Need a 'ranged' weapon for my Warden.

[Minifig]

So I'm looking over my character:

Level 2
Wilden, Warden
Build: Wild Warden
Guardian Might: Wildblood
Hardy Form: Hardy Form Fortitude
Background: Akanûl (Akanûl Benefit)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 18, Con 13, Dex 10, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 8.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 18, Con 11, Dex 10, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8.


AC: 19 Fort: 17 Reflex: 13 Will: 15
HP: 37 Surges: 10 Surge Value: 9

TRAINED SKILLS
Nature +11, Heal +9, Perception +9, Dungeoneering +9

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics -2, Arcana +1, Bluff, Diplomacy, Endurance -1, History +1, Insight +4, Intimidate, Religion +1, Stealth, Streetwise, Thievery -2, Athletics +2

FEATS
Level 1: Weapon Expertise (Heavy Blade)
Level 2: Skill Power

POWERS
Skill Power: Nature Sense
Warden at-will 1: Weight of Earth
Warden at-will 1: Earth Shield Strike
Warden encounter 1: Wildblood Frenzy
Warden daily 1: Form of Winter's Herald
Warden utility 2: Nature's Abundance

ITEMS
Adventurer's Kit, Heavy Shield, Hide Armor, Potion of Healing (heroic tier), Khopesh, Frost Khopesh +1,

And while I love him the way he's laid out..

I need a reach out and smack someone attack though.

I took a crossbow, and I realized that's 1d8.. and its 3vsAC... which.. well.. when you look at it like that.. 3vsAC, it's pretty pathetic. .. so it'd be better not to take it at all.

I was then looking at Halberd, which is 1d10, and it has a reach of two.. but it's also a two handed weapon so I'd have to sheath my Khopesh and my Shield, and then reach out and smack someone with it.. then repull out my shield and khopesh.. so it's looking pretty.. meh.

... I hope you're starting to see my problem..

I just want something to hit something from a distance, that I won't have to really retrieve, but it'll smack them to get the attention and say 'HEY.. HIT ME!' instead of say .. the rogue or worse.. the cleric.

Any ideas?

 

[NMcCoy]

If you're not set on the Khopesh, easiest solution is to switch to a heavy thrown weapon. (All magic thrown weapons return to the wielder after resolving the attack.)

 

[Mad Hamish]

Javelins, buy a couple and then later buy a +1 one so it returns.
They're heavy thrown so it's a str attack.

Generally you're better off moving to engage an enemy than attacking at range
You're always going to have the problem of changing weapons as a board and sword character but at least with a javelin you don't need to worry about the shield.

 

[Minifig]

Javelins, buy a couple and then later buy a +1 one so it returns.
They're heavy thrown so it's a str attack.

Generally you're better off moving to engage an enemy than attacking at range
You're always going to have the problem of changing weapons as a board and sword character but at least with a javelin you don't need to worry about the shield.

It lacks the reach, but.. could I retrieve it after I throw it?.. especially after it hits something?

Edit: How did that spammer get links on their signature and more than one line?!

 

[Lord Ernie]

Regular javelins don't return automatically (unless you're a Seeker), but if you can get your hands on a magical version, you're all set. I do not believe there's an official rule out there on whether or not you can retrieve a javelin that's struck a target - that one pretty much depends on your DM.

Still, they make for a good backup weapon for when you can't get to melee range.

 

[Minifig]

Regular javelins don't return automatically (unless you're a Seeker), but if you can get your hands on a magical version, you're all set. I do not believe there's an official rule out there on whether or not you can retrieve a javelin that's struck a target - that one pretty much depends on your DM.

Still, they make for a good backup weapon for when you can't get to melee range.

Drat.. I'm trying to find something that will do a sizable chunk of damage so it gets the enemies attention so they'll turn around and attack me, but I'll be able to retrieve it with no sweat off my back.

It looks like the crossbow may not be such a good idea after all... and just .. dropping this whole idea would be best.

 

[Shin Okada]

Drat.. I'm trying to find something that will do a sizable chunk of damage so it gets the enemies attention so they'll turn around and attack me, but I'll be able to retrieve it with no sweat off my back.

Well, most defenders are not meant to be good at it. A fighter can mark anyone he attacks so at least it is possible to get the enemy's attention. But it does not always work. There are some ranged-markable powers for some defender classes, but rare.

Seriously, a defender is meant to go closer to the target by himself. Not meant to draw attention of enemies and wait for them to come.

And, because warden is a strength-based class and wears no heavy armor, he is good at approaching the intended enemy. Has no speed penalty, and has high enough athletic skill modifier to jump over a gap or climb up to a higher position.

 

[On Puget Sound]

hybrid warden/seeker? Str/ Wis for both. Still leaves you with the switching weapons, though a skill power or battle harness armor will help with that. But it would give you a nice area effect bow attack for before the battle gets into melee. I don't see anything as simple as picking up a weapon making enough of a difference. Even a heavy thrown (eg javelin), as a basic attack is going to do 1d6+4 - not going to make the average monster drop everything to chase you.

 

[OnlineDM]

I agree with the javelin suggestion. Sure, it's only 1d6 damage but since you can use your Strength instead of your Dexterity it means you'll start out at +6 to hit with it (+4 from your Strength modifier and +2 from proficiency). It's also not uncommon to find javelins on some bad guys at low level (goblins, kobolds, etc.), so you can loot them for more ammo. And as was pointed out earlier, once you get a Magic Javelin you don't have to worry about this - any magic weapon returns to your hand after the attack.

My fifth-level Paladin carries a +1 magic javelin for just such an eventuality. He hardly ever uses it, but when the time comes that he can't get to the bad guy with his sword he pulls out a javelin and chucks it. It's better than nothing.

 

[Minifig]

The question is, with a rogue or sorc throwing off ranged attacks, do I really need it ?