• Ad Hominem— Attacking the person's circumstances, not addressing the argument. • Ad Hominem Abusive (Personal Attack)— Insulting the person, not addressing the argument. • Ad Hominem Tu Quoque— Saying the person's inconsistent, not addressing the argument. • Appeal to Authority/Belief/Common Practice/Consequence of a Belief/Emotion/Fear/Flattery/Novelty/Pity/Popularity/Ridicule/Spite/Tradition— Using emotion instead of Fact. • Bandwagon— Use of peer pressure. • Begging the Question— Assuming premises which haven't necessarily been agreed to. • Biased Sample— Using a sampling which may not properly represent the whole. • Burden of Proof— Shifting it to the wrong side. • Circumstantial Ad Hominem— Attacking the person's interests in supporting their argument. • Composition— Assuming that the whole has the same qualities as individual parts. • Confusing Cause & Effect— Assuming that one thing causes another because they appear in conjunction. • Division— Assuming that the individual parts have the same qualities as the whole. • False Dilemma— Assuming that only two options exist. • Gambler's Fallacy— Assuming the odds have changed because of past occurances • Genetic— Assuming a perceived defect in the origin of a claim is proof of a defect in the claim. • Guilt by Association— Attacking others who agree with the claim. • Hasty Generalization— Assuming a quality based on too small a sample size. • Ignoring the Common Cause— Assuming there is no outside cause of two connected things. • Middle Ground— Assuming the midpoint of two extremes must be correct. • Misleading Vividness— Assuming a colorful anecdote outweighs statistical evidence. • Poisoning the Well— Using unprovable claims about the person instead of addressing the argument. • Post Hoc— Assuming that something caused something else simply because it happened first. • Questionable Cause— Assuming that one thing causes another. • Red Herring— Using irrelevant evidence to divert a discussion. • Relativist Fallacy— Asserting that a claim may be true for some but not for the speaker. • Slippery Slope— Assuming the inevitability of one event based on another. • Special Pleading— Claiming exemption without justification. • Spotlight— Assuming individuals that get the most attention to be indicative of the whole. • Straw Man— Misrepresenting the opposing argument. • Two Wrongs Make a Right— Justifying something unethical/immoral as response or pre-emption to something else unethical/immoral.
Response to those who like to compare 4e to a Video GameShow
Also, I find that the "D&D 4e is like an MMO" argument is often a sign of someone who is deliberately being obtuse and/or is potentially ignorant of actual MMO play. As someone who only ended a 6-year World of Warcraft addiction a year ago, I can say that most of your bullet points actually don't match up to the truth of it.
In D&D 4e, you can choose a hybrid, you can choose to play one class as though it were another (people played Warlords as Bards frequently, when the edition first came out, and Rangers were refluffed to Monks), you can focus your class on its secondary role (a Warlock who is more controller than striker, for instance), you can multiclass, and you can create a particular concept (a mounted lancer, a charger, etc.) within the mechanics via feats, choice of powers, and choice of skills. You decide which set of stats you use--are you a Chaladin, Straladin, or Baladin?--and you have ultimate influence on how your character turns out in the end. Yes, powers require you to be using a particular weapon within your class's available selection, but the powers are not themselves tied to the gear. Powers tied to weapons or armor are typically powers that belong to the item, not to the character class that's most likely to use it.
Yes, there are only so many powers available, and these will be what you do in battle; this is all that the designers created. Yes, there is a time-frame in which they can be used; this has always been the case, even in the days of Vancian casting. Yes, there are suggested builds, but you can routinely ignore those if it pleases you; the only parts of a class you have to take are the class features, and even those have options at this point. But the only way that this can be considered at all conflatable with MMO character building/playing is if you are deliberately ignoring all of that.
In WoW, you choose a class and you're done. No multiclassing or hybridization, no way to mimic one class with careful building of a different one. There is a firm dividing line on what is a WoW class. No secondary roles or creative concepts, either; you're going to be what the class sets out to be, and that's it. You'll always have the same stat allocation as another of your class, because you get set numbers as you level up, and you've got at best four options--and that's only the Druid class--to build, and if you plan on running dungeons, particularly heroic level ones, or raiding, you'd better not even think of deviating from the single defined best build on the talent tree for what you want to do. It was only recently, with the complete tear-down and recreation of talent trees for Mists of Pandaria, that there was a concept of there being anything but the one best build that people who calculated such mechanical advantages (the folks on Elitist Jerks, for example), and the people who did things like achieve "World First" at various top-tier raids set precedent for.
Also, no class will ever not have a specific set of powers; all Priests in WoW have the same baseline, with deviation only based upon their talent tree specialization, where a D&D4e player could take whatever power in their class pleases them. Any Retribution Paladin will be the same as any other in terms of powers, because that is what a RetPally is. Any Assassination Rogue will always have the same powers as another, etc. All powers are always on specific cool-downs, but will always be there when they start a battle, where a 4e PC might enter an encounter with only At-Wills, or without their Daily powers due to what plot has done up until that point. Furthermore, no power that is not already specifically tied to an item will ever "require" you have that item, to my recollection. Classes get all their powers based on class; gear only gives bonuses to stats, possibly cuts down cast times for abilities or cooldowns, grants temporary extra bonuses to stats (the latter two most often on the raid tier equipment), and on rare occassions an extra power that may or may not be valuable, as some are only special effects instead of valuable abilities.
Most honest/open response on why DDN needs to be InclusiveShow
I've always felt it is in the best interests of D&D to be as inclusive across the playerbase as they can be and still have a game. I've never felt though that making a game that was inclusive within a group was very useful or even desirable. DM's and players can decide amongst themselves what options or restrictions they want for their games. I tend to lean to the DM to make most of those decisions but again that is a group specific thing.
Having said that. I get the distinct impression that there are a lot of players on these boards who come from groups that generally ruled against their own desires. It's almost like they are an oppressed minority from a gaming perspective. I also get the impression that they tend to advocate against things that if available their fellow group members might like and vote them down on.
Do a lot of you feel this way?
Just for clarification...here are some examples... 1. Alignment restrictions as an option. 2. Alignment Mechanics 3. Martial healing 4. Races being included or not.
I know my perspective is not that I often play at tables where my likes are not represented. Instead, my perspective comes from the many years I spent being a bad DM. I was a bad DM because my guidance came from the books, and the books gave bad advice. The books told me that alignment was a useful approach to roleplaying, so I went with it even though it felt kind of weird to me. Now I know that, at least in my style of running games, alignment destroys rp. I trusted the books to give good advice, and it messed up my game. Now I'm much more mature as a DM, so I know how to take advice with a grain of salt. And I still learn new stuff every session I run.
I don't want future DMs to go through my problems again. There's a big enough DM shortage as it is. DMing well is hard.
The biggest thing I had to unlearn in my process of becoming a good DM was the idea that the game is a simulation of a world. I understand many DMs prefer a more simulationist approach, although I am always skeptical simply because I would have said the same thing until I learned and grew as a DM. This doesn't mean their approach is completely invalid, but it still gives me a personal twinge when I see a regression back to 3e era sim style gaming.
I also have noticed many groups where one or two old-school players run a whole group's playstyle because the newer players aren't even aware there are other ways of doing things. The newer players tell me stories of things they hated in the session, and I end up explaining to them how those things they hate are very fixable, and in fact are fixed in the newer edition of the game their older players have told them is terrible.
In regard to things like martial healing, I don't think it's necessary for it to be in the game for the game to be fun. However, the attitude that says martial healing is terrible and shouldn't exist is an attitude that, to me, reveals a wrongheaded approach to the game. Therefore, my fight for it to be an option is to help legitimize the more narrative approach that I think is what most players want, but many don't know is possible, because they've never been exposed to it.
====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ====== Erik Milner, level 1 Human, Ardent Ardent Mantle: Mantle of Elation Human Power Selection: Bonus At-Will Power Human Bonus Language: Goblin Background: Auspicious Birth (Auspicious Birth Benefit)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES Str 13, Con 15, Dex 10, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 19.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES Str 13, Con 15, Dex 10, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 17.
The youngest of a multitude of sons, Erik developed his skills at a young age, fueled by his desire to help his elder brothers in their martial training. It was like this how he developed his healing powers.
At the age of 14 he started his own formal training with the help of his family, adopting the greatspear as his weapon of choice, it's innate reach allowing him to support those in the front line without being a bother and at the same time allowing him to stay out of harm's way, something that his brothers were always adamant about, him being the youngest and all.
Following his family traditions, at the age of 20 Erik left his home in order to build his own name, carrying little more than a worn armor and a magical greatsword as a gift from one of his older brothers. During the last 3 years he has been traveling around, looking for a suitable place where to settle and start building his own legacy.
With his idea in mind he made his way into Nentir Vale, where something finally clicked into place. After a couple of weeks polishing his social skills with the locals, Erik found his way into the Blue Moon Alehouse, where a job is said to be found for those like him.
Eric is a fairly tall man, who prefers green, and ocre tones on both his normal clothes and battle armor. He usually wears keeps his long hair away from his eyes with a simple bandana, and in formal situations he ties his hair in a ponytail. He's got green eyes and a fair tone of skin, and as well as most of his family, he shares a curious trait, in moments of great stress, his eyes glow with power, a secondary manifestation of the power he wields.
Eric is mostly defined by his charm. He has something in him that draws the best out of people near him, and he usually make a point in giving back as much as he receives. Contrary to what most would think because of his usually flirty demeanor, he's not much of a ladies man, as he always prefers to keep a certain distance between himself and others, knowing full well that he may leave the next day to never return. He does have a taste for the ladies, and goes out of his way to woe them whenever he can. A pleasant smile seems to be permanently etched on his face, only to be replaced by a confident smirk whenever he is in a fight.
Johan Kross was an adventurer. As he admired the martial and magical arts equally, Johan's goal in life was to achieve equal mastery in both. He traveled the land, seeking out both blademasters and great wizards, delving into ancient armories and libraries alike. He devoured all the knowledge, uncovered all the secrets and perfected all the stances he possibly could.
But it wasn't enough. The burden was too great. His disappointment only increased when he came across an order of swordmages in the Dawnforge Mountains called the Azure Weave; as much as he tried, he could not wrap his head around their ways and ultimately left them to continue his adventuring career. Johan Kross realized where he had gone wrong when he was left as the only survivor of his small group of dungeoneers: he looked at the sword and the spellbook as two separate paths and yet tried to walk both of them. There was another way, one that merged the two into a single discipline, but he resolved that it was out of his reach. Despite the riches he brought back home to the town of Whittleton (which is on the White River, seven miles northeast from where it intersects the King's Road), he returned there in shame.
Wil Kross is the son of Johan Kross and his wife Hara. As a child he would listen to stories of his father's old adventures for hours and hours. He could never imagine why his father had given up that life, and when he asked, Johan would simply let out a heartfelt sigh and say, "There comes a time when you just want a bit of normalcy." Little Wil always doubted this was the whole truth.
Johan was watching his son at play one day, as the children were playing at being heroes with wooden swords. But there was something he saw in his son that his playmates did not have: when Wil went for the attack, he moved his weapon not with brute force but with cunning, and in this way he knew just how to strike the other children without hurting them. Later that evening, Johan showed the boy a simple magic spell, opening and closing his wife's jewelry box from across the room.
Little Wil flicked the box open effortlessly on his second try.
The very next morning Johan Kross set off with his son, leaving town. Johan was taking Wil to the Azure Weave, bearing the hope that the boy could succeed where he had failed.
After overcoming his initial shyness and his fear of being so far from home, Wil came to believe he really belonged among the swordmages. Something about the way they thought about the world and how they interacted with their surroundings resonated with him. As he studied and grew up among them, he forged lifelong friendships: with fellow pupils Marya Imnatel and Marceau Boggi, with the strict instructor Vendur Aseph and, most of all, with the kindhearted gnome headmistress Aira Flickerlight.
Wil Kross, now 17, has completed his training with the Azure Weave and is now setting out into the world, a true swordmage. Fallcrest is his first stop in the search for adventure and the chance to perfect what he has learned.
Wil Kross is a healthy and lithe young man, with very little muscle mass (fortunately, his sword arts do not depend on strength). Above his tall forehead is a disordered mop of blonde hair that seems to cover his light gray eyes more often than not. He keeps his face clean-shaven, though he grows very little facial hair in the first place, and what does grow is barely distinguishable in color from his skin. He has a long, hooked nose with a prominent bump where the bone meets cartilage and a broad, defined jawline. Otherwise he has soft features, with low cheekbones and a clear, light complexion.
Wil wears the layered robes of the Azure Weave, colored in light gray with blue trim. When training or expecting battle, he also wears a magic leather breastplate (in the same colors and with a "weave" motif) over his robes, which headmistress Aira Flickerlight gave to him as a gift when he completed his training. The longsword he wields is thin and straight, with a silver hilt and handle painted with a braided pattern in blue.
Wil Kross is an astoundingly intelligent person who often suffers from a lack of confidence (outside of combat, that is). He can sometimes be somewhat shy and introverted, but this isn't to say he thinks of himself first: Wil is altruistic by nature. More than fortune or adventure for its own sake, which are what his father searched for in his youth, he wants to use whatever abilities he has to protect the weak and combat the chaotic forces scouring the world. He dreams of a return to the heights of civilization and a safer world, though he tends to keep such ideas to himself for fear that others would simply find them laughable.
Arcana +12, History +12, Endurance +11, Insight +8, Athletics +7, Religion +7, Acrobatics +3, Dungeoneering +3, Heal +3, Nature +3, Perception +3, Stealth +3, Thievery +3, Bluff +1, Diplomacy +1, Intimidate +1, Streetwise +1 Adventurer's Scion: Wil can reroll a monster knowledge check but must take the result of the second roll.
Minor Action, Close burst 2 Target One creature in burst Effect Wil marks the target. The target remains marked until he uses this power against another target. If he marks other creatures using other powers, the target is still marked. A creature can be subject to only one mark at a time. A new mark supersedes a mark that was already in place.
If the marked target makes an attack that doesn’t include Wil as a target, it takes a –2 penalty to attack rolls. If that attack hits and the marked target is within 10 squares of Wil, he can use an immediate interrupt to reduce the damage dealt by that attack to any one creature by 7.
Standard Action, Longsword +12 vs. AC Target One creature Hit 1d8+6 damage, and if the target is adjacent to Wil at the start of his next turn and moves away during that turn, it takes 1d6+2 thunder damage. Critical +1d6 damage
Standard Action, Longsword, Ranged 3 +9 vs. Fortitude Target One creature Hit 1d6+6 lightning damage, and Wil pulls the target to the nearest unoccupied space adjacent to him. Critical +1d6 damage Special If Wil cannot pull the target to an adjacent square, this power fails and deals no damage.
Free Action Effect Wil can use this power when making a Strength attack, Strength check or Strength-based skill check. He may use his Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma modifier in place of his Strength modifier to determine the result of the roll.
Minor Action, Close burst 3 Target: Wil and one of his allies in the burst or two allies in the burst. Effect: Each target teleports into the other's space. Both targets must occupy the same size space, or the power fails.
Immediate Interupt, Ranged 10 +9 vs. Will Trigger: An enemy hits one of Wil's allies with a melee attack. Target: The triggering enemy Hit: Wil teleports the target 5 squares. The target then makes its melee attack against a creature Wil chooses. This attack deals an extra 2 damage on a hit. If no creatures are within range of the target, the attack is expended.
Minor Action, Burst 10 Target One enemy in burst Effect The target receives the Mark of the Raven Queen until the end of the encounter. During Wil's turn, one damage die against that target may be rerolled; if part of an area or close attack with multiple targets, this reroll only affects damage to the target with the mark of the Raven Queen. []Raven Queen's Shroud JauntShow
Minor Action Effect Wil teleports adjacent to the target bearing the mark of the Raven Queen.
Standard Action, Personal Effect Wil spends a healing surge to regain hit points and gains a +2 bonus to all defenses until the start of his next turn.
Standard Action, Longsword, Close burst 1 +12 vs. AC Target Each enemy in burst Hit 1d8+6 damage, and the target is marked until the end of Wil's next turn. Until the mark ends, if the target makes an attack that does not include Wil as a target, it takes 5 force damage after the attack is resolved. Additionally, if a target marked by this power hits a creature within 10 squares of Wil with an attack that does not include him as a target, he can use an immediate interrupt to reduce the damage dealt by that attack to any single creature by 2. Critical +1d6 damage
Free Action, Personal Trigger: Wil succeeds on a monster knowledge check against a monster that he can see or hear. Effect: If Wil's check result meets or exceeds the hard DC for the monster's level, he gains a +4 power bonus to all defenses against the monster's attacks until the end of his next turn. Additionally, until the end of his next turn, he gains a +4 power bonus to damage rolls against the target, but not when he deals damage that the target resists. If Wil's check result does not meet or exceed the hard DC, his attacks against the target deal only half damage until the end of his next turn.
Standard Action, Longsword, Close Burst 2 +9 vs. Will Target Each enemy in burst Hit 1d8+6 psychic damage, and the target cannot make opportunity attacks or shift (save ends). Critical +1d6 damage Miss Half damage, and until the end of Wil's next turn, the target cannot make opportunity attacks or shift.
Thoradin Brewfist was raised by a family of very conservative dwarves at an early age he realized he was not like the other dwarves who wanted to toil in the mines and drink bitter beer. In his teenage years he was befriended by a halfling rogue who took Thoradin under his wing and started to teach the ways of the rogue to him. His family discovering this cast out Thoradin and cut off his ties to the dwarven clan. His halfling master , Quickfinger, took him in and continued to teach and harness his skills.
Years went by and Thoradin knew happiness untill one day he returned home to find Quickfinger brutally murdered. With no witnesses and nowhere to turn Thoradin vowed to find the killers and avenge his masters death.
So armed with his magic sling that was a gift from Quicksilver, Thoradin changed his name to Thoradin the Quick and began his journey to find the truth.
Thoradin wears dark clothing with a hood that he normally has pulled up with his face in shadow. He is bearded like most dwarves but his beard is kept very short. His weapons are all tucked away out of sight, but easily reachable, so to the common folk Thoradin looks like a dwarf who likes the color black. Looks can be very decieving however.
Thoradin is very at odds with his dwarven heritage. This causes him to feel more comfortable around non dwarves. He is very much a dwarf who is searching for his identity and this causes him to sometimes act without thinking, sometimes in anger (which he blames on his dwarf heritage). Thoradin is usually very reserved but he can never truly deny that he is a dwarf who loves battle, wine, and a good story(which causes him embarrassment when he forgets himself)
Standard Action Melee weapon Target: One creature Attack: An ally of your choice makes a melee basic attack against the target Hit: Ally's basic attack damage + 2 (int modifier)
Standard Action Melee weapon Target: One creature Attack: +12 vs AC Special: Before you attack, you let one ally adjacent to either you or the target shift 1 square as a free action. Hit: 1d8+6
Standard Action Ranged 5 Target: One ally Effect: The target makes a basic attack as a free action against an enemy of your choice that you can see and is within 10 squares of you.
Minor Action Close burst 5 Target: You or one ally in burst Special: You can use this power twice per encounter, but only once per round. Effect: The target can spend a healing surge and regain an additional 1d6+2 hit points.
Immediate Reaction Personal Trigger: An enemy hits you Effect: You make a basic attack against the triggering enemy, and one ally within 5 squares of you can move his or her speed and make a melee basic attack against the triggering enemy as a free action.
No Action Melee 1 Target: The triggering enemy Trigger: You hit an enemy adjacent to you with an attack. Effect: The target takes 4 extra damage from the triggereing attack and is knocked prone.
Standard Action Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +11 vs AC (longsword), +9 vs AC (javelin) Hit: 2d8+5 (longsword)/ 2d6+4 (javelin) damage and the target grants combat advantage to your allies until the end of your next turn. Effect: Any ally that hits the target with an attack gained from an action point before the end of your next turn deals 5 extra damage to the target.
Standard Action Melee weapon (Reliable) Target: One creature Attack: +12 vs AC Hit: 2d8+6. As a free action, one ally you can see can make a basic attack against the target with a +2 power bonus to the attack roll.
Arthur Nitsby was picked on quite a bit as the youngest of six children. He faced bullies throughout school (only some of them related to him). He was always the one chosen to go into places where the other kids thought there would be danger or where someone was likely to get caught. Arthur seemed to have a lucky side though he refused to acknowledge it. He could only ever see the terrible things that might go wrong as they seemed to so often to those around him. When he was old enough, Arthur signed up with a mercenary group passing through his small village. He become something of a mascot as the veterans found it endearing the way he would eat up the wildest tales they could imagine. The mercenary group would not have psychologically tortured the kid the way they were if they knew the full extent of the damage their teasing was having. After several weeks in their company, Arthur was constantly jumping at shadows and developed a nervous tic. He spent a couple of years in their company, learning some martial skill, and earning his new name, Antsy.
Antsy was scouting ahead of his squad when he slipped in a patch of mud and fell down a ravine. He twisted his right knee and his left ankle and was cursed the entire way back up the hill. It took him 3 hours to find his squad again and it was obvious from their lifeless forms that something else had found them first. Ansty determined that it was an owlbear that took out the squad and if he had been with them, well, he would lying with them now. Antsy scavenged what he could, determine which way the owl bear went, and took off at a quick trot in the other direction.
Antsy is slightly shorter than average and has a mustache that would look unruly on a hedgehog. He keeps his cheeks clean shaven but always has several shaving knicks, mostly clustered around his neck (and if he ever finds out who keeps dulling his blade, he's gonna use it to give them a shave they won't recover from). Antsy keeps his armor in good repair though if you only heard him yelling about all the lethal flaws he finds and fixes each night, you'd think it was rotting 300 year-old relic that intentionally killed all its previous owners. He keeps an arsenal of weapons on his body that would make a small town proud.
More like ideas than a wishlist. This character does not rely on magic items. Level 4 Shield of Silver Light, Helm of the Stubborn Mind, Counterstrike Guards Level 5 Amulet of Life Level 6 Magic Drakescale, Iron Armbands of Power, Magic Javelin Level 7 Martyr's Scale Armor, Badge of the Berserker, Lifesaving Brooch, Boots of the Fencing Master, River of Life Gloves Level 8 Vanguard Longsword, Boots of Quickness, Coif of Mindiron Level 9 Reinforcing Belt, Verve Drakescale, Shallow Grave Drakescale
+1 defenses, attack rolls, and skills L2 Utility - Rub Some Dirt On It L2 Feat - Toughness +5 hps for level +5 from toughness (and ripple effects) Retrained Weapon Expertise (Heavy Blade) to Heavy Blade Expertise
"What? No way am I being Bravo 1. Bravo 1 is the first Bravo everyone's gonna target and as long as I get to choose, I'm not painting a big target on my back. I'm sticking back in the pack at Bravo 3 where things are gonna have to go through a few Bravos to get me. Why aren't I all the way in back? In case we're attacked from behind. Besides, if something from the front took out all the other Bravos, they'd probably toy with the last one. Thats just what you want, isn't it? For me to be some demon-beast chew toy. Well it ain't happening. I didn't make Seargent by being stupid, did I? No. It was cuz all the other Seargents had died. Idiots."
Wild Magic: - Chaos Burst: If my 1st attack roll in a round is even, +1 to AC until my SONT; If odd, make a saving throw. - Chaos Power: Gain a +3 bonus to arcane damage rolls. - Wild Soul: Roll 1d10, consult the Table in the PH2 for results. Gain resist 5 of that damage; can ignore an equal amount of resistance of that type. - Unfettered Power: When I roll a natural 20 on an attack, slide the target 1 square and knock prone; If natural 1, push each creture within 5 squares of me 1 square.
Acid Orb Standard * Acid, Arcane, Implement Special: Counts as a RBA. Ranged 20 OR Melee 1; +5 vs. Reflex; 1d10 + 8 acid damage.
Chaos Bolt Standard * Arcane, Implement, Psychic Ranged 10 OR Melee 1; +5 vs. Will; 1d10 + 8 psychic damage make a secondary attack if the roll is even. Secondary Attack: - Target: 1 creature within 5 squares of the last target hit by this power. - +5 vs. Will; 1d6 + 1 psychic damage; if the roll is even, repeat the attack until it is not even, or until I hit all enemies with this power.
Cloud of Darkness Minor Effect: Obscures all LoS except for me until my EONT; Blinds enemies within.
Darkfire Minor Ranged 10; +8 vs. Reflex; Target grants combat advantage, and cannot benefit from invisibility or concealment until my EONT
Explosive Pyre Standard * Arcane, Fire, Implement Ranged 10 OR Melee 1; +5 vs. Reflex; 2d8 + 8 fire damage; Until my SONT, any enemy that moves adjacent to the target takes 1d6 fire damage.
Chromatic Orb Standard * Arcane, Implement; Varies Ranged 10 OR MElee 1; +5 vs. Reflex; 3d10 + 8 damage; Roll a d6 and consult the following table: 1- Yellow: Radiant damage, target dazed (SE). 2- Red: Fire damage, each creature adjacent to the target takes 3 fire damage. 3- Green: Poison damage, ongoing 5 poison damage (SE). 4- Turquoise: Lightning damage, slide the target 3 squares. 5- Blue: Cold damage, target immobilized (SE). 6- Violet: Psychic damage, target takes a -2 to AC (SE). Miss: 1d10 damage. Roll a d6 and consult the table for the damage and effect.
Nefertiti grew up in the slums of a less common drow city. She had no surname, no noble house to call her own. Here on the streets, she could have died and not even the spiders that so dominated the shadows would have noticed. She grew up like any woman did on the streets of this place--working in a brothel for her pay and learning how to use the dagger. She left her home city to venture out to a better life. Leaving Menzoberrenzan had proven to be the worst thing that Nefertiti had ever done. She went totally and completely insane in the utter darkness of the Underdark. With no one to talk to, the looking threat of attack, the constant dripping of water, and the consant feel of the shifting shadows, Nefertiti had lost her sanity. But not enough to completely consume her. She left the Underdark and ventured into a strange forest. She came to understand the power she had inherited and used her madness for such gain.
"The twists and turns of the road are ever facilitated by those who hold power, but should not. They drive us into darkness when men do nothing, when bravery and honor is in short supply. They are a suffocating pall on the land, and only when brave men lift that pall can the better angels of men stride forward." --Captain Deudermont: "The Pirate King"
====== Created Without Using The Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ====== Riardon, level 4 Eladrin, Mage Specialist School: Enchantment Second Specialist School: Illusion Background: Eternal Seekers (+2 to Arcana)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES Str 8, Con 13, Dex 11, Int 19, Wis 10, Cha 19.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES Str 8, Con 13, Dex 10, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 16.
You gain a +1 feat bonus to attack rolls with Orbs. You also gain a +1 feat bonus to the number of squares you push, pull, or slide targets of attacks that you make with an orb
Encounter Arcane, Fire, Implement, Zone Standard ActionArea burst 1 within 10 Target: Each creature in burst Attack: +8 vs Ref Hit: 1d10+5 fire damage Effect: The burst creates a zone that lasts until the start of your next turn. Any creature that enters the zone or ends its turn there takes 5 fire damage. A creature can take this damage only once per turn.
CLASS FEATURES Class Feature: Enchantment AprenticeShow
Whenever one of your arcane enchantment powers allows you to push, pull, or slide a creature, the maximum distance of the forced movement is increased by 2
When you hit with an arcane illusion power, the target takes a -2 penalty to the next attack roll it makes against you before the end of your next turn.
At-WillArcane Minor ActionRanged 5 Target: One object or unoccupied square Effect: The target sheds bright light until the end of the encounter or until you use this power again. The light fills the target’s space and all squares within 4 squares of it. Putting out the light is a free action.
EncounterArcane, Nethermancy, Shadow Free ActionPersonal Trigger: You would make an Intimidate check. Effect: You instead make an Arcana check and use that result to determine the outcome of the Intimidate check.
EncounterArcane Free ActionPersonal Trigger: You make a Diplomacy check. Effect: You make an Arcana check instead, using that result to determine the outcome of the Diplomacy check.
At-WillArcane, Evocation, Force, Implement Standard ActionRanged 20 Target: One creature Effect: 7 force damage Special: If the implement used with this power has an enhancement bonus, add that bonus to the damage. In addition, you can use this power as a ranged basic attack.
At-WillArcane, Charm, Enchantment, Implement, Psychic Standard ActionClose blast 5 Target: Each enemy in the blast Attack: +8 vs. Will Hit: 4 psychic damage, and you push the target up to 5/6 squares.
At-WillArcane, Charm, Enchantment, Implement Standard ActionRanged 10 Target: One enemy Attack: +8 vs. Will Hit: Choose one of the following effects: * The target uses a free action to make a melee basic attack against a creature of your choice, with a +4 power bonus to the attack roll. * You slide the target up to 5/6 squares.
Mage encounter 1: Charm of Misplaced Wrath (Enchantment)(Default prepared spell)Show
EncounterArcane, Charm, Enchantment, Implement Standard ActionRanged 10 Target: One enemy Attack: +8 vs. Will Hit: You slide the target up to 5/6 squares. The target is then dazed until the end of your next turn. Effect: The target makes a basic attack against a creature of your choice as a free action. The basic attack gains a +2 power bonus to the damage roll.
EncounterArcane, Cold, Implement Standard ActionArea burst 1 within 10 squares Target: Each creature in burst Attack: +8 vs. Reflex Hit: 1d6 + 5 cold damage, and the target is knocked prone. Effect: The power’s area is difficult terrain until the end of your next turn. You can end this effect as a minor action.
DailyArcane, Force, Implement Minor Action Prerequisite: You must know the magic missile at-will wizard power. Effect: Until the end of the encounter, as a minor action once per turn, you can cast magic missile
DailyArcane, Charm, Enchantment, Implement Standard ActionArea burst 2 within 20 squares Target: Each creature in the burst Attack: +8 vs. Will Hit: The target is slowed (save ends). First Failed Saving Throw: The target is unconscious instead of slowed (save ends). Miss: The target is slowed (save ends).
Standard ActionRanged 10 Requirement: You must use this power outside a combat encounter. Target: One creature Effect: The target makes a saving throw. The saving throw has a +5 bonus if the target is the same level as you or a higher level. It takes a -5 penalty if the target is a lower level than you or does not have a level. If the saving throw succeeds, this power has no effect. The target is aware that you used this power on it if it is the same level as you or a higher level. Otherwise, it does not know you used this power. On a failed saving throw, the target treats you as a trusted friend for 1d4 hours. It truthfully answers all questions you ask and aids you in any way it can as long as doing so does not risk its life or property. While the target is under this effect, you gain a +5 power bonus to Bluff checks against it. This effect ends if you or any of your allies attacks the target or any of its allies. Afterward, the target doesn’t remember that you used this power on it.
Standard ActionArea burst 2 within 10 squares Target: Each creature in the burst Effect: Each target is slowed and can’t take opportunity actions or immediate actions until the end of your next turn.
Standard ActionArea burst 1 within 10 squares Target: Each creature in the burst Attack: +8 vs. Will Hit: The target is immobilized and takes a -4 penalty to attack rolls until the end of your next turn. Miss: The target is slowed until the end of your next turn.
Encounter (Free Action): Use this power when making a Strength attack, Strength check, or Strength-based skill check. Use your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifier in place of your Strength modifier to determine the result of the roll.
Time: 5 mins Component Cost: 10 gp Skill: Heal (No check) Detail: While performing this ritual, you and up to 5 participants in the ritual can choose to lose any number of healing surges and select another participant to gain an equal number of healing surges. No participant can have more healing surges than his or her daily maximum. Additionally, you or one participant must lose 1 healing surge when performing this ritual.
Time: 1 min Component Cost: 10 gp + 5gp focus Skill: Arcana (No check) Detail: For the ritual’s duration, whenever you make a Bluff check, you can roll twice and use either result. The ritual’s effect automatically ends when you roll initiative. Focus: A musical instrument you play as part of performing the ritual.
Component Cost: 1 healing surge Time: 1 standard action Duration: 10 minutes or until discharged Effect: You magically hold shut one nonmagical door, gate, window, shutter, or similar device. Your Arcana check sets the DC for the Athletics check or Thievery check needed to force the held portal open, which discharges the ritual. A creature with training in Arcana can instead make an Arcana check against the same DC to discharge the ritual.
Component Cost: 10 gp Time: 10 minutes Duration: Permanent Effect: You capture the writing from one source (a book, scroll, or tablet) and cause it to appear onto a special prepared paper, parchment, book, or some other similar item. This ritual copies up to 250 words of text, enough to fill one page with text. A copied illustration counts as a number of words proportional to the amount of the page the illustration requires. This ritual can be used to copy a ritual scroll, even if you have not mastered the ritual on the original scroll. Creating a ritual scroll in this manner takes twice as long as creating a ritual book but has the same cost (in addition to the component cost of this ritual).
Component Cost: 20 Time: 30 minutes Duration: Instantaneous Effect: You sit in meditation and let rumor drift into your mind, blown in on the wind of the community consciousness. Your Arcana check for this ritual counts as a Streetwise check for gathering information. Treat the Streetwise DC as 5 higher. You learn only information you could pick up by a normal use of the Streetwise skill.
Component Cost: Sepcial Time: 10 Minutes Duration: Permanent Effect: A single object that can fit in a 10-foot cube is completely repaired. The component cost is 20 percent of the item’s cost. In cases where you attempt to repair an item not on any price list, the DM determines the cost.
Component Cost: 10 gp Time: 10 minutes Duration: 24 hours Effect: When beginning the ritual, choose a language you have heard or a piece of writing you have seen within the past 24 hours. Using this ritual on a language you have heard allows you to understand it when spoken for the next 24 hours and, if your Arcana check result is 35 or higher, to speak the language fluently for the duration. Using this ritual on a language you have seen as a piece of writing allows you to read the language for the next 24 hours and, if your Arcana check result is 35 or higher, to write the language in its native script or in any other script you know for the duration. Using this ritual on a language you have both heard and seen as a piece of writing within the past 24 hours allows you to understand it in both forms for the next 24 hours, and an Arcana check result of 35 or higher allows you to speak and write the language.
Component Cost: Special Time: 1 hour Duratin: Permanent or until consumed Effect: You create a common potion or elixir of your level or lower. The ritual’s component cost is equal to the price of the potion or elixir you create.
Component Cost: 20 gp Time: 10 minutes Duration: 24 hours Effect: The Endure Elements ritual lets you designate up to five ritual participants, including yourself, who ignore penalties associated with extremes of nonmagical weather. An affected creature suffers no ill effects from ambient temperatures between –50 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and the creature’s equipment is likewise protected from the ravages of these temperatures and of precipitation
Component Cost: Special Time: 1 hour Duraiton: Permanent Effect: You touch a normal item and turn it into a magic item of your level or lower. The ritual’s component cost is equal to the price of the magic item you create. Alternatively, you can use the ritual to upgrade a common, uncommon, or rare item to a more powerful version of the item that is 5 levels higher. The new version must be your level or lower, and the component cost equals the difference in gold piece value between the old version and the new. You can also use this ritual to resize magic armor (for example, shrink a fire giant’s magic armor to fit a halfling). There is no component cost for this use.
Component Cost: 25 gp Time: 1 hour Duration: Permanent Effect: You transfer the magical qualities (properties, powers, and enhancement bonus) of an enchanted item into another object. You must maintain physical contact with both items for the duration of the ritual. The receiving item must occupy the same magic item slot (head, waist, armor, and so on) and be the same type (wand, rod, weapon, and so on) as the original item. The enchantment to be moved must be valid for the receiving item, so that you cannot transfer ranged weapon properties to melee weapons, cloth-only armor properties to chainmail, and so on. You can transfer an enchantment to an item that already contains a lower-level enchantment, but the receiving item’s previous magic is lost. For example, the enhancement bonus and power of a suit of +1 barkskin hide (5th level) could be placed into a suit of +1 curseforged scale (3rd level), but the scale armor’s existing power is lost in doing so. You cannot transfer an enchantment to an item that already has a higher-level enchantment.
====== Copy to Clipboard Will not work with this character ======
+4 hp surge value increased to 8 +1 all defenses +1 inherent bonus to Ref Fort and Will +1 all skills +1 to hit +1 initiative Add feat "Bardic Ritualist" along with rituals Glib Limeric and Comrades' Sucor. Gain Secondary School: Illusion
Riardon has been training as a mage for many years. His master a strict human who did not give his student much time for anything other than studies. Riardon often snuck out to walk around town and often found himself in the local tavern, talking with anyone who was around and making quick friends.
Last week, Riardon's master told him that there was nothing more he could teach him that he couldn't learn from practical experience and he sent Riardon out to seek knowledge in the real world.
Riardon is a tall slender Eladrin with a smiling face and a friendly face. He has blue eyes and long dirty blond hair worn in a ponytail. He wears simple traveling clothes with a longsword strapped to his side (thought the sword doesn't look like it's seen much use). He also carries a glowing orb.
• Ad Hominem— Attacking the person's circumstances, not addressing the argument. • Ad Hominem Abusive (Personal Attack)— Insulting the person, not addressing the argument. • Ad Hominem Tu Quoque— Saying the person's inconsistent, not addressing the argument. • Appeal to Authority/Belief/Common Practice/Consequence of a Belief/Emotion/Fear/Flattery/Novelty/Pity/Popularity/Ridicule/Spite/Tradition— Using emotion instead of Fact. • Bandwagon— Use of peer pressure. • Begging the Question— Assuming premises which haven't necessarily been agreed to. • Biased Sample— Using a sampling which may not properly represent the whole. • Burden of Proof— Shifting it to the wrong side. • Circumstantial Ad Hominem— Attacking the person's interests in supporting their argument. • Composition— Assuming that the whole has the same qualities as individual parts. • Confusing Cause & Effect— Assuming that one thing causes another because they appear in conjunction. • Division— Assuming that the individual parts have the same qualities as the whole. • False Dilemma— Assuming that only two options exist. • Gambler's Fallacy— Assuming the odds have changed because of past occurances • Genetic— Assuming a perceived defect in the origin of a claim is proof of a defect in the claim. • Guilt by Association— Attacking others who agree with the claim. • Hasty Generalization— Assuming a quality based on too small a sample size. • Ignoring the Common Cause— Assuming there is no outside cause of two connected things. • Middle Ground— Assuming the midpoint of two extremes must be correct. • Misleading Vividness— Assuming a colorful anecdote outweighs statistical evidence. • Poisoning the Well— Using unprovable claims about the person instead of addressing the argument. • Post Hoc— Assuming that something caused something else simply because it happened first. • Questionable Cause— Assuming that one thing causes another. • Red Herring— Using irrelevant evidence to divert a discussion. • Relativist Fallacy— Asserting that a claim may be true for some but not for the speaker. • Slippery Slope— Assuming the inevitability of one event based on another. • Special Pleading— Claiming exemption without justification. • Spotlight— Assuming individuals that get the most attention to be indicative of the whole. • Straw Man— Misrepresenting the opposing argument. • Two Wrongs Make a Right— Justifying something unethical/immoral as response or pre-emption to something else unethical/immoral.
Response to those who like to compare 4e to a Video GameShow
Also, I find that the "D&D 4e is like an MMO" argument is often a sign of someone who is deliberately being obtuse and/or is potentially ignorant of actual MMO play. As someone who only ended a 6-year World of Warcraft addiction a year ago, I can say that most of your bullet points actually don't match up to the truth of it.
In D&D 4e, you can choose a hybrid, you can choose to play one class as though it were another (people played Warlords as Bards frequently, when the edition first came out, and Rangers were refluffed to Monks), you can focus your class on its secondary role (a Warlock who is more controller than striker, for instance), you can multiclass, and you can create a particular concept (a mounted lancer, a charger, etc.) within the mechanics via feats, choice of powers, and choice of skills. You decide which set of stats you use--are you a Chaladin, Straladin, or Baladin?--and you have ultimate influence on how your character turns out in the end. Yes, powers require you to be using a particular weapon within your class's available selection, but the powers are not themselves tied to the gear. Powers tied to weapons or armor are typically powers that belong to the item, not to the character class that's most likely to use it.
Yes, there are only so many powers available, and these will be what you do in battle; this is all that the designers created. Yes, there is a time-frame in which they can be used; this has always been the case, even in the days of Vancian casting. Yes, there are suggested builds, but you can routinely ignore those if it pleases you; the only parts of a class you have to take are the class features, and even those have options at this point. But the only way that this can be considered at all conflatable with MMO character building/playing is if you are deliberately ignoring all of that.
In WoW, you choose a class and you're done. No multiclassing or hybridization, no way to mimic one class with careful building of a different one. There is a firm dividing line on what is a WoW class. No secondary roles or creative concepts, either; you're going to be what the class sets out to be, and that's it. You'll always have the same stat allocation as another of your class, because you get set numbers as you level up, and you've got at best four options--and that's only the Druid class--to build, and if you plan on running dungeons, particularly heroic level ones, or raiding, you'd better not even think of deviating from the single defined best build on the talent tree for what you want to do. It was only recently, with the complete tear-down and recreation of talent trees for Mists of Pandaria, that there was a concept of there being anything but the one best build that people who calculated such mechanical advantages (the folks on Elitist Jerks, for example), and the people who did things like achieve "World First" at various top-tier raids set precedent for.
Also, no class will ever not have a specific set of powers; all Priests in WoW have the same baseline, with deviation only based upon their talent tree specialization, where a D&D4e player could take whatever power in their class pleases them. Any Retribution Paladin will be the same as any other in terms of powers, because that is what a RetPally is. Any Assassination Rogue will always have the same powers as another, etc. All powers are always on specific cool-downs, but will always be there when they start a battle, where a 4e PC might enter an encounter with only At-Wills, or without their Daily powers due to what plot has done up until that point. Furthermore, no power that is not already specifically tied to an item will ever "require" you have that item, to my recollection. Classes get all their powers based on class; gear only gives bonuses to stats, possibly cuts down cast times for abilities or cooldowns, grants temporary extra bonuses to stats (the latter two most often on the raid tier equipment), and on rare occassions an extra power that may or may not be valuable, as some are only special effects instead of valuable abilities.
Most honest/open response on why DDN needs to be InclusiveShow
I've always felt it is in the best interests of D&D to be as inclusive across the playerbase as they can be and still have a game. I've never felt though that making a game that was inclusive within a group was very useful or even desirable. DM's and players can decide amongst themselves what options or restrictions they want for their games. I tend to lean to the DM to make most of those decisions but again that is a group specific thing.
Having said that. I get the distinct impression that there are a lot of players on these boards who come from groups that generally ruled against their own desires. It's almost like they are an oppressed minority from a gaming perspective. I also get the impression that they tend to advocate against things that if available their fellow group members might like and vote them down on.
Do a lot of you feel this way?
Just for clarification...here are some examples... 1. Alignment restrictions as an option. 2. Alignment Mechanics 3. Martial healing 4. Races being included or not.
I know my perspective is not that I often play at tables where my likes are not represented. Instead, my perspective comes from the many years I spent being a bad DM. I was a bad DM because my guidance came from the books, and the books gave bad advice. The books told me that alignment was a useful approach to roleplaying, so I went with it even though it felt kind of weird to me. Now I know that, at least in my style of running games, alignment destroys rp. I trusted the books to give good advice, and it messed up my game. Now I'm much more mature as a DM, so I know how to take advice with a grain of salt. And I still learn new stuff every session I run.
I don't want future DMs to go through my problems again. There's a big enough DM shortage as it is. DMing well is hard.
The biggest thing I had to unlearn in my process of becoming a good DM was the idea that the game is a simulation of a world. I understand many DMs prefer a more simulationist approach, although I am always skeptical simply because I would have said the same thing until I learned and grew as a DM. This doesn't mean their approach is completely invalid, but it still gives me a personal twinge when I see a regression back to 3e era sim style gaming.
I also have noticed many groups where one or two old-school players run a whole group's playstyle because the newer players aren't even aware there are other ways of doing things. The newer players tell me stories of things they hated in the session, and I end up explaining to them how those things they hate are very fixable, and in fact are fixed in the newer edition of the game their older players have told them is terrible.
In regard to things like martial healing, I don't think it's necessary for it to be in the game for the game to be fun. However, the attitude that says martial healing is terrible and shouldn't exist is an attitude that, to me, reveals a wrongheaded approach to the game. Therefore, my fight for it to be an option is to help legitimize the more narrative approach that I think is what most players want, but many don't know is possible, because they've never been exposed to it.
Alright, now that the character info is out of the way, I just want to say three things:
1. Thoradin Brewfist is one of the coolest names I've ever heard.
2. I'm liking the potential interplay between our PCs, roleplaying-wise. I mean, look at the range of personalities we have here.
3. I just want to remind the DM to keep in mind that Wil Kross can reroll monster knowledge checks (Adventurer's Scion and all). So if the first roll fails, you know what to do.
• Ad Hominem— Attacking the person's circumstances, not addressing the argument. • Ad Hominem Abusive (Personal Attack)— Insulting the person, not addressing the argument. • Ad Hominem Tu Quoque— Saying the person's inconsistent, not addressing the argument. • Appeal to Authority/Belief/Common Practice/Consequence of a Belief/Emotion/Fear/Flattery/Novelty/Pity/Popularity/Ridicule/Spite/Tradition— Using emotion instead of Fact. • Bandwagon— Use of peer pressure. • Begging the Question— Assuming premises which haven't necessarily been agreed to. • Biased Sample— Using a sampling which may not properly represent the whole. • Burden of Proof— Shifting it to the wrong side. • Circumstantial Ad Hominem— Attacking the person's interests in supporting their argument. • Composition— Assuming that the whole has the same qualities as individual parts. • Confusing Cause & Effect— Assuming that one thing causes another because they appear in conjunction. • Division— Assuming that the individual parts have the same qualities as the whole. • False Dilemma— Assuming that only two options exist. • Gambler's Fallacy— Assuming the odds have changed because of past occurances • Genetic— Assuming a perceived defect in the origin of a claim is proof of a defect in the claim. • Guilt by Association— Attacking others who agree with the claim. • Hasty Generalization— Assuming a quality based on too small a sample size. • Ignoring the Common Cause— Assuming there is no outside cause of two connected things. • Middle Ground— Assuming the midpoint of two extremes must be correct. • Misleading Vividness— Assuming a colorful anecdote outweighs statistical evidence. • Poisoning the Well— Using unprovable claims about the person instead of addressing the argument. • Post Hoc— Assuming that something caused something else simply because it happened first. • Questionable Cause— Assuming that one thing causes another. • Red Herring— Using irrelevant evidence to divert a discussion. • Relativist Fallacy— Asserting that a claim may be true for some but not for the speaker. • Slippery Slope— Assuming the inevitability of one event based on another. • Special Pleading— Claiming exemption without justification. • Spotlight— Assuming individuals that get the most attention to be indicative of the whole. • Straw Man— Misrepresenting the opposing argument. • Two Wrongs Make a Right— Justifying something unethical/immoral as response or pre-emption to something else unethical/immoral.
Response to those who like to compare 4e to a Video GameShow
Also, I find that the "D&D 4e is like an MMO" argument is often a sign of someone who is deliberately being obtuse and/or is potentially ignorant of actual MMO play. As someone who only ended a 6-year World of Warcraft addiction a year ago, I can say that most of your bullet points actually don't match up to the truth of it.
In D&D 4e, you can choose a hybrid, you can choose to play one class as though it were another (people played Warlords as Bards frequently, when the edition first came out, and Rangers were refluffed to Monks), you can focus your class on its secondary role (a Warlock who is more controller than striker, for instance), you can multiclass, and you can create a particular concept (a mounted lancer, a charger, etc.) within the mechanics via feats, choice of powers, and choice of skills. You decide which set of stats you use--are you a Chaladin, Straladin, or Baladin?--and you have ultimate influence on how your character turns out in the end. Yes, powers require you to be using a particular weapon within your class's available selection, but the powers are not themselves tied to the gear. Powers tied to weapons or armor are typically powers that belong to the item, not to the character class that's most likely to use it.
Yes, there are only so many powers available, and these will be what you do in battle; this is all that the designers created. Yes, there is a time-frame in which they can be used; this has always been the case, even in the days of Vancian casting. Yes, there are suggested builds, but you can routinely ignore those if it pleases you; the only parts of a class you have to take are the class features, and even those have options at this point. But the only way that this can be considered at all conflatable with MMO character building/playing is if you are deliberately ignoring all of that.
In WoW, you choose a class and you're done. No multiclassing or hybridization, no way to mimic one class with careful building of a different one. There is a firm dividing line on what is a WoW class. No secondary roles or creative concepts, either; you're going to be what the class sets out to be, and that's it. You'll always have the same stat allocation as another of your class, because you get set numbers as you level up, and you've got at best four options--and that's only the Druid class--to build, and if you plan on running dungeons, particularly heroic level ones, or raiding, you'd better not even think of deviating from the single defined best build on the talent tree for what you want to do. It was only recently, with the complete tear-down and recreation of talent trees for Mists of Pandaria, that there was a concept of there being anything but the one best build that people who calculated such mechanical advantages (the folks on Elitist Jerks, for example), and the people who did things like achieve "World First" at various top-tier raids set precedent for.
Also, no class will ever not have a specific set of powers; all Priests in WoW have the same baseline, with deviation only based upon their talent tree specialization, where a D&D4e player could take whatever power in their class pleases them. Any Retribution Paladin will be the same as any other in terms of powers, because that is what a RetPally is. Any Assassination Rogue will always have the same powers as another, etc. All powers are always on specific cool-downs, but will always be there when they start a battle, where a 4e PC might enter an encounter with only At-Wills, or without their Daily powers due to what plot has done up until that point. Furthermore, no power that is not already specifically tied to an item will ever "require" you have that item, to my recollection. Classes get all their powers based on class; gear only gives bonuses to stats, possibly cuts down cast times for abilities or cooldowns, grants temporary extra bonuses to stats (the latter two most often on the raid tier equipment), and on rare occassions an extra power that may or may not be valuable, as some are only special effects instead of valuable abilities.
Most honest/open response on why DDN needs to be InclusiveShow
I've always felt it is in the best interests of D&D to be as inclusive across the playerbase as they can be and still have a game. I've never felt though that making a game that was inclusive within a group was very useful or even desirable. DM's and players can decide amongst themselves what options or restrictions they want for their games. I tend to lean to the DM to make most of those decisions but again that is a group specific thing.
Having said that. I get the distinct impression that there are a lot of players on these boards who come from groups that generally ruled against their own desires. It's almost like they are an oppressed minority from a gaming perspective. I also get the impression that they tend to advocate against things that if available their fellow group members might like and vote them down on.
Do a lot of you feel this way?
Just for clarification...here are some examples... 1. Alignment restrictions as an option. 2. Alignment Mechanics 3. Martial healing 4. Races being included or not.
I know my perspective is not that I often play at tables where my likes are not represented. Instead, my perspective comes from the many years I spent being a bad DM. I was a bad DM because my guidance came from the books, and the books gave bad advice. The books told me that alignment was a useful approach to roleplaying, so I went with it even though it felt kind of weird to me. Now I know that, at least in my style of running games, alignment destroys rp. I trusted the books to give good advice, and it messed up my game. Now I'm much more mature as a DM, so I know how to take advice with a grain of salt. And I still learn new stuff every session I run.
I don't want future DMs to go through my problems again. There's a big enough DM shortage as it is. DMing well is hard.
The biggest thing I had to unlearn in my process of becoming a good DM was the idea that the game is a simulation of a world. I understand many DMs prefer a more simulationist approach, although I am always skeptical simply because I would have said the same thing until I learned and grew as a DM. This doesn't mean their approach is completely invalid, but it still gives me a personal twinge when I see a regression back to 3e era sim style gaming.
I also have noticed many groups where one or two old-school players run a whole group's playstyle because the newer players aren't even aware there are other ways of doing things. The newer players tell me stories of things they hated in the session, and I end up explaining to them how those things they hate are very fixable, and in fact are fixed in the newer edition of the game their older players have told them is terrible.
In regard to things like martial healing, I don't think it's necessary for it to be in the game for the game to be fun. However, the attitude that says martial healing is terrible and shouldn't exist is an attitude that, to me, reveals a wrongheaded approach to the game. Therefore, my fight for it to be an option is to help legitimize the more narrative approach that I think is what most players want, but many don't know is possible, because they've never been exposed to it.
Arcane
