Ok, this is coming close to the time we can vote on it, and I'd still like answers on 3 things. All of them are ambiguous so this is a matter of of making our own clear rules, I think.
1. Does forced movement into a power effect trigger it, or not? Do you get a saving throw to avoid this like you do with hazardous terrain?
1a. If we rule that it DOES trigger it, what rule are we going to add to prevent infinite loops using Grease or Planar Gateway?
1b. Related to that, CustServ has stated that "entering" includes forced movement, and "moving" doesn't. This makes no sense whatsoever. We're ignoring that, right?
2. There have been some changes to the Illusion powers we've already approved. Are we going to replace the Dragon versions with the AP versions? If so, does anybody object to any of the changes?
Here are the changes Arcane Power (w/errata) makes to the illusion powers from Dragon 364. I've bolded all the nerfs that I consider significant (even if not VERY significant), as opposed to clarifications:
Grasping Shadows: now has the "Zone" keyword
Phantasmal Terrain: now has the "Implement" keyword; increased movement cost for difficult terrain applies to everyone, not just enemies
Spectral Hound: no longer has the "Implement" keyword; must start in an unoccupied square; gives a +1 power bonus to "all defenses" instead of "AC and all defenses" (I think that's the same thing, right?); sustain is reworded to be much clearer
Enemies Abound: "you and your allies treat the target as an ally for the purposes of flanking" instead of "you and your allies can treat the target as an ally..." (I don't think there's any situation where you would choose not to treat someone as an ally for flanking, is there?)
Illusory Wall: can make an attack only when moves adjacent to the wall, not when it starts its turn adjacent; the attack result only effects the enemy for its current turn (used to be "save ends")
3. How the hell does Illusory Wall work (either version)?
Suppose there's a wall between square A and square B, and I plan the following actions:
Turn 1: move to square A, attempt to move to square B (assume I fail)
Turn 2...N: attempt to move to square B again (keep trying until I succeed)
Turn N+1: go do things on another part of the battlefield
Turn N+2: move to square B, attempt to move to square A
In the old version:
Turn 1: The caster gets an attack as I move adjacent to the wall. If it succeeds, I can't cross the wall until I make a saving throw. Assume it succeeds, so I can't move to B yet. I get a save at the end of my turn.
Turn 2...N: The caster gets another attack as I start my turn adjacent to the wall. SIX cases:
(1) I passed my save last turn, caster chose not to attack: I can cross the wall but I am still affected
(2) I passed my save last turn, caster attacked and hit: I need to keep saving
(3) I passed my save last turn, caster attacked and missed: I can cross the wall and am no longer affected
(4) I failed my save last turn, caster chose not to attack: I need to keep saving
(5) I failed my save last turn, caster attacked and hit: I need to keep saving (I believe multiple successful attacks don't stack here)
(6) I failed my save last turn, caster attacked and missed: I can cross the wall and am no longer affected
Turn N+2: Return to square B: if I crossed the wall due to case (1), the caster gets a new attack as on turn 1. If I crossed the wall due to case (3) or (6), I can cross immediately
In the new version:
Turn 1: The caster gets an attack as I move adjacent to the wall. If it succeeds, I can't cross the wall this turn. Assume it succeeds, so I can't cross to B yet.
Turn 2...N: The caster does not get an attack, since I didn't move adjacent this turn. Since I wasn't attacked, I can automatically cross to B immediately.
Turn N+2: Return to square B; the caster gets a new attack as on turn 1 since he hasn't missed with an attack yet.
That's way less complicated, but also MUCH weaker - it only delays me by 1 turn at most! And also makes no sense - I can push through the wall without breaking the illusion completely?
A good variant might be the Arcane Power version, but change "Whenever an enemy moves adjacent to the wall" to "Whenever an enemy moves adjacent to or starts its turn adjacent to the wall". That way I'd have no obvious way to move through the wall until the caster fails an attack, which makes me immune to it until the end of the encounter. (Although I could get through the wall by having an ally slide me on his turn, or something similar.)
Here are the answers I'd give, right now:
1. Yes, and yes.
1a. Add a rule saying that if you start inside an effect's area, leaving and reentering the area does not count as "entering" or "moving into".
1b. Yes, CustServ was obviously off it's gourd when they said this. "Entering" and "moving into" mean the same thing.
2. Just replace the Dragon versions with the AP versions. Anyone who dislikes the new version will have two weeks to retrain (for free) after AP is approved.
3. Use the amendment I suggested in the quote.
EDIT: oh, about Grease. This power has a problem that there are many cases where you'd prefer to slide an opponent 2 squares rather than knocking them prone (for instance, if it's cast in a 5 foot wide corridor: if knocked prone, the attacker can just stand up and continue, since you only get an attack when they enter the zone; on a miss you can slide them back out and force them to be attacked again next time they enter.) So there are times when missing is better than hitting. I think a hit should slide 2 squares AND knock prone, while a miss just slides. Except this makes it impossible to move through the grease in the above setup, so it should be explicit that crawling through it has less effect. So, here's my suggested change:
Hit: If the target is crawling, slide it 1 square. Otherwise, you knock it prone and slide it 2 squares.
Miss: If the target is crawling, no effect. Otherwise, you slide it 2 squares.
