TotalCon: http://www.totalcon.com/RolePlaying.html
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3 years ago ::
Feb 16, 2010 - 3:52AM
#2
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My cleric actually planted a Battle Standard of Healing during a combat recently, but that was only because my options were extremely limited and I had nothing better to do. It was near the end of the combat and we had 3 clerics in the party, so we really didn't need any more healing. But planting the Battle Standard seemed like a mildly more fun thing to do than go total defense or provoke from everyone around me to do an at-will. Of course the Battle Standard turned out to be completely unhelpful because the combat was soon over and no one had used it. It did save me from having to spend a standard action during our short rest though!  That's the only time I've seen one used in combat.
Lori Anderson
WotC Freelancer, LFR author
@LittleLorika
CALI3-3 The Agony of Almraiven (co-author)
NETH4-1 Containing Shadow (co-author)
CALI4-1 Plain of Stone Spiders (author)
QUES4-1 Liberation (co-author)
EPIC5-1 Plaguewrought Prism (co-author)
TotalCon: http://www.totalcon.com/RolePlaying.html
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3 years ago ::
Feb 16, 2010 - 4:26AM
#3
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We have a Bard in our regular gaming group that uses that standard frequently. He usually will do that, then action point and drop some healing if I recall correctly.
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3 years ago ::
Feb 16, 2010 - 4:32AM
#4
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Date Joined:
Apr 25, 2002
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Battle Standards of Healing are standard fare when you've got a healing cleric capable of making the party all spend a healing surge at once...
NETH4-1 Containing Shadow (co-author) Handbooks
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3 years ago ::
Feb 16, 2010 - 6:17AM
#5
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Date Joined:
May 27, 2009
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In my groups at home, items like this are sometimes used when the PC's have the ability to set up for a fight before comabt starts. There have been some scenes where the PC's spot the creatures, ask to maneuver around their flank and instead of the creatures being on the board and the PC's setting up in the PC's start here box, instead it is the creatures that start in the PC's start here box and the PC's take positions of the player's choices.
However, more often than not the battle standards end up being flare for RP purposes only.
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3 years ago ::
Feb 16, 2010 - 8:12AM
#6
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Date Joined:
Oct 26, 2005
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I have used Battle Standard of Healing in battle, usually when my PC was blinded or weakened, or someone was dying and the 1 hit point would bring them back into the fight. It works better if your PC has quickdraw or a free hand and a minor-action healing power - then you can pull out the Standard, plant it, and trigger the healing all in the same turn.
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3 years ago ::
Feb 16, 2010 - 9:18AM
#7
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Date Joined:
Aug 22, 2007
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Well, the only Battle Standard I have seen used was one that was found during the course of an adventure, and the PCs planted it early in many of the later encounters.
Of course, the limited range didn't help them much i one encounter, the BBEG for that encounter moved into a different area of the map, while dragging off one of the PCs, so they had to chase it down. And, in another encounter, I was able to come up with a "good enough" reason for an insect to pull the standard out.
Overall, depending on party makeup, is which Battle Standards are useful, and who should plant them. That standard, which added a +1 power bonus to damage, IIRC, would be worth planting by one of the low-damage party members early, like the Pacifist Cleric very early in the encounter. YMMV.
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3 years ago ::
Feb 16, 2010 - 11:20AM
#8
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Date Joined:
Dec 16, 2005
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I have occasionally seen players plant a battle standard during combat. It never worked out to be even close to worth the standard action. And half of the time, it was uprooted by a minion a round and a half later, guaranteeing that its use could not possible by anything other than a sucker's bet.
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3 years ago ::
Feb 16, 2010 - 11:30AM
#9
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Date Joined:
Aug 22, 2007
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I have occasionally seen players plant a battle standard during combat. It never worked out to be even close to worth the standard action. And half of the time, it was uprooted by a minion a round and a half later, guaranteeing that its use could not possible by anything other than a sucker's bet.
Yeah, that's one of the reasons I'd never use a battle standard during combat.
The AV Battle Standards are pretty clear in their wording:
"Any character in or adjacent to a battle standard's square can remove it from the ground as a standard action."
Generally speaking, when the rules use "character" instead of "creature", they're doing that on purpose to indicate something intended for PCs. Beyond that, battle standards don't make much sense as a magic item if creatures can simply pick them up and walk away with them.
But it's just not worth having the argument, particularly since the DM is likely to think they're being clever in deactivating the standard and is unlikely to appreciate being told it doesn't work that way, so I've pretty much decided they're not worth the bother.
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3 years ago ::
Feb 16, 2010 - 11:33AM
#10
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Date Joined:
Jul 14, 2008
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But it's just not worth having the argument, particularly since the DM is likely to think they're being clever in deactivating the standard and is unlikely to appreciate being told it doesn't work that way, so I've pretty much decided they're not worth the bother.
DME. The battle standard of healing can easily turn a hard encounter into a cakewalk (I've seen it happen most times I play in a party with a cleric). Nobody enjoys a cakewalk, so if the DM has to use intelligent creatures to uproot the standard it makes it more fun for everyone.
To answer the question, yes. I see battle standards used alot.
One-half of the tabletop gaming news podcast Going LastCo-author on AoA 2-3 and 4-1.
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