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6 months ago ::
Dec 10, 2012 - 5:16PM
#13011
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I answered that.
"Some writers suck at the power rules." It really is that simple.
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6 months ago ::
Dec 10, 2012 - 5:21PM
#13012
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Date Joined:
Aug 19, 2007
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The effect is that it creates a zone. A zone which functions as one of the parameters for other stuff in the power. It has no mechanical consequences in and of itself, but the other parts of the power reference it when they happen.
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There are reasons they call me Mad...
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6 months ago ::
Dec 10, 2012 - 5:29PM
#13013
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- Forum Guide
- Hero Craftsman Gold Medalist
- Master Dungeon Master
Date Joined:
Jun 23, 2005
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It's an editor issue. The Effect should come after Hit. So it would read as follows:
Warden Attack 1 Roots of Stone
The burst of primal energy you unleash ripples through the ground around you and limits your foes’ movement.
Encounter  Primal, Weapon, Zone
Standard Action Close burst 1
Target: Each enemy in the burst
Attack: Strength vs. AC
Hit: 1[W] + Strength modifier damage.
Effect: The burst creates a zone of rippling earth that lasts until the end of your next turn. Any target that was hit with the attack is knocked prone if it leaves the zone.
Earthstrength:The target also takes damage equal to your Constitution modifier when it leaves the zone. That follows the typical format and works just fine. The reason it's a zone is because the target does not fall prone when hit. He only falls prone if he leaves the zone. So the enemy can choose to stay in the zone and thus not fall prone. My only question is whether the target needs to have been hit to take the Constitution modifier damage from an Earthstrength warden. Since it does not specify the target had to have been hit, I would say all targets take the damage, but the word "also takes damage" implies that it is only affected if it has incurred damage from the attack.
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6 months ago ::
Dec 10, 2012 - 9:23PM
#13014
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I answered that.
"Some writers suck at the power rules." It really is that simple.
I was kind of hoping that it wouldn't be that simple, but with all due respect to the writers and editors involved here, this is the only answer that makes sense to me so far. I figured there might even be other powers later that refer back to "rippling earth" as some sort of keyword, but no. And nobody else has offered an explanation that actually follows the rules and formatting used for every other power in the game.
@Mad_Jack: Thanks for suggesting this, but if that's the case, the stuff about rippling earth should just be under "Hit" to avoid confusion, shouldn't it? Like: "Hit: 1[W] + Strength modifier damage, and the burst creates a zone of rippling earth that lasts until the end of your next turn. The target is knocked prone when it leaves the zone." I have never seen another power with an Effect that has no actual mechanical significance.
@wrecan: Thank you for your detailed answer. However, this is still incorrect. See Players Handbook p. 59. Things listed under "Effect" take place regardless of whether the power hits. Your rewriting moved something out of "Hit" and into "Effect," which fundamentally changes the way the power should be read.
The only other explanation I can come up with (aside from the possibility that the Earthstrength bonus is not contigent upon a hit) is that the writer (or some editor) thought it looked to confusing to list the duration of the zone in the same place as the damage, but I suppose I'd beg to differ.
Anyway, thanks all for input. Please do feel free to let me know if there's an official word or other errata on this somewhere, but in the meantime, it looks like my group will just have to decide amongst ourselves what this is supposed to mean.
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6 months ago ::
Dec 10, 2012 - 10:25PM
#13015
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In fairness the zone is created, hit or miss. If there were another game element that had an effect when you created a zone (which there are, though Wardens posses none of them) that'd still happen.
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6 months ago ::
Dec 10, 2012 - 10:28PM
#13016
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Date Joined:
Jun 17, 2010
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It's an editor issue. The Effect should come after Hit.
It doesn't matter. The function of the power is identical either way.
why list it as an Effect at all, rather than lumping everything under "Hit"?
Because you only want it to create one zone, not one zone for each target hit.
D&D Next = D&D: Quantum Edition
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6 months ago ::
Dec 11, 2012 - 4:00AM
#13017
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Date Joined:
May 12, 2009
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It's an editor issue.
Its not a editor issue. The power is specifically created that way because its the zone of rippling earth that let you make the attack. The Attack and Hit line that follow are an indentation to the Effect Line.
Effect: The burst creates a zone of rippling earth that lasts until the end of your next turn. Make the following attack.
Yan
Montréal, Canada
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6 months ago ::
Dec 11, 2012 - 6:13AM
#13018
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Date Joined:
Dec 18, 2010
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Zones can have other effects - for example - stygian adept - a psionic paragon path - has enemies have -2 to hit in any zone you create - - - so a warden which multiclassed in psionic class and took that paragon path would want powers with zones - - - thats one example I can think of.
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6 months ago ::
Dec 11, 2012 - 1:55PM
#13019
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Why does +2 magic heavy armor grant an extra +1 AC?
For example, with +1 chainmail my dwarf has 22 AC. With +2 chainmail, that jumps to 24. Why?
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6 months ago ::
Dec 11, 2012 - 2:08PM
#13020
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Why does +2 magic heavy armor grant an extra +1 AC?
For example, with +1 chainmail my dwarf has 22 AC. With +2 chainmail, that jumps to 24. Why?
Masterwork bonus. It fixes a scaling issue.
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