L4W Discussion Thread V

Hm... good point. Maybe just the free utility and/or skill power?

I like themes. I think adding one 1st level encounter power is the closest we'll come to matching a theme easily. I do see the issue with classes that don't get encounter powers. I don't think utility powers are close enough.

I'd much rather have L4W themes.

This has been added to my personal task list.

What do people see being the possible themes for a place like Daunton and beyond?

Quick Ideas:
Student of the Great Library: Arcane Controller or Leader
Imperium Tactician: Martial Leader
Son of the Shifting Seas: Primal Controller
Soldier: Martial Defender
Twelve Devoted: Divine Defender
Institute of Arcane Ciphers: Arcane Controller
Whispering Raven: Shadow Striker
Touched by Arcadia: Arcane Striker
Haunted by Lauto: Shadow Controller

Temple Acolyte: Divine Leader

A lot of those listed above seem like they would already fit within another theme.

How would "Student of the Great Library" differ from the more general "Scholar?"

"Soldier" and "Mercenary," while certainly different concepts, seem to fit the same niche.

"Tactician," Likewise, could fit into either Mercenary or Scholar depending on their approach.

I'm all for player created content, but WotC did seem to go fairly broad with their concepts for themes.

My goal here is not to supplement Wizards of the Coast but to make sure there is content available to all players. The new general themes are ddi only. That means a number pf players have access to no themes. The only option I see to make themes relatively fair is to make sure that there are at least some themes available to all.

I thought about this more last night, and I think the way to go is with a core four that are a little more general. That would give us enough to to allow play. Then new themes, with more specific flavor could be generated and voted on at all time. I was thinking:

Barstool Sage - Arcane Leader, Implement

Good stories are a powerful force. They teach, inspire, excite and protect. You know well the power of stories and have heard the very best of them. Whether it was tales of ancestors around the hearth, warstories pieced together by aging soldiers or the words of travelling bards detailing the heroics of the Five. There are magic in these words and you’ve heard enough to get you out of a bind or two.


Fated Hero - Divine Controller, Implement

You didn’t plan to be a hero when you were younger but you just keep getting wrapped up in exciting adventures. Even when the chips are down, you often find remarkable ways to stay a step ahead, hit just the right spot or get just plain lucky.

Honorable Warrior - Martial Defender, Weapom

There’s the law of the kingdom and then there’s the law you live your life by. You’re a disciplined fighter or at least a principled one. Your path is a firm one, and no one can shake you from it.

Survivor of the Shifting Seas - Primal Striker, Weapon


Some kind of shifting, sea linked stabby guy.


Well these are the ideas I was playing with anyway.

It may be easier to make a generic "fill in the gap" theme like "Expert."

-All experts get one extra encounter from their base class. While a Slayer doesn't inherently have encounter powers, they are still fighters.

I'm an Expert *Class*, therefore I've got a bit of an edge on those other *Classes*.

twilsemail said:

It may be easier to make a generic "fill in the gap" theme like "Expert."

-All experts get one extra encounter from their base class. While a Slayer doesn't inherently have encounter powers, they are still fighters.

I'm an Expert *Class*, therefore I've got a bit of an edge on those other *Classes*.

Click to expand...

I thought Theme encounter power was weaker than class encounter power... why not give something more like Dilettant half-elf power:

-All experts get one extra at-will power from their base class, which they can use once per encounter.

ScorpiusRisk said:

...

Barstool Sage - Arcane Leader, Implement

...

Fated Hero - Divine Controller, Implement

...

Honorable Warrior - Martial Defender, Weapom

...

Survivor of the Shifting Seas - Primal Striker, Weapon

...

Click to expand...

These are to restricted to my taste. Why not 'steal' an essentials idea: there is one epic destiny that can fit any character. Maybe only creating something similar here. So players with DDI access can take what they want but we have an alternative for the others to not stay behind in the term of 'character power'.

I thought theme was more meant to give some deepness to your character. Let's give an example. I've been trying to make a merchant character. A merchant could easily be a Rogue (Smuggler), a Bard (Trader) , but why not a Warlock (the merchant made a deal with some power), a Thaneborn Barbarian (trading goods made within his tribe), an Artificer (Magical Item merchant) etc...

And their come, I make my character and add the Merchant Theme to it and it feels more like a merchant than any of the above class. It might give me more leader or controller type power mainly based around mental abilities (Charisma is obvious, but a trader must also be clever and alert), and it might be just as good like that.

Velmont said:

I thought Theme encounter power was weaker than class encounter power... why not give something more like Dilettant half-elf power:

-All experts get one extra at-will power from their base class, which they can use once per encounter.

Click to expand...

I think that's a misconception perpetrated by the CO boards.

The encounter powers given by themes are about on par with most encounter powers. None of them compare to the top tier powers from any class, but they're uniformly better than the poorer choices from most classes.