Hunger of Hadar - Warlock Attack 5

[ac_noj]

When you sustain Hunger of Hadar, it doesn't say "The Zone Persists" as many powers do, but it's sustain effect is dependant on the zone being there. Does the zone persist? If so does it continue to do the 2D10 damage?

Hunger of Hadar Warlock Attack 5


You create a zone of complete, impermeable darkness filled with flying, fluttering, fanged shadows. The shadows rend at the very life force of creatures caught within.
Daily Arcane, Implement, Necrotic, Zone
Standard Action Area burst 1 within 10 squares
Effect: The burst creates a zone of darkness until the end of your next turn, blocking line of sight. Creatures that enter the zone or start their turns there take 2d10 necrotic damage.
Sustain Minor: When you sustain the power, you make a secondary attack.
Secondary Target: Each creature within the zone
Secondary Attack: Constitution vs. Fortitude
Hit: 1d6 + Constitution modifier necrotic damage.

[Danceofmasks]

Yes.
PHB p278 says what happens when you sustain .. i.e. they stick around.

[ac_noj]

So it does. That's a pretty cool power for level 5.

[Plane Sailing]

Originally Posted by ac_noj

When you sustain Hunger of Hadar, it doesn't say "The Zone Persists" as many powers do, but it's sustain effect is dependant on the zone being there. Does the zone persist? If so does it continue to do the 2D10 damage?

I hate to disagree with Danceofmasks, but you don't continue to do 2d10 damage.

The text looks pretty clear to me:
Sustain Minor: When you sustain the power, you make a secondary attack.
Secondary Target: Each creature within the zone
Secondary Attack: Constitution vs. Fortitude
Hit: 1d6 + Constitution modifier necrotic damage.

When you sustain it, you make secondary attacks on each creature in the zone, which do 1d6+con damage.

In other words, the initial burst creates a zone which does 2d10+con damage until the end of your next turn. You can sustain it longer, at which point the damage drops to 1d6+con (and the spell is colloquially known as "Feeling a bit Peckish of Hagar" at that point )

Cheers

[Plane Sailing]

Unless, of course, it is supposed to be read completely differently and the spell

a) creates a 2d10 damage zone until the end of your next turn
b) you can use minor actions to do a bonus 1d6+con damage to everyone in it.

This way the spell itself couldn't be sustained to last longer than the end of your next turn, but the ability to use a full round to go

"Hunger of Hagar!" (sets up zone)
"Feed my pretties!" (minor action, another 1d6+5)
"Feed my pretties!" (another minor action, another 1d6+5)

At start of their goes, people in the zone or entering the zone take 2d10+5
next round (if there is anyone still in there)

"Feed my pretties!" (minor action, another 1d6+5)
"Feed my pretties!" (another minor action, another 1d6+5)
"Feed my pretties!" (another minor action, another 1d6+5)

It would be a pretty horrible thing to get immobilised in!

[Xzylvador]

That's a strange and broken interpretation. You can't sustain on the same turn as it's "cast", and you can't sustain more than once/round.
As for damage, it does both:
Round 1: cast the zone, line of sight gets blocked, nothing else happens. Your round ends (after move&minor action)
Zone Effect: Any creature that then starts its turn in the zone or steps into the zone takes 2d10 damage.
Round 2: You either let the effect expire, or use your minor action to sustain. If you sustain, line of sight stays blocked and every creature in the zone gets a second attack against it for 1d6+con damage.
Zone effect: If you sustained, any creature that starts its turn in the zone or steps into the zone takes 2d10 damage.
Round 3: See round 2.

It does loads of damage really if you and the party can either keep people in there or slide/teleport them back in it.

[Reaper Steve]

^
Nice observation. I didn't read it carefully enough to realize it doesn't do damage as soonas it's cast.

So, don't cast in ON the enemy, cast it behind them and then have the rest of the party push them into it. There's the potential for an enemy to take 2d10 damage twice before it activates (assuming it went before the warlock)... when first pushed in, and then again at the start of its turn (since this will happen before the warlock takes another turn, he's not in sustain mode yet.)

[yu gnomi]

Originally Posted by Xzylvador

That's a strange and broken interpretation. You can't sustain on the same turn as it's "cast", and you can't sustain more than once/round.

Can anyone find this in the rules anywhere. I just looked, and I couldn't. Of course a Dm can always rule this way, but it seems to me that the tactic is clever and effective, not strange and broken.

[Lord Ernie]

PHB page 278, on Durations: <...> Starting on the turn after you create an effect, you sustain the effect by taking the indicated action: a standard action, a move action, or a minor action. (You can sustain an effect once per turn.) <...>

So no, you can't sustain it multiple times per turn, nor can you do it in the same turn you cast it. Nice try, though .

[yu gnomi]

Even though I looked at that page, I missed that somehow (probably wishful thinking).

Thanks

[Plane Sailing]

Originally Posted by Lord Ernie

PHB page 278, on Durations: <...> Starting on the turn after you create an effect, you sustain the effect by taking the indicated action: a standard action, a move action, or a minor action. (You can sustain an effect once per turn.) <...>

So no, you can't sustain it multiple times per turn, nor can you do it in the same turn you cast it. Nice try, though .

My mistake was in forgetting that sustain has a specific meaning (extend the duration in subsequent rounds) combined with the secondary attack which takes place when you do the sustain.

It's a shame, because I love the idea of spending extra actions to urge 'my pretties' on

Cheers