October errata: Spirit Companions, Cunning Sneaks, and little else

The days of world-changing errata seem to be coming to an end. When the Essentials line was announced, we were told that we'd have a few months of drastic rules updates to clean up the game for the new books, and a much lower rate of changes, afterwards. Having read the September advance, I was hoping that this month would bring us one last glorious round of fixes, addressing major stuff like the psionic power point system.

Well, I was wrong. The latest document only includes a handful of changes of note, plus a bunch of typos, and I'm inclined to think that this is the kind of revisions we should expect in the future. That is, apart from the stuff that is directly being rewritten on the Essentials books.

Anyways, here are the two relevant fixes:

- Shaman spirit companions can no longer be dismissed and conjured again with a single minor action. Placing spirits on the battlefield isn't completely trivial anymore, and should be a bit more interesting from now on.

- The rogue Cunning Sneak class feature now works with any kind of movement, not just move actions. Move-related attacks should now be much more useful for stealthy rogues.

And that's it. I'd still like to see an official document with the changes to classic monster stats, but they may be waiting for the release of Monster Vault, for that.

Read More......

Essentials spoilers: At-Wills, racial powers and... a solution for Expertise?

As I mentioned yesterday, some bits of preview information about D&D Essentials have been leaked by the community manager at wizards’ site. We have a couple of at-will attacks (or rather, their equivalent for Essential fighters and rogues), a new racial power, and a humble feat that may be a sign of deep changes in design - not many things, but definitely solid stuff. Here’s my opinion on them.

To continue with yesterday’s topic, we’ll start with the Fighter material. There’s a new at-will stance called Defend the Line that is, perhaps, the strongest one revealed to date. It slows enemies hit in melee, providing some crucial movement denial to make up for the loss of Combat Superiority, as well as having amazing synergy with your opportunity attacks and Battle Guardian feature. In fact, I think this stance works better outside of your turn than for your regular attacks, so there should be some fun tension and stance switching games. I can’t imagine skipping this one while building a knight.

Moving on to the Essential Rogue, we have a very nice Rogue Trick called Unbalancing Trick. It features a useful movement effect, and a devastating attack modifier - a 2 square shift and knocking prone on melee hits, respectively. Both parts of the power turn it into an instant classic, even though it isn’t as absurdly strong as it might seem at first glance. This is because the most effective application of melee proning, shifting 1 square so that you are outside of enemy reach but just short of charge range, is not possible this way! As good as Rogue Tricks are, they require you to move before attacking, so your target will be able to stand up and attack you back unless you have reach - which is a possibility, with certain Spiked Chain feats, or perhaps a polearm, if you have the strength and the proficiency to attack with it, and don’t mind giving up on Sneak Attack. Finally, shifting 2 squares is very conveniently the exact distance required to charge an enemy, even if you start off adjacent to it, so this could enable some cool charging builds.

The new racial power shown is interesting in that it belong to humans - a race previously notorious for its lack of racial powers. Since Essential races will present alternate rules rather than replacing the Player’s Handbook versions, this probably means replacing a racial feature - such as the human’s third at-will attack. It wasn’t very clear how this extra at-will would interact with fighter stances or rogue tricks, and this might be our answer - it won’t. Anyway, the power in question is called Heroic Effort, and it provides a moderate bonus to an attack or save, once per encounter. It’s usually an improvement over Elven Accuracy, and that is to say a lot - for many classes, it’s hard to think of a reason for giving up on the extra at-will, but Heroic Effort could be that good. It also fits the existing mechanics for human characters, since one-shot attack bonuses and enhanced defenses were a recurring theme. I like this one, though I personally find the third at-will even cooler.

And finally, we have the feat that might change the game as we know it. Or maybe not, but I suspect that it is the sign that one of the most annoying (and houseruled) game elements in 4E is getting fixed, at last. Let me explain. This is the feat in question:

Bludgeon Expertise: +1 feat bonus to attack rolls with hammers and maces. In addition, any time you push with a weapon attack using a mace or hammer, you gain a +1 feat bonus to that push.

The cool, and potentially game-changing thing about Bludgeon Expertise is that it’s stronger than Weapon Expertise and similar feats, it has an interesting effect, and it provides a meaningful choice. I have explained in length why I think that current Expertise feats are bad for the game, in that they are boring, but virtually mandatory: you will spend a valuable feat slot to gain a +1 to hit (make it +2 or +3 at higher levels) sometime during your career, because it is so effective, even if it is utterly bland and involves no decision whatsoever.

Enter Bludgeon Expertise. I think it is safe to assume that this is just one among a series of feats that provide the bonuses to hit usually associated with Expertise (heck, it even shares the name!) in addition to some other kind of effect that would usually be worth a feat by itself - in this case, extra pushing. I bet there’s one to cover most (if not all) weapon categories, and probably implements too. Admittedly, we also have to imagine that this feat text is incomplete, so that it actually gains the additional bonuses at paragon and epic tier - otherwise it would all fall apart, as people would retrain to the generic feats at those levels. But take all those assumptions, and think about the result: Expertise could work.

Having a single feat that you need to take, no questions asked, is a terrible think. But make it into a full category of different feats that grant the required effect for free, on top of something unique and worth a feat by itself, and it all clicks. It may not be complete freedom, but it’s a kind of freedom I can live with. I think it would be better if the feats were not as strongly tied to your weapon or implement choice as they seem, and the game could actually afford some kind of overlap, with more general Expertise feats as well as weapon-specific ones - the really strong benefit is the bonus to hit, which doesn’t stack, so there would be no real harm in taking two such feats. We’ll have to see the whole range of feats to know how well this solution works in practice, but I must say, this looks great.

Read More......

D&D Essentials preview: The rogue

D&D Essentials class previews

Introduction
Cleric - Fighter (Knight) - Fighter (Slayer) - Rogue -Wizard
Druid - Paladin Ranger (Hunter) Ranger (Scout) - Warlock

The last of the four character classes to be revamped in Heroes of the Fallen Lands has been revealed today. The Essential version of the Rogue is known as the Thief (in yet another nod to old school D&D fans), and shares many of the mechanical innovations first seen in the Essential Fighter: a new power progression that lacks dailies and is based on applying modifiers to your basic attacks, and a wider range of class features, some of which are acquired at higher levels. We have been able to catch a glimpse of some of these powers and features, including interesting details such as the rediscovered ability to wield shortbows.

Shortbow rogues like Haley couldn’t easily be implemented in 4E, but Essentials will change that.

Rogue powers

The core of the Essential Rogue gameplay consists in a series of powers that alter basic attacks, resulting in effects that are very similar to those of an at-will attack. This follows a similar principle as the Essentials Fighter, though instead of stances, thieves get Rogue Tricks. These are movement actions that grant some kind of movement and boost your attacks for a turn. You start off with two of these but, unlike at-will attacks from a conventional class, you learn more as you level - and at a faster level than an Essential Fighter, too. So far, we have seen that extra tricks become available at levels 4 and 7, and it’s likely that more will come up at higher tiers.

From the three tricks we have seen, it looks like the attack effects won’t deviate much from existing at-wills. Tumbling Trick is a Cleave-like trick to deal Strength damage to a different adjacent enemy. Ambush Trick is a very welcome addition to the rogue’s arsenal, as provides an easy way to gain combat advantage against isolated enemies at short range. By comparison, Feinting Trick looks quite unimpressive, as it provides a bonus to damage based on your Charisma whenever you lack combat advantage - typically, you’d be better off dealing sneak attack damage with Ambush Trick .

More interesting is the way you can get different types of movement from your tricks: some of them simply let you move your speed, but Tumbling Trick actually allows you to shift 3 squares, which is quite an awesome thing to do at-will. Other powers should do even cooler things, such as “run along a wall or shift past an enemy”. It’s clear that Rogue Tricks have been inspired by the monk’s Full Disciplines, with the advantage that they are much more straightforward and easy to grasp. I really like this new emphasis on mobility for strikers, since it’s a feature of the role which is often forgotten in favour of raw damage.

The existence of Rogue Tricks has serious gameplay implications. First of all, there is a strong incentive for rogues to move before attacking. Each trick has a single movement type, so you’d really want a power selection that includes at least some tricks that shift, and some that move your speed. And your move requirements will influence the kind of attack you end up making. For example, Ambush Trick is an excellent attack but it doesn’t allow to shift, so if you have an enemy adjacent, you can only use it to attack that enemy in melee, sacrificing movement for that turn. It also means that rogues will be seriously hindered by the dazed condition, as it prevents them from activating their tricks.

Then there is the fact that you are actually using basic attacks instead of powers. It is unconfirmed, though extremely likely, that the first level class feature Weapon Finesse allows the use of Dexterity for melee basic attacks with light weapons. This means you can charge, make opportunity attacks and benefit from other kinds of effects that provide basic attacks without needing to take the Melee Training feat. However, all of these abilities may not be available from level 1 - there is another feature called Improved Finesse at level 9, so it’s possible that Weapon Finesse only works for attacks made during your turn, and Improved Finesse unlocks the rest. Anyway, Melee Training is a great feat to have for free, even by installments, and it only gets better when your basic attacks can benefit from Rogue Tricks and other class features. Also, you should keep in mind that Dexterity is now an option but no longer a requirement, and that you can have melee rogues attacking with Strength out of the box, or even with other abilities like Charisma, if you do take Melee Training after all.

As with fighters, rogues also have some special rules replacing encounter attacks. Instead of a choice of encounter powers, they get a power called Backstab at level 1, which can be used once per encounter when you have combat advantage and activates before rolling for an attack. It grants a hefty bonus to hit plus some damage, in addition to the effects you may have gained from a Rogue Trick. It is simple yet effective, easily outperforming most average rogue encounters (though not the best ones). Another difference with conventional classes is that they don’t seem to gain additional encounter attacks at levels 3 and 7. However, there is a feature called Improved Backstab, which should provide additional uses of Backstab in some way, maybe through a recharge mechanic.

Rogue weaponry

A defining quality of the Rogue class is their favoured weaponry, as they excel in the use of light weapons that other characters would dismiss due to their low damage. In game terms, this means that most rogue powers and special abilities specifically restrict the weapons they work with, as otherwise most players would go for the less elegant but far more deadly strategy of backstabbing with greataxes. The Essential Rogue handles this a bit differently.

None of the ‘attacks’ (that is, Rogue Tricks or Backstab) have any kind of weapon restriction. Rogues are only limited by their weapon proficiencies and the Sneak Attack feature. These have suffered slight changes, in that Shuriken proficiency has disappeared (not that many characters ever used them), seemingly replaced by shortbows, which make a triumphal comeback to the class. Another subtle difference is that Sneak Attack now works specifically with Hand Crossbows, instead of crossbows of any kind, as Superior Crossbows were excellent (if un-roguish) the weapon of choice of many sniper characters.

What this means for the Essentials rogue is that you can actually use a greataxe to Backstab, after all - it’s only the Sneak Attack (and probably Weapon Finesse) that won’t work. In practice, you’ll always want to Sneak Attack when possible, even with a measly dagger, but it would be possible to take a massive weapon (a Greatbow at range, or a Fullblade in melee if you are a Strength rogue or have Weapon Training) for backup. Feinting Trick could be a particularly interesting trick for these situations.

More changes

Other tidbits that I have collected from the preview article and forum posts are the following:
- Sneak Attack now works 1/turn instead of 1/round, meaning that rogues can have huge opportunity attacks, as well as becoming a Warlord’s best friend. Designer Mike Mearls has confirmed this as intended and will also apply to non-Essentials rogues, but other classes such as Warlocks and Rangers will NOT be getting a similar treatment.
- Feats and items that provide huge boosts to basic attacks (such as Deft Blade, from Martial Power 2, or Eagle Eye Googles, from Adventurer’s Vault) are being looked at for future errata, as they interact insanely with Essentials classes (as well as Seekers, though nobody cares about those).
- Class features include versions of First Strike (available at level 1) and Weapon Talent (at level 2), presumably granting similar benefits as the features of the same name for conventional rogues.
- Among the new class features are Skill Mastery (gained at level 3), Cunning Escape (level 5), and Combat Readiness (level 9).

Conclusion

Although Essentials rogues look as weird as the new Fighters, they seem a bit cooler to me. This may be in part because the Fighter preview was missing many important features (including the mark punishment), so we don’t really know how it will play out. In the case of the rogue, even though it still isn’t complete, the previewed rules are enough to build a playable character - and it looks like such character could be quite a blast to play. In addition, Rogue Tricks look more interesting than stances, offering variety, mobility, and a few strategic dilemmas. Overall, this is a class I’m looking forward to play.

Introduction
Cleric - Fighter (Knight) - Fighter (Slayer) - Rogue -Wizard
Druid - Paladin Ranger (Hunter) Ranger (Scout) - Warlock

Read More......

Inglourious basterd sword rogues

Today in DDI we have another marvelous article by Mike Mearls, who redefined the Wizard class only two days ago. It's devoted to the Rogue, and only three pages long, but the density of good options is such that its impact on the class is almost comparable to that of Martial Power.

It's not so much power creep as the complete eradication of anything resembling filler material - almost every power and feat presented here is playable, and some are serious contenders as the best ones in their slots. This has a lot of merit, as I think rogues are one of the most difficult classes to design encounter powers for, and the only way to make such attacks shine seemed to be turning them into minor or immediate actions. Every attack in this article costs a standard action, and still they manage to be awesome.

The article is themed around Duelist Rogues, who are focused in melee and like isolating enemies and fighting them without support, something that was previously almost impossible to pull off with the class. Crucially, there are now feats and powers that allow Sneak Attacking in melee without flanking. A new at-will called Duelist's Flurry slides and deals this damage at the cost of losing the weapon damage die, making it the perfect backup power. Melee rogues will still want to flank (attacking with other at-wills) in order to deal as much damage as possible, but having this as an option is a good safeguard for the times it isn't possible to do so. The power will also see ocasional use even with combat advantage, just because of the slide. The other Sneak Attack enabler is a feat called Flash of the Blade, which works only with rapiers and allows using the class feature if both you and the target have nobody else adjacent.

It's a good thing that rapiers got an important boost, as they are getting fierce competitors in the high-damage rogue weapon department. In what is likely the most significant contribution in this article, the new feat Versatile Duelist allows all (one handed) heavy blades to be used with both rogue powers and Sneak Attack, and grants proficiency with the military ones to boot. This means that a rogue can now use a Longsword as easily as a Rapier (at the cost of a feat), and more importantly that Bastard Swords (and their sweet d10 damage) also become an option, even if they cost a whooping two feats.

As for the power selection, most are variations on two main mechanics. The first one is granting additional movement (shifting a good deal of squares) and significant bonuses to defenses when you attack, helping the squishy rogues to actually survive when isolating their prey. The other one puts the rogue in a sort of temporary defensive stance for a turn, enabling counterattacks against enemies targeting the rogue, or just passing by. A power that stands out is the Level 5 daily Duelist's Demand which, if it works, makes an opponent incapable of escaping from you and granting you combat advantage for the rest of the encounter! This is probably the best 'duel' style power I have seen to date.

A must read for anyone remotely related to a Rogue.

Read More......

Is Ruthless Ruffian a pointless feature?

New class builds introduced in Martial Power have had different degrees of success. The fighter ones (Battlerager Vigor and Tempest Technique) have been tremendously popular, but also rather overpowered, eventually requiring significant errata. I have talked a lot about Beastmaster Rangers (finding them cool, yet mechanically cumbersome). Today, I'll discuss Ruthless Ruffian, the rogue class feature, which I find guilty of the often overlooked sins of being weak and slightly unexciting.

Generally speaking, mediocre stuff doesn't hurt the game much, as long as there are viable alternatives. There are dozens of hideous feats and powers out there that will never see any kind of errata - they just get ignored. However, as you go to higher level (and scarcer) game elements, the impact of bad options increases. An all around bad character class (and, to a lesser degree, a race) can't be ignored that easily, and is a significant problem. Class builds are just a step below - they should all be at least playable.
To be fair, Ruthless Ruffian is not a terrible feature, but it doesn't provide anything that you can't get elsewhere more effectively, and with less restrictions. In short, it plays like a worse version of Brutal Scoundrel. Its benefits are an expanded selection of weapons, and a situational damage bonus. I'll discuss each one separately.

Weapon selection

Ruthless Ruffians have the ability to use maces and clubs as rogue weapons, which is a nice option flavorwise, but not so much from a mechanical point of view. Clubs are downright terrible weapons, and although maces are comparable to short swords, they are outclassed by daggers, and offer no superior weapon equivalent of the rapier. Without some additional incentive, there is little reason for a rogue to choose a mace as a weapon, other than looking cool (which it admittedly does).
To sum up, the advantages of wielding maces are mostly aesthetical, as they are usually weaker than more traditional rogue weapons.

Damage bonus

Ruthless Ruffians get the same extra damage as Brutal Scoundrels, but they have to jump through many hoops for it. The limited weapon selection results in less accuracy and prevents using ranged attacks, which would be bad enough. But it is the restriction of using just powers with rattling what kills the feature, in my opinion. Simply put, there are not enough such powers to make building and playing a Ruffian a varied an fun experience.
Even if there are powers with rattling at almost every level, there is usually just one option for any given level, and very rarely more than two. Thus, rogues of this build will usually be undistinguishable from one another. Also, since Disheartening Strike is the only rattling at-will, you will tend to use it over and over, ignoring the other one. Not what I'd call a compelling strategy.

An alternate version

Though I don't like how the feature as implemented plays out, I think that just a few tweaks would be enough to make it worthwhile, and maybe even fun. Maces as rogue weapons are an interesting addition, but their use should be optional (and rewarded with some small bonus) rather than forced. Likewise, the focus on the Rattling mechanic could benefit of a bit of flexibility - a way to use the occasional non-rattling power without feeling penalized for it would be very welcome.

Ruthless Ruffian:You are proficient with the club and the mace, and you can use those weapons with Sneak Attack or any rogue power or rogue paragon path power that normally requires a light blade.
When you make an attack, if the attack has the rattling keyword or if the target is taking the attack penalty from one of your rattling attacks,add your Strength modifier to the damage roll.
When you hit with a club or a mace, if the target is taking the attack penalty from one of your rattling attacks, that penalty lasts until the end of your next turn (even if the attack doesn't have the rattling keyword).

Related feats

Ruthless Injury is a feat from Martial Power which grants Ruffians a highly situational benefit. I'd add the following line to the feat: "In addition, when you attack a target suffering any of those conditions with a club or a mace, add a +2 bonus to the damage roll".

The strength-charisma mixup

One of the weirdest things about Ruthless Ruffian is the disconnect between the ability requirements of the class feature itself, and of the powers depending on that feature. On the one hand, you get a bonus to damage based on your Strength, on the other, Charisma is the only secondary ability used in Ruthless Ruffian powers, or powers with rattling, for that matter. The (rarely reliable) build advice recommends "Charisma follows as a close second, essential for getting your way by using Intimidate. Strength comes in third; it’s useful in delivering brutal attacks". Nevertheless, you will almost always prefer to have as much strength as possible, and only look to Cha when assigning excedent points.

I think this should be changed, either by having the feature use Cha, or by changing the powers to trigger off Str. Even though it's easier to go for the feature, I feel the right choice is to go for Strength, and revise the powers. If you prefer to use Charisma, my proposed version of the feature might not be the best choice, as it would lead to really high damage numbers in scenarios with high charisma, Sly Flourish, and the damage bonus from rattling.

Either way, this is the list of affected powers (i.e. those with rattling or Ruthless Ruffian bonuses that key off Cha)

- Terminating Threat
- Defender's Cohort
- Compel the Craven
- Stinging Squall
- Stupefying Violence

Read More......

D&D class overview (III): The awesome classes

Having determined what is good and bad in a D&D class, we are ready to start applying all this theory. Starting today, I will briefly go over the nine currently complete classes (the ones in the first Player's Handbook and the Swordmage from the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide) and point out where I think they fail, and where they offer something unique that hasn't been exploited.

I have ordered the classes in three tiers, from the ones less in need of changes to those that need them most. The first category is composed by the rogue, swordmage and warlord.

Maybe I should have put today's classes on top.

These three classes are, in my opinion, the most polished ones, and I consider them a good reference for how I'd like other classes to be. They fulfill their function, offer plenty of options and use original and interesting mechanics.

Rogues work amazingly well for a class designed around a single mechanic such as Combat Advantage. With a reward as huge as Sneak Attack, gaining CA becomes the focus of the rogue's game, encouraging movement and use of skills, and conditioning target selection. It's a very interactive process. I have some concerns about the playability of ranged, stealthy rogues, as I find the Stealth skill a bit daunting even after the errata, though I admit I haven't seen it in play yet.

Another success in rogue design is the requirement of light blades to enable powers and features. I am often wary of such practices, as they tend to feel arbitrary and pointless - like clerics of old editions being forbidden the use of sharp weapons, or druids that could only wield wooden armament and, for some reason, scimitars. But, in this case, the technique works together with flavor and mechanics, turning rogues into masters of weapons that less nimble hands would find weak.

While there are many good things to say about the Swordmage design, it is the class features, and Swordmage Aegis in particular, that stand out. I have previously stated that having less than three combat related features is a bad proposition - yet Swordmages show how to get away with just two. Of course, it helps that Aegis is a class-defining feature that just has it all: it varies with build, powers off secondary attributes, interacts with many powers and is plain awesome. My only is a slight imbalance between the two kinds of Aegis: Assault is cool, but Shielding is sickeningly effective.

Although the leader role derives from the clerics in early editions of D&D, it is the Warlord who best defines what leading means. We are talking of a class whose only special power is commanding others, here. I love how the warlord channels his powers through other characters' actions, involving himself (having to get into melee range, or hit someone) and increasing the sensation of teamwork and camaraderie.

The most important warlord contributions to the game are exploring the vast potential of tactical movement in powers, and defining basic attacks. While melee basic attacks, as defined in the core rules, serve only for charges and opportunity attacks, the warlord gives them a new purpose by being an essential part in many of his own powers. Sadly, not all characters have decent basic attacks, and the end result is strongly dependent on party composition. Ranged basic attacks are a different animal, and I think they could have been given more support, as warlords have few ways of interacting with them and, aside from a few very powerful magic items, they seem to lack a clear purpose in the game.

NEXT: The not-so-awesome classes!
Read More......