Leif's Homebrew 4E, OOC1

renau1g said:

I don't believe it can be healed as they're not real, they're all in your mind :

TEMPORARY HIT POINTS
✦ Not Real Hit Points: Temporary hit points aren’t real hit points. They’re a layer of insulation that attacks have to get through before they start doing damage to you.

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On a second note, temporary HP don't usually stack and there is no limit how much you can gain at once. There is no cap you can restore them to. But you can refresh the pool (using a power that gives more THP than the character currently has).

But, like you said, WD, temp hp don't stack, so the way I understand it is that if a character has 7 temp hp and then gains 5 hp from some other power/source, then he does NOT have 12 temp hp, but rather only 7 hp, being the highest of his current temp hp totals. Have I understood this correctly?

Correct. This is important for certain battlerager fighters

I can also imagine a situation where a character, say Tarrk, has already been injured in a combat, and then gains temp hp from his 'rage' later. Now, if his actual hp are reduced to zero but he still has temp hp, then it seems to me that he will still be conscious, but he will need a healing surge, or other healing immediately following the combat to remain conscious. Until he begins 'taking a short rest' his temp hp will sustain him, but once he rests, they vanish like smoke. But, if he has at least one daily healing surge remaining, then he will be ok. If his temp hp are also reduced to 0, then he's out and dying anyway.

Nothing personal WD, we really don't want to kill you, it's just that Barbarians have such an easy way to get temp hp! I guess I could have used Aimhirghin as my example, though, couldn't I?

I"m really liking the way the party is arranging themselves for this fight, and I hope that it becomes party SOP: The frontline warriors on different opponents, the Bard and Cleric each assisting one warrior, and the striker holding back in the rear and lighting up enemies at will. Of course, before you get to that point the party must whittle down the number of enemies to a reasonable amount.

I imagine that I'll be ready to try some higher level stuff before too much longer, too. I want to keep this game going, but if we maintain this pace indefinitely, it'll take us 5 freakin' years to finish H3. I mean, come on! You guys haven't even made it into Winterhaven yet to learn what the basis of this adventure will be. But, on the plus side, this "random" encounter that I sprung on you intentionally has allowed us all to become more familiar with the ins and outs of 4e, and hopefully gain a certain amount of comfort with the system. I still have a little tripidation when I contemplate resolving the next round, but I'm finding actually doing the resolution to be easier than I expected, and quite painless. I have only blatantly cheated in the party's favor a few times so far, too, and I don't think it was necessary for me to do that at all. I've been reading on ENWorld some, and from what I read, these modules are somewhat too tough, or get that way pretty quick. I think one proposed solution was to use 1/2 the number of monsters and give out 2/3 of th experience points for them. (This would be a breeze to calculate, because XP values are given in the module for each encounter.)

For now, though, I'm happy continuing on as the module is written, until we run into some difficulty.

News flash -- power personalization

I just had an epiphany! I was thinking about how all the fluff for 4E powers is given to you word-for-word in the descriptions of the powers, and how that limited player's imaginations, and then, I thought, well no, not really. So here's what I want to try in this game starting now and continuing until further notice:

As long as you keep the Crunch aspects of a power that you use identical to what the book says about the power, and I mean ALL crunch, from hp damage infliced, to pushes, pulls, and slides, and all other actual effects of the power on the target or anyone else, then you are free to adjust the fluffy aspects of the power (light, color, cound, smell, specific appearance if it won't affect the crunch of the power) to suit your whims. Maybe a power will look the same every time your character uses it, and maybe it will have a unique appearance each time. If you're ever too tired to come up with something new and original for a power, then you can always fall back on what's written in the books. And, it may take awhile before people start to get ideas for 4E powers, too. I know that I never even heard of doing that for previous edition powers until I had already been playing for years, so maybe it will take years for us to get bored enough wiith 4E powers to want to change them. I just don't know. But I thought that the option ought to be out there and available if someone gets that particular urge.

I'm liking it more than I thought I would. I'll never give up on 3.5 (actually, I'll likely make the switch to Pathfinder as much as possible, but that's basically 3.5 tweaked). But I do like it.

I'm digging playing my Bard, trying to 'personalize' his powers a little, and trying to fit him into the 'controller' role. They definitely did a good job of making a game wherein everyone can be useful (in combat, at least).

A couple of things I've been wondering about:

The books list 'wands' as the Bard implement, but that doesn't make much sense to me from an aesthetic standpoint. How would you feel about customizing implements to fit the class a little more (e.g. a Drum for Aimhirghin as an implement rather than a wand)?

Also, I don't seem to be able to find a 'Perform' skill - or anything like it - in any of the books I have. Am I missing it, or does it not exist? If it doesn't exist, that seems like a pretty glaring oversight for a game with a performing class . . .

It is interesting in a different way than 3.5. I'm not sure how I really feel about it yet, but I am looking forward to the rest of this adventure.

Mowgli said:

-I'm liking it more than I thought I would. I'll never give up on 3.5 (actually, I'll likely make the switch to Pathfinder as much as possible, but that's basically 3.5 tweaked). But I do like it.
-I'm digging playing my Bard, trying to 'personalize' his powers a little, and trying to fit him into the 'controller' role. They definitely did a good job of making a game wherein everyone can be useful (in combat, at least).
-A couple of things I've been wondering about:
-The books list 'wands' as the Bard implement, but that doesn't make much sense to me from an aesthetic standpoint. How would you feel about customizing implements to fit the class a little more (e.g. a Drum for Aimhirghin as an implement rather than a wand)?
-Also, I don't seem to be able to find a 'Perform' skill - or anything like it - in any of the books I have. Am I missing it, or does it not exist? If it doesn't exist, that seems like a pretty glaring oversight for a game with a performing class . . .

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I approve the use of the drum as Aimhirghin's magical implement, but to gain the bonus on his powers for its use, it will have to be a butt-kicking high quality drum that costs 15gp, the same price as an Orb (PH p. 222).

I can't find a Perform skill either! Criminy! To quote Raul Julia in one of my favorite movies, Presumed Innocent, "What a colossal blunder!" We'll have to make something up for that, so feel free to go ahead and choose Perform (drum) as one of Aimhirghin's trained skills

Lou said:

It is interesting in a different way than 3.5. I'm not sure how I really feel about it yet, but I am looking forward to the rest of this adventure.

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Yeah, mechanically, it seems pretty fun for now. I'm just not sure how I will feel after the 'new' wears off. And for long-term, I'm also not sure. Just not too sure....